Cirque Du Freak / The Saga of Darren Shan
Written by Darren Shan
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Vampires

This is my absolute favorite book series from my childhood. I just realized that since the first one came out in 2000, it's older than most of the people who have neocities websites! I ordered the first book out of a Scholastic Book Order, and as we speak (mid-2024) I am re-reading the series along with my husband, because I wanted to share how much I love this series with him! The story follows a boy named Darren Shan (the Gary-Stu of the author) on an adventure with vampires. That's like... the most basic description, but it gets really wild as the series goes on. There was a movie made (LOOSELY) based off the first book, but us fans would like to pretend it doesn't exist. Maybe one day someone will adapt it into a very loyal-to-the-book TV series instead.

You
Written by Caroline Kepnes
Genre: Thriller, Romance, Comedy

Am I allowed to say that this series is a romance? I mean, in the mind of the main character, Joe Goldberg, he's a very romantic dude! Either way, this series is about him, being a completely unhinged stalker, who causes chaos and ruin wherever he goes (sometimes on purpose). I also love that this was written by a woman. This series is so damn funny to me, and it is so much better than the TV series. I got into the books because of the first season though. I liked the concept but hated the execution, so checked out the book to see how awful it was, and it turned out to be so much better! A fourth one came out in 2023 and I haven't read it yet, but I'm so excited to when I get some time!

Full Brutal
Written by Kristopher Triana
Genre: Splatterpunk, Horror, Crime

This is like, the opposite of You, in a sense that this book was written by a man, but is from the perspective of a psychopathic and violent teenage girl... And I am living for this book! I normally hate men writing from a woman's perspective, especially when there's sex involved. But this book was so unhinged, and thankfully I don't feel like the author was taking himself (or this story) too seriously when he wrote it, so it seems fun and not weird and sexist. Is it okay to say that about a book where a girl commits HORRIBLE acts of violence and assualt on numerous people? I dunno, either way. What a wild ride!

Exquisite Corpse
Written by Poppy Z. Brite
Genre: Splatterpunk, LGBT, Horror

I think this was the first splatterpunk novel I've ever read. It took me three tries to finally get through it, because it kept making me sick. I haven't read it since, but I really feel like I should, because I remember loving it once I finally finished! The plot follows a fictional version of Dennis Nilsen and Jeffrey Dahmer meet and wreak havoc together as cannibal, rapist, serial killers across New Orleans. It is INTENSE and written so beautifully (? as beautifully as a book on these horrible topics can be).