January Books
I read four books last month. Two were novellas around 150-200 pages, and the longer novels were around 350 pages each. It was a good month for reading, as overall I liked all of them.
Note: These are all horror books that deal with difficult and, at times, disturbing subjects. I recommend looking up content warnings for any that you're interested in reading. Storygraph includes a list of reader-added content warnings for every book in their database.
Krampus by Brom (2012) 
I didn't fly through Krampus as quickly as Brom's book Slewfoot, which I liked better overall, but I still enjoyed this one for the most part.
It's about the titular Krampus character of Yule folklore, bringing him into 21st-century West Virginia. The setting hit pretty close to home for me, since I live in Appalachia, and having it combined with Scandinavian folklore and mythology was a fun and unique dynamic.
The story follows both Krampus himself and a down-on-his-luck musician named Jesse. It switches perspective between them and the two villains: Santa Claus and the local police chief, Dillard. Krampus is trying to take back Yule from Santa, and Jesse becomes entangled in that plot while clashing with the corrupt and abusive Dillard.
I'm impressed by Brom's ability to weave multiple viewpoints into a common thread and bring everything together so deftly in the end. He certainly knows how to write an action-packed ending. I also appreciate that Krampus isn't presented as either a good or evil character. There are so many gray areas with him that it's hard to know how to feel about him overall, and I honestly love that. It's perfectly reflective of how people view Krampus today and how his folklore has morphed over time.
Krampus's reaction to the ways in which the world has changed is prescient, and there's a great underlying message about how far astray humanity has gone at the cost of Mother Nature. My favorite quote from the book is this one: "Man has only himself to fear now. He has become his own worst devil." Feels quite apt.
My only gripe is, well, a big one. Some of the side characters, including the three Indigenous characters, are pretty one-dimensional. I think this is mostly the result of just having too many characters in general and being unable to devote enough time to them all, but the Shawnee characters should have been fleshed out and should have played a deeper role in the narrative. Instead, they're reduced to the brawn of Krampus's operation, playing into Native stereotypes, and they rarely even speak.
Aside from that glaring fault, it was a pretty good read despite being a product of its time, and both Brom's prose and his illustrations are captivating.
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir (2021) 
Even though we're only a month into 2026, I'm pretty sure this will end up being one of my favorite books I read this year. I love the author's writing style. It's snappy and clever. She has another book coming out in May called Dead Weight that I can't wait to read.
The Night Guest follows a woman in Reykjavík named Iðunn, who's waking up every morning feeling exhausted. She's had several doctor visits that have come up with no explanation. Her bloodwork is fine, and the physicians suggested eating better or getting more exercise during the day. She buys a step-counting watch to make sure she's getting enough physical activity, but when she accidentally leaves it on all night, she discovers she's been traveling long distances in her sleep.
It's a heck of a hook, and everything about the story pulled me in. Knútsdóttir does an expert job of drip-feeding information, rather than throwing chunks of exposition at us, so we gradually learn about Iðunn's past and the cause of her sleepwalking, if it can indeed be considered sleepwalking.
The story has underlying commentary on the social expectations that women face and living in the shadow of someone who's accomplished and adored. It's also one of the scariest books I've read, with really effective horror and a final scene that will stick with me forever.
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (2020)
Another favorite. The novellas really hit the ball out of the park this month.
Ring Shout follows Maryse Boudreaux, a Black resistance fighter in the 1920s American South. This is an alternate universe where the Ku Klux Klan have supernatural allies that feed on their hate, and Maryse and her companions are determined to fight them.
Maryse wields a special magic sword given to her by three witch-like women who she calls Aunties. Her two main comrades are a spunky sharpshooter named Sadie and a stoic Harlem Hellfighter nicknamed Chef. Together, they make a formidable trio.
I won't say much more than that because it's the kind of book you have to read to grasp the intricacies of. But man, there was so much good body horror! The imagery was just fantastic. It's punchy and action-packed, and I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down. It's kind of wild how much emotion, history, world-building, and character development came through in such a relatively short book. An easy five hearts from me.
I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (2012)
This was a slow burn, but it was extremely chilling. Upon its initial release, it was subtitled A Ghost Story, and that's exactly what it is. It's about as classic of a ghost story as you can get.
The novel follows two characters, with each chapter alternating between them. The first character we're introduced to is Katrín, a woman who travels with her husband, Garðar, and their recently widowed friend, Líf, to a remote abandoned village in Iceland to renovate a house. Garðar is enthusiastic about turning it into a guest house for vacationers, but Katrín is skeptical about the isolated location.
The second character is Freyr, a psychiatrist who works with the police to investigate crimes that need his expertise. His young son, Benni, disappeared without a trace a few years prior. Amidst his grief, he and his ex-wife, Sara, divorced because she was unable to move on and is convinced Benni is still alive. He begins investigating two separate cases, a vandalism and a suicide, that have strange connections to Benni's disappearance.
Both characters eventually have supernatural experiences, and it becomes clear that what's happening to Katrín and her companions is related to Freyr's investigations. There's a lot of buildup, but the payoff is highly satisfying, and Sigurðardóttir does an incredible job of writing scenes that will chill you to the bone without overdoing the horror.
Freyr's half of the book reads more like a detective novel while Katrín's is more of a straight-up ghost story, so if you like the idea of those genres meshing, definitely check this one out!