Review: Hocus Pocus & The All-New Sequel by A.W. Jantha

Goodreads Blurb

Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens.

Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Massachusetts, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches, the Sanderson sisters, from the afterlife. Max, his sister, and his new friends (human and otherwise) must find a way to stop the witches from carrying out their evil plan and remaining on earth to torment Salem for all eternity.

Twenty-five years later, Max and Allison’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don’t quite go as planned, it’s a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches’ latest vile scheme.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Let’s Hocus Pocus again!

It was so much fun to experience Hocus Pocus again. It’s truly one of my favorite Halloween movies that brings back wonderful memories. Loved that the first original story started this book off. The new sequel brings back the Dennison family 25 years later. The three main characters are teenagers, one of them being Max Dennison’s daughter Poppy. I loved that they kept the same characters and made all the characters connected with a great story. This time, the three Sanderson sisters are back with a vengeance. This time, hell was in person, and the witches came to take over. The new sequel is modern with LGBT romance. I was laughing my socks off with the ideas of the appliances used by the witches to fly. Overall, the story was well developed and modernized. I think I would have loved to have seen more scenes with the Sanderson sister’s experience in modern technology. I was shocked at the end. I wasn’t expecting that. It is to be continued.

Cover Reveal: Lies The Dirt Keeps by Heidi Christopher

BOOK DETAILS:

Lies the Dirt Keeps

by Heidi Christopher

Publication date: November 13, 2025

Genres: Adult, Horror, Thriller

Synopsis:

She came home searching for her sister. What she uncovered could destroy them all.

Johnna LaGrange photographs death for a living. But when she gets the call that her younger sister Ori has vanished from their hometown of Sweetwater, North Carolina, the decay she’s drawn to becomes chillingly personal.

Returning to a town that never forgave her for surviving, Johnna finds her family in tatters—her mother drowning in vodka, her brother partying like nothing’s wrong. Only Shannon, her ex turned detective, is willing to help. But as they dig into Ori’s disappearance, buried memories start to surface—of the stepfather Johnna killed in self-defence, and the darkness that’s lingered in the farmhouse ever since.

When people start dying, and Johnna wakes up with dirt on her hands and blood in her mouth, she begins to question everything—including her own mind.

But the truth is far worse than she ever imagined.

A haunting, explosive thriller about guilt, memory, and the lies we tell to survive—Lies The Dirt Keeps is perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, KL Slater, and Shalini Boland.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242286826-lies-the-dirt-keeps

Pre-order: https://amzn.to/48PYvOY

AUTHOR BIO:

Heidi Christopher was born in West Virginia, raised in southern North Carolina, and now resides on a mountain in Virginia with her family. Her household includes a golden retriever, a golden doodle, and four sassy cats.While studying English Literature at Shenandoah University, Heidi contributed to the University’s newspaper. She is now a freelance editor, specializing in academic editing for grades K-12.Her debut psychological thriller is set to be published in November 2025.To learn more about Heidi, you can follow her on:

Author links:

https://www.facebook.com/people/Heidi-Christopher/61570571675052/

Tweets by HeidiCWrites

https://www.instagram.com/heidicwrites

Review: Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller

Goodreads Blurb

When Elizabeth and her unusual and fearless friend Zenobia arrive at Witheringe House, peculiar things begin to happen.

Especially in the forbidden East Wing.

The flowers and vines of the wallpaper sometimes seem to be alive.

A mirror has a surface like the water of a pond.

And an old book tells a different story after midnight.

Zenobia is thrilled by the strangeness, but Elizabeth is not so bold…

Until she makes a mysterious and terrifying discovery.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

It was a fun book filled with ghost hunts and family mystery. Elizabeth has a friend that only she can see, and no one else can. She is strong-willed and not scared of anything. She loves it when there is something spooky to unravel and will stop at nothing while Elizabeth is scared of anything supernatural. The author shares some poetry from Edgar Allan Poe since Zenobia is obsessed with his work. I loved that the author added details of plant names and had plotted her book to include scenes in a plant kingdom. Elizabeth has an imagination that will make this adventure unforgettable.

