I have read some of Brom's work previously - Lost Gods and thought it was great with a unique style of writing. I was very excited to receive a copy of this new Brom title.
I love rock and roll horror, and this novel delivers.

It kind of reminds me of a more serious version of Grady Hendrix's We Sold Our Souls

Dark in the ways that Brom writes best, I highly recommend this title to horror fans, and particularly to any musicians out there.

*Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and to NetGalley for providing this title in exchange for an honest review.

Evil In Me by Brom is a tale centering on a young woman whose life is a whirlwind of misdirection and turmoil. As Ruby struggles to find her footing and navigate a path that seems perpetually unstable, this tale explores the darker sides of human nature when mixed with the supernatural.

CW: mental health, suicide, and infidelity.

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on Evil In Me by Brom –
Ruby Tucker has almost reached the end of her personal purgatory. While doing community service at the local community center in her small town, she needs to bite back her anger for a few more days as she deals with the nasty comments from the head of the community center and her ex who also works there.

But Ruby just can’t help it. When one poor decision occurs, a landslide of poor decisions quickly follows. Before we know it, Ruby has an ancient ring clamped onto her finger, possessing her with the spirit of a demon.

As the story unfolds, it’s made clear to the reader that Ruby’s dreams and aspirations have been overshadowed by personal demons and inner rage. When possessed, she finds herself drawn into a world where music holds a potent and transformative power, but can she make it big before it’s too late?

Her journey is marked by intense emotional conflict and a constant battle against the forces that seek to control or consume her, both supernatural and not. As she grapples with her tumultuous emotions and the malevolent influences within her, the music becomes both a refuge and her battleground.

My Favorite Passages from Evil In Me –
Nothing mattered except how I felt. My reality was the only reality.

David returned a moment later with a small fire extinguisher, setting it on the table next to the bowl.
“Did you check that it’s safe for putting out hellfire?” Ruby asked
David laughed. “Says it’s safe for grease fires. Gotta be about the same. Right?”
Ruby groaned.

It is good to leave the bad behind, to let it go. But sometimes things are shut away before they are delt with, They linger, fester like an infected wound, spreading their poison. Often it is not something intentional, just sometimes a person is born a bit broken … unable to deal with life’s struggles.

My Final Thoughts on Evil In Me –
This tale was a frustrating and wild ride from start to finish! At every fork in the road that Ruby faced, I wanted to reach through my Kindle screen to violently shove her in the right direction. But of course, that wouldn’t have made for a fun storyline!

If you enjoy Brom’s storytelling mixed with characters you just want to see good things happen to, this is going to be a hit for you!

(Rounded from 3.5)

Brom flips the script in this story, where instead of a rock musician selling their soul to the devil in order to become famous they need to become famous in order to free their soul from an unexpected possession. This is a fun jam, even if sometimes it feels like it loses its groove and wobbles a bit. The story itself is a strong idea, with our main character being a young woman who is dealing with past trauma and a bipolar diagnosis that feel like they are dominating her life, stifling her chances at happiness. While the exploration of mental health isn’t especially deep or nuanced, Brom gives space for multiple things to be true at once, namely that this young woman is experiencing mental illness and also that she doesn’t have a support network that is nurturing her in the ways that could mediate and mitigate that mental illness. We, the reader, never are confused about whether she is “actually” possessed or whether it is her mental illness manifesting that way, but other characters are, and this becomes an easy way for them to dismiss her. I do wish this was explored a little more, there is a decently sized roster of supporting characters and some of them could do with more to do. The circumstances through which Ruby finds herself in trouble, possessed, and fighting to free her soul all flow well and make sense in the world. That goes along with good pacing, this whole story taking place over a few days and the narrative doing a good job of keeping the reader invested and quickly moving.
I really enjoyed the main character, Ruby, but felt some of the other characters a little boring. On paper they were interesting, with enough personal quirks and details to make them more than just cardboard cutouts, but they still felt a little expected. From her self-righteous boss to her egotistical (almost) stepdad with a Napoleon complex to her overstressed mother, to quirky punk-rock best friend, to the morally ambiguous demons filling the story, they all just felt convenient, if that makes sense. None of them were boring, they added to the story and to Ruby’s journey, but none really surprised me even if they felt genuine and like they had some depth.
It is hard to make a story about a possessed ring narratively propulsive, to create tension that was deep enough for us to feel always threatened, so Brom introduced an additional antagonist whose point of view we follow now and again to try and give dramatic breaks from the main narrative while also adding to the overall stakes. I’m not convinced it worked for me, at least at a character level. In terms of structure and narrative it was great, it added to the overall structure and pacing in a wonderful way, breaking us away from the main action just when we wanted to know what was going to happen next. But the character was just weird, and the way he became connected to Ruby was also weird. There is a conceit where our main antagonist’s powers become diminished, so an additional magic is worked that makes Ruby a beacon for evil or demonic forces in general, and this is what draws them together. This angle is fine, though I would have liked to see it explored more. This could have had far wider reaching repercussions, and instead it kind of just felt like a convenient way to connect this random character with our main character. It does extend beyond just him, but not as much as I would have liked. Again, it felt convenient, and since this character already felt underdeveloped it didn’t feel like it lived up to its potential. The writing itself was strong, never too purple or distracting, and with dialogue that felt natural. It wasn’t especially poetic or lyrical, but it worked well for the story, with enough color and interiority to keep the reader on the edge of their seats, feeling involved in the dramas playing out in the narrative.
I am on the fence about the world-building. It takes place in a small town in Alabama, and eventually in Atlanta, in 1985. We get to know a lot about our main character and how she doesn’t fit into the mold of what is expected of her, with some pretty great bands being namechecked throughout the story which does a lot to situate her… But if you don’t know those bands, or you don’t know what the political and social climate of mid-1980s America was then I am not sure this story goes very far to bring you there. If you already have a picture in your mind when you see “small town Alabama, 1985” then the world will feel robust and complete for you. But if that doesn’t evoke any particular aesthetic or ethos for you then the story doesn’t help too much, it expects you to already know this world. While it does a good job of showing us Ruby’s (lack of) place in the world, the world itself depends on the reader to fill in the blanks. However, it does have an interesting spiritual/religious dimension that I think is engaging and different. It plays with traditional Abrahamic ideas of God/Satan and heaven/Hell in a fun way that doesn’t stray too much from convention but enough that Brom was able to expand the idea of good and evil to being something more than a binary. He doesn’t get too detailed or deep into the mythology, but he gives enough to give you a taste of a supernatural order of things that is different than what is expected, and that kept the story feeling fresh even as it played with well-worn ideas.
Ultimately, this is a story about self-discovery. Ruby is trying to find herself, and she has to look through the lens of demons and curses to find what actually curses her and what motivates her, to discover who she is amidst the various types of chaos that have been plaguing her life. The journey is fun and compelling, if a little expected. For as inventive and engaging as the story is, the word that I keep coming back to is convenient. The way her story and personal growth wraps up just feels convenient. It is similar with the storylines and personal journeys of some of the supporting characters that intersect with her, everything just feels too neat and tidy. I think the ending of the story was earned and well-developed, I am not suggesting a simple deus ex machina type of ending, Brom does a good job of planting seeds and setting up the dominoes throughout the story. I just mean the eventual resolutions that we get don’t feel nearly as messy or interesting as they could be, especially given otherworldly and supernatural stakes that are being played with throughout the story. So, I enjoyed the journey and I felt the endings were earned, they just felt neater and more convenient than I was hoping for. Especially after having read Brom’s “Slewfoot,” which had messy and complicated resolutions all over the place, which felt raw and real, this just felt a little more sanitized by the end.
I definitely recommend this story. It was fun, and a clever twist on the relationship between rock music and the devil that I really appreciated. Brom created a sympathetic and compelling character in Ruby and put her on a whirlwind journey. I think all genre fans can find some fun in this story, and especially for religious/possession horror fans.
(I should add that the final published version will have a number of art pieces done by Brom, similar to his other novels, but those were not included in this ARC. The only art in the ARC was the cover, which is beautiful but actually gives me more Woodstock vibes than 80s punk vibes, if I am being honest. Still, a striking and beautiful cover and I have no doubt that the actual art will only accentuate and improve the story).

I want to thank the author, the publisher Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Evil in Me is a love letter to the punk underground and vibe back in the 1980s. It sprinkles in some Satanic panic for good measure with excellent characters to love and hate.

I enjoyed this one immensely!

I grew up in the 80s and felt like Brom nails down the culture, fashion and overall rebellion that teens and young adults were going through during time.

Evil in Me starts off with a bang with intense horror and a new look at demon possession.

Ruby Tucker wants to play punk and escape her small community and broken family. Boy could a relate with that one!

While doing community service due to her probation, she's also taking care of her elder neighbor Josh. One day, she comes across a religious artifact owned by Josh that will change her life forever.

Not only does Evil in Me have Jewish mysticism but repulsive demons, serial killers, ghosts and punk music that hits. I was worried about Ruby throughout the whole book and Brom has a fantastic way of getting the reader to emotionally invest into the characters and plot. There’s enough dark humor in this one that keeps the plot fun and helps when the pivotal moments are intense.

Definitely recommend this to fans of the horror genre, the 80s, and anyone that loves an underdog story! 😈

A sincere Thank You to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

Confession: “Evil in Me” is my first Brom book.

4.75 stars rounded up to 5

This is an 80’s rock n roll object possession story based on a fairly familiar premise with a fascinating ensemble of characters, from Ruby the FMC who is struggling her way through life and her BFF Tina, to the demons Beel and Vutto (my two favorite demons ever), to the villains, a cast of pretty awful and realistic bad guys. The punk rock, adept characterization, and flowing dialogue in this story is 5/5. Brom has created a believable and authentic world, very consistent with the 1980’s, which for me was extremely nostalgic and delightful.

I struggled a time or two in the first 2/3 of this book. The pacing felt off, or maybe as a reader I wasn’t being patient enough to immerse myself into the story. This story is best experience by letting go of all of life’s worries and sinking down in its rich milieu. But then, woooooo-weeweee!!! The last 1/3 of this book took me for quite a ride, thrusting me much more deeply and meaningfully into the characters’ worlds and struggles than I expected (surprisingly) and I loved it. The ending was fantastic. I may have, at one point, swatted away a tear, which isn’t the norm with horror books.

Brom crafts incredible worlds and diverse, believable characters. He’s evidently a gifted writer and ambitious with his plots and conclusions, tying everything together in the end for a satisfying read.

I felt myself vibing, singing along, and I don’t sing.

Evil In Me by Brom was somehow exactly what I thought it would be but managed to really impress me at the same time. It follows Ruby who is currently going court mandated community service and helping take care of an older man when his daughter isn’t home. While she is at his house one day, she discovers that all the creepy stuff he collects may actually have some deeper origins. Ruby ends up on quite the mission and meets a lot of interesting people along the way.

I think from the first few pages, the reader can kind of guess where this story is going to go but it still does some surprising things along the way. I loved Ruby’s character and enjoyed following her around. I loved the way things in the plot progressed. This book has a good amount of gore in it but also a lot of heart and some humor. I also really enjoyed a lot of the side characters, even the “bad” ones because that added extra depth to the story.

This book is really fast paced despite having really long chapters. I found myself flying through it, wanting to know what would happen. I think the big moment of conflict at the very end felt a little rushed. After all the build up, I wanted just a little more.

