Wow! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! This book will leave you wanting for more and the characters and storyline stick with you long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and pick up this page-turner!

2.5 rounded up
Entertaining and bloody without substance
The characters are the most interesting part. They are three dimensional with small details that make you invested in their lives but all that work goes to waste when it´s time for the horror. Instead of using all the information provided about the character to make the violence much more impactfull the kills are impersonal and generic. The ambiance is great, bad weather being something we all are subjected to and completely defenseless against.
There are some time jumps between the before and after but for the most part the scenes revolve around one cluster of houses in the same street, and the POV jumps between them. The jumps follow the intersection of the lives of the characters and the tension keeps building. But when the storm hits all that amounts to nothing and with each opportunity for something creative squandered the dread built in the first part just melts bit by bit. By the end we just get a nothing ending that takes us out of the setting of the rest of the book that neither answers questions nor provides any interesting mysteries. It feels like there numerous chapters left for a satisfactory ending but at the same time the story is done without any organic way to extend it.

Here's another Poor Little Bookish Girl lore drop for you: I've been fond of spooky stuff since childhood. I fell in love with cemeteries when I was four years old, and I started reading Edgar Allan Poe at the age of seven. It would only make sense that I would gravitate toward scary books. That's why I requested to receive an advance copy of Shirley Jackson Award finalist Rebecca Rowland's newest horror novel Eminence Front, to be released by CLASH Books on January 20, 2026.

In a small community in New England, winter is coming hard and fast, and the residents of a particular street are preparing for a snowstorm while going about their daily lives. John is a self-imposed shut-in who orders groceries. Carol juggles teaching and caring for her ailing, Deaf mother. Steve has an affair with his neighbor, Karen. Jackie writes and drinks. Kim obsesses about cleanliness and feels consumed by meeting her family's wants and needs. And then, they start to hear whispering sounds. The whispers seem to be telling them to do things. A shadow darks between houses. And then John witnesses a gruesome murder that sets off a chain reaction with devastating consequences throughout the neighborhood.

Y'know, it can be really, really difficult to write a review of a book I enjoyed. I try to be balanced, but when I truly like a story, it's hard to keep from gushing about it. This personal noir cum supernatural horror had me white-knuckling my e-reader, begging to know what would happen next. The interweaving storylines for each character, reminiscent of films from Quentin Tarantino and Harmon Korine, allow the reader to get fully invested in each person and how they care for and harm each other, and Rowland uses storytelling devices like flashbacks to build that investment even further. The prose can be awfully purple sometimes--like, did she really use "tintinnabulation"? Is this Edgar Allan Poe?--but overall, it works really well to set the frigid scene and mood. Rowland makes the smart decision to not explicitly explain what is causing the horrors on this street...the reader pieces it together themselves, moving from feeling unsettled to feeling a deep dread. Additionally, slotted in every few chapters or so is a piece of "first person" source material about snowstorms, past and present, that slowly brings the reader to the chilling realization: This horror isn't limited to only this street. It could happen anywhere and at any time. That's the kind of horror I absolutely love, the kind of horror that says, "This could happen to you."

For my horror-loving friends, I definitely recommend Eminence Front. Rebecca Rowland's unique take on picking off characters one by one will make you irrevocably afraid of going out in the snow. Make sure to pick it up this coming January 20!

A winter storm hits, one of the worst in a long time. Being snowed in makes people do really strange things, but what exactly... 4 star read. Keeps you guessing...

A winter storm engulfs a small town on the east coast of America - and with it brings strange happenings then the bodies start piling up !

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

A neighborhood finds itself cut off during a very unusual and dangerous storm.

Want to amp up the reading experience? I highly recommend picking this one up during a snowstorm! Batten down the hatches, though.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It was interesting that after reading halfway through the book, I discovered that this book was probably inspired by the song "Eminence Front" by The Who, which bore the same theme. I think the book has some exciting theme to be explored, and the song-inspired theme is actually a good one (I mean, what's next? "Won't Get Fooled Again"? Exciting!).
But unfortunately, beneath all the things that went on, the book was cut short. This is one of those books that needs at least 600 pages to build a strong story, and I think the origin of the evil needs more explanation. The disadvantages of the characters also can be explored more! I actually love the snippets from the news but they don't tell much or supportive to the plot - they just told me what I already know: that there's evil lurking and it drags many victims with it.
I love the execution, but because there were many characters involved, the book is too short. There is a caveat in short stories, i.e the author needs to build a strong momentum before finally bring the conclusion to a bang, and unfortunately this book needs more momentum than just 200-ish pages because there were a lot of people involved, so this one kind of got stuck in the middle between a short novel and long novel. I recently read a similar trope and that particular book really took its time with its 700 pages - yes it was winding but it was worth it, and this book would've been worth it too had it progressed to more than 200 pages.
All in all, there's potential in this book and I hope the author would explore this potential later on.

To keep it 💯, this was a really enjoyable book with great writing, but as a horror... hmm. Halfway through, I was just enjoying hearing about these people and their issues, and by 70% I'd given up on the horror aspect completely and was just enjoying it as something closer to literary fiction. Suspense, maybe. Five stars overall for the book itself, but as a horror? Maybe 2.5/5.

This was one of the best thriller books I read this year. Rowland writes her books with the perfect blend of fear, paranoia and horror. This book kept me on my toes. Definitely a must read.

Thank you NetGalley and CLASH books for the advance copy of this book ❤️


MAN THIS WAS A GOOD ONE, not perfect but we're starting with the good parts

This is an horror short story based in a winter storm and, be sure, it was disturbing. I've always had the sensation that winter storms were.. Eerie, you know? Well, after this book I'll never get to look at that weather again at the same before. Something is creeking in the storm, an unknown power that's drive people's mind to murder.

I had LOVED the setting, and the descriptions, the idea behind the targeting of the next victim of this unknown force, but now, let's go to the other side, we have something to discuss.

There's too many characters, I've lost the count from the fourth one introduced to the plot and I've said before, short horror story, yes. Too short! With these expectations and these settings I've loved to know more about the structure, the pace, the underground stories from our characters which are, for the most of the time, just nominated and then killed from the other one who's possessed and drived mad by that force

I was nonetheless invested by the atmosphere and the settings of the story, so for me is a yes with some reservations!

This novel is an atmospheric winter horror story that is extremely well-written but needs more development in plot, characters and in the construction of horror because it's just a sensation and I've would like to see more of it.

If you are a reader who like psychological stories, winter tales and slow horror this maybe is for you!

Thank you again NetGalley and to the publisher for this copy in exchange of my honest review 🫰

I was completely captivated by this! It was thrilling, disturbing and difficult to put down. The twists kept the surprises coming right up to the end, leaving just enough unsaid to keep you unsettled - highly recommended!

The tight focus on the residents of a single street over a couple of days and viewing events from different perspectives really worked for me, with each neighbour having their own voice and struggles

This is a short book, but there are several main characters introduced. The books jumps around to each person. I found myself confused on the individual details of each character. Then, the story jumps between police, news, and Vlogs, and that adds to the confusion. I would have liked this book to focus on one or two characters instead of shallow versions of many.

The main event, which was the snowstorm, is completely in the background. The snowstorm happens, but then the scenes go to snow cleanup. There could have been more done to build tension in this snowstorm including more disasters, being in a cold house with no electricity.

I had a huge problem with the degrading portrayal of women in the is book. The portrayals were very old-fashioned. One of the female characters states that she doesn’t work out, because a woman is supposed to be weak, and only does yoga, because she is supposed to be flexible. This may alienate some female audience members.

3.25/5 stars

Eminence Front by Rebecca Rowland (to be published January 20, 2026) is a psychological horror novel set in winter in Massachusetts, in which the inhabitants of a street are haunted by the noise of snow, which has released an unknown power that takes over people’s minds and drives them to murder.

This short novel focuses on all characters more or less evenly, so it is hard to point at a specific protagonist. All characters are middle-aged adults in the suburbs, either single or married with or without kids. Winter plays a big role in this story and is almost a character in itself, as it envelops both the landscape and mental state of the street and the characters. The story takes place in the dead of winter when the snow has piled to over a foot and a half and everyone is busy clearing it from their driveways. The strange entity/energy takes over people’s minds one by one, leading them to murder. The next person who is targeted by the energy has an encounter with last person to have died under its influence, whom they believe to be alive. The dead person finds a manner in which to kill the new person, and so on. The deaths are gruesome and unpredictable.

This book is slow-paced and has too many characters. At first it is hard to keep track of who everyone is, and a good third of the book is spent on introducing new characters. At one point it is very similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954). Rowland’s writing is fluid and engaging, and although the story seems underdeveloped her writing is captivating enough to partly make up for this fault. The horror in this story is hard to pin down in descriptive terms, as the horror element takes the shape of an unknown force that strikes at random times. The story is atmospheric in its winter element, but horror does not permeate the entire plot, only at certain points. There are bits of news clippings interspersed throughout the story; they illustrate historical events in the same region in which mysterious deaths have taken place during harsh winters, and within cattle as well, which asserts the mysterious supernatural power of winter as a force that has always existed.

This novel is an atmospheric winter horror story that is extremely well-written but needs more development in its plot and in the construction of its horror. This is recommended to readers who like psychological stories, winter tales, literary fiction, and slow horror.

Imagine that you’re snowed in your house. Looking outside you only see white snow and not a sign of the snow fall slowing down. That’s scary enough as it is, being trapped in your house, hopefully with electricity and enough water and food to survive some days. Add on top of this snow storm an entity that wants to consume your soul and is very hard to get away from. That’s when everything gets actually scary!

This book is so creepy. I love the vibes, and the writing is perfect for the plot. I read this in the summer (highly recommend waiting to read it when it’s cold and maybe even snowing) but it still chilled me. Someone else described this book to creep under your skin and I whole-heartedly agree. I think I’ve found myself a new favorite horror author in Rebecca Rowland.

Thanks to NetGalley and CLASH Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

As a fellow New Englander who has survived her fair share of horrible Nor’Easters, I had to get my hands on this read.

There is something unsettling about being stuck in the house while the world is washed out white around you, but it’s not a lightness that allows you to see. Rowland does an amazing job bringing that isolation and dread to life in this book. During these types of storms, often times yer neighbors are the only other living souls you see for days at a time. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, I’ll leave for you to decide.

A motley cast of characters brings this story to life and I believe allows the reader to connect to at least one, if not several, of them. But don’t get too attached bc no one is safe.

This read was a fun one during the heat of the summer to chill me to my core, but reading this during a storm would be next level…just make sure to keep yer earmuffs on.

Thank you to the author & publisher for the eARC!

One of my favorite old movies is Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rear Window'. This book gave me the same feeling as that movie. I always connect with Rebecca Rowland's writing. All of her previous books have been hits for me and Eminence Front was no exception. Her books immediately suck me in, trapping me happily within her creepy worlds. The characters are all gritty and realistic. From the preface forward the ominous mood takes over and with every chapter it gets a little darker. I loved the way Rowland inserted various documents and excerpts in between chapters. It further cranked the suspense, as well as the slow unfolding plot seen from various shifting points of view. The blizzard hung in the background like a "white shroud" of impending doom, speaking to and steadily burying the neighborhood. Seriously I have yet to read a bad Rebecca Rowland story and this STILL exceeded my expectations. It gave Stephen King, 'Storm of the Century' vibes as well. Great read.
TW: Drug use
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Prose: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pacing: mid
Scary: creepy
Gore: yes
Character Development:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A snowstorm in New England traps the residents on a single street and bad things come out in the storm. This was a super quick read and not particularly creepy. The plot could have answered a few more questions and the ending left me feeling shortchanged.

I appreciated the creativity in the plot, but as someone unfamiliar with this genre and author, I had a bit of trouble keeping track of the storyline

THIS IS PURE STEPHEN KING, and I loved it!!!! The entire aesthetic and theme of the book, while I was reading it, reminded me of Stephen King's short story "The Mist." I liked how the author built a wonderful idea on top of several others—and I thought she managed to be incredibly original. I felt for the characters, I cared about what was happening, and I will, yes, read more of her work, as much as I have before.
Thank you NetGalley and the author for the eARC.

It started off promising, but fell a little flat for me. I like the use of mixed media to move a story along, but the bouncing between characters left me without feeling a connection to any of them. There is good suspense, but no real payoff for said suspense.