Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Summerween is here and Brian McAuley is releasing a crazy fun little slasher for all my twisted girlies!
When ghosts from her past threaten to destroy her, Hannah agrees (begrudgingly) to take a trip with her friends to a wellness retreat out in the wilds of Joshua Tree. She hopes this trip will help her cope with the loss of her fiancé even despite the culty vibes Guru Pax gives off. When Hannah finally begins seeing a little hope for the future her friends start disappearing.
This definitely felt like an ode to slashers of the past with some meta notes taken from Scream and serious twists & turns ala Friday the 13th. The FMC is absolutely as frustrating as many of the famous scream queens while still having the strength to keep herself alive. The cast of side characters are all given vivid depictions and so much personality they practically jump off the page. Many of them are meant to be caricatures of LA stereotypes, and as someone who lived in SoCal for a few years, the depictions were spot on and hilarious.
The setting was perfect for the story. Joshua Tree where many wellness retreats are popping up to cater to the overworked and overwhelmed SoCal elites, yet so vast a retreat can be completely isolated from the rest of the world.
While there were a few little pacing issues at the beginning and at some points the FMC was a little too frustrating for my taste, I had so much fun reading this! It’s great for a fun read while on vacation, which is exactly where I read it! If you like slashers and don’t mind some depictions of gore, this might be for you!
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the latest book by Brian McAuley, Breathe in Bleed Out, Hannah has let her friends talk her into attending a New Age retreat. She's grieving the loss of her boyfriend, Ben, after a mysterious trip in the mountains. Hannah has never revealed what happened on the mountain to the detriment of her sanity. Her mental health and her career are suffering because she's drowning in grief. She's ready for a fresh start, but the relaxing retreat doesn't go as expected when attendees start dying.
I enjoyed this book, but I didn't understand some of the references. When I understood one, I immediately thought of the Captain America meme. That's not on the author, of course. Maybe I'm old. I thought it was a great read, and the book had a thrilling plot. I've always liked Christopher Pike-style slasher/horror books, and Brian McAuley wrote a book that reminded me of them.
I'm not a fan of most movie adaptations, as the film versions are often a pale comparison. However, I could see this in film form. The author presented Hannah's friends as typical horror movie character tropes. But the character chapters interspersed throughout the book added depth to the story and revealed more about the characters. That's the benefit of a book. The author can tell us so much more than a film.
Hannah's grief and guilt were very much at the center of the story despite the slasher storyline. She had pushed away her friends and busied herself with work and abuse of prescription drugs, and had to learn to move on and live her life. She desperately wants to be okay again, but it's hard to heal with a killer on your tail! Is Ben punishing her? Or is she punishing herself?
The ending felt rushed, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I had so many theories, but I was wrong on every one; the author certainly kept me guessing throughout the book!
Even if the character decisions are stupid, that's what happens in slasher flicks. I'd recommend this book to horror fans or even fans of the old Christopher Pike books.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved this!!
There's nothing I love more than slasher movies and this book was the true embodiment of them. I had so much fun reading it.. It was campy and gory and with an absolutely killer setting..
Hannah is struggling after the tragic death of her boyfriend. Unable to move on, still haunted by his memory, she has isolated herself from her friends and is close to losing her job. But then her best friend offers her to come on a trip with her and rest of their friend group. A trip to the middle of nowhere, to a healing retreat. She reluctantly agrees. The retreat is slowly starting to work, but then her friends start disappearing and a killer lurks in the shadows. Or is it just another hallucination?
Slasher movies will forever be my guilty pleasure, I loved watching them and I've clearly been missing out by not reading them too, because this is everything I didn't know I needed. Scream movies are my absolute favourite and this book gave me all the feels they did, which is honestly the highest compliment I can give to this book. It absolutely deliver!!
I'm not going to give any details, don't want to spoil anything by mistake, but I didn't see the killer coming. I just love when I get something wrong, makes the reveal so much more impactful.
It was a dark and fast paced read, full of tension with imperfect characters I either loved or hated. The killings were the perfect amount of terrifying, I do wish they were a little longer though, and I loved all the subtle messages that were delivered throughout the book.
The setting was the best part, so ominous, and if I'm being honest, this spiritual stuff is really not my thing, so for me this was a horror book before the killings even started..