I think this is going to be a book a lot of people really enjoy. It has a familiar but still unique vibe. It reminded me of watching an older favorite movie and I had a great time.

I just finished "Evil in Me" by Brom, and I'm thoroughly impressed!

This dark and twisted fantasy captivated me from the start. I found myself rooting for the demons (Vutto especially), cheering for Ruby despite her terrible actions, and despising Dick with a passion.

The characters are incredibly well-developed, and I felt connected to almost every one of them. The book masterfully combines multiple perspectives and a compellingly villainous narrative.

This is the first book I've read from Brom, but it definitely won't be the last. I can't recommend it enough for fans of dark fantasy.

Ruby Tucker just wants to get out of town & make it in the Atlanta puck scene. When a fight with her best friend & bandmate makes that impossible, she takes a look at things around her again. She helps her neighbor reorganize his religious artifacts, an ancient evil ring clamps down on her finger. The only way to get it off and get rid of the blood-thirsty demon is to have hundreds of people chanting the spell to free her. Can she battle the evil the ring is a beacon for & get rid of the demon?

I loved it! It has a fun mix of Bill and Ted and Ghostbusters vibes, yet stands out with its own unique style.

I’m familiar with Brom's work, but this book pleasantly surprised me. It was more gory than I anticipated, and I loved every bit of it. From the very first chapter, I was shouting, "Oh, right in the eye!!"

The introduction of numerous characters could have been overwhelming, but it was handled smoothly and was easy to follow. Each character had a distinct personality that really shone through, and I ended up loving every one of them, including the villains, The Goddess, and even Richard. His character was a surprising and enjoyable addition to the story. The development of the main character was particularly satisfying, and I was thrilled to see her growth by the end of the book.

Brom killed it once again!!

Ruby Tucker has had a tough go at life since the death of her father. Her passion and journey to fame through rock and roll comes to a halt when she has a fallout with her best friend/bandmate.
As she attempts to repair her life, she finds a magical ring that suddenly clamps into her finger. Can she get millions of people to chant a spell with her to set her free, using the power of music?

I loved the different characters and how they merged so seamlessly in the story. Brom works magic in developing his characters and making you become invested in them. And the plot was full of action from the beginning to the end, packed with gore, evil, and demon possession.

Thank you Netgalley, Tor Nightfire, and Brom for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a review. I'm so thankful 🥹

Over the past year or so, I’ve become a pretty big fan of Brom’s works. They’re so immersive with complex characters and fantastic plots.

When I saw that Netgalley was looking for readers for the newest Brom book, I jumped on the opportunity and couldn’t wait to start reading.

The book opened with a strong, intriguing chapter, but I don’t know what happened after that because it fell flat for me. It has all the elements of a story I should love with demons, rock music, and 80’s vibes, but I had a hard time getting myself into the story.

I loved the main character, Ruby, but the rest of the characters I couldn’t understand. They made me mad more than anything, and I really struggled to get through this one.

It’s an interesting premise and story. Just not one of my favorite Brom books.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this opportunity.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a good book!! Such a good story and great writing style. This was my first by this author and will not be my last! I could not put this book down!!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley. It should be released on or around September 17th.

This was the first book I have read by Brom and was definitely not disappointed. Their writing is phenomenal and the story telling riveting.

We have a demon-possessed ring, a serial killer, a young woman with some mental health issues and a couple of demons thrown about. There is some violence but no real gore. The mental health issues are there along with some family dynamic issues.

Definitely recommend!!!!

this author really knows how to wirte a story. i was hooked from page one and counld'nt put it down. will read more of this author.

I’ve read three books by Brom going into this one and I was pleasantly surprised by how gorey the book was!!! I loved all the characters, especially the older gentleman that turned into a serial unaliver later in life because he is simply bored. 😂

So many layers to this storyline include:
Demonic possession
Graphic violence
Revenge
Rage
Serial killer
Bounty hunter
Friendship
Self empowerment
Mental illness
Abuse
Healing
Etc. (that’s when you can think of anymore but there’s definitely probably some more)

I really enjoyed the balance of humor and darkness. The story kept me interested, even if I sometimes found myself disconnected from Ruby or other characters. Sometimes the language came off a tiny bit corny, but that may just be due to the time frame in which the book is set.

Honestly incredible how Brom can create such rich worlds. Evil In Me felt nothing like Slewfoot, but both were fantastic reads.

I’ll admit from the start I am hit or miss with Brom. I loved Krampus, but I didn’t care for (seemingly) everyone’s favorite Slewfoot. So with that out of the way, take my review for what you will.

I was really looking forward to this one. I’m a sucker for a good cover, and this one is gorgeous. Sadly, the cover was the best part of the book for me. This one just didn’t grab me even though it hits the ground running. That is a welcome change from some of the other Brom books I’ve read, but it just didn’t hold my attention.

I didn’t feel a positive connection to the characters, and I found myself skimming in places. Ruby is downright insufferable in some parts. I did enjoy the nostalgia and the music references.

Overall I didn’t hate it, but it’s definitely not a favorite. I’m still giving it 4 stars, but generously rounded up. I’ll continue to pick up more of Brom’s future writings.

Evil In Me

Brom

Publication Date: September 27


Thanks to Netgalley, Tor Publishing, and Brom for this ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review. 

3.5 / 5
Or 
4 / 5 .... I'm still going back and forth. 
We'll go with 3.75 for now.


Ok, so ...

Full disclosure: I'm new (and late) to Brom's novels, so this was my first one. 

I went into this book totally blind. I saw the cover, and instantly wanted to know what was within. And I was so very pleasantly surprised.

Man, that was one hellishly knarly rollercoaster. And I loved every minute spent within the world of this book. (Well, from a safe distance, of course.). 

Ruby Tucker rocks. She was such an interesting character to follow and get to know.

She's a bad ass. 

All of the characters had very distinct personalities and quirks.

As a lifetime horror lover, this book was a blast to read. 

Fast paced, gory, and tense... There's a lot of rage in this book. 

And it's all so very well written. 

(There's an element that has a much more horrific Lord of the Rings vibe that I loved as well.)

Will be recommending! 

(I just got back from Barnes and Noble where I purchased three of Brom's other novels.... That's how much I loved his writing style, his characterization, the horror elements, the bloody, breathing heart at the center of everything ... 

I'm an instant fan.)

My summary, the things I didn't like, and full spoiler-free review will be posted to my socials on the publication date.

DNF. This one just didn't work for me. I'm a Slewfoot fan and I think I was expecting more of that style.

While I did like Ruby, the other characters didn't work for me and the plot was a bit clunky.

Others will likely love it.

3.5 stars
Evil in Me is set during the Satanic Panic of the 80s. Ruby Tucker, our protagonist, is an aspiring punk musician. When helping her neighbor organize his religious artifacts, she ends up getting possessed by a "demon" enslaved to an ancient ring. The only way to free herself is by getting hundreds of people to chant a spell.

The book was gory and fun. I loved Beel, the being who possesses Ruby. He is actually a very sympathetic character. Ruby, on the other hand, was insufferable for most of the story. She does eventually gain character development but not until the very end which ultimately felt unsatisfying. The story does start off very strong, however. You really care about Ruby in the first quarter of the book because of the way she is treated. The people in her life are so annoyingly self-righteous. Her stepfather, stepbrother, her ex-boyfriend, etc. everyone treated her like she was crazy or dangerous because she is mentally ill. The people in her small town had my blood boiling. The ending just felt sort of anti-climatic. Everything is resolved too conveniently. I wish there had been more growth in the characters and their relationships. The pacing is fast and yet it takes forever for the events in the synopsis to happen. Evil in Me had the potential to be really great. The premise is so interesting and unique but it fell short of my expectations.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!