Haunting Love & Dark Magic: A Spellbinding Gothic You Won’t Forget
Book Review of "May the Dead Keep You" by Jill Baguchinsky
There are books you enjoy, and then there are books that completely consume you—and May the Dead Keep You by Jill Baguchinsky firmly falls into the latter category. This haunting, gothic novel weaves together mystery, romance, and the supernatural in a way that feels both fresh and deeply atmospheric. From the very first page, I was pulled into its eerie world—and I didn’t want to leave.
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Thank you to the author and publisher for the book, including me on this tour, and my honest review. This book tour is sponsored by Toppling Stack Tours. Click the button below to follow the tour:
At its core, this story follows Catie, an unusual and quietly compelling protagonist whose oddness is not only accepted but becomes one of her most endearing traits. She’s not your typical heroine, and that’s exactly what makes her so memorable. Her perspective shapes the narrative in a way that feels intimate and immersive, drawing readers deeper into the unsettling yet fascinating world she inhabits.
One of the standout elements of this novel is its seamless blending of genres. There’s magic, ghosts, and even a story-within-a-story structure that adds layers of intrigue. The necromancy woven throughout the book is particularly captivating—not because it’s fully explained, but because it isn’t. Baguchinsky strikes a delicate balance, giving readers just enough information to understand the power Catie and Hunter share without over-explaining it. This restraint adds to the mystique, making their abilities feel more organic and, in some ways, more believable.
Speaking of Hunter—the romance between him and Catie is beautifully done. It’s not over-the-top or forced, but instead grows naturally out of their shared experiences and connection to the supernatural. Together, they form a partnership that feels both powerful and vulnerable. Their bond, rooted in necromancy, adds an extra layer of depth to their relationship, making it feel unique among typical YA or gothic romances.
The setting deserves special praise because it’s so much more than just a backdrop—it’s practically a character in its own right. Lockwood Heights, the eerie home nestled deep within the redwood forests of California, is dripping with atmosphere. Designed by an eccentric architect with a vision of creating a “forever home,” the house carries a dark, complicated history that seeps into every corner of the story. Its presence looms large, influencing the mood and tension in ways that feel almost alive.
Beyond the supernatural elements, what truly elevates this book is its exploration of complex relationships. Catie’s dynamic with her mother is layered and emotionally charged, while her relationship with her best friend—and ex-girlfriend—adds nuance and authenticity. Her bond with her brother Leigh is equally intricate, highlighting themes of loyalty, tension, and unspoken truths. These relationships ground the story, giving it emotional weight that resonates long after the final page.
The novel also doesn’t shy away from darker themes, particularly those surrounding male violence against female family members and cycles of abuse. These elements are handled thoughtfully, adding a layer of realism that contrasts sharply with the supernatural aspects of the story. It’s this balance—between the magical and the painfully real—that makes the narrative so compelling.
Fans of Wuthering Heights will find familiar echoes here, especially in the portrayal of intense, sometimes complicated love and relationships. There’s a similar sense of emotional turbulence and gothic atmosphere, but Baguchinsky makes it entirely her own.
And then there’s the ending.
Without giving anything away, the twist is deeply satisfying—one of those moments that makes you pause and reflect on everything that came before it. Even more impressive is the way the story concludes: not with neat resolution, but with just enough ambiguity to keep your mind turning long after you’ve finished. It’s the kind of ending that lingers, inviting you to revisit the story in your thoughts again and again.
Ultimately, May the Dead Keep You is a rare gem—a book where everything just works. The characters, the setting, the romance, the mystery, and the supernatural elements all come together seamlessly to create an unforgettable reading experience. It’s the kind of story that grabs hold of you and refuses to let go.
I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down—and I already can’t wait to see what Jill Baguchinsky does next. This might just be the start of a new favorite author for me.
If you’re looking for a gothic read filled with eerie atmosphere, complex relationships, and a touch of dark magic, this is one you won’t want to miss.
About the book:
Genre: YA Horror
Publishing date: April 21, 2026
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Synopsis:
Perfect for fans of Don’t Let the Forest In and Wuthering Heights. May the Dead Keep You is a gothic YA horror about the pasts that haunt us and the stories we decide to make for ourselves.
There’s nowhere Catie East would rather be than the redwood forest that surrounds her family’s unusual historic home, the Heights.
She prefers being alone in the forest. People are…complicated. But when a scientist and his son move into the estate’s cottage, planning to study the woods around them, the boy catches Catie’s eye. And when a dead woodpecker miraculously comes back to life in his precious hands…he captures her heart.
Necromancy isn’t the only strange thing happening in the Heights. There’s an unfamiliar face in the mirror. Blood on the floors. Eyes in the wallpaper. And the men around her—including her once-sweet nature boy—are becoming something else. Something possessive and frightening. Something violent.
As the Heights’s dark history starts to come to light, Catie discovers that the home she loves is imbued with pain. And even though the pain isn’t her own, it will corrupt her and the people around her all the same—unless she can stop it.
A story about breaking cycles of abuse and overcoming generational trauma, May the Dead Keep You is an edge-of-your-seat listen—equally horrifying, heart-wrenching, and hopeful.
Content Warning: enerational trauma, animal deaths and resurrections, stalking and related behaviors, drug references, underage drinking, blood and gore, violence including mentions of domestic abuse, miscarriage, parental loss, abandonment, character death, character injuries/ characters in peril.
Meet the author:
Jill Baguchinsky writes raw, accessible young adult fiction that resonates with teenagers navigating an increasingly dark and complicated world. Her most recent book, SO WITCHES WE BECAME (LBYR 2024), received a starred review from School Library Journal; the young adult horror novel tackles society’s toxic “boys will be boys” mentality with nuance and sensitivity, challenging women and girls to find strength in the shadows of their past trauma and fight back. MAY THE DEAD KEEP YOU (LBYR 2026), her next YA horror, turns some traditional romance tropes upside down to illustrate that themes like obsession, possessiveness, and stalking aren’t romantic at all. Jill’s debut novel, SPOOKYGIRL, won the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Young Adult Fiction.
Although Jill works mainly in the young adult realm, she has also been recognized as a notable voice in adult horror; her stories have appeared in the women-in-horror anthologies INTO THE FOREST: TALES OF THE BABA YAGA and MOTHER KNOWS BEST: TALES OF HANDMADE HORROR (both Black Spot Books). Her work has been adapted for audio on the popular NoSleep Podcast, and her post-apocalyptic short story “Green Thumb” won Uncharted Magazine’s Sci-Fi/Fantasy Short Story Award. Although Jill’s work is often dark and sometimes grim, she weaves hope, strength, and subtle humor throughout her stories, offering readers a bit of light in the shadows.
Jill’s storytelling abilities adapt seamlessly to other genres as well. For her 2018 young adult contemporary novel, MAMMOTH (Turner Publishing), Jill worked with real-life scientists and trained at the Waco Mammoth National Monument to deliver a story of finding one’s confidence and voice as a young female intern in the male-dominated field of paleontology.
Born in New York and raised in Florida, Jill spends most of her time writing with the help of her menagerie of rescued office assistants (currently cats and guinea pigs), giddily cross-stitching rude or political sentiments, and chilling at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT theme park.