This story was bizarre in the best way! I really enjoyed it and the cast of characters were great. Some were funny, some were ridiculous, some were tragic, and some were surprising favorites. All of them were well-written and this book was just so good! I couldn’t stop until the very end. Great job and I recommend this story!

A terrifying, triumphant treat— the perfect marriage of camp and creeps.

If you enjoy punk rock, lovable monsters, and a splash of humor with your horror, Evil in Me is the book for you! This was my first foray into the dark worlds of Brom, and I fully regret not embarking on this journey sooner—I’ve truly been depriving myself.

Evil in Me is simultaneously incredibly fun and deeply disturbing, and I was totally here for it. As a big fan of punk and new wave, I loved all the references to bands and artists that I personally relate to and adore. Like Ruby, I also felt more alive the first time I heard "Sonic Reducer" as a teenager. Throughout the story, Ruby finds herself hunted by seemingly every horror imaginable, from sadistic primeval lords to serial killers. But thankfully, Ruby's not just anyone! She has the magic of music on her side, weaving incantations through her lyrics and charming crowds with her mesmerizing voice. Will it be enough to free her from her inner demons and save her soul from damnation?

All in all, I couldn't have loved this book more. Evil in Me has securely cinched its spot as one of my favorite releases of the year and deservedly so. Brom's imaginative new spin on the classic themes of demonic possession and exorcism is highly refreshing & thoroughly unique. I would give this one more than five stars if I could!

All of my thanks to Brom, Tor Nightfire, & Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley, Brom and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Nightfire for the eArc of Evil In Me.

Having read a few of Brom's books in the past, I was looking forward to this one and it did not leave me disappointed. I really enjoy Brom's writing style and I'll be looking forward to the physical copy as his illustrations are amazing!

This narrative takes us into a mix of a demon trying to rein over the earth. Ruby, a young lady who is into great selection of punk music and an ancient artifact in the shape of a ring. Brom has blended these together and drafted a well paced fantasy book with horror elements. Who can resist the age old legend that punk/metal music is linked with worshipping the Devil?

I really loved Ruby, she starts off in the narrative as a naive teen and exits the story as knowledgeable women. I loved how she bonded with various characters along the way as she starts to let her guard down. Brom has a great way of balancing character development and plot pace within his books. This is a bit shorter than the likes of Lost Gods and Slewfoot but it still packs a nice punch.

4.5 stars rounded to 5 for Amazon/Netgalley/Goodreads

I am an absolute sucker for horror novels with strong music references and so when I heard Brom’s Evil in Me was taking a dive into this most hallowed of waters I jumped at the chance of unpacking my air guitar for just one more solo. Should you be new to selling your soul to the devil for fame and fortune (or a hundred variations of this ancient theme) here are some top tips for further investigation: Scott Leeds’s debut Schrader’s Chord, Grady Hendrix’s We Sold Our soul or Robert McCammon’s non-supernatural The Five which is an ode to taking your guitar on the road. However, my two personal favourites are poles apart, but equally impressive, Leo Darke’s really dumb horror comedy Lucifer Sam, where the late Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious comes back from the dead for one final gig and David Peake’s magnificent Corpse Paint, one of the bleakest and most nihilistic horror novels about music ever written.

Gerald Brom, generally known in the literary world as Brom, is as well known for his work as a gothic fantasy artist and illustrator, role-playing games and comics as he is a novelist. I previously read Slewfoot (2021) and was impressed by this tale of witchcraft, which was backed up by sets of his highly striking illustrations. Evil in Me follows the same blueprint, however, this time we abandon puritanical New England times and head to the early eighties, where there are whispers of the Satanic Panic and the main character is a huge fan of legendary psychobilly punk band The Cramps.

I too am a fan of The Cramps and have fond memories of watching them play at the Aberdeen Music Hall, way back in 1991. Hell, in the front row against the stage, I even briefly held hands with iconic vocalist Lux Interior. Beat that Brom! In one of Evil In Me’s many entertaining scenes aspiring musician Ruby Tucker (who is doing community service at a Christian group) gets into trouble with her boss after teaching her little kids The Cramps classic ‘Garbageman’ instead of traditional gospel music. I enjoyed the many punk, new wave and mix tapes references, which were a nice diversion to the horror, however, non-music fans might not find them so involving.

Throughout the book Ruby makes dumb decision after another, but remains endearing, whilst she tries to escape the trap of her small hometown for Atlanta and finding a way of extracting the cursed and powerful ring which ends up stuck on her finger. The ring belongs to an ancient demon and when Ruby wears the ring it brings her closer to the demon and her minions, which were pretty funny. Even though Evil in Me generally plays it straight, it does have a sense of humour, how could it not when one of the demons ends up playing drums in Ruby’s band!

Evil in Me has a terrific opening hook, jumping back several generations, somebody else has the misfortune of having the ring find their finger. Hallucinating, and under the control of the demon, the poor victim goes on a killing spree before chopping off his own fingers and eventually cutting his own throat. Not to be messed with, the ring provides a gateway to Hell and even though the demons were not scary in the slightest, this was a million miles from the types of demons you might get in Adam Nevill or Ramsey Campbell novel, they were entertaining and easier to root for than some of the human characters, some of which were rather one dimensional.

Ultimately the story was as old as the hills, rock ‘n’ roll really can save your soul. “Can I hear a “HELL YEAH! All the way at the back!” I also enjoyed the fact that by wearing the ring (I’ve read Lord of the Rings too) it acts as a beacon for evil and draws all sorts of nastiness onto her doorstep, including a serial killer. This killer is given a bigger role than he deserved (is scarier than the demons) but added little to the plot until the finish. Throw in a dysfunctional family and some caricature characters and it is no wonder Ruby is running for Atlanta to track down her old bandmate and former best friend.

I dug the way the music scenes came together and would have loved to have been at the gig which is crucial at the end of the story. This scene was very cool and I have been at a thousand gigs at tiny toilet sized venues where Ruby’s band sang to save their very souls. Evil in Me is a neat change of pace from Brom and is satisfyingly different from Slewfoot, which music fans will enjoy, other readers perhaps less so.

This was not for me. The storyline and imagery reminded me of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That being said, the writing is decent, although I could NOT get over the passages about worms “singing”….they may “squelch” or even “pop”, but “singing” took me right out of the moment. I also found this to be too gory for my tastes. Not a terrible book, but I personally didn’t enjoy it.

Brom's latest offering, "Evil In Me," is a non-stop action that had me reading throughout the day, sneaking a peek in here and there as I was about my chores in the day. Could I wash dishes and read? Peel vegetables and read? Pretend to have a conversation and read? I sure did! :)

The story opens on an insane scene of demonic possession, Jewish mysticism, and graphic violence that nearly peeled my eyeballs. And then, just as quickly, it moves to the daily life of young Ruby, who just wants to move to Atlanta to play punk rock with her best friend, but has to get off probation first. She has one week left. Things quickly morph from bad to worse as Ruby is possessed by a demonic ring, chased by a serial killer, bounty hunted by her mom's Jesus-loving boyfriend, and in general gets into enough trouble that I genuinely felt sorry for her. And the story is set in the 1980s, when most of America thought rock music was Satanic and the moral majority was up everyone's buttholes. I was reminded of the PMRC and Dee Snyder testifying before Congress and my brother's love of the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag during this decade.

This book was great fun and an awesome read. My thanks to Netgalley, Tor Nightfire, and the author for an opportunity to read for an honest review.

Brom is the man. Everything he writes is so smooth and easy to read. This one hits that mark as well! The story follows a girl who is possessed. She tried to get her band together so everyone can sing her “song”, chant her spell and set her free. As with all Brom works, I completely gorged myself. Fantastic, as usual.

Very Unique! I enjoyed this read alot, It had many elements I look for in a good horror! It is dark and intense as well as very messed up!

★🎸🎧⚚⋆｡ °⋆🅴🆅🅸🅻 🅸🅽 🅼🅴
Yes Yes Yes!!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Now this is my kinda jam!
I was so thrilled to download this 48-hour pre-release when it hit my email from NetGalley, as it's my first BROM book, and I was not disappointed!

