The Troop ★★★★★
Written by Nick Cutter
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller, Body Horror

Oh my gosh! I loved this book! Another thing that WORMED its way into my brain. I shouldn't say that, but honestly, if you've read the book, you get the joke... This is another body horror, but less unrealistic than "Helpmeet". I could actually see this happening. I liked that the author included random news stories, advertisements, and medical statements between the story chapters. It helped it seem more real. For some reason I felt like I was reading Jurrasic Park if it were about parasites. The boys (the characters were all scouts) were all intriguing as well!

Maeve Fly ★★☆☆☆
Written by C.J. Leade
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Character Study

I expected so much more from this book. I read that it was like "American Psycho" but the female version, and now that I've read it I can see what they meant. I mean, Patrick Bateman was both arrogant and fucking stupid. Highly annoying. But somehow he was still entertaining and funny. Maeve was not as entertaining as Patrick. She was just kind of pathetic and annoying. A California girl obsessed with Halloween and Disney... And she's cooler and so much more different than oThEr GiRlS because she has SEX with Johnny Depp... *sigh* I don't know if the author intended for her to be so annoying, but she was. And somehow I still found myself rooting for her to have a happy ending and she couldn't even do that right either!

Hollow Coin ★★★★☆
Written by S.T. Cartledge
Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller

I don't honestly know what this was, but I really enjoyed it, whatever it was. I know that's not saying much, but I have a hard time describing this book... It's surreal and in my head played out like a very brightly colored, European indie film (something like Bigbug or Delicatessen). Anwyays, it was enjoyable! I wish there was more!

Penpal ★★★★☆
Written by Dathan Auerbach
Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery

Admittedly, I half-read this one, half-listened to this one via CreepCast on YouTube, so I don't know if this really counts as a book I read, but... Technically I did? Either way, I got the story, and wow for a creepy pasta, I was so spooked by it! In a good way! The twist and ending left my jaw hanging open! I mean... This wasn't about anything supernatural, so there's a chance that something like this could happen in real life. Totally fucked up, and a super short story!

The Spire In The Woods ★★★★☆
Written by Tony Lunedi
Genre: Supernatural, Horror, Coming of Age

Since I was on a roll with creepy pastas, I decided to check this one out after reading suggestions on Reddit. This was actually pretty eerie and captivating. It was supernatural, so not very realistic, but the "coming of age" portion was, and made me both like and dislike the main character at the same time. It wasn't as good as Penpal (or Borrasca, which I read later on), but it was still enjoyable!

Strange Sally Diamond ★★★★☆
Written by Liz Nugent
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

I don't even know why I got into this book or why I read it. I picked it up, starting reading about this "Strange Sally Diamond" and I couldn't put it down. She's clearly got some form of autism or just extreme trauma due to her history, and that part was a wild ride!! It's like reading a true crime story in fictional book form. I kept thinking the story was going to go in different directions than it did though, and the ending was chilling... but I did like Sally.

Borrasca ★★★★★
Written by C.K. Walker
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Social Commentary

It's a shame that Penpal, Spire in the Woods, and Borrasca are my first three "Creepypasta" stories, because honestly, after this, it just goes a bit downhill from here. I really liked the build up and the characterization of the three kids in this story. I also really loved the location and the inclusion of mines. Usually anything with mines in it makes something 10 times more scary to me. The fact that this one turned out to not be supernatural, but one of the "humans are the real monsters" story was also a good twist. I know a lot of people didn't like the addition to the story that C.K. wrote, but I think it was nice. I wanted there to be more to the story!

The Left Right Game ★★★☆☆
Written by Jack Anderson Northman
Genre: Supernatural, Mystery, Horror

Not to say that this one wasn't good, it just wasn't my favorite out of the Creepypastas I've read recently. The premise was pretty cool, but I couldn't get into the characters, I didn't like the narrator at all, and the ending (or what happens to Alice) was uh... Interesting to say the least. I guess I just wanted more out of this one? Again, I liked it, it just didn't hit me as hard as Penpal, Spire in the Woods, or Borrasca did.

Sour Candy ★★★☆☆
Written by Kealan Patrick Burke
Genre: Supernatural, Horror, Mystery

Alright, so this was a weird-ass story. I already don't like kids, so the idea of a demonic, parasitic child that latches itself onto you and makes you eat nothing but candy and you can't escape it sounds awful. This book was maybe 70-something pages, so it was super short and a fun little read, but nothing fantastic.

