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howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)
Gospel, blues, and love songs often suggest that birthing is hard, dying is difficult and there isn't much ease in between.
After how thoroughly I enjoyed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I thought for sure that this book would be another slam dunk, but unfortunately, it wasn't. I love Maya and everything she stood for, but the narrative in this autobiography was lackluster and, frankly, a bit boring. I found myself skimming more often than I wanted to, because where I was expecting more tales of her adventures and her fights for equal treatment, I was instead treated to endless tales of dinner parties and name-dropping of celebrities she befriended. If you're looking to learn about Maya's life in general, I'd recommend this book, but if you're looking for the reasons why she became the incredible woman she was, pass this one up and grab Caged Bird instead.
"He's my King," Jord said.
Green but for a Season is a short story that fits into the middle of Prince's Gambit, and details the budding relationship between Jord and Aimeric, as well as offering a bit of insight into Jord's past and the Prince's teen years.
There were two heads bent together over the map, one dark-haired, the other blond.
I loved Jord's character during the trilogy, so it was precious enough to see things from his perspective, but my favorite part of the short story was absolutely getting to see not only his opinions of Laurent - who saved him from a life of low-born disgrace at a young age, thus earning Jord's undying love and allegiance - but also getting to see his observations of Laurent and Damen's interactions with one another. What an absolutely adorable addition to the story. <3
This book had been on my TBR for what seemed like forever, and I kept meaning to read it (I even bought a copy last spring!), but I just never got around to it—until an afternoon recently in which I needed to make an hour commute home and wanted an audiobook, so I looked at the “available now” section on my library’s audiobook inventory, found this, and that was all it took. I was so completely captivated from the start!
Joy Osmanski’s narration for this story is flawless; she delivers the narrative with a perfect mannerism, varying from frightened, to concerned, to anxious, to disinterested. My favorite aspect of her narrating skill set was the clear-cut differentiation between characters. No matter how dialogue-heavy the story got, I always knew exactly who was speaking at any given time, and the way she delivered Marjorie’s more terrifying moments was downright sinister.
Merry is a delightful storyteller, as we see things through her adults eyes as well as those of her childhood memories (which, she admits, are unreliable in a number of ways). As a mother, it was hard not to feel sorry for her more often than not, considering the agony it would cause a child to watch her older sister and best friend become a walking nightmare.
As far as the story itself goes, regardless of what format you choose to read it in, it’s totally unputdownable. It constantly straddles a line between horror and psychological thriller, as you’re being dragged back and forth between the question of whether the scenario that took place was a possession, or mental illness, or simply a child running the gamut of twisted little parlor tricks.
I don’t scare easily, and I wouldn’t say this is a particularly frightening book, but there’s definitely something unsettling about a few scenes. It paid terrific homage to the possession films I grew up watching, and I think it’s wholeheartedly written as a love letter to horror movie fans worldwide. Paul Tremblay’s writing kept my interest from start to finish, and the plot never dragged, despite the way it bounced around from the past to present timelines. I honestly don’t have a single complaint about this story, and would highly recommend it, whether you are a fan of horror books, thrillers, or just a good old-fashioned exorcism film.
“Are you good at keeping secrets, Merry?”
“More often than not, they keep me.”
Joy Osmanski’s narration for this story is flawless; she delivers the narrative with a perfect mannerism, varying from frightened, to concerned, to anxious, to disinterested. My favorite aspect of her narrating skill set was the clear-cut differentiation between characters. No matter how dialogue-heavy the story got, I always knew exactly who was speaking at any given time, and the way she delivered Marjorie’s more terrifying moments was downright sinister.
Merry is a delightful storyteller, as we see things through her adults eyes as well as those of her childhood memories (which, she admits, are unreliable in a number of ways). As a mother, it was hard not to feel sorry for her more often than not, considering the agony it would cause a child to watch her older sister and best friend become a walking nightmare.
“Ideas. I’m possessed by ideas.”
As far as the story itself goes, regardless of what format you choose to read it in, it’s totally unputdownable. It constantly straddles a line between horror and psychological thriller, as you’re being dragged back and forth between the question of whether the scenario that took place was a possession, or mental illness, or simply a child running the gamut of twisted little parlor tricks.
