Thanks NetGalley for the ARC -

As a horror and metal fan, this was a very fun read. Enjoying metal isn’t a requirement for this book, but enjoying horror definitely is. The horror itself was very well written and I felt attachment to the characters. My two main pieces of feedback: First, is that the characters often moved into very logical thinking quickly. I have to say, I would not be thinking logically if I was witnessing similar things. Second, is that as someone who’s less familiar with fungus and mushrooms, a little bit of additional explanation would have been helpful for me. Overall, creepy and eerie read.

I think this book was written for me. As a metal fan who's been to more than a few small venues that maybe don't feel altogether structurally sound, to see bands that are maybe a bit off key but make up for it with passion and energy, I wish I could hear exactly how Queen Carrion sounds in the author's head. I think I would love them.

I love the idea of music as a connection to something otherworldly. To most folks, metal just sounds like noise. But to those who love it, this sounds silly or melodramatic but yeah, I get how it could be a connection to something else. Something otherworldly. I won't get into too many potential spoilers but the way Brynn found her sound and wrote her songs was really well done.

If you don't have that same background and appreciation for metal music, I think this book won't capture you quite as much as it did for me, but hopefully the creepy setting and spreading infection will do enough to hook you in.

I pretty unreservedly love this one. I'll be getting my hands on a hard copy, and I'm looking forward to checking out Jo Kaplan's other work.

3.5⭐️ for the yuck factor

This book would have worked much better as a novella. The first half was strong—gross, entertaining, and engaging—but the story lost direction as it went on. Even though it wasn’t very long, it felt drawn out, with sections that rambled and slowed the pace. The conclusion was unsatisfying and left the overall experience weaker than it began. A tighter edit could have made it far more effective.

Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH books for the ARC

The Midnight Muse is a haunting and mesmerizing read that blends gothic atmosphere with a captivating story. Jo Kaplan’s writing drew me in immediately, and I loved the way mystery, art, and darkness wove together. It’s beautifully written, eerie in all the right ways.

Holy creepiness and heebie jeebies, book peeps!!! 🙌

This one had me hooked from the start! Kaplan did an excellent job with building an eerie atmosphere and amazing imagery to immerse the reader in the story! I could easily see this one being made into a movie! Highly recommend to horror readers, especially those who love body horror, eco horror, and totally creepy vibes! 👏

Thank you to Clash Books, NetGalley, and Jo Kaplan for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️ This was my first read of Kaplan’s and it will definitely not be my last!!

Cursed and bloodcurdling—this book had me in a chokehold from chapter one.
A year after their lead singer Brynn Werner disappeared, what is left of the cursed metal band Queen Carrion ventures on a trip to stay at the cabin in Oregon’s Umpqua National Forest where Brynn vanished. Queen Carrion has a history with ghastly tragedies, but when Brynn’s voice sings to them from between the trees, they soon find themselves in a horror movie, with figures wearing gas masks and fungus moldering the walls in the basement.

The Midnight Muse is like nothing I’ve ever read, switching between two timelines—before and after the nightmare at the cabin—alternating different points of view with gossipy news articles, letters, notebook entries, research papers, and whatnot added in between. It gives the book a fast pace and holds your attention hostage, forcing you to turn the next page.

Furthermore, each individual character was a true masterpiece—a Picasso, probably—with flaws deep like stab wounds, pasts haunting them, secrets they’d keep to the grave, and scars that could never be undone, and their own reason to come to the cabin in the first place.
And from the beginning, you know most of them are going to die.

Moreover, this book was unsettling. Goosebumps ran across my arms and I felt increasingly uncomfortable reading—which was great! Body horror, paranormal funguses, and the terror of real people. What a thrill to read something so bizarre.

In short, The Midnight Muse is deeply unsettling, horrifying, and an amazing read. Composed from a thousand parts, it is a masterful symphony. This book is for anyone who loves either metal, horror, or both. Dive into this book and let Queen Carrion haunt you!

The Last of Us meets a heavy metal band in the woods.

Words can't describe how much I loved this book. The premise immediately hooked me, and the horror elements were well done! This story was dark, creepy and twisted - what more could you ask for?

Thank you NetGalley and CLASH Books for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of the Midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan.

As a fan of the horror genre, this was disturbingly dark and creepy. If anyone saw my face while reading it, I’m sure it had a look of disgust on it. This was classic horror with enough gore and suspense to keep you reading.

Brynn Werner, singer & songwriter of Queen Carrion, vanishes while at the Trail Creek Cabin. A year later, her bandmates – Rhys, and his girlfriend Jacqueline; Wendy; Louella; and siblings, Harthorn and Harlow – visit the same cabin as a means of closure for her disappearance. For Brynn’s best friend, the drummer, Harlow, there are other motives.

