James Kaine, has done it again with “Devil of the Pines”- his latest chilling installment in the American Horror Stories series. Fast, visceral, and emotionally unrelenting, this book doesn’t just tell a story—it drags you into the woods and dares you to survive.

From the very first page, Kaine wastes no time. The narrative moves like something hunting you: swift, brutal, and impossible to shake. The horror here isn’t just effective—it’s standout. It claws at your nerves and leaves you breathless. Kaine excels at balancing heart-pounding dread with moments of raw human emotion, making the terror feel personal and real.

Having just discovered this author, I’m absolutely thrilled—and slightly haunted. His style is a refreshing jolt to the horror genre: lean, sharp, and fiercely original. My only complaint? His books are short. But what they lack in length, they more than make up for in impact. Kaine doesn’t waste words—every page lands like a punch.

Devil of the Pines is a must-read for horror fans looking for something that bites back. I’ll be devouring the rest of his work—and sleeping with the lights on.

Thank You Net Galley and the Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Of course, all opinions are my own,

A huge thank you to NetGalley, James Kaine, and Horror House Publishing for the advanced reader copy. This review is my honest take on this book.

(Die Hard IS a christmas movie)
(geese do mate for life)

It's 1735, and Jane Leeds used her last breath to curse her 13th child. What she either did or didn't know was that night; she gave birth to the devil.

Centuries later, Patrick Shrouds flees the quiet town of Leeds Point after his friends murder, but Leeds Point has a way of pulling you back into its clutches. Now, Patrick is on a quest to find out why people are going missing, and everyone is pointing the finger at him.

I was honestly hooked from the moment I read the prologue. I love how Kaine would hop around 3 different timelines. The first one was 1735, then 2005, and lastly, 2025. As the sun is rising while I finish this review, I stayed up WAY too late to finish this book. I couldn't put it down. I thought I had figured out who the villain actually was, but my mind was blown with the plot twist in the last couple of chapters. This book definitely deserves the 5 stars!

It’s a bird, it’s a plane? No! It’s the Jersey Devil…
Much like Mothman or The Ozark Howler, my knowledge of The Jersey Devil is minimal. A loose collection of lore and myth I’ve heard on YouTube videos or on late-night History Channel shows. So I was naturally drawn to a creature-feature book about a cryptid I knew so little about.
I received Devil of the Pines by James Kaine as an ARC from NetGalley and Victory Editing/ Horror House Publishing. A big thanks to them. Now let’s get into the review!

Plot:
1700s: A woman pregnant with her 13th child sends for a midwife. What follows becomes the basis of the Jersey Devil myth.
2005: Two young boys playing in the Leeds Pines have a run-in with The Jersey Devil that changes their lives forever.
2025: One of the young boys returns home after his mother dies and deals with everything that happened all those years ago.

What did I like?
First, I want to talk about how much I enjoyed having three separate plots being juggled. There was zero whiplash in the timeline. Nothing felt cheap or hard to follow. While the plots are separated by time, each new chapter moves forward in time relative to that plot’s last chapter. It was handled perfectly. Avoiding that potential nightmare was something I loved as a reader.
The way James Kaine squeezes drama out of situations is something I need to take notes on. Everything had a purpose. At no point in the story was I bored. There was no padding in the middle. The plot marched on even if I wasn’t ready to. Some of the plot was tropey. But by the end, it didn’t matter. Everything paid off as a horror novel should.
We gotta take a second to admire all the references that were squeezed in here. As a ‘93 baby, I got hit hard by the Member Berries. And they were all appropriate for the moment in time we were in. Three Cheers for the Emo teens we were.

What didn’t I like?
I already touched on how the plot had some tropes, so let’s unpack that more. A lot of media is centred around a bloodline or royal lineage. We flirt with that idea here, but it gets spun in a direction that makes it feel fresh. Plus, the ending makes up for any hangups I have over that.


Final thoughts?
If you like a well-crafted story? Check this book out. If you like horror stories? You gotta check this one out!

Will be posting this on Goodreads on September 23, 2025