The author's note at the end was perfect, I loved how he told us all the inspiration behind the book. This is the first book I read by this author, but it will not be my last. I loved his writing style.
*Thank you to Netgalley and to Poison Pen Press for providing me with an ARC.*
There's nothing I love more than slasher movies and this book was the true embodiment of them. I had so much fun reading it.. It was campy and gory and with an absolutely killer setting..
Hannah is struggling after the tragic death of her boyfriend. Unable to move on, still haunted by his memory, she has isolated herself from her friends and is close to losing her job. But then her best friend offers her to come on a trip with her and rest of their friend group. A trip to the middle of nowhere, to a healing retreat. She reluctantly agrees. The retreat is slowly starting to work, but then her friends start disappearing and a killer lurks in the shadows. Or is it just another hallucination?
Slasher movies will forever be my guilty pleasure, I loved watching them and I've clearly been missing out by not reading them too, because this is everything I didn't know I needed. Scream movies are my absolute favourite and this book gave me all the feels they did, which is honestly the highest compliment I can give to this book. It absolutely deliver!!
I'm not going to give any details, don't want to spoil anything by mistake, but I didn't see the killer coming. I just love when I get something wrong, makes the reveal so much more impactful.
It was a dark and fast paced read, full of tension with imperfect characters I either loved or hated. The killings were the perfect amount of terrifying, I do wish they were a little longer though, and I loved all the subtle messages that were delivered throughout the book.
The setting was the best part, so ominous, and if I'm being honest, this spiritual stuff is really not my thing, so for me this was a horror book before the killings even started..
The author's note at the end was perfect, I loved how he told us all the inspiration behind the book. This is the first book I read by this author, but it will not be my last. I loved his writing style.
*Thank you to Netgalley and to Poison Pen Press for providing me with an ARC.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Breath in, Bleed out was a bloody good time! It was full of classic slasher energy and kept me guessing on who was behind the mask the whole time. The characters might have all been a little insufferable, but that's kinda the point of slasher characters. I was here for fun murder time, and that was what was delivered. There were also several lines/characters that genuinely sent me (shout out to the Marine with a Punisher tattoo who only read one Punisher comic thinking about you, bestie). I had a really fun time reading this, and there was fabulous final girl energy.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You know that song Machinehead? The way I kept singing the title of the book to the tune of that song, 🎶 breathe in, bleed out 🎶 Just, over and over and over. I’m a bit relieved to be done with this book so I can stop that particular earworm from gnawing at my brain.
Anyway, onto the review itself. I know the author intended for this to be like if you were reading a B movie slasher film. And I think it really does read that way. Where it all falls apart for me is the characters, all of them. Except Kimi, she’s my bitch forever and ever, the only likable one. Also kind of…the plot?
For the characters I just hated them and for a slasher that’s fine, you kind of almost want that because you’re not really connected to them. Their purpose is to die, but damn they were another level of insufferable. I even kinda wanted our MC to die, I did not like her. The plot was mostly okay when it was about the slashing but when it tried to go any deeper than that it just didn’t work for me. Hannah was tortured by her past which was honestly a bit of a letdown, with the way she was acting I thought she was straight up lying about what happened with Ben. Tess was a cliche and in love with her straight friend. A tech company turned down new software stating it was unethical. Sure, Jan. And I didn’t guess the killer, it’s true, but it was such a letdown.
Overall, it’s a story that’s fine for what it is and honestly that’s on me for searching for deeper meaning in a slasher story. The kills (once they started happening at like 30% in) were super fun and exactly what I wanted so it’s not all bad news.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
Anyway, onto the review itself. I know the author intended for this to be like if you were reading a B movie slasher film. And I think it really does read that way. Where it all falls apart for me is the characters, all of them. Except Kimi, she’s my bitch forever and ever, the only likable one. Also kind of…the plot?
For the characters I just hated them and for a slasher that’s fine, you kind of almost want that because you’re not really connected to them. Their purpose is to die, but damn they were another level of insufferable. I even kinda wanted our MC to die, I did not like her. The plot was mostly okay when it was about the slashing but when it tried to go any deeper than that it just didn’t work for me. Hannah was tortured by her past which was honestly a bit of a letdown, with the way she was acting I thought she was straight up lying about what happened with Ben. Tess was a cliche and in love with her straight friend. A tech company turned down new software stating it was unethical. Sure, Jan. And I didn’t guess the killer, it’s true, but it was such a letdown.
