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aaronlindsey's review
4.0
Two stories in this collection are worth the price of the book: Christmas in Barcelona and Good Deeds.
Of the other 16 stories, 1o were enjoyable, 4 were not too bad, and 2 were just plain bad.
BUT, Christmas in Barcelona blew my mind. And Good Deeds made me laugh so hard I actually got dizzy and saw stars.
Of the other 16 stories, 1o were enjoyable, 4 were not too bad, and 2 were just plain bad.
BUT, Christmas in Barcelona blew my mind. And Good Deeds made me laugh so hard I actually got dizzy and saw stars.
mlc_1316's review
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
"You. Yes, you. I'm looking straight through this page. I see you."
This was a wonderful and fun anthology of stories. I loved the Christmas setting and the awful, spooky, creepy stories they held. I love that I even learned of a Christmas tradition I'd never heard of before and had to look it up.
The first story was my favorite.
This was a wonderful and fun anthology of stories. I loved the Christmas setting and the awful, spooky, creepy stories they held. I love that I even learned of a Christmas tradition I'd never heard of before and had to look it up.
The first story was my favorite.
jaid5394's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
raesengele's review
fast-paced
4.0
Averaged out to 3.5, but rounding up to 4 because though the bad ones were really bad the good ones were phenomenal and I just couldn't do that to them.
Absinthe and Angels, Kelley Armstrong ⭐⭐⭐
I like the creepiness of the mummers and the isolation, but I hate the ending so much. Also, I don't get why it's called "Absinthe and Angels." Are the mummers the angels? I don't get it.
Christmas in Barcelona, Scott Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Now that is an ending! Not at all what I was expecting. 1/2 a star off because it was in 2nd person and there didn't seem to be much point to it. It would have been just as good in 3rd or 1st.
Fresh as the New Fallen Snow, Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Damn that was good! And definitely something different!
Love Me, Thomas E. Sniegoski ⭐⭐✨
Meh. I'm not sure if it's because the ending was almost exactly like Christmas in Barcelona except not as well done or if it was the way the ending was written, but not a fan of this one.
Not Just for Christmas, Sarah Lotz ⭐⭐⭐
Eh.
Tenets, Josh Malerman ⭐
I hate Josh Malerman's writing. Two stars because...you know what, no. He had an interesting concept and THAT is what he did with it?! No. He deserves one fucking star.
Good Deeds, Jeff Strand ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Well, alright then. I have no idea how to feel about that one, but it made me laugh, so there's that.
It's a Wonderful Knife, Christopher Golden ⭐⭐⭐✨
Kind of predictable. Plus I'm not sure how I feel about this kind of story being written by a man. Maybe that's why it was kind of predictable.
Mistletoe and Holly, James A. Moore ⭐⭐⭐✨
Eh. The writing was good, but yet again there were some topics that the fact that the author was a man made me kind of uncomfy.
Snake's Tail, Sarah Langan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one was so good and eerie and strange! I love it so much!
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel, Joe R. Lansdale ⭐⭐⭐✨
Eh. The plot and writing were okay, just really lackluster
Farrow Street, Elizabeth Hand ⭐⭐⭐
It was well written, but I just didn't get this one, at all.
Doctor Velocity: A Story of the Fire Zone, Jonathan Maberry ⭐⭐
I skimmed through the vast majority of this one. A lot of uninteresting monologuing. I thought I might enjoy it because it's about an artist struggling to feel his own art, but, again, the monologues were so meh and the set dressing was so edge lord that I just couldn't get into it. I also get the feeling this is some part of some larger Cyberpunk series, so I get the feeling if I actually knew the context and background I might enjoy this more, but…I just didn't.
Yankee Swap, John McIlveen ⭐
DNF. Fatphobia. Another man writing a woman when he shouldn't. Basically Saw, but not as good.
Honor Thy Mother, Angela Slatter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Oh, that one was good! Love the angel concept!
Home, Tim Lebbon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
That was interesting. Not entirely sure I got it, but it was entertaining at least.
Hiking Through, Michael Koryta ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved this one! Interesting premise and great writing style!
The Hangman's Bride, Sarah Pinborough ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
😭😭😭 the best one by far!!
Absinthe and Angels, Kelley Armstrong ⭐⭐⭐
I like the creepiness of the mummers and the isolation, but I hate the ending so much. Also, I don't get why it's called "Absinthe and Angels." Are the mummers the angels? I don't get it.
