This was a wonderful surprise! I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I did, but it was so good! Personally, I think it’s hard to write about zombies now as there are so many books that are just repetitive and boring. However, A Light Most Hateful turned the trope on its head and made it unique. The writing was stunning, the characters fun and relatable, and the plot was full of so many twists and turns. Brilliant’! Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

This book was an absolute adventure. At no point was I sure I knew what was going to happen next! It really threw you in the deep end and had you wondering what was going on the entire time, but the ending tied everything together and was overall very satisfying. The writing style was so distinct, I don’t think I have ever read anything like it before!

I loved the characterization of Olivia, Sunflower, Christmas, and Hazibel. Their dynamic was so engaging and fun that I couldn’t wait to find out what was happening to the town with them. Christmas is absolutely my favorite character maybe ever, the quips that come from them are so funny- they’re hard not to love. This book definitely goes into dysfunctional relationships, so it does get emotional at times, but it works through it.

There’s an element of cosmic horror that was super effective in this story! I have never read anything by Hailey Piper before, but the gory and horrific descriptions were absolutely sensational! I will be looking forward to more from her in the future. This book was so strange and surreal, but I absolutely ate it up.

If you’re looking for a queer horror comedy with zombies, cosmic horror, and a surreal isolating small town setting, then A Light Most Hateful is definitely for you! It came out 10/10/23, so it’s out now.

“Memories are powerful, even when they’re wrong. Believe a memory, and it becomes the past. Past shapes present, bound in a chain. The memory becomes real.”

Hailey Piper’s new novel take place after a monstrous storm hits the sleepy town of Chapel Hill, an otherworldly power threatens to break reality, Olivia will stop at nothing to find her friend Sunflower and get them to safety.

This story novel is described as mind bending, that becomes the case very quickly as the first incident as a result of the storm hits this town. The atmosphere it pun intended “electric” throughout. That sense of worlds colliding whilst challenging what to believe adds to that horror that isn’t just from the creatures that begin to appear in this town.

The test of love and loyalty is one of many themes explored and I felt equally sympathetic for Olivia’s character as I did frustrated. By the end though I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It is a rollercoaster from start to finish and will have you gripped from the get go.

3.5*

I unfortunately didn’t get to read this in time but I’m excited to check it out when it’s available! Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity!

**2.5 rounded up**
I had high hopes for this book but found myself somewhat disappointed. It's not the kind of horror I typically gravitate toward. The book was pitched as a blend of Mona Awad's "Bunny" and the TV show "Stranger Things." While I adored the absurdity of "Bunny," I wasn't in love with "Stranger Things". So, going into this read, I knew it could go either way.

"A Light Most Hateful" takes the concept of mind-bending to a whole new level. It ventured into such uncharted territory that I had to pause and regain my bearings at times.

If someone were to ask me to provide a detailed explanation of the book's plot, I'm not sure I'd be able to do it justice.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Hailey Piper's "Benny Rose the Cannibal King" and "The Worm and His Kings," this one fell short of my expectations.

So far, my journey into the horror genre has been incredible, and "A Light Most Hateful" is a powerful reminder of why it has been so. Hailey Piper has rapidly become a noteworthy name in the genre, but due to my tbr, I hadn't had the opportunity to explore her work until I got my hands on an ARC of this book.

Even weeks after finishing the book, the vivid images and the delight I experienced through Hailey's prose are still fresh in my mind. The book offers a complete cosmic horror experience, brimming with rage, emotion, and scenes that cut right through one's conception of reality. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, trying to untangle the mysteries while also acknowledging that there may be no explanation at all.

For me, it's an instant 5-star read, a story that not only made me question the world I live in and its horrors but also challenged the foundations of my own reality.

Described as Bunny meets Stranger Things, I was intrigued....

Olivia ran away from home and found herself in Chapel Hill, with no family to speak of and her only friend is Sunflower

We join the two girls on what seems like a usual night, Olivia is working in the cinema and Sunflower out with a boy... when some really weird things start to happen starting with an otherworldly storm

Now I really don't want to say much as this story was an experience going in not knowing too much, and I get the Stranger Things comparison. But to me, it felt a lot more Silent Hill. With the monstrous creations, but with the person human touch alongside it. Also, parts put me in mind of Cell by Stephen King..