Time is of the essence if Ruby wants to save her life and her soul!

Right out of the gate, a terrible and horrific tragedy, followed by a delve into the depths of Hell to meet some unsavory characters, polished off by a jaunt topside with action that never stops.

I found this to be incredibly well written. I love the FMC and her band of Misfits. Ruby is extremely relatable; she's going through some shit, but deep down, she's strong, kind, and determined to find a way to keep the mistakes of her past from holding her back.

You know the writing is good when you find yourself hating fictional characters as if they were real people. I found myself yelling at the book on more than one occasion, and my notes are very *colorful*.

Needless to say, the villains are fantastic, with just the right amount of Evil. In fact, there are so many different examples of what some would consider Evil, you have to wonder if the damned are truly the worst of them.

There are religious aspects that run throughout the book but are tastefully done as BROM draws content from many here, including Jewish Mysticism, Christianity, and Athiesm. Each lending their own effect to the characters, often shaping their behaviors in an interesting tangle of reactions, showing how people respond differently in the face of true evil, even if that evil is inside of themselves.

I enjoyed all of the extra elements to this story that make it downright fun to read!! A dark enemies to friends relationship, a coming of age story, a demonic presence in the band, a serial killer on the loose, a town of self-righteous do-gooders who get their comeuppance, a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship and on top of it all, a valiant fight to save a soul through the transformative effect of music and the healing power of song.

I'm thoroughly looking forward to purchasing the published copy with the included BROM artwork and special endpapers!!

This is a punk rock roller coater ride straight to hell with an amazing narrative and characters you'll absolutely love. Filled with demons, Jewish mysticism, and a twisted serial killer, this novel begs you to keep reading well into the night.

Ruby is on probation and just wants it to be over, to have her freedom back. But she has anger issues and, soon enough, she's broken her probation and is now wanted.

But that's going to be the least of her worries when she's drawn to a ring. Opening a portal to a viscious demon, another entity posseses her body and mind. But instead of destroying her, this entity wants to be free from it's demonic master. They'll have to find a way to coexist with the help of some friends and strangers or they'll both be in hell before long.

I absolutely loved this book and the author's writing style is bold, visual, and takes no prisoners. It's unlike any traditional "possession" story you've ever read and it's filled with enough dark humor and heart to keep it engaging and fun.

I highly recommend it.

An entertaining read, but missed the mark for me. I absolutely devoured Slewfoot and have been looking forward to reading more from Brom. Unfortunately, I disliked all of the characters. There are some sporadic nice bits of prose, a section in the epilogue really stood out for me; the whole worms thing was great. The esoteric mysticism was also intriguing, there was promise there. Looking forward to the artwork when this is published!

Great premise, but jumped the shark in the 3rd act.

The Hell scenes, oddly, weren't memorable at all. Brom does a better job with Hell in Lost Gods.

However, I would recommend Slewfoot. He has yet to surpass that one in my eyes.

Loved it. Very Bill and Ted, Ghostbusters kind of vibes, but also very much its own thing. A very good egg. Packs a lot into under 300 pages and not a word feels wasted. This is my first book by Brom and look forward to others.

I’m sad to say that this book was a bit of a letdown for me. I haven’t read anything by Brom before but I’ve heard great things about Slewfoot and Krampus, so I had high expectations for this as well. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to those.

The switching perspectives kept breaking up any tension that was building, and honestly I don’t know if we really needed to be in the head of (what seemed like) almost every single character involved in the story.

The dialogue seemed a little forced and unnatural. I think that made the characters hard to connect with because they frequently sounded like some sort of caricature of a punk rocker/serial killer/southerner etc.

I thought the premise of the story was interesting and unique; the description pulled me in and I love the cover art. I’m also personally a fan of endings that leave some questions behind, and I think this book did that perfectly.

Overall the idea was intriguing, and the description made it sound like it would be a perfect campy horror read for a summer day, but I was disappointed by the implementation.

