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paperbackghosts's review
4.0
A great collection of short stories. I really enjoyed Taylor’s style and will definitely read more of her work. The final poem in the book “He Trapped My Thoughts Inside My Head” was a beautiful ending to a spectacular group of creepy tales. My favorite of the stories were “Always In My Ear”, “Stick Figure Family”, and “Salt”. It’s incredible that she can create such satisfying and spooky stories in so few pages.
spookybookz's review
4.0
A great collection of mini horror stories, some are just one or 2 pages short but still meaningful!
My ultimate favs where
“Weary Bones”
My ultimate favs where
“Weary Bones”
milliesreadingcorner_'s review
2.0
Overall rating: 2 stars
When I initially went to grab this book off my shelf I was really intrigued by the idea of horror short stories, and I thought it was going to be such a good read, but I was unfortunately wrong. Don’t get me wrong there was one or two stories that I liked however, some of the stories just didn’t make sense and were more gruesome than scary which I get sometimes but some of the stories just didn’t need the added gruesomeness. Overall, this book had potential but just missed the mark so much, in my opinion.
When I initially went to grab this book off my shelf I was really intrigued by the idea of horror short stories, and I thought it was going to be such a good read, but I was unfortunately wrong. Don’t get me wrong there was one or two stories that I liked however, some of the stories just didn’t make sense and were more gruesome than scary which I get sometimes but some of the stories just didn’t need the added gruesomeness. Overall, this book had potential but just missed the mark so much, in my opinion.
raincorbyn's review
4.0
What an incredible introduction to Taylor's writing this was!
The stories in Little Paranoias range from the melancholy and tender, to frenetically sexy, to just good old fashioned "good for her!" revenge, and Taylor pulls them all off with style and control. As with any collection, I liked some stories more than others, but the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Many stories focused on righteous (or so they think) killers, and I think a final story that really tied those up could have been cool, but I also would never mess with Seed as the final story, and the poem that brings it all home.
I always love to read collections by new-to-me authors, and this has cemented a new fan in me.
The stories in Little Paranoias range from the melancholy and tender, to frenetically sexy, to just good old fashioned "good for her!" revenge, and Taylor pulls them all off with style and control. As with any collection, I liked some stories more than others, but the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Many stories focused on righteous (or so they think) killers, and I think a final story that really tied those up could have been cool, but I also would never mess with Seed as the final story, and the poem that brings it all home.
I always love to read collections by new-to-me authors, and this has cemented a new fan in me.
rock_n_reads's review
4.0
Sonora Taylor is one of the authors I had the pleasure of meeting at Scares That Care weekend this year. Soon afterward, she was gracious enough to send me a copy of her new collection, Little Paranoias: Stories, for review consideration.
I enjoyed many aspects of this book. Let's start with that striking cover, and the artwork on the title page-- both caught my eye and drew me in from the beginning. Little Paranoias is a collection that includes poetry, flash fiction, and short stories. I really liked how these different formats were interspersed throughout the book.
There were a couple of flash fiction pieces that stood out for me, as they really packed a punch within just 2-3 pages of writing. I loved that several of these stories had rather unexpected or shocking endings. I have a pattern of selecting my "Top 5" stories from any collection I read, so let me tell you which ones struck a chord with me:
Weary Bones-- The first short story in this collection, which left me feeling a bit melancholy (in a good way, as I'm often dwell in this emotion), and made me tear up a bit. This story stuck in my mind all the way through the end of the collection. I thought that this was a beautifully haunting story.
Never Walk Alone-- a piece of flash fiction with a surprise ending. Enjoyed this one!
Cranberry-- I related a bit to the character's pain, and enjoyed the themes in this story.
Hearts Are Just "Likes"-- In our social media-obsessed age, this one was relatable, and I loved that it's a modern re-telling of "A Tell-Tale Heart".
Seed-- Love the mix of creeping dread, and the themes of loneliness and longing for connection as the apocalypse is looming. I can also appreciate a bit of lust mixed in with my horror, so I enjoyed that aspect of the story as well (honorable mention to "Salt" for some similar moments). This story and Weary Bones were great bookends to the collection (with a poem prior to the first story and following the last).
I'm so glad that I picked up a copy of Sonora's novel Without Condition, as I'm looking forward to reading that one next, and I'm excited to see what she writes in the future!
There were a couple of flash fiction pieces that stood out for me, as they really packed a punch within just 2-3 pages of writing. I loved that several of these stories had rather unexpected or shocking endings. I have a pattern of selecting my "Top 5" stories from any collection I read, so let me tell you which ones struck a chord with me:
Weary Bones-- The first short story in this collection, which left me feeling a bit melancholy (in a good way, as I'm often dwell in this emotion), and made me tear up a bit. This story stuck in my mind all the way through the end of the collection. I thought that this was a beautifully haunting story.
Never Walk Alone-- a piece of flash fiction with a surprise ending. Enjoyed this one!
Cranberry-- I related a bit to the character's pain, and enjoyed the themes in this story.
Hearts Are Just "Likes"-- In our social media-obsessed age, this one was relatable, and I loved that it's a modern re-telling of "A Tell-Tale Heart".
Seed-- Love the mix of creeping dread, and the themes of loneliness and longing for connection as the apocalypse is looming. I can also appreciate a bit of lust mixed in with my horror, so I enjoyed that aspect of the story as well (honorable mention to "Salt" for some similar moments). This story and Weary Bones were great bookends to the collection (with a poem prior to the first story and following the last).
I'm so glad that I picked up a copy of Sonora's novel Without Condition, as I'm looking forward to reading that one next, and I'm excited to see what she writes in the future!
smortimer's review
4.0
Great collection of stories that are varying lengths - some only 1-2 pages long. The longer stories felt like black mirror vibes with sci-fi elements. Appreciated the little twists and questions that the author brings up - inviting you to ask: “what would I really do if this was the world?”