I hate to be that person, but there was a lot that didn’t work for me. First, our main character seemed a bit insensitive to his wife’s pain. Who thinks that returning to the place where you became pregnant (after multiple pregnancy losses) only to deliver your precious baby stillborn would be helpful? And then when the weird-ass new owner turns you away you beg just see that room for five minutes? Sorry but if my husband drug me there and then wanted me to just look at the room for a few minutes, I’d want to choke him. Moving on, the same weird owner now wants you to stay, and weird stuff keeps happening and she just keeps getting creepier… your wife is mentally shutting down, so let me take a walk through the woods. NOPE.

Aside from me basically hating this guy, the story didn’t have much to it. It’s weird, but it’s not all that I hoped it could be and I was mostly bored with it. I won’t go on because I don’t want to give anything away for those that may enjoy it and it does seem to have great reviews, it just wasn’t for me.

This was an entertaining read that I truly enjoyed reading.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
I really liked the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

I think this is said a lot about novellas but I really think I'd have enjoyed this more if it was longer. I completely get that the point was to leave things up to the readers' imagination but I would have loved a little bit more detail. I did really love the themes of grief and loss and the difference in how this affects a father vs a mother.

Tense and unsettling vibes all around. I appreciated the author’s interpretation of grief and loss, but unfortunately, that’s about all that I enjoyed. For a whopping 160 pages, this story was incredibly slow paced and almost none of the storylines are tied up in the end. Not a bad read, per se, but the execution was lacking in my opinion.

This novella is as extremely unsettling as its cover. From the first page you feel the dread and grief dripping off the pages. Kherbash does a really great job of showing the dynamic between Nolan and Emma in a short number of pages.

I don’t want to give anything away, in case you choose to read, which you should. Just know it is a wild and cuckoo bananas story filled with witchery, mushrooms, dolls, plants and some sinister shadows. I wished it was a little longer because I wanted more! The ending is open ended but in the best way. Perfect for a cold night during the spooky season. I will read more of Kherbash as she knows how to scare!

Thank you @netgalley for my advance copy!

Emma and Nolan have been struggling with infertility and after a third miscarriage- Nolan decides they need a mini vacation away. Emma has been very depressed and could benefit from a few days away in a bed and breakfast. When they get there Nolan is immediately off put by the host of the B&B and as their stay progresses things keep getting weirder and weirder. This was a quick easy read that spent no time in getting into the good details.

An eerie novella that immediately lured me in with both the cover and the synopsis! However, I think it would have been better if it was a full-length novel.

We follow Emma and Nolan during their stay at a small bed and breakfast, trying to heal from experiencing infertility issues and a traumatic event from the past. Immediately upon their arrival, things start being weird. Leah, the owner, was incredibly creepy, but I must admit I wasn't satisfied with the ambiguity of her character. I constantly hoped we would get to know more about her. There was a lot of potential for her to become something grotesque, unique, and truly terrifying, but we're left with a lot of unanswered questions by the end. There were moments that made me shiver in uneasiness, and I didn't want to read the book at night. The horror parts weren't exactly loud, it was more of a constant chill that never quite leaves you. And while it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, the story definitely creeped me out and I wasn't left untouched. There are scenes that are burned in my memory that I definitely wish I could forget. Unfortunately, I simply wanted more of everything. More character development, more insight into certain events, more horror, and more creepy things happening.

If you want something short to give you the creeps, and are okay with not knowing a lot by the end, I'd recommend this one! I think you might like this if you enjoyed Nestlings by Nat Cassidy!

this is one of those books that has you on edge. there is a feeling it in, to it. its emotional and you can feel this through every part of the book. the tone, the words, the characters. its all done so well you can feel the heaviness of what our couple have been through and are going through. theres also that desperation there. of needing to fix something that really cant.
husband and wife go back to a B&B they went to a year before. they had such a lovely time... then. now though they have had a years since and its been horrible. everything has turned over on itself. Emma the wife has had a miscarriage and she is not ok. nor should she be of course. everything is fallen in and around them. and together they are not ok either. Nolan wants this weekend to take them back to a place they had something together, something good. he needs this to be something good. his obsession with this being the answer is vivid.
but what they find wen they arrive takes them deeper and darker and into a place and experience they never could have wanted to come their way. when the owner says you cant say take that answer and run my friends might have been something somewhere should have screamed at our couple. as a reader it took you to that turns alongside the characters and makes you equally as tense!
you are always wondering whats coming with this book. and it bring that eerie sense. that feeling of not quite knowing.
a good one this book. a really unsettlingly good one.

