Thank you netgalley and to the publisher for the ARC, this has been an anticipated read for me.

I really enjoyed the plot and characters in the story. I thought it was a good pace and kept me engaged. The twists were twisty and I didn’t expect the ending.

I absolutely loved Theme Mysic by this author so when I had the opportunity to read this, I jumped on it. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a good read for me. I like a good slow burn, but nothing happened in this book until the end. I’ll definitely give this author another shot, but this just wasn’t for me.

**4.5-stars**

Upon hearing that her sister, Deidre, has been egregiously-injured in a bizarre accident, Jewel drops everything and rushes to be by her side in the hospital. All she knows is that Deidre was involved in a hit-and-run and remains in a coma. That's horrible, and of course upsetting, but even more shocking to Jewel is the terrible skin malady that seems to be plaguing Deidre as well.

Her sister looks nothing like herself. How long has she been dealing with this strange condition, and what exactly is it? Jewel has so many questions. She decides to stay at Deidre's apartment, so she'll be closer to the hospital while Deidre hopefully recovers. It's at the apartment, as she tries to settle in, that Jewel comes across her sister's current unfinished writing project. While both are published authors, Deidre is very successful, while Jewel's work has never garnered much attention.

After a conversation with Deidre's literary agent, who called to inquire about the unfinished story, Jewel agrees to help meet a very serious deadline. It's the least she can do to help her sister during her hour of need. Also, more selfishly, maybe Deidre's agent will be impressed with her work and it could help boost Jewel's career as well. Silver linings.

As she starts reading Deidre's manuscript though, she discovers something very unsettling. It seems to be mimicking her current circumstances, but how? Not only that, she thinks it is possibly getting longer every night; that she can hear someone else typing while she's in the other room. Jewel tells herself she's just being paranoid. That would be impossible. Wouldn't it?

Determined to see it through, to finish the manuscript, help her sister and possibly jump-start her floundering career, Jewel pushes on. No matter what happens, she will honor her commitment. Then her skin begins to itch.

Y'all, this was brutal and very, very good. I was all over the place with it, trying to figure out WTH was going on. I was so entertained by being in Jewel's mind and watching her interact with everyone around her. Staying at Deidre's, she has many interactions with the other tenants in Deidre's building, as well as quite a few interesting encounters at the hospital as well.

It's clear Jewel might not be the most reliable narrator, which I love, but what was going on with everyone else? Was there anything going on, or was Jewel just pitching them to me in a way that would make me think that?

I love reading stories that revolve around authors, and this one certainly had that nailed with not one, but two authors. It incorporates sections of the book Jewel is working on, and those book-within-a-book elements were incredibly well-executed. NGL, it was impressive. I thought it was losing me at the end, a little bit, I felt like I was going to be disappointed with the conclusion, but Vandelly brought it around with a jaw-dropping, evil grin inducing conclusion.

I would absolutely recommend this to Horror Readers, particularly if you enjoy a book-within-a-book story. I felt like Vandelly created some chilling horror imagery, with many scenes genuinely getting under my skin. Also, speaking of skin, excellent body horror.

Thank you to the publisher, Blackstone Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Everyone should be adding this to their Summer Scares TBR!!!

This was so good. This is definitely a slow burn but I feel like it pays off so good in the end. I’ve had trouble recently reading books trying for too many twists or being able to figure out what’s really going on early on but this one knocked me away and left me in an actual jaw drop.

The premise and book within a book was such a unique idea. It took me a couple of days to really get invested but once I was hooked I was HOOKED and could not put it down.

I’m so glad I got to read this one and can’t wait to tell everyone to pick it up in August.

A blend of true crime obsession, small-town secrets, and a creeping supernatural undertone into a story that’s as unsettling as it is absorbing.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Honestly - this book is fantastic. It’s twisty, creepy, well-written and surprisingly, full of dark humor that just works. The uniqueness of the plot was what drew me in, and I stayed present in the story the entire time. Kudos to Vandelly for finding a way to bring an unorthodox story to the genre and doing it incredibly well. Four stars.

