Thank you to Del Rey for providing me with an e-ARC of Daphne & PRHAudio for providing me with a complimentary audiobook!

Did I have this weird feeling that Daphne was looming behind me while I listened to the audiobook? Yes. And I loved it. I think I needed Daphne in my life, especially during spooky season.

Daphne is a coming-of-age story that really dives into the characters of the girl's basketball team; typically I'd need more slashin' and less.. non-slashin', but I found myself so incredibly invested in these characters and their relationships. Especially our main character, Kit, whose anxiety representation is very relatable. For those who know the obsessive thoughts of anxiety, can you imagine how terrifying it would be to be put in a situation where thinking a thought could get you killed?! Cause that's what happens here -- the urban legend states that if you think about Daphne, Daphne will appear and kill you. You know who wouldn't survive? Me.

Oh! & the kill scenes? CHEF'S KISS. Love this book so much, it's officially my favorite Malerman read.

I loved this book so much more than I thought I would! I'm not an enormous horror fan -- I prefer psychological horror much more than gore -- but this book had a fantastic combination of both. This is actually the first time I've read anything by Josh Malerman, and now I intend to read everything he's written. I really appreciate how bold his voice is, and how much he is able to get you into the heads of the characters he creates.

I think anyone who enjoys horror or psychological thrillers will consider this a great read!

One of the best parts of any sleepover is scaring yourself. Whether it's with scary movies, games or just scary stories told amongst friends, there's no denying it's a fun way to pass the time. In the small town of Samhattan, when the girls basketball team gets together for a sleepover, one of the girls decides to tell the story of a local legend, Daphne.

Daphne attended their high school a few decades ago, around the same time as many of their parents actually. She was a 7-foot tall, social outcast, who wore Kiss makeup for no apparent reason and made a lot of people, children and adults alike, very uncomfortable. Legend has it that she died tragically, at the hands of classmates and ever since that time will haunt anyone who dares to think about her. Daphne allegedly appears and kills with her bare hands.

The concept is along the lines of Bloody Mary. We all know her, many of us fear her, but this is worse. With Bloody Mary, you have to be consciously summoning her, saying her name, doing certain things that are said to bring her forth. With Daphne, all you have to do is think about her though. Everyone knows that the more you try not to think about something, the more impossible it becomes. Thus, Daphne is now pretty much an inevitability for these teen girls.

Kit Lamb, one of the star players, has a really hard time not thinking about Daphne. As a matter of fact, she even asks the rim about her; a tradition the girls have. She asks the rim if Daphne will kill her. The ball goes in. I think you can all deduce what that means. Then it is a non-stop terror train of thoughts about Daphne for poor Kit. How can she possibly shut these thoughts off?

Will any of the girls basketball team survive knowing Daphne's story? Honestly, it's so awful. How could they not think about her after being told?

Daphne was a weirdly-fun and captivating story. Even though I wasn't crazy about some of the structural choices, it felt quite disjointed to me due to odd perspective shifts, overall, I really enjoyed it!

Truthfully, Malerman's work has been hit or miss for me; we have a 50/50 relationship. I was actually thinking this would be the last shot I was going to take. Regardless, I'm glad I took the chance as this story paid off. I really appreciated the exploration of anxiety through Kit's perspective and also enjoyed the whole idea behind this town and Daphne's legacy. The idea that it could collectively be blocked from the town memory, without anyone pushing for that to be so, was a really interesting concept.

That something so heinous and traumatic, a piece of history, could be swept under the rug, with everyone just pretending it didn't exist. That sounds pretty true to life, doesn't it?

The horror was fun. The concept of Daphne was very creative and well-imagined. There were scenes that definitely got my pulse going. Additionally, this had some twists towards the end that I didn't see coming. That absolutely contributed to my enjoyment. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'm looking forward to more Malerman now!

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I definitely recommend this one to Slasher fans, or anyone looking for a thoughtful, spooky, fun read!

Daphne is the latest title from one of my favorite modern horror authors. You’re probably already familiar with Bird Box, but @joshmalerman has a deep catalog of work that is perfect for this time of year 👻

Daphne is a coming of age story about a basketball team being collectively terrified of a local urban legend about, you guessed it, Daphne — a 7 foot tall, denim wearing, metal loving, outsider who was murdered and wants revenge.

I’m torn on my review for this one. The first 150 pages really resonated with me and honestly made me a bit emotional. Daphne is a book about anxiety, something I’ve struggled with for a long long time. The main character, Kit, is an anxious mess and I really don’t know the last time I’ve felt this connected to a character.

