My Dearest Darkest

Yep this is perfect sapphic horror.

Loved it. Devoured it. The pacing was spot on.

This is masterfully crafted. This is a story about Finch, a pianist who auditions for a prestigious boarding school (dark academia vibes incoming) and dies on her way home from the audition. Or does she?

She ultimately gets accepted to the school and on her first night there, a mysterious creature is summoned in the tunnels underneath the school. Finch and a fun cast of characters have to work together to discover what's going on to save the world.

I cannot WAIT To see what else Kayla Cottingham releases. She's an instabuy now.

TWs that I can think of?
death of a parent (on page), death, body horror, gore, human sacrifice, animal(?) death (on page)

My Dearest Darkest is a sapphic horror story set in a boarding school surrounded by the coast and ancient woods. I wouldn't call it fully dark academia, which is what I expected at first, but it definitely gives off some of those vibes. The best way I think I can describe it is eldritch horror meets Jennifer's Body.

When it comes to romance and horror, it can be hard to balance both in the plot, but this book does a fantastic job. The relationship dynamic between Selena and Finch was so interesting to watch unfold and develop. I personally think Selena's character arc was my favorite out of the two of them.

I don't want to reveal much about the “horror” part of the story but I will say that I loved the visuals that were described. Some scenes actually made me pause and look around the room because I felt so unnerved. At the end of the book I still had questions about some of the things that happened but I liked that the horror retained some mystery to it. I didn't feel robbed of answers or anything like that.

Overall, I loved this book and I can't wait to read more from this author!