Review: The Devouring Light by Kat Ellis

Author: Kat Ellis
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: October 2025

Clown in a Cornfield meets The Cabin in this twisty, blood-curdling delight from acclaimed author Kat Ellis about a group of rivals stranded in an abandoned house that seems to have its own plans for them.

When Haden Romero and her rival, Deacon Rex—alongside their bands, including Haden’s ex, Cairo—are stranded on their way to a rock festival, she thinks missing the gig is the worst thing that could happen.

She’s wrong.

Marooned in treacherous swamplands with no way out, the group stumbles upon an eerie, decaying house. It seems like a safe haven, a place to wait out the storm.

The house, however, isn’t just abandoned—it’s been waiting for them.

Bodies begin to pile up. The walls start to close in. Twisted secrets come to light. And unless Haden and the others can survive long enough to escape, the house will claim them—forever.

True horror in the most fun sense of the word, The Devouring Light will have readers on the edge of their seats, bracing themselves for jump scares, flinching with every plot twist, and—most importantly—reading with the lights on.

I have read 2 other books by this author.  One I gave 4 stars and the other 2. The Devouring Light sadly sits right in the middle at a 3 star.  It wasn't awful but it wasn't fantastic.  I also have a hard time finding any comparison between Clown in a Cornfield or The Cabin.  There were also no real jump scares or blood curdling delight as the synopsis above claims.  

I did like the beginning. The story started out strong and I was intrigued once they got to the house. It was creepy being in the swamp and the house seemed ominous and not a place I would want to be. However,  I didn't really like any of the characters. None of them were particularly interesting. In a word, I was kind of bored once they got to the house.  The ending was exactly what I expected and was predictable.  I would have loved the ending had it gone a different way. Overall, I was underwhelmed but this.  

Review: Burden Falls by Kat Ellis

Author: Kat Ellis

Publisher: Dial Books

Publication Date: August 2021

The town of Burden Falls drips with superstition, from rumors of its cursed waterfall to Dead-Eyed Sadie, the disturbing specter who haunts it. Ava Thorn grew up right beside the falls, and since a horrific accident killed her parents a year ago, she's been plagued by nightmares in which Sadie comes calling—nightmares so chilling, Ava feels as if she’ll never wake up. But when someone close to Ava is brutally murdered and she’s the primary suspect, she begins to wonder if the stories might be more than legends—and if the ghost haunting her dreams might be terrifyingly real. Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there's a killer on the loose . . . with a vendetta against the Thorns.

Burden Falls features Ava, whose had to give up everything she knew when her parents died.  Even selling her parents house and moving in with her aunt and uncle.  The town has might be cursed and haunted by a ghost names Dead-eyed Sadie.  Then there is a murder in town, Ava becomes a suspect and someone seems to be setting her up.

I thought this was a solid YA mystery.  I enjoyed the characters.  Ava was a strong and smart heroine who didn't back down despite all that had happened to her.  The little bit of romance wasn't annoying. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. There were a lot of creepy scenes that really added to the atmosphere of the story.  I was genuinely surprised at the end when all was revealed.  I didn't call that ending.  I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil anything.  Definitely give this one a try.