top 7 of 2025! a ghoulish countdown!

# 7 - old soul by susan barker

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

old soul gives me the same feeling of an expansive, frightening world that spans decades and continents that my #1 favorite novel of the year did (no spoilers!). i love time-hopping, jet-setting horror! the lore in this story is fascinating, it’s like discovering a pile of essays on a topic you wish you never found out about. i enjoyed the many tales of possession, all the connections and mysteries to make as the novel unfolds.

# 6 - brother by ania ahlborn

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

i had never read ania ahlborn before and wasn’t sure what to expect from her, but brother surprised me in all the best ways. i think it has mixed-to-positive reviews, but as a longtime lover of horror, i loved the twists on the slasher genre and the look into a severely fucked-up murder family. the story took me for a ride, the setting was beautifully oppressive southern heat all the way through, the relationships and romance moved me because i love seeing people against impossible odds. if you wish texas chainsaw massacre had a little more melodrama, check it out!

# 5 - bat eater and other names for cora zeng by kylie lee baker

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

this book had me in a grip! it’s nasty, it’s gag-inducing, it’s real about how humans can be awful. i am not the biggest fan of ghost stories, but these ghosts are truly menacing, and more interesting than the typical tales we see in american media. this one is a brutal read from the first chapter and certain parts of it are still seared in my brain. hungry ghosts and crime scene cleanup contributed to a uniquely disturbing and satisfying emotional arc with the main character and her dearly departed sister.