This is such an exciting, well-written book! Finished it in less than a day, couldn't put it down. Loved all the characters and the storyline. Highly recommend, what an awesome read.

Breath in, Bleed out was a bloody good time! It was full of classic slasher energy and kept me guessing on who was behind the mask the whole time. The characters might have all been a little insufferable, but that's kinda the point of slasher characters. I was here for fun murder time, and that was what was delivered. There were also several lines/characters that genuinely sent me (shout out to the Marine with a Punisher tattoo who only read one Punisher comic thinking about you, bestie). I had a really fun time reading this, and there was fabulous final girl energy.

You know that song Machinehead? The way I kept singing the title of the book to the tune of that song, 🎶 breathe in, bleed out 🎶 Just, over and over and over. I’m a bit relieved to be done with this book so I can stop that particular earworm from gnawing at my brain.

Anyway, onto the review itself. I know the author intended for this to be like if you were reading a B movie slasher film. And I think it really does read that way. Where it all falls apart for me is the characters, all of them. Except Kimi, she’s my bitch forever and ever, the only likable one. Also kind of…the plot?

For the characters I just hated them and for a slasher that’s fine, you kind of almost want that because you’re not really connected to them. Their purpose is to die, but damn they were another level of insufferable. I even kinda wanted our MC to die, I did not like her. The plot was mostly okay when it was about the slashing but when it tried to go any deeper than that it just didn’t work for me. Hannah was tortured by her past which was honestly a bit of a letdown, with the way she was acting I thought she was straight up lying about what happened with Ben. Tess was a cliche and in love with her straight friend. A tech company turned down new software stating it was unethical. Sure, Jan. And I didn’t guess the killer, it’s true, but it was such a letdown.

Overall, it’s a story that’s fine for what it is and honestly that’s on me for searching for deeper meaning in a slasher story. The kills (once they started happening at like 30% in) were super fun and exactly what I wanted so it’s not all bad news.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Why oh why was this so good? It had it all, that nostalgic old school scary movie slasher. Dark humour that ran all the way to the end, including creative and at times laughable death scenes. Macabre death scenes. It had a female MC that has her own demons and is quite a mess to be frank. So many good red herrings and misdirections that you will for sure be surprised by who the killer is.

This was just a good bloody time, and it came during the perfect time - summerween! I need more of this.

definitely a thrilling page turner that you can get through in an afternoon. Unfortunately there are some plot holes throughout and elements of the book feel a little lacking.

Big thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for sending me this arc in exchange for my open and honest review.

After I read “Midsommar” and “Scream,” I didn’t need any more convincing. I am a huge fan of slasher horror movies, and that love clearly extends to slasher books because it took a lot for me to put this book down. It is a well-paced slow burn that kept me invested chapter after chapter. This book had me on edge, questioning who and what was real or just a figment of the main character, Hannah’s, imagination. Everything about this story was campy, but in the best way possible! I loved the unique kills! It made me think of The Final Destination movies, except it wasn't "death" coming for the victims; it was a specific individual! Overall, it was a great read and I am happy I could read and review it early!

I haven't had a book that gave me literal goosebumps since Stephen King's Salem's Lot

I am a "read a horror/slasher book but never watch a horror/slasher movie" type of girl
Rarely does a book scare me, but Breath In Bleed Out managed to be very close

I have to say that I loved the writing style
It was not overly descriptive that it would take you out of the story
It did not delve deep into monologuing and flashbacks...though there were some of those but they were enough to serve the story

There is a jump between first-person POV of the main character, Hannah, and the third-person POV of the victims just when they are about to meet the faceless one

The book starts with a very catchy first line that immediately puts you in the mood of what the story is going to be

<b> Dragging a body through six inches of snow is even harder than I expected.</b>

From there, we are kept untriguied
What happened?
Why did it happen?
Who is doing all that?

It was definitely a page turner

However, being a huge fantasy reader, I couldn't help noticing the plotholes and the unanswered questions
I know, I know
I need to let it go and just enjoy the vibes
But it's an irritating habit of mine 🤣 and I dont think I'll get rid of it any time soon, I guess

Anyway, I can not delve into these plotholes so as to not give Spoilers, but I am happy to discuss them in the comments

Also, I was hoping the story would go into a certain direction. However, it quickly swirved to a surprising turn of events by the end.

Is the book worth reading? Well, if you are a fan of Scream, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, or slasher genre in general, then yes ، this is definitely worth reading


A huge thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing the eARC of the book to participate in #CampNetgalley

Once again Brian McAuley brings a playful and irreverent voice to the horror genre. One that pays homage to horror trope classics of old. If you're looking for a quick and fun slasher, this is definitely for you. I enjoyed both the unique retreat setting as well as the new and imaginative ways to kill people. It was giving 'use what's available' vibes, and considering the context is a yoga retreat, you can imagine the murderous fun that ensues.

