A dark tale of ambition as struggling songwriter and lowly barista Angelina is invited to the compound of one of the greatest bands of her generation, Black Idyll. What follows is a dark tale of the cost of fame… and cults. Ugh- more cults.

Angelina is a woman at the end of her rope, no other options so of course no matter how good this invitation appears to be, she has no choice but to accept it. A great set up to really launch you into this novella. I enjoyed the imagery but it’s all pretty obvious from the get go (CULT) and I feel like if you’re asking if it’s a cult, it’s a cult. But I suppose desperation makes you fall for things easier.

As someone who typically has enjoyed the authors works, this one may be my least favorite so far. Well written overall, good transitions, just overwhelmingly felt like a story told before. Like you really need to be in a cult mood to enjoy this one. This is if Jennifer’s Body took place in a cult setting.

This was not really for me, I thought it would be..

The characters weren’t interesting and I felt it was quite repetitive. I put this down at half way, I won’t be reviewing this on my channel.

Thank you for the ARC

While 'Rockstar' and 'Fame' stories are not usually my cup of tea, I am glad followed my gut and my love of Dawson's previous books down the rabbit hole into this whirlwind novel.

I LOVE cult stories, and while was rolling my eyes at every choice Angelina made, she was so good at rationalizing, I got her point every time.

This is dreamy and ethereal, and just loved it.

Angelina, a barista and struggling singer/songwriter is down on her luck and recently fired. She's offered the opportunity of a lifetime, residency at the House of Idyll, where she can live without cost and freely pursue her love of songwriting and potential music career. House of Idyll is a safe haven and compound run by the largely successful rock band, Black Idyll, a band Angelina has grown up loving. How can she say no?

Dawson's writing is always gorgeous and immersive. I was there at House of Idyll. I could hear the drum circles and feel the dread and paranoia Angelina felt when things weren't as they seemed.
It was suspenseful, sexy as hell, and I loved the music lyrics in between chapters.
I will always love anything written by Delilah, and when there's a monochromatic theme, an NDA or weird contract in one of her novels, you know you're in for a good time.

Thank you to @titanbooks via @netgalley for one of my most anticipated reads of the year - House of Idyll by @delilahsdawson. I absolutely DEVOURED this one.

This one has it all, rockstars, fame, potential cult, and Faustian bargains. If Delilah S. Dawson writes it, I’ll be there. ✨

In House of Idyll we follow down of her luck Angelina Yves, who has just possible had the worst day of her life. All while also trying to make her music career happen. Then, one day, everything changes and her favorite band not only notices her but welcomes her into their all exclusive, everything included, artist incubator. What could possibly go wrong?

This story is fun, quick paced, sexy, and disturbing all in one go. It ended even better than I could have imagined. I loved watching Angelina grow in this story. I loved the setting, and I love a good rock band horror novel. I loved the lyrics between chapters too. This was truly the best time. I cannot wait to pick up a physical copy soon! Thank you again @titanbooks.

I fell in love with Dawson after The Violence and Guillotine was such a wild ride I knew she'd be an auto-read for me from there on.
The House of Idyll wasn't a synopsis that screamed out to me, I'm not often a fan of starry eyed girls and musicians in horror for the exact reasons this novel demonstrates. I couldn't stand the cheesy lyric excerpts for each chapter and I've never been one to idolise performers so I can't really connect to those who do.
However, I'll sign up to a cult story no matter the basis, I did enjoy the setting and atmosphere at House Of Idyll and there were some creepy, tense scenes to love. I think this would appeal more to a younger audience than myself (37) so I still recommend it. Its a short, easy read if your looking for a little campy fun.

Thank you to NetGalley, Delilah Dawson and Titan Books for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Well I was obsessed with Guillotine last year, probably one of my favourite books of the year so I was so excited to dig into this. This is not the same vein at all as that novel, this isn’t gory or revenge based at all. I read this quickly but I still feel a bit meh about the whole thing. It was worth a read with a great ending but somewhere in the middle felt very long.

Thank you to Titan Books & NetGalley for the eARC.

I love DSD's writing and horror stories. I was intriguied by this one being a rock star horror with cult themes. I love books about cults but fame isn't anything I'm typically interested in. I have to say the story worked really well. The cult vibes were believable because the price of fame, and I loved the nefarious vibes throughout the book.

It's easy to make a connection from this story to a real life band that has a camp, and that made it even more sinister and chilling. The only downside I had was this was a similar concept to DSD's other latest horror: It Will Only Hurt For a Moment. Both books take place at an artist retreat and I couldn't help but draw parallels between the stories, but I think I liked HoI better overall. It was thrilling, sexy, and dark. The story's pace was great and it kept me intrigued and reading the whole time. Overall this was a good read and I look forward to many more books by DSD.

This book is set in Los Angeles, CA. Angelina is a struggling musician. She works in a coffee shop and, in the span of one half day, she loses her job and the roof above her head. She is sitting on the sidewalk, singing, cuz how else is she going to survive? When all of a sudden, a nice car stops at the curve and invites her in. Little does she know that life is going to do a 180... for the best? For the worst?

It was a good book, but very middle-of-the-road for DSD. Just another cultish LA mystery storyline. It is an okay, but there was something missing. It's a feeling I've been having but I can put my finger on what it is exactly. Definitely my lease favorite DSD novel.

House of Idyll was a fun, twisted ride through cultish rock star glamour and creeping horror. It’s not my favorite of Dawson’s that I’ve read, but her mix of lush writing and sinister vibes still hooked me. The book leans into the decadent and the bizarre. Dawson is an auto-buy author for me! I’ll always show up for her strange, dark worlds!

House of Idyll was a thrill ride - vicariously living the life that any creator dreams of while all the time thinking, “You in danger, girl.”

Angeline is a singer-songwriter who moved to LA from Georgia and is working two jobs to make ends meet while trying to get her big break in the City of Angels.

On the third worst day of her life, she is offered a chance to live in an artist’s commune by her favorite band of all time - rock gods Black Idyll. Angeline reacts as anyone would - excited, but suspicious (introducing my favorite phrase of the book and possibly the year: “make scones out of her rib bacon”).

The chance to have all her Hollywood dreams - not to mention her teenage dreams - come true is too tempting, and she finds herself at her most creative, but mysterious figures and strange dreams start to make her think it really is all too good to be true.

Fair warning: I could not put this book down until I finished it. I stayed up way too late last night after thinking I could read a few chapters before bed. There is no reading a few chapters of this.

Stray Thoughts:

I had a silver unicorn pendant with my name on it (hey, it was the ‘80’s) that was a birthday gift when I was 12 or 13, so what I’m saying is, can I go to the House of Idyll? (But, obviously a less ominous one?)

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had a hard time staying engaged with the book until about 60% in, then everything really took off. I absolutely LOVED the last 40% of the book, which is making it hard for me to rate this novel. Ultimately, I think the writing is just too campy for me. It reads almost like a young adult novel (which I have a hard time with).
.
This story is sort of in the vein of 'sell your soul to the devil' for fame and fortune, with religious cult elements injected into it. The characters in this book are very shallow-and I found it hard to really like any of them. This is labeled as a horror novel, but I think it's subtle enough that readers looking to get into the horror genre could easily digest this story.
.
Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing an eARC of House of Idyll prior to publication. Expected pub date: 09/09/2025

House of Idyll by Delilah S. Dawson is a gothic slow-burn that twists domestic bliss into something menacing. The novel excels at atmosphere, with creeping dread seeping through each page as the idyllic façade begins to crack. Dawson’s prose is sharp and immersive, drawing you into a story where beauty masks rot, and safety feels increasingly fragile.

While the pacing may feel deliberate at times, the tension pays off, and the characters’ unraveling is as compelling as the sinister house itself. It’s a haunting exploration of control, secrets, and survival—well worth 4 stars for fans of gothic suspense with a modern edge.

What did I just read?!? lol. This book was wild, and I enjoyed it! It’s essentially a compound owned by a very wealthy band, and they allow artists to live there for free, but at what real cost?? Weird things happen, people disappear, just straight up crazy. Super quick and fun read!

