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Welcome to the Carnival of Creeps, where you’ll feast your eyes on the freaks. For two days a year, a carousel sings.

Humans come, but they do not leave.

Gremlins, ghouls, and sincasters need to feed.

If paranormals come, they will never be free.

They have to put on a show and give the audience the creeps.

A demon is a ringmaster, selling souls for the right price.

A fortune teller sees his demise.

A vampire is used to cry.

An angel loses his wings.

A banshee calls for help and screams.

They will no longer exist after Halloween.

It’s why they need a Wildes witch.

The most powerful one they will ever see.



You need to read Eternally Damned before reading this novella. All books will be intertwined. The romance aspect will be HEA and standalone, but villains and plots will not be. Every book will follow a new couple.

108 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2023

515 people are currently reading
2591 people want to read

About the author

January Rayne

28 books1,277 followers
January Rayne is a pseudonym I decided to use because it sounds better than my given name. I’m a lover of all romance and write in the genres I love most because why limit myself? I want to write anything and everything, from badass men and women to characters who want to rip each other’s clothes off. I plan to ‘take it all’ like the good little girl I am.

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5 stars
680 (39%)
4 stars
529 (30%)
3 stars
398 (22%)
2 stars
102 (5%)
1 star
24 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
Profile Image for Kat valentine ( Katsbookcornerreads).
777 reviews1,274 followers
September 21, 2023
Excellent Halloween novella!! January Rayne is a phenomenal writer!! The cover alone is fucking awesome! She saw something like this and this story popped in her head! Its what I call a romantic erotic horror!!! It starts with a whole lot of steamy primal sex with Alexander and Maven and let me tell you what its hot!! This couple are expecting twins and between Mavens libido and Lex's need to bond things get real interesting fast. But while our couple are locked away a mysterious carnival pops up and some of their coven has been lured in by none other then the demon Azazel! A demon so evil that even Lucifer kicked him out of hell. Azazel's carnival shows up once a year for two days and uses paranormal creatures to lure happy excited unsuspecting humans to his carnival and on Halloween night he feeds on all their innocent souls to gain more power but this time he messed up and took members of Lex's and Maven's coven. You don't Mess with a pregnant witch and her vampire and with a little help from dottie and Hells havesters a elite paranormal outlaw group that has been hunting Azazel down to take him back to hell shits about to go very bad for Azazel !
January Rayne is a great storyteller and she has one hell of a imagination! And her characters are amazing too. If you love horror with a side of fanging and banging 😂 check it out it checked all my boxes! This chic can write!
Until next time Luv's 💕💋
Profile Image for Brittany St Thomas.
565 reviews15 followers
December 26, 2023
I loved this story so much. It was a surprise release from January and she delivered! What made it even better was it brought in Maven and Lex (Eternally Damned) and brings in some new characters too. It was a great little look into others and potential mates-which let me just say, I am so excited for. One in particular had me screaming with excitement. We got all this plus a look at the twisted carnival run by a demon. While we were given a great amount of steam (vines, IYKYK) I loved how it showed how all different types of creatures can work together and coexist to defeat the true evil in the world.
Profile Image for Madison Tribbey.
15 reviews
August 15, 2024
Cool concept but wasn't really for me. There were a lot of new characters that I just couldn't form too much of a bond with with the limited amount of pages. Honestly if even another 100 pages were added to even out the pacing it'd be a great improvement. Overall, a good quick and easy short story.
Profile Image for Heather myfriendsdontread.
326 reviews744 followers
April 24, 2023
I enjoyed this novella and thought it was an interesting story. It’s starts out as a spicy novella that takes place after “Eternally Damned.” So you have to read that book first.

It was overwhelming though. This novella follows so many different people’s point of view, introduced tons of new paranormal creatures, a bunch of new characters (for some reason almost all the names start with an “A” which makes it even more confusing), and added so much more world building.

