“Black Sheep” by Rachel Harrison is simply a hell of a ride. The story takes you on a sinister narrative about how family ties can keep us from being our full selves and the restrictive nature of religion and faith. From the very beginning, as soon as Vesper is introduced, you know something isn’t quite right. As soon as we are introduced to her fundamentalist Satanist cult of a family, we know exactly what is happening or do we?  The surprises and revelations within the novel are what make this story so compelling.

Vesper struggles and that is part of what makes her character so intriguing. She loves her family even as she rebels against their restrictions. But it is the revelations and secrets that they keep from her that make for the sinister pace and compelling story as Vesper tries to escape her father and the influence of both him and her mother, of her upbringing. Whether supernatural or not, this story demonstrates that sometimes the love of family can be suffocating. 

If you love stories about the supernatural and the devil, this novel will be a hell of a ride. It is compelling and Vesper is charismatic in her rebellious nature. The themes of family, religion and faith are revelatory and will make readers think. I love the pace of the story and how Vesper discovers the truth about her father, her family and herself, and how strong she really is when she cuts ties with her family and their restrictions.

Read if you like:
📚 Horror
😆 Dark Humor
⭐️ Satanic Vibes
🏘️ Religious Cults
😡 Feminine Rage
👨‍👩‍👧 Messed up Family Dynamics
🌀 Rebellious, Strong, & Angry FMC’s

Do you ever get absolutely sucked in and fascinated by the stories of people who grew up in cults and left and how their life is after leaving and the intricacies of what they grew up believing? If so, this book is for you!

The pacing of this book was absolutely perfection! Before I knew it, I had binged half of the story, and finished it in two days!

I absolutely loved our FMC, Vesper! She was twisty, grumpy, angry, full of rage, and absolutely haunted by her childhood and the community she left behind at 18. This becomes even worse when she receives an invitation to the wedding of her ex-boyfriend and her cousin from the community she grew up in. So, when she gets this invite, obviously it boils her blood, maybe a little bit literally, and she can’t stop herself from feeling the rage associated by this relationship, and the fact that she lost her shitty job that night is the perfect storm for her to decide to go back home to the cult she left, and to attend the wedding of her ex boyfriend and her cousin/former bestie.

Another piece of her escape was escaping her horror movie star mother (who she can’t really escape as she looks just like her) who was a neglectful ice queen mother who just seemed to not want to be a parent. This bad relationship with her mom is further complicated as her mom won’t tell Vesper about her dad so she doesn’t really know who her dad is or anything about him, but has memories of a loving and caring man who left and she never knew why…. But, by going home and attending the wedding, she is about to open a huge can of worms, and get answers to questions she may wish she never sought the answers for…

Sometimes living in the dark, is better than the answers we seek and the potential trauma that comes with those answers… at least that’s very well the results for Vesper as things start to get weird not long after she returns home.

If you liked The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, appreciate dark humor, like horror, some gory vibes, and learning about the inner workings of cults I highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much Berkley for my ARC of this one!

The newest book by Rachel Harrison is definitely different than any book I've read recently. Main character Vesper is returning to her unconventional home after years of estrangement to attend a family wedding. Vesper is an awesome badass character who is tough as nails, but has issues with her mother, a cold horror film actress, and her father, who left years ago and whom she hasn't seen since. Once she gets to the family home, things do go swiftly downhill. The story is entertaining and original, and I couldn't wait to finish, in particular one chapter where I just couldn't believe what was happening. A few gory scenes, but an otherwise unputdownable thoroughly enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

We can all agree, I'm sure - family can be the worst.
Vesper left home at 18 - determined to never return.
Recently fired from her job - she gets an invitation to an upcoming wedding. Her best friend and high school boyfriend are getting hitched. Vesper is not pleased.
Her family has been leaders in their local church for generations. Vesper has no interest in continuing the tradition. The secret of her parentage is reveled - sucking Vesper back into their world.
Will she rejoin the faith?