Twilight Anniversary Edition by Stephenie Meyer

If you love Twilight, then you need to purchase this anniversary edition. It comes in a beautiful slipcase, golden edges, and surprise images.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the genre-defining tale, this vintage-inspired collector’s edition features:

Foil-stamped slipcase
Stunning new cover with lush, romantic artwork
New interior art and beautifully illustrated endpapers
Elegant ribbon marker
One-of-a-kind, interactive, gilded-edge design

The cost is 40.00.

Cover Reveal: You Don’t Belong Here by D.M. Siciliano

BOOK DETAILS:

You Don’t Belong Here

by D.M. Siciliano

Publication date: October 13, 2025

Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal, Suspense

Synopsis:

A girl who feels invisible finally faces her worst fear on her sixteenth birthday and hastily makes a dark deal.

An old man returns to the same place every year on the anniversary of his wife’s death, to have one last moonlit dance with her.

A woman’s health concerns are ignored, and it leads to global chaos.

A young woman goes home to bury her father and sell his house but finds that the home is no longer hers.

An old man with Alzheimer’s becomes increasingly lost in his own house, which seems to be doing its own forgetting.

Two young girls find a Ouija board, thinking they’re communicating with a deceased relative, but find something much more cunning.

A woman, grieving the loss of her baby, takes a trip to a remote cabin in Tahoe. Her worried sister goes after her and isn’t prepared for what she finds.

A woman’s drive through California’s winding roads leads her to a perilous and sinister discovery lurking in the woods.

A woman takes a job as a nanny for two troublesome kids, only to find that the children aren’t the problem.

AUTHOR BIO:

DM is a lover of all things creative. From the moment she could speak, growing up in Massachusetts, she had a passion for flair and drama, putting on concerts for anyone who was even remotely interested (and even for those who were not). A storyteller by nature, she first pursued her young dream of becoming a singing diva while living in Arizona. She soon found that stage life wasn’t the only form of storytelling she craved, so she dropped the mic and picked up a pencil instead. She still hasn’t given up on her diva-ness, and hopes her pencil stays as sharp as her tongue.

A dark sense of humor and curiosity for haunted houses and things out of the ordinary led her down the path of completing her first novel, Inside. Several other projects are constantly floating around in her head and her laptop daily, and sometimes keeping her up much too late at night. Occasionally, those projects are so dark and twisted, she needs to leave a nightlight on.

She now lives in Northern California with her two fluffy furbabies, Cezare and Michaleto.

Author links:

https://www.dmsiciliano.com/

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/d-m-siciliano

https://www.facebook.com/DMSiciliano/

https://www.instagram.com/dmsiciliano/

Paul Tremblay is on Book Tour

The horror author Paul Tremblay will bring on book tour for his first middle-grade novel, Another.

Book Synopsis

When Casey Wilson’s parents tell him that his friend is coming for a sleepover, he has no idea who that might be. Ever since the Zoom Incident, everyone treats him like a pariah, and his tics are worse than ever.

When Morel appears, he’s not like any friend Casey has ever met. His skin is like clay, and he doesn’t speak. But Casey’s parents are charmed by the strange kid, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to besides his sister, Ally, who is away at college. As his normally loving parents grow distant from Casey, they gush and fawn over Morel. Casey knows something is wrong—but with no end in sight to the sleepover, he’s exhausted. And in the dark, out of the corner of his eye, Morel doesn’t look like a kid at all….

Author Biography

Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, the Sheridan Le Fanu, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of the New York Times bestselling Horror Movie, The Beast You, Are, The Pallbearers Club, Survivor Song, Growing Things, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, and the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. His novel The Cabin at the End of the World was adapted as the Universal Pictures film Knock at the Cabin. His short fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous year’s-best anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his family. He is represented by Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management.

Chelsea Conradt is on Tour!

I’m looking forward to meeting Chelsea Conradt in a few weeks. I can’t wait to read this horror novel, The Farm House.

Goodreads Blurb

Every woman who has lived on this farm has died. Emily just moved in.

When Emily Hauk’s mother dies, it’s time for her and her husband, Josh, to finally leave San Francisco. A farm in rural Nebraska is everything they want for a fresh start: clear skies, low costs, and distance from the grief back home.

They should have asked why the farm was for sale.

Three years ago a teenage girl went missing from the farm. Soon afterward, the girl’s mother mysteriously died. The deeper Emily digs the more stories she uncovers of women connected to her new home who’ve met their own dark ends.