This book had a premise unlike anything I've ever seen before. I've enjoyed some borrowed/stolen manuscript books in the past but this was something completely unique. The book was twisty and turny, and I never knew where we were going to go next. I loved this book!

Wild ride of a book! I loved Theme Music, by this author, so I had high hopes - I was not disappointed! I was genuinely scared at times, but also found myself amused and laughing. The story and structure were very unexpected so if you’re expecting a normal reading experience you may be thrown off. I was down for whatever, so the reading experience was great.

This read would be excellent for anyone who's interested in slow burn psychological thrillers. For me, it felt a little too slow, while also having too many things happening at once. I would recommend reading this quickly and in as few sittings as possible—maybe this would allow for a better grasp on the narrative.

In An Evil Premise, a woman desperate for success rushes to complete the unfinished manuscript of her comatose sister, a bestselling author, only to discover that the story oddly resembles reality and could be driving her mad to the point where everything begins to feel meta.

The book felt like a horror comedy, and I found myself laughing during creepy scenes and between terrible scenes of horror—definitely a wild read. Psychological horror with insanity and possession is not my cup of tea, but the humor made it entertaining. I thought the characters’ dialogue exchanges were funny and Jewel’s point-of-view was hilarious. The horror was graphic and over-the-top, and the numerous twists of the twists were also way too much (probably intentional), which made it all the more confusing, wild, terrible, disgusting, creepy, mind-bending, and funny. I think that was the idea so the horror succeeded there. Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel.

4.25 stars

This book was a confusing but amazing time. This is a book you have to read quickly, cause there is so much going on that if it takes a while to read you're going to start forgetting characters, events, etc. I loved the premise of this book and how it was written, especially the writing of the narrator. The ending was a little confusing, partly because of the narrator but I imagine that was on purpose. Regardless, I wish I had understood what was happening at the end a little more, but the ending was perfect.

Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advanced e-copy !

What a wild and insane ride. I absolutely loved this! It was creepy and unsettling but full of dark humor. This slow-burn psychological horror will constantly leave you guessing. It has an amazing, unique plot, fantastic characters, and plenty of intriguing twists. So far, this is easily my favorite horror novel of 2025.

While this book has its creepy moments, it wasn't enough to win me over. The unreliable narrator was too much and the confusion/fake outs at the end were too much. I think if you usually read more horror rather than thrillers you may enjoy the slow burn, but I wasn't the right audience for this story.

An Evil Premise follows the story of Jewel. Her sister is an author who gets into a car accident and goes into a coma. Jewel, wanting to help as much as she can temporarily moves into her sister’s apartment. There, Jewel finds a manuscript that causes her to become paranoid.

I didn’t love this as much as the author’s last book, Theme Music. An Evil Premise is very much a slow-burn novel. I found it to move a little too slowly for my liking, and I kept waiting for things to pick up, which it eventually did towards the end, and had a fun twist.

I did like the fact that Jewel was an unreliable narrator and I enjoyed reading parts of the manuscript, but it was super hard for me to connect with any of the characters due to the pacing of everything.

Overall, I just didn’t vibe with this one, but if you love a slow-burn psychological horror story, I recommend reading this when it comes out on August 12.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the copy!

This is THE best ARC I have ever read. It also is my absolute favorite read so far this year. I saw absolutely NONEEE of the plot twists coming at the end, and even after there were twists they just kept on coming. Truly a 5 star read!

Alright, so An Evil Premise is exactly what you’d expect from T. Marie Vandelly—dark, twisted, and absolutely not something you should read right before bed (which, of course, I did). The writing is razor-sharp, the atmosphere is dripping with dread, and the tension builds like a slow-creeping nightmare. Vandelly knows how to craft a story that burrows under your skin, and this one definitely delivers.

That said, some of the plot turns are so wild that you just have to roll with it. Like, logic takes a backseat, grabs some popcorn, and watches the chaos unfold. But honestly? That’s part of the fun. It’s a brutal, eerie, and completely absorbing read—just don’t expect to feel good afterward

I am so happy that I got a copy of "An Evil Premise" by T. Marie Vandelly from Netgalley, because I swear I think this is going to be one of the top horror books of 2025.