Fabulous story, definitely gripping and especially perfect for this time of year.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan for the chance to review this, it was out yesterday so go grab it now!

First of all, a big thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for an ARC of this book!

I went back and forth on ‘A Light Most Hateful’ at first, but the story truly comes into its own as it progresses, growing and mutating into something completely unexpected. I could never have guessed the direction this story goes in; it was a case of strapping in for the ride – twists, turns, corkscrews and all. The power and dangers of imagination is at the heart of the narrative and through Hailey Piper’s writing we most certainly see the power of imagination and the ability to go to places that you never expected to, nor ever should, visit.

The story centres on teenager Olivia and her friendship, and unrequited love, with best friend Sunflower. In many ways it is a classic story of love versus hate. Hate courses through the veins of Chapel Hill. The town’s residents are sick, they are dying, and they want blood, and what persists among the rubble are Olivia, Sunflower, and the bonds that bind them together. Yet despite the love versus hate narrative, Piper’s story is no fairy tale, and you would be naïve to expect the story to play out like one would. The opening to the story is vicious and it is shocking, and the monster to blame is genuinely terrifying. I was torn on how much I enjoyed Piper’s flowery and often hyperbolic descriptive writing throughout the story, but when it worked, Piper managed to create some truly vivid visuals, and there is no better example of this than Lizzie, the monster that stalks Chapel Hill.

The key to ‘A Light Most Hateful’ is in the secrets it holds dear before letting them loose when you least expect them. The story is built on the painful memories of others, on the refusal to move on from the past, on the inability to heal emotional wounds. Repressed trauma can rear its head when you least expect it, and it is often ugly, and the story reflects this volatility, keeping you on your toes about what is to come, but still finding ways to shock you.

Olivia, our eyes, sense of direction and moral code throughout the story, is likable and strong of will, fierce and determined, thoughtful and admirably stubborn. She is a solid protagonist, but really it is her relationships with Christmas (interesting name choice, I know), and with Sunflower, that make her shine. Sunflower makes and breaks the story through her familial relationships with mother and sister, and her friendship with Olivia. A past filled with hurt and abandonment has far-reaching consequences and Piper’s work is a lesson in how pain can spread if the flow is not stemmed. Hate breeds hate and ‘A Light Most Hateful’ is a story tainted by it. You will find it on every page and in every word, seeping between the gaps on the page.

‘Maybe there was no such thing as free will, every action an abstract mess of stained glass formed by colour panes from every experience’.

In spite of this the novel is not a completely pessimistic one. Piper finds the right balance between good and evil, between hope and despair; ‘A Light Most Hateful’ lives in that ominous stretch of greyness that is filled with endless possibilities. In a book that deeply interrogates the morality and existence of a higher power, it is a relief to find an opposition to the futility and darkness expressed: a light, not hateful and vindictive, but free and full of hope.

I don’t think that there are enough superlatives to describe Hailey Piper’s works. I think I have seen them all; mesmerising, original, astounding to name but a few! And I have to say that they all fit.

I was first introduced to Hailey Piper when I read The Worm and His Kings. Since then, I have acquired and read more books by her, resulting in her becoming one of those ‘must read authors’.

A Light Most Hateful takes place in the town (I think it’s a town) of Chapel Hill and follows Olivia as she is plunged into the worst night of her life.

Whilst she is working on the concessions stand of the Drive-in movie theatre, she is waiting for her best friend (and secret crush) Sunflower. Not long after she turns up things start to get a bit weird. She meets someone called Christmas who tells her that they want to eat her heart, followed by a strange storm, and then saves a vagrant called Lizzie from the small town minds of local youths who think it is good fun to throw cans at the poor woman. However, they get more than they bargained for when Lizzie turns into a monster and then eats their friend.

After the initial panic, Olivia finds herself in a world in which everything has turned into a nightmare The inhabitants of Chapel Hill have turned into mindless automatons, who when touched turn into mindless killing machines. There’s a monster that is chasing her, and she has to save her best friend, Sunflower.

