Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror

by Jeneva Rose

Not all nightmares come from sleep. Some come from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jeneva Rose.

Three horror stories.

A dinner party. A quiet house. A roadside stop.

You’ll recognize the setup.

You won’t recognize what comes next.

Never Kill the Medium

A thirtieth birthday dinner turns deadly after someone hires a medium for a playful séance. When the ritual spirals out of control and the medium dies, the guests cover it up—unaware that leaving the séance unfinished has allowed something dark to cross over.

The Nightmare House

The Dalton family moves into what they believe is their forever home, in the quiet town of Tillington—until the house whispers, the neighbors watch, and no one believes the one person who knows something is wrong. Newly postpartum, Kristin Dalton soon uncovers a horrifying every family who has lived in this house has died or disappeared.

All Curses Are Final

On the way to a remote winter cabin, a group of friends stops at a roadside store with a hand-painted “All items cursed. Curse lifted at time of sale.” They laugh it off—until one of them discovers an item in her bag she never paid for. As the storm traps them inside the cabin and bodies start to pile up, paranoia takes hold and suspicion turns inward.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Thriller, Audiobook, Paranormal, Fiction, Halloween

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2026

About the author

Jeneva Rose is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Perfect Marriage and The Perfect Divorce. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages and optioned for film/tv. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Drew, and her stubborn English bulldogs, Winston and Phyllis Vance.

Reviews

[Heather Adores Books]

Happy publication day!

Boogidy boogidy.

Genre ~ horror short stories
Publication date ~ September 22, 2026
Est Page Count ~ 337
Audio length ~ 9 hours 37 minutes
Narrators ~ Kathleen Early, Brittany Pressley, Abigail Reno, Emily Marso, Katy Bentz

There's an illustration at the beginning of each story.

Never Kill the Medium
4⭐
Setting ~ Mikwaukee, Wisconsin
Chapter Count ~ 18 chapters
POV ~ single 3rd
Featuring ~ murder, violence, locked in

It's Erica's thirtieth birthday and she's hosting a dinner party for herself. In attendance is her live in boyfriend, Chad, and a few of her friends ~ Beckie, Zach, Liv & Derek.

As a present Zach hired a medium so that she could talk to her sister again. How fun! Or not as it turns out. Spirits, rituals and even an Ouija board make an appearance.

Overall, it was a little bit predictable with one part, but there was a good amount of gruesomeness for its length.


The Nightmare House
4⭐
Setting ~ Tillington, Wisconsin
Chapter Count ~ 21 chapters +e
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ small town, post partum

Kristin & Patrick move from the big city of Chicago to a small town (pop 256) in Wisconsin for a fresh start with Hailey (15) and 12 week old, Henry.

Love me a haunted house and this one fit the bill. I liked that we got Hailey's perspective. She came across relatable as a teen that is not happy to be taken away from her friends. And there's limited cell service, gasp!

Overall, predicable, but I really liked the eeriness of it all with a creepy house & creepy neighbors. The ending worked perfectly. My favorite of the three stories.

Side note ~ they all drove there together, but somehow Kristin magically had her own car at one point.

All Curses Are Final
3⭐
Setting ~ Minnesota
Chapter Count ~ 19 chapters
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ locked in feel with a blizzard, remote cabin, no cell service

College friends Blair, Jake, Noah, Maddie and Ricky are on a spring break trip together. Blair and Jake have recently broken up, so that brings some tension to the group. Nearly to their destination they decide to stop for gas and snacks.

ALL ITEMS CURSED. CURSE LIFTED AT TIME OF SALE.

A mysterious pen somehow ends up in Blair's bag. Add in the fact there's a blizzard outside, there's no cell service and the homeowner keeps popping in with his creepy vibe and you might wonder why you chose this remote location for a week of fun.

Overall, this was the least scariest/creepiest of them all and my least favorite.

All in all, I'd recommend the collection for those horror lovers. They're all just the right amount of length and they're pretty fast paced. Not sure about the title, though.

Happy to see there are multiple narrators for the audiobook.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for my ARC!

[Alya]

Thoughts | 4.5 ⭐️
This was such a fun read perfect for your Halloween TBR👻 Jeneva is an auto-read author for me, I just love her wacky mind 😂 I love that she ventures out every so often with the genres and delivers every time.

Sometimes I Scare Myself is a collection of 3 short horror stories --- I say short but they're the type of short that feel complete. Each story has it's own unique way of pulling you in and to an extent I suppose somewhat consumed me in a sense that I was immersed in the details. Personally I paired the book with the audio; there are certain reads that put you in your feels differently when being told /read to you and with this being a horror read the narration definitely delivered on that part.

Do I have a favourite from the 3?
Not necessarily a favourite but if I were to "rank" them in terms of which one moved me more
1. The Nightmare House
2. All Curses Are Final
3. Never Kill the Medium


Short summary of each story ( in order )

1. Never Kill the Medium:
A birthday dinner takes a dark turn when a fun séance ends with the medium dead. The guests hide what happened, but by leaving the ritual unfinished, they unknowingly let something sinister into their world.

2. The Nightmare House
The Daltons move into their dream home in a quiet town, but strange whispers and unsettling neighbours make Kristin suspicious as she discovers a terrifying truth: every family who lived there before has either died or vanished.

3. All Curses Are Final
A holiday from hell! A group of friends take a cursed item from a shop on the side of the road believing the warning to be a joke. Trapped in a remote cabin by a snowstorm, the curse begins to claim lives, turning the friends against one another as they desperately try to survive.

My Bookstagram

[LTJ]

“Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror” by Jeneva Rose is one of those special short-story collections that, once you’re finished, leave you without words as you turn that final page. I was completely and utterly blown away by Rose’s first-ever horror book, and let me tell you, she brought the terror and more.

Before I dive into my horror book review, here are all the trigger warnings I found while reading:

- Depression
- Violence against animals (deer)
- Suicide

If any of these trigger you, please do not read this book. Moving along, this short story collection has three stories that literally tap into my favorite tropes of reading horror. I loved the diversity here, with distinct stories centered on supernatural, haunted-house, and slasher horror. I devoured this book because it had short, quick sections within each story, and Rose's exceptional writing made it a genuine page-turner.

The three short stories in this collection are:

Never Kill the Medium
The Nightmare House
All Curses are Final

Never Kill the Medium was fantastic, with several crazy plot twists I never saw coming. It was brutal and creepy, and reminded me why it’s never a good idea to play around with mediums and Ouija boards at a dinner birthday party. The ending to this had me make many weird faces while reading because I couldn’t believe what transpired.

The Nightmare House was excellent as I’ve always been a huge fan of small-town horror in books. When done right, these shine, and Rose did a magnificent job with this one. I loved the different POV formatting here, which was brilliantly written and never confusing. Don’t worry, no spoilers here, but this was one hell of a short story revolving around a haunted house in an unsettling town with bizarre neighbors, and things start going horribly wrong from all sides. I couldn’t believe the relentless barrage of twists and horror in this one. This felt like watching a horror movie unfold, and let’s just say I will never look at a casserole the same way ever again.

All Curses are Final gave me major “The Shining” meets “Oddity” vibes and was a perfect way to end this collection with a good old-fashioned slasher story. This was exhilarating because it was a horror mystery that unfolded to a violent, bloody end. Bodies start piling up due to a unique curse that is active while four friends are stuck in a winter cabin during a severe snowstorm. Paranoia, suspicion, and death stack upon each other until everything is finally revealed. I still couldn’t believe that drop-the-mic ending.

Besides all these extraordinary short stories, I loved the amazing illustrations before each chapter, which added another layer of immersion to the reading experience. I would consider this a must-read for spooky season. It’s perfect and is guaranteed to keep you up at night.

I give “Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror” by Jeneva Rose a 5-Star rating out of 5. This has a bit of everything for my fellow horror readers with great storytelling, characters, tons of gore and bloodshed, and illustrations that will send a chill down your spine. I have been a fan of Rose for years now, ever since I read “The Perfect Marriage” in 2022, and seeing her bring her craft to my wonderful realm of horror was such a delight. I know she’s mostly known as a bestselling thriller author, but make no mistake, this checked all the horror boxes for me. I hope she continues writing more horror because this was a phenomenal short-story collection.

Thank you to FANGORIA, the author Jeneva Rose, and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) for review consideration. This horror book review reflects my honest, personal opinion.

STAY WILD

[suspenseisthrillingme]

PERFECT FOR SPOOKY SEASON!

Overall Review:

A fun, wild ride that offered up definitive proof that Ms. Rose is just as talented at crafting scary, blood-curdling horror as twisty, binge-worthy suspense, Sometimes I Scare Myself made me excited to see what she comes up with next. Stoking one’s pre-existing fear and paranoia about everyday life, this well-plotted trio delivered a series of thought-provoking themes under the guise of spine-tingling terror. With isolation, toxic relationships, and the twisted realities that women have to face on the menu as food for thought, I got even more out of these stories than I ever knew I could. That being said, the reason that I’ll be shouting about this one forever is due to the fact that it had me losing all track of time. Perfect for new and old fans of horror, they reminded me of Rose’s suspense/thrillers while also serving an accessible bite-sized portion of nightmarish chills at the same time. Rating of 5 stars.

Read if you’re a fan of:
- Classic horror tropes
- Novellas that feel complete
- Locked-room settings
- Rose’s standard shocking twists
- Atmospheric locales
- Nightmare-inducing stories
- An R.L. Stine-ish feel
- Short, punchy chapters
- Fast-paced plotting
- Supernatural ambiguity
- Immersive storytelling


Keep reading if you’d like some more details about my thoughts on each of the stories or their content warnings…

Never Kill the Medium

Creepy, intense, and nightmare-inducing, Never Kill the Medium was a trip to the dark side of the liminal line. With a handful of good and bad spirits and a memorable medium all taking part in a séance gone wrong, this locked-room novella was one I’m glad I read with the lights on. You see, on top of the blood and gore, this tale of supernatural horror had all of Rose’s usual twisty, fast-paced flair but with an additional American Horror Story-meets-R.L. Stine feel. Throw in a heaping dose of toxic friendships, dark secrets, and bad decisions, and it was a quick, one-sitting read that I definitely won’t be forgetting anytime soon. After all, it was deliciously unhinged in the best possible way as this insanely talented author took our very worst fears and brought them to life in a couple of vivid scary-movie scenes that I’ll never forget. Rating of 5 stars.

Content warning: murder, cursing, vomit, gun violence, blood, gore, violence, mention of: infidelity, death


The Nightmare House

A mind-blowingly fast-paced night terror just waiting to happen, The Nightmare House had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. From the creepy small-town neighbors to the classic haunted-house-horror vibe, it was a deliciously unhinged trip into Ms. Rose’s spectacularly twisted mind. Utilizing an unreliable narrator to bring a slowly building sense of paranoia and dread, I can’t tell you how delighted I was as things descended into a spiral of abject fear. You see, despite the short length, this campfire-esque ghost story felt utterly complete—but also turned on its head. The pièce de résistance of it all? That somewhat open, jaw-dropping ending. So, dear author, can you now please turn this into a full-length novel now? The best story out of a pack of absolute stunners, I need more about the town of Tillington ASAP! Rating of 5+ stars.

Content warning: car accident, animal death, mental illness, murder, violence, gore, fire, mention of: bullying


All Curses Are Final

Take an isolated cabin in the woods, add a creepy stop at a gas station, throw in a group of formerly tight-knit friends, and you’ll get the relentlessly paced novella, All Curses Are Final. Packed with seriously bad choices, toxic relationships, and a supernatural feel, while it wasn’t necessarily the strongest story of the bunch, it still delivered all of the dread-soaked energy I could want. I mean, how could you not love a locked-room setting with the taut plotting of The Hunting Party and the claustrophobic atmosphere of The Overnight Guest? Then again, I can’t forget the Final Girl vibes or slasher-style suspense. With bodies dropping like flies and just enough gore to make me smile, this last novella rounded off the collection with a completely different feel. Bloody, hair-raising, and tense, I loved this one as well. Rating of 4.5 stars.

Content warning: toxic relationship, murder/suicide, alcohol abuse, gaslighting, violence, gore


VERY BRIEF BLURBS:

Okay, I know I say this a lot, but this time I REALLY mean it. Go into this set of novellas as blind as you possibly can. Thanks to their short, fast-paced nature, any information will take away from your enjoyment of this stunning new read. All you really need to know is that it’s seriously worth the time. Just as a bit of a teaser, though, here’s a peek inside…

Three horror stories.

A surprise séance at a dinner party. A quiet house with a newly moved in family. A creepy roadside stop on the way to a getaway with friends.

