This was such a fun, campy horror novel! With a super unique twist. Ruby is currently volunteering at her local YMCA, doing community service to work off her parole. Also as part of her parole, she is assisting her elderly neighbor in his day to day tasks. During one of these visits, Ruby stumbles upon a golden ring - it calls to her and once she puts it on she finds that she is possessed by the demon trapped inside. Only through the power of friendship and Rock-N-Roll (more like punk but Rock-N-Roll sounds better) does Ruby have any semblance of freedom, and exorcising the demon trapped within her.

I loved that the magic system in this world is perpetrated through music, and that the only limitations to what music could carry the magic were that it be filled with "heart and soul". I loved the juxtaposition of religious fanatics and the satanic panic surrounding punk and punk culture, very reminiscent of the 80's (which was definitely the intent).

Super fun story with a unique plot and well fleshed out characters for being a campy horror. Will definitely pick up something else by Brom in the future.

Big thank you to NetGalley, Brom, & to Tor Publishing Group for the e-ARC!

Ruby Ruby Ruby, god love her has had a time in life. She was definitely lost and then found her way, with a cursed ring of all things. I liked most of the cast of this book, there were a few I didn’t like. This was my first Brom definitely won’t be my last.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Brom for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Evil in Me coming out September 17, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is an author who I wanted to check out. I love horror novels, so I thought this would be right up my alley. I kind of thought it’d be like Late Night with the Devil or something. There was a lot of horror, but I wasn’t feeling it. The characters were all right, but there was a lot going on with the plot. I liked parts of the book. I would check out other books by this author!

I love Brom, I hate Brom, and as usual I am torn but leaning towards loved it. lol His whole thing is fairy tales for the downtrodden; he's a modern Grimm's brother, but the original, bloody brothers. Reading along with the audiobook helped a lot due to the frequent musical interludes, so that may also be making me favor it more (the title song is an ear worm).

What I loved: While it feels a bit YA at times, there is a good amount of gore, a lot of it over the top kind of silly. Act II Ruby (though it felt forced), Tina, Vutto, basically Act II in general. I can't write much more without spoilers.

What I didn't love: Basically all of Act I. While I think Grady Hendrix leans more Goosebumps than Brom in general, this felt very Goosebumps with the young protagonist and cartoony bad guys - and the bad guys were just ridiculous. I'm torn on whether that's a bad thing though because I'm sure that's the point since the whole thing is a fairytale gone wrong (set within Judeo-Christian mythology lol). Also Act I Ruby can be a lot to tolerate at times. Everything with Richard was unnecessary; he didn't need to be in the book, period.

But like Brom always does, his endings satisfy. They're also left kind of open-ended so you're not entirely sure the fairy tale ending is truly the fairy tale ending. I think he aims for like a more philosophical gruesome Grimm brother's ending. Anyway, I've enjoyed the endings to all the novels of his I've read, including this one.

While getting through the first half was difficult, the second half was well worth the effort and a lot of fun. And more music!

Thank you to NetGalley/Tor Publishing Group for providing an early copy of this book.

I really appreciate the depth to all characters in this one, including the secondary characters. Ruby is a tough cookie who has been dealt a bad hand both with her family life and her recent run-in with the law. Despite kick after kick to her ego, she is determined to fight the demon possessing her and rekindles her relationship with her old bandmate in order to do so. The range in ages, mental sanity, and species(?) of characters is fun too - why is Vutto cute despite being a demon? Even our mysterious, added evil character helps to add some depth here.

I have to admit my main negative is on me, and it's that the core plot of "we need to sing a song in order to exorcise a demon!" is a little too cheesy for me. I'm not a fan of singing in really any media (books, movies, etc.) and I went into this book knowing that. Despite this making the book feel very YA to me, it was still a fun read. 2.5 rounded up to 3 for Goodreads.

Unfortunately this ended up not hitting that well for me. I found it leaning into a lot of trite cliche and I found myself being able to guess easily where the story was going to go, which, for a horror book, is not a great sign.

So this was my first Brom book, so this might just be a case of me being in a little bit of shock. The very beginning of the book Is Jarring and I had to reread passages again to make sure that I was fully getting the concept of what was happening. Once the story moves to Ruby it does get a lot easier to follow and understand. There are a few things in the begining of Ruby's story that are dark but over all as a character I did end up liking her towards the end. Dick on the other hand I hated, and I know I was supposed to but I found some of his parts in the story to feel dis-conjoined with the rest of the story and he annoyed me. There were a slew of side characters that I did enjoy, I liked Tina, the demon, and towards the end I kinda even liked the goddess. I also really enjoyed the setting and 80s culture that was written well. Over all this was an intense, binge-able horror novel and I will be picking up another one of Broms books.

The story opens on an insane scene of demonic possession, Jewish mysticism, and graphic violence that definitely sets the premise for this one.. And then, just as quickly, it moves to the daily life of young Ruby, who just wants to move to Atlanta to play punk rock with her best friend, but has to get off probation first. She has one week left. Things quickly go from bad to worse as Ruby is possessed by a demonic ring, chased by a serial killer, and bounty hunted by her mom's Jesus-loving boyfriend. Ruby must get the band back together and get enough people to believe in her music to set herself free from evil. Nothing says punk-rock like a demon as your drummer ;)

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this e-arc.*

This is my second Brom novel and I have to say— I love the pacing and the the story has such a great premise! Brom does horror very well so definitely check out this newest release!

Fast-paced and gory!

I love this author’s writing, he has a way with words and his stories always fascinate me. This one in particular had a little bit of everything in it! Mental Health, possession, magic, ghosts, demons, a serial killer, Hell, the 80’s, music, a pretty pissed off ancient god and some great character development.

👹👹👹👹/5

Thank you to the author, @tornightfire and @netgalley for the ARC, opinion is my own.

Brom never misses! This was a really fun story that fused together a lot of interesting elements that worked so well together. I loved the relationships between our main character and the demons. The play on satanic panic was great and he always does such a brilliant job of making bad or morally grey characters likeable. I love Brom and I truly think he can do no wrong - I'll read anything he writes!

Evil in Me is a story about a young girl, Ruby, with the weight of the world on her back. She is a reclusive outcast who has lost touch with her friends, on probation and paying time off at the YMCA teaching kids how to play music, and trying to survive a very rocky relationship with her mother on account of her dad having committed suicide after his time in Vietnam. Things couldn't get much worse, until they do. Ruby is seen as someone with mental health issues and mad at the world for it. Things hit rock bottom after she fails her position at the YMCA making her escape from extended probation nonexistent and finds a ring in a friend's home that makes her feel and desire weird things. The journey from there takes Ruby through hell. The ring is linked with a very powerful goddess locked away in the hells and she is using a special entity to possess the wearer to complete horrible tasks that will set her free on Earth side. Ruby fights for her very soul and experiences connections she never thought possible. Will she become who she needs to be to save herself and the world?

This is my fourth Brom book and it amazes me how this is the same author for all that I've read. He has an amazing ability to set tones and execute stories so very different than his others. There is a small connection between this book and Lost Gods that, if you have also read both, you will get and appreciate. Brom is also not afraid to give the reader an absolute feeling of despair for the main character. You're in it thick and heavy with the story line thinking the author will give an out or a breath for escaping the moment and then the floor just falls from under them.

This story has an array of characters that have depth and purpose to them, although I'm not a huge fan of Richard and that's my only complaint if any. Ruby is really a girl of the heart and honest feelings. She doesn't want to see anyone get hurt and her growth in the story is really a blooming rose. Tina is such a wonderful friend and knows her worth for the most part. I feel bad for Eduardo, but he really needed to learn more lessons. I felt connected with the characters in this book and felt the flow of emotions right along with them.

As a lover of possessions I really enjoyed this very unique duo. Beel is a unique entity entirely and how he engages with Ruby was fascinating. There were the eerie moments when he used her eyes to see around a room while she was sleeping (shudders), and gave her a second voice while talking that scared the begeezus out of whoever was on the receiving end, but getting to see him struggle with his existence while possessing Ruby was a really clever approach. Brom has a really wonderful way of reaching and going beyond limits I've yet to experience adding so much more depth to the journey. This story really is 'the bees knees'. 4.5/5

Evil In Me by Brom It started off with a bang with a man who is experiencing a demonic possession and does the unthinkable. This instantly sucked me in and I wanted to keep reading more about this possession.

Years pass and we follow the story of Ruby Tucker who has had a tough life and has found herself in trouble with the law. She lives at home with her mom and gives guitar lessons to children as part of her community service. Her life doesn’t seem to be going in the direction that she wants but she does have some things she looks forward to like spending time with Josh who is an elderly man that she takes care of while his daughter is working. During one of her visits with Josh she encounters an ancient artifact and that is when things take a turn.

Overall the story was really good. I loved the pace of it and I kept wanting to read more and more. I also listened to the audiobook while I was reading this book and let me tell you that you all must listen to the audiobook!!! Not only did the narrators do an incredible job but the book mentions a special song that is so important to the story and the audiobook incorporates this song throughout the book giving the reader/listener an amazing experience while reading. I highly recommend this book and audiobook.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group. All opinions are my own.

