08/16/2025 Danielle's Dark Corners
- Danielle Yvonne
- Aug 16
- 9 min read
Happy Saturday!! This week, I have five phenomenal books to rave about. All super different, and all five stars. Let's go ahead and dive in!
*Please note that this week, I decided to try something a little different and added the synopses to all the books since I tend to be overly vague at times out of fear of spoiling something, lol.
THE OBESE
By Jarred Martin
“Unto me give flesh, no muscle, no meat
When skin and bone and organ leave nothing left to eat
When guts are swaying empty, when hollow bowels entreat
When the thin man is satisfied, his desire is complete”
Okay, I am about to make a really bold claim here. If you liked MONSTRILIO by Gerardo Samano Cordova (it's one of my favorite books ever), then you will also really like THE OBESE. Is the premise even close to being the same? No, not at all. But, I don't know, there are similar vibes and a similar writing style. I really just need everyone to trust me on this, lol. Anyway, I LOVED this story SO much. I truly had no clue what I was getting myself into. Like always, I went in completely blind. Only had the cover to base things off of. I sort of assumed that I was going into a short gross-out. But, boy oh boy, I was very wrong. This is a full-length (almost 300 page) novel, and it's honestly brilliant.
Martin curated an incredibly unique story, and the characters were also fantastic. It went in directions I never would have seen coming and truly offers quite a lot of different horror elements, making it a great read for everyone, in my opinion. This is the first thing I have read by Martin, but it certainly won't be the last.
This book is available on both Godless and Amazon. You can grab it in the links below! ,
SYNOPSIS: Arthur and Rose can’t stop eating. They huff and puff climbing stairs. They sweat through their clothes. They break furniture. No matter what they try, they can’t lose any weight. They’ve reached the point where they’ll do anything to lose it. Absolutely Anything.
When a mysterious weight loss clinic guarantees results, it sounds too good to be true. After each visit they wake up twenty pounds lighter, but the strange thing is that they don’t remember how they lost it. Haunted by images indistinguishable from nightmares, they delve into the bizarre mysteries of the clinic.
When they learn the true source of their weight loss, each shocking discovery brings them closer to madness. Cast into a world of murder, grotesque body horror and twisted monstrosities, they find that they’ve lost the weight, but now they may lose their minds.
Prepare yourself for a smorgasbord of horror as you dig into…
THE OBESE!
Godless: The Obese by Jarred Martin – Godless
Amazon: https://a.co/d/cFf5O3J
HUNGRY COUNTRY
By R.J. Daly
“In these here parts, it’s all about balance. As long as you give a little back, each and every time you take somethin’, everythin’ works out for all involved. Now, if you can remember that, survivin’ out here should be a piece of cake!”
Every so often, a new release comes along that feels like exactly what the indie horror community needs… and this is one of those times. HUNGRY COUNTRY is a perfect showcase of the talent and storytelling this community has to offer. I’m a huge fan of Daly’s writing style. It’s honestly one of my favorites in the entire genre. His prose is both brutal and strangely beautiful, vivid without feeling overdone. He has a way of choosing the right words every time. I always enjoy anything he writes, so getting 200 pages of it was already a win in my book.
I mentioned the word brutal above, and this story is brutal. It's transgressive as hell in the best ways possible. The last 1/2 to 3/4 go super hard, and it's action packed until the very end. Oh, and the ending?! INCREDIBLE!! Daly also went really hard with the characters. There are a few I absolutely despise, and a couple I fell in love with. I have read well over 200 books so far this year, so remembering specific characters isn't my strong suit... but Daly curated unforgettable ones in this book. I obviously am a huge fan, and you will definitely be seeing HUNGRY COUNTRY on my top reads of 2025 list. It's available now and can be grabbed using the link below!
SYNOPSIS: LIVING OFF THE LAND IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE
Fed up with society, Mick Vance chose an off-grid lifestyle of freedom and satisfaction that conventional living seemed to lack. It took time, but he eventually carved a niche for himself, living off the land. That was until some new arrivals disrupted the existence he toiled tirelessly to create. Under threat, will Mick be able to stand his ground against a gang of skinheads, and is he willing to fight tooth and nail to protect his way of life?
Ricky Keys is a man consumed by hate. After committing a heinous crime, an opportunity arises for him and his crew of white supremacist thugs to lie low until the heat dies down. But that's only part of the plan. Despite the serenity of their countryside hideout, something feels off. How will Ricky and his crew adapt to their new surroundings, and can they resist the wicked influences woven into the very fabric of the old Conroy house?
Rudy and Aubry are an odd couple. Together, they run the only store in the ass-end of nowhere—a place well stocked with modern wares and strange curios. Aside from selling goods, they strive to maintain balance—a delicate equilibrium for all who inhabit the surrounding area. But how far will they go to preserve it?
WHEN THE BALANCE IS BROKEN AND BEASTS ARE UNLEASHED, HUNGRY COUNTRY SURE AIN’T NO PLACE FOR THE WEAK.
Warning: This book contains disturbing content. Reader discretion is advised.
Amazon: https://a.co/d/6rlPfQt
HAUNTED HEADS
By Connor McQueen
"Now he felt that they were shrunken down, two isolated molecules festering in the embers of that fire. Stuck inside their dying past and barreling full-speed-ahead into their dead future."
Wow. This one was a heavy hitter. I am truly stunned that more people haven't been talking about this book because it's REALLY freaking good. It is bleak as hell, and put me through the ringer emotionally, but I love it when an author possesses the ability to evoke those types of emotions.
There are a lot of relatability factors in the characters, who were done really well, and their development was fantastic. I am a huge fan of this type of writing style; it's something I intentionally seek out often.
I truly have nothing negative to say about HAUNTED HEADS or the way McQueen told this story, other than I wish we were talking about it more. I absolutely recommend this to all horror fans!! Grab it using the link below!
SYNOPSIS: Ian yearns for change. He hates his job teaching guitar and he has one foot out the door with his long-term girlfriend, April. As he clouds his mind with nostalgia, resentment, and regret, he begins to see a shadowy entity lurking in his periphery. It seems to follow him. The figure terrifies him and causes him to distance himself further from his normal life. When the lead singer of his former band, his old crush Steph, shows up in town, things only become more hectic. As the hauntings escalate, Ian begins to give in to temptation. He is forced to decide what is important in life, all while navigating the degradation of his sanity.
THE MEASURE OF SORROW: Stories
By J. Ashley Smith
WOW. This has been quite the year for collections. Yes, this book was published in 2023, but I am finally just getting to it. Anyway, what a hell of a story collection this is. It's HEAVY. It will hit you in all the feels. There's a beautiful sadness to the whole thing, but the stories themself are all very unique and different.
There's 10 stories here and the book is around 200 pages, so you get a really nice pacing and plot for each one, which is something I look for now in collections. After reading this, I can see why Ashley-Smith is an award-winning author. This is definitely an author whom I will be looking for more recommendations on. The writing style is fantastic. It would be so hard for me to take each of these stories one by one and still keep this review at a length people would actually read, so I'll leave you with a list of the ones that really caught my attention:
OLD GROWTH
THE MOTH TAPES
OUR LAST MEAL
THE BOON
THE MEASURE OF SORROW
This collection is available on Amazon and can be grabbed using the link below!
SYNOPSIS: Shirley Jackson Award-winning author J. Ashley-Smith' s first collection, The Measure of Sorrow, draws together ten new and previously acclaimed stories of dark speculative fiction. In these pages a black reef holds the secret to an interminable coastal limbo; a father struggles to relate to his estranged children in a post-bushfire wilderness; an artist records her last days in conversation with her unborn child; a brother and sister are abandoned to the manifestations of their uncle' s insanity; a suburban neighbourhood succumbs to an indescribable malaise; teenage ravers fall in with an eldritch crowd; a sensitive New Age guy commits a terminal act of passive-aggression; a plane crash opens the door to the Garden of Eden; the new boy in the village falls victim to a fatal ruse; and a husband's unexpressed grief is embodied in the shadows of a crumbling country barn. Intelligent and emotionally complex, the stories in The Measure of Sorrow elude easy classification, lifting the veil on the wonder and horror of a world just out of true.
Amazon: https://a.co/d/gRf1yUn
THIS IS HOW A VILLAIN IS MADE
by Amanda Headlee
"The path to survival sometimes follows a road of sin, and Beatrix Beaumont intended to survive by any means necessary--"
Presented by Uncomfortably Dark Horror
Amanda Headlee's THIS IS HOW A VILLAIN IS MADE is sure to deliver a satisfying read full of terror, feminine rage, and female empowerment.
This book was phenomenal, and I am definitely not just saying that because UDH is publishing it. Above there's a statement about how this book is full of terror, feminine rage, and female empowerment... and it is... there's a lot of it, but it's told in a completely different way than I usually find, and I am obsessed. It is poetic and beautifully written. It's brutal, but it's not written brutally... if that makes sense, lol. The character and the character development were a chef's kiss for me.
The ending was a giant "HELL YES." This is one of those stories that's super well-rounded and clearly well thought out and curated. It is one that I would recommend to all horror readers. The two early praise quotes below are spot on for how I also feel about the story, so don't take those lightly at all!
This novella will be available on Godless on August 21st. It will then be available on Amazon on September 4th. It is available for preorder using the link below. It is also available on NetGalley for those who are looking to be an ARC reader. It will be available on NetGalley until September 21st, which can also be found in the link below.
SYNOPSIS: Fleeing her father's cruelty, Beatrix Beaumont arrives in Yellow Creek City with little more than a name and a will to survive. When she lands work as a caretaker in the home of a respected town leader, it seems like a stroke of luck.
But the house holds dark secrets—and Bea is no longer free.
As she's drawn deeper into a twisted world of control and illusion, Bea must confront the shadows within and around her. To escape, she'll have to decide what she's willing to endure… and who she's willing to become.
EARLY PRAISE FOR THIS IS HOW A VILLAIN IS MADE!
"A fierce and gripping "Good for her" story. Headlee's characters are mesmerizing and have you holding your breath--and clutching your throat--until the very last page. I loved it." ---Sonora Taylor, award-winning author of Little Paranoias: Stories and Without Condition
"Amanda Headlee is one of the most insightful writers of her generation. This is How a Villain is Made is direct, brutal, and a masterclass in tension-filled storytelling. This book shows us that though we fear the villain, we should loathe the circumstances that made them." ---Somer Canon, author of You're Mine
Amazon: https://a.co/d/0pSmNDl
Comments