Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley in exchange for a review.

A short story collection with some sci fi and fantasy elements, but mostly horror focused short stories often dealing with topics of race and gender and the intersection thereof. While many of the stories have quite interesting bones, the meat was often lacking due to length and not enough development, which unfortunately is the reason for my low rating. I enjoyed many aspects that were presented in this horror collection, from the criticism of a patriarchal and sexist society and the way this story tackled racism. Many of the stories left me saddened for the characters, knowing that their struggles are still much too prevalent in todays’ society. I also liked the variety of horror presented here, as from folk horror to alien horror to very interesting looks at spiritualist horror as well as the human horrors all is present. However, some of the stories are so short I grew mainly confused at their inclusion and wish they had been removed to allow the other stories more room to breathe. The ideas are certainly often very interesting and even though the way the ideas were put down on paper didn’t always work for me, I still had an interesting time and I do think I want to check out more work by the author, particularly if she ever writes a longer piece in the horror genre as I believe that given some space to breathe and grow her stories could be a lot more interesting.
My favorite stories were Urban Wendy (for its interesting take on Urban Legends), Etta, Zora and the First Serpent (for its intriguing characters and the combination of spiritualism with the human monsters), The Curl of Emma Jean (for its look into a messy family story and the way it presents two deeply unlikeable characters), And They Will Rise From the Oceans (a story about a summoner feeling compelled to open a door to right a historical wrong, but maybe falling for the whispers of something much darker) & Cemetery Sisters (a young woman encounters two ghosts during her work at the graveyard, but soon finds herself in… grave danger… :P) and here underneath you can find the various short stories with some thoughts and the trigger warnings that apply:

Nussia: A little girl is part of the first family chosen to host an Alien on Earth. But will her excited dreams of a best friend become a reality when the Alien arrives? And how will racism and xenophobia influence their newfound status as not just the first family to host an Alien, but the first Black family? Very interesting writing style and my heart breaks for Lindsay, but it was a bit too long to fully keep my attention. tw: racism, drugs, forced institutionalization

*FAV* Urban Wendy: A former Wendy’s employee finds herself haunted by a little redheaded girl who wants her to return to her old job. Interesting and quite scary, which I really enjoyed. tw: attempted sexual assault, physical violence

*FAV* Etta, Zora, and the First Serpent: A fascinating look into Harlem, the life of a dancing girl and seances. I really liked the characters presented here and enjoyed the creeping dread that filled these pages as Etta first encounters human monsters and soon finds herself in even more danger as she turns to inhuman ones for help. tw: sexual assault, underage sex work, racism, past csa

Family Line: A sixteen year old boy visits his cousins in North Carolina and soon gets drawn into a dark ritual, interesting, but a bit too short for me to really enjoy it, tw: slavery, human sacrifice

Doll Seed: A doll in a toy store comes alive and soon faces convoluted social structures that the other dolls have made up, heartbreaking in its exploration of racism both from the other dolls and from humans, but I wish this story had dived a bit deeper into this world of living toys that it created. tw: n slur, anti-black racist language, suicide

*FAV* The Curl of Emma Jean: two sisters await their father’s inheritance when the heritage of one sister’s kid becomes a topic of contention, interesting character study of two siblings and I enjoyed the dread that built even though not a lot happened in the story, tw: past drug addiction, messy supernatural sex of dubious consent involving (dream) animals, torture, anti black racism, ableism

The Wishing Well Off Fordham Road: A small neighborhood suddenly sports its own wishing well, but our protagonist is not sure she can really trust the creature, interesting concept, but I could have done without the ableist language in it, heartbreaking exploration of a lost woman’s thoughts and feelings, but I would have liked a deeper exploration of wishes gone wrong, since the topic was brought up, tw ableist language against little people (unexamined), sexual assault, body horror, death

Grinding Disney: A very short gorey story about exactly what the title promises, intriguing concept, but I would have liked more exploration of the why, tw murder, gore

What the Slots Hold: A Greek goddess revenge on casinos, okay, but again, very short and so not interesting enough

The Lineup: A very short story about a neighborhood bully who performs a dangerous stunt, feels underexplored due to being so short

Miss Black Little Hill of 1965: A young wife’s dreams are shattered when her husband introduces her to his day job, okay, but again, too short, tw: threats of murder

The Invisible Son: A son and dad drug-selling duo and the night that changes their routine, the story is okay, but not exploring a particularly interesting idea, tw: drugs, murder

New Employee Orientation Guide for Snatch Day: A troll bridge senior home employee guide provides a yearly event for its elderly residents to remind them of the good old days of human snatching, a very intriguing idea and I enjoy the writing style

*FAV* And They Will Rise from the Oceans: A Black spiritualist becomes obsessed with water demons and drags himself, his spouse and his congregation ever further into their depths after a recent trip to Africa, I really enjoyed the way this story interwove Black history with spiritualist ideals as well as the yearning love of a woman for her spouse and the horror of dealing with beings you don’t fully understand, very well written and interesting tw: slavery, mass murder

*FAV* Cemetery Sisters: A young woman stuck in a small town that separated from the rest of the world after an outbreak of disease finds herself hearing voices just like her mother, unsettling and with fascinating worldbuilding this combines post-apocalypse with hauntings and works as a really, really great ending of the anthology. tw: ableism, murder