From the reviews I read on Amazon claiming that this book was so terribly messed up and disgustingly brutal, I expected a lot more than I got, frankly, which isn't the author's fault — after all, the title is Seven SLIGHTLY Sadistic Stories, and "slightly sadistic" sums it up pretty well. It made it hard to appreciate things as much when they were simply so much milder than I expected them to be. I went into this hoping for a roaring, bloody slasher mess, and that's not what this is. Then again, if you're more sensitive to violence in horror than I am, this might definitely be more stomach-turning for you!

Altogether, I was a little bored by many of the stories and found them a little bit predictable, but I have to give the author major credit for the final story, "Zen". It took me a moment to realize what was happening there, and once I caught on, I thought it was an awesome writing choice to bring things full-circle!

3.5 stars