Review: Jeneva Rose makes a chilling pivot in ‘Sometimes I Scare Myself’

“Sometimes I scare myself. It starts with a thought. The kind that makes me pause and wonder where it came from, or how it slipped past whatever part of my brain is supposed to keep things normal.”

With “Sometimes I Scare Myself,” Jeneva Rose presents her horror debut in the format of three short stories. The stories aren’t interconnected, and Rose gives us the promise of one being incomplete.

The first story, “Never Kill the Medium,” focuses on a birthday dinner turning deadly after someone hires a medium for a playful seance. When the ritual spirals out of control and the medium dies, the guests cover it up — unaware that leaving the seance unfinished has allowed something dark to cross over. I think this story brings out some delightful banter between the characters and questions how deep these friendships go.

The second story is “The Nightmare House,” which features the Dalton family moving into what they believe is their forever home in the quiet town of Tillington — until the house whispers, the neighbors watch and no one believes the one person who knows something is wrong. Newly postpartum, Kristin Dalton soon uncovers a horrifying truth: Every family who has lived in this house has died or disappeared. The story is eerie with just enough normalcy that you will be questioning what is happening alongside the characters. As someone who remembers buying their first house, I am glad I read this many years later.

The third and final story is “All Curses Are Final.” This story follows friends on their way to a remote winter cabin. On the way, they stop at a roadside store with a hand-painted warning: “All items cursed. Curse lifted at time of sale.” They laugh it off — until one of them discovers an item in her bag she never paid for. As a storm traps them inside the cabin and bodies start to pile up, paranoia takes hold and suspicion turns inward. Just disturbing enough to rethink your remote winter vacation spot and maybe those corny signs you see at tourist stops.

Jeneva Rose is a New York Times best-selling author of several novels. She is traditionally known for her thrillers, such as “You Shouldn’t Have Come Here” and “The Perfect Marriage.” Rose lives in Wisconsin and tends to use Badger State locations for many of her books. I recommend this book to readers who are interested in the horror genre but don’t know where to begin. Rose carefully weaves her expertise of suspense and makes you feel unsettled with “Sometimes I Scare Myself.”

Nieshell Grant is a lover of all things books and book club member at The Story Cellar. She lives in Rothschild with her husband and dog. She runs a bookstagram account, serves on the marketing team for MWBF and attends all the bookish events she can.