first ever horror book: ✅

i heard about this one on a a zoom influencer event with @berkleypub and the author sold it SO WELL that i was like “welp, guess i’m reading horror now!!!” she even DMed me to tell me she didn’t think it was that scary so i should be fine…

and i actually was! the plot twisted in ways i did NOT see coming (let’s just say the devout religious community is worshiping less of a heavenly being and more of… hellish one) and i actually learned a lot about a people group and way of believing that had previously been so unknown to me! (my little exvangelical self kept feeling like i was going to get in trouble for reading a book about satanists hahaha)

i almost wish this book DID scare me a little more, because i’m not quite sure what it is that classifies it as horror, except for all the satan stuff? i mean, that probably does it…

the plot got a bit unbelievably wild for me towards the end and felt more on the cheesy/too dramatic side for me to fully immerse myself in it, but overall, i’m glad i took a chance on this one and tried something out of my genre comfort zone!

Harrison flips the script on religious zeal with this tale a of a woman who fled her hometown because she didn't believe in the Lord. The Dark Lord. The slowly ratcheting dread and strong female lead will likely appeal to fans of women's fiction and horror.

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison is an unusual novel! In some ways, it reminded me of Sign Here with its nods towards hell and Satan.

I walked into this one knowing practically nothing. I was intrigued for the first 10% and then struggled through the next 40% wondering when things would take off and happen. I found the main character to have repetitive complaints and not a lot of action occurs in the first 50%, but after that?! Buckle your seat belt, because it becomes a wild ride!

Vesper is estranged from her family, but when an unexpected wedding invitation arrives, Vesper knows she's walking back into hell's mouth. Cult culture through and through in this novel. Vesper's return is beyond bizarre and from it she remains haunted. Odd things start to happen, she feels watched, and why is she looking more wild by the day?

Black Sheep is worth a read and since the US seems to have decided Halloween must be a day away, this book got me in the mood for Spooky Season!

A huge thank you to Berkley Publishing and PRH Audio for granting me access to this title!

I received a gifted galley of BLACK SHEEP by Rachel Harrison for an honest review. Thank you to PRH Audio, Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

BLACK SHEEP follows Vesper, a young woman who left her family behind when she turned eighteen, knowing she wouldn’t be welcomed back to their close knit religious community. When she gets an unexpected invitation to the wedding of her cousin Rosie, it isn’t clear who sent it, Still, it seems to be welcoming her to return to the family farm for the occasion. She decides to make the trip back in spite of some reservations, never expecting the dark secrets that will come to light.

I didn’t know much going into this one and I didn’t even read the synopsis before starting the book. I just knew that I’ve really enjoyed Rachel Harrison’s past books, so this was an auto read. I think going into this story without knowing too much ahead of time about Vesper or her family was probably the right decision so I’ve kept my synopsis here fairly brief.

I enjoyed Vesper as a character and her natural suspicion and cynicism. Learning about how she grew up in this community and her reasons for leaving made her personality make a lot of sense. She’s always been a bit different and that comes through as well in the way people treat her and the surprise they have for her return.

Once the background of the group she was raised in comes to light in the book, I did find a lot of the rest of the book to be a little bit predictable in places. Still, it was an enjoyable read and a wild ride of a book! It kept up the dark humor that I’ve come to expect from this author.

I think this one will be great for spooky season reading while being a little bit different than the usual as well!

Horror fans will appreciate the tropes in this one. The twists are pretty easy to suss out before they're fully revealed but the main character is snarky enough for you to root for her until the end. Really good twist on a cult story.

Another great one from Rachel Harrison. Her prose and voice are stronger than ever, and she's back with another great protagonist. This one is sarcastic, sad and born in a religious cult. It's awesome. I loved most of the creative decisions and often found myself wound in the spell the story cast. I love how she weaves together an awesome story and then blindsides you with horror. The emotional connections established with the characters rocks, and then she scares the dickens out of us. Highly recommend for contemporary horror readers.