Lots of creepy vibes, for sure, and overall a dark and weird tale. But…it was just lacking something that made me really go for it. A witchy version of Misery should have been right up my street, but it just didn’t quite connect.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

After suffering a great loss, Nolan takes his wife Emma to the bed and breakfast where they spent a weekend the previous year. While he tries to rekindle the relationship, she becomes increasingly close to the hotel's enigmatic new manager.

I very much liked the themes of feeding and fertility interwoven throughout. Emma begins the novella desperate for a child, becoming noticeably calmer as she progresses towards her goal, while Nolan begins very calm if a bit detached and ends the novella more desperate than she ever was. I loved Leah's cyclical explanation of the feeding the garden to feed the guests to feed the garden. However, I thought some themes (consent, satanism, desire, etc.) could have been more deeply explored. I had a sense while reading that I couldn't predict what turn the novella would take, but I was expecting to be floored, and ultimately the turn was more of a gentle curve than a sharp veer.

This is a strange and fun little novella. The writing style is fairly formal and weaves between Nolan and Emma's perspectives (though we spend considerably more time with Nolan's). The book is fast-paced and deeply atmospheric and kept me intrigued throughout. Reminded me a bit of The Perfect Nanny (more in writing style than theme). I was especially compelled by Nolan's descriptions of attempting to cling to his sanity while his mind and body refused to cooperate. I recommend it for a great afternoon read!

Creepy and short! You’ll keep turning the page to see what happens next.

I love little novellas like this. They can be so spooky and pack a punch. The cover is great.

Thank you to NetGalley and A.M. Kherbash for the opportunity to read Bed and Breakfast.

This eerie and emotional novella follows a grieving couple trying to reconnect at a familiar bed and breakfast, only to find it and themselves changed in strange and unsettling ways. The new innkeeper becomes an ominous presence as grief and confusion slowly take hold. What begins with quiet tension grows into something deeply disturbing. The final pages leave a lasting sense of unease and a desire to know what comes next.

It’s a quiet, haunting novella that lingers long after the final page. A story that feels like stepping into a dream or maybe a memory blurry at the edges but sharp in its emotional impact.
The atmosphere is beautifully eerie: a strange guesthouse, an unsettling sense of déjà vu, and a protagonist caught in a loop of observation and self-reflection. There’s a sense of stillness throughout, and yet so much simmers just beneath the surface loss, identity, the passage of time. I would’ve loved just a little more clarity or payoff near the end.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

An interesting and creepy novella about a married couple returning to beloved place after experiencing a devastating loss.

Bed & Breakfast was a horror novella told by dual POVs.

CHECK YOUR TRIGGER WARNINGS as this book does talk about miscarriage, infertility, mental health and trauma.

This was an interesting read for me. The story starts out with the husband Nolan bringing his wife, Emma to the Bed & Breakfast where they shared good memories in hopes of repairing their marriage after 10 years together and many losses.

Almost directly you can see how Nolan is trying anything he can do to make his wife happy. Taking her to the bed & breakfast, choosing the same room the stayed in last time. Even going so far as to begging the new owner to let them see the room for 5 minutes because upon entering there are already some unsettling moments and even though Nolan booked two nights this strange woman is not allowing it… at first.

At no point during this story did I know the direction in which it would take. AM Kherbash did really do a great job of setting the atmosphere for this book because it gave creepy and unsettling. Like someone or something was around every corner.

Emma, who in the beginning was not very thrilled to return to the Bed & Breakfast where for her didn’t have so many happy memories and she even went as far as asking Nolan why he thought to bring her.. but as the story progresses something or someone takes hold of Emma and she ends up wanting to stay.. possibly forever .

While this was an interesting read it also felt a little boring a flat to me. I’m not sure what I expected but I definitely thought there would be a little more excitement or a little more thrill.

Either way I will say it was enjoyable. If you like the creepy suspenseful slow burns that leave you slightly creeped out I do recommend this! I would ask go as far as saying I would give it another chance, I mean it’s only 126 pages so why not!

This eerie little novella starts as a story about a grieving couple trying to reconnect at a bed and breakfast they once loved. But things quickly shift when the new owner, who seems a little too involved, starts creeping into their lives in strange and unsettling ways. The first half focuses on the emotional distance between the husband and wife, giving the horror a strong emotional foundation. The second half leans into the strange and surreal — mushrooms, doll heads, and a growing sense of dread that never lets go.

The ending is abrupt and ambiguous, which may not work for everyone, but it left me thinking long after I finished. It’s not a loud or flashy kind of horror, but a slow, quiet unraveling that’s deeply unsettling.

If you like psychological horror with emotional weight and a lingering, dreamlike unease, this is absolutely worth reading.

3.75, I enjoyed it!

Two “crazy (?) people in containment” books back-to-back for me, and as stated in my review for the last one, this trope only works for me if there is some semblance of clarity in the end. I loved that this novel did a gender inversion on the classic crazy locked up” yellow wallpaper” or “rosemary's baby” esque narrative. While this novel won’t answer every question that arises during its reading, I found it worth a read as a short and entertaining story. I received and ARC from NetGalley and am reviewing this of my own choice.

I picked this book from netgalley because of its creepy cover, and yes, it's a creepy one.
It's a novella, just about 160 pages, and I finished reading this in two sitting.
It's about a couple, Nolan and Emma. Nolan arranged for them to have a relaxing time with a trip to a bed and breakfast they stayed in a year ago. As Emma still grieving for their stillbirth baby, Nolan hopes that this visit will rejuvenate their marriage.
The stay turns into a nightmare, especially for Nolan, as he sees his wife drifting further from him. As much as Nolan wants to get out of bed and breakfast, he's hindered by him getting ill, feeling disoriented, and hallucinated.
It's creepy, and you'll feel unsettled for the whole read. I feel like this story could be better, but unfortunately, the ending is so abrupt.

“Bed and Breakfast” by A.M. Kherbash is a nightmarish, atmospheric tale that creeps under your skin and lingers long after you finish. It’s eerie in the best way — disorienting, intense, and full of unsettling imagery that gives off major fever-dream energy.

The story is unique and unpredictable, with moments that genuinely made me uneasy (in a good way). While some parts felt a bit abstract or hard to follow, the overall effect was haunting and memorable.

A chilling 3.5 stars for this twisted little nightmare. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

What did I just read? That was my immediate thought upon finishing Bed and Breakfast. This surreal, unsettling story blurs the line between dream and reality, pulling readers into a strange and haunting narrative that’s hard to shake—even if you're not quite sure what just happened.

From the beginning, I was hooked by the suspenseful tone and the constant sense that something was just slightly off. I kept turning the pages, eager to see what was going to happen next, even when I didn’t fully understand what was happening in the moment.

There were some genuinely creepy moments that sent a chill down my spine, and part of what made them effective was how little explanation we were given. The lack of clear answers added to the tension, though at times it also left me grasping for clarity.

One challenge I had was following the narration. There were chapters where I wasn’t sure who was speaking or how everything connected. That may have been intentional—adding to the disorienting, eerie vibe—but it occasionally pulled me out of the story as I tried to make sense of the shifting perspectives.

Overall, Bed and Breakfast is a quick, haunting read that thrives on ambiguity and atmosphere. If you're into horror that's more psychological and abstract than straightforward, this might be your kind of weird. Just be prepared to finish it and still be asking, “Wait… what did I just read?”