It was a lot for a 100 page novella. It feel like this story and world building is being made up on the spot without any previous planning and outlining.

The world gets unnecessarily elaborate and it all feels very random.

The ending fight / rescue scene is also extremely confusing and hard to follow. Overall, there’s just way too much through into here that wasn’t necessary.

But I was still invested because I like Lex & Maven and I also wanted to know that all the side characters would be ok.

And there’s vampire smut involved at the beginning, which is always fun.
Profile Image for Stefanie.
565 reviews7 followers
November 4, 2022
I absolutely loved this short Halloween story featuring all the characters from the previous book. What a brilliant way to introduce us to all the new characters and how their story is going to proceed.
There's some really hot smut, some emotional heartstrings pulled and a great creepy plot. I read this so quickly and I'm now even more excited for the next book.

🔞 18+ read due to explicit content and dark themes, all trigger/content warnings can be found on the authors website.
Profile Image for Erin.
3,534 reviews80 followers
March 12, 2023
This was a creepy yet very steamy prelude to what is sure to be an exciting and utterly thrilling story to come. I loved the eeriness, the violence, and the darkness of this story. It was creative and imaginative. All of the old characters, plus some new darker characters, made this a twisted and entertaining story that I never wanted to end.

I can’t wait to get my hands on Externally Cursed after reading this deliciously dark and twisted story.
Profile Image for Angie.
1,838 reviews22 followers
July 21, 2023
This doesn’t really bring anything to the story. Again, there was a little too much focus on sex scenes - the novella literally started with it. The plot wasn’t effectively written but maybe it was because I was distracted by the many, many unnecessary characters. Where did they all come from?
Profile Image for Erika.
20 reviews
April 28, 2025
Story was very good but a little rushed for sure but that’s to be expected for a short book! Definitely a 3.5
Profile Image for Selah Raker.
160 reviews
October 10, 2024
I think this is my favorite novella by far. I enjoyed the plot and the new characters, excited to carry on with the series❤️I also enjoyed reading this since it’s timed during Halloween 🎃
Profile Image for Tee.
121 reviews5 followers
October 16, 2023
At this point, January Rayne is a instant click for me. I am strategically trying to space out reading her entire catalogue because I know when I’m caught up… I’ll be depresso espresso.

This novella had all the spice and an entire sh*t show of drama that she managed to explain in so little pages. You can’t help but want to know more about every single character.
Profile Image for Christy Davisson.
787 reviews17 followers
November 5, 2022
Ok this was hands down an AMAZING Halloween novella in this crazy world of paranormals. Multi POV and Eternally Damned should be read prior to this so you understand each character fully. 5+Stars!!!!

I can't believe how much detail and content was in this novella that just pulls you right into the world of Shallow Cove Dimensions once again.

This story is full of fascinating new creatures with back story's you want to know more of. I found myself excited by each new page from the characters we already know to these new ones that I can't wait to find out more about.

Maven the all powerful witch has become even more powerful since becoming pregnant and her beloved vampire Lex are completely consumed by one another while chaos is happening not to far from their own steps. We follow along with each new member of this coven as a carnival of horror begins to take a few members from the coven. As in the title its not as everything that is as its seems and it definitely wasn't. The author gave vivid details to each characters and the chaos and damage that was taking place that it feels like you are able to see these creatures and experience their journey along the way.
This is why I absolutely love her books. They contain so many details that you can imagine each thing you read as if you are seeing it. This carnival of creeps was amazing, you meet good and evil creatures along the way and the author has you questioning if all the evil ones are truly evil or taught this side. All I can say is this little Halloween novella was amazing it gives you all the feels of the prior books that is in this world of paranormals and then some. I'm addicted and want more after reading this wild story.