I don’t scare easily, and I wouldn’t say this is a particularly frightening book, but there’s definitely something unsettling about a few scenes. It paid terrific homage to the possession films I grew up watching, and I think it’s wholeheartedly written as a love letter to horror movie fans worldwide. Paul Tremblay’s writing kept my interest from start to finish, and the plot never dragged, despite the way it bounced around from the past to present timelines. I honestly don’t have a single complaint about this story, and would highly recommend it, whether you are a fan of horror books, thrillers, or just a good old-fashioned exorcism film.
This was one of my favorite books IN LIFE as a young teen, and I must have checked it out from the library and read it a dozen times over the years. I won't give it a star rating because I haven't read it in years now, but it came to mind just now and I totally want to reread it and see if it held up! I remember thinking it was so gruesome and creepy as a kid, and the twist was totally haunting and sad. Maybe I'll do a reread review soon!
When I went into this story, I knew it would be sad, given the contents, but I never thought that it would be so beautiful, or so haunting. I never could have expected it to nestle itself so deeply in my heart. This story devastated me in the best way, and I will cherish it forever.
All Karolina wants is to save the land of dolls from the evil rat invaders, but when she comes to life in our world, she’s surprised to learn that there is a terrible war brewing in Poland, too. Despite her concerns about her home, which we learn in snippets through flashbacks and memories, Karolina’s efforts quickly become wholeheartedly committed to doing whatever is in her small powers to help the Jewish individuals in Poland. I adored her character so much – she is sassy, clever, and above all, kind. She loves the Dollmaker with her whole heart, and will go to any lengths to comfort him, and their Jewish friends, during the terrible times ahead.
The part of this story that most took me by surprise was how heartfelt and genuine the love between Karolina and the Dollmaker is. Karolina is precisely the friend that the Dollmaker needed, and she never grows weary of his depression, anxiety, or self-deprecating thoughts. No matter how dark his thoughts become, Karolina is always there to support and encourage him. She is tremendously concerned for his well-being, especially concerning his lost leg and the ways his disability ails him both physically and mentally, and I felt like her behavior was a beautiful example of how we can love someone without requiring them to be happy or whole all of the time.
Of course, Karolina and the Dollmaker don’t only love each other; they also love their Jewish friends, Jozef and Rena, who they go to great lengths in attempts to protect and comfort. Watching Karolina as an outsider, slowly coming to realize that the Jewish people were not simply moving away, but being taken to face terrifying fates, was such a brutal and unique perspective on a holocaust story.
Of course, despite how beautiful the imagery of Romero’s writing is, or how sweet Karolina and the Dollmaker’s friendship can be, this is ultimately a tale about the utter havoc that is wreaked by blind hatred. I was broken in the best way by the ending, and honestly, there were moments that had me crying so hard, I had to take a breather because I couldn’t see the words on the pages. Despite being a middle grade novel, this is not an easy or light read in the slightest, but it is so incredibly important, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. To quote the heartfelt author’s note itself,
“Magic is an odd thing,” he said. “It never takes the form you expect.”
All Karolina wants is to save the land of dolls from the evil rat invaders, but when she comes to life in our world, she’s surprised to learn that there is a terrible war brewing in Poland, too. Despite her concerns about her home, which we learn in snippets through flashbacks and memories, Karolina’s efforts quickly become wholeheartedly committed to doing whatever is in her small powers to help the Jewish individuals in Poland. I adored her character so much – she is sassy, clever, and above all, kind. She loves the Dollmaker with her whole heart, and will go to any lengths to comfort him, and their Jewish friends, during the terrible times ahead.
“Even if I’m so old that my bones are as brittle as chalk, I’ll find you. Even if there is an ocean between us, I will find you.”
The part of this story that most took me by surprise was how heartfelt and genuine the love between Karolina and the Dollmaker is. Karolina is precisely the friend that the Dollmaker needed, and she never grows weary of his depression, anxiety, or self-deprecating thoughts. No matter how dark his thoughts become, Karolina is always there to support and encourage him. She is tremendously concerned for his well-being, especially concerning his lost leg and the ways his disability ails him both physically and mentally, and I felt like her behavior was a beautiful example of how we can love someone without requiring them to be happy or whole all of the time.
“No one is ever really lost as long as their story still exists.”
Of course, Karolina and the Dollmaker don’t only love each other; they also love their Jewish friends, Jozef and Rena, who they go to great lengths in attempts to protect and comfort. Watching Karolina as an outsider, slowly coming to realize that the Jewish people were not simply moving away, but being taken to face terrifying fates, was such a brutal and unique perspective on a holocaust story.
Krakow had become a prison for all Jews, and Karolina’s heart went out to them.
Of course, despite how beautiful the imagery of Romero’s writing is, or how sweet Karolina and the Dollmaker’s friendship can be, this is ultimately a tale about the utter havoc that is wreaked by blind hatred. I was broken in the best way by the ending, and honestly, there were moments that had me crying so hard, I had to take a breather because I couldn’t see the words on the pages. Despite being a middle grade novel, this is not an easy or light read in the slightest, but it is so incredibly important, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. To quote the heartfelt author’s note itself,
Please, be kind.
Please, be brave.
Please, don’t let it happen again.
#1 The Summoning ★★★☆☆
#2 Unleashed ???
This review is long overdue, and I'm finally caving and just writing a mini-review for it. I originally gave it 3.5 stars and was going to round up to 4, but as time has gone on, I've realized I can't really justify rounding it up to 4 stars.
I grew up obsessed with the urban legend of Bloody Mary, so when I learned that there was a horror duology about it, I had to snag it. The horror aspect itself is wonderful: Mary is creepy as hell and the fact that she seems unstoppable makes it really suspenseful. I loved the idea that she could appear in reflective surfaces other than just mirrors, because it basically made the characters' entire surroundings a threat.
That said, the horror aspect was the only thing I loved about this book. The characters are so cliche and unlikable for the most part - especially Jessica, the "mean girl" character who follows the stereotype to the bitter end and has literally no redeeming qualities, despite the narrator's constant defense of her as her best friend. I literally wanted to throw the book at one point because I was just so sick of the narrator's justifications for Jessica's behavior.
Besides the "mean girl" trope, there's another trope in this book that I had a huge problem with and haven't seen anyone really addressing: the only token overweight friend is the cliche scared, obnoxious, overly anxious, "stick in the mud" friend who everyone constantly gets frustrated with. Given the fact that I know this book is a few years old and I've seen Hillary post a lot of own-voice pro-body-acceptance stuff on her twitter, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that her intentions weren't to be hurtful, but as a plus-size reviewer, I was honestly really frustrated by the way this character was depicted.
Though I probably found more individual things to dislike than things I liked in this book, all in all, like I said, it was creepy. The horror of it was fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, as well as the backstory we got on what made Bloody Mary the way she is. All of that in mind, you can see why it was tough for me to decide between rounding up or down, but in the end, I had to go with my gut.
I grew up obsessed with the internet, and with that obsession came an absolute adoration for online short stories - particularly creepypasta. I used to spend hours and hours on r/nosleep and creepypasta forums, and I genuinely enjoyed the first Creepypasta Collection volume, so when I saw the second volume, I purchased a copy immediately and started reading it almost as soon as it arrived.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the first volume, but the first thing I realized was that, unlike the first collection, these stories were mostly new to me! Thus, I decided to compile an anthology review for anyone who's interested in picking up a copy of this one.
→ Your Secret Admirer - CreepsMcPasta ★☆☆☆☆ ←
The collection opens with a second-person narrative detailing a stalker's letter to his victim as he attacks the bullies plaguing them. The idea was okay, but nothing particular new and I thought the technical aspect of the writing needed work.
→ Bubbles - Max Lobdell ★★☆☆☆ ←
A man receiving treatment for a minor injury hides out in a hospital treatment room while alien abductions occur around him, leaving some very gross and bizarre physical manifestations on the abductees. The story was a bit gross, but that was the extent of the emotive connection it got out of me.
→ Marsh Baywood Shirts - TalesOfTim ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A child explores the marsh behind his home to find it decorated by the dress shirts of local men who have gone missing. Another story that could have had a good idea behind it, but left a lot to be desired in execution.
→ For Love and Hot Chocolate - K. Banning Kellum ★★★★☆ ←
When a man's comatose wife shows signs of never waking, he is offered a devil's deal of sorts: if he can pass a bizarre set of trials, he can earn her health, but if he fails, he forfeits his soul. The storytelling in this entry was fair, and the tale itself was intriguing enough to keep my interest right to the very end.
→ The Crawlspace - Madame Macabre ★★★★★ ←
A college student studies abroad and rents an apartment with a price that is way too good to be true. This was one of my favorite stories in the collection. As someone who is naturally incredibly wary of staying in buildings I'm unfamiliar with, I was thoroughly creeped out by the idea of someone or something hiding in the crawlspace of this spooky little apartment.
→ That Thing Up There - WellHeyProductions ★★★★☆ ←
I can't say much about this incredibly short story without spoiling it, but it was remarkably cute for the collection, and I really enjoyed it.
→ Proxy - Aaron Shotwell ★★★★☆ ←
When a senior suffers from a stroke, his daughter opts for nano-bite medical treatment for him. The nano-bites begin to communicate with him inside his mind, but it becomes remarkably sinister very quickly. With the constant advancements of robotic medical technology, there was something surprisingly unsettling about the idea behind this story, though I felt that the ending went off-mark a little bit.
→ I Suffer From Short-Term Memory Loss - Jagger Rosenfeld ★★★★★ ←
We follow a young man who feels that he may be suffering from short-term memory loss, as he is suddenly losing peculiar items as well as specific memories. This one was a bit psychological in nature with an unreliable narrator, and I thoroughly enjoyed how suspenseful it was. I thought I guessed the ending early on, but my guess was wrong and I was pleasantly surprised by how dark it was.
→ The Puppeteer - BleedingHeartworks ★★☆☆☆ ←
A lonely college student receives an odd box from their family member, but disregards it as feelings of homesickness and depression consumes their life. This one had potential as a strong metaphor, but there were too many unnecessary details (like the attempt at a suspenseful build-up regarding the box), and the ending was very overstated. When writing metaphors, it's important to have faith in your storytelling ability, as well as your reader's capability for understanding your intent.
→ Hobo Heart-Stitches - Chris OZ Fulton ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A high school girl meets an odd boy with a skull for a face, and... beyond that, I don't really know what to say about the plot? I found it incredibly confusing and all over the place, and didn't enjoy the writing at all, sadly.
→ Craters in Her Face - Madame Macabre ★★★★★ ←
A woman inherits her art-loving grandmother's oil painting collection after she passes, but one painting has a particularly dark past that doesn't seem to be over just yet. I didn't pay attention to the authors while reading the stories, so while compiling this review, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that my two favorite stories were both by Madame Macabre. I absolutely adored this one - easily the best in the anthology. It is creepy, and gruesome, and suspenseful, and morbid, in all the best ways.
→ If Only They Were Cannibals - Jaime Townsend ★★☆☆☆ ←
A particularly unique take on zombies, in which the undead aren't brain-eating cannibals, but are vicious, rabid rapists. I thought the plot was unusual and quite unsettling, but the writing and ending were a little anticlimactic.
→ Tunnel 72F - Michael Whitehouse ★★★★★ ←
The narrator tells a story of an old friend who, despite having lived his life unafraid of anything, has finally met his match in the tunnels under an Amsterdam museum. I loved the WWII historical tidbits thrown into the story, though I would have really enjoyed seeing this plot fleshed out a bit more. I wish it had been one of the longer stories in the collection, as the writing was really lovely.
→ Bats in Winter - Isaac Boissonneau ★★★★☆ ←
With a spin on vampires, this story portrays a reality in which vampirism is something like a contagious disease. It was sad, dark, and definitely a fresh take on an old classic.
→ I Was Invited to a Sleepover - M.J. Orz ★★★★☆ ←
The main character thinks it was hard enough to find his best friend's brother murdered at a sleepover, but the nightmare is far from over when his childhood demons return to finish what they started. I thought this was going to have a very formulaic creepypasta sort of ending, so I was surprised by the twist. All in all, it was a creepy and suspenseful tale!
→ I Couldn't Afford a Tattoo, So I Found Someone Who Would Do it For Free - Leonard Petracci ★☆☆☆☆ ←
Being broke, reluctant to ask for help, and refusing to miss out on being "part of the gang", a young man accepts a free tattoo from a stranger. I honestly struggled so much with this story in part because the main character made such unbelievably bad decisions, as well as the fact that I found the ending rather lackluster.
→ The Strangest Case of Dr. Henry Montague - The Right Hand of Doom ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A mad scientist has created a portal that should take him anywhere in the world, but instead, keeps routing itself back to Hell. I was horribly bored throughout the entirety of this story and found it very empty and pointless in the end.
→ The Beast of Battered Grove - Christopher Maxim ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A young woman stumbles across a beast in the forest by her home, and gets sucked into a fantastical and bizarre plot of occultists. During the events that are actually happening to the main character, she reads a dark fantasy novel, which we are frequently treated to multiple pages of action and dialogue from. I genuinely believe this story was, first and foremost, an excuse to write two genres in one short story (horror and dark fantasy); sadly, neither of the "sides" of this one worked for me. I had a hard time staying interested in the plot and felt that the story, as far as short stories go, overstayed its welcome.
→ Slumber Party - Ashley Franz Holzmann ★★★☆☆ ←
The second sleepover story in the collection portrays a group of preteen boys who get caught up in the sick games of a strange man who visits them late in the evening and refuses to leave. I actually thought the plot for this one was nice and creepy, but the beginning was very slow and there was a lot of repetition in the narration. If this story had been shortened by a few pages of rambling, I would have easily given it four stars.
→ Neptune's Fancy - Vincent V. Cava ★★☆☆☆ ←
The collection ends with a story of fisherman who come across a mermaid who promises them lush rewards if they return her to her home. This story was such a bizarre way to end the collection, because it felt much more like dark fantasy than horror, in my opinion. While I love the idea behind any stories involving dark, scary sea people, the execution wasn't there for me throughout all of this one. It felt repetitive at many points, and while I appreciated the attempt at writing in a Scottish (presumably?) accent, the fact that the writing constantly dipped in and out of that accent made it a little difficult to understand at times.
→ FINAL THOUGHTS ←
Averaged out, my rating came to 2.85/5 stars for the entire collection, but I honestly don't feel comfortable rounding this up to a 3.
If you enjoy horror anthologies and don't mind some cheesy writing, I'd say pick up a copy of this one from BookOutlet or something. Truthfully, though, I would recommend a horror collection I found much more enjoyable overall, such as Thirteen Chairs, or Strange Weather.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the first volume, but the first thing I realized was that, unlike the first collection, these stories were mostly new to me! Thus, I decided to compile an anthology review for anyone who's interested in picking up a copy of this one.
→ Your Secret Admirer - CreepsMcPasta ★☆☆☆☆ ←
The collection opens with a second-person narrative detailing a stalker's letter to his victim as he attacks the bullies plaguing them. The idea was okay, but nothing particular new and I thought the technical aspect of the writing needed work.
→ Bubbles - Max Lobdell ★★☆☆☆ ←
A man receiving treatment for a minor injury hides out in a hospital treatment room while alien abductions occur around him, leaving some very gross and bizarre physical manifestations on the abductees. The story was a bit gross, but that was the extent of the emotive connection it got out of me.
→ Marsh Baywood Shirts - TalesOfTim ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A child explores the marsh behind his home to find it decorated by the dress shirts of local men who have gone missing. Another story that could have had a good idea behind it, but left a lot to be desired in execution.
→ For Love and Hot Chocolate - K. Banning Kellum ★★★★☆ ←
When a man's comatose wife shows signs of never waking, he is offered a devil's deal of sorts: if he can pass a bizarre set of trials, he can earn her health, but if he fails, he forfeits his soul. The storytelling in this entry was fair, and the tale itself was intriguing enough to keep my interest right to the very end.
→ The Crawlspace - Madame Macabre ★★★★★ ←
A college student studies abroad and rents an apartment with a price that is way too good to be true. This was one of my favorite stories in the collection. As someone who is naturally incredibly wary of staying in buildings I'm unfamiliar with, I was thoroughly creeped out by the idea of someone or something hiding in the crawlspace of this spooky little apartment.
→ That Thing Up There - WellHeyProductions ★★★★☆ ←
I can't say much about this incredibly short story without spoiling it, but it was remarkably cute for the collection, and I really enjoyed it.
→ Proxy - Aaron Shotwell ★★★★☆ ←
When a senior suffers from a stroke, his daughter opts for nano-bite medical treatment for him. The nano-bites begin to communicate with him inside his mind, but it becomes remarkably sinister very quickly. With the constant advancements of robotic medical technology, there was something surprisingly unsettling about the idea behind this story, though I felt that the ending went off-mark a little bit.
→ I Suffer From Short-Term Memory Loss - Jagger Rosenfeld ★★★★★ ←
We follow a young man who feels that he may be suffering from short-term memory loss, as he is suddenly losing peculiar items as well as specific memories. This one was a bit psychological in nature with an unreliable narrator, and I thoroughly enjoyed how suspenseful it was. I thought I guessed the ending early on, but my guess was wrong and I was pleasantly surprised by how dark it was.
→ The Puppeteer - BleedingHeartworks ★★☆☆☆ ←
A lonely college student receives an odd box from their family member, but disregards it as feelings of homesickness and depression consumes their life. This one had potential as a strong metaphor, but there were too many unnecessary details (like the attempt at a suspenseful build-up regarding the box), and the ending was very overstated. When writing metaphors, it's important to have faith in your storytelling ability, as well as your reader's capability for understanding your intent.
→ Hobo Heart-Stitches - Chris OZ Fulton ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A high school girl meets an odd boy with a skull for a face, and... beyond that, I don't really know what to say about the plot? I found it incredibly confusing and all over the place, and didn't enjoy the writing at all, sadly.
→ Craters in Her Face - Madame Macabre ★★★★★ ←
A woman inherits her art-loving grandmother's oil painting collection after she passes, but one painting has a particularly dark past that doesn't seem to be over just yet. I didn't pay attention to the authors while reading the stories, so while compiling this review, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that my two favorite stories were both by Madame Macabre. I absolutely adored this one - easily the best in the anthology. It is creepy, and gruesome, and suspenseful, and morbid, in all the best ways.
→ If Only They Were Cannibals - Jaime Townsend ★★☆☆☆ ←
A particularly unique take on zombies, in which the undead aren't brain-eating cannibals, but are vicious, rabid rapists. I thought the plot was unusual and quite unsettling, but the writing and ending were a little anticlimactic.
→ Tunnel 72F - Michael Whitehouse ★★★★★ ←
The narrator tells a story of an old friend who, despite having lived his life unafraid of anything, has finally met his match in the tunnels under an Amsterdam museum. I loved the WWII historical tidbits thrown into the story, though I would have really enjoyed seeing this plot fleshed out a bit more. I wish it had been one of the longer stories in the collection, as the writing was really lovely.
→ Bats in Winter - Isaac Boissonneau ★★★★☆ ←
With a spin on vampires, this story portrays a reality in which vampirism is something like a contagious disease. It was sad, dark, and definitely a fresh take on an old classic.
→ I Was Invited to a Sleepover - M.J. Orz ★★★★☆ ←
The main character thinks it was hard enough to find his best friend's brother murdered at a sleepover, but the nightmare is far from over when his childhood demons return to finish what they started. I thought this was going to have a very formulaic creepypasta sort of ending, so I was surprised by the twist. All in all, it was a creepy and suspenseful tale!
→ I Couldn't Afford a Tattoo, So I Found Someone Who Would Do it For Free - Leonard Petracci ★☆☆☆☆ ←
Being broke, reluctant to ask for help, and refusing to miss out on being "part of the gang", a young man accepts a free tattoo from a stranger. I honestly struggled so much with this story in part because the main character made such unbelievably bad decisions, as well as the fact that I found the ending rather lackluster.
→ The Strangest Case of Dr. Henry Montague - The Right Hand of Doom ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A mad scientist has created a portal that should take him anywhere in the world, but instead, keeps routing itself back to Hell. I was horribly bored throughout the entirety of this story and found it very empty and pointless in the end.
→ The Beast of Battered Grove - Christopher Maxim ★☆☆☆☆ ←
A young woman stumbles across a beast in the forest by her home, and gets sucked into a fantastical and bizarre plot of occultists. During the events that are actually happening to the main character, she reads a dark fantasy novel, which we are frequently treated to multiple pages of action and dialogue from. I genuinely believe this story was, first and foremost, an excuse to write two genres in one short story (horror and dark fantasy); sadly, neither of the "sides" of this one worked for me. I had a hard time staying interested in the plot and felt that the story, as far as short stories go, overstayed its welcome.
→ Slumber Party - Ashley Franz Holzmann ★★★☆☆ ←
The second sleepover story in the collection portrays a group of preteen boys who get caught up in the sick games of a strange man who visits them late in the evening and refuses to leave. I actually thought the plot for this one was nice and creepy, but the beginning was very slow and there was a lot of repetition in the narration. If this story had been shortened by a few pages of rambling, I would have easily given it four stars.
→ Neptune's Fancy - Vincent V. Cava ★★☆☆☆ ←
The collection ends with a story of fisherman who come across a mermaid who promises them lush rewards if they return her to her home. This story was such a bizarre way to end the collection, because it felt much more like dark fantasy than horror, in my opinion. While I love the idea behind any stories involving dark, scary sea people, the execution wasn't there for me throughout all of this one. It felt repetitive at many points, and while I appreciated the attempt at writing in a Scottish (presumably?) accent, the fact that the writing constantly dipped in and out of that accent made it a little difficult to understand at times.
→ FINAL THOUGHTS ←
Averaged out, my rating came to 2.85/5 stars for the entire collection, but I honestly don't feel comfortable rounding this up to a 3.
If you enjoy horror anthologies and don't mind some cheesy writing, I'd say pick up a copy of this one from BookOutlet or something. Truthfully, though, I would recommend a horror collection I found much more enjoyable overall, such as Thirteen Chairs, or Strange Weather.
#1 Letters to the Lost ★★★★★
#2 More Than We Can Tell ★★★☆☆
I’d heard somewhat mixed reviews from my friends on this book, but after learning that the ARC of Brigid’s I’d been approved for, More Than We Can Tell, is meant to be read after this one, I decided to go ahead and read it – and I couldn’t put it down. Don’t get me wrong, Letters is an incredibly sad story filled with grief, pain, and regret, but there’s also something tremendously heart-warming and comforting in Brigid’s writing.
“What you wrote implies that you understand agony. I don’t think you do. If you did, you wouldn’t have interfered with mine.”
I’m such a sucker for romances and friendships that form through written correspondence, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done while being intermingled with an enemies-to-lovers trope, and this book executes it in such a fun, captivating way. From the start, Juliet and Declan can hardly stand each other – Juliet is self-absorbed and terrified of his large stature and stoic, harsh mannerisms, while Declan has written her off as just another pretty girl who thinks she’s out of his league.
“When everything goes to hell around you, the only way to go is forward.”
While I honestly loved Declan from the beginning – I have such a soft spot for angsty, hurting “bad boys” – Juliet was fairly unlikable at the start, mostly due to the way she treats the people around her. She’s hurting, and her mother’s passing is recent, so she lashes out constantly, whether it’s at Declan, her father, or her friends. The thing about her behavior, though, is you can’t help but empathize for her even when she’s at her worst.
“One day isn't your whole life. A day is just a day.”
It takes some time for Juliet to come around, but Declan is the shining star of character development in this story, if you ask me. In the beginning, he’s at the edge of a cliff, and it’s taking everything in him to make it through one day at a time. He’s living with guilt that nobody should bear, being harassed by his step-father and forgotten by his mother in the wake of his younger sister’s passing. There were moments in his narrative where I was so worried about what would happen to him, but he becomes so strong, and under all the pain and rage is this mushy little teddy bear that just wants to protect the people he loves.
Sometimes I think fate conspires against us. Or maybe fate conspires with us.
Of course, I can’t review this book without talking about Declan’s best friend, Rev, who is hilarious, awkward, precious, and a delightful addition to every scene he’s in. I loved his character so much, and I didn’t realize until after finishing this book that he’s the star of the follow-up story, so now I’m twice as excited for that one as I already was. I can’t wait to see where life takes him next, and to get to know him and his sordid past a little bit better.
“You’re okay,” he says again. I like that, how he’s so sure. Not, “Are you okay?” No question about it. You’re okay.
If you enjoy YA contemporaries about grief and healing, or if you’re just like me and you can’t resist a good falling-in-love-through-emails trope, pick this one up right away – you won’t regret it.
