A Colder Home

by Jillian Maria

Amateur cinematographer Cleo Moss hasn’t tried to make a film since her father’s death three years ago. Her cousin Noah, a director, is convinced that her latest script is the perfect opportunity to try again, but Cleo is less sure. Those reservations grow when a blizzard nearly runs them off the road on their way to the shoot, and when they discover that the house they’re filming in has a tragic past to rival Cleo’s own horror-filled writing. By the time she starts seeing ghostly shadows out of the corner of her eye, she’s convinced that the production is doomed.

At first, filming moves forward in spite of an unreliable camera battery and Noah’s surprise casting of Isobel, Cleo’s not-so-former crush. But as the worsening snow traps cast and crew in the house overnight, the strange shadows escalate into horrifying, dangerous specters. While the rest of her friends fight to find a way out of this nightmare, Cleo can’t help but be drawn to the ghosts she captures in her viewfinder—just as she can’t help noticing how similar their story is to her own past…

326 pages, Paperback

Expected publication February 10, 2026

About the author

Jillian Maria enjoys tea, pretty dresses, and ripping out pieces of herself to put in her novels. She writes the books she wants to read, prominently featuring women who are like her in some way or another. A great lover of horror, thriller and mystery novels, most of her stories have some of her own fears lurking in the margins. When she isn’t willing imaginary people into existence, she’s pursuing a career in public relations and content marketing. A Michigan native, Jillian spends what little free time she has hanging out with her friends, reading too much, singing along to musical numbers, and doting on her cat.

Reviews

[Rie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Colder Home is an absolute highlight for me. With its themes, characters and spookiness, it had me wholly in its grip and wont let me go for a long time.

I have had the honour of beta-reading this book twice and I am happy to say that I will definitely read it a third time once it is published. A Colder Home accomplishes all I want from a good horror story: it finds a core emotion within me that I don't like to look at. And isn't that the true horror? Being confronted with our own vulnerability? This story does not need shock or big plot twists to captivate, instead it's the constant spook and the certainty where the story will end up — even if I still keep hoping for a different outcome. (And there are still enough shock and plot twists to haunt me.)

I especially liked the characters of this story. The teenagers are so very much teenagers that I felt thrown back in time. They're big dreamers, kind, annoying, flawed, and so very, very real. While it did take the first three chapters for me to warm up to them, I was captivated from chapter four onward and couldn't put the book down again until I sat there crying (truly, real tears).

With excellently executed themes and motifs, Jillian Maria not only created a great read for cold winter night, but managed to capture something authentic and honest. This is what elevated this story to a highlight for me and makes it unforgettable. It is a story that means something; that communicates something — and yet that something is always up to the reader.

I would deeply recommend this book to anyone who enjoys flawed characters and needs a good cry.

[Cat Rector · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a proofreader, meaning it was about 99% done when I had my experience, but it's nice to be transparent!

A Colder Home is an excellent option for readers who are looking for something inspired by found footage that isn't fully immersive found footage. I'm a FIEND for the genre and I had a great time with this book. Several of the characters gave me big feelings in all kinds of directions and even though my job was a proofreading pass, I couldn't help but comment those big feelings in the margins.

Without spoiling anything, this was an excellent examination of inner turmoil, and complicated relationships with others and with oneself, wrapped up in a ghostly handcam experience. I had a lot of fun with this read and I'll be grabbing a copy for my shelf!

[Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reading copy from the author and boy am I grateful for such a fantastic read. This sapphic horror story starts with a group of friends trying to make their own horror film and quickly devolves into something much more real. I enjoyed how the book hits all the right horror notes and tropes fans love with a narrator there with you to acknowledge them all! I personally loved the reliability of the main character and her imperfections. I read a lot of horror and this was one of the lovely ones where I sat down and read it cover to cover because I just couldn't put it down or stop thinking about it. I HIGHLY recommend!!

[Ceril Domace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightfully creepy story! The way Cleo views the world through the lense of her camera, the slowly heightening sense that something is wrong, and the subtly deadly risks of being trapped in a frozen nightmare all come together to make an absolutely enthralling story. I absolutely recommend it!