4 stars

I can see this being divisive among Brom fans, however, I loved it. He is a beloved author for a reason, and that is his phenomenal prose and imagination.
I can’t wait to buy this one.

This was such an unexpected read. Literally. I received an email from NetGalley yesterday morning telling me I could read Brom’s newest book for 48 hours without having to request it. As one of Brom’s greatest admirers, and lover of his novel Slewfoot, I jumped on the opportunity.

The synopsis of this story isn’t a totally accurate representation of what the book is really about so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. Although it opens with a terrifying prologue, it slows down for quite a while in a coming-of-age tale that I really wasn’t expecting. Ruby Tucker has dealt with a lot of struggles in her life, mental health and otherwise, but music has always meant the world to her. Through some mayhem and trickery, she gets involved in a demon plot and has to save herself, and her friends, by any means necessary. In this case, with punk.

Evil in Me was fun, campy, scary, and somehow also introspective. I’m not sure how he does it but I’ll happily support his endeavors for as long as he continues them. In anyone can make me love a demon, it’s Brom.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Nightfire for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Once again I am enamored with Brom’s writing, I don’t even enjoy Punk Rock and I loved this book despite the insane amount of references to the genre. Brom has a way of writing characters you want to root for. His character arcs are truly a gem.

If you enjoyed any of his other work, you will love this one just the same. Brutal, funny and straight up fun. Evil in me shows that all it takes is heart (and a catchy tune) and you can do anything, even free yourself from demons.

Brom is an author I gravitate to because he creates entire worlds with his writing and allows us to experience the “human side” of supernatural often immortal beings. This book is no exception, giving us a cast of complicated human and non human characters. Gripping and imaginative, this book takes you on an adventure through questions about morality, religion, mental health, and connection.

Let me start by saying that I adore Brom. I think he is an absolutely phenomenal writer, and his book "The Child Thief" is easily one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life. "Slewfoot" was right there with it.

So saying I was over-the-moon excited to be able to get an advanced copy of his new book "Evil in Me" is definitely an understatement.

Unfortunately, though, this one didn't live up to my high expectations for Brom. It was still quite good -- leaps and bounds better than a lot of the crap I've read lately -- but it didn't have that special something that all of Brom's other books have had for me.

Here were my complaints: (Also, here's your obligatory spoiler warning! You may read things you don't want to know about, especially in the "what I enjoyed" section. I tried to keep things vague, but I can't guarantee there will be no spoilers at all. Be warned.)

1. The editing was somewhat poor.

I know this was an ARC copy, so I'm HOPING that these errors will be fixed before the book is actually published. However, they WERE still in the copy that I had, and they really threw off my flow. They weren't huge problems -- just enough to take me out of the story. A few examples include: (all locations in Kindle)
- Location 354 - "she knew he was here because she'd spotted his car, which was hard to miss it." (No "it" needed.)
- Location 2161 - "one other being -- a ghostly thing bound in jug" (missing an 'a')
- Location 2997 - "Give you all my heart and soul. Burin' like a demon bowl" (should be "burnin'")
- Location 4358 - "leaving Tina to wondered if he and Andre shopped at the same clothing store." (should be 'wonder')

Just little things like that. Again, these may be fixed before actual publication, and that will help a lot. They just kind of threw me off.

2. The "Southern talk" was atrocious.

I live in Alabama and have done so my whole life. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when authors write Alabama (or Southern) accents and words that I've legitimately never heard a single person say EVER. There was a lot of that in the first part of this book. Luckily, he toned that down as he went on, and by the middle of the book, I didn't notice it anymore. But it was really, really bad at the beginning. Like REALLY bad. Phrases like, "This here's ugly music." "What kind of deviltry is this?" "No ma'am and no sirree!" "gawd-dang" "They were just bored to death with them old songs." "Please give me another chance with them kids." "Momma's sure getting her nickel's worth out of you, honey. Says you do a right smart job with them bathrooms."

