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08/02/2025 Danielle's Dark Corners: Cocktails, and Cults, and Exploding Bears! Oh My!

  • Writer: Danielle Yvonne
    Danielle Yvonne
  • Aug 2
  • 5 min read

I can't believe it's already August! Time to begin gearing up for spooky season, and I have some fabulous recommendations and reviews to get you started! First, I take on a recipe book full of some amazing drinks called COCKTAILS FROM THE CRYPT: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films by Jonathan DeHaan and Kimberley Elizabeth. Then I dive into THE HANDS OF ONAN by Chris DiLeo. Lastly, things start to get a little unhinged with EXPLODING BEARS: A SAVAGE COMEDY by Frank J. Edler.


Hope you enjoy!



COCKTAILS FROM THE CRYPT: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films

By Jonathan DeHaan and Kimberley Elizabeth


The cover is black with purple elements all over it. There's a skull, a martini glass, a cross, a phone, a knife, and a dainty border around the entire thing. It has the title and author in the light purple and black font to match everything else, and that is: COCKTAILS FROM THE CRYPT: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films by Jonathan DeHaan and Kimberley Elizabeth
The cover is black with purple elements all over it. There's a skull, a martini glass, a cross, a phone, a knife, and a dainty border around the entire thing. It has the title and author in the light purple and black font to match everything else, and that is: COCKTAILS FROM THE CRYPT: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films by Jonathan DeHaan and Kimberley Elizabeth

This is my first time reviewing something like this, so please bear with me. This is one I am REALLY excited to show some love to this bad boy! COCKTAILS FROM THE CRYPT offers 60 cocktail recipes meticulously paired with iconic horror movies for the ultimate spine-chilling movie night, get together, or just anytime you feel like making a great drink.


The cover is gorgeous. This would make a great gift or display for your own home. The interior is equally impressive. The recipes are easy to follow, the images make them look absolutely delectable, and this is the first time that I am saying that I truly recommend going all in and grabbing the hardcover. It's very much worth it!


I also love the fun trivia that goes along with each movie. The movie selection is great, too. There's a nice mix of both modern and classics. It really is more than just a recipe book of cocktails; this book is a whole vibe.


Oh, and one of the best parts?! It offers substitutes, etc., so that you can make mocktails if alcohol isn't for you! And the substitutes are GOOD! They really thought of EVERYTHING when it came to this book!


I love the synopsis on this book, so I am going to throw that in here too:


What’s Your Favorite Scary Cocktail?

Curate the ultimate horror movie night with 60 chilling cocktails that are sure to sate even the most bloodthirsty killers. Nightmare on Film Street co-hosts Kimberley Elizabeth and Jonathan DeHaan have carefully crafted each hair-raising recipe to pair with the most iconic movies the genre has to offer. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of classic frights, love to indulge in the madness of B-movie magic, or delight at the thrills of modern masterpieces, this collection has all the liquid courage you need to brave the terrors that await you.


Grab it on Amazon now: https://a.co/d/dNy4VBe



THE HANDS OF ONAN

By Chris DiLeo


This cover has a black background with a light gray set of praying hands at the bottom. It has the title at the top in big red letters (THE HANDS OF ONAN) and the author's name in a smaller white font. (Chris DiLeo)
This cover has a black background with a light gray set of praying hands at the bottom. It has the title at the top in big red letters (THE HANDS OF ONAN) and the author's name in a smaller white font. (Chris DiLeo)

“What matters is simply this: I’m a masturbator, and it almost killed me. ‘When thou take thyself in hand, be thou dutiful yet aware for danger lurks everywhere.’ So reads The First Letter of Mike to the Masturbators.”


Welp, I am officially willing to admit that I’m a hardcore fangirl of DiLeo after this. I was a huge fan after reading his doorstopper of a novel, Revival Road, which was a whopping 700 pages. So, I was super curious how he was going to do a story that sits at 118 pages. And ha, he NAILED IT!!!


This story was WILD. When I began reading it, I was like… well, okay, we’re gonna go hard with the masturbation in this gem. Nope. I mean, yes, but it’s also so much more than that. The first sentence alone had me in an instant chokehold because I knew it was going to be one hell of a ride… and I was right… the first sentence I’m speaking of is simply:


“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN a masturbator.”


So anyway, hear me out. You have an addiction to masturbating. You’re also an author and have writer's block. Well, your friend, who is also addicted to masturbating, reads a book and is like “I’m leaving my entire family and going to join a cult,” and the wife is like… Umm… so she sends you, his friend, to go find him and bring him back. Decently easy mission, right? WRONG!!!


This one gets an easy five stars from me. I loved it. I love the way DiLeo can tell a story, no matter the length. This one was phenomenal, and I highly recommend it. It’s available on Godless and Amazon. Links available below.




EXPLODING BEARS: A SAVAGE COMEDY

By Frank J. Edler


The cover features a brown and black variegated background with a bear on its back legs growling. It has what appears to be guts flying out of its stomach. The title, EXPLODING BEARS: A SAVAGE COMEDY, is cleverly placed in red font over a yellow construction sign with the author's name, Frank J Edler, in white font at the bottom.
The cover features a brown and black variegated background with a bear on its back legs growling. It has what appears to be guts flying out of its stomach. The title, EXPLODING BEARS: A SAVAGE COMEDY, is cleverly placed in red font over a yellow construction sign with the author's name, Frank J Edler, in white font at the bottom.

“Sea World has Shamu. The whole point of going to see Shamu is to get drenched when the orca belly-flops into his tank. Well, when you went to Wyld Louie’s, you expected to be impaled with exploding bear parts.”


Edler is quickly becoming a fast fav author for me. His sense of humor and wittiness are top-tier. I love a good horror comedy, and I love some good savagery, and as the title says, this one is savage as ever. 


So, lol. This is actually a hard one to review because it really is that unhinged, and I don’t want to ruin the plot completely. It gives Tiger King vibes in the best way possible, and the MMC gives Joe Exotic vibes (Haha). There was a shroom scene in this story that made me question if I was the one doing drugs, and as random as that sounds… I love when an author can pull that off. 


While there are exploding bears and some other very odd animal stuff going on, I really do recommend this book to everyone. It has a bunch of gag worthy moments, so beware of that, otherwise just go for the ride and enjoy what chaos ensues!!


The book is available on both Godless and Amazon... and totally gets an infinite number of chuckles and stars! 


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