That said, there were a couple aspects that left me wanting more. Mainly, I was not invested in any of the characters and didn't really care what happened to them. I also found that the scope of social commentary, covering everything from mental health and toxic beauty standards to the harms of capitalism and cultural appropriation was so broad that it stretched itself a little thin, and didn't end up cutting as deep as it could have.

But overall, I really enjoyed this story and would happily recommend it to others. I continue to appreciate the strong narrative style Brian McAuley brings to the genre. Especially his use of thematic and inventive symbolic parallels, which remains an overall highlight for me, cementing him as one of my favourite auto-read authors.

Thank you Camp NetGalley & Poison Pen Press for the ARC.

We meet the FMC who is still grieving but agrees to go to this Wellness retreat to get away and relax. All of a sudden, a masked man starts taking out victims left and right. It's a wild ride. It should be turned into a movie immediately! I cannot wait to get my physical copy of the book.

Brutal. Bloody. Brilliant. I’m already a huge fan of McAuley’s, and I knew this book would be a banger. Slasher horror is my favorite type of horror, and McAuley does the genre justice. I loved that he made the main character, Hannah, into an unreliable narrator. Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Hannah hopes attending a wellness retreat in the desert with her friends will fix her. But her friends start disappearing, and Hannah can’t determine whether she’s losing her grip on reality, or if there’s something (or someone) more sinister at work.

Breathe In, Bleed Out is a bit of a slow burn, but once the action starts, it absolutely doesn’t stop. It’s witty and sharp, and fans of slasher novels will eat it up. I can’t wait to get my hands on a shelf trophy. Thank you so much @netgalley @brianmcwriter for the opportunity to read an early copy of this fantastic book through Camp NetGalley 🫶

The blood & gore 🩸, atmosphere, & whole vibe of this book is awesome!! PERFECT BOOK for fall & Halloween. Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is LITERALLY the first sentence, “Dragging a body through six inches of snow is even harder than I expected.”
We meet Hannah (FMC) dealing with the mysterious loss & haunting of her fiancé, Ben. Which in turn is affecting her judgement at work & she’s given some unexpected time off. This is when her friend, Tess, suggests that they go on a remote healing retreat in the desert with three other friends from college. Will they find their release? Or will something or someone do it for them?

This is my first read from Brian McAuley & I am here for it!! Absolutely loved the torture!
I was left with lots of questions from the get go! Loved the pacing & the FMC’s (Hannah) character development throughout the book.
I bow to the KING of Mis.Di.Rec.Tion 👀
I thought I knew who & what was going on & then McAuley said “UH, NO YOU DON’T” at every turn. And then the ending DID NOT disappoint! Bravo 👏 🔪🫣

*** I received an advance review copy from NetGalley & Poison Pen Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ***

what started out as an interesting premise (slasher book? LA influencers? in the desert?) fell flat for me. the characters are insufferable with no real depth. the story behind why the FMC is headed into the desert retreat isn’t shocking or very interesting. the horror itself is like a a low-budget film (which i think the author intended?).

i did enjoy it at times, as the plot moves quickly and you never know who or how the next person is going to get axed (no pun intended), but i wouldn’t reach for this again.

Thank you to Camp NetGalley and the publisher for letting me pick this ARC to read early in exchange for an honest review!

Not in a bad way at all, but I swear this author got inspiration from “Until Dawn”!! I won’t say all the references because of spoilers, but there were at least three different ones that were so similar to the game! Even the main character being named Hannah.

I realize I just need to not read books about yoga retreats.

All the center yourself and namaste stuff is just not up my alley at all. No judgments to people who like that or do that type of yoga, but it’s really boring to read about. I just can’t relate to it!

Most of the beginning of this book was about the yoga retreat and it was really hard to get through. It took about 115 pages for the characters to realize there may be something that is attacking them, and there was barely any killings in that first part.

It wasn’t thrilling. I was just barely interested to find out who the killer was.

I didn’t care about any of the characters at all. None of them had depth. I felt no emotions when people started dying.

It was a quick and abrupt ending.

Hannah barely even cared that her friends were dying. Sure she was worried that something happened, but it seemed more like she was nervous because something would then happen to her and less so that they could be dead and that would upset her.

There was way too much focus on Ben. I thought it was unique that he was haunting her so we second guessed what she was seeing was real, the drugs playing a part in that too, but still even at the end it focused more on her closing things out with Ben than it was that most of her friends got murdered.

I didn’t expect the ending, but there was too much going on and too much back and forth for me. I was just like, okay, so that’s who it was.

The deaths were pretty gruesome, so in that way it really felt like a slasher!

This might be worth checking out because I didn’t think it was written poorly, I just didn’t connect with the characters or the story.

When I tell you I read this in one sitting, I am not exaggerating. I curled up with my dog, a water bottle, blanket, and got absolutely absorbed into my kindle.

