Surviving Summer, Goth Style: The Goth’s Guide to Summer is the answer to every goth’s cry for relief from the heat

 

 

The Goth's Guide to Summer: A Seasonal Survival Manual for Creatures of the Night

Lauren Cole

Independently Published, 2025

ISBN-13: 979-8287759711  

Ebook, 176 ppg.

Buy link

 

 

Finally! Someone who gets us!

 

The thing about summer is that EVERYBODY thinks that everybody else loves summer. Not me. Nope. I love the coast and I love the beach, yes, but only to visit and explore, not to swim at or go surfing or all of the other water activities people like to participate in when it’s insanely hot outside. I am not a water activities or water sports person. I went rafting once and that was good enough for me!

 

But I’m just not into summer and all the summer-related activities that goes with it. I once had to make a video where I talked about what I liked best about summer, and in that video, I said, “The thing I like best about summer is when it ends.” I like autumn and winter. Those are my seasons. Even though I am a morning person, the sun is not my friend. And Lauren Cole seems to totally understand this in her book, The Goth's Guide to Summer: A Seasonal Survival Manual for Creatures of the Night.

 

Before I read this book, I didn’t know that the same Seasonal Affective Disorder that people get in the winter has a summer counterpart. I don’t get sad during the summer; I just prefer NOT to be out in it. At least, not until the sun has gone down. Maybe I am this way because of the burn scars I have on my face and arm; they can’t be exposed to too much sun. 

 

I’m glad there’s a chapter on how to keep the beloved goth clothing in play during the summer. I am not goth, but I often wear all-black. It’s just what I prefer, and that can be a problem in the summer. “The eternal struggle of gothic fashion in summer is very real: black clothes vs. blazing sun.” Ain’t this the truth! There was a day this summer I had to accompany my son to a school supply event. It was 98 degrees and what was I wearing? Black sweats and a black T-shirt! And I lived to tell the tale. But it’s not easy wearing our beloved all-black wardrobe during the scorching summer months. Ask my sister-in-law! When she was friends with the person who later became her wife, she wore all-black no matter what the temperature was. And in the desert, that temperature gets high! There was a day I was running late to pick her and my sister up from school and they were both out there, sweltering in the heat. They were NOT happy!  But this chapter gives some good tips on how to wear black in the summer. I was especially interested in the section of the chapter titled “How to Wear Black Without Dying of Heatstroke.” Good stuff here, although I don’t like wearing dresses or skirts. At least it includes alternative choices of clothing. They are helpful choices too. As it says, “Dress like a haunted wind chime, not a sweaty coffin.” 

 

I also loved how the author shared links on where to buy gothic paraphernalia. 

 

The chapters on goth music and movies were good, but my favorite was the chapter on recommended books. Why, yes, I would rather read all summer. (And I have! LOL) I found many books on this list of 100 books to add to my TBR! I echo the recommendation of My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones. It’s a good book!

 

I also liked the part of a chapter that suggested some night-time activities when it’s not so hot. I would also suggest night fishing. I know some people who do this and I’m interested in trying it sometime!

 

I also recommend reading this book — but definitely before summer. Don’t make my mistake and read it during the last month of the summer, or else you’ll miss out on some great tips to beat the heat! 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An Ancient Banshee Scorned: Blood Point is an Irish Folk Horror Novel of Ancient Evil and Modern-Day Possession

 

Blood Point

Alexander Lane

Hi3NichiNari, 2025

Ebook, 438 ppg. 

ISBN: 978-1-7395830-4-0

Ebook, 438 ppg.

Buy link

 

Blood Point by Alexander Lane is an Irish ghost story of how an ancient evil terrorizes a group of tourists visiting there for the summer Solstice. Given the mystical elements at work at this time of year, it’s no surprise that a supernatural force long ago destroyed could be resurrected, even by accident. People who are not familiar with the history of ancient landmarks would see something that is “cool” without realizing that it could harbor ancient spirits not to be toyed with.

 

The story starts slow but it eventually picks up and once that happens, it’s hard to stop reading! I didn’t like the slow start, but I did appreciate how readers are given a chance to get to know the main characters better.

 

The backstory is told in strong detail and I was very fascinated by it. The backstory was more interesting than the main story, but I still kept reading both. Readers are encouraged to read the backstory, because it contains important information to know about things that happen later in the story.

 

The way this story is told, with the main characters, is that they are each telling their side of the story. This is good because it fills in a lot of blanks, but it does take a while to go through everything. But even so, their stories are told in so much detail and with bits of other character’s actions that they are pretty much accurate about.

 

I could totally understand Holly’s fascination with the pyramid, and I did love her idea of having a picnic at the pyramid when celebrating Midsummer Night. I mean, it’s one interesting way to pass the occasion! But little do they know what evil lurks within that pyramid, which of course some of them decide to explore.

 

As we dive further into the stories of the women who were murdered in the past, this female reader can certainly understand the anger and rage of these murdered women who were crushed under the heel of men. As Holly writes in her journal:

 

“These three women, they’re in me and around me. Beautiful Norig with her eyes full of stars, her skin like living, polished wood and I can touch her like she’s real, tracing the whorls and grain on her face with my fingers. Whorls. Marguerite told me to use that word. I thought Norig would be hard, like a tree, but she’s soft and warm like me, but with that raw Sídhe power flowing around inside her. It makes me tingle and then I remember where it came from. My poor French boy. Then there’s bloody, naked Eitigh, bruised and scratched from her final journey, the tracks of tears forever cutting through the grime on her cheeks. I’d love to wipe it away, put a bit of colour in her cheeks and eyes, see the girl who seduced a king. And black-lipped Marguerite, her chin cracked and scalded, eyes burning with a cold fury. She’s clever and educated, but all she had to look forward to was children and letting men make choices for her. Her pompous father and those arrogant brothers! No wonder she listened to Norig.” (Ppg. 279-80)

 

When these women tried to obtain power, they were accused of witchcraft and murdered by men. When they performed actions which other men felt were wrong, they were also accused of witchcraft by men and murdered by men. At the time both murders happened, women had no say, no rights and no kind of equality at all. Men had power over them and they used that power to either keep them subordinate or silence them.

 

It’s a terrible reminder of the horrors women faced in those days and how important it was for the women’s movement to happen so that women would have rights. So, the symbolism of a woman freeing an abused, murdered and wronged woman from long ago was a beautiful aspect in this story.

 

And what happens in the climax of the story is amazing! There is so much that is explained and shared in this part of the story. It brings all of the preceding events full circle and everything just falls into place.

 

The whole story is absolutely amazing. Yes, it starts off slow, but it is so worth it to hang in there for the rest of the story. The pace picks up eventually and it’s hard to stop reading as so many things happen!

 

Blood Point is a beautiful yet terrifying story of Irish folklore and ancient magic. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys reading Irish stories as well as stories of ancient magic and long-ago tales. It is a thrilling and scintillating story of the quest for power and vengeance. A story told from the POVs of the major characters, it draws readers in and keeps them turning the pages as the drama intensifies, the horrors take hold, and the quest for answers leads to a magical and otherworldly showdown.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Dream Mystery Solvers are on the Case!: Don't Call Them Cute is a spooky and captivating tale of betrayal and revenge

 

Don’t Call Them Cute

Banunu and Yennie Fer

Independently Published, 2025

Ebook, 225 ppg.

ISBN: 9798293365821

Buy link 

 

 

NOTE: This review is based on an ARC I received from the authors. This book is scheduled for release in November.

 

 

***Thank you to authors Yennie Fer and Banunu for this digital Advanced Reader’s Copy! This review is voluntary, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.***

 

Weird dads! Weird dreams! Blueberry muffins!

 

No, it’s not the world turned upside down. It’s the middle grade horror novel Don’t Call Them Cute by Banunu and Yennie Fer. In this novel, a group of four kids who are trying to make sense of a lot of strange dreams that keep happening, and which seem to be connected to two people in the group.

 

Emile Carter begins to have weird dreams on the night she receives a stuffed lamb as a gift. Is the lamb cursed? A tool used by aliens?

 

Only her best friend, Mary, also 10 and a budding detective who devours mystery novels, would be able to crack the case. But Mary has dark secrets of her own, which could tear her world apart if her friends knew all about them.

 

Then there’s Logan, age 9 and the only boy in the group (who, according to Mary, is not really a boy) and the one who has a crush on Emile. But Logan remains in the friendzone, and he’s still happy to be included in the group all the same.

 

Then there is Lucy, the 12-year-old practical and prim member of the group who is actually (gasp!) normal. Lucy seems to be more mature than her friends, but probably because she is the oldest of the group.

 

Together, this group of best friends decide to form a mystery solving club to get to the bottom of Emile’s strange dreams. Because they seem different from most “normal” kids, they are often bullied, but they stand together to fight off anyone who tries to tear them down.

 

Emile is the daughter of the school principal, and while her dad often tries to remind her that she should get her act together because she has to set an example (for real??), Emile is more interested in getting her own phone. Her FIRST phone, to be exact.

 

But the weird dreams keep happening, and after Emile is hurt in one of them, she and her friends realize that this is serious business. More serious than getting a phone.

 

Together, the friends investigate this mystery to try and find out why these dreams are happening, and if the lamb stuffy is connected!

 

Children are often faced with horrible circumstances that are much bigger than them and too terrifying to understand, but with her friends at her side, Emile finds a way to make sense of the scary situation she is in and find a way to get out of it alive!

 

Don’t Call Them Cute is a heartwarming story of friendship, family, and what it takes to be brave. This story will offer teachable moments to young readers and open the lines for discussion with their parents. A story that could be enjoyed by readers young and old, it provides an entertaining mystery and a good dose of suspense that will keep readers hooked until the very end.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Thank you to authors Yennie Fer and Banunu for this digital advanced reader’s copy! Reviews are totally voluntary. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.