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muffreads42's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a collection of horror stories. A few of the stories creeped me out. I will let you guess which ones if you dare. There was one I found too be a little unbelievable. All are new authors to me and I enjoyed reading this book. ARC received for honest opinion.
muffreadsreview71's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a collection of horror stories. A few of the stories creeped me out. I will let you guess which ones if you dare. There was one I found too be a little unbelievable. All are new authors to me and I enjoyed reading this book. ARC received for honest opinion.
muffreadsreview71's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a collection of horror stories. A few of the stories creeped me out. I will let you guess which ones if you dare. There was one I found too be a little unbelievable. All are new authors to me and I enjoyed reading this book. ARC received for honest opinion.
sashacarpenter's review against another edition
3.0
Carnival of Strange Things Anthology
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
All the World’s a Show by Stacy Longo ⭐️⭐️
This story seemed like the type of thing I would have seen on Tales From the Crypt. I felt as though the story was too rushed; I never had the chance to connect to Dom in anyway, even for a short story. The last bit of the ending was sick though.
Cronos by Luke Swanson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I really got a kick out of the story. The descriptions are great; the back-and-forth within the timeline is very effective, revealing things at just the right moment to amp up the suspense, often leaving me at the edge of my seat. The ending was kind of perfect in the way in which karma intervened.
Freak Show by Liz Botts
⭐️⭐️⭐️
My biggest problem with this story is Lucy’s parents. Who the hell has a missing child and doesn’t report it? Or sends their other child to school? This made me think that they had something to do with her disappearance. They story was enjoyable and the cliffhanger at the end worked well.
From Hunter to Hunted by Sara Schoen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story seemed to be a Jeffrey Dahmer version of The Frighteners set in a freak show. I enjoyed the narration , the action at the end, and I especially enjoyed the father with the cell phone being Grace’s “victim” in the tour.
Karny Valle by Lisa Acerbo
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Pride, gluttony, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, lust.... Step on up and take the carnie tour of the seven deadly sins with your tour guide, Karny Valle. I liked this story, watching as Karny created the ending to her show. I kept wondering what new sin was next and how it would present itself.
Legend of Angreal by Samie Sands
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I like the way the story is written, giving every character a chance to speak, even Angreal. I like how the reader is left not knowing which girl became Angreal. It’s a great cliffhanger.
Madame Violet’s Secret by Rita Delude
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story was quite a bit different than the others, but I enjoyed it a lot. Like many of the other stories, the narration coming from multiple characters brings a lot to the story. I also actually liked some of the characters!
Nightmare at the Carnival by Amy Crandall
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was a little confused by this one. Are her recollections inaccurate and she’s really a monster of a person, did her actions turn her into a monster, or is it something else? I didn’t like the use of flashbacks.
Smoke and Mirrors by Aaron White
⭐️⭐️1/2
This was a five star story with the most abrupt, ending that left me very disappointed. I enjoyed all the characters and the action, gluing me to the story...until the end.
The Fate Machine by Rob Smales
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my absolute favorite story in the entire collection. It reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode “Nick of Time” but with a dark, macabre twist. I love how it drew me in, kind of like Piper was drawn to Zoltar, and the end it left me satisfied and, honestly, laughing; I mean, talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!
The Haunt by Erin Lee
⭐️⭐️1/2
This story seem to jump around a lot, and there was a lot of information in the story that was focused on, but that nothing came of, like Rosa being pregnant. While I found Xavier to have his reasons for why he does what he does, but I just found myself not caring to hear the story of his life.
The Monster Within by D.A. Roach
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The phrase, “Be careful what you wish for” perfectly sums up the story. I enjoyed the story a lot. I felt for (most of) the characters, rooting for them at the end. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side...
I received a free, electronic review copy of Carnival of Strange Things Anthology for an honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
All the World’s a Show by Stacy Longo ⭐️⭐️
This story seemed like the type of thing I would have seen on Tales From the Crypt. I felt as though the story was too rushed; I never had the chance to connect to Dom in anyway, even for a short story. The last bit of the ending was sick though.
Cronos by Luke Swanson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I really got a kick out of the story. The descriptions are great; the back-and-forth within the timeline is very effective, revealing things at just the right moment to amp up the suspense, often leaving me at the edge of my seat. The ending was kind of perfect in the way in which karma intervened.
Freak Show by Liz Botts
⭐️⭐️⭐️
My biggest problem with this story is Lucy’s parents. Who the hell has a missing child and doesn’t report it? Or sends their other child to school? This made me think that they had something to do with her disappearance. They story was enjoyable and the cliffhanger at the end worked well.
From Hunter to Hunted by Sara Schoen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story seemed to be a Jeffrey Dahmer version of The Frighteners set in a freak show. I enjoyed the narration , the action at the end, and I especially enjoyed the father with the cell phone being Grace’s “victim” in the tour.
Karny Valle by Lisa Acerbo
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Pride, gluttony, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, lust.... Step on up and take the carnie tour of the seven deadly sins with your tour guide, Karny Valle. I liked this story, watching as Karny created the ending to her show. I kept wondering what new sin was next and how it would present itself.