Overall, it’s a story that’s fine for what it is and honestly that’s on me for searching for deeper meaning in a slasher story. The kills (once they started happening at like 30% in) were super fun and exactly what I wanted so it’s not all bad news.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TL;DR: Very fun with some unique deaths.
Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!!
Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!!
Plot: Hannah is trying to recover after the death of her fiancé and agrees to go on a ‘wellness retreat’. All is not well.
Characters: A cast of somewhat tropey characters but not the worst. I enjoyed hating some of these guys.
Setting: This felt unique as they were out in the desert all alone, a first for me.
Thriller/Horror: There wasn’t much as far as thrills here but the horror and kills were fun!
Characters: A cast of somewhat tropey characters but not the worst. I enjoyed hating some of these guys.
Setting: This felt unique as they were out in the desert all alone, a first for me.
Thriller/Horror: There wasn’t much as far as thrills here but the horror and kills were fun!
Thoughts:
Okay, so listen. This isn’t my usual genre. Slashers like this aren’t my go too but occasionally I like to mix it up! This was available and I thought, why not? And it was fun! It really was! Hannah is deep in the throes of grief over the deeply traumatic loss of her fiancé when she agrees to go on a wellness retreat with her friends. Things start great! But no one gets any… wellness there.
The characters are your usual cast. We have a real annoying blonde, her fratboy style boyfriend, the boy who always loved Hannah, her best friend, and Hannah herself. In addition to that we have the suspicious Guru Pax and his assistant Kimi. The small cast works great and each death we saw was fun and honestly pretty fitting. I liked seeing them coming and I enjoyed the consistency of the kills.
I do think there were a few plot threads that were left hanging and some things we could have had explained out more but if you’re looking for a short fun time, this is it. There are red herrings, fun chase scenes, the whole thing! I had fun, and if you go in looking just for that, you will too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Grief, Murder
dark
Definitely a thrilling page turner that you can get through in an afternoon. Unfortunately there are some plot holes throughout and elements of the book feel a little lacking.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, and this review is my own. I read this as part of Camp NetGalley. I think this just wasn’t for me. I generally enjoy horror novels, but I gravitate toward psychological horror rather than the slasher genre. Hannah lost her fiancé in a tragic accident, and she goes to a healing retreat with her friends to try to move past his death and her guilt. Her friends start getting picked off, one by one. The ending felt rushed.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this book for Camp NetGalley because it had all the elements I usually love, and I was hoping for a fun and quick read. Unfortunately, it didn’t really work for me.
The story felt quite predictable, and I struggled to connect with the characters, I didn’t really care what happened to them, which made it hard to stay engaged. The ending, in particular, didn’t land for me. It felt a bit forced, with plot twists piled on top of each other just to be unpredictable. I also would have liked more background on Hannah’s relationship with Ben.
That said, I can definitely see why others might enjoy it. The setting was well done, the serial killer vibes were intriguing, and the writing style was easy to get through.
The story felt quite predictable, and I struggled to connect with the characters, I didn’t really care what happened to them, which made it hard to stay engaged. The ending, in particular, didn’t land for me. It felt a bit forced, with plot twists piled on top of each other just to be unpredictable. I also would have liked more background on Hannah’s relationship with Ben.
That said, I can definitely see why others might enjoy it. The setting was well done, the serial killer vibes were intriguing, and the writing style was easy to get through.
This book couldn’t have come at a better time for me as I’ve begun doing yoga again. THIS is how you do a fun, campy, gory slasher book! I will definitely be reading more of this authors work, his humor style is perfect for me and the plot was so fast paced and the kills were chilling. Brings a whole new meaning to shavasana, corpse pose.
I really loved the psychological aspect to this book too. You really couldn’t tell what was real or imagined by the main character in certain scenes which added to the intrigue and spookiness. Read this if you like slasher movies, essential oils, messed up local legends, and making fun of pretentious Cali yogis.
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I really loved the psychological aspect to this book too. You really couldn’t tell what was real or imagined by the main character in certain scenes which added to the intrigue and spookiness. Read this if you like slasher movies, essential oils, messed up local legends, and making fun of pretentious Cali yogis.
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use
Minor: Suicidal thoughts