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.

I’m honestly rounding up for this review. Brom is a fantastic artist and storyteller in my opinion, but this personally did not hit the mark for me. I didn’t find it to be on par with previous works (I loved Krampus). The characters were the worst part and drove me absolutely mad for the majority of the story. I definitely recommend this one for Brom fans, but have a feeling that reviews will continue to be mixed.

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley, and Tor Publishing for a copy!

"The Evil in Me" starts with a bang in a wince-inducing gory opening chapter, before we start following our main character Ruby, and what follows is a bit of a coming-of-age type of story. I will say the music aspect from the synopsis doesn’t come into play until pretty late in the book, and the horror is a bit of a slow build, but I enjoyed spending time learning about Ruby and the people in her life. It becomes a demonic possession horror tale that I thought was easily binge-able

Well…this is my 4th Brom book, and was one of my most highly anticipated books this year. The synopsis for this book sounded amazing, and of course I love Brom’s art. However, and to put it bluntly, this book wasn’t for me, and it did let me down.

I did grow to tolerate Ruby, but she was never a compelling character to me. I never rooted for her, and found myself distant from her character. She’s also stupid for at least half of this book. I can tolerate stupidity and unlikeability if there’s something else in the narrative, be it another character as a foil or some other trait that allows me to humanize and connect with the protagonist. This was not the case here.

Speaking of people I hated…Dick. I know I was supposed to hate him. However, I just didn’t find him to be too relevant to the plot, and he took up way too much of the narrative (which accomplished nothing). Yes, I get that he was attracted to Ruby’s taint. So were many other demons and evil fucks I’d rather focus on than this greasy moron. Brom focuses on how evil he is, talks about and walks us through his murders (of course all women), and then gives us the least satisfying conclusion for this dipshit who followed us through the story like bird shit on a car. Just no.

Speaking of characters, Brom has a problem with producing archetypal, one-dimensional caricatures instead of characters. There’s the creepy stepbrother who wants a picture of the protagonist’s “cooter,” the deadbeat mom who sides with the step father at the expense of her kid, the loser dude in high school who worked out and became a jocky dickbag, the dickbag’s snobby, blonde girlfriend, the psycho white man who harms women, and more idiots I couldn’t tell you the name of -or anything else about. The only two characters I gave a shit about save Beel are Tina and Vutto. In this big of a cast of characters, that’s disappointing, and I’m tired…

You might like this novel if you grew up in the 80s. It’s full of references for that specific group, and it feels as if Brom focused on the nostalgia of the 80s as opposed to almost anything else here. Woohoo punk rock and big hair and the Doobies or whatever. I’m sure I would have enjoyed this more if I got all the references, if I was more into punk and 80s trends and media, but I’m not. I’m sure others who are like me would/will feel the same way. If anything, this book reminds me of Stranger Things. It had promise, but got lost in the sauce of nostalgia, and over time it turned to goop. I mean who the hell wants the 5th season anymore. I haven’t seen ANYONE on social media who cares.

To be honest, I’m not sure what else to say. I’ll be more wary the next time Brom announces an upcoming novel. I fear nothing will top Slewfoot unfortunately. 2.5 rounded up 🥲

I loved this book. It is dark, intense and so messed up. The book kept me up all night. This is for true horror lovers. The beginning of the book was so frightening .

The story revolves around an ancient ring that has its own spell and evilness in it, it binds whoever wears it and makes them do evil things. The devilish tale will grip you and keep you on the edge of your seat. Life became hard after the death of Ruby’s father. Ruby Tucker is an aspiring musician but the world turns upside down when things go horribly wrong and strange things starts happening. As soon as she touch the ring, the world becomes dark, evil and it posses her soul. Now she will either have the same fate as the man had or she must find a way to free herself from it. The twists and turns were so unpredictable. The ending shook me and surprised me both at the same time. I was on the edge the entire time. This is a mind blowing and delightful devilish tale that will leave you wanting for more. You can expect blood, gore, demonic possession, damnation and blood thirsty demon.

I love the Author’s books. Brom is my favourite Author.

Thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a great, unique horror book, I was so happy that Brom’s latest definitely scratched the itch! I’ve only read his Krampus novel which fell a bit flat for me, but this one was a lot of fun - horror that’s campy, silly, and gory, but still has moments of metaphor and introspection, I’d compare this to Grady Hendrix’s work.

It starts out with a bang in a wince-inducing gory opening chapter, before we start following our main character Ruby and what follows is a bit of a coming-of-age type of story. I will say the music aspect from the synopsis doesn’t come into play until pretty late in the book, and the horror is a bit of a slow build but I enjoyed spending time learning about Ruby and the people in her life. It becomes a demonic possession horror tale that I thought was easily bingeable.

curious if the final product will include Brom’s usual illustrations