You'll recognize the setup.

You won't recognize what comes next.

Thank you Jeneva Rose and Blackstone Publishing for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

PUB DATE: September 22, 2026

[Jack Ace]

The cover immediately caught my eye, and with Halloween season in full swing, this was exactly the kind of collection I wanted to pick up. Three horror stories, three different setups, and all of them fit the season perfectly. A séance gone wrong, a seriously creepy house, and a cursed object that turns a winter trip into a nightmare. At the moment, it feels like this book is absolutely everywhere, and I can see why. It’s an easy, entertaining horror read with plenty of spooky atmosphere and some nasty surprises along the way. Not every story hit me equally hard, to be honest, but overall I had a good time with it. Perfect seasonal reading when you want a few quick horror stories without committing to a massive novel.

[Debra]

Jeneva Rose chilled, thrilled, delighted, entertained, and creeped me out with her short story collection, Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror. This book is short on pages but not short on gripping and haunting horror stories. Usually with short story collections, there are ones I enjoy, those that I think are okay, and some that don't work for me. I enjoyed each of the three short stories in this book.

Never Kill the Medium - things go awry when a medium is hired to perform a séance at a birthday party. Let's just say it is the gift that keeps on giving but not in the way it was intended. This one has a nice amount of gore, dread, and danger. I loved the vivid descriptions, tension, suspense, and the unease which flowed throughout this short story.

The Nightmare House - Moving is never easy, especially for the Dalton family. They feel that they have finally found their home, sweet home. But soon, things begin to go bump in the night, during the day, and even around town. A neighbor is leaving casseroles, and Kristin Dalton uncovers a horrific secret with her new home at the core. This one has that trapped feeling that I love in books. It also has a nice amount of tension, dread, suspense, and creepy moments. This was my favorite short story in the collection.

All Curses Are Final - You know when a group of friends go camping in a remote cabin that nothing good is going to happen. When the groups stop at a store with a sign that states: “All items cursed. Curse lifted at time of sale.” I knew things were going to get scary and creepy fast. This short story read like a horror film with a nice amount of tension, trapped moments, creepy moments, chilling moments, and blood.

Hats off to Jeneva Rose for writing such well thought out, wonderfully written, and horrific stories! If you enjoy short horror stories, Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror will be right up your alley!


Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Nina (ninjasbooks)]

Jeneva, you know I worship the chair you’re sitting on while writing. That’s why I had no reservation when I saw it was a collection of horror stories, which I haven’t read in a long while. That also means I have little to compare it to, but they still have that unmistakable Jeneva Rose watermark, and I gobbled it up. I loved the acknowledgment where she describes where the stories came from and thought she managed to write something different and creepy.

[Diana_bibliophile]

Let’s be clear, these stories in no way, shape or form are horror stories.

Thank you to the publisher and libro.fm for the gifted copy.

[Jonetta]

A collection of three horror stories inspired from actual events experienced by the author. Oh, my!

the setup…
Never Kill the Medium (narrated by Abigail Reno)
It’s Erica’s 30th birthday and she hosts a dinner party at her apartment. Guests include boyfriend Jake and three other friends. One surprises her by inviting a medium to lead a séance but the surprise is on them when he dies before closing the door to the “other side.” Uh, oh.

The Nightmare House (narrated by Kathleen Early, Emily Marso & Katy Bentz)
Kristin and Patrick Dalton quickly uproot their family, sixteen-year old daughter Hailey and newborn son Henry, moving from Chicago to rural Tillington, Wisconsin. They bought the house sight unseen except online and it’s in the middle of nowhere. They arrive to encounter unfriendly neighbors, strange voices and a house with a terrible past…every family who previously lived there has died or disappeared. Uh, oh.

All Curses Are Final (narrated by Brittany Pressley)
Five college friends decide to take one final trip together before their last semester, sort of a last hurrah as one of them has broken up with another. Blair can feel their resentment about her walking away from Jake, the ride to Northspyre, Minnesota awkward. Before they reach their cabin, they make a stop at a gas station. Blair notices a weird sign that says, “All Items Cursed, Curse Lifted at Time of Sale.” Later that evening, she finds a pen from the store in her purse and immediately wants to go back and pay for it. The group talks her out of it. Uh, oh.

the narration…
All of the narrators made these stories lift off the page, their performances intensifying as each progressed. They made the experience even creepier! Outstanding on every level.

the bottom line…
Horror is out of my comfort zone but I connected immediately to all three and couldn’t stop listening. Some are more ghastly than others but all felt like they could actually happen. Yikes! Be sure to listen to the author’s acknowledgements because it matters. Great collection!

