Demon Summer

by J.J. Buffet

A campy B-horror movie in book form, with classic YA paperback flavor....

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A cursed cookbook, a demonic force, and a summer job gone horribly wrong - DEMON SUMMER is a fun mix of suspense, dark humor, and supernatural surprises that will keep you hooked from start to finish. Channeling the campy charm of 80s and 90s B-movie horror and the gripping tension of Stranger Things, this fast-paced paranormal thriller blends modern urban fantasy with a nostalgic nod to cult classics. Perfect for fans of dark, quirky adventures like Riverdale and Charmed, and retro YA horror by R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, this fast-food nightmare will leave you hungry for more.

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It's going to be one HELL of a summer...

Zane thought inheriting a house in Paradise Falls would be the fresh start he needed. And his new job at Snaxtime, a popular fast-food chain, seemed totally cool. But when he and his coworkers, Star and Dexter, find an old book filled with strange recipes, they accidentally cook up an ancient succubus with a taste for male flesh. Now, she's on the loose and wreaking havoc on the town!

Things really heat up when Hunter, a heartthrob with a mysterious past, comes looking for Zane. Plunged into a whirlwind of desire and danger, Zane spirals deeper into Hunter's world. With the clock ticking and ghouls on the rise, the teens must team up to save Paradise Falls from the clutches of the demon. But in a town full of sizzling secrets, survival is no sure thing. Can they destroy the evil they've unleashed, or will Paradise Falls be devoured by darkness?

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Supernatural

205 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2025

About the author

J.J. Buffet is the joint pen name of Snaxtime, the Brooklyn-based creative team behind offbeat animations like CHEESE DOG: THE MOVIE and the cult-favorite viral horror short PIZZA FACE. With DEMON SUMMER, their spooky and fun debut novel, Snaxtime expands into new storytelling territory, bringing their signature blend of dark humor and imaginative flair to the page for the first time.

Reviews

[Youssra {very busy-review slumping}]

This cover looks like Stranger Things on crack. I need it.

[Shadyside Library]

Absolutely brilliant! Reading this was a total blast. It is very reminiscent of a Christopher Pike book from the 90’s. In other words, it packed an unhinged plot involving a sucubus, demons, scandalous teens, supernatural elements, and more! Can’t wait for more from Snaxtime!

[Bri Solomon]

This book 100% matches the cover lol it was a fun unserious thriller. It felt like I was reading the book version of scream. I have no regrets picking it up. It was an enjoyable quick read.

[Jen (noelle w. ihli's version)]

198

[Amanda Hopwood]

Um …. A very campy horror book about a ha dumb employees working at a fast food chain that accidentally release a demon while trying a new recipe they found in a book in the basement of the restaurant… read if you dare

[Alex Cole]

There is campy and then there is bad writing. This is the latter. I had to dnf it at literally 101 pages. The novel is written by a team under a shared pen name and since the 2nd chapter I had begun to suspect that one if not all of the “writers” dipped into the ChatGPT pool for this because the sentence structure reads an awful lot like ai.

The story is very choppy. There are scenes with little to absolutely no lead up to it. For example Zane goes into the basement to get more filters only to !BAM! feel weird, get a book and return upstairs with no idea why he did it or how he got the book. Annnnd it pretty much reads as I wrote it. It’s almost like reading fanfiction as a 13 yr old (u know what mean, how bad the writing is if you look back on it).

The boy went up the hill.
The boy got water out of the well.
The boy fell down the hill.
The boy got yelled at when he spilled the water.

Yeah.

The cover is gorgeous. It, unfortunately, is what drew me to it. I read fun slasher/horror books for summerween. This just left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Nichole Hall]

Wow, what a wild and fun book!

If you're into RL Stein and Christopher Pike types of stories, and you love cheesy, campy horror adventures, you'll totally enjoy this one!

Zane inherits his uncle’s house after he passes, and he finds a mysterious cursed recipe book in the attic. While working at the local fast-food place, Snaxtime, they decide to try making a special sauce from the book. Everyone goes crazy for it! Things get even more exciting as they keep making more recipes, but they accidentally summon a demon!

At the end of the book, I said “Hell yeah! Out loud! Needless to say, I loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Author: J.J. Buffet, and Snaxtime for this arc.

[Robin]

This was a fun book. even though it takes place present day it felt very nostalgic and reminded me of a teen '80s horror movie.

[Elizabeth ✨ Mathers]

This book is exactly as the cover looks! This was fun, gorey little story that I will probably read every spooky season. It gives 70ies summer job slasher vibes and I reeeeeaaaally fuck with that.

[Erin Cataldi]

This was such a campy, cheesy, breeze. If you love b-movies, Scream, and unserious horror then this is the one for you. Some teenagers working at the fast food restaurant Snaxtime, may or may not have summoned on a demon and gotten mixed up in some weird stuff. Zane, Dexter, Star and Jake are about to have an unforgettable summer. Demon Summer is an homage to Stranger Things and Scream. It's campy and fun. Horror fluff. This book would appeal to older teens and adults.

[Stephanie Vicente]

this was one of the first books I have read because of a Facebook ad. I thought this cover looked amazing and the premise of the book sounded intriguing and it was a fun read , this was fast paced and kept me entertained the entire way through.

[The Headless Horror]

Can we all just agree that this cover is spectacular? I'm guilty of judging books by their covers, or rather selecting them based on their covers and I was delightfully surprised that this book lived up to the expectation!

If you loved Clown in a Cornfield and Fear Street, as well as any classic 80s/90s horror film (especially the campy ones), I think you will really dig this book.

[Madison Rachelle]

A breezy, irresistible beach read that I devoured in a day. From the first page, I was pulled into a world of vibrant characters and sharp, playful dialogue that felt both kitschy and delightfully fresh. The friendships leapt off the page with such charm and authenticity, I almost felt like part of their inner circle.

While the ending caught me off guard—and broke my heart a little—it only deepened my appreciation for the story. Beneath the retro sparkle and campy Scooby doo snack imagery, you could sense the deeper alchemy at work: Snaxtime poured something truly special into this story, a rare and spellbinding blend of heart, humor, and horror.

If you're a fan of Christopher Pike’s twisty teen thrillers, this one is an absolute must. Envisioning a fun tv show for this one!!! 😍🍔🍟😈🩸🦠🔮

[Kristin]

This was so much fun!

-Christopher Pike sexuality mixed with season 3 of Stranger Things
-set in modern times (one of the characters is an influencer) but lots of nostalgic references. And the way it’s written is very much like a 90s teen horror
-tons of fast food and junk food p*rn
-4th of July cookout at the lake
-carnival
-demons and underworld
-some kinda witchy stuff with spells and potions

[✩ maggs ✩]

i knew it was probably too good to be true to see an instagram ad for a book....

[Ronay]

This book is such fun! I loved it so much. If you want the R. L. Stine nostalgia vibes but more in this era. I would recommend this book. Especially with the new Fear Street coming out.

[Stay]

"So, the fate of humanity rests on the shoulders of a TV psychic who talks to dead poodles?"~/b>

If you have any form of social media id bet money that you’ve seen an ad for this book. It’s the only reason why it was on my radar at all. I saw the ad a few hundred times and it looked like a late night horror movie I would spot Elvira talking about, so I was all in.

The cover definitely gives off straight to VHS horror vibes from the 80s and there was no way I could ignore this gem. If you love cheesy horror with hilarious dialogue and decent gory deaths then this is the book for you! It definitely was written for someone like me.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. There wasn’t a dull moment and I found myself reading this during the Phillies game, so that should clue you in on how much I enjoyed this. I cannot wait for more by the crew of Snaxtime. I know it’ll be a blood soaked adventure!

[Elizabeth Conway]

This was unhinged and the first book I've ever bought through an ad on Facebook based on the cover 😂
That being said, I absolutely loved it, it had all the fun things about YA horror and also reminded me of shows like Stranger Things and campy 80s horror. Definitely recommend 10/10.

[Mattie B.]

This was so 👏🏽 dang 👏🏽 fun!
It was very campy in a 2000s horror kind of way. I loved the found family type of vibe and the goofiness of it all. I had so much fun with this and the cover is fantastic. Highly recommend for a quick, spooky read 😈

[Chugalug420]

Fun to read, gave killer visuals.

[Summer (speaking_bookish)]

I got exactly what I was hoping for from this silly novel. A campy, bloody and ridiculous good time.

[Elyssa]

If a B-movie were a book this would be it. It’s campy, silly, and grotesque, as well as a quick read.

[Maggie]

3.75/5 stars

I thought the cover captured this book's spirit perfectly. It was giving 80's/90's vibes despite being set in the modern world- a big win for me. I loved the over-the-top humor and grotesque horror scenes. If you go in expecting Army of Darkness-style cheesiness, you will leave happy.

[Christine]

review to come.

[PurePoison]

3.5 ⭐️
This low key needed to be an 80s slasher film

[Amy]

*I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Publishes 25th March!

This short novel felt like Stranger Things and Goosebumps combined, with a lot of retro 80s vibes and a lot of pop culture references!

The first chapter pulled me in, it sets up an eerie, paranormal story and shows a very real threat set back three hundred years ago before then jumping to the present, where the story then follows Zane as he moves to Paradise Falls and gets a job at popular fast-food chain Snaxtime. There he meets his new friends Star, Dexter and Jake. At first it has all the teenage summer vibes, with lake swims and fireworks and s'mores, but the book quickly takes a dark and even gory turn when the gang returns to Snaxtime and find an old book which was once owned by Snaxtime founder Harold Snaxton, from there things get weird in the best of ways.

The plot is silly and cheesy, but it's equally highly entertaining and comedic. Don't go into this expecting something overly scary or developed, because this book isn't either. It's short and simple, fast paced and rushes through things to give readers the full classic cult 80s paranormal atmosphere. I enjoyed the demonic elements and the main threat, Demonika. The gang's friendship was cool to see, and I really liked the shocking twists at the ending, I truly didn't expect them!

The ending seemingly wraps up everything until the epilogue surprises readers with a classic 'it's over...for now' kind of twists, giving a nice nod to a loved trope in horror.

4/5 🌟

[Christine]

3.5ish ⭐️
Very campy but I had a good time reading this.

[Sammi]

3.5

[Olen 😻]

It’s giving a possessed fast food joint with a whole lot of teen angst mixed with a really bad & cheesy 80s horror movie in the BEST of ways.

The story & characters had me hooked. I was surprised they killed off 🤐🤐 but it was such a well written scene & i love how they played into the “no one’s safe” trope. The tension at times was 👀👀👀 & there were a few surprises in this i reallllllllly enjoyed.

[Vampyre]

Major props to “J.J. Buffet”/Snaxtime team for their extensively, well thought out efforts into the marketing for Snaxtime, and Demon Summer. I’m just dying to buy some merch now!

I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover. Yes, I judge books by their cover, and I’m almost never wrong. Demon Summer felt like a fever dream. The abundance of nostalgia this cover art (and its story) made me reminisce of being a preteen in the early 90s, devouring every Stine and Pike book I could get my hands on. Not much to my surprise, that’s exactly what the people behind Demon Summer were stabbing for…a Pike and Stine vibe. I cannot stop thinking about how much the cover art is paying homage to the two leading young adult horror authors of all time.

While the overall story features the classic horror tropes, it shifts the traditional horror character roles. Particularly one that was both unexpected and equally appreciated was the lead character Zane Hawthorn.

This book is hands down the best horror book I have read this year. Not only was it a binge-able book, but I often caught myself smiling while reading. I kept thinking, “Yes, it’s books like this that made me love reading, make me keep reading, and hope to inspire others to read!”

My only complaint for Demon Summer is, where is Demon Fall!? In Paradise Falls, I hope!? Ultimately I would love to see Demon Summer evolve into a series, or a series like the Fear Street series….a collection of books all connected by a creepy town filled with shady creatures human and paranormal alike.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ebook ARC, and another extremely grateful thank you to the Snaxtime/J.J. Buffet team for my physical copy filled with extra swag. Whether or not they continue with any more books, I’m an undead dead for life! 5 stars easily deserved!