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Only Darkness
THE DARKNESS IN THE WOODS BECKONS HER...
A bleak tale about a cursed family and the mother trying to keep them together. The Exorcist meets Hereditary in this small-town horror story that will force you to embrace the darkness.
SUFFER
Kae Roscoe’s daughter vanished sixteen months ago and all she wanted during her absence was for Molly to return. But when her daughter comes back, she isn’t the same.
Molly hardly speaks and refuses to eat. The only emotion she displays is violence.
As much as Kae hates to admit it, there’s definitely something wrong with Molly, and her reappearance sets off a dark turn of events that threatens to tear the town apart.
SURRENDER
Summer Urbina has finally graduated from college and is excited about spending time with her mother. But as soon as she gets home, everything feels odd.
When her best friend sends an ominous text, Summer decides to trek across the country to make sure he’s okay.
She might not understand why, but the town of Brittle seems very familiar. The darkness calling her from the woods threatens to consume her entirely, and she’s not strong enough to resist.
A bleak tale about a cursed family and the mother trying to keep them together. The Exorcist meets Hereditary in this small-town horror story that will force you to embrace the darkness.
SUFFER
Kae Roscoe’s daughter vanished sixteen months ago and all she wanted during her absence was for Molly to return. But when her daughter comes back, she isn’t the same.
Molly hardly speaks and refuses to eat. The only emotion she displays is violence.
As much as Kae hates to admit it, there’s definitely something wrong with Molly, and her reappearance sets off a dark turn of events that threatens to tear the town apart.
SURRENDER
Summer Urbina has finally graduated from college and is excited about spending time with her mother. But as soon as she gets home, everything feels odd.
When her best friend sends an ominous text, Summer decides to trek across the country to make sure he’s okay.
She might not understand why, but the town of Brittle seems very familiar. The darkness calling her from the woods threatens to consume her entirely, and she’s not strong enough to resist.
- GenresHorror
271 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2024
About the author
Yolanda Sfetsos
80 books243 followersWriter. Bibliophile. Collector. Animal lover. Horror freak.
My name is Yolanda, and I live in Australia. I write horror tales that bleed into other genres. I'm a horror freak from way back and a total bibliophile! I also collect cute stuff, love cozy vibes, and enjoy going for walks.
My name is Yolanda, and I live in Australia. I write horror tales that bleed into other genres. I'm a horror freak from way back and a total bibliophile! I also collect cute stuff, love cozy vibes, and enjoy going for walks.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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September 16, 2024Welcome to my first self-published adventure.
This might sound like a familiar story you've heard before about the cursed Roscoe family, and the unfortunate events that darken the town of Brittle after a missing teenager returns from the woods. But I don't think you know what follows almost ten years later, as the nightmare from 2015 ripples into the lives of another family that has been involved since the beginning...
Hope you enjoy this new and expanded edition. 😈
PS. Suffer. Surrender. It's your choice.
This might sound like a familiar story you've heard before about the cursed Roscoe family, and the unfortunate events that darken the town of Brittle after a missing teenager returns from the woods. But I don't think you know what follows almost ten years later, as the nightmare from 2015 ripples into the lives of another family that has been involved since the beginning...
Hope you enjoy this new and expanded edition. 😈
PS. Suffer. Surrender. It's your choice.
September 21, 2026
When Kae Roscoe divorced her cheating husband she accepted that her relationship with her children would change, but not as drastically as it does with her sixteen year old daughter Molly. Resentful and rebellious Molly makes it clear as often as possible that she would much rather spend time with her dad and his cool, much younger wife Sofia. Determined to not rise to Molly's antics and keep the tentative peace Kae gives her leeway, much more than she probably should. One morning after their normal argument about staying out of woods behind their home Kae gives in, tells Molly simply to be careful. This time however Molly doesn't return. Not for a day, a week, a month even six months. An exhaustive search is done and there is simply no trace of her daughter. Of course most everyone knows that in Brittle this simply happens, but in most cases a body at least turns up. Not so with Molly, because seventeen months later Molly emerges from the woods and turns up in a local hospital. Elated to have her daughter back Molly rushes to be with her, only whomever is sitting on the bed in private room covered in wounds is not her daughter. Someone or something else lurks behind her eyes and Kae knows that whatever it is, its out for blood.
This was so good!! Just the perfect creepy read to ensure I never step foot in the woods again!
I believe this is actually two books in one, Molly's story being the original and the second "book" being her sister Tessa/Summer's story, so I'm going to try really hard to not give away too many details about the first story so as not to spoil the second here.
The first story follows Kae and her boyfriend who also happens to be the sherriff of Brittle. Kae is genuinely every mother in this situation. The worry about her daughter while knowing she has to push forward to protect her two remaining children, the subconcious realization that Molly is long gone and she now has to protect her children again from a monster wearing their face, and the don't trust the younger trophy wife attitude. Until of course she trusts her. Which again, to an extent makes sense. What's happening to Kae and her family is insane by any stretch of the imagination. Most people would rather turn to a "family member" than any authorities in this situation. They would just think she was insane. Maybe. This is where I have just a couple of very small complaints I'll get to in a moment. But I really Kae she was the perfect almost heroine for this story!
Now, in terms of the big bad itself, we've got some really amazing misdirection here that carries over into the Summer/Tessa's story. Which I think if you've read enough folklore horror you get a sneaky suspicion of the direction this will eventually head when Molly mentions her step mother's love of folklore in the very beginning, that suspicion turns into surety when Tessa says the same exact thing later on. That being said the ride getting there is absolutely excellent as the horrors just don't let up from the minute Kae walks into the hospital. Sfetos really does an amazing job or recognizing that this is a novella and we can't have any lag in this story, if we did it would be boring.
My only really very tiny complaint is that while to an extent it was understandable that Kae would turn to her ex and his wife given the circumstances, it also wasn't. She was just one of those characters that even before you met her gave you a chill. Like there was something very wrong with her and how she treated the children and how she treated Kae. But, it's really the sob story she gives Kae that absolutely solidifies that she's peddling crap to people and I ain't buying. Until this point it seemed like Kae would be the same way but I get why there was a need for Kae to make the decision she did in terms of the story. It really couldn't go further without it.
The only one tiny other thing is that there is a line towards the beginning where it seemed like there was a past history with Kae herself and the monsster in the woods that was never really talked about. Granted I could have been reading way too much into this line but I think it would have been cool if we had like a family line thing going here. So that's not even really a complaint it's more like a "someone should write this" 😂
Now, if you didn't get it yet Sofia is the big bad, how she is the big bad I'm not going to get into but I feel bad just giving that one small spoiler (which is why this entire review is hidden), but you just really have too for Summer/Tessa's story to make sense.
Book 2 or story two follows Summer/Tessa ten years later who, thanks to Sofia has literally no idea who she is. Sofia has wiped her memory clean and Tessa now called Summer believes she is Sofia's only child as Sofia needs a successor. She packs them up and moves them across the country where Summer seems to have lived never knowing the events of ten years ago that revolved around her and her real family. Yes, this definitely has a Disney's Rapunzel feel to it for sure, which wasn't a bad thing in the least. The evil step mother is a common theme for a reason. Sorry to all of the good step mom's of the world!
For some reason, and this wasn't really clear to me, which to be honest I found I didn't really care why, Sofia needs Summer to go back home to Brittle and to that end she arranges for Summer to become besties with her twin brothers childhood bestie Chris. Just as Summer and Chris are both returning home after graduation Chris gets weird, starts sending cryptic messages about the woods in Brittle, which of course freaks Summer out and Sofia of course encourages her to go to Brittle to check on him. So she hops on a place the very next day where while checking out the town she happens to run into Chris's sister Dahlia, although she doesn't know it right away. Shortly thereafter she heads to Chris's house where she finds out that Chris is in the hospital.
Now, Summer and Dahlia are attracted to each other immediately and when Dahlia returns to her home to find the hot chick she met at the grocery store spacing out in their backyard she invites her in and explains that Chris's disappearance and reappearance looks exactly like his childhood bestie's sisters disappearing act ten years prior. Summer still doesn't know she's Tessa but she's freaked out. Especially when Chris comes back from the hospital with his dad and he's basicaly just a walking freaking corpse.
Now, this story unfolds almost exactly like Molly's except for one big difference.Tessa is in love with the thing in the forest so her interactions with it are quite a bit different from everyone else's cause hey he loves her too. Which again something I would have loved to have seen expanded upon in some sort of lineage style conversation here. Maybe reincarnation who knows? Did the lack of it ruin the story? Nope, not one bit because like I said we've got a great evil step mother style story here and I love it!
I genuinely have no complaints with Tessa's story. It had to unfold the same way it did the first time because this is the type of story that simply craves that kind of continuity. I also love the fact that the actual "monster" isn't really a monster at all but a being that is being used in the same manner that the entire Roscoe family was. That's heartbreaking too, like Sofia seems to just land on this family as having a daughter that she wanted as her successor so she destroys so many lives to get to her. Somehow you don't feel like there is anything special with Tessa though, like Sofia just happened to come across this girl that would work and I think that's what makes this so scary. It feels random and yet very targeted at the same exact time. Like when you hear on the news that some guy stalked and killed a woman he had one conversation with at the grocery store. It could have been anyone else, but she just happened to meet him that day and now she's his target.
I highly recomend this one! It was one of those reads that sucked you in from the beginning and kept you there so that when you finally surface from it five hours later it feels like no time has pased at all. Just maybe don't read it near any wooded areas.
This was so good!! Just the perfect creepy read to ensure I never step foot in the woods again!
I believe this is actually two books in one, Molly's story being the original and the second "book" being her sister Tessa/Summer's story, so I'm going to try really hard to not give away too many details about the first story so as not to spoil the second here.
The first story follows Kae and her boyfriend who also happens to be the sherriff of Brittle. Kae is genuinely every mother in this situation. The worry about her daughter while knowing she has to push forward to protect her two remaining children, the subconcious realization that Molly is long gone and she now has to protect her children again from a monster wearing their face, and the don't trust the younger trophy wife attitude. Until of course she trusts her. Which again, to an extent makes sense. What's happening to Kae and her family is insane by any stretch of the imagination. Most people would rather turn to a "family member" than any authorities in this situation. They would just think she was insane. Maybe. This is where I have just a couple of very small complaints I'll get to in a moment. But I really Kae she was the perfect almost heroine for this story!
Now, in terms of the big bad itself, we've got some really amazing misdirection here that carries over into the Summer/Tessa's story. Which I think if you've read enough folklore horror you get a sneaky suspicion of the direction this will eventually head when Molly mentions her step mother's love of folklore in the very beginning, that suspicion turns into surety when Tessa says the same exact thing later on. That being said the ride getting there is absolutely excellent as the horrors just don't let up from the minute Kae walks into the hospital. Sfetos really does an amazing job or recognizing that this is a novella and we can't have any lag in this story, if we did it would be boring.
My only really very tiny complaint is that while to an extent it was understandable that Kae would turn to her ex and his wife given the circumstances, it also wasn't. She was just one of those characters that even before you met her gave you a chill. Like there was something very wrong with her and how she treated the children and how she treated Kae. But, it's really the sob story she gives Kae that absolutely solidifies that she's peddling crap to people and I ain't buying. Until this point it seemed like Kae would be the same way but I get why there was a need for Kae to make the decision she did in terms of the story. It really couldn't go further without it.
The only one tiny other thing is that there is a line towards the beginning where it seemed like there was a past history with Kae herself and the monsster in the woods that was never really talked about. Granted I could have been reading way too much into this line but I think it would have been cool if we had like a family line thing going here. So that's not even really a complaint it's more like a "someone should write this" 😂
Now, if you didn't get it yet Sofia is the big bad, how she is the big bad I'm not going to get into but I feel bad just giving that one small spoiler (which is why this entire review is hidden), but you just really have too for Summer/Tessa's story to make sense.
Book 2 or story two follows Summer/Tessa ten years later who, thanks to Sofia has literally no idea who she is. Sofia has wiped her memory clean and Tessa now called Summer believes she is Sofia's only child as Sofia needs a successor. She packs them up and moves them across the country where Summer seems to have lived never knowing the events of ten years ago that revolved around her and her real family. Yes, this definitely has a Disney's Rapunzel feel to it for sure, which wasn't a bad thing in the least. The evil step mother is a common theme for a reason. Sorry to all of the good step mom's of the world!
For some reason, and this wasn't really clear to me, which to be honest I found I didn't really care why, Sofia needs Summer to go back home to Brittle and to that end she arranges for Summer to become besties with her twin brothers childhood bestie Chris. Just as Summer and Chris are both returning home after graduation Chris gets weird, starts sending cryptic messages about the woods in Brittle, which of course freaks Summer out and Sofia of course encourages her to go to Brittle to check on him. So she hops on a place the very next day where while checking out the town she happens to run into Chris's sister Dahlia, although she doesn't know it right away. Shortly thereafter she heads to Chris's house where she finds out that Chris is in the hospital.
Now, Summer and Dahlia are attracted to each other immediately and when Dahlia returns to her home to find the hot chick she met at the grocery store spacing out in their backyard she invites her in and explains that Chris's disappearance and reappearance looks exactly like his childhood bestie's sisters disappearing act ten years prior. Summer still doesn't know she's Tessa but she's freaked out. Especially when Chris comes back from the hospital with his dad and he's basicaly just a walking freaking corpse.
Now, this story unfolds almost exactly like Molly's except for one big difference.Tessa is in love with the thing in the forest so her interactions with it are quite a bit different from everyone else's cause hey he loves her too. Which again something I would have loved to have seen expanded upon in some sort of lineage style conversation here. Maybe reincarnation who knows? Did the lack of it ruin the story? Nope, not one bit because like I said we've got a great evil step mother style story here and I love it!
I genuinely have no complaints with Tessa's story. It had to unfold the same way it did the first time because this is the type of story that simply craves that kind of continuity. I also love the fact that the actual "monster" isn't really a monster at all but a being that is being used in the same manner that the entire Roscoe family was. That's heartbreaking too, like Sofia seems to just land on this family as having a daughter that she wanted as her successor so she destroys so many lives to get to her. Somehow you don't feel like there is anything special with Tessa though, like Sofia just happened to come across this girl that would work and I think that's what makes this so scary. It feels random and yet very targeted at the same exact time. Like when you hear on the news that some guy stalked and killed a woman he had one conversation with at the grocery store. It could have been anyone else, but she just happened to meet him that day and now she's his target.
I highly recomend this one! It was one of those reads that sucked you in from the beginning and kept you there so that when you finally surface from it five hours later it feels like no time has pased at all. Just maybe don't read it near any wooded areas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2024
If you enjoyed Yolanda's previous novella SUFFER THE DARKNESS then you're gonna love this beefed up version. It grabs it by the throat and shakes it with a temper. I'm all for the tightness of a novella, believing things often work better when they are condensed, but when the pacing is right, it makes no difference. This is one of those rare occasions when more feels kind of less. I mean that in a good way. I'm a huge fan of Yolanda's work. I really hope this gets the attention it deserves. Read it for the changes, the extras. See how it's all evolved. It's so worth it.
You know what else I love about this release?
How this feels like a big F.U. to a rotten situation. I'm talking about Darklit and the other authors out there who are still waiting on getting paid.
From what could have easily broken the spirit has completely turned around here and for me it's an absolute win.
This deserves the attention for that reason alone. Congratulations, Yolanda. You've done yourself proud.
So glad you made this happen.
You know what else I love about this release?
How this feels like a big F.U. to a rotten situation. I'm talking about Darklit and the other authors out there who are still waiting on getting paid.
From what could have easily broken the spirit has completely turned around here and for me it's an absolute win.
This deserves the attention for that reason alone. Congratulations, Yolanda. You've done yourself proud.
So glad you made this happen.
April 30, 2025
This novel started off really great, I was hooked! But then about 50% in it turned into a completely different book? I think I felt this way because the main character in the second half of the book had little to no character development after the conclusion of part one of the book.
It just felt forced.
The overall writing style was wonderful and easy to read- and I loved the folk horror elements included in this story.
It just felt forced.
The overall writing style was wonderful and easy to read- and I loved the folk horror elements included in this story.
June 26, 2026
A fine story with some genuinely CREEPY scenes. Although, I think it could have ended after part 1.
November 24, 2024
This was a fantastic read with well-executed plot twists and fun subversions of possession and folk horror. I greatly enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews