*Thank you to NetGalley for this arc*

I didn't like this book very much. It was hard to get into and the pacing felt off. None of the characters are likeable, so it doesn't matter to the reader that they die, there's no real stakes. I knew who the killer would be before they even left for the retreat. I really wish thriller/horror authors would stop thinking that the therapist being the killer is something new and novel. It's so overdone and as soon as the character shows up we already know who it is. There was no creativity or individuality and it was entirely too predictable because this plot has already been written so many times. It felt like the plot was written around the deaths just because the author wanted to see how gruesome he could make them without putting any effort into the rest of the book.

Breathe In, Bleed Out was a fun slasher/horror book and I enjoyed reading every second of it. A group of friends sets out to partake in a wellness retreat in the desert…in the middle of the nowhere and suddenly her friends start disappearing and Hannah (FMC) can’t quite decide if the monstrous miner she is seeing is real or part of her mind going crazy! Not only are they in the middle of nowhere, there’s an odd guru leading slightly cult-like activities and an old urban legend about Dead Man’s Due Mine!
The story gave me such Scooby-doo vibes and was quite gory at times! I feel weird saying it but the kills were happening in such a creative and brutal way that it really nailed the aspect of a horror book. The book was fast-paced and I couldn’t figure out who the killer was. I loved reading the author’s note at the end and how much he loved and appreciated slasher movies and all the “rules” that come with creating something in the slasher realm. This was my first book by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last!
Long live the slasher!!!!

ARC review- this was such a fun read!! i enjoyed how the author really had the reader thinking just about anyone could be the killer

Breathe In, Bleed Out - Brian McAuley

"Dragging a body through six inches of snow is even harder than I expected."

A short, fast-paced horror mystery that gives you old-school slasher vibes. Without giving much away, the FMC goes on a spiritual retreat with friends after a tragic event she struggles to deal with. Rather than a relaxing girls' holiday, it turns into a nightmare as the retreat is turned into a psychopath killing ground, and she is fighting to stay alive.

In the dark of Dead Man's Due...
Waylon Barlow waits for you...
He'll hack you up without a trace...
Pick your bones and steal your face...

This is perfect for spooky season and is set to release a few weeks prior. If you like a quick-moving scary story, this should not disappoint.  

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a great choice to put in Camp NetGalley for sure. 
Publication date is set for Sept 2, 2025

Thank you to Brian McAuley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so glad I decided to check Camp NetGalley, or I might not have found this gem! I loved reading about the author's story discovering the horror genre when he was a kid, because this book was clearly written by a horror fan! It reads like a slasher movie, and the deaths are so ridiculously creative, violent, gory and funny, it first makes you want to close your eyes (too late, the scene is playing in your head!) and then makes you laugh. I kept yelling at people making stupid decisions, at whoever my suspect was at the time...
By the way, I went through a few suspects, and I was so sure I had it by the last third of the book... but in true Scream fashion, I was wrong when the final reveal came.
I had an absolute blast reading this, and I'll definitely check Brian McAuley's other books!

Breathe In Bleed Out, scheduled to publish September 2, 2025. I read this going in blind and I highly recommend you do the same.

This book was absolutely fantastic and made for such a fun buddy read. I did not want to put this book down, but had to for life happenings.

I picked this book up for summer camp to earn a badge. It looks like a fun cover, I thought. This book took me for a ride, drawing me into the scenes. Perfect book to read for the summer.

Such a good slasher with a fresh take and a unique setting. A friend group goes on a spiritualistic journey to a new and upcoming retreat. Hannah is running from her haunted past. The only questions can she outrun her demons?

This book has it all adventure, Unreliable narrator, Road trip, Outdoors, mystery, thriller vibes etc. My first read of Brian's and I am eagerly reaching for the next copy. Recommend reading this outside or in the dark.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this e-ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. Breathe In, Bleed Out completely wrecked me in the best way possible. This book is raw, emotional, and unapologetically real. The author doesn’t shy away from the darkness, but somehow still leaves room for hope to flicker through.

The characters are messy, complex, and painfully human. I felt every high and low right alongside them—the heartache, the rage, the healing. The writing is lyrical and gut-punching, the kind of prose that lingers long after the final page.

