6 Books for Your TBR!
Scary vampires are alive — er, unalive — and well, terrifying readers just like great-granddaddy of horror fiction Bram Stoker used to. HOWL Society member @Amber gives us a list of vampire books, of the non-sparkly variety, for your To Be Read list. Our book club will be reading one of these for our first book of the spookiest month, October! Join our Discord to be part of the club.
“I’m gonna be real honest with you all. I just saw My Chemical Romance in Chicago. Vampires are simply on the brain right now.” – @Amber
The “Vampires Will Probably Never Hurt You” Book List:
- Midnight Mass (2005) by F. Paul Wilson
- Nestlings (2007) by Nat Cassidy*
- The Narrows (2024) by Ronald Malfi
- American Vampire Vol. 1 (2014) by Snyder, King, and Albuquerque
- Reluctant Immortals (2022) by Gwendolyn Kiste
- So Thirsty (2025) by Rachel Harrison
1. Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson
From Goodreads:
How can mortal men defeat an immortal and seemingly invincible enemy? Vampires control all of Europe, India, the Far East and the major cities in North and South America. It seems that nothing can stand in their way and that humanity will become cattle for the harvesting, the source of the blood of life. People aren’t even safe from their own kind. Human ‘cowboys’ enlisted by the vampires herd other humans in return for the promise of the bite of eternal life – someday.
The vampire forces have come to a small town in coastal New Jersey to finish pacifying the area. Dan, a disgraced priest accused of abuse, hides out and drinks, waiting for the end – until he is galvanized into action by his niece, who has fled the collapse of New York; a rabbi; and a nun who has become a killer of both cowboys and vampires. Together, they fortify an abandoned church and defy the conquering swarm. A surprising success shows them a ray of hope for humanity’s survival, but an overwhelming challenge stands in their way – the new vampire King of New York.
Why?
“Cowboys, Vampires, a priest, and more. It sounds like a weird smorgasbord with divisive reviews. Nothing to do with the show, though, fair warning.” – @Amber
2. Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
From Goodreads:
Nat Cassidy is at his razor-sharp best again with his horror novel Nestlings, which harnesses the creeping paranoia of Rosemary’s Baby and the urban horror of ‘Salem’s Lot, set in an exclusive New York City residential building. Ana and Reid need a break. The horrifically complicated birth of their first child has left Ana paralyzed, bitter, and struggling -with mobility, with her relationship with Reid, with resentment for her baby. Reid dismisses disturbing events and Ana’s deep unease and paranoia, but he can’t explain the needle-like bite marks on their baby.
Why?
“Nat Cassidy has been on my TBR forever, and I hear this one has decent disability rep. A different take on vampires here.” – @Amber
3. The Narrows by Ronald Malfi
From Goodreads:
The town of Stillwater has a very unwelcome resident. The town of Stillwater has been dying-the long and painful death of a town ravaged by floods and haunted by the ghosts of all who had lived there. Yet this most recent flood has brought something with it—a creature that nests among the good folks of Stillwater… and feeds off them. The children who haven’t disappeared whisper the same word -“vampire.” But they’re wrong. What has come to Stillwater is something much more horrific.
Why?
“Is it a vampire? Is it not a vampire? What makes a vampire? I also just really like Malfi.” – @Amber
4. American Vampire Vol. 1 by Snyder, King, and Albuquerque
From Goodreads:
From writers Scott Snyder and Stephen King, American Vampire introduces a new strain of vampire – a more vicious species – and traces the creatures’ bloodline through decades of American history. Snyder’s tale follows Pearl, a young woman living in 1920s Los Angeles, who is brutally turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European monsters who tortured and abused her. And in King’s story set in the days of America’s Wild West, readers learn the origin of Skinner Sweet, the original American vampire – a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before. Don’t miss out as Snyder and King set fire to the horror genre with this visionary, all-original take on one of the most popular monster stories! This beautiful collection features a new introduction by Stephen King and bonus art including character sketches, variant covers and more! Collecting: American Vampire 1-5.
Why?
“Because I needed to replace The Lesser Dead” – @Amber [Note: we’ve already read The Lesser Dead! – Ed.]
5. Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
From Goodreads:
For fans of Mexican Gothic, from three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a novel inspired by the untold stories of forgotten women in classic literature–from Lucy Westenra, a victim of Stoker’s Dracula, and Bertha Mason, from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre–as they band together to combat the toxic men bent on destroying their lives, set against the backdrop of the Summer of Love, Haight-Ashbury, 1967. Reluctant Immortals is a historical horror novel that looks at two men of classic literature, Dracula and Mr. Rochester, and the two women who survived them, Bertha and Lucy, who are now undead immortals residing in Los Angeles in 1967 when Dracula and Rochester make a shocking return in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Combining elements of historical and gothic fiction with a modern perspective, in a tale of love and betrayal and coercion, Reluctant Immortals is the lyrical and harrowing journey of two women from classic literature as they bravely claim their own destiny in a man’s world.
Why?
“Another one that’s been on my TBR forever. Yes, I am being selfish here. This one may be a little less horror in the gore sense, but definitely horror in the patriarchy sense.” – @Amber
6. So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
From Goodreads:
A woman must learn to take life by the throat after a night out leads to irrevocable changes in this juicy, thrilling novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Such Sharp Teeth and Black Sheep. Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn’t need a reminder she’s getting older, or that she’s feeling indifferent about her own life. Her husband surprises her with a birthday weekend getaway-not with him, but with Sloane’s longtime best friend, troublemaker extraordinaire Naomi. Sloane anticipates a weekend of wine tastings and cozy robes and strategic avoidance of issues she’d rather not confront, like her husband’s repeated infidelity. But when they arrive at their rental cottage, it becomes clear Naomi has something else in mind. She wants Sloane to stop letting things happen to her, for Sloane to really live. So Naomi orchestrates a wild night out with a group of mysterious strangers, only for it to take a horrifying turn that changes Sloane’s and Naomi’s lives literally forever. The friends are forced to come to terms with some pretty eternal consequences in this bloody, seductive novel about how it’s never too late to find satisfaction, even though it might taste different than expected.
Why?
“Rachel Harrison is a pretty well-liked author ‘round these parts, and the reviews on this one are pretty hit or miss. The premise sounds interesting and I think it would stir up some good discussion.” – @Amber
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