Literary Leftover: Sometimes I Scare Myself by Jeneva Rose

Pick up this amazing spooky horror novel for a perfect October read! Three stories that will haunt your thoughts and your dreams. Each story leans on a separate spooky trope: supernatural, paranoid narrator, and isolation. With each story using a different trope, you never know what to expect. The one thing you should expect is to gasp in shock!

Jeneva Rose is one of my favorite thriller authors (see other reviews here). But when I read the subtitle for this novel, A Collection of Horror, I hesitated. I love a good thriller, but horror? That’s not my preferred genre. Lucky for me Jeneva Rose’s reputation persuaded me so I got the audiobook. This is such a spectacular read at the perfect time of year, I just had to do a review to convince you to read it too.

Sometimes I Scare Myself by Jeneva Rose

Literary Leftovers are book reviews and recommendations that do not contain recipes, but are books that I highly recommend.

Outline and Tone:

The novel contains 3 short stories and each one leans on a different scary genre.

“Never Kill the Medium” is told in third person primarily through Erica’s perspective as she celebrates her 30th birthday with friends. This story would fall into the supernatural genre. As the title suggests, a medium is brought to the party as a surprise to Erica. Erica lost her sister years ago and while she tries not to think about how she died, thoughts of her sister are never far. The medium is as casual as the outcome for the evening is dramatic. This short story leans the heaviest on the horror side of scary stories.

“The Nightmare House” is told in first person from Kristin’s perspective. Kristin’s family is adjusting to a move just 12 weeks after the birth of a surprise baby. Kristin was paranoid about the safety of her family even before we met her in this story. The reader has to determine if Kristin is a reliable narrator or if what she claims is happening is a part of her postpartum psychosis and lack of sleep.

“All Curses are Final” is told in third person point of view. A group of college friends have booked a remote cabin in the middle of a colossal snow storm. This premise is enough to create a suspenseful story (I’m thinking The Shining by Stephen King). Jeneva Rose puts her talent to work developing characters with complicated personalities and complex relationships. So as horrific events unravel, each character deals with the events in their own way and the reader is left to wonder “how much more will there be?”.

The author: Jeneva Rose

is her biggest success, so far. I expect she will be writing more best sellers. In fact on Facebook, she announced she is writing a sequel to The Perfect Marriage! She has a newsletter that you could sign up for on https://www.jenevarose.com/ . She is active on Twitter, @jenevarosebooks and she recently announced her next book. On Instagram, Jenevaroseauthor, she posts videos and more information about her activities.

What is not to like?:

The only thing I was disappointed in about this book was when I came to the end. I could have read more of Ms. Rose’s short stories.

The verdict:

Pick up this novel or download the audio (that’s what I did) and start a perfect scary read for October today!

The Stats:

Sometimes I Scare Myself

by Jeneva Rose

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genres: Mystery Horror
Setting: Each of the 3 stories has a different setting
Pages: 289 pages
Other books by this author I’ve reviewed: The Perfect Marriage, The Perfect Divorce
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Published by: Blackstone Publishing, Inc (September 22, 2026)

Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).