Now, I’ll avoid spoilers, but due to focusing on the characters that slowly get picked off by Daphne, we don’t get as much time with Kit. Due to the short runtime I didn’t seem to care about most of the side characters or feel the impact of their deaths. I also didn’t really care for the investigator POV. They just didn’t interest me.

The ending also felt really abrupt. I know endings are hard, especially for horror, but this one just didn’t land for me. I feel like Daphne would have been better as a novella and had 40-50 pages cut, or been a longer novel with another 100 or so pages developing Kit and some of the other girls.

Listen, I think my rating on this is a 3.5/5 ⭐️

But I also think that if you’re not as critical as me and love slashers, then this is a total slam dunk and a 5/5

Malerman is always consistently good. You can’t go wrong. If you want something else of his for this month then check out Goblin — an interconnected series of novellas about a weird little town (which he name drops a couple times in Daphne).

Daphne by Josh Malerman
Malerman has quickly become one of my favorite horror authors and this book did not disappoint. The only way to avoid being killed by the ghost/creature is to NOT think about them, and I find that idea SO CREEPY, because when you know when you’re not supposed to think about something, that’s when you think about it the most...
Another thing this book executed well was its representation of anxiety. I related so much to the way Kit, the main character, experienced anxiety. The way Malerman described Kit’s anxiety as starting with a cold feeling at the back of her neck is almost identical to my own personal experiences with anxiety. I also think Daphne was the perfect representation of anxiety in a monstrous form.
While I’ve never been a fan of basketball, I did like the usage of it as the backdrop for the connection between all of the characters and the way the main character had such a passion for it. I think people who are a fan of the sport or play it themselves will really enjoy this aspect.
Sadly, the one thing I didn’t like about this book was the end. I personally just didn’t find it satisfying. I think I wanted something ‘”bigger”. For example, think of the end of Carrie by Stephen King - that kind of “bigger”. However, I enjoyed the rest of the book so I still count that as a win.

"It's almost as if they have been spending their whole lives deliberately not thinking of Daphne.

What might someone call the opposite of deja vu? A sense of having intentionally not been there before."

DAPHNE by @joshmalerman is an absolute rush of anxiety-fueled horror and I can barely explain how much this one hit home. As someone who was dealing with anxiety from a pretty young age, I identified so powerfully with Kit. And this concept of willing something into existence by worrying about it absolutely slayed me since it is like the pinnacle of anxiety-induced worry come true.

As Kit discussed the ritual of a free throw routine I was mentally practicing mine from my high school days. The whole basketball aspect of this story was also a treat of nostalgia back to my teen years.

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @penguinrandomhouse for the e-ARC.

🏀🏀🏀

Samhattan High's girls basketball team is being hunted by an urban legend that the whole town has suppressed out of memory. A seven foot tall, booze and nicotine infused powerhouse of a woman with only one mission: revenge.

"When one friend starts thinking about Daphne, they all do. And the problem is that the more you think about Daphne the more you will her into existence.

And once one friend conjures Daphne, the others can't stop thinking about her coming for them"

If you like basketball and urban legends and if you are an anxiety sufferer that could benefit from a story about managing anxiety, or even if you just wanna figure out why a seven foot tall woman would have a grudge against the high school basketball team, you should pick this book up NOW!

And most importantly, heed these words from the book:

"Make sure they understand the things we're told not to talk about are the things that get real bad. Those subjects get sick. And they get confused. And nobody can make sense of them because they were never allowed to talk them out."

#bibliophile #booknerd #bookreview #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #constantreader #booksofig #instabooks

This book was a lot of fun to read! Sure, there’s a lot of basketball talk, but that didn’t bother me. I love basketball, but it also makes sense that the character’s whole personality was wrapped up in her hobby, because I feel the same way about my hobbies. I love that this was a book about a ghost story legend you tell you friends at a sleepover. It reminded me of when I was young and we would scare each other with Bloody Mary. The kills were also interesting, and I feel like they escalated with each victim.

The only downfall for me is that there was no explanation as to how or why this was happening. I was looking forward to finding out the how and why, but we never got it. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read more from Josh Malerman!

I’ve never in my life felt so seen and represented in how impairing anxiety can be until I read this book, and had NO clue what a massive impact the main character would have on me. The 7ft tall killer with greasy black hair and all denim who murders those who think of her was scary to think about at night in the dark, but the real fear resided in the overwhelming monstrosity that is anxiety.

