09/06/2025 - Danielle's Dark Corners

Happy Saturday! Excited to be back with three more amazing books to talk about. Let's skip the small talk and get right into it!

WEAVER

By Per Jacobsen

"Some people might call it poetic justice,"

I was a huge fan of 25 DAYS by Per Jacobsen, so when I got the arc for WEAVER, I couldn't wait to dive in. It's a decent sized novel and I read it in just two sittings. This book and the MMC were written perfectly. It features a cool interview style as well. And again, Eddie, the MMC, was done fantastically and will forever be a memorable character.

This book is what happens when you FAFO by being dishonest, and then the person decides to play their hand at karma. I was actually rooting for the "bad guy" in this story. The ending had such a fantastic twist that I did NOT see coming, which is always a 10/10 for me. It's quite transgressive and gritty, and I also really liked seeing from Jacobsen.

WEAVER will definitely make one of my top-read lists, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Synopsis:

TIME DIDN’T HEAL HIM. IT MADE HIM RUTHLESS.

Eight years ago, a vicious lie cost Eddie Weaver everything—his job, his friends, his family, his entire life. Branded a monster, he was left to rot alone.

Today, he returns to his hometown with nothing but a list of names—and a plan for revenge, eight years in the making.

Amazon: https://a.co/d/gb4Z9St

TIE THE IVY THROUGH MY RIBCAGE (AND LEAVE ME WITH EMPTIED LUNGS) 

By A.L. Davidson 

"He needed to find an anchor to keep him sane as he dove headfirst down the rabbit hole. He was Alice in a messed up Wonderland, as cliche as it was to admit, and he had no idea how he’d find his way out."

Wow. This book was beautiful. And absolutely horrifying at the same time. I have become a big fan of botanical horror over the last couple of years, and this book just climbed to my very favorite. I have no idea why this book isn't being discussed more. Just the title alone had me in a chokehold! It's one of the more unique books I have read. It's a collection of multiple short stories all woven into one larger overall story. (Trust me on this, lol)

TIE THE IVY THROUGH MY RIBCAGE (AND LEAVE ME WITH EMPTIED LUNGS) has a lot of body horror involved, eco body horror with explicit sexual scenes alongside some necrophilia and a bit of everything in between. And it's written BEAUTIFULLY. This was my first time reading something by Davidson. But it certainly will not be my last. While it is on the more extreme side... I am both confident and comfortable recommending it to essentially all horror readers, especially if you're looking for something a bit more unconventional.

Synopsis:

One unsuspecting Friday evening, deep in a city festering with darkness and sin, we meet a cast of twisted individuals tangled up in a wicked thicket of lies, greed, fame, and addiction. One by one they fall to their vices, succumbing to the most carnal, most primal of their instincts. All the while, a mysterious man with a rose tattoo lingers in the shadows, weaving together their stories with vines and thorns like a sadistic seamster while the city falls around them.

Tie The Ivy Through My Ribcage (And Leave Me With Emptied Lungs) is an M-rated novella-in-short-story collection that showcases the darker side of the human psyche. Focusing on how far one will go to achieve what they believe will make them happy—no matter what it may cost—while reveling in the depravity in a manner that will make your skin crawl, this deliciously devious series of stories will leave you unsettled in the best way. Each story focuses on a different soul and the actions, events, and downfalls that follow them, with connections that creep through the marrow like crawling roots, creating a sprawling, haunting portrait of corruption and chaos.

Godless: Tie The Ivy Through My Ribcage (And Leave Me With Emptied Lungs) by A. – Godless

BATSHIT

By Merrill David

"Now their lives are perfectly peachy. Meanwhile, my entire existence... is the pits."

I haven't read an unhinged story like this in a while!!! I forgot how much I enjoyed something quick and wild like this. As the title says, this story is indeed BATSHIT. Merrill David brings you through a descent into madness alongside some serious depravity. This is definitely another one of those FAFO stories, and once again, it's a 10/10 for me.

I really enjoyed the way David did the characters for this story. I often make note that I am awful at remembering characters, but this is one of those stories where you can remember all of them! The writing style was great. I binge read this in one sitting. It's the exact type of story that I go to Godless to find, especially when I want something ruthless and unhinged. Highly recommend to those who like the more extreme reads!!

Synopsis:

By all outward appearances, Rod Stargell is living the American dream. He has a well-paying Information Technology career working for one of the larger police departments around, he makes good money and owns a nice home which he shares with his lovely wife of seven years. Rod’s life seems perfectly peachy. 

In reality, most often the man is miserable. He hates his job and everyone there. Well, nearly everyone. The lone exception is ‘Crab,’ a diminutive dwarf janitor with abnormally developed middle parts of his hands, the webbing of his fingers looking a lot like lobster claws. So, although the men are very different in appearance, one commonality Crab and Rod share; their overwhelming disgust for their employers.

Rod’s saving grace is that safe haven he calls ‘HOME.’ That is, until the day he agrees to let his pesky in-laws stay awhile. Not realizing he’s been set up as the victim of some stupid prank for a hidden camera reality show, the family and some uninvited guests take total advantage of their host's hospitality. Even Rod’s wife seems to be on their side. Their trashy, scumbag antics are driving Rod mad, but when their slut friend ‘Pink’ moves in and turns his mancave into a whore-hut, it’s the final straw. 

Between his contempt for that workplace and the fact that he now feels like a prisoner in his own home, Rod senses a change brewing within his body. Plagued by subtle shifts in perception, his brain is being diluted with disturbing hallucinations, conjuring up abnormally violent and bizarre, sometimes outlandishly kinky thoughts. He’s suddenly walking a very fine line, a virtual tight rope on the edge of insanity. With the rope wearing thin, it's tattered, starting to uncoil, and about to SNAP!!! 

Will Rod just try to dodge the drama and elude the abuse as he always had in the past? Or, with the help of his crustacean friend, will they deliver vengeance on those wreaking havoc on his sanity, driving his steady descent into psychosis?

B A T S H I T

WARNING: This short story contains repulsive, graphic sexual situations as well as disturbing violence. Readers may find this material offensive. 

Godless: Batshit by Merrill David – Godless