This is my fourth book by this author and it did not disappoint! It was so fun and had me hooked right from the beginning. I feel like slashers aren’t done very well usually in books but this author nails is every time!

Hannah’s fiancé Ben died during a camping trip where the two got engaged. Since that day, she is having nightmares and lost her job as a medical intern at an L.A. hospital. She attends a getaway with her two best friends Tessa and Hannah. They are headed to the Avidya Healing Retreat in Joshua Tree, run by Guru Pax. The peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways. Hannah will have to confront her dark past and uncover the true nature of a ruthless monster.

The short chapters made it very fast-paced and I was eager to find out what was going to happen next. The kills were gruesome and the ending was unexpected. You're in for a bloody ride with this book.

10/10, NO NOTES 👏🏼

Brian McAuley has yet to disappoint me with his work and Breathe In, Bleed Out was no exception. And the cover? I knew I was in for something special.

A slasher set at a wellness retreat in the California desert? Say less 😮‍💨 This book was the slasher novel of the dreams I didn’t know I had.

As a lifelong horror lover and a yoga teacher of ten years (who has fully stepped away the last few years) who has also attended various retreats and festivals (in Joshua Tree no less) I honestly kind of felt like this was tailor made for me??? It was a pretty accurate look of how f*cked the wellness community can be 🫠

And the one liners? Someone make this into a movie ASAP. “Let’s go, hat head” and “welcome to the cloud, prick” will be living in my head for the foreseeable future.

And we can’t forget the look at grief and letting go and the demons Hannah had to battle and come to terms with in order to heal.

I could NOT put this down. Seriously just wow. I loved this, and I think it’s a great addition to the slasher genre. The emotional journey I went on trying to figure out the killer was crazy and insane and I’ll remember it forever. I had a great time with this book. It was fun as hell and I can’t recommend it more highly.

Be sure to put this one on your list. Coming September 2025

What’s a better way to get over a gruesome tragedy, the loss of your fiancé and your job, than with a wellness retreat in the desert with your best friends?

These are really well written characters. I had very strong emotions toward each of them. The story plot was *chefs kiss* and I definitely did not see that ending! I read this book in a matter of hours. What a thriller!

So happy that my 100th book of the year was a great one!

I love a good slasher and this hit the mark! It was a fun mix between Midsommar and And Then There Were None. The short chapters made it very fast-paced and I was eager to find out what was going to happen next. While the ending was surprising, it did seem a little rushed. I think if there were a few more chapters to really flesh things out that could've helped! Overall, I enjoyed this book and I couldn't put it down!

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this fun book! This was a great time and fun premise. I’ll definitely keep reading this authors work.

This is everything that I have ever wanted in a book and more. What a great read. This was really the perfect slasher book, filled with inventive, gory kills, misdirection, and even some humor. McAuley’s writing is just ridiculously good and filled with eerie suspense. This was such a fun read and the setting of the book was everything. McAuley transcends the genre with this one. The characters were wonderfully done and each was so well developed. I read this in one sitting and enjoyed every damn second. There were so many twists and turns and I honestly never once guessed the ending. I implore you to pick this one up in September when it is published!

What a fun and entertaining slasher novel! The story takes place in the isolation of the desert at a healing retreat, now let the bloodbath begin! I will defiantly be checking out other works from Brian McAuley

The main character Hannah, is grappling with the death of her fiancé, attends a spiritual retreat in the desert with a group of friends, hoping to heal. The retreat's idyllic atmosphere soon unravels as a killer begins to target the attendees, forcing Hannah to confront her past and fight for survival as the body count rises with the gruesome murders she must confront her own unresolved grief.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC

Publication date : Sept 2, 2025

I received an ARC from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. As a horror lover, Brian McAuley is now an instant read for me. I was so excited to get this book on NetGalley and wasted no time diving in. McAuley writes interesting and multifaceted characters that you are invested in. His stories are like watching a movie with all the jumps and gore. Hannah, who has a traumatic back story involving her fiancés death, is going on a restorative retreat with her old college friends. However, they start disappearing one by one and there is no cell reception at their secluded getaway. The bloody death scenes did not disappoint. The ending was a little tongue in cheek, but I flew through the last 50 pages going to bed later than usual.

2 stars, it wasn’t for me, but other people are going to like it just fine, so take the rating with a grain of salt and read the review before deciding if it is right for you.

Hannah’s fiancé Ben died during the very camping trip where the two got engaged and since then she’s been falling apart, taking too many prescription drugs, having terrible nightmares and being suspended from her job as a medical intern at an L.A. hospital.

Her friend Tessa plans a getaway for her and Hannah and three of their friends from college, Jared, Luna and Miles. They are headed to the Avidya Healing Retreat in Joshua Tree, run by Guru Pax. Hannah’s psychiatrist believes it’s a great idea so she heads off.

At first all seems to be well. And then the murders start.

When you read the author’s afterword, you see that the book is exactly what he wanted it to be…it’s a slasher film in book form. I was glad to read that, to see that’s what he intended, because that’s what he did, so, for me, it was just a little too by-the-book (movie?). It would probably work better as a low-budget film. There’s not much nuance here and when the big twist (TM) occurs, I just didn’t care so much. But if you are looking for some mindless killing fun, you might thoroughly enjoy this, it really just depends on your expectations going in. So now you know!

A bloody fun time. Binged this in one sitting. Highly recommend to anyone who wants a slasher with depth and a cool setting. Really dug the connection to mining, too. It felt fresh.

Brian McAuley is officially a master of the slasher. The inventiveness of the kills in this book are almost euphoric in the way they give you the kinds of feelings that only came from Freddy kills or Scream openings. It’s that much fun, that gory, that brutal, and just awesome. It’s also a fantastic parody of wellness culture and the cultural appropriation that often comes with it. Add a fierce and complex final girl and you’ve got yourself an instant slasher classic.

Did I read this book in one evening? You bet your ass I did. It’s no secret I’m a Brian STAN. His stories never disappoint. They’re full of all the slashery goodness we crave with a dash of the best, most hilarious one liners in the business. Hannah goes on the spiritual retreat from literal hell. The kills in this book rival Final Destination, in both imaginativeness & gross factor. I loved every second. Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC. I implore you to give this a read when it publishes September 2, 2025 I MEAN IT.

Buckle up for a road trip into the desert for a rehabilitating retreat. There's a steam lodge, natural hot springs, and real bloodbath!! This gripping and fast-paced horror mystery will keep you turning pages and guessing all the way to the end.

I love my slashers and this one was a real treat.
The story respects and transcend the rules of the genres.
The characters are worth investing in, there is a lot of misdirections and even more gruesome kills.
I especially loved the setting of the weird wellness retreat and that the Final Girl has her own bloody traumatic past to bring to the table.
I loved every page of it and I will definitely read other books from this author.
Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC!