Hello dear readers,
Before I get started on my TBR, I just had a notification that I’m celebrating 8 years on WordPress. Just a heartfelt thanks to all the viewers and everyone I’ve had a conversation with here. I love books and people who love books.
I was able to read 8 out of the 10 books on my June TBR. My July TBR is going to be all over the place. I have some exciting new ARCs, a library book I’ve been dying to read, and I’m going to three book signings this month. I’ll also be trying Kindle Unlimited during the three-month trial, so if you have any recommendations, let me know.
I’m putting 10 books on this month’s TBR and carrying over the two books I didn’t get to in June: Headlights by C.J. Leede and The Children by Melissa Albert.
Videos
I also started releasing video reviews of the books I’ve been reading. Thank you to everyone who has watched them and given me feedback. I recently posted my Mid-Year Freak Out Tag, where I answer questions about my favorite books of the year so far and the books I’m hoping to read during the second half of the year.
I think that video captures my enthusiasm and passion for reading better than any I’ve made so far, so if you have some time, I’d really appreciate you checking it out.
Book Signings
My first signing is a dual event with Mallory Arnold and Paul Tremblay. Paul Tremblay is an author I’ve read twice so far with The Cabin at the End of the World and Horror Movie, with Cabin being a five-star read for me. I’ve also read his short story in The End of the World as We Know It: Stephen King’s The Stand Anthology, along with his essay in Why I Love Horror. I’ll be bringing five books for him to sign.
Mallory Arnold is an author I haven’t read yet, so I put How to Survive a Horror Story, her debut novel, on this month’s TBR. The signing celebrates their newest releases: Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold, releasing July 14, and Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay, releasing June 30.
My second signing is a trip to Chicago for Christopher Golden’s Carry Me to My Grave tour, where he’ll be joined by Christina Henry, S.A. Barnes, Jonathan Janz, Daniel Kraus, Maurice Broaddus, Nick Medina, and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
I’ve read books by nearly everyone attending. The only authors I haven’t read novels from are Nick Medina and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., though both contributed stories to Never Whistle at Night, so I’ll be reading those before the event. If I get ahead on my reading, I also have an ARC of Nick Medina’s upcoming novel Savage Lake, which releases in October.
I plan on buying Carry Me to My Grave releasesJuly 21 and The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus, which was released on June 23.
My final signing is the biggest of the month: Gen Con. It’s primarily a gaming convention, but there are also plenty of books and authors attending.
The authors I’m most excited to meet are Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Scott Lynch, Justina Ireland, Elizabeth Bear, M.L. Wang, Tim Waggoner, Brian Keene, and Kwame Mbalia. I’m also hoping to discover some new authors while I’m there.
Matt Dinniman, author of Dungeon Crawler Carl, will also be attending, but his signing sold out before I realized the free signings required advance registration. If he has signed copies available for purchase, I’ll probably pick one up. I haven’t read the series yet, but everyone tells me I’ll love it once I do.
I’m hoping to take plenty of pictures, collect some great stories, and meet a lot of new authors.
Library Book
Best Offer Wins by Marisha Kashino is a thriller about bad decisions.A woman desperately trying to buy a home keeps getting outbid. After learning about a house that will be listed in a month, she decides the best strategy is to lightly stalk the owners and become their friends, reasoning that friends wouldn’t reject her offer. I’ve heard this book becomes completely unhinged while remaining darkly funny. I’m really looking forward to it.
ARC’s
You’ll Be Sorry by Lisa Gardner is a standalone thriller about newlyweds who purchase a secluded mountain home. Their dream house quickly becomes a nightmare when a stray dog uncovers a body buried on the property. They soon discover why the house remained unsold for so long: the previous owners, a family of six, vanished without a trace. Can they trust their neighbors, or anyone in the town? Grand Central Publishing kindly provided me with an ARC. I love thrillers that lean into horror, and this sounds exactly like that. It’ll also be my first Lisa Gardner novel, so let me know where I should go next.
You’ll Be Sorry — July 9, 2026, by Grand Central Publishing.
Event Horizon: Dark Descent by Christian Ward is a graphic novel prequel to the 1997 cult classic film Event Horizon, starring Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill.I loved the movie the first time I watched it, so I jumped at the chance to read this ARC. This story follows the ship’s original voyage before the events of the film. If you know what happened aboard the Event Horizon, this should be terrifying.
Event Horizon: Dark Descent — July 28, 2026, by IDW Dark.
The Children by Melissa Albert has one of my favorite premises of the year. The children of a famous fantasy author grew up practically feral in the woods despite their mother’s bestselling success. Now Guinevere is writing a memoir about her unusual childhood, but returning home makes her question whether her mother’s stories were really fiction.This fantasy horror novel was selected as a Goodreads Most Anticipated Book of the Summer and a Good Morning America Book Club pick. I received my ARC from William Morrow through NetGalley.
The Children — June 2, 2026, by William Morrow.
Headlights by C.J. Leede follows an FBI agent on his final day before retirement. Before he can turn in his badge, he receives one final message: It’s happening again.He returns to Denver, the city he fled years earlier, where victims are found wearing the skin of strangers with human hair wrapped around their tongues. That premise alone sold me instantly.I received an advance copy directly from C.J. Leede when I met her at AuthorCon.
Headlights — June 9, 2026, by Tor Nightfire.
The Night Crew by Brad Ricks follows a man whose wife is murdered. Frustrated that the police aren’t making progress, he hunts the killer himself, only to discover the murderer is actually a vampire. Barely surviving the encounter, he is rescued by a vampire hunting crew and recruited into their ranks.This is the first book in a trilogy. I already have an ARC of book three, but I told the publisher I couldn’t start there, so they kindly sent me book one as well.
Owned Books
How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold follows a legendary horror author whose final will invites several horror writers to his mansion. Instead of money or unpublished manuscripts, they’re forced into a deadly game. I’ve heard it’s Saw meets a haunted house, which sounds like a perfect premise. Since I’ll be meeting Mallory Arnold this month, this felt like the perfect time to finally read her debut.
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is the first novel in the Dragonlance series and first book in the Chronicles trilogy. This book is special to me because I first discovered it in my seventh or eighth grade classroom. It was one of the gateway novels that helped make me a lifelong reader. Since I’ll be meeting both authors at Gen Con, I wanted to revisit it. I recently picked up the new special edition that contains the entire Chronicles trilogy.
Monster of the Month
Wolf Hunt by Jeff Strand is about a group of mob enforcers transporting a scrawny prisoner they’re warned never to interact with. What they aren’t told is that he’s actually a werewolf. Jeff Strand writes horror with equal parts gore and comedy. I’ve read this one before and loved it, so I’ll be revisiting it through Kindle Unlimited.
Wife’s Pick
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a book I’ve read before but never fully appreciated.At the time, I was a huge fan of Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, and I felt the similarities between the two were too strong. Years later, I’ve noticed how often newer books are compared to The Hunger Games, from Red Rising to countless other dystopian novels. I’m excited to revisit it with fresh eyes and see if my opinion changes. I rated it 3 stars 13 years ago. My wife has read all the books and it is one of her favorite series.
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