If you are looking for a intense, spicy, and out of this world experience then this is the book to grab. It has everything you need in this little holiday inspired novella. The storyline goes from extremely hot to action packed within minutes. You get pulled in right away and by the end you will be wanting even more, and I for one can't wait to see where this unique world leads me next. This is a absolute One-Click for sure. It's an experience you need after reading Eternally Damned because I'm so ready for the next book now. If you love vivid imagery and unique stories this is the author you need to be following, she brings a uniqueness to each character and experience that gives you all the feels. So yes I highly recommend grabbing her books, and tuning out the world for a little bit while you experience this completely unique world she has built. It's a must read even after the holiday its themed around. Hands down loved every single second of this novella and definitely can't wait for more!
48 reviews
October 12, 2023
Great Halloween novela

This is book 3 of the series but I would say that it can be read as a standalone. These characters were introduced at the end of the last book. This book doesn’t focus on one character alone. It groups them all together at a demonic carnival. While it is perhaps gruesome to some sensitive readers, I would not categorize it as horror. There also are some sexy times in this book whenever Maven and Lex are together (mc’s from previous books) I honestly skipped over those scenes. This book to me was more of a Halloween theme; which was just what I wanted. It introduces us to even more characters which might put off some people. It seemed excessive to me but I didn’t mark off for that. This is not a heavy book. To me, it’s meant exactly as a Halloween novella. If you are reading the series though, you shouldn’t miss reading this one though since new characters are introduced and the ones we got a peek at from the last book are explored more in this book. Some insights are also revealed. So if you’re in the mood for goblins, demons and a Halloween theme, this is your book!😈
Profile Image for Nocturne Pages.
215 reviews4 followers
October 21, 2024
This is a great Halloween novella! It is necessary to have read Eternally Damned first (and I highly recommend reading Eternally Hers before that). This is a multi-POV story, and it was really cool getting to see previous characters again and getting to know new ones!

I’m loving the coven that’s forming. The hints and clues to potential new members, be it regular members or mates, is a really fun addition. I’ve got a bunch of theories, and I can’t wait to find out if any are correct.

I’m so happy we got more of Maven and Alexander. Those two are amazing, and they never fail to provide some extremely hot scenes.

The carnival was crazy! I am quite worried about what the fortune teller implied to Azazel. It sounds like he could be a certain someone’s mate, and that sounds like it’s going to be AWFUL. If you’ve read these books, you’ll know what I mean.

Overall, I give this novella 5/5 stars and 2/5 spice. I love that January managed to throw a few spicy scenes into such a short novella and STILL told a fantastic story.
Profile Image for Cassandra.
819 reviews
January 25, 2025
I just could not continue with this book. I got to about 25% before deciding to chuck it into the dnf pile. I was jusr bored with the whole thing, and I couldn't even bring myself to care. There was too much all at once. 


The book started immediately with a big sex scene with Maven and Lex. OK, that's  believable because that is what most of book 1 was, too. But rather than continue with them into a plot, the author decided to start jumping POV around. Not only that, but dozen or so new characters thrown in at the end of book one suddenly have lines and are interacting like we have any idea who they are. Like they didn't just show up and now are suddenly a family that we don't know anything about. 


After the disappointment of the last book and then whatever this was, I decided to read the blurbs for the next couple books, and honestly they didn't sound interesting to me at all. I can't bring myself to continue with this, which is a shame. This is actually the second series I am abandoning in a row. Odd timing.
Profile Image for Brice.
904 reviews9 followers
March 8, 2024
This book is suffering from the same thing Book 1 was: there's too much character introduction, foreshadowing, and setups for future books, it's making this chaotic. I could barely keep track of the new characters. From the hinting of past tragedies that will never be disclosed until what would probably be like after five books/years in the future, to nonsensical moments with the book just ordering you to "just roll with it" because the book says so, yeah, it was frustrating.

We started so well, with Lex & Atreyus. Having the coven back was great. More vampires? Okay? But then we have Faes and an elf and all of them have their backstories. And now, as a novella, we have the four horsemen and an angel who is interested in the fetus. Plus, the world-building has gotten ignored. I had question after question that I no longer want to think about.

Plot: 👌
Characters: 👌 👌
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Profile Image for Jesse Lemire.
258 reviews6 followers
June 9, 2024
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 🌶🌶🌶

This novella was SOOOO much better than I thought it would be!

There is A LOT going on in this one.
🔸️A Hag cloaks a demonic carnival and any soul who enters is eternally damned to Hell.
🔸️The Demon Azazel disguises himself as the Ringmaster of a devilish carnival that only pops up 2 days a year around Halloween to consume souls.
🔸️A Angel has his wings severed and pinned to a wall as he's hoisted by hooks in his back to be put on display.
🔸️A Vampire is put on a bed of silver so his flesh melts off his body just so his tears can be collected.
🔸️A Werewolf is forced to fight a Minotaur to the death.

There is so much more in the Carnival of Creeps. Sure, there is the typical extra spice between Maven and Lex in the beginning, but the rest actually has a really entertaining story.
Profile Image for plantbookie.
279 reviews19 followers
August 10, 2024
I loved seeing more of the coven members. They have so many different creatures and I’m curious about all of them. I also want to know what Dottie is! She seems very powerful.

The bikers were amazing! I hope they get their own books, it seems like there is a lot of lore with them.

It will be so exciting to meet Maven and Lex’s babies. I think everyone in the coven will really love them and it will make the coven even closer.

The circus was spooky and I felt like I could really picture how it looked. This was a novella so not a lot happened, but I did enjoy the creepy circus Halloween vibes. This would be a perfect read for spooky season coming up!


🩸 Demons, angels, sirens
🎪 Bada$$ witch FMC
🩸 Possessive vampire MMC
🎪 Creepy carnival
🩸 Halloween vibes
🎪 Sexy bikers from Hell
🩸 Found family
🎪 Novella
Profile Image for Court’s_bookshelf.
51 reviews1 follower
January 7, 2024
Running to start the fourth book in the series, Eternally Cursed, immediately!

Without giving away too many spoilers, the characters continue their entwined backstories, while also encountering a new “enchanted” carnival that is more than what meets the eye to the regular person. As usual, the Shallow Cove Dimension does not disappoint and there is some epic battle scenes mixed into a fast paced, attention grabbing story, with some excellent and hot af spice mixed in. Also, I feel like we may see some more fated mates soon, but…….my lips are zipped. I am absolutely in love w/ these characters and can’t wait to see where January takes them next! As always, check TW’s and run, don’t walk, to start this series!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Donna Bossert.
167 reviews21 followers
October 31, 2022
From the 1st word to the last and every word in between was Flipping Amazing!!
The world January has made is 1 that is so weird and wonderful that you never want to leave it!
Carnivals have always freaked me out so this book will forever haunt me and yet I CAN NOT wait to read it again!
Every new character that she has given us needs a book of their own starting with War and Luna.. I dont know why but I Loved them!
I really hope we see Hell's Harvesters again those guys are pretty dam cool!

If you are looking for an author that has a mind that you would willing live in forever then January Rayne is it!
Profile Image for Oly Gonzalez.
186 reviews10 followers
January 15, 2024
4 ⭐️
Want to know something maybe funny? In October I was looking for Halloween novellas and came across this one. I decided to skip it because it sounded weird. Well here we are lol I really enjoyed it and all the characters that we met. I'm glad I didn't read it then too because it really should be read in order.

We meet so many characters and get so many povs that I'm so excited for a lot of them to hopefully get their own books. I really want to get to know them more and see them all get their happy endings.

