03/21/2026 - Danielle's Dark Corners

Happy Saturday! Buckle up. Today I have four amazing books to tell you about! It’s going to get pretty lengthy, so let’s skip the intro and dive right in! Enjoy!

TOWHEAD

by Jason Nickey

“She took a deep breath and slowly approached the boy. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she said, clutching her cross necklace with her left hand and placing her right hand on the boy's forehead. ‘Heavenly father, I ask that you look over this poor child and protect him from the evils of this world. I ask that you deliver him from the evil forces that seem to have embraced him.’”

Well damn, Jason. You told me this book was going to mess me up, but I wasn’t expecting it to mess me up like this, lol. This story is creepy as hell! If creepy kids sketch you out? You need to read this asap. TOWHEAD is the exact writing style that I love from Nickey. It’s more of a psychological horror rather than the extreme horror that we all know and love from him. But his psychological stories, such as WRECKAGE, just take his writing to a whole new level and really highlight his strengths as an author. BADLANDS is a great example of this too.

TOWHEAD had me in an absolute chokehold from the very beginning. And I mean I literally had it on all my devices at the same time, oh and I have a physical copy that is FILLED with post-it notes. It’s suspenseful, has paranormal aspects, the psychological aspect that I said above, mystery in a way that keeps you guessing what the outcome is going to be—it really just has everything I could ever want in a book. He nailed every mark and the vibe, tone, prose, and overall storyline are incredible. I often tell Nickey that his writing reminds me of Eric LaRocca, and I stand by that. So, if you’re a fan of LaRocca, then definitely read Jason Nickey.

I cannot recommend this book enough. He really did something special with this one and I am really looking forward to seeing what comes next. So please add this to your TBR asap because I need to see this one get more love and be talked about more. It deserves every word of praise and every ounce of hype it receives. Truly.

SYNOPSIS:

The town of Bramble, West Virginia is shaken when a young blonde haired boy goes missing on Halloween night. The following day, another towheaded young boy is found catatonic in the woods. Who is this boy? Where did he come from? And why are residents of Bramble suddenly dying in mysterious ways?

The Towhead has emerged, and the town of Bramble will never be the same...

Amazon: https://a.co/d/0efU55sp

BITTER PETALS

by Candace Nola

BITTER PETALS by Candace Nola embodies the female rage that happens when you are absolutely tired of people’s shit. And I cannot think of a better collection to celebrate Women in Horror Month! BITTER PETALS features three short stories, so I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s go ahead and take them one by one with my favorite quotes that I believe embody the essence of each story. Just a quick note that FLORA AND VENUS is a story that is not new to me, but it sure as hell tried to take me out. Both the first and second time I read it. She goes really hard in that one, lol. And if you know me, it takes A LOT for me to almost tap out of a book!

WISHBONE

“This was soul-crushing, demeaning, joyless free labor chained to a man she had grown to loathe.”

FLORA AND VENUS

“Being a woman sucked some days, horny and bloody, can’t get none. Man not in the mood, can’t get none. Trying to get some but can’t tell the man how you want it because you’ll hurt his feelings, and his ego, just ends up pointless.”

“The lush greenery always calmed her. The bright greens and the delicate white and pinks of their budding blooms gleamed beneath the fairy lights she strung over the curtain rod.”

PENANCE

“His arrogance would be his downfall, much like many other predators before him. The narcissistic mindset always lent rare bravado to the ego. This afternoon, the man had made her skin crawl with the obscene way he had been stroking her palm.”

There isn’t much I can say about Nola that hasn’t already been said. She is an amazing author, and her stories are always a hit. There is a reason that this collection has been sitting in the top 3 on Godless since it was released.

Call me biased, that’s fine. But I am absolutely slapping five stars on BITTER PETALS, and I highly encourage everyone to grab a copy because I’m pretty sure it’ll be a five-star read for the majority.

SYNOPSIS:

New Collection from Splatterpunk Award Winning Author Candace Nola!

What happens when the delicate flowers have had enough? When the better halves are fed up? 

When beauty turns to rage and love turns to hate? When the sweetest petals turn bitter and cold?

Three stories of fed-up females, revenge and rage. 

Get BITTER PETALS on Godless now.

HAPPY SLAPPY

by Dan Shrader

"The costume wasn’t cheerful or bright like a clown’s should be. It looked scavenged and stitched together from scraps of fabric, a patchwork suit sewn from nightmares. The ruffled collar was stiff, and the red hair had been hardened into jagged spikes that glinted in the light. But it was the face that trapped him. The makeup was flawless. Too flawless. Beneath it all, the man’s smile seemed wrong and chillingly off. Almost carved there, as if meant to conceal something far worse beneath."

Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of clowns. At all. So, when Shrader told me about the story he was writing, I was a bit nervous. But fear not! Whether clowns are your thing or not, I am willing to wager that you will REALLY enjoy this story!

Shrader’s Godless releases tend to be a bit on the unhinged side, which is something I do love. But this story? He did something a bit different, and I am OBSESSED. The writing style definitely stays true to what you’re used to, but it also has a slightly different tone and brings in a few different elements. It’s transgressive, it’s a bit of a psychological mindf*ck, and it’s overall just a really good story that’s told really well.

Then that’s not forget that it says right in the description how HAPPY SLAPPY is part of the FULL NASTY universe, which can only mean a couple of things—and as much as I want to scream what that thing is from the rooftop, I simply cannot ruin the surprise for everyone… but I REALLY want to, lol.

HAPPY SLAPPY gives Clue vibes, which feels really random, but trust me, once you start reading, you will totally know what I mean when I say that. I do want to say a few more things about this one. It is less on the extreme side and more on the transgressive side, which I think will appeal to almost everyone. Yes, it is part of the FULL NASTY universe; however, it can be read as a standalone with zero prior knowledge of what FULL NASTY even is. Lastly is a pretty random compliment, but something I’ve been paying more attention to when reading—the formatting of the interior of books. HAPPY SLAPPY’S interior has so many cool elements and is formatted in a way that you know Shrader really put effort and careful thought into not only how the story was written, but how it looks too—and that’s something I don’t think authors get enough credit for, and that’s something I would like to change.

This book was released on Godless yesterday and I highly recommend everyone grab it. His next release, THE WORM TONGUE GOSPELS, is also up for preorder on Amazon and one that I HIGHLY encourage people to look into. I’ll link that at the bottom as well.

SYNOPSIS:

Six old friends return to the lake house where their lives changed forever.

The night was supposed to be a reunion of sorts. A few drinks. A few memories.

Instead, a clown shows up at the door.

He calls himself Slappy and he knows what they did in 1968.

Before morning, secrets will surface games will be played, and only one of them will walk away from this nightmare.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW!

A SAVAGE NOVELLA FROM DAN SHRADER'S FULL NASTY UNIVERSE.

Get HAPPY SLAPPY on Godless now!

Get the paperback on Amazon: https://a.co/d/09OISsj9

Pre-Order link for The Worm Tongue Gospels: https://a.co/d/0jgjQGWY

VAMPIRES II

Anthology presented by Kevin J. Kennedy

Whenever KJK puts out an anthology, I know it’s going to be jam-packed with some amazing authors and amazing stories. This one is no exception. The only exception is that there are twenty authors in this anthology. What does that mean for the review? It means that normally I would take each story one by one so no author/story is left out, but due to the length of this one, I will need to make a separate post to do that—and I do plan to do that, because every single story in this book is fantastic.

That being said, VAMPIRES II has now officially taken the spot for my favorite KJK curated anthology yet—and the funny part to me is that I'm not usually huge on vampire stories. But this one hits different. The variety of stories, prose, authors, and their takes on vampires are all very different and unique. Every story is a standout story. There are different time periods. Everything from World War II to the present time.

There is something for EVERY reader within this anthology. Whether you like quiet horror, something more extreme, slashers, happy endings, sad endings, this one has it all! I can’t think of a reader who wouldn’t enjoy AT LEAST half of the stories in this book.

As said above, I do plan on taking each story one by one in a separate review, but the lineup is too good not to at least share that. The table of contents looks like the following:

• What if? by Gareth Rees

• Jump Scare by Loki DeWitt

• The Last High Score by C. W. Stevenson

• Blood and Marshmallows by Mike Salt

• The Lucky Bride by William F. Gray

• Hers by Christina Bergling

• Beside Me Singing in the Wilderness by Michael Wehunt

• Blood and Bullion by Matt Norman

• Unforgiven by Graham Masterton & Karolina Mogielska

• The Elementals by Candace Nola

• Incident in a Drugstore Parking Lot by Lisa Morton

• Lullabies of Milk and Blood by Jason R Frei

• Vendetta by Dawn DeBraal

• Come One, Come All! See a Genuine Bloodsucker! by Viggy Parr Hampton

• Boys, You’re Welcome by Milan Kovačević

• The Vampýr’s Grave by C L Raven

• Just A Drop by James Yates

• Under the Hill by Bill Davidson

• Ferals by Brian Moreland

• Holiday in Capiz by Ryan Colley

If you haven’t read a KJK anthology before, READ THIS. If you have read a KJK anthology before, READ THIS. If you are on the fence, READ THIS. No matter how you lay it out, I recommend clearing your TBR and adding this one to the top. It really is incredible in ALL the ways.

SYNOPSIS:

Kevin J. Kennedy Presents Vampires II. It’s a brutal, strange, and beautifully varied collection of vampire tales from a wide range of voices. Spanning centuries, continents, and subgenres.

From war-torn Europe and WWII battlefields to southern backroads, abandoned arcades, isolated campsites, and post-apocalyptic highways, these stories explore vampires as monsters, predators, lovers, ghosts, weapons, and myths. You’ll find ancient Slavic spectres, elemental creatures hunted by their own kind, bat-like horrors that stalk the night, and old-world vampires clashing with modern survival. Revenge, addiction, secrecy, and sacrifice run through the collection, alongside moments of poetry, erotic danger, and raw human tragedy.

Some stories are intimate and unsettling; others are violent, fast, and unforgiving. Together, they form a blood-soaked journey through history and imagination, where survival is never guaranteed and the price of immortality is always steep.

Vampires II is a celebration of the vampire in all its forms—feral, elegant, monstrous, and unforgettable.

Amazon: https://a.co/d/02gmE2ip