KINDIG GEMS OF 2025 - Part 2
- Kindig
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
KINDIG GEMS OF 2025
PART 2
2025 has been a great year for new book releases! I have found some GEMS this year, so lets explore them together:
SEASON OF FEAR
EMILY COOPER
BLOOD SPILLS FROM VEINS, SKIN STARTS TO CRACK,
IGNORE THE FOREST; TURN BACK, TURN BACK . . .
In the village of Heulensee, Ilse Odenwald dreams of being afraid. Because in Heulensee, fearfulness is next to godliness.
A monstrous forest borders the village – the Hexenwald. Its horrors attack every time the sky turns blood-red. The townsfolk’s only defence comes from the gruesome, ancient Saint of Fear, who demands the women and girls offer up their terror in return for its protection.
Born without the ability to feel fear, Ilse is an outsider. As hard as she tries, she cannot bring forth the dread that the Saint of Fear demands. When it discovers her divergence, the Saint levels a threat: Ilse must find her fear, or it will devour her sister.
Unable to lose Thea, the only person who understands her, Ilse enters the Hexenwald, hoping that the monsters it harbours will finally scare her. But the forest is hiding a multitude of secrets and Ilse is about to discover that there’s much more than fear to be found within . . .
Kindig says: 'A fantastic debut which puts the strength of women at the front and centre of the plot. If this is what Emily Cooper can write as a debut author, I’m very excited to see what she writes next! Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK for the ARC'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
THE SCALD CROW
GRACE DALY
Brigid—that’s the Irish Breej, not “Bridge-id,” though it’s not like she’d correct you—has had a rough go of it. Her mother abused her when she was little, her best friend (and secret crush) is too busy chasing some blonde to answer Brigid’s calls, and she lost her job thanks to chronic pelvic pain with no identifiable cause. As a self-doubting, disabled adult, she’s certain that everything that has happened to her is her fault.
Now her mother has gone missing and Brigid’s only option is to move back into her childhood home in the idyllic Midwestern town of St. Charles, Illinois. Soon the uncanny begins: A particular crow that once harassed her reappears, following her everywhere. A painting of Jesus keeps coming back, no matter how many times she throws it away. Frozen body parts show up in places rubber band balls and door stoppers ought to be. Every night the same nightmare repeats: her real mother is dead and decaying in the closet, and the identical mother who raised her is not her mother. But it’s all in Brigid’s head. It’s all her fault. It must be. What other explanation could there be?
After all, since when can a sick woman be trusted?
Kindig says: ''A masterclass in horror story-telling - creepy yet grounded and keeping the reader off-balance throughout. Thank you to Creature Publishing for the ARC.'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
THE MURDER AT WORLD'S END
ROSS MONTGOMERY
Secrets, murder and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo - an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogerian - hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world.Cornwall, 1910.
On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom - every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow.
All eyes turn to Stephen Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for.
Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late . . .
Kindig says: 'The Murder at World’s End is a fantastic whodunnit with memorable characters, a well-researched plot and brilliant storytelling. Thank you to Penguin General UK – Fig Tree, Viking and Hamish Hamilton for the ARC'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
I, MEDUSA
AYANA GRAY
Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else's story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents-both gods, albeit minor ones-she dreams of leaving her family's island for a life of adventure. So when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.
In Athens' colourful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena's favoured acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy's promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.
Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity-not as a victim, but as a vigilante-and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.
Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the cross currents between her heart's deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.
Kindig says: 'I, Medusa is a brilliant read – a fresh retelling of a fascinating myth about a layered and interesting character. Thank you to Bonnier Books UK – Zaffre for the ARC'
READ MY FULL REVIEW and then buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL
MATT DINNIMAN
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.
Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.
Kindig says: 'I didn't post a review for this one as I read it way past publication date, on my 'just for fun' reading session at the end of my 2025 ARCs. I binged all 7 books in the series (and a lot of them are over 600 pages!) in a month, which shows you how much I adored these books. If you are a gamer, if you like LitRPG, if you like fantasy, these are the books for you, I cannot recommend them highly enough!'
Buy from Amazon UK or Waterstones.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publishers and the authors for allowing me to read their ARCs. Wishing you all the best for 2026 and keep checking Kindig Blog for all the news on latest releases and upcoming bestsellers!
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