Author: Kirsten Barger

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Epeolatry Book Review: Waterlore by Teika Marija Smits

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Waterlore
Author: Teika Marija Smits
Genre:Anthology; Collections; Horror; Speculative Fiction
Publisher: Black Shuck Shadows
Release Date: 30th November, 2023

Synopsis: A series of micro-collections featuring a selection of peculiar tales from the best in horror and speculative fiction.

From Black Shuck Books and Teika Marija Smits comes Waterlore, the thirty-fourth in the Black Shuck SHADOWS series.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Remedial Magic by Melissa Marr

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Remedial Magic
Author: Melissa Marr
Genre: Romantic Fantasy; Paranormal
Publisher: Bramble Romance
Release Date: 20th February, 2024

Synopsis: The Magicians meets One Last Stop in this brand-new fantasy romance Remedial Magic, about an unassuming librarian who 1) has fallen in love with a powerful witch; 2) has discovered that she is a witch; and 3) must attend magical community college to learn how to save her new world from complete destruction by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr!

Ellie loves working in her local library in the small town of Ligonier. She loves baking scones and investigating the mysterious and captivating in her spare time. And there is nothing more mysterious and captivating than the intriguingly beautiful, too properly dressed woman sipping tea in her library who has appeared as if out of nowhere. The pull between them is undeniable, and Ellie is not sure that she wants to resist.

Prospero, a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw, is often accused of being… ruthless in her goals and ambitions. But she is driven to save her dying homeland, and a prophecy tells her that Ellie is the key. Unbeknownst to Ellie, her powers have not yet awakened. But all of that is about to change.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Razor Country by Nicholas Wagner

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Razor Country
Author: Nicholas Wagner
Genre: Western Horror
Publisher: Independent
Release Date: 9th April, 2024

Synopsis: On the eve of World War I, a private detective investigates a series of violent crimes across the British Empire.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Twenty-Four-Hour Shift: Dark Tales from on and off the Clock by Cecilia Kennedy

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Twenty-Four-Hour Shift: Dark Tales from on and off the Clock
Author: Cecilia Kennedy
Genre: Supernatural Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Supernatural Mysteries
Publisher: Dark Winter Press
Release Date: 27th September, 2023

Synopsis:Punch in your time card to begin the shift. The twenty-four dark tales of short fiction in this collection explore the unsettling things that might linger on and off the clock. Here, you’ll find short stories of work-related haunts and happenings, from the truly sinister (a human-vending machine restaurant), to horror-comedy (a photo shoot with possessed bunnies). But in the hours in between, it can’t be forgotten that the roles played as parents, co-workers, and friends are no ordinary side hustle. That work never ends. And the work shift? Well, that’s the thing that makes you peek over your shoulder and ask, “What just moved?” But you have to clock in to find out.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Downpour by Christopher Hawkins

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Downpour
Author: Christopher Hawkins
Publisher: Coronis Publishing
Genre: American Horror, Supernatural Thrillers, American Literature
Release date: 15th September, 2023

Synopsis: A sudden storm appears above an isolated farmhouse in rural Illinois, bringing with it a relentless and unnatural rain. A rain that eats away at everything it touches. A rain that turns people into monsters.

Trapped inside his crumbling home, a father must do everything he can to keep his family from falling apart. But the rain calls to them, and not everyone wants to stay inside.

Haunted by memories of loss, he must put aside his painful past and find a way to keep them all safe. But the rain shows no signs of stopping, and time is running out.

From the award-winning author of Suburban Monsters comes a heartbreaking tale of survival and terror.

 

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Epeolatry Book Review: Down the Well by Joseph Blackhurst

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Down the Well
Author: Joseph Blackhurst
Publisher: Independent
Genre: American Horror, Occult Fiction, Psychological Thriller
Release date: 11th June, 2023

Synopsis: When hunters stumble upon a genocide deep in rural Kentucky, investigators unearth a mysterious cache of canvases at the scene that seem to contain the secret to solving the case – but they’re written in an unintelligible script that has the uncanny ability to drive people insane.

Immune to the sinister power of the canvases due to his color blindness, lawyer Joe Blackhurst is tasked with translating the messages and unravelling the truth behind the carnage. Joe begins to unmask the perplexing story behind the canvases creator: Richie Maltessouri, a down-on-his-luck young lawyer struggling under a mountain of debt.

Drawn deeper into an unsettling mystery, Joe finds his fate tangled with a cast of strange characters – including a handicapped painter with seemingly supernatural skills, a rude barista, and a camgirl. As he peels away the layers of Richie’s enigmatic story, he finds himself flirting closer and closer with madness.

And when the trail of canvases leads him to an old, dark well, Joe knows that the answers that have been tormenting him lie deep at the bottom – if he can bring himself to face them…

Step into a gripping paranormal thriller that artfully weaves together edge-of-your-seat suspense, stunning prose, and a dash of disturbing horror. Down The Well is an unforgettable read that’s perfect for fans of experimental novels from authors like Mark Z. Danielewski.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Dark Water Daughter (Winter Sea #1) by H. M. Long

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Title: Dark Water Daughter (Winter Sea #1)
Author: H.M Long
Publisher: Titan Books
Genre: Sword and Sorcery. Fantasy Action and Adventure, Epic Fantasy
Release date: 18th July, 2023

Synopsis: A stormsinger and pirate hunter join forces against a deathless pirate lord in this swashbuckling Jacobean adventure on the high-seas.

Launching the Winter Sea series, full of magic, betrayal, redemption and fearsome women, for readers of Adrienne Young, R. J. Barker and Naomi Novik.

Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection – and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary’s dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.

Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.

Finally, driven into the eternal ice at the limits of their world, Mary and Samuel must choose their loyalties and battle forces older and more powerful than the pirates who would make them slaves.

Come sail the Winter Sea, for action-packed, high-stakes adventures, rich characterization and epic plots full of intrigue and betrayal.

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey

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Title: The Dead Take the A Train (Carrion City #1)
Author: Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Genre: Occult Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Cosmic Horror


Release date: 3rd October, 2023

Synopsis:  Bestselling authors Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey have teamed up to deliver a dark new story with magic, monsters, and mayhem, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill.

Julie is a coked-up, burnt-out thirty-year-old whose only retirement plan is dying early. She’s been trying to establish herself in the NYC magic scene, and she’ll work the most gruesome gigs, exorcize the nastiest demons, and make deals with the cruelest gods to claw her way to the top. But nothing can prepare her for the toughest job yet: when her best friend, Sarah, shows up at her door in need of help. Keeping Sarah safe becomes top priority.

Julie is desperate for a quick fix to break the dead-end grind and save her friend. But her power grab sets off a deadly chain of events that puts Sarah—and the entire world—directly in the path of annihilation.

The first explosive adventure in the Carrion City Duology, The Dead Take the A Train fuses Cassandra Khaw’s cosmic horror and Richard Kadrey’s gritty fantasy into a full-throttle thrill ride straight into New York’s magical underbelly.

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