I was a big fan of Brian McAuley's *Candy Cain Kills* books, and after a little bit of a slow burn to begin with, *Breathe In, Bleed Out* turned out to be a proper fun slasher with tons of gruesome kills! I'd definitely recommend the audiobook version – the narrator absolutely nailed it. If you're after a new horror book to sink your teeth into, this is a great shout.

“I think when we suffer from trauma, we’re haunted by it. And a haunting can take different shapes at different times.” I went into Brian McAuley's *Breathe In, Bleed Out* expecting a wild ride, but honestly, it fell flat. Hannah's grappling with the devastating loss of her fiancé, wrestling with guilt, and decides a healing retreat with her best friend and some old mutual friends is the answer. Right off the bat, Hannah's an unreliable narrator, which just adds to the unsettling vibe of the ...

**3.5 stars**Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley follows Hannah, a young woman wrestling with intense grief after her fiancé dies during a wilderness trip.Nobody knows the full story of what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah intends to keep it that way. But she remembers, and the memory haunts her so much that she's struggling to function in daily life.When her friend group gets invited to an exclusive Wellness Retreat near Joshua Tree, and she mentions it to her therapist, he thinks it’s...

I know I'm not the only one who's spent YEARS wishing there was an 80s slasher film on paper. I can proudly announce, our time has come! Honestly, if you want to know what Brian McAuley's *Breathe In, Bleed Out* is like, just watch any slasher film. It was such a fun read! In true horror fashion, though, some parts did feel a little rushed. But when you have someone running around wearing other people's faces, you tend not to care about that stuff as much, lol. 🤷🏼‍♀️ This book is a great examp...

I absolutely loved this book!! There's nothing I love more than slasher movies, and *Breathe In, Bleed Out* by Brian McAuley was the true embodiment of them. I had so much fun reading it! It was campy, gory, and had an absolutely killer setting. Hannah is struggling after the tragic death of her boyfriend. Unable to move on and still haunted by his memory, she has isolated herself from her friends and is close to losing her job. But then her best friend offers her a trip with her and the rest ...

I think I need to go back to reading books about feminist witches because my recent attempts at branching out to different genres haven't been going well at all. Slashers aren't necessarily my thing, but I don't mind some slashing if there's a great story to go along with it. Unfortunately, *Breathe In, Bleed Out* does not have a great story. Imagine a low-budget slasher film, one that you find in the dregs of Pluto TV or Tubi or one of the other free movie streaming apps, and then make the char...

✦ My Overall Thoughts ✦ This slasher story was a total blast to read! I'm new to Brian McAuley, but I'm seriously impressed with his writing! I'll definitely be checking out more of his books. This was a super fast-paced read, packed with nightmares and terrifying scenes! It's a seriously dark and tense book, full of mystery! I had absolutely no clue who the killer was, and I loved all the twists and turns in "Breathe In, Bleed Out"! It was definitely action-packed, with a gripping plot and ton...

Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuleyBrian McAuley crafts a gruesome tale brimming with consequences. For Hannah, saying no becomes a life-altering event. Set against a snowy mountainside, Hannah's existence plummets into the abyss. Her life, once full of friends, has derailed into a depressive state. Her work has suffered, and her relationships have ceased to exist. Ben, her now-deceased boyfriend, is gone, taking any piece of comfort with him. A mandated hiatus from work allows time for self-...

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Long live the slasher… Who would have thought that a miner wielding a pickaxe and wearing a human face could be so scary? Oh wait, now that I wrote that down, it’s obviously terrifying. What a great villain, courtesy of Brian McAuley.As terrifying as that is, the scariest thing about "Breathe In, Bleed Out" is the chakra-stimulating, yoga-posing, kombucha-drinking, whole-grain-eating, wannabe cult leader. I mean, that whole wellness retreat thing sends chills up my spine—like, in rea...

I'm a sucker for slashers, and *Breathe In, Bleed Out* was a total blast. Brian McAuley's story both honors and elevates the genre's conventions. The characters are genuinely worth getting invested in, and the plot is full of clever red herrings and some seriously gruesome kills. I especially loved the creepy wellness retreat setting and the fact that the Final Girl has her own intensely traumatic backstory that she brings to the table. I devoured every page and will definitely be checking out m...