I have read a few other books in this series and unfortunately I just haven’t enjoyed any of them. I’m not sure if they’re just not for me or if they have issues, but I just couldn’t enjoy this book.

this was another great entry in the rewind or die series, the characters were enjoyable and I really loved the way the author created tension.

This was an extremely well written and dramatic horror story. If interested in CW, please scroll to the bottom of the review to see which are included in this book. While I picked up this story thinking it would be another fun B-movie horror vibe, I discovered that it was the opposite in tone. I actually think this book would flourish as a stand alone outside of the Rewind or Die series, especially since the intensity of subject matter and lack of comedic/silly/over-the-top fun found in most of the other books is absent in this one. What you do get is an intense dive into a mysterious cult led by a woman who seems to have an undeniable hold over her subjects. This story has the potential to get under your skin in an unsettling way, which is a compliment to Miller who knows how to create tension from start-to-finish. Her characters are well developed, with a likeable protagonist and a deliciously evil villain. Overall, well done, but may not be everyone's cup of tea due to the content warnings. CW: Rape, child death

Gosh, am I a sucker for a good ol’ cult story. & one where the cult is run by a woman? Yes, please. She Ain’t Pretty is a novella that will leave you uncomfortable long after turning off your Kindle. This is a story where you’ll think, “oh this can’t go even farther,” and then Renee Miller tells you to hold their beer, because yes, it goes even farther.

For the most part, I did enjoy She Ain’t Pretty. However, I would say that the plot itself felt predictable & when we get to that “final” battle, I felt a bit disappointed. I read 104 pages of a story that at times seemed to drag only to have that happen. Granted, the follow-up chapter changes this quite a bit, but it didn’t necessarily make up for how weak the climax was.

Even with that complaint, would I still recommend She Ain’t Pretty? Sure, why not? It is only 104 pages & if you’re a horror fan that loves cult stories & feeling absolutely uncomfortable, then yes. Miller does an exceptional job at including scenes that will make you want to throw the book to the side & pick up something a bit fluffier.

2 stars. I didn't hate this one, but the characters weren't convincing to the plot and I thought the story could've been stronger. Review to come.


Due to working as a high school teacher, I am often behind on reviews, but here are my initial thoughts. Book will be included in March 2021 wrap-up.

This is another addition to the REWIND OR DIE series from Unnerving by Miller and my first time reading her work. The premise was interesting and relevant. I found the novella to be disturbing in its descriptions of the sexual dominance the antagonist had and the author vividly described those sequences. I felt that the horror elements and depictions of action/violence were skimmed over and could have been painted with more detail instead of broad strokes. Some of the protagonists decisions weren't convincing/logical to me as a reader. Other than that, Miller strongly conveys emotions through her characters and the feelings of want, desire, confusion, and loss of hope. I also enjoy the *true* horror ending. This series is an overall great showcase of voices and unique settings.

I’ve been stuck trying to write a review for She Ain’t Pretty for a few days now. It isn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, because i did. But something just seemed off.

Let’s just start at the very beginning.

This is the second novella by Renee Miller that I’ve read (the other being the excellent Cats Like Cream), and while I didn’t like this quite as much as the first, it still has a lot to recommend it. First of all, the concept is great. Who doesn’t like reading about a crazy cult? More than that, however, this is a story about a new age sex cult with ties to pre-Biblical Jewish and Mesopotamian mythology. To say more would spoil the surprise, but let’s just say that the names of the two main characters (Lily and Eva) are major clues.

I read a lot of horror and don’t have a weak stomach, so believe me when I say that there are some truly horrifying scenes sprinkled liberally throughout, and they are worth the read. However, in terms of overall unity and storytelling, this reads like a first draft. It’s only 104 pages (on my Kindle) but spends so much time setting things up that it feels much longer (not in a good way). The extended set-up also means that the climax, when it finally arrives, is incredibly rushed and a bit of a mess (I had to read the last couple of chapters twice just to catch what was happening). And then, to top it off, we’re left with the ambiguous ending that seems to be mandatory for all horror writing nowadays.

