Willow Rose” by M. Kevin Hayden
(Expected 10/28/25) ☄️

A little tale of cosmic horror with a lot of heart

“Alder thought he could escape here. Vanish into some tree covered corner of the country. Hide from the selfish, neglectful thing he used to be. But this—this is where his reckoning was always waiting”

There is a beast inside all of us. Self-doubt, guilt, past trauma, addiction, and the rumination that goes along with them. And when it rears its ugly head, we tend to isolate. It is so hard to break free of this cycle of thought, that we are unable to see the world and the loved ones around us in the same light. The main focus of this book is the strength and resolve we find in one another as human beings. A force that can help to pull us from our own hell. If we’ll allow it.

These internal demons are embodied externally as an entity that haunted me after I read “Pet Sematary” (I don’t really know why it affected me like it did). But the choice really drove the imagery home for me.

At first I struggled with the present tense writing style, but, as the story progressed, I found it lent a sort of dreamlike quality that added to the mystery and unreality of the story. I thought the length and pacing were ideal. It was engaging, unsettling, and left a lot to think and reflect on. Marks of a worthy book.

This is a sort of cosmic horror/creature feature featuring a windigo, a comet, a girl with no past, and a Doctor at a medical center. But it's also about...well...how we are all one with the universe and the power of love and forgiveness. I think.

A comet appears across the sky that scientists did not see coming. It's seen day and night and is the closest comet ever to earth. A doctor has a creepy encounter with a bull elk and, later, a knock on his cabin door where a seven year old girl named Willow appears and seems to never want to leave his side.

And then a mythological creature begins slaughtering people and eating them whole leaving only a pool of blood behind. How are these things related? That's difficult to answer.

While the horror aspects of this book are exciting and terrifying, they sometimes get bogged down with a philosophical angst about past guilt, the universe, and a burgeoning love story. I'm not sure if this was a more literary book with horror elements thrown in or a horror story with a bit too much extra curriculars to stay on course.

That's not to say it's bad or anything. But it needs to find the right readers to appreciate the author's effort he put into it. And I'm sure there will be plenty. I do recommend it overall if you want something more "heady".