• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Me
    • Connect With Me
    • Request A Review
    • Beta Reading Requests
    • Policies
    • Testimonials
  • Book Review Archive
    • Book Review Archive
    • Audiobook Review Archive
    • Spooky Children’s Book Review Archive
  • Resources
    • A Running List of 2023 Horror Book Releases
    • Interview Archive
    • List of Horror Author Online Bookshops
    • List of Horror Publishers That Sell Books Directly
    • Podcast Recs
    • Referral Links
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Goodreads
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

Recent Posts

Magick by Judith Sonnet book photo by Erica Robyn Reads

Magick by Judith Sonnet | Book Review

Depart, Depart by Sim Kern book photo

Depart, Depart by Sim Kern | Book Review

American Cannibal Anthology edited by Rebecca Rowland

American Cannibal Anthology edited by Rebecca Rowland | Book Review

11 August 2021 Book Releases I Can’t Wait To Read

July 29, 2021      Erica Robyn      11 Comments

ELEVEN?! Oh lord. Each of these upcoming releases are on my wishlist. I cannot wait to snag copies of each of them!

Please note: This post contains affiliate links for bookshop.org. By clicking the links and ordering the books, you can help support a local indie bookshop! By using this link, I will get a small commission. 

Let’s dive in!

August 2021 Book Releases

Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper

Expected Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021

Publisher: Scribner

Genre: Horror

Synopsis:

Within forty-eight hours, Yaya Betancourt will go from discovering teeth between her thighs to being hunted by one of the most powerful corporations in America.

She assumes the vagina dentata is a side effect of a rare genetic condition caused by AlphaBeta Pharmaceutical, decades ago, when she and several thousand others were still in the womb.

But, when ABP corporate goons upend her life, she realizes her secondary teeth might be evidence of a new experiment for which she’s the most advanced test tube… a situation worsened when Yaya’s condition sprouts horns, tentacles, and a mind of its own.

On the run and transforming, Yaya may be either ABP’s greatest success, or the deadliest failure science has ever created.


Billy Summers by Stephen King

Expected Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021

Publisher: Scribner

Genre: Horror

Synopsis:

Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit.

Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?

How about everything.


All Things Deadly by E.C. Hanson

Expected Publication Date: August 6th, 2021

Genre: Horror

Synopsis: 

Salem, Massachusetts. A town with a rich history of spirits and witches. It’s a place Adam Frost, a former paranormal investigator, never intended to visit again. But his teenage daughter is troubled and shows early signs of self-harm. Can the trip save their fractured relationship? Only time, and a haunted house, will tell.

ALL THINGS DEADLY (Salem Stories) is Hanson’s debut horror collection. Surrounding the Frost storyline is a series of tales that utilize the coastal city to ratchet up the chills. Read if you dare. 

Stay tuned! I’ll be doing a review an interview with E soon!


Maine Book of the Dead- Graveyard Legends and Lore by Roxie J. Zwicker

Expected Publication Date: August 9th, 2021

Publisher: The History Press

Genre: Nonfiction

Synopsis: 

Maine’s graveyards contain the ancient memories and last words of woodsmen, lighthouse keepers, inventors, sea captains and the people who called this rugged land home. In an island cemetery rests Tall Barney, a six-foot-seven folk hero who single-handedly took down fifteen men in a Portland bar. Kittery holds the grave for the crew of the doomed ship the Hattie Eaton. Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor is the final resting place for the famed “Sky Blue Madam” Fanny Jones and Public Enemy No. 1, gangster Al Brady. Camp Etna contains the grave of famed medium Mary Vanderbilt. Dead Man’s Gulch in Wales holds many eerie tales of ghosts that refuse to leave.

Join renowned author and tour guide Roxie Zwicker as she explores Maine’s historic and legendary graveyards.


Gone for Good (Detective Annalisa Vega #1) by Joanna Schaffhausen

Expected Publication Date: August 10th, 2021

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Genre: Mystery

Synopsis:

The Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women, ritually binding them and leaving them for dead before penning them gruesome love letters in the local papers. Then he disappeared, and after twenty years with no trace of him, many believe that he’s gone for good.

Not Grace Harper. A grocery store manager by day, at night Grace uses her snooping skills as part of an amateur sleuth group. She believes the Lovelorn Killer is still living in the same neighborhoods that he hunted in, and if she can figure out how he selected his victims, she will have the key to his identity.

Detective Annalisa Vega lost someone she loved to the killer. Now she’s at a murder scene with the worst kind of déjà vu: Grace Harper lies bound and dead on the floor, surrounded by clues to the biggest murder case that Chicago homicide never solved. Annalisa has the chance to make it right and to heal her family, but first, she has to figure out what Grace knew―how to see a killer who may be standing right in front of you. This means tracing his steps back to her childhood, peering into dark corners she hadn’t acknowledged before, and learning that despite everything the killer took, she has still so much more to lose.


Below by Kev Harrison

Expected Publication Date: August 17th 2021

Publisher: Silver Shamrock Publishing

Genre: Horror

Synopsis: 

Nick has revered his grandfather his entire life. The absent hero, his namesake, buried alive in his final act of courage an ocean and thousands of miles away. Jess has outgrown her status as an all-action social media celebrity and the endless demands that come with it.

Adventure Travel TV has thrown this unlikely duo together, promising Jess the launchpad she craves and Nick the chance to tell his grandfather’s story first-hand, in the newly uncovered mine that still holds his remains from the twilight days of the gold rush. Is it a dream come true or a nightmare as someone or something stirs…BELOW.


August’s Eyes by Glenn Rolfe

Expected Publication Date: August 17th 2021

Publisher: Flame Tree Press

Genre: Horror

Synopsis: 

When dreams start bleeding into reality, a social worker is forced to face the mistakes of his past.

A serial killer has found a way to make his land of graveyards a sinister playground to be bent at his sadistic will.

The secrets behind August’s eyes will bring two worlds together, and end in a cataclysm of pain and ruin.


Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton 

Expected Publication Date: August 24th 2021

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Genre: Sci-Fi Fiction

Synopsis: 

Once upon an apocalypse, there lived an obscenely handsome American crow named S.T. . . .
 
When the world last checked-in with its favorite Cheeto addict, the planet had been overrun by flesh-hungry beasts, and nature had started re-claiming her territory from humankind. S.T., the intrepid crow, alongside his bloodhound-bestie Dennis, had set about saving pets that had become trapped in their homes after humanity went the way of the dodo.
 
That is, dear reader, until S.T. stumbled upon something so rare—and so precious—that he vowed to do everything in his power to safeguard what could, quite literally, be humanity’s last hope for survival. But in a wild world plagued by prejudiced animals, feather-raising environments, new threats so terrifying they make zombies look like baby bunnies, and a horrendous dearth of cheesy snacks, what’s a crow to do?
 
Why, wing it on another big-hearted, death-defying adventure, that’s what! Joined by a fabulous new cast of animal characters, S.T. faces many new challenges plus his biggest one yet: parenthood. 


Dark Waters (Small Space #3) by Katherine Arden

Expected Publication Date: August 3rd 2021

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young

Genre: Middle Grade Horror

Synopsis: 

Having met and outsmarted the smiling man in Dead Voices but fearful of when he’ll come again, Ollie, Brian, and Coco are anxiously searching for a way to defeat him once and for all. By staying together and avoiding remote places, they’ve steered clear of him so far but their constant worry and stress is taking a toll on their lives and friendship.

So when Ollie’s dad and Coco’s mom plan a “fun” boat trip on Lake Champlain, the three are apprehensive to say the least. They haven’t had the best of luck on their recent trips and even worse their frenemy Phil is on the boat as well. But when a lake monster destroys their boat, they end up shipwrecked on a deserted island.

This isn’t just any island though. It’s hidden from the outside world in a fog and unless everyone works together to find a way to escape, they won’t survive long. 


My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Expected Publication Date: August 31st 2021

Publisher: Gallery / Saga Press

Genre: Horror

Synopsis: 

“Some girls just don’t know how to die…”

Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in My Heart Is a Chainsaw, written by the author of The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones, called “a literary master” by National Book Award winner Tananarive Due and “one of our most talented living writers” by Tommy Orange.

Alma Katsu calls My Heart Is a Chainsaw “a homage to slasher films that also manages to defy and transcend genre.” On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life.

Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.

Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges…a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph. 


The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins

Expected Publication Date: August 31st 2021

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult Horror

Synopsis: 

Bears aren’t the only predators in these woods.

Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together—a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest.

Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare … and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways.

Stephanie Perkins, the bestselling author of There’s Someone Inside Your House, returns with a heart-stopping, gut-wrenching novel about friendship, survival, and navigating unmarked paths even as evil watches from the shadows. 


Thanks for reading!

What are you looking forward to picking up this month?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren @ Always Me says

    July 29, 2021 at 8:53 pm

    I’m really looking forward to Feral Creatures and Billy Summers! Thanks for sharing and happy reading!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 30, 2021 at 3:52 pm

      <3

      Reply
  2. Angie says

    July 30, 2021 at 3:40 pm

    I’m also really looking forward to Queen of Teeth – I got the hardcover just waiting for me to get to it. And My Heart is a Chainsaw is really good. I got an ARC of that through Net Galley. If you’re interested, One More Page Bookshop has a preorder incentive going for that one here: https://www.onemorepagebooks.com/my-heart-chainsaw-signed-bookplate-stephen-graham-jones (I had ordered it through there before I was even halfway through the book).

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      July 30, 2021 at 4:03 pm

      That rules!! I hope you love Queen of Teeth. And oh thank you so much for that link! I just snagged a copy!

      Reply
  3. Angela says

    July 30, 2021 at 9:25 pm

    I think these are all new to me, but wow, what a great month for books!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      August 1, 2021 at 11:53 am

      Right?! <3

      Reply
  4. Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum says

    July 30, 2021 at 9:32 pm

    My Heart Is A Chainsaw and Feral Creatures are high on my list!

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      August 1, 2021 at 11:53 am

      <3 I hope you love both of those!!

      Reply
  5. ShootingStarsMag says

    August 4, 2021 at 8:27 am

    My Heart is a Chainsaw and The Woods are Always Watching are both on my wish list too. So many great books this month.

    Reply
    • Erica Robyn says

      September 3, 2021 at 7:44 pm

      I can’t wait to dive into those. I’m still waiting for them to arrive!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Erica Robyn Reads!

Erica Robyn of Erica Robyn Reads
Hello! I’m Erica, a Mainer living in New Hampshire who runs on hot tea, good books, and loud music. Join me as I seek out amazing horror tales and help support the indie horror community!
 

Subscribe via Email

Loading

Search This Blog

Browse By Category

Recent Popular Posts

  • Cover Reveal for The Wild Fall by Katherine Silva
  • Little Ghosts Unboxing | February 2023
  • [Feature] Little Free Library Visit – #14
  • Book Launch Party for Hell On High by Michael Clark | Book Event
  • Magnum Opus by Caitlin Marceau | Book Review

An Easy Guide to Locating Horror Reviews Without Losing Your Mind created by Lori of Barks At The Ghouls
Shirley's Book Blogger List
Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs by Kindlepreneur

Copyright © 2023 Erica Robyn Reads