Like, I think my main advice for other readers is -- just have fun with this. This isn't deep literature, but a damn good story with truly creepy and original moments. I HOPE it will get made into a movie eventually, because I think it would have some of the best jump scares. It's weird to think of a book having jump scare moments, but it definitely did for me!

A must read for horror fans in 2025. "An Evil Premise" comes out in August!

Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

T. Marie Vandelly’s “An Evil Premise” is a chilling, mind-bending horror story that plunges you into a nightmarish descent of possession, artistic obsession, and blurred reality. With a masterful blend of psychological terror, supernatural horror, and slasher elements, Vandelly crafts an immersive and disorienting experience that will leave you questioning what is real and what is a product of the cursed manuscript at the heart of the story.

Jewel Baldwin never expected to return to her childhood home, but when her estranged sister, bestselling author Deidre Baldwin, falls into a coma under mysterious circumstances, she finds herself back in familiar, though deeply unsettling, surroundings. There, she discovers an unfinished manuscript—one Deidre’s publisher is desperate to see completed. Hoping to make a name for herself as a writer, Jewel agrees to take on the task. But this is no ordinary manuscript. As Jewel reads, strange and terrifying events unfold around her—eerie coincidences that soon become full-fledged horrors. She begins seeing grotesque visions, hearing things that can’t possibly be real, and losing time in ways that defy explanation. The manuscript seems to take on a life of its own, mirroring the bizarre affliction that left Deidre incapacitated. As the lines between fiction and reality dissolve, Jewel begins to wonder if she is being possessed—or if the fear of possession is enough to turn her into a killer.

Vandelly executes the book within a book trope with terrifying precision, incorporating excerpts from the manuscript that add layers of dread and paranoia. Watching Jewel’s unraveling, as she falls deeper into the story’s sinister influence, is both mesmerizing and horrifying. The sense of claustrophobia—heightened by the setting of a childhood home-turned-apartment—creates an oppressive atmosphere where the walls seem to close in, making you feel just as trapped as Jewel.

The book thrives on its unreliable narration, making you question whether Jewel is succumbing to supernatural forces or simply spiraling into madness, especially towards the end where the horror elements really start to ramp up. Every moment feels laced with dread, and Vandelly expertly plays with perception, making it impossible to trust what is real. The horror in An Evil Premise is relentless. There are elements of body horror, psychological terror, and brutal, graphic deaths that will satisfy fans of written carnage. The book also explores deeper themes—obsession, the cost of creation, and the madness that can come from artistic ambition—giving it a level of depth beyond its gory thrills.

While the slow burn builds tension beautifully, it may not appeal to those who prefer a faster-paced horror experience, especially as the book leans into abstract, fever-dream horror, particularly in its final act. The ending, while shocking and full of unexpected twists, left me feeling more confused than satisfied, as it becomes difficult to parse what is real and what is pure delusion. Additionally, Jewel is not the most likable protagonist—she is often selfish and dismissive of her sister—but her descent into madness is compelling enough that it’s hard to look away.

Overall, “An Evil Premise” is a brilliantly executed, nightmarish horror novel that plays with perception, possession, and the power of storytelling in truly terrifying ways. Vandelly’s sophomore novel cements her place as a rising voice in modern horror, delivering a claustrophobic, meta, and deeply unsettling tale that lingers long after the final page.

The beginning of this novel starts out strong. I loved the story and was immediately hooked. The prose is beautiful and well-written throughout the first half of the book. The story also terrified me, which says a lot, and I found myself unable to read it at night. That’s a good thing!

Unfortunately, the dialogue throughout the book feels cheesy. Oftentimes, when the author uses an exclamation point, a period could have been used in its place, creating more impact and adding to the creepiness of the story. The last quarter of the book could use another few rounds of edits as it doesn’t match the beginning’s polished writing. It often read as YA because of how basic the language was and the lack of artful prose.

Overall, I loved the beginning of the book and I think with a few more rounds of editing, this novel could be fantastic and be a true gift to the horror genre.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC read!

I really enjoyed Theme Music, so I was very excited for this one. What a wild horror story! I loved the book within a book with the manuscript. It started out slow but really started to build. Things came out of left field,
And that ending? What a wild ride!