Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

OMG!!! This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the Publisher for sending me a copy of this book! I am a big fan of Megan Shepherds books so I was so excited to read this book. Unfortunately I was disappointed, I just felt like it was a little to hard for me to read!

interesting premise for a horror thriller that came across more as a fantasy read.
Didn't love Haven's character and the ending was left open so we will see what happens.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

A great thriller - I would recommend it!

I had the pleasure of reading Malice House, a gripping thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The author's skillful storytelling and ability to create tension and suspense had me hooked from the very first page. The characters were well-developed, each with their own secrets and motivations, adding depth to the plot. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a thrilling ride filled with suspense, mystery, and unexpected surprises. It's a must-read for fans of the genre!

Haven Marbury, a struggling artist, finds herself thrust into a whirlwind of terror upon inheriting her late father's eerie abode, aptly named Malice House. With its haunted reputation and the discovery of her father's unpublished manuscript, Bedtime Stories for Monsters, Haven's life takes a sinister turn as she delves into a world of spectral whispers and unexplainable horrors.

Megan Shepherd deftly crafts a narrative that grips you from the outset, blending elements of gothic horror and psychological suspense with masterful precision. Through Haven's eyes, we witness a descent into darkness as she navigates the labyrinthine corridors of her father's legacy, grappling with both external threats and the demons of her own past.

The novel's strength lies in its atmospheric richness, painting a vivid portrait of dread and foreboding. Shepherd's prose drips with palpable tension, each page resonating with an ominous energy that keeps you on edge until the final chilling revelation. However, like the creaking floorboards of Malice House itself, Malice House stumbles slightly in its execution. While the initial buildup is masterfully executed, the narrative loses some of its momentum in the latter stages, descending into a chaotic frenzy that may leave readers disoriented. Nevertheless, amidst the shadows and whispers, there are moments of brilliance that shine through.

Malice House is a haunting odyssey into the heart of fear, a testament to the enduring allure of the macabre. While it may falter in its final steps, the journey itself is a testament to Shepherd's talent for crafting tales that linger in the mind long after the last page is turned. If you dare to peer into the darkness, Malice House awaits, beckoning you to uncover its secrets...

Read this book if you like:
🫨 Psychological suspense
🗝️ Haunted houses
👹 Monsters that go bump in the night
👀 A story that sticks with you long after you have finished it

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the electronic advanced reader's copy to this spooky tale in exchange for an honest review!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Malice House by Megan Shepherd

Megan Shepherd, author, weaves a complex tale of dark magic and family secrets when a woman attempts to settle the estate of her father, a horror novelist.

Very spooky and intriguing at the same time. It was dark with many twists.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Megan Shepherd hooked me right from the start! I devoured this book and could not guess where it was headed. I enjoyed the characters and the fact that I could not figure out who the bad guy was until the last like 10% of the book. Malice House was full of twists and turns, as well as monsters and family horrors. A really fun and creepy story!

I enjoyed this quite a bit! It kept me guessing until the end and I like how it wrapped up. I am excited to pick up more by Megan!

4.5 stars

God, this book was so creepy, I loved it. It felt like a mix of its own story but had the creepy elements that The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher had. I will definitely be adding this to my favorite/reread shelf.

Also, HOW DID I NOT KNOW IT WAS GETTING A 2ND BOOK?! AND I HAVE SAID 2ND BOOK? AHHHH.

Clearing out her late father's remote seaside house, aspiring artist Haven Marbury stumbled upon something entirely unexpected: a manuscript titled "Bedtime Stories for Monsters." This secret handwritten collection stood in stark contrast to her father's Pulitzer-winning works. The stories it contained were a disturbing tapestry of interwoven short tales teeming with nightmarish creatures and enigmatic figures that seemed to straddle the boundary between this world and the next. These narratives had the power to unsettle, yet they also held an irresistible allure that practically compelled Haven to illustrate them. All of this transpired in the very house her father had cautioned her was haunted.

This book transcends conventional genre boundaries, blending elements of dark fantasy, horror, and gothic literature. The narrative is profoundly unsettling, and it kept me captivated, as I oscillated between contemplating the reality of the supernatural elements and reveling in the overall experience.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Genuinely spooky, liked this more than I anticipated. Not a big fan of monsters as a trope in books but this one hits all the right notes.

I was very excited for this one as I had read and enjoyed previous books from this author. Malice House had a very intriguing start but then it lost me.

