When Darkness Loves Us

Once again I found myself on r/horrorlit and saw Elizabeth Engstrom come up as a recommended author for well-written disturbing horror.

I read both of the novellas within an afternoon and wasn't able to put them down. Both stories

When Darkness Loves Us will definitely be coming back to me in the middle of the night to haunt me with the dark twists it took and the decisions Sally Ann made which we are left to reckon with.

Beauty Is... will be a story I see myself coming back to of just how unnerving it is. At the end of this novella, my heart ached for Martha and the ways that trauma came to steal her away.

This is another I heard of from Monster, She Wrote. Another that's not really my thing, but that I thought I'd try. I'm glad I did. While these stories (When Darkness Loves Us and Beauty Is...) were really bizarre and the title story is pretty messed up, the writing is gorgeous and evocative. Engstrom really knows how to tell a story.

Two very different but engrossing stories. I found this through Paperbacks From Hell and it’s certainly a hidden gem. I would have read it all in one sitting if I hadn’t needed some sleep!