Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo is the author of Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Mission, Poems of My Night, Into the Forest and All the Way Through, and multiple short stories and poems.
Her Wicked Roots (2025) Tanya Pell "Tanya Pell's Her Wicked Roots is a winding, creeping ivy, a nighttime garden bursting and blossoming with rich texture and dark, sinister bouquets. Beautiful flowers can, however, be deadly. A richly Gothic and lush retelling."
Salt Bones (2025) Jennifer Givhan "A riveting family, folklore, and detective story. Jennifer Givhan is an immense talent and Salt Bones is an intense and powerful Latina and indigenous tale full of magic and mystery in search of justice."
When the Wolf Comes Home (2025) Nat Cassidy "How can you outrun something that will never stop? Nat Cassidy gives us a werewolf novel that transcends horror, in which fear is not as simple as a hulking monster lurking in the shadows, but something much more complex. A thrilling journey through the darkness."
Their Monstrous Hearts (2025) Yiğit Turhan "Their Monstrous Hearts is a beautiful, yet haunting, story of memories, generations, and sparkling mysteries. The beautiful prose poses important questions of connection throughout one's life, and the ghosts that hover over us. And like the beating of delicate butterfly wings, one will be transfixed by the mystery that unravels masterfully. There is magic in Turhan's words."
Senseless (2025) Ronald Malfi "Ronald Malfi's Senseless is a stunning, yet grim, puzzle box to solve. Each twist and turn of captivating prose draws us closer to a mesmerizing conclusion. An absolutely exquisite horror thriller."
Coup De Grace (2024) Sofia Ajram "An ever-expanding labyrinthine nightmare. A maze of memory. A kaleidoscope of caverns and chambers, peering deep into our movements of wake and sleep, guilt and regret and purpose. Coup de Grace is one of the most unique, yet terrifying stories I have ever read, a terror so infinite I feel completely changed having read it."
All the Hearts You Eat (2024) Hailey Piper "All the Hearts You Eat is a secret spell, a starless sky, the chambers of a heart and the depths of sorrow. Hailey Piper grips us in this gorgeous yet tragic death poem and life poem, in which we're struck with the utter heartbreak of how when we are starved of friendship, love, and care we are turned into a monster. As beautiful as the sea and as unsettling as its destructive waves."
This Wretched Valley (2024) Jenny Kiefer "[This Wretched Valley is] horror that challenges our perceptions and understanding of the physical world, and that distorts our reality, [with] all of the elements I look for in horror - folklore, an environment that is a character itself, and characters trying to understand and survive through a horrific situation."
The Daughters of Block Island (2023) Christa Carmen "With its lush and exquisite language, Christa Carmen's The Daughters of Block Island honors and explores the great gothic novels of the past, but here the rules are rewritten. Be prepared to find yourself in White Hall's spider's web."
Black River Orchard (2023) Chuck Wendig "Enchanting, exquisite and dark, Chuck Wendig masterfully weaves a new horrifying fairy tale in Black River Orchard."
Linghun (2023) Ai Jiang "A somber but beautiful story about grief and the pain of memory. The ghosts stay with us long after Ai Jiang's Linghun is over, but they remind us of the gift we have that is to be alive."
The Spite House (2023) Johnny Compton "Johnny Compton's The Spite House is the modern Gothic story full of dread we've all been waiting for. This strange house, perched on a hill and full of terrifying sounds and shadows that come out at night, will steal a part of you and never give it back."
Sister, Maiden, Monster (2023) Lucy A Snyder "Synder weaves a feminist body-, cosmic-, and science fiction-apocalyptic fever dream. Sister, Maiden, Monster is beautiful, brutal, and grotesque."
The Girl Who Outgrew the World (2022) Zoje Stage "I could feel my heart beat gold, my eyes fill with stars, and birds flutter from my mouth as I read this heart-tugging modern fairy tale. In The Girl Who Outgrew the World Zoje Stage spins an enchanting modern parable in which all we hope is to be accepted as our very unique selves in this world."
Dance Among the Flames (2022) Tori Eldridge "Fueled by the power of a warrior goddess, DANCE AMONG THE FLAMES is a rich story of sacrifice and strength. It's full of spirit, magic and the energy of the gods."
