Hello Dear readers, I read 8 out of the 11 books on my TBR last month. I will move 3 books over to February.  This month I lowered the total TBR to 10 books. I will probably not get to all of them since it is a short month, but I have started passing over all my unread books from last month’s TBR to the next month’s TBR. Which has been a huge success. I have now read all the books I had on my 10 before the end list.  I read 4 books I did not get to last year I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise, which were all great.

The three books I moved over are The Moonlight Mile, Ghost Eaters, and Platform Decay. 

I’m reading mostly horror this month, but I have other genres as well. 1 mystery, 1 historical fiction, 1 science fiction, and 7 horror books. 

Last month I took a break from going to book signings, I did still order 2 signed books though. Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is on my TBR for this month, and I ordered The Final Score by Don Winslow signed but it has yet to arrive. 

This month I’m attending Authorcon VI Scares that Care. It is going to be an epic 150 Author Horror Convention. I have 21 books so far for signatures, which I’ll do a post about. But on this TBR I’m reading 4 authors who will be at the convention, Clay McLeod Chapman, Jennifer McMahon, James Kaine, and Todd Keisling.

ARC Books:

Dollface by Lindy Ryan is marketed as Barbie meets Scream with 90s nostalgia. A horror author moves into the suburbs of New Jersey, and hopes to fit in with PTA moms. But a plastic face-masked serial killer is slashing through the town and the group. This book had me at Barbie meets Scream, I’m very intrigued. Dollface is to be published on February 24, 2026, by St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books

Kin by Tayari Jones is about Vernice and Annie, two motherless daughters raised in Honeysuckle, Louisiana have been best friends and neighbors since they can remember. They grow up living separate lives. Vernice goes to the historic Black women’s private college, Spellman College. Annie spends adulthood trying to track down the mother that abandoned her. Kin is written by the same author of An American Marriage. The book is getting a lot of early buzz. It has a perfect score on Netgalley after 372 ratings. Kin is to be published on February 24, 2026, by Knopf     

Platform Decay by Martha Wells is Murderbot book 8. Murderbot is one of the handful of series I have kept up with. The series is cozy science fiction and I love it. Platform Decay will have Murderbot leading a rescue mission which requires him to spend time with human children. I love this series, and have only had one disappointing read. I’m reading Platform Decay early thanks to Netgalley and Tor Publishing / Tor Books. Platform Decay is to be published on May 5, 2026, by Tor Publishing / Tor Books.

Library Book:

Carrie by Stephen King is the first published novel from King. Carrie will be a re-read for me. I think it has been close to twenty years since I have read it. I have been trying to read King’s backlog since I started my Blog Readingwithmyeyes 6 years ago. I have read 16 so far. Another reason for me reading Carrie in particular is I have an ARC for Monsters in the Archives by Caroline Bicks who is a King biographer and given exclusive access to early drafts for the first time. The book covers five works from Stephen King with Carrie being one of them. Carrie is about a lonely teenage girl coming into womanhood and telekinetic powers. She was bullied at school and at home by her uber religious mother.  Carrie has internal power the town will see once it is unleashed. Carrie was first published on April 5, 1974.

Owned Books Physical and Digital:

Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is book number 23 in the Pendergast series. I have read various books in the series through the years, but what a rare opportunity to start at the beginning with the newest book in the series. Penergast: The Beginning leads right into Relic, the first book in the series, one I have read before, but looking forward to the re-read. Pendergast: Beginning starts with a young Pendergast who investigates ritualistic killings in Mississippi. I don’t want to know too much, but I am excited. I did order a signed copy from Poisoned Pen books in Arizona. Pendergast: The Beginning was first published on January 27, 2026, by Grand Central Publishing.

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane is the sixth and final book in the Kenzie and Gennaro detective series. In this book they return to their most famous case from the book Gone, Baby Gone. Amanda McReady, age 4, was kidnapped and returned. The case almost broke up the partnership with the choices they made. Now 12 years later they are back in Amanda’s life as she goes missing again. Moonlight Mile is a reread for me. Moonlight Mile was first published on November 2, 2010, by William Morrow. 

Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman is about Erin who is grieving the death of a reckless ex-boyfriend, Silas. He asked her to bail him out of rehab days before he was found dead. Grief and regret get her to turn to a new drug called Ghost. The drug allows users to see the dead but the drug has some side effects. Clay McLeod Chapman was my find of last year. I’m trying to go through his backlog before meeting him at Authorcon VI. Ghost Eaters was first published on September 20, 2022 by Quirk Books.

The Sundowner’s Dance by Todd Keisling is a cosmic horror about an older man grief stricken over the passing of his wife. He moves to a retirement community in the Poconos. He ignores the block parties, the strange noises in the night. He just wants peace but the chairman of the activities committee seems obsessed with him partaking. One neighbor comes to him at night in a panic with a warning. The neighbors blame it on dementia. But something is strange. I have read some of Keisling’s short stories but never a novel. The Sundowner’s Dance was a Bram Stoker’s Award Finalist. The Sundowner’s Dance was first published on April 22, 2025, by Shortwave Publishing.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon is a mystery horror about a Sara Shea who died in 1908 in a field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter. In present day Ruthie lives in the farm house currently with her mother and little sister Alice. Alice goes missing in the night and Ruthie finds Sara’s old journal beneath the floorboards. Ruthie sees similarities between the past and the present, can she stop what is happening before it is too late. I have never read Jennifer McMahon. I did pick up a copy a while ago but apparently forgot about it. The Winter People was nominated for Goodreads Choice Award for Horror in 2014. The Winter People was first published on February 11, 2014 by Doubleday.  

My Pet Werewolf by James Kaine is my monster of the month pick. I’m trying to read a Werewolf novel every month for the year of 2026. My Pet Werewolf is about Brady Benett who blames himself for his fathers hunting accident that killed him. It brought his cruel stepdad into the picture which he fears and worries for him and his twin sister. Brady flees into the woods to escape a bully’s attack only to see his bully ripped to shreds by a wolf that turns into a man. The man doesn’t want the curse or to kill. Brady makes a deal to help him but the wolf has to do something for him first. This sounds like a gory revenge horror that I love. My Pet Werewolf was first published on September 26, 2023 by Horror House Publishing.