Take a photo of a barcode or cover
raesengele's Reviews (320)
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Dementia, Murder
Minor: Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Murder, Gaslighting
This is a VERY graphic book. For the first time while reading true crime I honestly wondered if I should be reading these things. It's horrific what happened, but the family wanted it to be told.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Since this is an anthology, I thought I'd just break my ratings down by stories. Also, trigger warnings for each one, because while they're listed in the back of the book, there's some that need more than what they provided.
THE BURNING BOY by Denver Grenell - 4✨ fun story, could have been better
tw: murder (fire), prolonged threat
SNOWBLIND by Kyle J Durrant - 5✨ so good! You really feel the cold and fear with this one
tw: car accident, light gore
THE WILD HUNT by Roxie Voorhees - 2✨ the concept was interesting and it was folk horror which made me want to love it so bad, but the structure was confusing and these seemingly very traditional Norwegian characters claim that the wild hunt starts on Samhain when the celts were the only people to celebrate Samhain 🤦🏻♀️ which made me just question everything else in this book (I'm also not a fan of "bed time" story devices, so already knocked it down a peg for me)
tw: mutilation, child? murder (the age really isn't clear), natural death
THE COLD GRIEF by Spencer Hamilton - 5✨ definitely one of the best if not the best out of the bunch! So good! Worth it for this story
tw: child death, cancer, heavy grief, mentions of alcoholism
MY WHITE STAR by Carla Eliot - 3✨ okay. Pretty middle of the road. The ending was pretty anti-climactic
tw: sexually aggressive man, sexually motivated murder (strangulation), car accident
THE KILLER SNOWMAN by Cass Oakley - 4.5✨ this one has so much potential with the queer rep and the amazing dialogue and fun concept, but it felt super rushed with glaring typos and everything
tw: animal death
EVERYONE TO THE TABLE - 5✨ SO GOOD! The other story that makes this whole anthology! Loved it
tw: family murder (poison), quasi death of a baby, grief
THE CHRISTMAS EVE - 3✨ very middle of the road. Admittedly forgot about it before I even finished the next story
tw: murder (axe), gore
REALMER, REDEEMER by Joe Clements - 4✨ nice Lovecraftian vibes, but at a definite disadvantage because not only is a cryptid boyfriend introduced, the phrase "steeple phallus" was typed and not a speck of smut followed
tw: disappointing use of someone's cryptid boyfriend
EVERY HUNT IS A COLD ONE - 0✨ skimmed this one once it became clear it was a male author attempting to do a kidnapping rape/revenge story. No rape happens on the page, but that's absolutely where it was implied to be headed and I'm not here for that
tw: INCEST, (implied) PEDOPHILIA, SUGGESTED RAPE, religious bigotry, injury detail, cannibalism, child death
THE VIOLENT SNOW by Patrick Whitehurst - 4✨ a really fun concept and the writing was great, but the conflict kind of fizzled out once the cryptid boyfriend showed up (again no smut, male authors stop stealing women's cryptid boyfriends and not taking advantage of it) leaving the ending a bit anticlimactic
tw: death of cryptid boyfriend and not by snu snu
THE BURNING BOY by Denver Grenell - 4✨ fun story, could have been better
tw: murder (fire), prolonged threat
SNOWBLIND by Kyle J Durrant - 5✨ so good! You really feel the cold and fear with this one
tw: car accident, light gore
THE WILD HUNT by Roxie Voorhees - 2✨ the concept was interesting and it was folk horror which made me want to love it so bad, but the structure was confusing and these seemingly very traditional Norwegian characters claim that the wild hunt starts on Samhain when the celts were the only people to celebrate Samhain 🤦🏻♀️ which made me just question everything else in this book (I'm also not a fan of "bed time" story devices, so already knocked it down a peg for me)
tw: mutilation, child? murder (the age really isn't clear), natural death
THE COLD GRIEF by Spencer Hamilton - 5✨ definitely one of the best if not the best out of the bunch! So good! Worth it for this story
tw: child death, cancer, heavy grief, mentions of alcoholism
MY WHITE STAR by Carla Eliot - 3✨ okay. Pretty middle of the road. The ending was pretty anti-climactic
tw: sexually aggressive man, sexually motivated murder (strangulation), car accident
THE KILLER SNOWMAN by Cass Oakley - 4.5✨ this one has so much potential with the queer rep and the amazing dialogue and fun concept, but it felt super rushed with glaring typos and everything
tw: animal death
EVERYONE TO THE TABLE - 5✨ SO GOOD! The other story that makes this whole anthology! Loved it
tw: family murder (poison), quasi death of a baby, grief
THE CHRISTMAS EVE - 3✨ very middle of the road. Admittedly forgot about it before I even finished the next story
tw: murder (axe), gore
REALMER, REDEEMER by Joe Clements - 4✨ nice Lovecraftian vibes, but at a definite disadvantage because not only is a cryptid boyfriend introduced, the phrase "steeple phallus" was typed and not a speck of smut followed
tw: disappointing use of someone's cryptid boyfriend
EVERY HUNT IS A COLD ONE - 0✨ skimmed this one once it became clear it was a male author attempting to do a kidnapping rape/revenge story. No rape happens on the page, but that's absolutely where it was implied to be headed and I'm not here for that
tw: INCEST, (implied) PEDOPHILIA, SUGGESTED RAPE, religious bigotry, injury detail, cannibalism, child death
THE VIOLENT SNOW by Patrick Whitehurst - 4✨ a really fun concept and the writing was great, but the conflict kind of fizzled out once the cryptid boyfriend showed up (again no smut, male authors stop stealing women's cryptid boyfriends and not taking advantage of it) leaving the ending a bit anticlimactic
tw: death of cryptid boyfriend and not by snu snu
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Car accident, Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry
These are not in every story, but do come up in at least one
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
.jpg)
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated