Wow. First time reading Brom, and really enjoyed this novel. It had great, well developed characters, with a great plot (and great pacing). Will definitely start reading the other novels by Brom.

The plot was good, albeit a bit off at times, and the characters fairly well developed, with plenty of violence and gore. However, I didn’t enjoy it as much as his others. I think it's because I am more drawn to the folkloric horror of his other works. And I felt this one had a more YA vibe (I noticed other people thought this as well). Rock and Roll as salvation was a super intriguing aspect to this story. Overall I would recommend but it just wasn't for me.

Music. Madness. Mayhem. Can you really ask for more? It’s a fresh take on demon possession and had a decent amount of supernatural elements to it along with some dark humor which I appreciated.

I just could not get into this one, and I DNFed at about halfway. It sounded interesting -- I like demonic possession and music together -- but the characters felt so flat, and I just didn't want to be in their heads any longer. Even the heroine was unlikeable, in an uninteresting way, and the characters around her were all basic varieties of evil.

Brom is quickly turning into a favorite author of mine.

Firstly, this was perfect for spooky season. I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that I needed this in my life ASAP.

An aspiring musician’s life is turned upside down when she finds a mysterious ring that clamps down on her finger, possessing her with the spirit of a blood-thirsty demon. And there’s no way to break the curse except to get people to sing a spell to set Ruby free. It’s time to get the band back together and raise some hell.

This book was so fun. Ruby was a great main character, I was truly rooting for her especially witnessing how the adults in her life have failed her for some time. Once the story gets moving, I didn’t want to put the book down! It’s downright unsettling at times but just so engaging and compelling. Plus, the actual song that was created for the book is actually great!

I really recommend this if you like spooky books and rock and roll. It’s a great time.

This was the perfect blend of spooky, fun, and heart. You have characters worth loving and a bonkers storyline that will probably leave you surprised. Ruby Tucker is an aspiring musician serving out the last days of her community service. She has a stepfather who threatens her daily, a boss who seems out to get her and a preppy girl dating her ex-boyfriend. Trying to stay on the straight path to finish out her sentence is trying her last nerves. While helping her eccentric neighbor organize his religious relics, she discovers a cursed ring. Once the ring has laid its eye on Ruby, it refuses to let her go. Ruby becomes possessed with the spirit of a bloodthirsty demon that wants out into the real world. The only way Ruby can rid herself of this curse is to get hundreds of people to chant a spell to set her free. With a little help from some “friends” Ruby gets a band together to gather the necessary souls to sing her way out of this mess. Overall, this is a dark but fun read. Ruby is a misunderstood, down on her luck, main character that has an amazing character arc. She’s an emotional ball of punk rock love and I love her. The story is set in the 1980’s when preppies ruled the country, and everyone was in a satanic panic about things that did not fit the mold. The side characters are everything, they are scary, they are funny, they are full of heart and anger… and then there’s Vutto! I love him too. This book is a perfect spooky season read that combines religious horror, curses, music and coming-of-age into one beautiful package. This is a book that works well for both horror experts and novices, so don’t be afraid to try something new.

Ruby Tucker has dreams of escaping her hometown and making it big as a musician, but things aren’t looking too good in that department after having a disagreement with her bandmate and best friend. In the meantime Ruby has been helping out a neighbor of hers, but when a strange ring decides to attach itself, literally, to Ruby’s finger she suddenly finds herself possessed by an evil demon. The only way for her to remove the ring and escape the evil in attacks is to have hundreds of people repeat a spell, and the only way to accomplish that is to get the band back together.

When I saw there was a new novel by Brom out in the world I jumped at the chance to immerse myself in another one of his stories, and Evil in Me did not disappoint. I enjoyed the characters, the events, and especially the music. Not only did Shahjehan Khan and Stephanie Németh-Parker do an amazing job telling the story, the fact that music by The Maxines was included was simply epic. Not only did I like the song, but I also loved how it brought people together, as music often does. This is one of the best audiobooks that I have listened to.

Demon possession but make it even more metal.

Ruby Tucker just wants to play punk music. Our MC is an angsty, chain smoking badass in a small, conservative town. Life with her mom and shitty stepdad is becoming unbearable, and her connection to anything relatable is waning. Well, at least until she finds a whole ass corpse finger adorned with a magical ring. When the ring gets stuck on her own finger and a demon starts living in her head, she's gotta figure out exactly how to pry it off and kick him out before she's bound to an eternity in hell.

I think this was fun. Ruby is a romp, and I'm quite the fan of hers. Shout out to Vutto for being the cutest golden retriever of a demon and to bestie Tina for her nuance as a supporting character. The reason for a 3 star rating is the cheesiness of it. I could see what was about to happen before it did, and some of the conversations were a bit contrived. I'm still gonna read more Brom.

This was a great story. I love it when music and horror are combined! I’ve seen a few few books that do this, but this one did it exceptionally well

Wow, what a trippy read! Aspiring musician Ruby Tucker is living at home with her Mom and future stepfather while figuring her life out and completing her mandatory probation. This all changes when she encounters a ring that will possess the wearer and wreaks havoc and destruction in its wake. To escape the clutches of a demon, Ruby gets help from the most unexpected group of characters and in the most unexpected way. One song to set her free!

Great story of possession and friendship! Family trauma and one woman finding herself in the midst of trying not to lose herself to a demon! I loved this!

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!

This isn’t a book. It’s an entire artistic EXPERIENCE. I LOVED every rich MAXIMALIST Punk rock moment of my time in Brom’s Evil in Me. I actually had to slow myself down and take this one in with all of my senses. I listened to the audiobook, while reading the GORGEOUS hardcover, and I even loved this so much, I ordered the Maxine’s as The Nightmares EP of Evil in Me.

An absolute bad ass artistic meditation on what it means to be human and the many internal battles we all can face while walking this earth. Though we may have many different beliefs, there are some evils within and without ourselves we all know very well.

Looking for a book that throws punk rock rebellion, demonic thrills, and family drama into a wild blender? Meet Evil in Me by Brom.

Ruby Tucker, a twenty-something with a knack for bad decisions, stumbles into a nightmare: a cursed ring, a serial killer, and literal demons — one of them even a demon drummer. This isn’t your typical shiny accessory; it’s alive (sort of) and unbeatable. As things spiral, expect a rollercoaster of gore mixed with popcorn-fun moments. Brom’s twist with Jewish mythology adds depth beyond the usual possession tale. The punk rock vibes and ancient magic keep the pace frantic and rebellious.

Sure, Ruby’s choices are eyebrow-raising (a horror must!), but you’ll cheer for her every step. And those demons? More entertaining than terrifying. The ending rushes, but the climax delivers one hell of a show.

If you crave a blend of punk attitude, horror thrills, and chaotic fun, Evil in Me promises a gory (ish) good time. It’s not deep or spine-chilling, but it’s pure, unadulterated entertainment.


Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

actual rating: 3.5⭐️

This was nearly a stunning 4 star read but it didn’t quite pack the punch that I thought it would. To start, the vibes in this book are epically pure 80s rock ‘n’ roll with damnation of one’s soul and all things sinister mixed into its plot. Ruby, our main character, has had a rocky upbringing which has led to her being not the healthiest of minds to put it lightly. During her community service trek, she finds herself lured into putting on a ring that has nothing but a tragic history tied with its wearers. And thus, the journey to rid herself of this odious yet alluring song in her mind begins with a lot of swearing, near death experiences, and plenty of groovy moments.

Ruby as a character is very interesting because she unravels in the span of days as there is so much bad happening around her. Yet, in the midst of all it her desire for making music really smooths out her rough edges and brings some really amazing moments with the newly formed—or should I say reunited band. I loved Ruby a lot as a character so much so that I was really bummed out that there wasn’t an epilogue because I would’ve loved to see a fast forward of what her life is after going through some pretty traumatic events.

This movie to me screamed of an 80s film because of how goofy the plot felt at certain times. When reading with that in mind, it made my experience so much more enjoyable. Like it feels like the set up of a joke: What do you get when you have a serial killer, a Jesus-obsessed-crappy-step-father, and a demon blob chase after a demon possessed girl? Like seriously! The 80s is quite literally the perfect setting for this kind of crazy plot because it just makes sense!

Thank you to NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first book by Brom and I wanted to love it. I've been seeing recommendations for Slewfoot on BookTok for weeks. I was disappointed that the e-ARC didn't include his artwork.
I appreciated the originality and the details of the demon Lord and the cursed ring. There were chilling moments, and I felt some empathy for Ruby. Unfortunately, I found many of her decisions predictable and I was unable to become immersed in the book.
This is a book that is delighting its intended audience. It's simply a matter of it not being a fit for me.
I was extremely uncomfortable reading the hatred and violence toward Jewish characters.
There were so many elements of the book that appealed to me at the outset--the outsider MC, relics, demons, music--but reading it evoked more sadness than horror.
Thank you, Tor, for the e-ARC for consideration. These are my honest opinions.

Demons. Possession. And a rock band. I enjoyed everything but the band aspect. I think that trope is just not for me. That being said, I’m still singing the song in my head. Thanks Brom.

The mess of personal growth in lieu of a demon and an ancient relic intrigued me. Relics are a piece of history that will always be baffling whether in fiction or not. The thought of having to break free from it in an unconventional way could have been great; however, after a while, it almost felt…silly.

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group and author Brom for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

(4.5 stars rounded up)
As soon as I heard about this book I knew I wanted to read it. I’ve previously read Slewfoot and Krampus by Brom and loved them both. Evil in Me did not disappoint.

As always, the art included with the book is beautiful and strange. This book also has a mini soundtrack to go with it (music is available on Spotify, YouTube etc). The Maxines play as The Night Mares from the book. The EP includes Piss Off, Skank Howl, and two versions of Evil in Me. I’d highly recommend you give it a listen if you decide to read this book. Reading this felt like an immersive experience. Seeing the artwork and listening to the music really added to the story.

The author takes his time and allows the reader to get to know Ruby. This made it easy to root for her right from the beginning. Although not all of the characters are likable (by design) all of them are interesting. There were moments/characters that made me angry and others that had me laughing out loud. I love when a book does that. I was never bored while reading this. Either something was happening to Ruby or we got the POV of Lord Sheelbeth, Beel, Richard, and Eduardo. The premise of the book was also unique in that it turned the possession trope on it’s head. The author took a different approach to religious horror from how the demons act to how to get rid of them, and tone of the whole book. Instead of a traditional Catholic exorcism, Ruby needs people to sing her song. This book is full of violence and gore, creepy men, and an endearing demon. All of these things worked for me. I hope someday this gets turned into a movie.

Overall, I had a really good time with the story and I liked where it ended. My criticisms of the book are few and far between. One being that I didn’t really enjoy Richard’s POV (I don’t think you’re supposed to since he’s a horrible person). The other is that I wish the ending was a tad longer or that we’d gotten an epilogue to get a final look at where everyone ended up.

I’d highly recommend this book to any horror fans, especially if you’re already a Brom reader. I’d also recommend this book to those who enjoyed books like Shrader’s Chord, We Sold Our Souls, and/or books about possession (My Best Friend's Exorcism).

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and the author for providing me with an ARC for review.

Totally epic book. Gorey, demented, and fast paced. However, it was just not for me. I really wanted to be cool enough to vibe with this book but I’m just not. I think this book is going to find its audience quickly but unfortunately that audience isn’t me

Yessssssss! Brilliantly weird! Evil in Me by Brom was so organically brilliant and creepy. I adored the characters, all of the characters. The plot points and suspense was EVERYTHING! More please! I need to read this author's backlist immediately.