Is this a cult, it feels like a cult?!!

Rockstars, unicorns and defo cult vibes! House of Idyll is every person who dreamt of being seen by their favourite band and then sprinkle in some absolute fever dream scenarios to realise maybe the lifestyle of the rich and famous is not everything you once hoped for.

Angelina is a well thought out main character who never loses herself despite everything that falls at her feet. And the atmosphere, although not terrifying, is unsettling. Dawson’s writing is impeccable and there were moments I felt so isolated and uneasy reading this even with a house full of people.

Loved this and devoured it in one sitting!!

House of Idyll by Delilah S. Dawson is a slick, atmospheric horror novel that explores the dark underbelly of fame and the cult-like power of charisma. It follows Angelina, a down-on-her-luck singer who gets invited into the orbit of a legendary band, only to find herself trapped in a surreal, predatory nightmare. The story plays out like Almost Famous meets Midsommar, but with less depth than either. The writing is punchy and fast-paced, with plenty of dread and a few genuinely disturbing images, but the characters—especially the protagonist—feel thin, and the plot unfolds in a way that’s more predictable than haunting. It’s enjoyable in the moment, but doesn’t linger long after the final page. If you’re in the mood for a quick, glossy hit of horror with cult vibes and rockstar aesthetics, it’ll scratch that itch—but don’t expect anything groundbreaking.

Imagine meeting your favourite band from your teenage years.
Imagine them inviting you to be part of their world, where they would nurture your talent and support your fledgling career.
Now Imagine that it all feels too good to be true, but you ignore that little fluttering of unease in your belly. And you ignore the strange things you see here and there.
This is that story, where at the very end, you get slapped with a twist so unexpected, you re-read the last couple of chapters in case you missed something!

A good fun ride, and a whole different kind of unicorn.

Delilah S. Dawson’s House of Idyll is a chilling, atmospheric descent into beauty, dread, and seduction. If you were captivated by Dawson’s Guillotine or are drawn to the psychological dread of films like Hereditary and Midsommar, this novel was written for you.

This is a final girl story at its core. Dawson creates a dreamlike, otherworldly setting that feels too good to question, and therein lies the genius of her protagonist. As a reader, you rarely feel the urge to scream at her to run. Even as things begin to unravel, her decisions remain painfully relatable and, most importantly, reasonable. You understand why she stays. You might even stay too if it were you.

The characters are likeable, the pacing is steady, and the writing is both lyrical (pun intended) and raw. Dawson is not afraid to jar the reader with crude or cutting language, using it as a powerful contrast to her usually elegant writing style. This creates moments that are deeply unsettling, giving weight to the horrors without relying on cheap scares.

The atmosphere of House of Idyll lingers. It’s beautiful, but it bites. It offers comfort, but always with a whisper of unease. And as the story spirals toward its climax, there’s a perfect moment when you know it’s time to go, but you also understand why she doesn’t. That emotional clarity is rare in horror, and Dawson nails it.

House of Idyll is a standout horror in 2025. Smart, stylish, and deeply unsettling, it's a must read for fans of dark fiction.

Thank you to the author, Titan Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 stars

“You are perfect, exactly as you are. You are a unicorn among horses. You were never meant to fit in. It is better to be yourself, imperfectly, than to pretend to be anything else.”

House of Idyll has the perfect, fever-dream quality that I look for in cult horror. It’s bizarre and otherworldly in all the best ways. I was hooked immediately within the first few pages and finished the novella in a day. I really loved the song lyrics that were included at the beginning of each chapter – it helped the band that this book centered around feel more real. I also really enjoyed the brief interview portions and wish there had been more of them.

Honestly, I would have loved to see Delilah S. Dawson stretch this into a full length novel, with more interview snippets, newspaper clippings, history about the band and the House of Idyll itself. The concept was absolutely fascinating and I had such a fantastic time reading it that I wish more of the world and the characters had been explored. That is the only thing keeping this from being a full 5 star read for me.

Review to be posted to Goodreads and Instagram in September, the month the book publishes, per publisher request.

Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very fun, campy horror novel that I raced through within one afternoon. I've read work by this author before, but House of Idyll is definitely my favorite of her books. The story built up to its conclusion with a creeping sense of dread on every page.