The story is told via multiple timelines. There are the events that take place when the bandmates visit the cabin after Brynn’s disappearance. There’s the Aftermath of those events. Also employed in the novel are additional textual elements such as entries from the cabin’s guestbook, media articles related to past events, and scientific entries regarding the book’s subject matter lending credence to the story. I found this book to be somewhat similar to the Troop by Nick Cutter. If you enjoyed this one, you’d enjoy that one as well.

Should this ever be optioned for a movie, the soundtrack would be lit. And please incorporate a metal cover version of Garth Brooks’ song Friends in Low Places:

'Cause I've got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away
And I'll be OK
Yeah, I'm not big on social graces
Think I'll slip on down to the oasis
Oh, I've got friends in low places’

The final lesson here: Don't do drugs…especially mushrooms! And, be mindful of who or what you copulate in the forest because the dead collect in low places.

The Midnight Muse started out strong and I really enjoyed the first half. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, but the story kept me mostly entertained until the end. I say 'mostly' because there were a few sections of several pages throughout the story that I skimmed through because they were repetitive (lyrics).
If you like fungi horror, you'll enjoy this story.
Thank you Clashbooks, Jo Kaplan and NetGalley for this ARC

I strongly enjoyed this book, it had a lot of original ideas and themes and the synopsis had me very interested. It was very easy to get through, and If you love horror and unique ideas within a thriller, you will enjoy this book.

Huge thanks for my arc!

Firstly, I love fungi. So, when I saw the premise of this book I was very excited. I ended up enjoying this much more than I expected! This was so unsettling!!! The body horror was top notch. When I read the synopsis and saw this was being marketed as a “mycelium-metal horror” I was already sold. As someone who loves mycology this really hit the mark in a lot of ways. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending it’s still really solid and I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes thriller/horror novels and bonus points if you like fungus lol

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.75/5 stars), so I have rounded up.

I had such a great time with The Midnight Muse. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn’t pull myself away. It has that perfect blend of eerie atmosphere, body horror, and mystery that keeps you on edge the whole way through.

The story follows the bandmates of Queen Carrion, who return to a remote cabin in the Oregon woods one year after their lead singer, Brynn, vanished without a trace. The setup already had me hooked: a missing person, a secluded cabin, and something strange growing beneath the surface literally. The vibe is unsettling in the best way, and Jo Kaplan does a brilliant job building tension through the setting, the shifting dynamics within the band, and the bizarre things happening in the forest.
The creepy guestbook entries, the gas mask figures in the trees, the strange fungus crawling from the basement tunnel, it all gave me serious what the hell is going on? Energy. And when Brynn’s voice starts echoing through the trees? Yeah, full chills.

One scene in particular was gloriously gross (you’ll know it when you get there), and honestly, it was so well done that it made me both gag and cheer. That’s horror gold.

The pacing was spot-on, and the characters felt fully fleshed out, flawed, and believable, each carrying guilt, secrets, or some simmering resentment. Kaplan nails the emotional undercurrent while delivering a solid horror read.

If you love creepy, secluded cabin-in-the-woods horror with fungal weirdness, psychological dread, and a bit of gore, this one’s for you. It’s haunting, strange, and unforgettable.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Clash Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Horror is not one of my genres usually, but every so often a horror novel draws my attention. This novel has such a satisfying nerdy theme (fungi) along with the story built around a band, and a gorgeous cover. I had to try it, and I was quite impressed. This is definitely horror, and eating while reading may be I'll advised. But there is not gratuitous gore or grossness for the shock value of being gross. The story is very well paced, and the gross or gorey bits are all integral to the storytelling. I could see fans of sci-fi authors like Tchaikovsky (who explore alien lifeforms) really appreciating this novel, for the way that fungi participate in this book.

Thanks in advance for the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I own a signed Jo Kaplan hardcover and the corresponding audiobook but have not read or listened to them. This, however, I eagerly read as it had mushrooms in the story.
To blend mushrooms with a cursed band was a bit of genius. Love all of the characters and the scares and setting were excellent. Highly recommended.

It’s a mystery/thriller about the lead singer of a heavy metal band who goes missing, prompting the rest of the band to return to the last place she was seen in search of answers.

The story had an intriguing premise, likable characters, and a decent ending. While it dragged in parts, it never felt like a chore to read. One heads-up: if fungus or body horror involving fungal takeover makes you squeamish, proceed with caution!

The conclusion wrapped things up for Thorn and Harlow, but it felt a bit underwhelming compared to the stronger moments earlier in the book.

Wow! What a twisty and quirky story. Mycelium! I love it.The story has all the feels for a horror/sci fiction. Dark, creepy, mystery, grotesque, anxiety. Yes, a few times I felt my heart rate go up. The writing flowed well. I did enjoy the breaks of "official" documents. I thought that was well done. Really pulled you into wanting to figure the whole things by our.

The Midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan (to be published March 10 2026) is a mushroom horror and body horror novel about the metal band Queen Carrion, whose lead singer has been missing in a forest for over a year. The band takes a commemorative trip to the cabin where she had been staying only to come across deadly mushrooms which rot the body and mimic the life which it has just consumed. The band must find different ways to survive while being pick off one by one in traditional final girl manner. They discover an institute dedicated to studying this type of mushroom, and soon they find themselves fending off more than one adversary.

The story is told by Harlow Sorenson, drummer of the band and best friend of Brynn Werner, the missing lead singer. Harlow struggles with alcoholism and mild psychosis and is very emotional when it comes to finding Brynn, making her aggressive against other members of the band who are ready to move on. She is an unreliable narrator who, along with the rest of the band, explores her inner demons as well as demons in their friendship. There seem to be too many characters in this story; Lou and Wendy have the same personality and could have been conflated into a single character.

The writing overall has a good pace but sometimes drags. This is exacerbated by the times when the characters begin to reminiscence and introspect during moments of action, which is quite frustrating to read. The narration is also interspersed with news clippings and scientific reports, which mostly add to the story but at times don’t contribute much. There is a particular news clipping called “Whatever Happened to Queen Carrion” which is segmented into way too many parts and sometimes starts mid-sentence from where it left off, which is very unpleasant to read. The plot is mostly predictable and some things which are meant to be reveals fall short of being impactful. Although this story has an atmosphere of mystery, the narration falls into the habit of overexplaining and leaves little to the imagination. There is a laughable scene in which the mushroom collective begins speaking to the reader; this is illogical as it is the only scene in the book in which the reader is being addressed directly, which in a sense breaks the fourth wall and temporarily breaks the suspension of disbelief. It is such a strange account that it quite negatively stands out. What the mushroom collective says could easily have been found in a journal entry instead.

Although there are some narrative mishaps and the pace is at times slow and clunky, it’s an interesting book that explores the communicative nature of mushrooms and the regenerative essence of mycelium. The rot of organic matter such as bodies is expanded into body horror that is disturbing and engaging and makes the story unique. It is very much an eco-horror novel focused on the fascinating nature of mushrooms. This book is recommended for readers who enjoy a good cabin in the woods story, a group of friends who are pick off one by one, ecological horror, stories about bands, and paranormal horror.

Okay, to be honest, this started off very strong. We have a compelling premise - a disappearance under mysterious circumstances, and Harlow's subsequent mental health decline. The story then goes back and forth between the present day, with Harlow getting treatment after slicing open her arm, and the past, when the band was in Umpqua National Forest.

Then things got rather draggy. I liked the mystery aspects of the story, such as Brynn's singing, or the strange fungus growing in the tunnel of their cabin, but at one point the story felt very slasher-flick-esque, with the characters getting killed one by one. You can almost tell who's next on the death roster.

Now, in all fairness, the characters weren't entirely stupid (they did make the questionable decision to stay in a shady cabin) but when things went south, they did try to leave. Having said that, some bits felt overwritten. Some of the action parts were saddled with too many explanations and details, and went on for too long. After all, with the story switching back and forth between the past and the present, momentum would have been lost anyway, so I think a tighter writing would have helped with the pacing. By any means, this book hovered over a 3.5 star rating for the most part.

And then Jo Kaplan took the story in an unexpected direction. Without giving anything away, I couldn't stop reading the last third of the book. Did I predict that explanation for Brynn's fate? Not at all. I like the concept of the 'low places' Brynn kept talking about and the pseudo-scientific explanations for the horror bits.

In addition, I grew to appreciate some of the characters, who were surprisingly complex for a horror story where they were mostly fodder for whatever horror lying in wait for them. I love what Kaplan did with Thorn, Harlow's brother; his sacrifice and the way he thought out the problems were admirable. Jacqueline, a character I thought was somewhat bland at first, turned out to have some depth as well. Even Harlow, who I initially found to be too emo, had a growth arc of sorts.

All in all, this was a decent read. You'll have to have patience, though, and fortunately for this book I read it months ago when I was less stressed out and/or in a hurry. But setting aside my personal store of patience, this novel did have some clever twists and reveals.

I really wanted to love this one, the premise had all the right ingredients for a moody, mycelium-laced horror: a missing metal singer, a haunted forest cabin, and a creeping fungal presence that threatens to unravel reality. But in the end, The Midnight Muse just wasn’t for me.

The writing is atmospheric and eerie, and Jo Kaplan clearly knows how to build dread. The mushrooms-as-metaphor motif is cool in theoryespecially with the themes of transformation and artistic obsession, but the story often felt more like a slow, dreamlike descent than a satisfying narrative. The pacing dragged, and the characters (aside from Brynn) didn’t fully click with me. I found it hard to stay invested in the band’s dynamic or feel much urgency in the unraveling mystery.

If you’re into surreal, psychological horror with a literary bent and don’t mind ambiguity or slower burns, this might hit the spot. But for me, the atmosphere outweighed the emotional pull, and by the end, I was more spored-out than spooked.

Not a bad book just not my vibe.

So supremely creepy and dark. Another entry in the queer people/mushroom horror canon. Loved the characters and the story told here, but I do think some of the flashback sections took away from the momentum of the plot.