The story takes the reader into familiar themes of a town that has seemingly being taken over by an outside force and pits the lead character into a fight for survival, whilst avoiding the things that are trying to kill them. However, the book then metamorphoses into something that is totally unexpected and out of this world.

One of Hailey Piper’s skills is that she will introduce the twist in the story at unexpected points and thus catapults things off into a different trajectory to the one that was originally started, ultimately shedding its skin to be something else entirely.

Likened at times to Stranger Things, this book reminded me of so much more. There are times when the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers came to mind, or The Colour Out of Space. And at other times it strongly brought essences of The Twilight Zone to mind, particularly It’s a Good Life based on the story by Jerome Bixby.

A Light Most Hateful is a nightmarish tale of love, loss and accepting who you are. It is terrifying and it is mesmerising, and as my friends over at Gingernuts of Horror quite rightly says, it puts Hailey Piper as the Queen of Cosmic Horror.

Any stories are about finding yourself. Very often discovering our inner hero; sometimes that you’re the villain or the victim (this happens a lot more in horror for obvious reasons). We watch characters fight their pre-conceptions or those of others and make a stand. In Hailey Piper’s exhilarating and surprising novel, A Light Most Hateful a character’s search for their inner self creates one of the most exciting reads of the year.

Eighteen-year-old Olivia arrives for her dead-end job running the concessions stand at the drive-in for the young folk of Chapel Hill. Who may be more interested in their partners than the classic movie to be shown. Olivia tries to keep focused on the role despite the usual teasing and insults thrown her way and that her best friend (and secret crush Sunshine) is late and may be distracted by her boyfriend. But a storm is rushing to Chapel Hill. The town is about to be wracked by monsters, rampaged by its own townsfolk and Olivia will have to decide who she is to take her own stand against the town’s destruction.

Now this is a reallllly difficult story to discuss. So how about this to capture the feeling of reading this. You see the classic ghost train ride; the rickety carriage to sit in; the usual spooky noises and music. You sit in it. The ride starts moving and then the carriage drops 90 degrees into the ground, and you’re propelled into a neon lit super slick and fast turning rollercoaster that you have no idea where it is heading. This story has initially a very classic almost 1950s feel to it with the drive-in; a put upon concession worker; high schoolers in jackets and their girlfriends and even an enigmatic rebel with no cause in the form of the chain-smoking character who calls themselves Christmas. And yet Olvia is gay and in love with her best friend, Christmas is non-binary and underneath Chapel Hill has many less than pleasant secrets to unlock. Just when you think though this is going more in a twin peaks direction though Piper adds in a strange storm and a compelling monster you don’t see coming at all.

At this point the story races and keeps the reader constantly on their toes. Everything shifts and changes and then changes further. We feel Olvia’s bewilderment at all these changes. Her struggle to survive and her heroic desire to find Sunshine the one person who really understands Olvia and whom Olvia wishes she could tell her the truth. But this story is also about having to accept that our friends are sometimes not the idols we think they are and that can be equally distressing to experience, and we then must decide who we are – are they still worth our saving them or do we need to focus on rescuing ourselves? How Piper explores this subject is truly novel and the almost jet-like propulsion ably distracts us from clues that when they finally slot into place change the story into its final emotionally packed half that means Olvia really must decide what she wants for herself.

It works beautifully tying up all its plotlines and is a wonderful example of storytelling keeping the reader on their toes and giving us something we don’t feel like we have seen before. Bittersweet, terrifying, empowering and often just plain scary this is a story that changes shapes and nimbly that suits the story too. Its not a linear story and those aspects may put off those who just like a traditional scare at this time of year but for me it’s a lot more interesting to go through a trapdoor and not know what is going to happen next and this tale delivers that in spades. Highly recommended! Can’t wait to hear what you think!

Hay libros que no sabes cómo vas a poder hablar de ellos o abordar una reseña.
Y no lo digo por posibles spoilers, giros argumentales o cosas así.
Lo digo porque eres plenemente consciente de que no vas a saber (ni poder) reflejar ni una décima parte de todo lo que contiene.
La kriptonita de un pobre reseñador, eso es "A light most hateful" de Hailey Piper.
Una historia sobre rupturas, relaciones tóxicas, identidades, duelo, superación y amor.
Ah, y horror cósmico, body horror, monstruos de enormes bocas, paisajes oníricos, truenos y relámpagos.

