Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
The way people feel about books can vary wildly from person to person. Your favorite might (and probably is!) another person’s least favorite book in the world. It’s part of the fun of reading. You may love the there’s-only-one-bed trope, while every single time, it makes your best friend roll their eyes. Or, think about the instant internal cringe you feel when someone you’re on a date with scoffs at the book you’re raving about. Book club meetings that devolve into arguments, red flag books on dating profiles—it’s all part of being a reader and interacting with other readers who have just as many strong opinions as you!
Horror, I think, highlights this more than any other genre. The way readers feel about what scares them is so very different. I personally find realistic horror the scariest, where others might be bored by reading something that close to the real world. It’s not surprising, then, that reviews for horror books sway harshly from one to five stars. It’s rare when we all can find a book to agree on. So, there are bound to be books that are left under the radar because they just didn’t vibe with all the readers who picked them up. So, here are the eight most underrated horror books worth reading despite their low average rating. To count as an underrated book, it had to have a 3.5 average rating on Goodreads or less.
Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
For a Goodreads Choice Award nominee, it’s shocking to me to see this one only has a 3.33 average rating! Tremblay, it seems, is a rather polarizing author, but I am a fan! When Wen and her dads Eric and Andrew escape to a remote cabin in the woods, they’re expecting fresh air and porch reading. But then four strangers appear, holding weapons, telling Eric and Andrew the end of the world is coming and the only way to stop it is to sacrifice one person from their family. Tensions are high in this slow-burn, emotionally fraught read.
Lakewood by Megan Giddings
Sometimes, horror can leave readers with more questions than answers, and this is one of those reads. For those who like the wondering after the final page, I’d highly recommend this! After her grandmother dies, Lena is left needing money to care for her sick mother and get her family out of debt. After she receives a letter inviting her to join a medical study called Lakewood Project, she jumps at the chance, even if it is shrouded in secrecy. At Lakewood, the medical developments they promise are impressive, but the cost is only paid by people of color.
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Don’t miss an excerpt highlighting the best new poetry collections of 2025 (so far) after these underrated horror books!
Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Sometimes plot twists just don’t land with people, and I think that’s the case here. But, if you can hold on for a bonkers ride, you’re sure to love this one. As the daughter of an infamous serial killer, Vera left her childhood home and her strange relationship with her mother in her past and never looked back. But when her mom calls her home because she’s terminally ill, Vera obeys. Once back, what she witnessed in the past comes back to haunt her as noises, strange notes, and a stranger living on the property set her on edge.
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Not every zombie book is a high-octane killfest. Zone One‘s reviews seem to be skewed by the disappointed readers who expected more of that. What it is, though, is a beautifully-written post-apocalyptic novel about Mark Spitz, a man clearing the last of the zombies out of Zone One, an area in Manhattan, so the survivors can move back in. Full of flashbacks and glimpses of the lives lost, Whitehead makes a stunning case for hope even amidst destruction.
Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum
Gross book alert! Helpmeet is full of body horror, and that may be what is turning readers’ stomachs a bit too much for them to give it its proper appreciation. I, for one, loved this novella about Louise in 1900, acting as a nurse for her husband, Edward, who is afflicted with a strange disease that no doctor can cure. She arranges to take him to his childhood estate to spend his final days.
Eat Your Heart Out by Dayna Ingram
Some books are just pure fun, and this is one of them! Devin’s day is same-old-same-old at Ashbee’s Furniture Outlet when Renni Ramirez, a b-list action movie star, barges in with zombies hot on her tail. Now, stuck together, the pair must team up if they’re going to make it out of that furniture store alive.
Big Machine by Victor LaValle
Aan unlikable main character can be tough to get past for some readers. But if you’re willing to stick it out, you’ll find a unique read in this one. Ricky Rice is a recovering drug addict working as a janitor at Union Station when, one day, he receives a letter asking him to report to a library in the Vermont woods. There, he finds others with troubled pasts who were summoned to the very same place for the very same mission. They’re all told to investigate a Voice that spoke to the library’s founders hundreds of years ago.
Bunny by Mona Awad
I love weird horror books! The weirder the better! But not everyone feels that way, and, for this book, I think that’s the polarizing culprit. The story follows Samantha Mackey, a sort-of-outcast student of the MFA program in New England with only one fellow loner to call a friend. The rest of their cohort are rich, cliquey girls who call each other bunny in a way Samantha likes to make fun of. But when Samantha gets an invite to join the group of giggling girls who seemingly move in unison, she can’t resist a peak behind the curtain. What’s back there, though, might just change her whole perception of what’s real.
I hope you look past the Goodreads reviews on these and check one (or all) of them out! If you’re in the mood for more underrated books, check out these literary fiction books you’ve probably never heard of or this list of 15 underrated books on Goodreads!
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting the best new poetry collections of 2025 (so far)! From the from deeply personal to powerfully political, many of these collections reflect the zeitgeist and introduce some fresh voices in poetry. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
How is it that we’re already more than a quarter of the way through 2025? I’m ahead of my reading goals and still feel so far behind at the same time. I’ve packed in plenty of poetry, though, finding lots of wonderful and surprising voices emerging. It’s early, but totally time to check in with some of the best new poetry collections of 2025 so far.
It’s funny how timely these collections are. Keep in mind that publishing moves VERY SLOWLY, so books that have been released in the first quarter of 2025 were probably completed in late 2023 or early 2024, only seeing the light of day recently. So, these collections were written in the run-up to last year’s presidential election. Nevertheless, many of these collections feel like guttural reactions to the world right now. Amazing how prescient art and artists can be, huh?
These poetry collections run the gamut from deeply personal to powerfully political. Let’s face it, those two are often the same anyway, particularly when it comes to poetry. Most exciting to me are how many of these best new poetry collections of 2025 so far are fresh voices to the poetic scene. Let’s dig into those collections, shall we?
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English (US) · 