Drencrom ★☆☆☆☆
Written by Hamelin Bird
Genre: Supernatural, Psychadelic, Horror

I honestly don't know what the hell this was. A girl gets hooked on adrenochrome and it like... turns her into a poop monster? Or a poop monster comes after her? I honestly can't even be bothered to remember. I really did not like this book at all and I have no idea why so many people are giving it positive reviews. Maybe they're on adrenochrome too.

Red Station ★★★☆☆
Written by Kenzie Jennings
Genre: Splatterpunk, Horror, Western

Okay, so I decided to give Kenzie Jennings another try since the last book I read by her, Reception, just did not do it for me. I hated the ending, and the characters were frustrating as well. However, this one was different! A gore-filled western thriller with some twists and turns. The characters were cooler, as was the imagery (I guess I'm just a western-horror fan!), and I really did like the ending to this one.

With Teeth ★★★★☆
Written by Brian Keene
Genre: Horror, Vampires, Southern

So the premise of this book was hillbilly vampires. I mean, basically. The main group of guys are adults who decide to try their hands at cooking meth, because they're all low-income and need some extra cash. They decide to go out into the woods because there are some caves they can cook in, but encounter cave-dwelling vampires while they're out there. It's like... The Descent meets Breaking Bad, but set in Wests Virginia. Oh! And the ending was really good too! It surprised me, but I really enjoyed it.

Invisible Monsters ★★★★☆
Written by Chuck Palahniuk
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Comedy

What a fun book! I haven't read any Chuck Palahniuk in years, and I had never read this one even though I've been seeing it around for decades. This was like if someone mixed To Wong Foo With Love and some body horror and an episode of Bridezillas, you'd get this. I really like Brandi Alexander more than I thought I would, and even the main character, despite how cunty she was.

The Couple in the Photo ★★★☆☆
Written by Helen Cooper
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime

My coworker gave me this book to see if I could figure out the "whodunit" in this book. I figured it out within like... 3 chapters. It was pretty obvious, and the main character was pretty infuriating, so that's why I didn't give it that good of a rating.

Gone to See the River Man ★★★★☆
Written by Kristopher Triana
Genre: Horror, Splatterpunk, Supernatural

I've been wanting to read more Triana since I fell in love with Full Brutal. I figured this would be the best to go with, since it's spooky season, and I wasn't let down! Although, I really was not expecting the plot to go the way it did, just by reading the summary. Most men cannot write women in this genre without over-sexualizing them and making it downright disgusting to read. And despite how awful his female characters are (morally black for the most part), I really think he does a good job? They seem like real people, relatable, but also despicable. And not overly fetishized. Good job! Anyways, the book was gross and scary, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Along the River of Flesh ★★★☆☆
Written by Kristopher Triana
Genre: Horror, Splatterpunk, Supernatural

Well... alright then! I didn't like this one as much as the first, but it is a direct sequel to the first, so it picks up pretty much right where that one left off. The main characters in this are just as despicable as the woman in the last one, and there's an Old Boy-level twist waiting somewhere around the bend towards the end. I'm just glad Keith gets his in the end. I really hated that character!

Prettiest Girl in the Grave ★★★★☆
Written by Kristopher Triana
Genre: Horror, Splatterpunk, Supernatural

Another fun, spooky, Halloween book by Kristopher Triana! Admittedly, I liked this one better than I liked Gone to See the River Man and its sequel. Again, he proves that he can write female characters and make them seem like real people, with real personalities and problems, even though they may be shitty on the inside, or some crazy shit is going on around them. Anyways, I thought the game that was played in the book was a bit confusing, but I loved the location and the "vibes" as the kids would say. Also, the main characters, they were really cool!

We Used to Live Here ★★☆☆☆
Written by Marcus Kliewer
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Supernatural

The last book of the year. I figured this one would be really good since I'd seen so many Instagram reels talking about how "scary" it was... But like, two chapters in, I could definitely tell that this was a Creepypasta originally and I do not mean that in a good way. It was actually really stupid, and the plot didn't go anywhere. No questions were answered, and the main woman was so fucking dumb I couldn't believe it. I would not recommend this book at all. There are way better published Creepypastas out there (see basically all the other ones I read this year).