Posted on Blue Mood Café

(Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Libro.fm for both the audiobook and paperback copies. All opinions are my own.)

[Jenny]

Okay. I’m so mad at myself. I wanted to take my time reading these stories but I could. not. stop. I enjoyed every single story but now I’ve finished and wish I had paused between stories instead of just blazing through it. But that was an impossible ask!

Great way to kick off my spooky season reading!

[BansheeBibliophile]

Thank you so much to libro.fm for the advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A very entertaining trio of stories that are perfect for spooky season.

I have been hit or miss with this author but I think she really excels at anything creepy or dark. This is a fast read that is a great distraction. It goes without saying that you can't take it too seriously. We have Ouija boards and spirits and curses, oh my! There are plenty of blood and guts and spooky vibes. Some stories are stronger than others, which is to be expected in an anthology, but I didn't think any of them were lower than 3 stars. I've seen some critiques that this book shouldn't be classified as horror. I'm learning that the definition of that genre can be highly subjective. I'm not sure where else one would classify this book. In fact, it reminded me a lot of stories from the classic Tales From The Crypt horror anthology franchise.

The audio production for this is quite good. Narrated skillfully by Kathleen Early, Brittany Pressley, Abigail Reno, Emily Marso & Kathy Bentz, the audio added to the sense of dread that each story created. You could easily listen to this book in one sitting but I also appreciated that it could be digested one story at a time. It would be a great audio book for when you don't want to think too hard but want to be entertained and a little creeped out. 3.75 stars rounded up.

[Jess ✨]

📖Sometimes I Scare Myself
✍🏻Jeneva Rose
⭐⭐⭐⭐

A collection of three horror novellas that are perfect for spooky season. 👻

🩸 Dont Kill The Medium
This one was my favorite. a couple of friends gather for a birthday dinner - quiet, controlled, familiar...until one guest hires a medium to show up and all hell breaks loose.

I genuinely had no idea where this story way going at any point, which i LOVED. its fast paced, unpredictable, & filled with fun characters. definitely the kind of novella where you just keep turning pages because you need to know what the hell is happening.

🏠 The Nightmare House
A family thinks they've finally found their perfect home...until things start getting increasingly strange.

The isolated / trapped feeling, growing sense that something is wrong, & weird neighbors / town people made this one unsettling.
& I'm just going to say this,
I will NEVER look at a casserole the same way again. 😆

🔥 All Curses Are Final
A group of friends. A remote cabin. A questionable roadside stop.

What could possibly go wrong? 👀

I'm not saying much more because this one is better experienced without knowing too much going in.

Overall, these three novellas are quick, creepy, unpredictable reads that would make a perfect addition to your spooky season TBR. 🎃

Thank you Blackstone, Jeneva Rose, & Edelweiss for the early access!

#bookreview

[Dallas Strawn]

Thriller queen Jeneva Rose delivers her first collection of horror short stories with a dinner party gone wrong, a haunted house of horrors, and a friendship getaway that ends in a bloodbath…! I don’t usually gravitate towards horror fiction but I would read Jeneva’s grocery list and this collection is very fun; the first two stories in particular are very creepy and I will never look at a casserole the same again. Jeneva delivers the thrills, chills, and the creep factor in biting short stories that kept me turning the pages…with the light on!

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle]

The medium literally tells these people they have to finish the séance, and their response to his subsequent death is basically, “Counterpoint: what if we hide the body?” FRIENDS. He was the one person in the room with experience in whatever demon-adjacent customer service situation you just opened, and now he is dead. Maybe this is not the moment to freestyle. Sometimes I Scare Myself gave me three separate groups of people confronted with extremely clear supernatural warnings, and every single group heard, “Please make this worse immediately.”