So I mostly like this and would recommend it, and I’m definitely on board for whatever Miller writes next—but I can’t deny that there are issues with pacing and plotting here. I look forward to watching Miller continue to grow as an author.

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I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is it.

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C'mon admit it...even if you won't I will...

I always wished that the old TV series Tales from the Crypt had...well, a bit more bite to them. Snark, sex, gore...the list goes on. And yes, some of those Crypt tales were fairly ground breaking at the time.

But guess what- lucky for me, and you if you dig those sorts of things, Unnerving has published a series of books called Rewind or Die that is all of those things and more and I couldn't be happier about it. I'm currently working my way though all of them.

I found this tale from Miller a bit different from the others I've read in the series. Now, that's not a bad thing. For me this one has been one of the more developed stories (very well done) BUT a bit overall less over the top fun and gory. Again, not a bad thing, just a different. There is a familiarity to Miller's writing that I really enjoyed and served this tale well. I cared about both Eva and Blake and rooted for them.

And like any good horror story- we don't always get exactly what we want...until maybe something happens and it makes you think...hmm maybe I wanted THIS ending after all! Intrigued? And the best part - you can grab your copy right now!

Initially I was excited to read this because I love horror stories, however I was rather disappointed with this one. This felt too predictable to me. It felt like dozens of other succubus stories. I found myself rather bored and if it hadn’t been such a short story I would have DNFed it.

Just in time for the love month of February - a mysterious sex cult on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

Blake and Eva end up living in a commune run by Lily. Blake, because he answered a job ad in the newspaper, and Eva because as an investigative journalist heard there could be a story there. And Eva just may be right. There is something going on, and there seems to be more to Lily then meets the eye.

This novella was fast-paced, plot-focused and started off with a bang. When Blake first showed up, he found out exactly what Lily wanted... The story quickly progressed from there. The overall atmosphere was dark and creepy and the big reveal was fun, if a bit expected.

My biggest complaint is that I wanted more. Novellas can be tricky like that - sometimes there is just enough detail to keep the plot going, but leaves room for unanswered questions or the "why" something is happening. While I enjoyed hearing both Blake & Eva's story, I wonder if the overall story would have benefited from just one as the main character, especially since Blake & Eva's story shared similar elements.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review!

No começo minhas expectativas para essa história eram rasas, porém quando eu comecei a me envolver com os personagens e me preocupar com o destino deles percebi que não poderia mais parar a leitura.
A vilã da história realmente me tirava o fôlego, sempre apreensiva com o pensamento dela estar um passo a frente dos protagonistas. O final foi inesperado porém compreensivo.
Não se assuste com essa capa, eu sei que é beeem brega, mas de uma chance a essa novela de terror promissora e envolvente

This book was the best brain candy, ever.

She Ain't Pretty arrived at just the right time for me and I devoured it in one sitting. When I use the word candy, I am describing how easily the book flowed. The plot was fast paced. All the elements tied together nicely.

The ending was superb, until........yeah the silver butter knife. Understood, but so very anticlimactic. Sort of. Maybe. Quite possibly a sequel, please?

So my friends, are we reading about a feminist cult, or something more sinister? Something more twisted and perverse? Take a peak. Sit down for awhile. Put your feet up. And.....

Buckle up, Buttercup! Life is too short for safe!

Thanks to Netgalley, and Renee Miller for an ARC in return for an honest review.

“A woman of about forty greeted him. Well, maybe younger. It was hard to tell. She was hot, though. Blake didn’t usually go for older women, but something about her dark eyes made his stomach tingle.”

Blake is broke and desperate for a new job. One day he finds an ad for a job as a farmhand and decides to apply. Eva is following a true crime scoop for a new book and once she hears about a mysterious farm run by a woman called Lily, she knows she needs to go inside for her investigation.
But both Blake and Eva have no idea what they're about to see and experience in that isolated farm...

I really enjoyed She Ain't Pretty, my very first novella by Renee Miller: it's a fast-paced horror story, mostly focused on the plot but with three well described main characters. I liked how the author chose the succubus myth to tell her story: even though I've seen it in a few books, this was actually the first time I found it as main topic of a novel. The atmosphere is creepy and a bit claustrophobic, which is perfect considering we are in a cult.
Once I started it, I could not put it down, and indeed I finished this book in one sitting. The ending was great, unpredictable and dark: I have to say, I did not see that coming!

This horror novella is well written, easy to read and very fast-paced. Maybe a bit too fast-paced sometimes? I wish we got to know more about Lily and her goals, a war is mentioned at the beginning... A war against who? And for what? I need answers!

Highly recommended if you're looking for a quick horror read with a retro vibe!
4 stars.

* Thank you to Renee Miller, Unnerving and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story starts off with a man named Blake. He was just fired from his job and sees an ad in the paper for a farmhand for a widow named Lily. When he arrives for an interview, Lily immediately seduces him and just like that, she has some kind of control over him. He thinks one thing but does and say the opposite. It’s almost like he’s drugged but he isn’t.
The other main character is Eva. She is a journalist looking for a true crime story she can write a book on. That’s how she discovers Lily, who apparently is running a cult. She infiltrates the cult and realizes it’s more sinister than that. She witnesses death, body mutilation and is being drugged. Trying to figure out how to save everyone on the farm.

I enjoyed this novella. This is the first time I’ve read a story involving a cult theme. I really liked it. It was a quick read with tons of creepy vibes. I wish the characters were a bit more developed but overall a great read.

Please don’t judge this book by its cover or title. It’s a novella that you will wish were longer because it’s so good. This was my first time reading anything from Renee Miller and it won’t be my last. The pacing of the story is great. The characters are cool. The atmosphere is creepy and has an edge of your seat feel. Read it. It’s about a cult. You really can’t go wrong.

Thank you to Renee Miller, Unnerving, and #NetGallery for an eARC of #SheAintPretty in return for an honest review. Review will be posted on NetGallery, Instagram, and Facebook.

Horror reading and publishing has been going through a renaissance. Many readers are getting away from those doorstop horror novels and opting for the slim, fast paced novellas. Novellas have been really changing the way that we read and write horror because it shows that a story can be 100 pages long and have impact and that the plot does not have to go on for 300 pages to be a great story. The novellas being published by Unnerving are a perfect example of this. With their Rewind or Die novellas, they have published many great novellas and writers. “She Ain’t Pretty” is number 25 in the series.

The story starts with Blake needing a job and applying to help a widow, Lily, as a farmhand. As soon as he interviews, it turns into Lily seducing him and making him her servant. Blake did not know that Lily is actually running a sex cult when he arrived, but Eva did. She is on assignment to write a nonfiction, tell-all book about Lily and her cult. She applies for an assistant position to get close to the lady, and when she starts to peel back the layers of the cult, she realizes that escape is her only choice.

I was totally immersed in Renee Miller’s novella from pretty much the beginning. When it is revealed early on that this was all a cult, and that the entire novella was going to be sex and horror, I was hooked. There are some really gruesome scenes and discoveries, and even though the final resolution feels a little anticlimactic, there is no way that I can put this book down and just forget about it.

For as great as novellas have been, the one downfall is when you have a story like this and you just want more. I want more of Lily’s backstory. I want more of the farm. I want more characters that have crossed her and not survived. This could be a doorstop horror novel, 400 pages novel, and I would love it just as much.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Have you read Renee Miller?

Miller has written survival/winter horror (Stranded), serial killer horror (Cats Like Cream), creature feature horror (Howl and Blood Lake Monster), cult horror (Church) and so many others. Over the last year I’ve read all of those and each time, I’m blown away seeing Miller tackle a subject and absolutely obliterate it. When it was revealed that she’d have another Unnerving ‘Rewind or Die’ release I was excited. When ‘She Ain’t Pretty’ was officially revealed and the synopsis indicated we’d get a cult/demon based story I was over the moon.

What I liked: Miller wastes no time getting dirty with ‘She Ain’t Pretty.’ Blake needs a job. A listing for a farm position comes up and he gets an interview. Within minutes of arriving he’s under the spell of Lily, the owner/head of the farm. Eva is an investigative journalist. When she finds out that Lily, cult leader, has a new commune, she decides to infiltrate and get details for a book.

Miller takes a really standard ‘cult’ idea and brings us a depraved story filled with tension and gut-churning moments. I loved how we get glimpses of Blake coming in and out of the fog when Lily is around and then leaves. His mind will clear just enough that he knows what’s happening there is horrible, but by the time he gets enough energy up to leave, Lily has returned and broken him down once again.

As more and more layers are revealed, Miller makes sure to keep the reader guessing as to what is really going on and the full understanding near the end was really well done.

What I didn’t like: I wasn’t too keen on the resolution. I want to stay spoiler free, but I felt things occurred far too quickly and with a suddenness that felt a bit light on oomph. The epilogue was a great touch, but it was still a bit reduced after how the final quarter played out.

Why you should buy this: If you love cult based horror, this should be high on your list to buy and read asap. Miller is a fantastic writer and her catalog continues to grow with each new, exciting release. With her and Unnerving frequently working together, I’m always happy to see when a new release is announced. Miller has easily cemented herself as a ‘must-read’ author for me and ‘She Ain’t Pretty’ is a perfect example as to why.

**This review is featured here;
https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.com/2021/02/04/book-review-she-aint-pretty-by-renee-miller/

Not a bad story, but very predictable. Lackluster. It does have a certain vintage feel to it. The main character is smart, which does make for a good read. But the Lilith succubus allusions are foreseeable from the first page.

This is my second Rewind or Die book and I have to say I haven’t been disappointed yet.
The book starts out with Blake who is need of a job. He sees an ad online for a job working on a farm for a widowed lady, Lily. He decides to do an interview for it because it seemed like an easy enough job for money.
Except, when Blake arrives for the interview, he finds the farm is a tiny bit different than what he expected. Then, Lily seduces Blake and he finds himself under her spell and trapped there.
Eva is a journalist who gets information about Lily and how she’s running a cult. Driven by the idea of a book deal, she decides to infiltrate the cult and work for Lily. But what Eva doesn’t expect is that Lily isn’t just a random cult leader, she’s something a bit more dangerous.
I’ve decided that I must read more of these books, they are so fun and easy to just sit down and get sucked into. They’re a little bit cheesy and over the top, but in the best way possible.
This was only a little over 100 pages, so a super easy read and was able to suck me in and keep me entertained the entire time.
I enjoyed Blake and Eva as characters and I found myself rooting for them the entire time. I liked the relationship between the two and how they felt like they were the only two who could rely on each other.
The ending was insane! I had no idea what was going to happen, but it was definitely a wild ending.
Would highly recommend if you want some fast paced and fun!

First thanks to NetGalley for letting me reading “She Ain’t Pretty” in exchange for an honest review.

Fates intertwine when Blake ,who was recently fired from his job , finds a help wanted ad online for an “older” widow needing help on her farm. Meanwhile Bill is trying to convince his friend and journalist Eva that he has a story for her about a cult that has a suspicious amount of missing persons connected to it. Eva and Blake’s life are going to come together in a horrific way and it ain’t gonna be pretty (see what I did there)

I have never read a succubus story before and you would think that after I’ve read like every horror genre out there that I would be acquainted with the thought of a succubus but alas I was not. I don’t really know what to expect like you would with most books but I found that it was surprisingly delicious. The protagonist Lily was just so manipulative, cunning, and just down right evil, in a good way. I do have to say sometimes it did feel like the story was dragging on a little bit but when it did drag on it was made up for a couple pages later where the story would really pick up at lightning speed. But then it will drag on again so there’s a little bit of a consistency issue there although it didn’t really bother me or affect my opinion as much. I do think that I would most likely read more from Renee Miller in the future. I do think that this was an
extremely fascinating story , it has an appealing concept and it gave the perfect amount of story for a satisfying novella. So that is where I’m gonna leave you guys I hope that you have enjoyed my review and you have a chance to read this in the future. Happy reading X