Christmas in Barcelona, Scott Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Now that is an ending! Not at all what I was expecting. 1/2 a star off because it was in 2nd person and there didn't seem to be much point to it. It would have been just as good in 3rd or 1st.
Fresh as the New Fallen Snow, Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Damn that was good! And definitely something different!
Love Me, Thomas E. Sniegoski ⭐⭐✨
Meh. I'm not sure if it's because the ending was almost exactly like Christmas in Barcelona except not as well done or if it was the way the ending was written, but not a fan of this one.
Not Just for Christmas, Sarah Lotz ⭐⭐⭐
Eh.
Tenets, Josh Malerman ⭐
I hate Josh Malerman's writing. Two stars because...you know what, no. He had an interesting concept and THAT is what he did with it?! No. He deserves one fucking star.
Good Deeds, Jeff Strand ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Well, alright then. I have no idea how to feel about that one, but it made me laugh, so there's that.
It's a Wonderful Knife, Christopher Golden ⭐⭐⭐✨
Kind of predictable. Plus I'm not sure how I feel about this kind of story being written by a man. Maybe that's why it was kind of predictable.
Mistletoe and Holly, James A. Moore ⭐⭐⭐✨
Eh. The writing was good, but yet again there were some topics that the fact that the author was a man made me kind of uncomfy.
Snake's Tail, Sarah Langan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one was so good and eerie and strange! I love it so much!
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel, Joe R. Lansdale ⭐⭐⭐✨
Eh. The plot and writing were okay, just really lackluster
Farrow Street, Elizabeth Hand ⭐⭐⭐
It was well written, but I just didn't get this one, at all.
Doctor Velocity: A Story of the Fire Zone, Jonathan Maberry ⭐⭐
I skimmed through the vast majority of this one. A lot of uninteresting monologuing. I thought I might enjoy it because it's about an artist struggling to feel his own art, but, again, the monologues were so meh and the set dressing was so edge lord that I just couldn't get into it. I also get the feeling this is some part of some larger Cyberpunk series, so I get the feeling if I actually knew the context and background I might enjoy this more, but…I just didn't.
Yankee Swap, John McIlveen ⭐
DNF. Fatphobia. Another man writing a woman when he shouldn't. Basically Saw, but not as good.
Honor Thy Mother, Angela Slatter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Oh, that one was good! Love the angel concept!
Home, Tim Lebbon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
That was interesting. Not entirely sure I got it, but it was entertaining at least.
Hiking Through, Michael Koryta ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved this one! Interesting premise and great writing style!
The Hangman's Bride, Sarah Pinborough ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
😭😭😭 the best one by far!!
readingwithkelsey's review against another edition
3.5
Like with most short story collections, there were some hits in this book and definitely some misses but overall, I think I enjoyed more than a couple of stories. Some of these were really creepy and they genuinely scared me (the opening story in this one is creepy af), some were campy fun (one of the stories in here is SAW-version of a white elephant gift exchange) and there were some that didn't do anything for me. Overall though, this was fun and I had a great time listening to the audiobook.
evenshadow's review
3.0
If you picked up this book expecting it to be good, then, you clearly didn't see the ridiculous cover. A couple of the stories were good, some were okay, others terrible. Worth reading if bad horror movies are your thing and you're looking for new authors to dig into.
ebz1022's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
theeloreads's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Absinthe & Angels - 3.5
Christmas in Barcelona - 3
Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow - 4
Love Me - 2
Not Just for Christmas - 2.5
Tenets - 2
Good Deeds - 1
It’s a Wonderful Knife - 2
Mistletoe and Holly - 3
Snake’s Tail - 4
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel - 4
Farrow Street - 3
Doctor Velocity: A Story of the Fire Zone - 1
Yankee Swap - 4
Honor Thy Mother - 4
Home - 3.5
Hiking Through - 3.5
The Hangman’s Bride - 5
Christmas in Barcelona - 3
Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow - 4
Love Me - 2
Not Just for Christmas - 2.5
Tenets - 2
Good Deeds - 1
It’s a Wonderful Knife - 2
Mistletoe and Holly - 3
Snake’s Tail - 4
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel - 4
Farrow Street - 3
Doctor Velocity: A Story of the Fire Zone - 1
Yankee Swap - 4
Honor Thy Mother - 4
Home - 3.5
Hiking Through - 3.5
The Hangman’s Bride - 5