3.5 stars

This book follows Angelina, an aspiring singer-songwriter down on her luck, as she is offered an amazing opportunity to join an artist commune on her favorite band’s property. Things seem a little off and Angelina tries to uncover the truth.

Delilah S. Dawson has an engaging writing style and I truly enjoy reading what she produces. My main issues with this book were loose plot threads and an uninteresting female lead. The story itself was interesting and I loved the ending which saved it all in my opinion.

I’d recommend to fans of Dawson’s prior works or those looking for a cult-esque story with rockstars.

I'm not usually a fan of the rockstar subgenre but this story is great, fast, sexy and gripping. And the ending is absolutely perfect.

I'm not usually a fan of the rockstar subgenre but this story is great, fast, sexy and gripping. And the ending is absolutely perfect.

2.5

First Delilah S Dawson is one of my favorite authors. I have read all her mainstream novels and loved them. So I was really excited to receive this Arc. The cover is beautiful and I love the bloody unicorn on the cover.

Unfortunately though it just didn't live up to her previous works. I really wanted this to be as unhinged as guillotine but it was a bit tame. The cult aspect is interesting and I enjoyed the lyric pages each chapter.

For being a a novella it took me a really long time to finish this book. I felt it just kind of dragged on and the pace was slow for being a shorter book. It was just kind of boring. The main character was annoying, I'm not sure how she could just be picked up off the street and be like this is ok. This is my life now in this s*x cult.

I will continue to read anything Dawson published as the writing style in this book was fantastic. She usually does such an amazing job pulling in the reader and taking them in a wild ride. This just wasn't it and I sadly did not like it 😭😭

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Book for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I absolutely adore Dawson’s unapologetic horror. House Of Idyll was no exception and I loved the fact that I couldn’t put this book down. The story opens on Angelina, a starving artist/barista, having the 3rd worst day of her life - which was still REALLY bad.

Out of nowhere, a beautiful man scoops her up off the street and whisks her away to an idyllic paradise?! Alarm bells were going off in Angelina’s head - just as much as they were going off in mine. This book had me questioning whether everything that is too good to be true, really has to be too good to be true.

This didn’t make it all the way to 5 stars for me but was incredibly close!! I loved the setting and the characters so much, as I could perfectly see them in my mind while reading (I’m looking at you, Van!) I do wish this one had been a tiny bit longer. The horror got really horrific at about 85% in and I wanted to feel that for a bit more before getting to the end.

I will absolutely be on the edge of my seat for what this author writes next!! I still have The Violence downloaded on audio from her and will be getting to that soon. Check this one out if you love unicorns, horror, rock n roll, and idyllic communities that are totally not cults!!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this one a bit early!!**

Summary: Struggling singer/
songwriter Angelina just had the worst day ever. She just lost her job and in two weeks will be homeless. Her lifelong dream of becoming a successful artist couldn't be farther away. When she's offered a chance to reside at a commune owned by reluctant rockstar, Jesper Idyll, she jumps at the opportunity. It sounds like a dream, she's only expected to work on her music, nothing else is required. Sounds too good to be true, right? It definitely is.
My Take: I'm a big fan of Delilah S.
Dawson's writing. Easy to follow along, extremely descriptive, very witty. And although the first half of this book was engaging and I was turning the page like it was a race, the last half lost me.

There was too much left to interpretation, very little explaining as to why and what was happening. The rock band's history that the story revolves around, was very vague. The unicorn is not explained, of all things, why a unicorn? Maybe I just didn't get the symbolism. *spoiler alert* The Commune is a cult, so many signs pointed to that!

The FMC either didn't care or didn't want to know. She seemed to be absolutely oblivious. So many things kept flashing big, red, warning signs of danger, and each time she ignored them. The ending was just overall very weird and was just too much to wrap my head around.
I did love the poetic song lyrics between the chapters which added a unique touch to the story. I will continue to read future books by Delilah S.
Dawson because she remains one of my favorite authors. This one just wasn't for me.