Vesper left her strict religious community as a teen and hasn’t returned, until an envelope arrives inviting her back.

This was a very fast and easy read that flew by. I had a hard time putting it down. I had an idea from the beginning what was going on, but it didn’t lessen my enjoyment at all. It reminded me of a modern day Devil’s Advocate and I was there for it!

“The thing about danger is, it always has a face. It chooses whether to show it to you or not.”

Black Sheep comes out 9/12.

Vesper left the secluded community she grew up in - a fanatically religious cult - when she was 18 with the understanding that she would never be allowed to return - not that she wanted to. But then an invitation to the wedding of her best friend/cousin and ex-boyfriend arrives and she finds herself drawn back to her creepy childhood home. There, she uncovers some dark and twisted truths about her family and herself.

This story is WILD. It’s weird and funny and low key scared me. I loved it. It’s the first time I’ve been in the situation of wanting to read all night but having to stop not to sleep, but because I was just a little too freaked out. I can’t wait to read more of Harrison’s books now that I’m a self-proclaimed Horror Girlie.

Black Sheep is the perfect addition to your Spooky Season™ tbr. Out September 19, 2023.

Thnx berkley & netgalley for the eARC!

BLACK SHEEP features a cleverly written synopsis that sums up everything without giving anything away. I'm going to try to do the same, so I'm keeping this review brief.

Featuring a young woman named Vesper returning home after a long hiatus, this book has one of the most dysfunctional families I've ever met within the pages of a book. The reasons for Vesper's hiatus are many, but the main one is the wedding of her dearest friend. To Vesper's ex-boyfriend. And that's all I'm going to say, save for the wedding is the very tippy-top of the iceberg that is BLACK SHEEP.

Being that this is my first read from Rachel Harrison, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a lot of humor, sharp wit, and a list of engaging and bizarre characters. It seemed like each turn of the page brought a new surprise that I didn't see coming.

My advice, if the plot sounds of any interest to you at all, is to go into this book knowing nothing. Let Rachel Harrison guide you back home with Vesper and see what surprises she has in store!

Highly Recommended!

*Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

This was FANTASTIC!! Vesper is the definition of a badass and she's a character you won't forget or get tired of. Her wit and grit make her so easy to root for. This gave me Addie LaRue vibes (overall, the two aren't super similar, but it's just a vibe) but with a fresh twist, and it honestly had me captivated from page one.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this one, I simply MUST have a copy for my shelves because this one was unforgettable.

5 stars from me!

Vesper has avoided her home since the young age of eighteen. She was always told if she left the cult, she couldn’t come back. When she gets invited to the wedding of her cousin/best friend and her former boyfriend, she can’t help but go back. why is she allowed back? Unfortunately for her, going home means learning a horrifying secret.

So whenever I pick up a Rachel Harrison book…I expect it to be freaking weird and very messed up. This one was no different with a damn satanic cult, however, this book was in no way what I was expecting when I picked it up. I definitely did not see the actual situation coming and it kept me on my toes wondering where it was going. If you need a good horror read, look no further.

Vesper left her home, and extremely religious family, as a teenager, but now her best friend and her ex boyfriend are getting married, and for some reason she is invited, despite the communities strict rules about those that leave not being allowed back. She simply can't resist attending the wedding, even if it means returning home to the life she escaped. But once she arrives, she is forced to come face to face with some very dark secrets about her family, her religion, and herself.
I absolutely loved the way things were revealed throughout the book, the reveal of what Vesper's religion growing up was is epic and fantastic and perfect in every way. It was very abrupt and shocking, where as other reveals are slow burns, things that are hinted at throughout. The characters were also fantastic here, Vesper is delightfully sarcastic and well-developed making for the perfect narrator. Her mother is absolutely enthralling, a former horror star, who is cold and mysterious. And all the other characters make up a really interesting cast of characters, that shake off the stereotypes one might associate with Vesper's upbringing.
All in all, this was an easy and fun read, not too much scare, but an exceptional horror novel. Highly recommend this one!

This is one of my most anticipated books of the year and WOW.

So, I went into this book mostly blind. Rachel Harrison is my auto buy author, she has my trust. Let me start off by saying, this wasn't what I was expecting. IN THE BEST WAY. I love the way that she mixes horror with an undercurrent of meaning. She hits every time with something original and fresh. And her visuals?! Sis, *chefs kiss* Dark, disturbing and gory.

I loved watching as Vesper came to terms with her, I'll just say *toxic*, family and learns to accept some of her darker traits.


This book didn't disappoint and absolutely perfect for spooky season.

Assume nothing. The first surprise twist came in hot and heavy very early on, setting the tone for the rest of the book. I gasped and yelled HOLY SH*T!, which thinking back, seemed like a perfectly appropriate response. The book was not lacking in creep factor. I’m not a horror film aficionado, and the plots of some of the fictional movie plots discussed in this book will keep me up all night. In fact, they did when I tore through this story, battling sleep, for the sake of a gripping story, a kooky cast of characters and an unsettling feeling that I could not shake. Not until the very last sentence.

You know when you’re somewhere and you feel like someone is watching you? That’s what this book felt like. It’s unsettling, but you can’t turn the pages fast enough, drawn in, and desperate to know everything.

Wow. This was my first Rachel Harrison book and honestly I don’t know how I have survived this long without picking one up. Where do I even start…

First off - this is the PERFECT book to add to your TBR for the Fall Season. The spooky vibes are immaculate. I felt like I was reading one of the Cult Horror Classic Movies that are described in this book. Family Secrets, Drama, Cults, Horror Movies, & Dark Humor… what more could you want?

Black Sheep follows our main character, Vesper, who left home at 18 when she escaped from the super fanatic Religious Community that she was raised in. After being on her own for a couple years, she receives an Invitation to her Cousin Rosie’s Wedding and for some reason decides that she definitely has to attend even though it means returning back to the toxic environment she fled from.

Nothing could have prepared me for the direction this story went, but in the absolute best way. Harrison’s pacing made this story so unputdownable, I was hooked from the moment she started complaining about working her shitty restaurant job (we have ALL been there!). I don’t want to give too much away, because I feel like the less someone knows going into this book, the better.

I will say that you will be getting so much more than just an entertaining Horror Story here. Black Sheep tackles Nature vs. Nurture, Faith in Humanity… or lack there of, Religion, Societal Pressures, & What it truly means to be good or evil. We don’t get to control the families we are born into, but we don’t always have to accept those circumstances.

The amount of highlighting that occurred while I was reading this was truly insane. I cannot recommend this book enough! Make sure you pick up a copy in September… especially because this cover is just *chef’s kiss* it will look amazing on your shelf!


Thank you soooo much NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group for this Advanced Copy in exchange for my honest review!

Some people comfort eat, I comfort read…

I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks. Life is hard. It’s beautiful and I love it but sometimes it really just snowballs and can really cause you some pain.

We would never know light unless we experienced darkness.

So…

I scrolled through my kindle and realized I had a copy of Black Sheep.

What the freak was I upset about when I was gifted with an incredible book by one of my “newly” favored authors.

Rachel Harrison, remember her name, she’ll light up your world.

Harrison is completely unique to any author you have ever read. Her books are creepy, haunting, and will make you think.

Black Sheep, is just that, all of the above, and then some.

Harrison is the type of author you want to brag about but you also don’t want to give any teasers about her books. These are the books you wince at and wonder “what’s up with this title” and then dive in blind.

There is only one other author I could even compare her to and that’s Catriana Ward (another favorite!)

Don’t take my word for it, check out this teaser:

A cynical twentysomething must confront her unconventional family’s dark secrets in this fiery, irreverent horror novel from the author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle.
 
Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly...something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep. 
 
Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Have they made an exception to the rule? It wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and forever ice queen.
 
When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that explores the way family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.