I could feel how much more personal this book was to him and the authors note almost made me tear up at the end (tears? who am i?) when he spoke directly to his readers who experience anxiety and how they are never alone.

This book was creepy, suspenseful and emotionally haunting in a way I’ve never found in books before. I definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy Malerman’s work, but also to people who enjoy horror and also happen to live with anxiety. Will definitely be thinking about this one for a while.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Ray for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

This wasn't my favorite Josh Malerman book. It was pretty creepy at first, but then it was just kind of weird. I'm still not really sure what happened at the ending. I actually enjoyed the Acknowledgments at the end of the book more than the actual story. I did enjoy the narration of Kit mostly, with the other characters interspersing along with Kit's journal entries. It held my attention more. I'd say if you love basketball, and you love ghost stories, this will be right up your alley!

Daphne is a coming of age.book the likes I've never read. The passages with Kit and her internal battle with anxiety are gripping. As someone who has dealt with strong anxiety, I can tell you this was a bit tough at times. I loved the myth that was Daphne, she took on a life of her own. It was also an interesting premise of 'how do you not think of something ' and 'can you escape a thought'. In only a way Josh Malerman can do, he slips you past reality and into another world without a clue it happened. This was one of my favorites and I'm glad I requested it.

Daphne is a Thriller/Horror book with lots of edge of your seat scary parts. It has elements of old school horror movies like Nightmare On Elm Street and Candy Man. Josh Malerman, known for Netflix series Bird Box, brings something unique to the table with his love of both sports and horror films by adding a high school girl's basketball team component and a terrifyingly iconic female villain. Daphne was a total win for me and I found it to be both unsettling and nostalgic. I loved it.

Kit McLamb and her fellow basketball teammates are about to celebrate their last summer before college. The night before the big game one of the girls tells the story of Daphne, a girl who was a student at their school many years ago who died under mysterious circumstances. Rumors suggest she was murdered, but some believe she died at her own hand. The girls are told that if they think of Daphne then she will come and kill them. Kit becomes obsessed with Daphne, hearing her name wherever she goes. She can't stop thinking about her. Then one by one her friends are murdered and no suspect can be found. Is Daphne killing the girls when they think of her and if so will Kit be next?

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House - Ballantine for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to PRH Audio for my ALC. All thoughts are my own.

A story about the sports, about growing up, about ghosts, and things that haunt you. It is hard to describe what I liked and what I didn't like about this story. It focused a lot on basketball - that didn't bother me, but the rest is kind of forgettable. The story wasn't really scary, it didn't bother me much, it didn't disturb me. Yes, the ending twist is gruesome, but up to it it was kind meh.

Do I recommend it? as an audiobook, yes. It's almost like a monologue, with different POVs, and there's a little of a mystery. Though reading it, one long chapter with little breaks would be hard IMHO,

Wow! Wow! Wow! Josh Malerman blows me away with everything he writes! When I first started this book, I was curious about where it was going with the Bloody Mary like story and it took it exactly where I was hoping it would go! Malerman has a way of making my skin crawl and making me double check over my shoulder for things hiding in the shadows. As someone who could pretty much couldn't care less about basketball, that aspect of the story didn't put me off at all. Absolutely exciting to read everything Malerman writes (or republishes) in the future.

"It’s the last summer for Kit Lamb: The last summer before college. The last summer with her high school basketball team, and with Dana, her best friend. The last summer before her life begins."

The town of Samhattan has a spooky legend that no one wants to talk about. The legend is of Daphne, and the details are not quite clear. Was she murdered? Did she take her own life? Was she a murderer? The only clear part of the legend is that Daphne wants revenge......and the more you think about her the more likely she will come for you.

The night before Samhattan's big basketball game one of the players tells a ghost story about Daphne. After hearing the story the team members try to brush it from their minds and focus on the game. But how do you stop thinking about something that is now on your mind? While we do hear a few different perspectives in this story, it's mostly told through the voice of Kit Lamb. Kit is trying to understand what is happening as her teammates are murdered one by one.

This story is a slow burn. It definitely had some spooky moments when learning about Daphne and when she made an appearance on the page. However, the overall story focused more on Kit's anxiety, building a bridge between the monster of Daphne and anxiety. For Kit the more that she thinks about and focuses on her anxiety, the more likely she will experience an attack, and the same is true with the legend of Daphne. Josh Malerman did an excellent job writing the character of Kit as she realizes that focusing on controlling her thoughts could possibly help both her anxiety and ward off Daphne.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC.
On Sale Now.