Olivia es una joven que vive una "segunda vida" en Chapel Hill, después de haberse fugado de su casa unos años antes. Trabaja en el bar del autocine, mientras aguanta los comentarios del resto de habitantes del pequeño pueblo. Ya sabéis: "la rara que se fugó de casa", "algo habrá hecho", etc.
El único apoyo de Olivia es Sunflower, su mejor amiga, siendo ambas totalmente opuestas. Si Olivia es oscuridad, Sunflower es pura luz.
El día de la tormenta empezó de forma extraña. Olivia juraría haber escuchado un alarido pero su cabeza le dice que es un trueno. Sunflower, además, ha quedado con su novio para... bueno, para hacer cosas de pareja en un mirador próximo. Y Olivia tiene que trabajar en el autocine.

¿Por qué os cuento todo esto?
Porque esta es la parte normal del libro. Lo que se puede contar evitando que os estalle la cabeza en una nube de relámpagos, sangre, extremidades y pensamientos de purpurina.
Y esto es el primer capítulo del libro.
Justo al final del capítulo aparece Christmas, une extrañe personaje, que se acerca a Olivia para pedirle una única cosa: su corazón.
Y ese es el primer peldaño de la historia.

El resto de "A light most hateful" es un derroche de imaginación, de talento y de personalidad fuera de lo común. Hay monstruos (tenéis que conocer a Lizzie...), hay tormentas, hay persecuciones, hay fases de horror, body horror y horror cósmico pero también hay un maravilloso despliegue de sentimientos y emociones.
La aburrida Chapel Hill se va transformando en un paraje onírico en el que no todo es lo que parece y Hailey Piper comienza a jugar con las metáforas, con los dobles sentidos, hasta que comienzas a dudar de cualquier atisbo de realidad.

Es una novela arriesgada, sin duda. Es un ejemplo de creatividad sin límites, de introspección, de abrir tu mente y tu personalidad a las lectoras y lectores. Y la narrativa de Hailey Piper ayuda al desconcierto.
Es capaz de narrarte el aburrimiento de Chapel Hill, maravillarte con la descripción del color de un relámpago para horrorizarte con un engendro de brazos, piernas y articulaciones imposibles.
Te narra las maravillas de lo terrenal y humano mientras hace que te explote la cabeza con fenómenos irreales, cósmicos.
Esa es su grandeza.
En esta ocasión, además, hace especial hincapié en el mundo de los sentimientos, de las relaciones humanas y de la búsqueda de la identidad, de cualquier tipo de identidad.

Esa es su mayor baza... pero también su mayor riesgo. Yo ya estoy en el barco de Hailey Piper, la considero una de las escritoras clave del panorama actual pero, para lectoras y lectores que nunca se han asomado a sus abismos, "A light most hateful" puede ser demasiado. Es una de esas novelas que requieren complicidad desde el otro lado de la página.
Cosa normal: la novela no es más que un grito de Hailey Piper abriendo su corazón. Qué menos que escucharla, con paciencia y atención.

"A light most hateful " es una novela llena de significados ocultos. Algunos discurren dentro de la propia lógica y vivencias de Hailey Piper, así que sólo podemos arañar la superficie, pero hay otros elementos que atañen a todo el mundo.
El significado de la amistad, las relaciones tóxicas, la identidad ya sea sexual, afectiva o de comportamiento, el sentirse ajena a una sociedad que no comprendes y que te odia (el odio, otro aspecto importantísimo), la soledad, la necesidad de ser querida, las relaciones paternas, maternas y familiares... y mucho más. Todo bajo un entorno onírico, entre el horror, la pesadilla y el drama.

El grupo de personajes es limitado. Están Olivia, Sunflower, Christmas y Hazibel, madre de Sunflower. A ellos hay que sumar a Gina, hermana desaparecida de Sunflower. Ahora imagináos que proyectamos esos cuatro personajes a través de un prisma, un catalizador capaz de resaltar cada arista de cada personaje. Hailey Piper utiliza estos personajes como representación de sentimientos, de ideas, tulpas que viven en la cabeza y en la vida de Piper.