(It was so hilarious to me though that the main character kept saying, "Is this a cult?" "I wonder if I'm in a cult rn" over and over when it was the most obvious cult to ever be a cult. Devoted followers in uniformed clothing, people who control the group that are practically worshiped, evidence of creepy rituals and places that others are prohibited from entering... you know. A cult. And the main character was like, "Whatever, I'm having too much fun to care it's fine" lol I can't say I would have had a different reaction if I was in her shoes)

The ending was a bit abrupt, in my opinion (I'd really have liked to better understand what the fmc's thought process was during that final scene) but I suppose sometimes it's better to have an impactful, brief ending as opposed to a long-winded one. The ending of this book was definitely memorable.

If you like fast paced, lighthearted horror novels with badass final girls then you'll really enjoy this book.

* Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review

Ohhh okay, this was like some wild kind of fever dream with rockstars and bloody cults, what more can you ask for?! It had a pretty slow start and took me a minute to get into but once I did, I finished it in one sitting. No notes. I can’t say anything more so just read this and go with it. Do it. 🔥

Read this a day after watching death of a unicorn so this was just awesome lol.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an early copy in exchange for a review!

What if [insert band name but I did say one originally and edited] loved you, specifically?

I kid, I kid.

House of Idyll is about a singer-songwriter named Angelina Yves, who is picked up after a truly terrible day and taken to an artists' retreat that may or may not be a cult, run by her younger self's favorite band Black Idyll. This book isn't about fame, but it's not NOT about fame. It's about how desperate artists are for a simpler life where they can explore art without worrying about how they're going to put a roof over their heads, and the number of compromises they'll make and how often they'll look away if given the chance for that security.

The book's pace is almost a little too fast, especially toward the end, but otherwise, no notes. Delilah S. Dawson has done it again.

3.25/5 stars

Delilah S Dawson has quickly become an author I love. I’ve read several of her books in the last year and her writing style just grips me from the start.

House of Idyll was a book that I was super excited for after reading and loving this author’s previous horror novellas. I didn’t know what this book was about, all I knew was I loved Dawson’s work and I needed it.

This book starts off strong with some mixed media elements (which I always love in books!) and it’s a very fast paced read. I finished it in one day and it could’ve easily been a one sitting read.

However, I have to give it a 3.25, even though I ate it up, I was left feeling slightly confused. There’s still quite a few questions that I never got answers too, the ending felt a little rushed and I feel like it could’ve been slowed down and things explained.

While this one didn’t live up to my expectations, I will still read any horror books Dawson releases. And I will recommend if you like culty vibes.

Rock stars, cult vibes, and a unicorn. When you put those things together, you just know you are going to have a great time. There are lyrics at the end of each chapter which was a nice touch. My one problem I had was with the ending. It wrapped up real quick and I felt it was a little incomplete. I would have loved an extra chapter or two to help tie together what happened between the reveal and the aftermath. This is probably my favorite Delilah S. Dawson book to date. 4 stars and rock on!

Holy smokes this book was just as wildly entertaining as Guillotine was! The rockstar energy, eeriness, and themes of wealth impact & what anyone would give for their dreams to become reality really made it for me.

I personally knew this was right up my alley with the premise! It gave me rock music meets midsommar, with a little of the standard horror theme that was impeccably written. I adored our main lead Angelina, and always admire when an author builds consistency with their personality & choices fitting the narrative.

The band lyrics placed after every chapter was a fantastic tie in to the story, and for me that was a sign of respect & dedication to the musical aspect.

Overall, I swallowed this book whole, and I’m incredibly grateful to Titanbooks for this ARC in exchange for my own experience.

As much as I want to give this book 4 or 5 stars, I felt like the ending was over too quickly. A lot was happening, but not a lot of explanation? Angelina put the pieces together, but I feel like the reader isn’t able to and that it was too abrupt to fully appreciate the book. I wish we had more from the ending.

However, I enjoyed the rest of the book. The book is an interesting and unique story and drew me in from the beginning.

I love how Delilah always manages to write short, but engaging stories.

I didn’t actually mean to read two books about rockstars back to back today but here we are.

First and foremost for all my unicorn girlies, there’s actually a unicorn in this book! Did I request this book partly because there was a unicorn on the cover? You bet. But also because I can rely on Delilah S. Dawson to write about women’s wrongs.

I don’t want to give too much away but this book is like, what if someone wrote that fanfic about being sold off to One Direction but make One Direction like, Tokio Hotel (idk don’t ask that’s just who I pictured the whole time) and the band wants to sell you to a demon for, well, the usual, fame and fortune.

I wish I could give this 5 stars but the ending was really abrupt and I just needed to know like, more about what was going on? Or showing Angelina putting the pieces together? But hey, I got a unicorn when I wasn’t expecting one and it really is that easy to make me happy.

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