I love a good murder mystery or horror book, so I have some high standards when reading these. Safe to say, this book not only met but exceeded my expectations! The plot was extremely well thought out, making you think you knew where it was going but then completely twisting the plot, like a roller coaster ride. It contained all the usual tropes:
- picking characters off one by one
- the suspicious locals and get-away workers
- a horrifying local legend, wrapped in truth of real-world terrors
- a FMC with a mysterious but traumatizing past
but the author was able to write this in a new and refreshing way where it didn't feel old or overused. It even had a little romance thrown in there (but don't expect a HEA). I loved the twists and how the plot ended, I will definitely be reading more of this author's works!

Do you want to read a Scooby-Doo meets Criminal Minds meets Scream? Then you should ABSOLUTELY read this masterpiece of a book. This book was a delight and a joy that managed to explore the complexities of grief while still being so enjoyable. As someone who is very good at predicting twists, I did not see these coming. The characters were very well rounded, especially given that they seemed somewhat stereotypical at first. I truly cannot recommend this book enough - so much fun while also tackling very serious topics!

This has all the ingredients for a killer story (ha), but it needed a little less trauma dumping and a little more slashing.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, and this review is my own. I read this as part of Camp NetGalley. I think this just wasn’t for me. I generally enjoy horror novels, but I gravitate toward psychological horror rather than the slasher genre. Hannah lost her fiancé in a tragic accident, and she goes to a healing retreat with her friends to try to move past his death and her guilt. Her friends start getting picked off, one by one. The ending felt rushed.

I picked this book for Camp NetGalley because it had all the elements I usually love, and I was hoping for a fun and quick read. Unfortunately, it didn’t really work for me.
The story felt quite predictable, and I struggled to connect with the characters, I didn’t really care what happened to them, which made it hard to stay engaged. The ending, in particular, didn’t land for me. It felt a bit forced, with plot twists piled on top of each other just to be unpredictable. I also would have liked more background on Hannah’s relationship with Ben.
That said, I can definitely see why others might enjoy it. The setting was well done, the serial killer vibes were intriguing, and the writing style was easy to get through.

Haunted by the strange death of her fiancé during a wilderness trip, Hannah agrees to attend a remote spiritual retreat with her friends in hopes of starting over. Though initially skeptical, she begins to find peace through the retreat’s holistic offerings until her friends start dying in brutal, unexplained ways. As the violence escalates and her grip on reality unravels, Hannah must face her darkest memories and survive a killer.

Not only is the cover gorgeous, this is such a great slasher read! It pulls from classic slasher tropes like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, with shades of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, but drops us into a cultish wellness retreat instead of the usual summer camp or high school. Definitely some strong final girl energy here, and I thought McAuley nailed Hannah’s character—still deep in grief and not afraid to show her flaws. She felt raw and real, and bordering on the edge of madness, which made her all the more compelling and relatable.

The characters are solid, each carrying their own trauma that slowly gets revealed, and I loved how those layers fed into Hannah’s own story. There's real depth in the way their pain connects and trauma bonding seems to linger right to the end.

The mix of drug-induced fun with mindfulness, eerie dreams, and hallucinations makes it hard to tell what’s real, and that works beautifully with the unraveling tension. The pace is snappy, the kills are grotesque and satisfying, and I especially enjoyed the way we drop into each character’s perspective just before things go horribly wrong. The ending really landed for me though I did have inklings of the finale despite the clever misdirections.

I had a lot of fun with this one, especially since I’m a fan of a good yoga, hot springs and a fun wellness retreat. Thankfully, none of mine have ever turned out like this! A chilling mix of cultish self-help and classic horror tropes, this was such a fun, fast-paced read. 4.5/5.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Available on the 2 September 2025.

Hannah is struggling to move on after her fiancé, Ben, who died under mysterious circumstances during a hiking trip. Searching for peace and healing, she joins a group of friends at an exclusive wellness retreat in Joshua Tree. What was meant to be a soothing escape quickly turns into a nightmare when a series of brutal murders begins to unfold. As the danger grows, Hannah battles her own pain while desperately trying to figure out which of the people around her is the killer.

Hannah is a richly layered character, deeply shaped by the grief and guilt she carries over Ben’s death. These emotions influence how she views the world and connects with those around her. The story takes you deep into her mind, blurring the line between what’s real and what’s just her fears playing tricks on her. The other guests aren’t just background characters either, each has their own story and motivations, adding depth and layers to the mystery and making the stakes feel even higher.

At the same time, McAuley delivers a sharp and witty critique of the wellness industry, highlighting how it can sometimes feel more like a business than a true path to healing. The retreat, with its yoga classes, hot springs, and spiritual rituals, becomes the perfect backdrop for this contrast between the search for calm and the eruption of violence, fueling the story’s intense tension.

Inspired by classic slasher films like Scream and Friday the 13th, McAuley brings some seriously inventive and gruesome, kill scenes to the table. Each murder creatively uses the retreat’s unique features in ways that keep you guessing and glued to the edge of your seat.

This book is a must-read for anyone who loves slasher films. Many thanks to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The official release date is September 2, 2025.