Synopsis: The daughter of a world-renowned horror writer, Haven is tasked with cleaning out the house of her recently deceased father. The home, nicknamed Malice House by the locals, holds more secrets than Haven initially realized. Most shockingly, she discovers an unpublished manuscript from her father, which she knows would be a posthumous bestseller. But weird things begin happening in the town, almost as if her father’s nightmarish stories are coming to life.

A fun, twisty, dark read perfect for the fall season. Overall, the story was very enjoyable and moved at a good pace. Once the book picked up, it was full of twisty action that made it hard to put down. What I didn’t enjoy was how easily the characters were able to jump to obscure conclusions to advance the plot, and it honestly made me roll my eyes at times. But I enjoyed the story so much that I was able to move past that.

Overall, the author created a creepy story that I very much enjoyed! Thank you Hyperion and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! This book was released on October 4th so go check it out.

I really wanted to love this book. It just wasn't the story for me. I really didn't like Haven. I felt like some of the things she said and did were bizarre and didn't make sense. I also am not a huge fan of the supernatural/paranormal trope.

Very creepy tale, and very much looking forward to the sequel. Haven returns to her family home following the sudden death of her father. Her father is a well-known author, and she finds an unreleased manuscript. As she reads the unreleased manuscript, she realizes it is very different than her father's previous works. She plans to release the novel as a package deal with her own illustrations. However, when she starts drawing illustrations inspired by the novel strange things related to the story start to happen around her.

MALICE HOUSE was a fun read that delivered some thrills and chills, along with a whole bunch of mystery.

Something sinister lurks within the walls of Malice House, though Haven doesn’t know if it was her father’s dementia making him think that or if it was truly something else. It’s not until she stumbles across an unpublished manuscript that she discovers things about the town itself that just aren’t right. Her father had something of a cult following, and she has people salivating over the thought of getting their hands on this book. She decides to hold off on publishing until she can add her own touches through her artwork and illustrations, and that’s when things truly take a dark turn.

This book is whimsy mixed with the macabre, and it was truly a delight. I love the idea of art becoming reality and it was definitely the highlight of this book. I also loved the eeriness of the town and the general feeling of something being off, it really transferred off the pages and made me feel just as unsettled as Haven. I recently learned that there’s a sequel coming, and I will certainly be picking that up once it’s released.

All told, a mysterious and compulsive read that will draw readers in with its touches of magic and dark whimsy. I can’t wait to get my hands on book two. 4 stars.

*eARC received via NetGalley and the publisher.

Well written, dark mystery that incorporated gothic-type creepy bedtime stories. I wish this was illustrated just to see Haven's sketches!

I enjoyed this book and cannot wait to recommend to others. Thank you Netgalley for a copy to read and review!

Did ya miss me?

I started to shake this morning from book withdrawals. I went 3 days without reading and I literally felt my anxiety hit an all time high. The only cure was to spend the day reading.

I picked up Malice House and dove right in.

This is a slow burn with a lot of build up, once you get a few chapters in the secrets begin to unravel and you will be addicted to flipping the page. I absolutely adored Haven and found myself cheering for her through and through.

Megan Shepherd, once again, knocked this one out of the park. I heard this one is book 1 in a soon to be mini series and I am so excited for what is to come.

Fun Fact: Malice House is free on kindle unlimited and you don’t want to miss this one !

Teaser:

“One step away from our world lies another: a land of violent fantasies, of sharp-toothed delights. . . ."

Of all the things aspiring artist Haven Marbury expected to find while clearing out her late father's remote seaside house, Bedtime Stories for Monsters was not on the list. This secret handwritten manuscript is disturbingly different from his Pulitzer-winning works: its interweaving short stories crawl with horrific monsters and enigmatic humans that exist somewhere between this world and the next. The stories unsettle but also entice Haven, practically compelling her to illustrate them while she stays in the house that her father warned her was haunted. Clearly just dementia whispering in his ear . . . right?

Reeling from a failed marriage, Haven hopes an illustrated Bedtime Stories can be the lucrative posthumous father-daughter collaboration she desperately needs to jump-start her art career. However, everyone in the nearby vacation town wants a piece of the manuscript: her father's obsessive literary salon members, the Ink Drinkers; her mysterious yet charming neighbor, who has a tendency toward three a.m. bonfires; a young barista with a literary forgery business; and of course, whoever keeps trying to break into her house. But when a monstrous creature appears under Haven's bed right as grisly deaths are reported in the nearby woods, she must race to uncover dark, otherworldly family secrets—completely rewriting everything she ever knew about herself in the process.