Reviews

Under Her Skin by Lindy Ryan, Linda D. Addison, Toni Miller

booksonawire's review

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

5.0

I don't feel like I can properly rate this because poetry is not my thing. There were some that moved me, particularly on aging and motherhood. I liked that they were grouped by theme so I could skip those with self charm and obsession with beauty. The main reason I bought it, besides supporting women in horror, was the cover. It is stunning, probably the best cover I've bought for the year. And the beauty runs throughout the book with various illustrations and shading. A+ for presentation!

horrorghoul's review

4.0

TW: gaslighting, rape, abusive, beauty standards

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Black Spot Books presents its inaugural Poetry Showcase, featuring the best in never-before-published dark verse and lyrical prose from the voices of Women in Horror. Edited by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller, the inaugural collection features work from Bram-Stoker award-winning and nominated authors, as well as dozens of poems from women (cis and trans) and non-binary femmes in horror.
Release Date:April 5th, 2022
Genre:Poetry
Pages:300
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
• The editor's note in the beginning
• How relatable the poems were
• That cover

anabelle_g's review

challenging dark tense 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

4.0

cherryactually's review

3.5

this was a stunning collection! i loved almost every poem, and each poet's unique take on body horror.

lovelylittlereads's review

4.0

This collection of work was... hauntingly beautiful. At times it was difficult to read, especially being a woman that related so fully to the themes and content of most of the poems. But, I truly loved every bit of it.

madisonadams17's review

dark medium-paced

5.0

katyjo13's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A

4.0

Conceptually fantastic and several of these poems are absolute gems. Lovely, dark cover and illustrations. It felt good to hold this book in my hands. Features a few poems that sort of felt like filler, which happens a lot in poetry collections, imo.

elisanns's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

the_grimdragon's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

5.0

"When you turn yourself
inside out like that
I don't know how
to hold you" ~Miriam H. Harrison, When You

I'M IN THIS!!! 

Full transparency, even without my obvious bias, I would have still given this ALL THE ACHINGLY BEAUTIFUL STARS!

I am incredibly honored to have a piece in this glorious anthology of fiercely talented badass poets!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Misogyny

blueinkandpaperstars's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

I’ve learned in the last year or so that horror really is one of my favorite genres, even if I don’t always have the chance to read it as often as I’d like. Having said that, you can probably guess how excited I was to pick up this anthology!!! (And, spoiler alert, it did not disappoint).

I will begin by stating the obvious, what a GORGEOUS cover! Also, if the cover was not enough to get me to pick up this anthology (because we all know that I love to judge a book by its cover), I loved the fact that it was written by women (both cis and trans) and non-binary femmes in horror!

As a poetry anthology, “Under Her Skin” is both beautiful, haunting, and even gruesome at times. Each unique poem featured in this anthology explores the horror inflicted upon a woman’s body or femme-presenting body in today’s world. Recently, I have been especially drawn to stories that feature body horror, and it was quite interesting to see how different authors approach body horror in different ways.

Overall, I loved this anthology! It features unique poems, written by diverse voices, in all various writing styles. Of course, as it is true with most poetry anthologies, I didn’t connect to every single poem in the same way. While I understand that this anthology might not be for everyone, I would totally recommend it to anyone who is somewhat intrigued by it.

Thank you to @netgalley and @blackspotbooks for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!