With each passing day Emily’s sanctuary slips further away. The barn seems to move throughout her property as though chasing her. Her mother’s favorite music drifts across the cornfield. She swears she saw blood in one of the farmhand’s trucks. And the screams that wake her are not fox howls, no matter how many times her husband says they are. If she wants to claim this place as her own she’ll have to find out the truth before whatever watches from the cornfield takes her, too.

Author Biography

Chelsea Conradt (she/her) writes twisty speculative thrillers. Her books are packed with both murder and kindness because we can be more than one thing.

When not writing stories that make you question what’s real, she is likely watching a baking show or a true-crime documentary. She is nothing if not on brand. Chelsea lives in Texas with her husband, son, and two big dogs.

Stephen King is Back!

Paramus Barnes and Noble has this awesome display of Stephen King’s books and the newly released book Never Flinch. The bookmarks are so fun.

Goodreads Blurb

When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to “kill thirteen innocents and one guilty” in “an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man,” Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help.

Meanwhile, controversial and outspoken women’s rights activist Kate McKay is embarking on a multi-state lecture tour, drawing packed venues of both fans and detractors. Someone who vehemently opposes Kate’s message of female empowerment is targeting her and disrupting her events. At first, no one is hurt, but the stalker is growing bolder, and Holly is hired to be Kate’s bodyguard—a challenging task with a headstrong employer and a determined adversary driven by wrath and his belief in his own righteousness.

Featuring a riveting cast of characters both old and new, including world-famous gospel singer Sista Bessie and an unforgettable villain addicted to murder, these twinned narratives converge in a chilling and spectacular conclusion—a feat of storytelling only Stephen King could pull off.

Thrilling, wildly fun, and outrageously engrossing, Never Flinch is one of King’s richest and most propulsive novels.

Currently Reading: The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

Goodreads Blurb

Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?

With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.

Author Biography

Alex North was born in Leeds, England, where he now lives with his wife and son. The Whisper Man was inspired by North’s own little boy, who mentioned one day that he was playing with “the boy in the floor.” Alex North is a British crime writer who has previously published under another name.

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: A Terror Triptych: Ireland by Kasey Fallon

Book & Author Details:

A Terror Triptych: Ireland

by Kasey Fallon

Publication date: October 1, 2024

Genres: Adult, Horror

Synopsis:

Readers can expect three chilling tales, each steeped in Irish folklore, history, and psychological horror. A Terror Triptych: Ireland is the second set of short horror by Kasey Fallon, with stories that delve into the darker side of the Emerald Isle. Each story is accompanied by original poetry and hand-drawn illustrations, enhancing the atmospheric tension of the collection.

Dark Legends Reimagined

Legacy, the first story, traces the cursed history of the Clairy family. The Clairys have fed centuries of blood into the Fair Farm of Clairy, and as an ancient Gaelic god demands more, their desperate choices lead to devastating consequences. As Fallon writes, “This is the bed the Clairys have wrought. Generations of blood.”

The collection continues with Dungeons Under Dublin, where guards at an ancient prison discover why they should have left the old wing untouched. Fallon’s use of Irish settings is not merely for atmosphere, but to invoke the weight of the country’s past, its myths, and its lingering shadows. Readers can expect historical accuracy intertwined with unnerving fiction, making the horrors all the more visceral.

Finally, in The Dead House, the picturesque Aran Islands become the stage for Clara’s unnerving attraction to the only house on the island left to rot in haunting silence. As one reviewer noted, “These stories are flat out, bone-chilling, creepy… The psychological touch was there, that’s what makes you shiver.”

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219774601-a-terror-triptych

Purchase:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RZFccm

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-terror-triptych-kasey-fallon/1146373980

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/a-terror-triptych-ireland/id6736406514

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/a-terror-triptych-ireland?sId=f3e3e2c8-c02a-4864-b817-7dbd2706d288

AUTHOR BIO:

Kasey grew up on the East Coast, from Maine to North Carolina. She loves two things above all in nature: the water, and the forest. While she might not love her nightmares, they do inspire many of her works. A recipient of the Editor’s Choice Award from the International Library of Poetry, she writes across several genres. She and her dog can be found investigating new hiking trails, or curled up on the couch as he pushes her computer off her lap to make room for himself.

Author links:

https://www.instagram.com/writ_fallon/

https://www.facebook.com/kasey.fallon.77/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22974239.Kasey_Fallon

Giveaway link: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251235960/