If you’re looking for a book that dives deep into trauma, survival, and finding light in the shadows, this one delivers. It’s not always easy to read, but it’s so worth it.

Highly recommend if you love emotionally intense stories with beautifully broken characters and a touch of redemption.

First of all, let’s all take a moment to appreciate this stunning cover 🤌✨

Horror slashers aren’t usually my cup of tea, I tend to prefer spooky over gory, but this cover was just too pretty to resist, so I picked this one up for Camp NetGalley.

Breath In, Bleed Out is a slasher thriller set at an exclusive wellness retreat tucked away in the mountains, where a masked killer is on the loose, leaving behind a trail of violent, graphic and incredibly detailed murders. It’s fast-paced, terrifying and packed with secrets. While the overall plot didn’t feel particularly unique, what did stand out to me were the death scenes.

Brian McAuley truly shines in the way he crafts these kills. The language, the detail, the sheer creativity. His killer’s methods are disturbingly vivid and for someone like me, extremely graphic. Some of those murder scenes honestly sent chills down my spine and I’m not exaggerating. The twist at the end was also well-done, I didn’t see it coming.

I personally enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. It was fun, scary and definitely something I wouldn’t be able to watch on screen (in the best way possible).

Would I Recommend? Yes
For readers who like: Graphic horror, Creepy retreats, Slasher tropes, Scream vibes

Thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Brian McAuley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was quite simply…fun. The story was a fast-paced, gory, thriller (way out of my usual genre) and I had the best time with it. Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley may not be highbrow storytelling but that makes this book all the better; it’s campy, it’s over-the-top, it’s absurd. I would highly recommend this to anyone new to slasher novels. The character development is great, yet it never takes itself too seriously. I am so grateful to have had the chance to read this!!

A love letter slasher that satirises cultural appropriation and wellness culture, BIBO is chock full of trauma, healing, bloodshed, and morally grey players. Satisfying for the most part, it fumbles a little with its obvious twists, and thin characterisation, but it's still a bloody good time with a heart to boot.

NET GALLEY CAMP READ! Thanks NetGalley.


It was in and out holding my attention, but that could partially be due to my current busy life load. There were some plot holes, but nothing that stopped me from finishing. It takes A LOT for me to DNF. Sometimes women don't come across the best when written by a man (but let's be honest, the same could be said the other direction). It could have been a shorter novel, with slightly less "fluff", but it's enjoyable if you like a murder mystery/slasher feel like Scream or that one movie with that guy where they're on a retreat and everyone gets knocked off one by one. You know - where you can pinpoint and call out the next plot lines. Watch out on your next wellness retreat, haha!

Thanks again Net Galley and Brian McAuley!

Thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Brian McAuley for the advanced copy!
This book gives classic ‘90s horror movie vibes and I’m so here for it! I hadn’t previously read any of McAuley’s work but I definitely will read the rest of his work after this one! The woo-woo Joshua Tree Wellness retreat setting and cult vibes gave a fresh and satirical take on the slasher genre. The complex character backstories and red-herrings had me guessing who the killer was until the last second. The author’s note at the end really made me love the author/the story even more. I could definitely see this as a movie and the author’s film background makes all the more sense. It’s funny cause I had seen other bookstagrammers post about this one and had added it to my Summerween TBR, not realizing it wasn’t even out yet! Cut to me joining NetGalley and getting to read this ARC early! This is my first ARC! Am I doing this right?! 😄⛏️

This book is set at a wilderness retreat. We follow, Hannah, a former medical intern who lost her fiancée is a mysterious way. Hannah and some friends decide to embark on a retreat full of yoga, sound baths and spiritual rituals. Eventually retreat goes start to die off in interesting ways. While the structure of the story feels cinematic, it does lean heavily on your classic “slasher” troupes. In all this was a fun read. Well written and entertaining.

🧘‍♀️✨ Come for the yoga retreat, stay because you’re being murdered in increasingly creative ways.