I've been binging this series and I really recommend it, I'm having such a great time. I'm already 15% into the next book and enjoying it just as much!
Profile Image for Smutnerdy.
198 reviews3 followers
July 11, 2024
Initially I was wanting to write this book for the first 50% of 3 star review because I feel like there is very little plot to it and just a lot of smut, but the last 50% really picked up in Pace it became violently Gorey action-packed and really turn the story around for me to where I can connect more with the characters. I know that this is a very heavily smut-based series in the author let you know that when you first open it up. That being said the plot in it especially in the prequel and book one is really good so to get that in this one as well towards the last portion really helped me continue to want to move on with this series and I can't wait to start the next book
Profile Image for Lacey.
359 reviews10 followers
June 1, 2023
Halloween Novella

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. This had way too much going on for a 100 page story. It was difficult trying to keep up with all the new characters and what was happening.

This book really should’ve been much longer, because both the story and the writing took a hit. The writing was rushed and almost robotic because the author didn’t flesh out the interactions. It was quite painful for me to read because I enjoyed the other two books so much.

That’s not to say the story doesn’t have promise or wasn’t unique. It just wasn’t executed properly.
Profile Image for Sara Gomez.
173 reviews1 follower
November 15, 2022
Carnival of Creeps

Ok January I knew I should not have even contemplated reading this short but I’m impulsive.
Needless to say I am so impatient as hell and now I have to wait for Externally Cursed to release next year! So thank you 🤪

I was glad to get the brief updates on the old characters and see the new members living together as a coven.

Grab your copy today and happy reading.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
6,651 reviews237 followers
March 5, 2023
I really enjoyed reading this novella. It was nice to visit with the characters from the author's Shadow Cove Dimensions series. A good filler while I wait for book two. This is one carnival that I would not want to visit. Most come but not all leave!

If anything, this novella made me fall in love with all of the characters even more. I can't wait to visit with them more in the forthcoming books in this series. Fans of this series will enjoy this dark, creepy quick read.
Profile Image for Nicole Greene.
827 reviews25 followers
November 7, 2023
In this book you get to meet the other characters from book 2 and get to know a little bit of their backstory. We also get to meet new characters that I assume will play a big role in the later books that are coming out. I absolutely love this author and this series is giving me everything I want and more!

Also, not sure if anyone caught it but you finally realized that one of the villains in this story might be someone’s mate in the upcoming story?!

Read this now if you love creepy carnivals, bit of spookiness with a hint of soul sucking demons 🎃


🎃Halloween Novella
🎃Multiple POV's from new characters
🎃Must read the other books in the series to read this one
Profile Image for Alisha.
121 reviews4 followers
April 17, 2025
I really loved this little novella. It was action packed and such a fun, cute, creepy Halloween story. What truly got me excited though was a little blurb on the last page indicating every creature introduced in Shallow Cove will eventually get their own stories so this is me so excited for Luna and War's story! Lex and Maven will always be 10/10 and them in this book was no exception to that. Onto Eternally Cursed
Profile Image for Meg Mikaelson.
10 reviews
May 11, 2025
This was a fun little read in between Eternally Damned and Eternally Cursed. It was interesting to see what other kinds of paranormal creatures exist in this universe and it makes me wonder if these books are in the same universe as the authors Monster Stalker series because I want to see the Harvesters with their own mates!
Does Death have a mate? He has to…who is she?! Can I have that book, please?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for LaVette LoVe.
Author 1 book13 followers
October 6, 2025
This book cover is what got my to read this whole series! Now I get to finally read it!
I'm loving this story, but the male narrators voice is so robotic that it's almost making me want to DNF listening to it. I'm going to try and trudge through it because I'm really enjoying the story line.
There are a few creatures I hope to see in future books! This story was short and sweet and perfect to the story line!
5🌟
1🌶️
Profile Image for Brittany.
4 reviews
October 10, 2025
I really wanted to like this one, but I struggled to finish it. The concept itself was intriguing, but the execution fell flat for me. There were so many new characters introduced that it became hard to keep track of who was who, and as a result, I never felt emotionally connected to any of them. The idea had potential, but it just didn’t come together in a way that kept me invested. Overall, a good concept that was poorly executed in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews

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