Malerman is hit or miss for me. Love GOBLIN and BIRD BOX, unfortunately, this one is a drawn-out piece for me that is weighed down with too much basketball. Daphne is a creepy character, but I would have preferred something different. Thanks to the publisher for this advanced copy. I look forward to Malerman's next romp.

Another home run for Malerman. You never know what to expect from him, besides excellent storytelling. He always finds some new path to terror that he hasn't trod previously. And each path is terrifying. I was surprised at how well the whole "Daphne won't appear unless you think about her or talk about her" premise worked and got under my skin. It's also a metaphor for how society chooses to "bury" or ignore the "sins of the father", but that never solves anything. Burying it just makes it fester and arise and damage people. Bravo, Malerman.

If you think About Daphne, it’s already too late. Daphne is a 7’ ghost who is violently haunting a girl’s HS basketball team. This one can be campy at times, but overall a good story that you’ll breeze through. I’m a fan of Malerman and he doesn’t disappoint here. Thank you to @delreybooks and @joshmalerman for my copy.
4⭐️

Daphne, the newest novel by Josh Malerman and the first novel after the reissues of Goblin and Pearl, starts with Kit Lamb at the free throw line to win the basketball championship. This is the beginning of the summer before she goes to college so this is the culmination of her high school basketball career. She has her routine and does a simple superstitious thing that all of her teammates do during free throw practice: ask the basketball goal a Yes or No question. In this case, Kit asks, “Is Daphne going to kill me?” The answer is a game winning free throw. Kit had only heard about Daphne the night before when the team was having a sleepover and trying to tell stories to scare one another. Daphne is a town haunt, supposed to be over 7 feet tall, smelling like smoke and whiskey, and killing anyone who thinks about her for revenge. This description has stuck in Kit Lamb's head, and the legend of Daphne comes to town after this game, after this winning shot, and Kit thinks Daphne's return has everything to do with her and her basketball team. 

The first half of this novel starts slow, setting up a much better second half. There are times when I was reading the first half and wondering how much setup we need to go into the second half. This novel seemed to be wandering around, trying to figure out where it wanted to go. The second half brings everything together, and honestly we are rewarded for our patience. Malerman uses Daphne as a metaphor for the changes in Kit Lamb’s life, which is filled with uncertainty, a large amount of anxiety and fear. We do not know if some of this anxiety is what manifests Daphne or if Daphne is what manifests the heightened anxiety.

Daphne is not a flawless novel. There are questions that are not answered and scenes that do not make much sense to the rest of the novel. I think about this like many classic horror films, because so many of them are not perfect but they are so beloved. Horror enthusiasts find so much merit in stories even if there are many stories that take much longer to develop than they should. Horror in general is not perfect. Whether it be Jason and Michael Myers always returning from the dead, to giallo movies as a whole, to the bloated novels of Stephen King, most is not perfect, there are things that do not make sense, things that do not add up, but horror fans love horror regardless. Daphne is one of those horror stories. Despite it's problems, Daphne is a great horror novel, and definitely worth reading. 

I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

thinking about Daphne could be enough to summon her to you.

This boogiewoman is a perfect opportunity to subvert the slasher archetype. Bringing a feminist change, though often in horror the victims are female, it is rare to see a female killer. Further, the focus on Kit and her experience with anxiety is refreshing and fitting for the world we are in, with a growing knowledge of mental health struggles and the stigma that can still exist.

Malerman takes us through a few different, all-female perspectives, but we find out home base there with Kit, who is learning to handle the anxiety that’s found itself home in her brain. That anxiety gives way to intrusive thoughts of Daphne, the fear growing in Kit’s mind until the bodies of her friends start showing up. Daphne all but becomes a memetic Tulpa, seemingly created by the very unspoken fears and desires of Samhatten. The mystery is captivating, drawing you deeper into the world Malerman creates here. With threads linking this to his other work, Daphne proves Malerman is a growing talent in the horror field. Coming to widescale prominence with his first novel, Bird Box, he again proves willing to bring art to the genre, breathing new life into the skin of the slasher, of the horror novel

Special thanks to Random House Publishing and Ballantine Del Rey and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Okay now that we have had what feels like a slasher book extravaganza, I'm stopping with this one. This book was so boring I felt myself skimming through it. Honestly surprised at Josh Malerman for following the trend.

I don't like high school, high school girls basketball, or this book. I am truly sorry I can't give this one a great rating I'd just be lying. If you are tired of slasher/horror with groups of teenagers, skip this one.