A light most hateful" es un ejemplo de horror actual, de esa literatura mutante, libre de ataduras y prejuicios, llena de sentimientos e integradora que se necesita. Un ejercicio de expresión artística y personal de Hailey Piper a un nivel altísimo y justo eso es lo que puede jugar en su contra: para algunos puede resultar demasiado.
Si tenéis la mente abierta, si os precupan las tormentas de odio, si creéis que no encajais en la sociedad, "A light most hateful" os va a impactar.
Como un relámpago.
Leedlo, por favor: necesito hablar con alguien sobre el libro.

I haven’t read everything by Piper yet, but I have enjoyed at least half of her books, if not more. I requested this ARC based on my love for her work thus far, not on the synopsis for this book (which I did not read prior to starting the book). As I was hoping, Piper takes a cosmic approach to this story. It’s not immediately clear, but this novel has layers that get peeled back every so often. In the beginning, it almost seems straight-forward; a small town is changed by a storm that leaves most of its residents zombie-like. There’s even a girl in the mix who can unhinge her jaw. Nevertheless, the first quarter of this story played a bit basic. I didn’t really get any highs from it, and I even began to worry this wouldn’t be a novel of Piper’s I like. But then the first reveal comes, and things changed for the better. As the adventure gets weirder and more otherworldly, I became engrossed in the trek to find Sunflower and separate her from the strange hypnosis taking over the town. I began feeling vibes of The Stand (Stephen King), Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, and Nightmareland (Daniel Barnett) at this point, which I loved. There’s a dream-like (or nightmare-like) quality to this story as it progresses along. If not for that somewhat slow and disjointed beginning that left me interested in reading something else, I would have adored this novel. But even with that early slump, I walked away from A Light Most Hateful very pleased with yet another Piper recommendation.

I really enjoyed the first half of A Light Most Hateful. The opening chapters were really suspenseful and set up a really interesting mystery. It was around the halfway point that the book lost me a little as it feels like the plot sort of stalls out. It also happens to be when the characters get stuck in one spot for a prolonged period of time. Others may find the overall explanation and ending to the book to be beyond the suspension of disbelief but neither personally bothered me.

To focus on the positives, I really liked Olivia and Christmas. I thought they were both really compelling characters by themselves and with how they played off of each other. Their relationship really carries the second half of this book. Hailey Piper also does a fantastic job with the descriptive language. There are a handful of, I'll say brutal scenes in the book that were hard to read because she did such a fantastic job describing everything.

I saw this book described as an LGBTQ+ Stranger Things and while I did not get that vibe, it was nice to see an LGBTQ+ character take center stage without it being her main character trait.

Another creepy cosmic horror from Hailey Piper. One of my favorite lovecraftian like authors. We’ve got an idyllic small town complete with drive in movie complex. Cosmic man eating monsters. Literal houses falling from the sky. Couldn’t ask for anything more.

Olivia is in love with Sunflower and Sunflower seems more in love with herself. When an unnatural storm breaks loose on Chapel Hill and a cosmic monster named Lizzie starts devouring townfolk, Olivia’s one and only mission is to save Sunflower and get her to safety.

I don’t want to give too much away. This one is great going in cold. Just gird your loins and prepare for the ride.

Even when you know where this book is going to go, it draws you in. Even if you guess at a few things, you'll need to know what happens next. My favorite kind of books are ones that foreshadow a few gimmes and then swipe you with the rest, which is exactly what happened here.

Great POV character too.

I really liked The Worm and His Kings, so when I saw that Piper had a novel coming out, I was intrigued. It's queer horror during spooky season, so I felt like I was going to get a good time. However, it took way too long to figure out the time period (like there weren't enough clues to sus out whether the drive-in theater was kitschy or authentic, and we didn't get any actual descriptions of the cars beyond make and color). And then way too much weirdness just started piling on. Snake-woman and zombies? Sure. Infinitely duplicating houses falling off cliffs... It just got too weird too fast.

Real rating 3.5/5 rounded down.