Breathe In, Bleed Out is a bloody, unhinged blend of My Bloody Valentine & Scream, with a side of tech detox and trauma-induced hallucinations. It’s equal parts wellness satire and slasher chaos, where every sound bath could be your last. If you’ve ever fantasized about escaping to Joshua Tree to fix your life, just know… your demons might already be waiting there - with a knife.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💀
Vicious, cathartic, and weirdly hilarious. Vibe absolutely ruined—in the best way.

*Thank you Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It’s Camp Netgalley summer time again! 😀 I am super happy to participate in the camp for the 2nd year in a row. This year for camp, Netgalley has a specific selection of books to pick from 😮 Breathe In, Bleed Out was the only horror title I saw. I had not heard of the author before, but you know me…. DUH! I’m gonna pick horror! 😀

I really enjoyed this book. It felt like such a nostalgic, campy blast of 1990s slasher horror! It is a clear love letter to the genre. ❤ There is so much homage. If you are a fan of slasher movies, especially 1990s goodies like Scream, and (the remake of) My Bloody Valentine, you will probably enjoy this as well. I was definitely not disappointed. 😀

I enjoyed the plot. I loved the idea of a killer at a sketchy meditation retreat. Oh man, I want this as a movie, stat. 😀 I’d totally watch it. I saw one review talk about how this feels like a movie you’d find on a free streaming app like Tubi or Pluto Tv…. uh, YES PLEASE! 😀 That is totally the amazing vibe this book has (and a movie on Tubi or Pluto Tv app would be amazing. ❤ ). I don’t feel that is a negative at all!

There was one part of the plot I would have liked a little bit more enlightenment on though. The sketch guru Pax had some sneaky plans going on that were pretty interesting. I would have loved to have just a little bit more info on that. It was a very interesting idea and we only see a small amount of it explained. But really, that’s my only complaint though, and that is a pretty small complaint!

I think the characters are also fun. You are “rooting for” some of them to get killed. Some are annoying, and some are fine! I think I personally thought it was a good mix of personalities.

Breathe In, Bleed Out is just straight up nostalgia fun! I had such a good time reading this book. A clear love letter to the 90s slasher horror. I had not heard of this author before, but I can’t wait to read something else by him. 😀

I loved this! This is a book for true horror lovers (slasher movies, in particular). You can tell the author is a huge fan of the genre even before reading his fun afterward. The twists and turns keep coming, keeping you guessing til the very end. Obviously, I think a movie version of this book would be so fun and translate very well to film. 4.5 stars!

Thank you Netgalley for my copy of this book. This review is my own and unbiased.

This was a solidly fun, campy slasher with lots of gore and fun deaths. Hannah felt like a classic horror movie heroine, wrestling with her own survivor's guilt and the perfect combination of apprehensive but hopeful that the retreat will save her. the ending was fun and twisty. I will definitely read more books by this author.

Brain has written the perfect horror book in where it makes you laugh and go, "ugh- so gross" in the same sentence. I literally gasped at certain parts and shouted, "Get 'em!" at others. This was a 5 star read for me. I loved every character (although I must say I loved Hannah more and not because we share the same name....). This book mixed horror and comedy and mystery all in one amazing read. (Something about ye olde Miners really gives me goosebumps). This was amazing and Brian will a repeat buy author for me.

I did have a good time reading this and it kept me turning the pages

But I wish we had a bit more shocking moments and the reveal fell a little flat for me

I would definitely read more horror stories from this author though

Rounded up from 2.5 stars.

I was so excited for a summer slasher! Unfortunately, Breathe In, Bleed Out didn't quite meet those expectations. The story starts fairly strong, but it loses momentum around the halfway mark.

You know those indie slasher films that are always free to stream, featuring a gorgeous cast of horrendous actors, riddled with plot holes, and cringey dialogue? This is that, but in book form.

The slasher scenes were decently written, but the inner monologues were questionable. It doesn't reflect realistic thoughts or conversations. There were also some eyeroll moments, especially pertaining to Hannah's character [insert man tries to write a female perspective rant].

In my opinion, this should have been a novella or short story. The author is clearly passionate and inspired by slasher films (as evidenced by the excessively long afterword). Still, he fails to bring a fresh perspective or originality to the genre with this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for an opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.