This was such an unexpected read. Literally. I received an email from NetGalley yesterday morning telling me I could read Brom’s newest book for 48 hours without having to request it. As one of Brom’s greatest admirers, and lover of his novel Slewfoot, I jumped on the opportunity.

The synopsis of this story isn’t a totally accurate representation of what the book is really about so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. Although it opens with a terrifying prologue, it slows down for quite a while in a coming-of-age tale that I really wasn’t expecting. Ruby Tucker has dealt with a lot of struggles in her life, mental health and otherwise, but music has always meant the world to her. Through some mayhem and trickery, she gets involved in a demon plot and has to save herself, and her friends, by any means necessary. In this case, with punk.

Evil in Me was fun, campy, scary, and somehow also introspective. I’m not sure how he does it but I’ll happily support his endeavors for as long as he continues them. In anyone can make me love a demon, it’s Brom.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Nightfire for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Once again I am enamored with Brom’s writing, I don’t even enjoy Punk Rock and I loved this book despite the insane amount of references to the genre. Brom has a way of writing characters you want to root for. His character arcs are truly a gem.

If you enjoyed any of his other work, you will love this one just the same. Brutal, funny and straight up fun. Evil in me shows that all it takes is heart (and a catchy tune) and you can do anything, even free yourself from demons.

Brom is an author I gravitate to because he creates entire worlds with his writing and allows us to experience the “human side” of supernatural often immortal beings. This book is no exception, giving us a cast of complicated human and non human characters. Gripping and imaginative, this book takes you on an adventure through questions about morality, religion, mental health, and connection.

Let me start by saying that I adore Brom. I think he is an absolutely phenomenal writer, and his book "The Child Thief" is easily one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life. "Slewfoot" was right there with it.

So saying I was over-the-moon excited to be able to get an advanced copy of his new book "Evil in Me" is definitely an understatement.

Unfortunately, though, this one didn't live up to my high expectations for Brom. It was still quite good -- leaps and bounds better than a lot of the crap I've read lately -- but it didn't have that special something that all of Brom's other books have had for me.

Here were my complaints: (Also, here's your obligatory spoiler warning! You may read things you don't want to know about, especially in the "what I enjoyed" section. I tried to keep things vague, but I can't guarantee there will be no spoilers at all. Be warned.)

1. The editing was somewhat poor.

I know this was an ARC copy, so I'm HOPING that these errors will be fixed before the book is actually published. However, they WERE still in the copy that I had, and they really threw off my flow. They weren't huge problems -- just enough to take me out of the story. A few examples include: (all locations in Kindle)
- Location 354 - "she knew he was here because she'd spotted his car, which was hard to miss it." (No "it" needed.)
- Location 2161 - "one other being -- a ghostly thing bound in jug" (missing an 'a')
- Location 2997 - "Give you all my heart and soul. Burin' like a demon bowl" (should be "burnin'")
- Location 4358 - "leaving Tina to wondered if he and Andre shopped at the same clothing store." (should be 'wonder')

Just little things like that. Again, these may be fixed before actual publication, and that will help a lot. They just kind of threw me off.

2. The "Southern talk" was atrocious.

I live in Alabama and have done so my whole life. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when authors write Alabama (or Southern) accents and words that I've legitimately never heard a single person say EVER. There was a lot of that in the first part of this book. Luckily, he toned that down as he went on, and by the middle of the book, I didn't notice it anymore. But it was really, really bad at the beginning. Like REALLY bad. Phrases like, "This here's ugly music." "What kind of deviltry is this?" "No ma'am and no sirree!" "gawd-dang" "They were just bored to death with them old songs." "Please give me another chance with them kids." "Momma's sure getting her nickel's worth out of you, honey. Says you do a right smart job with them bathrooms."

The number of times the word "them" was thrown in front of something -- them kids, them bathrooms, them songs, them clothes, them dogs, etc. -- was mind-numbing. I'm not going to sit here and say that no one in Alabama has ever used the word 'them' where 'those' should go, but for the first few chapters of this book, EVERYONE did it EVERY TIME. It's like the word 'those' simply didn't exist in their vocabulary. It was awful.

3. There was no art!!!!

Again, maybe that's because this was an ARC copy or because the art just couldn't come through using the Netgalley app? I'm not sure. But I was REALLY, REALLY looking forward to some amazing Brom art, and there was none. I hope, hope, hope there will be some in the actual book because I'd really love to see Brom's vision of Vutto and Lord Sheelbeth. And yes, even though I didn't love this book like all the other Brom books, I will STILL be buying it out of support for one of my favorite authors.

4. The story wasn't strong.

This story just wasn't as strong as the stories in Slewfoot, The Child Thief, and Krampus. Even Lost Gods had a stronger story than this one. I guess maybe it's because this one was rooted more in realism? I mean, yes, there were demons and what amounts to exorcisms, but still. The Child Thief was a retelling of Peter Pan -- set in a world of magic (albeit dark and deadly magic) and fantasy. Krampus features ancient Norse gods and plenty of magic. Slewfoot is all about witchcraft and the devil.

And now that I've written it all out like that, it does seem like this book should fit right in with the rest of them. Haha. But somehow, it didn't. It was too "real world" to be magical dark fantasy, if that makes sense. Part of what I love about Brom's stories is how magical and fantastical they are, while still being 100% engaging and suck-you-in beautiful. This one just had too much of the real world in it for me.

Those were my main complaints with the book. Now, for what I enjoyed:

1. It's Brom.

Though this book didn't live up to my high standards for a Brom book, it's still a Brom book. And he has this beautiful writing style that just makes you fall in love with the very writing. This one didn't have it as much as the others, but it was definitely still there. It was a gorgeously written book.

2. The characters were great.

After I got past the god-awful way she talked, I fell in love with Ruby. She was so broken but still basically a decent human being. Tina was a bad-ass, and Vutto ... well, I want a Vutto as a pet, please and thank you. Richard (aka Dick) was horrible, but he was horrible in a way that made him interesting. And I really could get behind Eduardo and Ruby's mom in the end. Brom has a way of writing characters that you love in the beginning and hate by the end and vice versa. He did an excellent job with rounding out Ruby's mom and step-dad by the end of the book, and I was pleasantly surprised that he could realistically change my feelings on them both so well.

3. The ending was satisfactory.

I hate the idea that everything has to have a happy ending. Life doesn't work that way. And the ending of this book, while not particularly sad, wasn't the happy "everything's wine and roses" ending a lot of books have. It was realistic (within the constraints of a fantasy/horror-type book). I can see the situation playing out just like it did, and I appreciate the acknowledgement that, going forward, things probably wouldn't be all okay for Ruby. She made some bad choices (even though they weren't really her fault) and the ending made it clear that she was going to have to pay for those consequences. I appreciate that.

All in all, this was a very solid 3-star book, and I will definitely buy a copy for my collection when it's published. It just wasn't the easy 5-star read I was expecting from a talent as big as Brom's.

I read Brom's Slewfoot last year and it instantly became one of my favourite reads. It was rich in atmosphere, I was rooting so hard for our protagonist, and the illustrations helped bring everything to life. So, I was really excited to get the chance to read his latest early! I'm keen to see the finished book in the fall, particularly so that I can view the art for this story. I understand why they weren't included here, but they're such a vital part of his stories that it feels wrong to review without them! My favourite part of this novel was the uniqueness of the demons and their magic, so I can only imagine how great it will be to see them brought to life in the final copy. If the cover art is any indication, they're going to be great! That said, I found the characters to be a lot less intriguing and a bit harder to get on board with. The split perspectives made the book a quick read, but I only really cared for one of them. Although, I do think the book is pretty plot focused, which working in conjunction with the unique quality of the story and the "villains" will likely carry readers through to the end! Also, it's a great read for any punk rock fans. I always appreciate a novel that allows me to build up a playlist around it. It's always fun and helps to enhance the reading experience.

I’m honestly rounding up for this review. Brom is a fantastic artist and storyteller in my opinion, but this personally did not hit the mark for me. I didn’t find it to be on par with previous works (I loved Krampus). The characters were the worst part and drove me absolutely mad for the majority of the story. I definitely recommend this one for Brom fans, but have a feeling that reviews will continue to be mixed.

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley, and Tor Publishing for a copy!

"The Evil in Me" starts with a bang in a wince-inducing gory opening chapter, before we start following our main character Ruby, and what follows is a bit of a coming-of-age type of story. I will say the music aspect from the synopsis doesn’t come into play until pretty late in the book, and the horror is a bit of a slow build, but I enjoyed spending time learning about Ruby and the people in her life. It becomes a demonic possession horror tale that I thought was easily binge-able

Well…this is my 4th Brom book, and was one of my most highly anticipated books this year. The synopsis for this book sounded amazing, and of course I love Brom’s art. However, and to put it bluntly, this book wasn’t for me, and it did let me down.

I did grow to tolerate Ruby, but she was never a compelling character to me. I never rooted for her, and found myself distant from her character. She’s also stupid for at least half of this book. I can tolerate stupidity and unlikeability if there’s something else in the narrative, be it another character as a foil or some other trait that allows me to humanize and connect with the protagonist. This was not the case here.

Speaking of people I hated…Dick. I know I was supposed to hate him. However, I just didn’t find him to be too relevant to the plot, and he took up way too much of the narrative (which accomplished nothing). Yes, I get that he was attracted to Ruby’s taint. So were many other demons and evil fucks I’d rather focus on than this greasy moron. Brom focuses on how evil he is, talks about and walks us through his murders (of course all women), and then gives us the least satisfying conclusion for this dipshit who followed us through the story like bird shit on a car. Just no.

Speaking of characters, Brom has a problem with producing archetypal, one-dimensional caricatures instead of characters. There’s the creepy stepbrother who wants a picture of the protagonist’s “cooter,” the deadbeat mom who sides with the step father at the expense of her kid, the loser dude in high school who worked out and became a jocky dickbag, the dickbag’s snobby, blonde girlfriend, the psycho white man who harms women, and more idiots I couldn’t tell you the name of -or anything else about. The only two characters I gave a shit about save Beel are Tina and Vutto. In this big of a cast of characters, that’s disappointing, and I’m tired…

You might like this novel if you grew up in the 80s. It’s full of references for that specific group, and it feels as if Brom focused on the nostalgia of the 80s as opposed to almost anything else here. Woohoo punk rock and big hair and the Doobies or whatever. I’m sure I would have enjoyed this more if I got all the references, if I was more into punk and 80s trends and media, but I’m not. I’m sure others who are like me would/will feel the same way. If anything, this book reminds me of Stranger Things. It had promise, but got lost in the sauce of nostalgia, and over time it turned to goop. I mean who the hell wants the 5th season anymore. I haven’t seen ANYONE on social media who cares.

To be honest, I’m not sure what else to say. I’ll be more wary the next time Brom announces an upcoming novel. I fear nothing will top Slewfoot unfortunately. 2.5 rounded up 🥲

I loved this book. It is dark, intense and so messed up. The book kept me up all night. This is for true horror lovers. The beginning of the book was so frightening .

The story revolves around an ancient ring that has its own spell and evilness in it, it binds whoever wears it and makes them do evil things. The devilish tale will grip you and keep you on the edge of your seat. Life became hard after the death of Ruby’s father. Ruby Tucker is an aspiring musician but the world turns upside down when things go horribly wrong and strange things starts happening. As soon as she touch the ring, the world becomes dark, evil and it posses her soul. Now she will either have the same fate as the man had or she must find a way to free herself from it. The twists and turns were so unpredictable. The ending shook me and surprised me both at the same time. I was on the edge the entire time. This is a mind blowing and delightful devilish tale that will leave you wanting for more. You can expect blood, gore, demonic possession, damnation and blood thirsty demon.

I love the Author’s books. Brom is my favourite Author.

Thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a great, unique horror book, I was so happy that Brom’s latest definitely scratched the itch! I’ve only read his Krampus novel which fell a bit flat for me, but this one was a lot of fun - horror that’s campy, silly, and gory, but still has moments of metaphor and introspection, I’d compare this to Grady Hendrix’s work.

It starts out with a bang in a wince-inducing gory opening chapter, before we start following our main character Ruby and what follows is a bit of a coming-of-age type of story. I will say the music aspect from the synopsis doesn’t come into play until pretty late in the book, and the horror is a bit of a slow build but I enjoyed spending time learning about Ruby and the people in her life. It becomes a demonic possession horror tale that I thought was easily bingeable.

curious if the final product will include Brom’s usual illustrations