Never Kill the Medium starts at Erica’s thirtieth birthday dinner, where somebody has hired a medium because apparently cake was unavailable. There are already secrets floating around this friend group before the séance begins, then Chadwick accidentally kills the medium, and suddenly everybody is participating in the worst cleanup operation since Lady Macbeth discovered hand soap. Except they have also left the séance unfinished, which means something has crossed over, and I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoyed watching these people slowly realize they have made an administrative error with HELL. It gets gruesome fast, everybody’s survival instincts are questionable, and the whole thing has that beautiful horror energy where you stop asking, “Why would they do that?” because clearly these people have committed to the bit.

Then The Nightmare House said, what if we make the next one emotionally upsetting too? Kristin and Patrick Dalton move their family to tiny Tillington after Kristin has been struggling postpartum, and their new house is basically waving red flags from every window. The neighbors are weird. The house is whispering. People are warning Kristin. There is a deeply upsetting casserole situation involving maggots. And because Kristin has recently been dealing with postpartum mental health issues, every completely reasonable “SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE” gets filtered through whether she can trust herself and whether anyone else will trust her.

Patrick, my guy. Your wife is telling you the murder house is doing murder-house things. Perhaps this is not the time to become captain of Team Probably Fine. Nothing makes me more stressed in horror than a woman saying, “There is something in this house,” while her husband essentially responds, “Have you considered being less aware of it?” Kristin is already scared of her own mind betraying her, so watching her become the only person willing to believe what she is seeing made this one hit differently. That fear underneath everything, that maybe nobody will believe you because they already have a reason not to, is awful. Full stop.

And THEN we meet Blair, Jake, and their friends in All Curses Are Final, who are heading to a remote winter cabin after Blair and Jake have broken up but have apparently decided the healthiest next step is still taking the group vacation together. That alone would be enough horror for me. But they stop at a roadside store with a sign explicitly saying every item is cursed until purchased, and Blair later discovers a pen in her bag that she did not buy. Babe. Return the pen. Venmo the store. Mail them a check. Call your bank and request a supernatural chargeback. I do not care. We are not keeping the free curse pen.

Of course they are trapped by a storm, because horror has never once allowed a questionable cabin weekend to enjoy moderate weather and reliable cell service. Then people start dying and this already-tense friend group begins turning on itself. Jake and Blair have enough relationship wreckage between them without adding “possibly cursed and murdering our friends” to the breakup conversation, but here we are. The paranoia was the fun part for me because once bodies start piling up, everyone suddenly has a theory, nobody has good judgment, and the curse is sitting there like, “Please, continue. You’re doing most of my work for me.”

What surprised me most was how mean these stories were willing to get. Not mean to the reader, mean to the characters. There is no little safety rail assuring you that the person you care about will make it because surely we have suffered enough. Nope. Jeneva Rose brought the supernatural in and apparently forgot to give it a union-mandated quitting time. I also kept wanting a little more after certain endings, especially because these people would make one final terrible decision and then I’d be sitting there thinking, EXCUSE ME, I have follow-up questions. Several early readers had that same “please give this one more room” reaction, particularly with some of the abrupt endings.

But honestly, this was exactly the right amount of commitment for three different flavors of bad night. Séance disaster. Murder house. Curse cabin. Pick your poison, watch everyone ignore obvious warning signs, and go home before anybody suggests communicating with the dead. Sometimes I Scare Myself is a 4-star good time for me, creepy, bloody, occasionally genuinely upsetting, and powered almost entirely by people receiving supernatural instructions and deciding those instructions are more like suggestions.

Huge thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC, and for reminding me that if a roadside store says EVERYTHING IS CURSED, I do not need a souvenir. I do not need a pen. I do not even need gas anymore. The light came on twenty miles ago, but suddenly I have faith in the vehicle.

[Steven]

Thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone for the pre-release copy of Sometimes I Scare Myself: A Collection of Horror by Jeneva Rose. Below is my honest review.

Wow, this was my first taste of Jeneva Rose but won't be my last!

Never Kill the Medium - a case of possession gone very, very wrong. Wasn't my favorite story, but was definitely entertaining and would make a great movie. 4 stars

The Nightmare House - dang, this haunted house is BAD NEWS. I loved this one. Dark, twisted, and definitely explains the title of the collection. Jeneva Rose, your mind is twisted! 4.5 stars

All Curses Are Final - feel REALLY bad for the young adults in this one. Some jokes just aren't funny, especially when they stop being jokes (if they ever even were). 4.5 stars

Overall, I'd give it four stars and say if you like horror and shorties, give this one a shot. All of them would make great movies and I'd be first in line to buy my tickets!

[Heather~ Nature.books.and.coffee]

3.5⭐ This was a fun, entertaining collection of horror short stories. There are three in the book. I don't read much short stories, or horror, but I was hearing good things about this so it piqued my interest. These stories are entertaining and creepy. My favorite one was the first one, NEVER KILL THE MEDIUM. Erica is hosting a birthday party dinner for herself with her BF, and three other friends. One of them hires a medium, and things go off the rails, in a scary way.

The second one, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE, is about a haunted house, The third one, ALL CURSES ARE FINAL, is about a group of college friends who go on spring break. There's a storm, and they're secluded. Things get tense and definitely creepy.

This book is a great pick for spooky season. I will say that they aren't necessarily super scary, but the first one was the “scariest” in my opinion. I liked this one.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

[Raven (_birdiesbookclub_)]

3.5

I really enjoyed this collection of short horror stories. I especially enjoyed it once I hit the acknowledgements at the end and learned that Jeneva's inspiration for all 3 stories came from personal experiences/situations.

These were the right mix of creepy setting, lies, gore, weirdness and just all around gave me exactly what I was looking for! The narrators did a great job with all three stories and really helped give them that creepy vibe where needed.

[Heathers_readss]

I love anything Jeneva writes. This book is split into three shorter horror stories, and don’t expect anything less than a dramatic ending to each one.
I loved the psychic medium elements to the first story, and the nonchalant a-type personality of the main character, but overall the third story was my favourite of the three.
Perfect for spooky season!

[Zaira Sehl]

Wasn’t sure what to expect but I loved every story!! Please write more horror Jeneva!! ❤️

[callistoscalling]

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy; all thoughts are my own.

📖 Book Review 📖 Growing up in a haunted house and still living in that same house, my life could indeed be classified a living horror story. And just like the title of Jeneva Rose’s current publication, Sometimes I Scare Myself.

Why did I spend my childhood reading and watching scary stories when I could hear spooky things go bump in the night? I have no idea. Why do I still do it! I still do not have this answer.

Did I pick up this book excitedly? Yes…but only during broad daylight. This collection of short stories is the best thing to happen since Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

I'm a big Jeneva Rose fan. Her books are always fun with an undercurrent of dark humor. I thought this book was a great spooky season idea: three novellas in one volume. The first was a birthday party gone very, very wrong, The second was a family who moves into a possibly cursed (okay, definitely cursed) house. And the third was a "final girl" story about a group of friends renting a very remote AirBnB when a storm hits.

I love the concept: creepy ideas that are enough for novella but not enough for an entire book. And I enjoyed the stories overall. They all had that Jeneva Rose dark humor and sense of fun.

But each story also something weird there and it wasn't the curse store. When I read crime fiction, I don't notice a book's writing that much unless it is amazingly good or somehow off. Each of these stories had strange parts in them that had me going HUH???

Here are some examples. The more I read each one the more I decided that they made no sense at all.

"The air felt thinner, as though stretched by too many unseen breaths."

"A whisper brushed her ear, not words, just the unmistakable sense of attention."

"The argument hovered without ever forming, each of them circling a different explanation like no one wanted to say it out loud or give it weight."

"And facts were something Patrick couldn't argue with, so he solved the problem I wouldn't stop naming." (I mean ... WHAT?)

"And suddenly I couldn't be sure they'd ever been footprints in the first place-- or if my mind had filled in the shape before the evidence had time to argue."

Uh..... what is this? There are more examples, but each time they completely pulled me out of the story.

I look forward to Jeneva's next book! I wouldn't mind more horror from her! Though I don't read it much, I thought she did it well. And hope her writing is back to normal.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Jen 🖤]

I’m a big fan of Jeneva Rose, but I’m just not too sure about this one. 🤔 Three completely different stories, each with its own spooky vibes and twists. Definitely an interesting read, but I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it! 👻📚

⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ maybe 3.8

[Horror Reads]

This is an outstanding collection of three novella length stories. And I can say that any of them individually would be worth your time and attention but having them all together in one collection makes it a must read in my opinion. It's an incredible value.

Each story varies in subject matter but they are all written from the first person perspective of sympathetic, realistic, and strong female protagonists. I love stories that allow the reader to place themselves in the worlds they create and these ones do that. They're easy to get into, engaging to read, and will go in some very unexpected directions. The first story sets the tone and gets worse and worse for a group of friends who are celebrating a birthday. One of them decides to hire a medium and...well, things are going to take a twisted bloody turn.

The second story might sound like just another haunted house tale but it's going to get much darker than that by the end. And the third is about a cursed pen.. Yep, and as you can imagine, that's also going to go off the rails pretty quickly as well! Overall, these are three dread inspiring stories that'll have you reading well into the night. I highly recommend it.

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

[Marie Aitchison]

I usually enjoy books by this author but the stories didn't do it for me. The intro to the tales was pretty good and there were some good gruesome scenes, but the stories themselves felt cliche at times (ugh Chad and Becky!!!) and had some terrible moments of dialogue that just wasn't my taste.

[Regina Peters]

Definitely one of my top reads for 2026!

[Celeste | bookrecs_by_celeste]

Thank you libro.fm and Blackstone Publishing for my ALC. All opinions are my own.

This was a very highly anticipated read for the year for me and I’m sad to say it was just okay! I absolutely love this author and was so excited for a horror collection but it just kind of missed the mark for me. I liked a couple of the stories more than others. The first one was interesting with a dash of dark humor, the second I was a bit bored with but liked the parallels the author used with post partum depression and post partum psychosis, and the last book felt like a nostalgic slasher movie.

Another positive is I was able to binge it in one night it was super fast paced and kept me interested enough to keep listening.

I’m looking forward to seeing what other readers think about this one.

[Paige Ray]

I enjoyed this horror collection from Jeneva Rose. The first story was perfection! So intense and I was in the edge of my seat. The second story was good but I saw the twist coming from about a mile away. The last story was okay and saw the twist pretty early on as well. Hands down a good collection and happy I got to read it early! If you enjoy Horror that’s on the cozier side of things, definitely pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC.

[Abby]

Oof. Look, maaaaaaaybe this is just Jeneva's writing style (this is my first book of hers), but did anyone else get the sense that this text was AI-mediated?
I don't think the entire thing is AI-generated, and I enjoyed the book overall, but I keep noticing these little signs (and yes, I know AI is trained on human writing conventions). But variations of "it's not (x). It's (y)," show up so often that I had to make a non-exhaustive list.

"Erica had planned this night down to the minute—not because she enjoyed hosting but because plans made the world behave."

"The night wasn’t slipping because anything terrible had happened. It was slipping because it wasn’t following the plan."

"It looked used, not in the bought-vintage-and-brag-about-it way. But in the way a cutting board looked used when it had seen too many knives."

"It wasn’t hopeful or panicked. It was authoritative—like he’d already decided what version of reality they were going to use."

"It wasn’t a question. It was a test."

"It wasn’t bravery. It was habit."

"It wasn’t rude. It was guarded."

"Erica opened the door and immediately wished she hadn’t. Not because of who was standing there—at least, not at first—but because she’d hesitated before opening it at all."

"When they looked at us, it wasn’t curiosity. It wasn’t neighborliness. It was hunger."

"It wasn’t threatening. It was just close enough that I couldn’t pretend he was joking."

"The friendship persisted not because it still fit, but because it always had."

"Not because she didn’t care, because there’d been no room for it."

"Her eyes burned—not because she didn’t believe him, but because she wanted to."

"Patrick wasn’t going to save us—not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t think we needed saving."

[Freya]

I need more!! These three stories are terrifying! The first story is called “Never Kill the Medium” and the title is everything you need to know. It was bloody fantastic! If you enjoyed American Horror Story: Murder House, then you will love the second story in this book which is called, The Nightmare House. The third book is called, All Curses are Final. College kids in a rural cabin + snow storm + creepy store. All stories keep you in the edge of your seat!! Jeneva, please tell me you will write another scary short story book like this one!

Thank you to the author, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[julie ☾]

3.75⭐️

I didn’t love the first story, it felt a bit too much for my liking, i prefer more subtle horror but Jeneva is genius because the stories kept getting more and more intense as we go and the last one was so good and creepy!!! Second one was really good as well but I feel like it would’ve hit more in a full length book. Last one was perfect I loved it! Overall a good book to read at night for a full experience.