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Reunion
After her release from prison, Raven can't wait to meet Jenny, the attractive older woman who has been pen-palling her through the prison system for nearly six years. Together, they will go back to Raven's hometown of Hollow Ivy to tackle some issues, especially surrounding one particular past event. Except, what if the search for closure threatens only mayhem, madness, and violence?
123 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2025
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Alana K. Drex
13 books98 followersI like to read a range of horror and i like to write a range of horror. It can get messed up. W/ Love, Be Warned
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 11, 2025
This has been a fever dream that melted into a cute love story coupled with a few horrific elements. I was very very confused at first, this being my first book by this author, but it all made sense in the end when the main character's father introduced himself and told the FMC who she really is.
At first I wondered if the title was because the main character was in prison and she was about to be reunited with her family in some way, but it was more than that: she was reunited with her past and her identity. She had to come to terms with who she really is, and what that meant, including her being incarcerated.
Now I hope I didn't give anything away but that was a cute little story I hope everyone enjoys in the same way I did. I felt like I was dreaming for the better part of it though.
At first I wondered if the title was because the main character was in prison and she was about to be reunited with her family in some way, but it was more than that: she was reunited with her past and her identity. She had to come to terms with who she really is, and what that meant, including her being incarcerated.
Now I hope I didn't give anything away but that was a cute little story I hope everyone enjoys in the same way I did. I felt like I was dreaming for the better part of it though.
October 7, 2025
I had the privilege of beta reading Reunion early, and wow, what a ride! Alana is one of my favorite female horror authors. This is a spooky, gory, twisty story that’s perfect for Halloween season. The atmosphere is dark and eerie, the mystery kept me guessing, and there’s even some sapphic spice sprinkled in. Definitely check the trigger warnings, but if you love small-town secrets, creepy legends, and blood-chilling moments, you’ll love this one.
October 23, 2025
Reunion is a vivid look into the dark while managing to be incredibly sexy in areas I questioned if it should be.
Local legends, prison penpals, terror and spice, Alana plays with these elements like new tools in her writing tool belt and it works!
Local legends, prison penpals, terror and spice, Alana plays with these elements like new tools in her writing tool belt and it works!
November 24, 2025
Gratuitous violence. Sapphic romance. Naughty demons. Trippy horror and a wild, dark ending.
October 21, 2025
This was a good novella about a young woman who returns home after a stint in jail but the past still haunts her. This was a good and creepy read for me. I look forward to reading more of this authors work.
October 14, 2025
When Raven returns to her hometown, fate decides to play its twisted game all over again. Reunion by Alana K. Drex sucks you right into the tension with secrets, and that pull you can't quite shake even when you know better. There's supernatural shenanigans, heat, gore, and romance tangled up in it all. I couldn't look away.
October 13, 2025
This a dark horror novel that hit all the notes. Creepy vibes, deep themes, and a healthy dose of the supernatural. Ms. Drex is a talented author who warrants your attention, and this book demands it. A great read all-around!
September 28, 2025
Nature versus nurture. It’s a debate as old as humankind: What exactly is it that makes us who we are? Are we born akin to unshaped clay and molded by life’s experiences into the individuals we will eventually become? Or is there truth to the idiom that biology is destiny, that regardless of environment the innate qualities within anyone will inevitably present themselves, for good or ill? Or, as still others contend, does the reality lie somewhere in between?
Countless medical, psychiatric, religious, and philosophical volumes have been penned throughout the centuries favoring one side of the argument or other. In fiction, too, much has been made of the subject, and from Robert Louis Stevenson’s horror masterwork The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the whimsical fantasies of Harry Potter, examining the origins of our inner selves is as fascinating as it is inexplicable.
One creator unafraid to ask questions concerning humanity’s nature is indie author Alana K. Drex, whose newest novella, Reunion, plumbs the depths of mind, body, and soul in search of answers.
In 1994, twenty-three-year-old Raven is returning to the small town of Hollow Ivy following an eight-year incarceration for murdering her teenage love, Annie. Accompanying Raven on the trip is her best friend Jenny, a special effects makeup artist who was one of the few people lending support to Raven during her imprisonment, and one of the fewer who believed Raven’s claims of amnesia regarding the night of Annie’s murder. Despite Jenny’s comforting presence, however, Raven is anxious about reuniting with her cold-hearted psychologist mother, Dr. Wendell; as a baby, Raven was abandoned on Dr. Wendell’s doorstep, and the doctor’s dismissive attitude and clinical approach to child-rearing drove a wedge between them long before Raven’s sentencing. Their relationship is no less strained now that Raven has come home, and that difficulty is only compounded by the unusual happenings around town. For over a century, Hollow Ivy has been haunted by the urban legend of a sinister yellow-eyed entity that allegedly drags unsuspecting townspeople to their deaths in an ancient well hidden deep in the wilderness. Two of Hollow Ivy’s residents have already disappeared, and as Raven is drawn deeper into the mystery, what she ultimately uncovers will forever alter the way she sees herself, her family, and unveil the truth of what happened to Annie that long ago fateful night.
Unlike many of her recent works such as Oops, I Killed My Boyfriend and the outrageous Fridge Goop, Reunion largely dispenses with Drex’s usual horror-comedy antics to adopt a splatterpunk’s gleeful mix of unabashed eroticism and intense violence (one scene in particular detailing the grisly effects of a pressurized air hose on the human face will make even the staunchest gorehound squirm). At a sprightly 123 pages, Reunion is a quick read, but it would be a mistake to assume the novel is merely fevered blood-and-boobs titillation (though there is thankfully plenty of that). In addition to the overarching nature-versus-nurture theme, Drex offers serious ruminations about trauma, memory, generational sin, the intensity of first love, and the joys of embracing one’s true self. Any author runs the risk of alienating their audience by making their protagonist a convicted murderer, but Drex pulls of such a feat masterfully, not only engendering sympathy for Raven, but casting doubt on her guilt. The budding romantic entanglement between Raven and Jenny is also a boon, and watching their unconventional courtship unfold in all its complicated, lusty glory provides a welcomed dose of emotional payoff.
For the horror crowd, though, it’s all about the spookiness, and here Drex pulls absolutely no punches. Demons, ghosts, spectral birds, shapeshifters, torture, reincarnation, revenge, nightmarish imagery—all get their turn by the book’s astonishingly dark denouement. While the nature-versus-nurture question may never be conclusively answerable in real life, with its strong characters, subversive humor, Gothic trappings, engrossing plot, unflinching gore and uncompromising finale, readers in search of above-average chills will find this one Reunion worth attending, and it’s for those reasons that I feel compelled to give Drex’s latest a solid 4 (Out of 5) here on Goodreads. As one character notes early in the novel, ‘Evil is waiting for you. IT’S GOING TO GET YOU!’
Countless medical, psychiatric, religious, and philosophical volumes have been penned throughout the centuries favoring one side of the argument or other. In fiction, too, much has been made of the subject, and from Robert Louis Stevenson’s horror masterwork The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the whimsical fantasies of Harry Potter, examining the origins of our inner selves is as fascinating as it is inexplicable.
One creator unafraid to ask questions concerning humanity’s nature is indie author Alana K. Drex, whose newest novella, Reunion, plumbs the depths of mind, body, and soul in search of answers.
In 1994, twenty-three-year-old Raven is returning to the small town of Hollow Ivy following an eight-year incarceration for murdering her teenage love, Annie. Accompanying Raven on the trip is her best friend Jenny, a special effects makeup artist who was one of the few people lending support to Raven during her imprisonment, and one of the fewer who believed Raven’s claims of amnesia regarding the night of Annie’s murder. Despite Jenny’s comforting presence, however, Raven is anxious about reuniting with her cold-hearted psychologist mother, Dr. Wendell; as a baby, Raven was abandoned on Dr. Wendell’s doorstep, and the doctor’s dismissive attitude and clinical approach to child-rearing drove a wedge between them long before Raven’s sentencing. Their relationship is no less strained now that Raven has come home, and that difficulty is only compounded by the unusual happenings around town. For over a century, Hollow Ivy has been haunted by the urban legend of a sinister yellow-eyed entity that allegedly drags unsuspecting townspeople to their deaths in an ancient well hidden deep in the wilderness. Two of Hollow Ivy’s residents have already disappeared, and as Raven is drawn deeper into the mystery, what she ultimately uncovers will forever alter the way she sees herself, her family, and unveil the truth of what happened to Annie that long ago fateful night.
Unlike many of her recent works such as Oops, I Killed My Boyfriend and the outrageous Fridge Goop, Reunion largely dispenses with Drex’s usual horror-comedy antics to adopt a splatterpunk’s gleeful mix of unabashed eroticism and intense violence (one scene in particular detailing the grisly effects of a pressurized air hose on the human face will make even the staunchest gorehound squirm). At a sprightly 123 pages, Reunion is a quick read, but it would be a mistake to assume the novel is merely fevered blood-and-boobs titillation (though there is thankfully plenty of that). In addition to the overarching nature-versus-nurture theme, Drex offers serious ruminations about trauma, memory, generational sin, the intensity of first love, and the joys of embracing one’s true self. Any author runs the risk of alienating their audience by making their protagonist a convicted murderer, but Drex pulls of such a feat masterfully, not only engendering sympathy for Raven, but casting doubt on her guilt. The budding romantic entanglement between Raven and Jenny is also a boon, and watching their unconventional courtship unfold in all its complicated, lusty glory provides a welcomed dose of emotional payoff.
For the horror crowd, though, it’s all about the spookiness, and here Drex pulls absolutely no punches. Demons, ghosts, spectral birds, shapeshifters, torture, reincarnation, revenge, nightmarish imagery—all get their turn by the book’s astonishingly dark denouement. While the nature-versus-nurture question may never be conclusively answerable in real life, with its strong characters, subversive humor, Gothic trappings, engrossing plot, unflinching gore and uncompromising finale, readers in search of above-average chills will find this one Reunion worth attending, and it’s for those reasons that I feel compelled to give Drex’s latest a solid 4 (Out of 5) here on Goodreads. As one character notes early in the novel, ‘Evil is waiting for you. IT’S GOING TO GET YOU!’
September 27, 2025
The scariest thing I've written. This was so vivid for me while writing it and it terrorized me. Developed from an 8K word chapbook back in March to a full-blown 29K word novella by the end of September, the demons have substantial room to "play" now. More focus on impact to characters and fleshing out their traumatic pasts. The experience was 5 stars. Ranks my fave, tied with Sleeping Celeste. I hope readers will enjoy this as much as I have!
October 10, 2025
Reunion starts out as almost an eerie gothic piece, but quickly changes into something much more visceral and fierce. It blends supernatural horror with psychological horror in such a chilling and disturbing way that, at times, you’ll want to close the book and hide where it’s safe, but you’ll find yourself unable to. This is Alana K. Drex at her best. It is so horrifyingly engaging and immersive that eventually you’ll look at the clock and have to pry yourself from the book so you can get some sleep… or at least try. A must read for horror fans and thriller fans alike.
December 19, 2025
This has a lot of elements and reminds me of 'Tales from the Crypt' or Black Mirror in Alana's traditional style.
Raven, the main character, is out of prison, and her lover, Jenny, is a special effects makeup artist who does one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen done for a Halloween costume in the book. The girls return to Raven's hometown to find strange occurrences and whispers of missing people, which is set up wonderfully in the first chapter. Immediately, you get a spooky feeling, and the reveal at the end is definitely not something you would see coming, but Alana sprinkles things throughout the book which makes a re-read totally worth it.
Lots of fun for Halloween and some gruesome horror to boot.
Raven, the main character, is out of prison, and her lover, Jenny, is a special effects makeup artist who does one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen done for a Halloween costume in the book. The girls return to Raven's hometown to find strange occurrences and whispers of missing people, which is set up wonderfully in the first chapter. Immediately, you get a spooky feeling, and the reveal at the end is definitely not something you would see coming, but Alana sprinkles things throughout the book which makes a re-read totally worth it.
Lots of fun for Halloween and some gruesome horror to boot.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews