I wish there were half stars, because I would have given this 3.5. Don't be fooled; those are 3 very strong stars. I enjoyed the Indian culture and mythology in this book as well as the haunting. There were a couple of scenes of "action horror" that had me optimistically hoping for a good outcome. I also enjoyed the ending and twist on humanity/life and death. I wish it was slightly longer. And sometimes the narration irked me (the sentence structure). All in all, this was a good read for the little amount of time that was required to read. I'm definitely interested in more of his works now.

What a purely outstanding and spectacular book and conclusion to a great trilogy! King had me all over the emotional spectrum with this one. I'm staring at the floor trying to think of things to say and I'm just speechless. BRAVO, King. Bravo.

What an excellent introduction to Ania Ahlborn! I enjoyed this book way more than I had anticipated - not that I went in with low expectations at all, though. Throughout the book I kept asking myself, "Oh my gosh, why is this is not a movie?!" The story was so haunting and there were times sincere fear filled me. As it goes with a lot of horror, there were some scenes that made me sad, afraid, and excited all at the same time because of how great the story was. I can't wait to read more from Ahlborn!

So I really only LOVED two of the stories in this collection SO MUCH. The two that I loved I wish were full-blown books, because I could read more about those for a long time! The rest were a blend of pretty good, so-so, and one I could not even finish. My overall rating is just the average of how I rated all the individual stories, as I did not know the best way to do it! It ended up being just a little more than a 3.5 average so I just kept it at a solid 3 rating since we can't give half stars here. It was a nice break from long books to read a collection of short stories.

Vampires in the Lemon Grove - 3/5
Reeling for the Empire - 5/5
The Seagull Army Descends On Strong Beach, 1979 - 4/5
Proving Up - 1/5 - Could not finish
The Barn At The End of Our Term - 5/5
Dougbert Shackleton's Rules for Antarctic Tailgating - 4/5
The New Veterans - 3.5/5
The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis - 3.5/5

I really had no idea what to expect going into this book and I only added it to my TBR list this month because the movie is coming out on Netflix later, we just had a solar eclipse here, and I was interested to see how it tied to the story of Dolores Claiborne. I found myself quickly entrenched in the story and I felt as trapped as Jessie, the main character. Whether reading about her current predicament or some of the stuff that happened to her as a child, I found myself cringing with disgust, pity, and horror. The ending really added some goosebumps because there is also a mixture of psycho-horror, voices in the head, and potential schizophrenia. So throughout the book you are questioning, just as she is, what is real and what isn't. And what do you want to remember and what do you wish you could forget? A thrilling read!

this book has me excited for what more Sarah Schmidt will bring in the future. I feel like, with 4 different narrators, the story should have been longer. if kept the same length, we could have gone with 2 or 3 narrators. at times the narrative did have me scratching my head and I would need to re-read a paragraph or two to re-calibrate. but i definitely enjoyed the story, the setting, and the ending! a solid, strong 4 out of 5 from me!

great book! detailed review to come!