I just got into the Brom is the last year and Evil in Me lived up to the expectations set by Slewfoot. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and the setting. I loved the demon being in the band it made me laugh how goofy he was. It scary and humorous, in such a perfect mix. I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to future novels.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Set in a small town in the South during the height of the Satanic Panic in the 1980s, Evil in Me by Brom follows Ruby Tucker, as she fulfills her parole for drug possession working at the local YMCA and teaching kids how to play guitar. From here, her life just continues to get worse and worse, her best friend has already moved to Atlanta and her ex-boyfriend is now dating the popular girl who used to bully them in high school. One of the only bright spots in Ruby's life is volunteering taking care of an kind older man, with a mysterious secret. One day, a cursed ring from among his possessions takes a hold of her and refuses to come off, driving her towards evil, she has been possessed by a being sent from Hell.

Since this is during the Satanic Panic when many people harshly judged anything that didn't conform to fundamentalist ideals as evil and "from the devil," Evil in Me tackles what it feels like to be judged for innocent behavior, as well as showing that everyone has different sides to them that you don't see at first. Through the course of the book, Ruby learns that she too has been guilty of this and must learn to listen to others, including her mother who she has grown apart from since the death of her father. Even Beel, the being from Hell abiding in the cursed ring, becomes sympathetic once you learn more about his past of being rejected and controlled.

Content warning for depictions of sexual harassment and mentions of domestic abuse

I would recommend this to anyone who knows what it's like to be hated and judged because of who you are and what you enjoy

I love the 80s vibe of this, and all of the Jewish lore. There are so many horror books that lean into Christianity, so it was incredibly refreshing to get a religious horror story centering Judaism. The multiple perspectives were excellent. Usually, I tend to favor one perspective when there are multiple in a story, but I was eager to follow all of these. Ruby. Richard. Lord Salbeeth. They all offered something I was dying to get more of and I was excited to see the culmination of them all. The end of this was incredible. Brom really knows how to nail a satisfying ending, and he excels at creating such complex characters that you never know who you’re going to end up rooting for. Another masterpiece.

This is the first time I’ve read Brom as an ebook and I’m definitely missing his art. I need a physical copy of this asap.

Cheers to resting bitch faces, revenge on exes and best friends with this story about possession and damnation.

Demons and killers and lead-singers, oh-my!

This is such a creative story. I love our deeply dislikable FMC as she shoulder-checks her way through life the only way she knows how. I love the back and forth between her and her ex-bf, and how she ultimately gets revenge. No notes.

There is a character named Richard/Dick, and he is such a small part of the story, but every time we hear his POV I was mesmerized. He is so evil, and yet so confident in his own actions and view of the world. Brom, if you're reading this. Give me a Richard/Dick novella. I need his backstory.

I wish the rock'n'roll part of the story started earlier than 60%. That's when our FMC re-connects with her best friend and has agency over her situation. The last 40% was amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC.

This book is best listened to in your best friends basement, while she tries on rings.

This is my first Brom book. I own several, but haven't read them yet. This was good. It was intense. I think I read it in 3 or 4 days. The amount of world building and lore was impressive for a horror novel. There were several scary parts, but wasn't gratuitous compared to other things I've read. Don't get me wrong, it's no fairy tale, but not quite in the splatterpunk realm. The ending was unexpected and great. I'm very intrigued to check out his other books. It's also a bit about mental health and how to survive it.

This book is so full of rock and roll and gore! What more can you want?

Demons, Jewish mysticism (which I loved) and one hell of a serial killer!
This whole story was bonkers and I loved it so much.

Brom did not disappoint and I can’t believe this is my first book by this author! I guess I can go binge more of his books now.

His style of writing and storytelling is so unique, bold and visual! This has everything you want in a book.
I absolute love the 80’s style punk rock scene!

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC.

I LOVED this book by Brom. The only other book I’ve read by Brom was Slewfoot, but his writing style easily made him one of my absolute favorite authors.

This book is rich in character development, action, gore, and creativity. There are elements of dark fantasy in addition to horror, and I love that. This books pulls you in from the very first page. It’s well-written, fun, exciting, and unexpectedly brilliant. You get a bit of possession, devil/angel on the shoulder, adventure, revenge, demons, a serial killer, and Jewish mysticism.

I cannot wait to read Lost Gods. I feel like this book drops in some details that reference it.

This is a voluntary review. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC!