Thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for this ARC of Burn The Negative in exchange for an honest review. Burn the Negative by Josh Winning is a fast paced, horror/ suspense that keeps you guessing until the end. It is about Laura who is a journalist covering a remake of a notorious horror film that had a curse attached to it,, and she happens to have played the little girl in the movie all those years ago. As soon as she arrives back to LA creepy things begin to happen and we can't help but wonder, is the curse back?

I had so much fun reading this book. It was campy and had a lot of nods to classic horror films. I'm usually great at spotting the twists early on, but it kept me guessing and changing my theories over and over throughout the book. There are so many metaphors and deeper meanings woven in as well, but I can't get into them because I don't want to spoil anything. This is my first time reading form Josh Winning, and he is now on my radar.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/GP Putnam Son's for gifting me a digital ARC of this book by Josh Winning - 4 stars!

When journalist Laura Warren arrives in LA to visit the set of a new horror series, she witnesses a man jumping from a bridge, landing right behind her car. She's filled with dread because this new series is a remake of a 90s horror movie. One that she starred in as a child and has been on the run from ever since. Because. the film was cursed. In the movie, Laura played the young girl with the ability to tell people how the Needle Man would kill them. Then eight of the cast and crew died in just the ways the movie portrayed. Now it's happening all over again.

This is a fun homage to horror/slasher films, complete with quotes and mentions of some of those movies. Plus, chapters were also broken up with other forms of dialogue, which I always like. It was campy fun, but also had some real-life messages about facing our pasts, parental pressure, past trauma. Horror/slasher fans will love this one!

Would recommend for fans of…
📽️ The Siren
📽️ Final Girls
📽️ Scream
📽️ I’m Glad My Mom Died

Burn the Negative is the perfect book for horror movie fans. It’s a fun blend of tropes and references that manages to stand on its own, making it a true popcorn read that’s perfect for when you’re looking to get lost in a captivating story. I also enjoyed how it used the horror movie industry to explore the downfalls and repercussions of child stardom.

That being said, it does suffer from the same problems horror movies often do, namely an off the rails ending that doesn’t quite stick the landing. But if you’re able to go along with it and laugh it’s still a fun time that will keep you guessing to the very end.

Burn the Negative is out now. Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

BURN THE NEGATIVE will grab you immediately. Josh Winning's cursed media/slasher thriller is a fun love letter/homage to horror movies that keeps the fear (and mystery) increasing. Didn't expect the direction it went- if you want supernatural scares and creepy carnage, this has bucketfuls!

Imagine being a child star and enduring trauma... now, imagine using that trauma to blackout and kill those who never helped you when you were attacked as a child. I don't care for how Pill killed Amy at the end but Amy DID cross a line...hopefully, their mother is her final victim. All in all, it was a pretty good read.



#NetGalley #FirstReads #BurntheNegative #JoshWinning #childhoodtrauma #psychosis #death #fame #horrormovies

This started off strong. It really hooks you in from the beginning. I loved all the call outs to 90s horror and the mixed media aspect.

However, the last third of this book really went off the rails in my opinion. I wasn’t necessarily bothered by the ending itself just the way everything played out.

I might still recommend this one to fellow horror movie fans but it will not be at the top of the list.

The Guesthouse was a 1990s slasher movie that is rumored to be cursed. People from the cast and crew keep dying (or committing murder). What most people don't know about Laura Warren is that she is really Polly Tremaine and she was the star of The Guesthouse. Laura has tried to distance herself from the movie for years, but when a reboot is in the works, she is sent to cover the story. Laura has barely touched down in LA before bad and unexplainable things start happening.
This book was surprisingly creepy. I found myself being a little afraid of the Needleman. However, the ending was not what I expected at all (and not in a good way). I was so into the story until the end.

I really enjoyed this book! There’s a cursed film set, a terrifying monster called the Needle Man (who definitely reminded me of Freddy Krueger!), and horror slasher awesomeness. I definitely recommend this book to horror lovers. Burn the Negative had all the horror movie vibes. Grab some popcorn and go read this one. 🎞️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Scarey, creepy, read with the lights on book. The author has a way of writing that pulls you in and be riding shotgun, in the experience of the story. The gore wasn't too gory and I was able to read and enjoy. I had a love/hate relationship with the characters hating some of their choices and applauding others. It was a book that needed to be savored and enjoyed. Looking forward to the next book by this author.

#BURNTHENEGATIVE #JOSHWINNING. #NETGALLEY

I loved the concept of this book and the creepy parts, but it was a very slow read for me. It kind of dragged on a little too much for me to fully engage in the story. I started to skim some of the sections which is never good.

Thanks NetGalley a publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I'm so happy I ended up picking this book up. I ended up really enjoying it. Mix together horror and Hollywood, yes please! Right away, I just had to pick this up solely from the summary. You can tell Josh Winning is such a huge horror buff. It shows in this book. He makes a bunch of horror movie references in this book, which I thought was fun. I love it even though I haven't seen some of the movies he mentioned. I also loved that this had mixed media involved. I'm such a huge fan of mixed media and I feel for a book dealing with Hollywood it's very suitable. I wish there could have been pictures too. I mean there were some drawings but a Needle Man photo. I think would add to the spooky vibes for this book. I'm so happy I picked this up. I can't wait to see what Josh Winning ends up writing next.

*Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy, these are my honest opinions.*

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙝-𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚, 𝙖 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚…𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙.

I had such a difficult time rating this book, I really enjoyed parts of the books but I feel like others could’ve been a bit stronger. I am a sucker for slashers and this one definitely gave those vibes.

I did a combo of the ebook and audio. I was so fortunate to have received early copies of both methods from the publisher. This was honestly such a fast-paced book, I remember not being able to put it down because I was completely intrigued.

This gave off horror film vibes and I loved the movie references throughout the book. There are a few deaths in this book and they are done in a sort of 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 style - each actor is murdered similarly to the way they did in the movie.

Also, we follow Laura - an actress in "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲" who became a journalist after almost every actor in the movie was murdered. It was so interesting seeing how she had to relive this moment when The Needle Man was killing off characters.

Honestly, the story itself is a bit over the top at times, but I do think it’s quite enjoyable. I loved the slasher vibes and movie references. The killer gave off Freddy Krueger vibes and I was honestly terrified of him.

I did struggle with the way this story ended and the direction it took. I may be too critical, but I was underwhelmed by the way it ended. It had such potential for a mind-blowing twist, but it was way too cheesy - at least for me.

Overall, this is such a fun, enjoyable, and entertaining thriller filled with so much suspense. There are some twists throughout the book - some I liked, others I didn’t. I did really love the vibes this story gave off and it felt so nostalgic. If you’re looking for an entertaining thriller, this one may be for you.

Thank you so much NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the review eARC and PRH Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was such an experience. I would give it ten stars if possible.
I loved the horror movie setting, and references. The mixed media spread throughout were such fun breadcrumbs as you go through the story. And that ending...please read this!!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

What could be better for a horror movie enthusiast than this amazing blend of horror literature and cinema! I was enthralled from start to finish and the most invested in a plot than I have been in recent memory. This fast paced, page turning novel is perfect for a day in reading because once you start 'Burn The Negative' you'll have a hard time stopping.

This was a lot of fun! Defiantly a good mix of poking at movie cliches while being an original concept. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC giveaway!

This was a really fun read! I felt like this was a perfect horror movie turned book, no but literally!

There's a movie, and it's cursed! Or so the story goes. Laura has spent the majority of her life hiding who she really is and creating a new life for herself. You see, she's a famous journalist now, but she used to be a child actor. She got famous for being the little girl who could foretell your death in a horror movie which is now believed to be cursed. Life gets complicated for Laura when she's sent to do an article on the reboot of The Guesthouse.

Not to spoil anything, but it gets bananas!
There's a cursed horror movie, murder, hidden identity and possible possession. What more could you ask for? This felt like a fun, campy nostalgia read and I loved it!

Thank you for the ARC!

If you love horror films, you'll love this book!

This was such a fun homage to horror films. You're following Laura, a former child actress who starred in a cursed horror film from the 90s, who is now returning to set to report on a remake. After the movie was originally was made many people from the cast and crew died under strange circumstances, and now the body count is rising again.

What follows is a fast-paced, campy slasher with a cinematic explosion of an ending. My only wish was that the characters were explored a bit more, but overall it was a great time.

Read in this reading vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxbBqvbnRDU&t=73s

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun homage to "cursed film" myths and horror movies. But as fun as it was, it was at times predictable, and the pacing of the second act dragged. The plot developments didn't reveal in a way that escalated tension as much as they were repetitious and flat. On the other hand, I do think this could make for a great mini-series on a streaming platform.

The premise of this book had everything I wanted, but for some reason it was a bit disappointing. The plot and action of this book were excellent. It was spooky and had all the elements of a slasher.

The characters are what brought down my enjoyment of this book, honestly. They all felt flat, none of them read like they could be a real person.

I appreciate the multimedia aspect, it added to the atmosphere.

I absolutely fell for this book after the first 10 pages it was love. It is everything i love old 90s/80s horror vibes. In this tale we follow Laura a grief stricken journalist who is flying to LA to write an article about a remake of the iconic 90s movie Guesthouse. But this movie hits a nerve for Laura as she was once a cast member herself many years ago on this cursed film where cast and staff started dying one by one. As soon as Lauras plane lands weird things start to happen. I was hooked on this book i definitely recommend if you love a good mystery and cursed movie tropes. What a great summer-ween read! Five stars all around !!!!