Junebug: An Extreme Horror Novella

by A.E. Soto

Meet June, she’s a country little thing with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her twisted family sees her as nothing more than a punching bag and personal maid. When her brother turns 21 her mother and father go behind her back and plan a malicious gift for him… one that directly involves using June without her consent. After running away from her family on bleeding bare feet, she stumbles across a secluded cabin in the woods that belongs to a humble elderly couple. As the couple welcome June into their lives, more and more layers of past and current horrors reveal themselves as the question Who are these people, and what feeds their insatiable appetite? Get ready for thought provoking hillbilly drama with bucket loads of hideous imagery in this delectable little novella. Be sure to come hungry.

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 9, 2025

About the author

If you want to know more about me, all I will disclose (for now) is that I am a 27 year old female author who lives in North Carolina. I’m married to a beautiful woman and we own a bizarre amount of animals, currently the number is sixteen, but please don’t let that scare you away! We have a farm, so it’s at least somewhat justified. My passion for extreme horror developed from my curiosities in my adolescence, I would often look up the most extreme horror films I could find with my friends and watch as many as we could stomach. Looking back on it, I think viewing those movies set a standard for me that most contemporary horror could rarely achieve. It wasn’t until I found extreme horror literature as an adult that my needs for the extreme were satiated! I have always had a passion for writing and reading, so the three interests combined and brought me here, to a place where I can express my creativity freely and without (much) judgement.

Currently all I have out is All Men Must Die, which is my first novella, and while it is very fun it is also very flawed. I will be releasing my sophomore novella, Junebug, very shortly, followed by a collection of short stories I have written!

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a really disgusting and unsettling experience. And that's exactly what AE Soto wanted to accomplish. June, our lead, was basically raped, tortured, beaten, drugged, and mutilated for over 200 pages. You felt every single bit of it, too. Truly gut-wrenching content. But, despite all of the obstacles and barriers put in front of her, she remained strong-willed and determined to escape. Fans of extreme horror will enjoy this quite a bit. However, the balance of the story was off kilter. With so much abuse towards June, there needed to be some sort of alleviation and proper resolution to bring everything together. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here. The very ending was underwhelming and left me feeling like the body horror that encompassed most of the story overtook everything else. You wanted to feel certain things for June at the finale, but it wasn't there. There needed to be something more written in. To really showcase her conclusion and make all of her efforts feel more meaningful. This is a normal type of occurrence with extreme horror, so it's nothing out of the ordinary. But if the author addressed that aspect of the story, it would have made a powerful character-driven experience into something so much more. Not without some room for improvement, this was still a very good outing with AE Soto that will make you not want to eat for the day.

[Rachel M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was an alright read although I think the author got carried away and in my opinion would have been better to write 2 separate stories as the start was horrific but then seemed very insignificant to the rest of the story until the very end. I did enjoy the book but do think it would have been better as two separate stories or if there was more relevance to the start during the majority of the book.

[Cheryl P. (review hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If soft-core extreme horror exists, this would be the perfect example of it. The author herself states that this novella is a good introduction into the world of extreme horror. Don't be fooled, though. There are triggering topics (abuse, rape/incest, cannibalism) but they're not as graphically written or detailed as other books in the genre may be. I did enjoy reading this quite a bit, but the ending leaves some open-ended questions. Maybe a sequel in the future?

[Kswag · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy read but still packed full of all the things horror readers love. I was utterly disgusted with the descriptive writing of the characters and actions taken by the characters. Here we have a deplorable family .. sorry ass excuse for parents and very misguided sibling and then we have June. Who must think she was adopted. The brother torments the hell out of her and when you witness what he does your stomach will turn cartwheels and not in a good way. I gagged I was shocked I had a helluva ride reading this and absolutely recommend to the audience this is intended for

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable little journey of personal trouble and strife for a Neo-Cinderella figure that is persistently mentally and physically abused in lands inhabited by some seriously deranged cannibalistic hillbillies.

Would have given it 4 stars but thought that the ending was far too 'sickly-sweet' tame for a trip described as belonging to the world of 'extreme horror'.

Hoping to read much more from this new author in future - lots of promise, most definitely!

Rating: 3.5 stars.

[Keira · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my gosh this book was so creepy, gross, disgusting, weird – I LOVED IT!!! cannibalism is so fascinating and the author did a fantastic job at including it in the story. even though i knew it was coming i was prepared for how june found out! and the end… june bby what are you DOING? and whisker too! don’t eat that (but i get why it happened hehe). overall, a hella fun book to read. i kept finding myself thinking about it when i wasn’t reading it!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhhhhmazing

The story kept me captivated from beginning to end. There were many shocking moments, I couldn't put the book down!

[Elaine Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book left me jaw dropping on more than one occasion!!

[Tammy Strother · Rating 5 out of 5]

twisted

I can’t wait to see more from this author. I also read All Men Must Dire- Fabulous.

If you love EXTREME violence and gore but with a great storyline, THIS is your one of your new favorite authors!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will admit that sometimes I have a hard time with extreme horror, but I really liked this book. I don't know if like is the right word, lol, but it was a good read. This book is disgusting and has plenty of nasty things, but it wasn't just gore and filth for gore's sake and I really think that's what makes very few extreme horror works enjoyable for me. I have a physical copy, but it might be a while before I read it again because some of the things that happened were so foul and disturbing. This novella reads like a sick and demented fairy tale and I think it chronicles some of the things that women have to go through, although on a much more extreme level (hopefully) for most of us. This is a local author to me and I'm happy to support their work.

[AnxiousCloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ - Read this in one sitting, absolutely unputdownable .. the start with June and her family obviously disturbing and an uncomfortable read, but the story overall was so good and loved reading the after dinner mint too learning the behind story of the book & author esp the library part 😄 and a backstory on Marvin I would read immediately. My first read from this author but not the last. Look forward to more.

[LeighAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read that puts you through all the emotions. Poor June never really stood a chance at a happy life—and just when you think things might turn around… yeah, think again. This one absolutely took me for a loop. It packs a serious punch and delivers everything an extreme horror fan could want. Dark, brutal, and unforgettable.

[Erica smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

I was glad after reading this and getting to the authors note that the intentions were to make it more gorey but didn't . I'm not a huge fan of extreme horror anymore but this was toned down and I loved it .

[Tria Behler · Rating 2 out of 5]

🤢🤮

[whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like splatter punk with a good storyline you will enjoy this book. Just the right amount of grotesqueness with a good plot & a few twists. I definitely recommend this book, and would like to read more by the author (a sequel to this story would be fun).

[ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

if cinderella, hansel & gretel, & hillbillies had a baby - it’d be this book

[Courtney Ramey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're new to splatterpunk or you just like a really good gore filled book to keep you on the edge of your seat, this is IT. This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is worth every page turning, heart skipping second! Best book I've read in 2025 and I've been recommending it every chance I get!