This was a very bizarre read, and I love weird shit. I will have to say the plot/premise to this horror book is probably one of the most creative plots I've read in a while, it is one of the things I love about this genre, the worlds, creatures and imaginative material that comes out of it. I understand and get the praise this book is getting because it definitely left me thinking "wtf did I just read?" in the best way possible.


This book was reading like it was and could be a film, and later after I finished, I come to find it would be adapted into a feature film which I think is very interesting. I settled in the middle with a 3.5 because while the plot, premise and the description of the body horror etc. was probably my favourite part of the book, and I did like Olivia and Christmas, even Sunflower, I felt at parts it got a little bit convoluted. I wanted more interactions with Olivia and Christmas because I really enjoyed their banter (I know this book took place in one night).


I couldn't really picture anyone but Sunflower in my head. I get that, but I still couldn't really picture anything past their clothes, how tall they were and just surface level things. There was great Queer representation in this book, but I couldn't even really tell if this book was diverse, I think everyone was white I am not even sure about that either. I just think descriptions of characters are very important and it lacked a lot in this book overall, besides the description of Sunflower. Overall, I still enjoyed this book and I think others will enjoy this book as well.


Thank you to Titan Books, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The second early book I read from Netgalley, this one provided by Titan Books, is A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper. I’m writing this on August 24, 2023, the day after I finished the book. I was asked to hold this review until the month of the book’s release and now we’re here. As you read this, its October. And that’s absolutely the perfect month for this book.

A Light Most Hateful is a horror novel. I don’t want to give away much about it but I’ll set the stage. The book stars Olivia, a teenage girl with a crush on her best friend Sunflower. Her best friend doesn’t feel the same way. Sunflower has a boyfriend and just seems happy to be Olivia’s best friend. They both live in a small town where not much happens. That is until one night when Olivia is working at her job at the drive-in and…stuff happens. Crazy stuff. I don’t want to give away the crazy stuff.

Honestly, this whole book is crazy. Its a really wild, intense horror novel. The best way I can describe the novel is this:

A Light Most Hateful is like a rollercoaster. It starts out slow, builds up a little speed and then goes up fast and keeps going up for awhile and then bam, it starts falling, falling, falling…and then slows back down at the end.

This book has been compared to Stranger Things and maybe vaguely that’s true but this book is so much more intense than Stranger Things. And you are not ready for its plot twists and turns. Poor Olivia. Poor Sunflower. Poor everybody…

Hailey Piper is a really good writer. I like how even though the book is intense and it doesn’t let up for awhile, she does take the time to give us wonderful character moments and excellent description of the town and the people that live there. You will feel like you are there with Olivia. You’ll see this story very well. But will you survive it?

Buckle up. Hold the sides of the rollercoaster. A Light Most Hateful isn’t for the faint of heart. You have been warned.

Thank you to Titan Books for providing a digital copy of this book for review. A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper will be available on October 10th, 2023.

Three years after running from home, Olivia is stuck in a small town in a job she doesn’t love. She has a best friend called Sunflower to keep her going even though her day to day is pretty boring. One day a storm hits which begins turning the towns people into zombies and the monsters start coming out of the woodwork…

Beginning with a Stranger Things vibe, this book delves into a mesmerising cosmic horror that's both imaginative and peculiar. There were certain parts I wondered WTF was going on. Keep in mind the surrealism, but also be prepared for some exceptional body horror. It's a unique coming-of-age tale.

Thanks Net Galley for letting me review this book. It comes out on the 10th October and would be a great addition to your spooky TBR.

Gosh, this one was so bizarre and I'm still thinking about it?? But like, I guess just trying to make sense of the craziness that has just transpired. Olivia and her best friend, Sunflower, are stuck in small-town Chapel Hill, PA, when a odd-ball storm crashes into town and either kills or transforms everyone they know into an infected zombie, of sorts, out for blood and small-town domination.

It's up to Olivia to find the root of this deadly outcry and escape while they still have time. The infected have magical (almost psychological) abilities and can transport people into dream-states and past realizations, so it's a very trippy experience for those of the sound minds.

A Light Most Hateful hits shelves on October 10, 2023, and I am very thankful to Netgalley, Titan Books, and Haily Piper for granting me physical and digital access to this Mind-F*ck of the century.