3.25⭐

Josie has recently left behind an abusive relationship in London and has returned to her hometown village on the outskirts of the Forest of Dean. She is living in a “holiday let” apartment that her emotionally distant father begrudgingly allows her to use, and is trying to make some sense of her life while still reeling from an injury delivered by her former partner that left her in a coma for a period of time. When she stumbles upon the desiccated, ant-infested corpse of a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Josie herself, she becomes plagued by the conviction that the ants have now taken up residence in her own skin, and that the body was left there as a message to her.

I really like Gemma Amor’s writing and the first half of Itch! was an enjoyable experience as this buggy folk horror was established, with your typical isolated small town that holds onto pagan traditions and functions in symbiosis with the surrounding natural habitat while concealing a dark underbelly. The descriptions of Josie’s insect hallucinations (or are they?) literally made my skin crawl. Amor does cozy very well too; I loved the descriptions of the local pub and the characters of landlord Angela and pub stalwart "Old Jacob." Unfortunately, after the initial set up, the story got bogged down in lost momentum, vague puzzle pieces and folkloric references were outlined but never firmly fleshed out, and the book plodded along to a foregone conclusion that was obvious from the start. I kept hoping for a shocking twist that never happened. Ultimately, Itch! failed to get under my skin, leaving me a bit disappointed and underwhelmed.

I may end up being in the minority here, and I think a lot of people will like this more than I did for its on-trend folk horror and female rage elements. These are themes in horror that I usually love as well, but I don’t think <i>Itch!</i> brought anything new to the table, aside from the ants.

My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stodder for a digital advanced readers copy. Itch! will be released on October 9, 2025.

This fulfilled the brief and made me itch throughout most of it! The short chapters helped create a very fast paced and clever read. This is the third Gemma Amor book I’ve read and in every single one she evokes horror in the most unique ways. This is a perfect read for spooky season, I’d definitely recommend you pop this on your TBR for the autumn.

Interesting concept based in the Forest of Dean, which creeped me out as I had recently read and watched a documentary on Fred and Rose West and they loved the Forest of Dean.

This is an unnerving folk, body horror kind of read. Josie stumbles across a body and then another. How odd to find 2 dead bodies. She leans on the her village friends and starts piecing things together.

There are a few chapters were the writing definitely pulled through and made me squirm mainly on the body horror. Well described. Along with the visionary of the forest it really bought it to life for me.

The reader is kept in the know and whilst you are with the MC throughout and understand her thoughts and feelings, it gives the game away. I would have liked more mystery and would have kept the anticipation going for me. I did find there were lulls in the book that maybe could have been scraped.

Overall I did enjoy this book with the few parts making me squirm

Josie was a character I initially found hard to connect with. She's back in her isolated hometown near the Forest of Dean after escaping an abusive relationship with her ex-girlfriend Lena, staying with her emotionally unavailable father, who offers little in the way of comfort or support while she tries to figure out what comes next. The opening felt sluggish, with Josie doing a lot of nothing while a lot of nothing happened, and even after she discovers a woman's ant-covered corpse in the woods, the relentless hallucinations and phantom insect sensations kept the story feeling meandering and trapped inside her head. However, as other characters are introduced (Angela, the pub owner where Josie works, who was friends with her late mother; Jacob, an elderly pub regular and town historian; and even surly Detective Wilkes), they energize the entire narrative, and the pacing picks up. As Josie starts engaging with actual people instead of just phantom bugs and her own spiraling thoughts, the story finally comes alive, weaving together the murder mystery, suppressed memories that slowly surface, and the town's eerie Devil's March festival, connected to the missing women. The folk horror elements surrounding this festival felt authentic and unsettling in that old-custom way, those passed-down practices we still follow without really knowing why, which makes you wonder what exactly you're participating in and what dark consequences might result. More than a body horror tale, this turned out to be the atmospheric folk horror I didn't know I needed this summer. As revelations about her father surface, Josie's earlier brokenness recontextualizes completely: not weakness at all, but survival. The story takes a genuinely perverse and sadistic turn that I can't spoil, but the feminist themes around silencing women who speak up are devastatingly effective. Watching Josie slowly reclaim her strength made that slower beginning completely worth it, and by the end, seeing her refuse to be anyone's victim anymore felt deeply satisfying. A story that will absolutely reward your patience if you can push through the terminal drag of those earlier chapters.

Itch is an absolutely engrossing book, making my skin crawl and my eyes bawl at the same time perfectly describes this book!
It dives into the mentality of old traditions whilst exploring violence and exploitation of women.
It was creepy and unnerving but so necessary!
Thank you for the ARC of Itch, it’s my new favourite horror.

Itch! gets under your skin and no salve will make it go away. Gemma Amor nails the folk horror, crime mystery combo.

Josie’s been through a lot lately and unfortunately it’s lead her to return to her rural hometown near Forest of Dean (side note: please look up pictures to enhance your read—it’s beautiful) to regroup and start fresh. With a bad break-up and the scars to prove it, the last thing Josie needs is to stumble upon a dead body in the forest.

