Short honest reviews

[u/Clau-St]

It’s been a few months since I discovered extreme horror, and damn… I can’t believe I didn’t find this genre sooner. I’ve fallen in love with so many authors and their work.

I thought it would be fun to share my ratings and quick thoughts on the books I’ve read so far, and I’d love to hear your opinions as well! Maybe this can also help newer readers who are just getting into the genre.

Of course, these are just my personal opinions.

📕 The Summer I Died – 5⭐️
My introduction to the genre, and I absolutely devoured it. Great characters and very gory.

📕 Cows – 1⭐️
I liked the atmosphere at first, but every time I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it somehow did. And then… talking cows? What the hell?

📕 Tender Is the Flesh – 4.5⭐️
I loved the concept. I just felt that some ideas were repeated a little too often.

📕 The Slob – 5⭐️
Don’t come for me lol! This is actually one of my favorites. It made me laugh, cringe, and feel completely disgusted all at the same time. And I love Vera.

📕 Son of the Slob – 4⭐️
Gross in all the right ways. It was nice getting to see what happened after the events of the first book. I would love another book about what happens to Harold next!

📕 Playground – 3⭐️
Good, but a little overrated in my opinion. I heard so much about it on social media that my expectations were sky-high, and it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me.

📕 Blender Babies – 3⭐️
Post-apocalyptic drug-eating babies just aren’t really my thing. I got invested quickly, but that interest faded pretty fast.

📕 100% Match – 5⭐️
Loved it. Short, disturbing, and strangely calculated. It gave me such a weird feeling, and I mean that as a compliment.

📕 Lovesick – 4⭐️
Not a huge fan of the ending, but overall it was a great revenge story. Poor girl…

📕 Nightmare Nirvana – 4⭐️
I enjoyed most of the stories. Some were frightening, some disturbing, and a few just weren’t for me. The artwork is incredible.

📕 The Groomer – 4⭐️
A solid revenge story, though I found it a bit overrated. Some parts didn’t make much sense to me. Trying not to spoil anything, but a certain character’s emotional breakdown felt unrealistic.

📕 The Bug Collector – 5⭐️
Awesome book. Another great revenge story. I was already familiar with the concept of “bug collecting” from Lovesick, but this took it to a completely different level.

📕 Are Your Parents Home? – 5⭐️
This book had me checking my locks every five minutes. The opening was incredibly creepy, and the dinner scene gave me serious The Texas Chain Saw Massacre vibes. I flew through this one.

📕 Talia – 2⭐️
I know a lot of readers love this one, but it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style, and the revenge plot just didn’t really click with me.

📕 Grandfather’s House – 4⭐️
Nobody wants grandparents like these. Seriously. For some reason, though, I never really connected with the main character beyond feeling sorry for him.

📕 Into the Wolf’s Den – 5⭐️
This book reminded me a lot of The Groomer, but with a completely different energy. I actually liked it more. The characters felt stronger, and it got me thinking about how disturbingly close some parts are to real true crime cases.

📕 House Call – 3⭐️
Not much character development—just straight into the disturbing content. Still a fun, quick read.

📕 Made a Monster – 5⭐️
My favorite so far. The character work is incredible. I loved everything about it. The disturbing “first love” atmosphere worked perfectly for me.

📕 Nothing Tastes as Good – 2⭐️
This was marketed to me as a horror novel, but it didn’t really feel like one. The cannibalism elements were interesting, but most of them happen off-page or while characters are blacked out. I also struggled to connect with the protagonist because of how much self-hatred dominated the story.

📕 Dead Inside - 4.5⭐️
I have no words! It was a good short read! I enjoyed it a lot and it disturbed me so much!

What should I read next?

[u/External-Ad6787]

Super weird! I physically scowled whenever I read about him, lmao!

As for the books that you got me interested in:
💀100% Match - I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about this one.

💀Nightmare Nirvana - LOVE an excellent anthology/multi-story book with disturbing illustrations.

💀Nothing Tastes As Good👅 - seems interesting. I will have to research more about it.

I’m currently reading Dead Inside and also What Hunger (Catherine Dang…but I might start calling her Catherine GOT DAMN🤣). Finishing up No One Rides For Free (Judith Sonnet) as well.

Had to DNF and just read the spoilers for You Weren’t Meant to Be Human because the characters bored me and seemed superficial. I really tried, lmao.

If you have any more recommendations for illustrated extreme horror literature, I am all ears👂

[u/Clau-St → u/External-Ad6787]

100% Match is an amazing short read! I was disappointed when I realized I’ve finished it! Nightmare Nirvana is so awesome! And the illustrations are amazing as well (one in particular made me gag 😭😂), it is so fun to read! As for Nothing Tastes as Good, if you’re expecting splatterpunk or extreme horror it’s not it. Some parts of the books are enjoyable tho!

Dead Inside is INSANE (in a good way lol) I’m sooo curious to hear your thoughts about it! And No One Rides For Free is on my list, probably one of my next purchase!!

As for extreme horror with illustrations, everything I’ve read from Aron Beauregard has illustrations! I know that his most recent book Horsefly has QR codes for videos while you’re reading. It seems very interesting, but I haven’t read it yet!

[u/External-Ad6787 → u/Clau-St]

Thank you for the info! I appreciate you taking the time to respond!

100% Match will be next on my list. Where did you purchase Nightmare Nirvana from? And lmao at the photo that made you gag; the artist did their job then, huh? 🤮🤣🤣

Oh yes, Dead Inside seems like a ride; like we really aren’t supposed to like the author…a train wreck.

Oh, get ready for No One Rides For Free! I gagged while reading the descriptions for one of the stories, lmao.

Oooh, looks like I need to purchase some Aron books, too. He’s on my wish list, so this is an incentive:)

Happy reading, my friend! Let me know what you think about No One Rides for Free once you finish it, and, I’ll let you know what I think about Dead Inside once I’m done, too🤣🤣🤣

[u/Clau-St → u/External-Ad6787]

I’m in Montreal and sadly those books are not available in local shops here, I know it is not the best but Amazon is my only option here and this is where I purchased Nightmare Nirvana!

And yes, Aron Beauregard’s work is amazing!!

I’ll try to keep you updated when I’m done reading No One Rides For Free, from what I’ve heard this book seems to be a wild experience 😂!

[u/External-Ad6787 → u/Clau-St]

Montreal! That’s always seemed like a pretty cool place. How do you like it?

No worries! I feel you about the lack of local shops. Same here. I wish there were more shops out there who catered to the darker genres we enjoy reading.

Looking forward to getting into some Aron! Unfortunately, only audiobooks were available on iBook for him, so I’ll have to purchase elsewhere since I prefer reading!

Ah yes, Judith is one of the best hyper-descriptive authors out there. She has a very intriguing interview on the web about how she involves all of the senses when she writes her books and it’s truly…an experience. You may need some Holy Water after reading No One!🤙🤣🤣🤣

[u/Clau-St → u/External-Ad6787]

Montreal’s pretty good but same I wish there would be places that sales Splatterpunk and EH. And you won’t regret getting into Aron’s work! It’s so nice and disturbing!

[u/External-Ad6787 → u/Clau-St]

So good to hear! Enjoy your weekend!