Reviews

The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales by Kate Mosse

siansreadingcorner's review against another edition

4.0

Kate Mosse is one of my favourite authors of historical fiction. The Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Stories is a great collection of short stories. Those familiar with her other books will recognise the historical settings, links with her other books and stories that intertwine the past with the present. The Mistletoe Bride and other stories is a perfect book for any fans of Kate Mosse and historical fiction.

franreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

kattheloremistress's review against another edition

3.0

This was my first sampling of Kate Mosse's writing style and a nice collection of short stories to pick up around Christmas time. The tales are described as haunting, but if you're looking to be scared then I probably wouldn't advise reading this particular set. They are haunting in a different way, chilling rather than terrifying. I'll start by talking about some of my favourites. 'On Harting Hill' and 'The Princess Alice' were to of the best in my opinion, with good pacing and an agreeable balance between description and plot-line. 'The Ghost Of Christmas Past' too made me a little sad and melancholy to read an was a nice end to a pretty good collection. I wouldn't say however that any of them particularly blew me away, nor did I really dislike any of them. Kate Mosse is fantastic at descriptive work, but in the case of these stories, it overrode the plot of each one just a little too much. She spent so much time building up a fantastic atmosphere, only for the climax to fall short in comparison. For example, in 'Duet' there was so much on the room, the way characters facial expressions read or the way they reacted that it was a little hard to understand the story it was trying to tell. I would still love to read some of her longer novels however because there will be much more room for all that amazing description, alongside a good plot-line. These stories are a nice way to get a feel for Kate Mosse's work and I liked the intermittent explanations regarding each story though I didn't read them until I had read all of the stories. Legends and folklore are of great interest to me, so it was nice to read the inspiration behind each tale.

For a full review, see here: http://chasedbymyimagination.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/book-review-mistletoe-bride-other.html

debdeb's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective

3.5

flok's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5. I read this a good few years back. I've find Kate Mosse frustrating to read - some great parts in her books, but others only seem to be there to cater to a mass audience, and a bit clumsily at that. This collection of short stories didn't have that thankfully, but a few stories were maybe a bit too weak for me to give this 4 stars. The majority however were fine, and some really beautifully haunting.

louise_green's review against another edition

5.0

The Mistletoe Bride

A fabulous collection of haunting tales. Kate wrote interesting well rounded characters who were put into situations that were inspired by places Kate had visited, personal experiences, and even other old folk tales and stories. I particularly liked the introduction to each story where Kate explains why and how the story came to be. A great book to dip in and out of when you want a good short story. Would love to see more. Highly recommended

sams84's review against another edition

5.0

This is a beautiful collection of tales that are haunting in every sense of the word, some are utterly bone chilling while others are heart wrenching and drenched in sadness, all written with Mosse's excemptional style and flair for character. Each story has an unique feel with its own characters and purpose. Mosse also includes a short explanation as to the inspiration for the story and how it come about (I admit I glossed over these sections as I find such information tends to reduce the impact of the story itself). The title story was one of my favourites as the reality of who the narrator is and how they came to be in their current situation creeps up on you slowly then suddenly hits you full in the face with an almighty thud. 'The Ship of the Dead' was another that has stuck in my mind and is particularly haunting given the villagers response to such a sad yet necessary task. I was also rather taken with 'Why the Yew Tree Lives So Long' as it reminded me of the local folk stories I heard in my area growing up and am still fond of today.

tssimons's review against another edition

3.0

I so badly wanted to love this book, but aside from one short story, I was a bit disappointed. Not one I have read twice.

attia's review against another edition

4.0

This book nearly became a DNF for me, at our bookclub meeting I put this book forward so eventually I was forced to finish it! I have enjoyed most of the stories in this book. Kate has put her own spin on some classic stories, which I really liked. These are the kind of spooky ghost stories that you would tell at a slumber party. I love spooky stories and therefore have rated this book highly, I only took off a star because some of the stories took me a while to get into. I am glad I persevered with this book, it is a gem, especially if you like spooky ghost stories! This is the first Kate Mosse story I have read, but I have enjoyed her writing style and look forward to reading more of her books (maybe next Halloween season!).

samw1984's review against another edition

1.0

DNF this one. I read the first story The Mistletoe Bride but the others weren't for me.