Legend of Angreal by Samie Sands
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I like the way the story is written, giving every character a chance to speak, even Angreal. I like how the reader is left not knowing which girl became Angreal. It’s a great cliffhanger.
Madame Violet’s Secret by Rita Delude
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story was quite a bit different than the others, but I enjoyed it a lot. Like many of the other stories, the narration coming from multiple characters brings a lot to the story. I also actually liked some of the characters!
Nightmare at the Carnival by Amy Crandall
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was a little confused by this one. Are her recollections inaccurate and she’s really a monster of a person, did her actions turn her into a monster, or is it something else? I didn’t like the use of flashbacks.
Smoke and Mirrors by Aaron White
⭐️⭐️1/2
This was a five star story with the most abrupt, ending that left me very disappointed. I enjoyed all the characters and the action, gluing me to the story...until the end.
The Fate Machine by Rob Smales
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is my absolute favorite story in the entire collection. It reminded me of the Twilight Zone episode “Nick of Time” but with a dark, macabre twist. I love how it drew me in, kind of like Piper was drawn to Zoltar, and the end it left me satisfied and, honestly, laughing; I mean, talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!
The Haunt by Erin Lee
⭐️⭐️1/2
This story seem to jump around a lot, and there was a lot of information in the story that was focused on, but that nothing came of, like Rosa being pregnant. While I found Xavier to have his reasons for why he does what he does, but I just found myself not caring to hear the story of his life.
The Monster Within by D.A. Roach
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The phrase, “Be careful what you wish for” perfectly sums up the story. I enjoyed the story a lot. I felt for (most of) the characters, rooting for them at the end. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side...
I received a free, electronic review copy of Carnival of Strange Things Anthology for an honest review.
pixiejazz's review
4.0
Carnival of Strange Things is a collection of horror stories sure to thrill and delight readers. Delve into the darkness that lies between the pages. Discover the strange oddities that will linger long after you close the book. Enter the Carnival...if you dare.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the stories in this collection. There were a few that weren't necessarily my cup of tea, but I still found them to be well-written and fun. There is definitely at least one story, if not more, that will appeal to everyone who reads this book.
There's All the World's a Show, which is the first story, and it ended up sparking a crazy bout of research between myself and my husband. It's set in Pennyslvania, and we live in PA, so we spent close to 30 minutes after I finished the story looking online to see just how accurate the details in the story were. (no spoilers!)
Cronos tells the tale of a young man in 1930s New York who discovers a bus that can bring the past to life. Until one day, he conjurs up more than he bargained for.
Another good one is Karny Valle. It's about the seven deadly sins. A woman at a bar teaches a smarmy businessman just what it means to be greedy and selfish. I really enjoyed how messed up this one was.
Madame Violet's Secret is a fun little tale about a tarot card reader who runs her own carnival. But there's more to her than meets the eye.
The Monster Within is a story that brings to life the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for," and turns it on its head. An interesting little tale.
Honestly, though, I think The Fate Machine is my absolute favorite out of all of these. Think Zoltar in Big (the Tom Hanks film), but with more nefarious and sinister undertones. The woman in this story becomes fascinated and obsessed with the machine, and that becomes her downfall. I gleefully figured out her fate before she did, and when it happened, I may have let out a snort of laughter and a cheer. Definitely a good one.
If you enjoy horror stories set in and around carnivals (seriously one of my favorite themes in horror), then you'll want to grab a copy of this collection today!
I'm rating it 4 stars.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the stories in this collection. There were a few that weren't necessarily my cup of tea, but I still found them to be well-written and fun. There is definitely at least one story, if not more, that will appeal to everyone who reads this book.
There's All the World's a Show, which is the first story, and it ended up sparking a crazy bout of research between myself and my husband. It's set in Pennyslvania, and we live in PA, so we spent close to 30 minutes after I finished the story looking online to see just how accurate the details in the story were. (no spoilers!)
Cronos tells the tale of a young man in 1930s New York who discovers a bus that can bring the past to life. Until one day, he conjurs up more than he bargained for.
Another good one is Karny Valle. It's about the seven deadly sins. A woman at a bar teaches a smarmy businessman just what it means to be greedy and selfish. I really enjoyed how messed up this one was.
Madame Violet's Secret is a fun little tale about a tarot card reader who runs her own carnival. But there's more to her than meets the eye.
The Monster Within is a story that brings to life the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for," and turns it on its head. An interesting little tale.
Honestly, though, I think The Fate Machine is my absolute favorite out of all of these. Think Zoltar in Big (the Tom Hanks film), but with more nefarious and sinister undertones. The woman in this story becomes fascinated and obsessed with the machine, and that becomes her downfall. I gleefully figured out her fate before she did, and when it happened, I may have let out a snort of laughter and a cheer. Definitely a good one.
If you enjoy horror stories set in and around carnivals (seriously one of my favorite themes in horror), then you'll want to grab a copy of this collection today!
I'm rating it 4 stars.
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