The number of times the word "them" was thrown in front of something -- them kids, them bathrooms, them songs, them clothes, them dogs, etc. -- was mind-numbing. I'm not going to sit here and say that no one in Alabama has ever used the word 'them' where 'those' should go, but for the first few chapters of this book, EVERYONE did it EVERY TIME. It's like the word 'those' simply didn't exist in their vocabulary. It was awful.

3. There was no art!!!!

Again, maybe that's because this was an ARC copy or because the art just couldn't come through using the Netgalley app? I'm not sure. But I was REALLY, REALLY looking forward to some amazing Brom art, and there was none. I hope, hope, hope there will be some in the actual book because I'd really love to see Brom's vision of Vutto and Lord Sheelbeth. And yes, even though I didn't love this book like all the other Brom books, I will STILL be buying it out of support for one of my favorite authors.

4. The story wasn't strong.

This story just wasn't as strong as the stories in Slewfoot, The Child Thief, and Krampus. Even Lost Gods had a stronger story than this one. I guess maybe it's because this one was rooted more in realism? I mean, yes, there were demons and what amounts to exorcisms, but still. The Child Thief was a retelling of Peter Pan -- set in a world of magic (albeit dark and deadly magic) and fantasy. Krampus features ancient Norse gods and plenty of magic. Slewfoot is all about witchcraft and the devil.

And now that I've written it all out like that, it does seem like this book should fit right in with the rest of them. Haha. But somehow, it didn't. It was too "real world" to be magical dark fantasy, if that makes sense. Part of what I love about Brom's stories is how magical and fantastical they are, while still being 100% engaging and suck-you-in beautiful. This one just had too much of the real world in it for me.

Those were my main complaints with the book. Now, for what I enjoyed:

1. It's Brom.

Though this book didn't live up to my high standards for a Brom book, it's still a Brom book. And he has this beautiful writing style that just makes you fall in love with the very writing. This one didn't have it as much as the others, but it was definitely still there. It was a gorgeously written book.

2. The characters were great.

After I got past the god-awful way she talked, I fell in love with Ruby. She was so broken but still basically a decent human being. Tina was a bad-ass, and Vutto ... well, I want a Vutto as a pet, please and thank you. Richard (aka Dick) was horrible, but he was horrible in a way that made him interesting. And I really could get behind Eduardo and Ruby's mom in the end. Brom has a way of writing characters that you love in the beginning and hate by the end and vice versa. He did an excellent job with rounding out Ruby's mom and step-dad by the end of the book, and I was pleasantly surprised that he could realistically change my feelings on them both so well.

3. The ending was satisfactory.

I hate the idea that everything has to have a happy ending. Life doesn't work that way. And the ending of this book, while not particularly sad, wasn't the happy "everything's wine and roses" ending a lot of books have. It was realistic (within the constraints of a fantasy/horror-type book). I can see the situation playing out just like it did, and I appreciate the acknowledgement that, going forward, things probably wouldn't be all okay for Ruby. She made some bad choices (even though they weren't really her fault) and the ending made it clear that she was going to have to pay for those consequences. I appreciate that.

All in all, this was a very solid 3-star book, and I will definitely buy a copy for my collection when it's published. It just wasn't the easy 5-star read I was expecting from a talent as big as Brom's.

I read Brom's Slewfoot last year and it instantly became one of my favourite reads. It was rich in atmosphere, I was rooting so hard for our protagonist, and the illustrations helped bring everything to life. So, I was really excited to get the chance to read his latest early! I'm keen to see the finished book in the fall, particularly so that I can view the art for this story. I understand why they weren't included here, but they're such a vital part of his stories that it feels wrong to review without them! My favourite part of this novel was the uniqueness of the demons and their magic, so I can only imagine how great it will be to see them brought to life in the final copy. If the cover art is any indication, they're going to be great! That said, I found the characters to be a lot less intriguing and a bit harder to get on board with. The split perspectives made the book a quick read, but I only really cared for one of them. Although, I do think the book is pretty plot focused, which working in conjunction with the unique quality of the story and the "villains" will likely carry readers through to the end! Also, it's a great read for any punk rock fans. I always appreciate a novel that allows me to build up a playlist around it. It's always fun and helps to enhance the reading experience.