Have you ever stumbled upon a really creepy bug and hours later you still have the creepy crawlies? Times that by a million and you’d be in Josie’s shoes when she finds a woman’s decaying body filled with ants. Now, all Josie can focus on is the ants and the police have marked her as a person of interest. Who left the woman in the forest and why is Josie so itchy?

I figured out the biggest plot twist pretty early on, which was disappointing, but the rest of the book was excellent so this wasn’t a deal breaker for me. Gemma Amor knows how to write female rage and I was impressed with how often I nearly gagged at the body horror descriptions. This novel was atmospheric, gross, and well-written. I would love to see a movie adapt of this.


You’ll love this if you love:

-The Wicker Man
-female rage
-folk horror
-culty small town traditions
-body horror
-unsolved murders

**Please check for trigger warnings.**

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the e-arc of this book.

On the surface, this seemed tailor-made for me to enjoy: a whisper in old woods, the creeping thrum of folklore, the uneasy rituals of a town that keeps its secrets. However, somewhere between the promise and the page, my engagement slipped. The opening unspooled at a deliberate pace, ordinarily something I can get behind as long as there’s a taste of what to come, but the narrative looped its steps so often that momentum drained away.

Early on, the main character’s experience with domestic toxicity becomes the gravitational pull of the her arc, and it risked defining her entirely. While thematically relevant, it left little room for other facets of her character to breathe. The insect-laden imagery is rendered in such meticulous, almost hypnotic detail that I can see it unsettling many readers. I, however, am immune to bug-born dread, and so its intended graphic emphasis slid past me.

There’s craft here, atmosphere, and a voice some will sink into, but for me, the story wandered in circles until its path grew clear too soon. I closed the book wishing it had been shorter, sharper— like a single, deliberate bite that leaves you wondering if the itch will ever stop. I have no doubt that it will find its audience, even if that doesn’t include me.

Skin-crawling body and psychological folk horror, based around Josie, a young woman returned to the family village after a traumatic relationship. There’s an unsettling tone to the novel even before Josie finds a decomposing body near her home, and then the body horror kicks in as josie sees and feels ants, worms and other insects all over and in her. I can’t see I enjoyed reading this - genuinely unnerving and made me scratch various psychosomatic itches! - but it’s an expertly developed story that incorporates a serial killer, repressed trauma, folk horror at the heart of rural England and the power of a close support group. I’ve heard some of Gemma Amor’s work before but never read it - will be looking forward to reading more, whilst hoping for less ants…

Itch! is the best kind of horror - the kind that gets under your skin, set in a small town with its own quirky customs and traditions. Josie goes home following an abusive relationship and stumbles upon a dead body on her walk home from work.

I don't want to explain anymore because I always go into books with just a vague idea of the synopsis, so there it is - folk horror, a dead body (bodies), creeping and crawling body horror.

This feminist tale is all about trauma in a way which is visceral, literally palpable and raw, but it's also about feminine power and rage and saving oneself. It's Gemma's best novel to date, in my humble opinion.

5 Stars!

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Gemma Amor for the e-arc of this book.

Release date 9th October 2025.

This is not what I expected at all, and I mean that in the best way. It reminded me a lot of the film Longlegs (which I loved) but with a folk horror vibe that was both clever and horrifying. The final showdown was disgusting and satisfying - my first Gemma Amor and certainly not my last!

Is this Gemma Amor’s best book yet?! I seem to think so!

Itch! brings folk horror, feminist rage and a creepy festival together in a thrilling plot of suspense and body infestation.

The plot starts off with our main character, Josie, coming back to the rural hometown that she tried to escape from.
She's been suffering from a physically and emotionally abusive relationship and she needs to get away.

But coming back to Ellwood involves dealing with a contentious relationship with her father and a community that is struggling. It's not a good start for our girl!

When walking through the forest one day, Josie stumbles upon a dead woman. Not only has the woman been dead for days but the amount of decay of the body means she's been dead for a while.
The number of ants and all types of creepy crawlies during this moment in the book is gag inducing.

And this moment starts a downward spiral of mental anguish for Josie as she imagines all types of bugs crawling over her skin and inside her, especially ants!

I do “okay” with body horror but something about this bug infestation gave me the f’ing creeps.

Amor brings all the horror with our crawling insects with this plot that I was starting to itch, get skirmish and tense up every time I started reading Itch!.

Absolutely brilliant for a horror book. I felt the horror!!

The strange festival that takes place in Ellwood is descriptive, creepy and I could visualize this happening during the spring equinox.
Seeing the participants hike through the forest while wearing grotesque scary masks and holding up an effigy was so so good.

I love folk horror for a reason, and I feel like Amor nails it with this festival.

This book was not only unsettling, but it was weird, riveting and I had creepy crawly good time with this.
I'm so glad I got preapproved to read this!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this free for review ARC. I was itching to read this (sorry) and was so glad that I got the opportunity to do so. It was such a gripping read and I liked the way the narrative took me down a path I wasn’t entirely expecting. I won’t spoil the book for anyone, but it is really good. I really liked the main character Josie and was on her side from the get go. She has a difficult relationship with her father and this plays into the narrative well. The flow is good and doesn’t slow down until you reach the final denouement. Gemma is a very good author and I do like anything she publishes and this was no different. Highly recommend this. And there are ants … lots of them.

𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🐜

𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐫
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 / 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫
𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭: 𝐞𝐀𝐫𝐜

First of all, can we appreciate how beautiful this cover is?

A slow burn thriller, body horror novel. I flew through this book as I felt the writing style was really captivating. The descriptions really made you immersed in the story.

I really loved the illustrations throughout that broke up the chapters. 🐜

Unfortunately I didn’t feel the outcome was surprising and I guessed the twists.

Recommend if you like
•Folk Horror
•Murder Mystery
•Body Horror
•Ants

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟑 ⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley for this arc! 🐜

Do you usually guess the twists?

#bookstagram #bookstagramuk #books #horrorbooks #ilovebooks #horror #bodyhorror #netgalley #netgalleyreview

ITCH! feels like Phenomena and Midsommar had a baby in a moss-covered English village. There’s this slow-building, creeping dread that gets under your skin, literally and figuratively. Amor paints the countryside with such lush, beautiful detail—fairy forests, damp stone paths, tangled green everywhere. But beneath all that beauty is something deeply sinister.

The story is jam-packed with trauma, repressed memories unfolding, female oppression and delicious revenge. It’s nightmarish and feral in the way only small-town horror can be, where everyone knows more than they’re saying and women quietly vanish with a nod to “the way it’s always been.”

Best enjoyed on a cold, rainy afternoon, preferably while sipping whisky out of a teacup and side-eyeing an ant farm. Deeply weird, totally immersive, and will definitely make your skin crawl.

A body horror murder mystery with paranormal undertones? Consider me SEATED. What a wild, corporeal story, that truly felt alive and squirming. This was paced much more like a mystery than a horror book, which I think will really work for a lot of readers (myself included!) The sort of hilly back roads journey, rather than a speeding descent directly into madness, made it more digestible. I really connected with the main character, and felt the missing memories trope was well-executed and very realistic. Endings are always tough for me in horror, especially short form(ish), but this one worked pretty well for me. Good balance of satisfaction and uncertainty. I saved tons of quotes, love Gemma's emotional zingers. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

You'll definitely feel the itch !

This book is the feminist folk horror I needed. Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton publishing who offer me to read the advanced reader copy. And thanks to Gemma for this awesome story packed with eerie vibes, small town vibes and girl power.

Josie return to her secluded rural hometown after a bitter breakup and tons of insecurities to meet... a body devoured by ants and bugs. What a lovely start!

As the story go further, Josie has to deal with more murder and family issue while trying to keep her right state of mind and heal from an abusive ex girlfriend.

This book hooked me from the very beginning. This awesome and bumped lesbian lead is so easy to love and you just feel and live all the creepy stuff twits and discoveries with her the whole time.

I loved the massive girl power here, and how the killer hits so close to the heart.

It's also a tale of rebirth and self learning and healing after toxic and hurtful relationship (either familial or romantic) and an ode to friendship and how to ride on a bumpy road when everything is against you.

the thriller part of the story is perfectly developed and offer some plot twists you weren't ready for.

Im really undecided on what ratings to give this book. It was well written, but I found it rather predictable and found myself skimming large sections, eager to get it done. That said, I did enjoy the premise and dont feel like I wasted my time. A solid "this was fine" ultimately

The cover & description had me super ~antsy~ to read this book. While it took me a bit to get into it and I predicted the twist a bit early on in the story, the world-building, character depth, and creepy crawlies kept it suspenseful. This book was spooky & gross - perfect for its October release. Definitely read the trigger warnings if there’s something you might want to avoid. And if you don’t like ants, well…

~thank you to the author, the publisher & NetGalley for giving me a chance to read & review this book~

Creepy? Yes. Gross? Yes. Suspenseful? Yes. Makes you itchy all over? Yes yes yes. Certain parts of this book made me want to gag and shut my eyes but not actually. I enjoyed every bit of this story. The plot itself was very good & I loved the way it was written. The detail that the author put into certain scenes was very good. I could imagine every little thing. Loved it. Not sure if I want to come across another ant ever again though.

I might be in the minority here, but I really didn’t vibe with this book. I love folk horror, anything woods related, fever dreamy, small town vibes and such as. This was all of those things and still I was bored the whole time. It started very slow; I usually love a slow burn, but this felt very repetitive. The toxic abusive relationship was a turn off for me from the very start. This was presented really early on and it kept being brought up, as some kind of a character trait that defined the MC. I am not disgusted by ants or any other insects, so the creep factor was not very impressive on me. But it was very well described. It’s not a bad book; it’s an okay story, although a bit predictable at the end. Maybe this would have been more for me if it was a novella length. 2.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with the ARC.