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chris_lily's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
rosemaryandrue's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
In this short anthology of short stories, the reader is taken on a tour of nightmares, from a strange cat-woman who comes into your room at night to a satanic cabal of nature haters to a man who's learned the art of maintaining supermodels with superglue.
This anthology consists of nine stories, each written on the theme of nightmares. Otherwise the authors have ranged far with their tone and subjects, making for a pleasingly eclectic collection. Some stories are paranormal or ghost stories, some take on the flavor of urban legends, and some are straight up horror. All the stories felt on par as far as quality goes, which is a rare achievement for anthologies.
My favorite stories are "The Dark Watchers" by E.S. Magill, which is about a wilderness guide who ends up taking the wrong client out to the California mountains and must fix his mistake, and "The Haunting of Mrs. Poole," which combines the supernatural with metaphysics that feels very apt for the historical setting.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Gore, and Murder
samidonovan's review
4.0
The book overall comes out more to a 3.5 but I rounded up for enjoyment. I love anthologies for the fact I can find new authors and read so many different styles of stories. Some of these stories genuinely creeped me out while reading while others really stick out in my mind. I often can forget what a short story was about, but reading each title I can tell you each plot. I overall had a great reading experience, I will be looking into picking up other in this series. Thank you NetGalley for having this ebook available after the release date or I would have never known about this book.
La Japonesa by Lisa Morton - ★★☆☆☆
Into the Quiet by Alison J McKenzie - ★★★★★
The Dark Watchers by E.S. Magill - ★★★☆☆ (2.5)
Recall by Yvonne Navarro - ★★★★☆
Twenty Questions by Jennifer Brozek - ★★★★★
The Haunting of Mrs. Pooleby Angel Leigh McCoy - ★★★★☆ (3.5)
Glue and the Art of Supermodel Maintenance by Weston Ochse -★★★☆ ☆ (wft???)
Elle a Vu un Loup by Loren Rhoads - ★★★★☆ (the writing though wow will pick up Unsafe Words)
The House on River Road by Bill Bodden - ★★★☆☆ (side note I grew up off River Road so extra creepy points for that)
please keep in mind these individual ratings are based more off enjoyment than anything else
La Japonesa by Lisa Morton - ★★☆☆☆
Into the Quiet by Alison J McKenzie - ★★★★★
The Dark Watchers by E.S. Magill - ★★★☆☆ (2.5)
Recall by Yvonne Navarro - ★★★★☆
Twenty Questions by Jennifer Brozek - ★★★★★
The Haunting of Mrs. Pooleby Angel Leigh McCoy - ★★★★☆ (3.5)
Glue and the Art of Supermodel Maintenance by Weston Ochse -★★★☆ ☆ (wft???)
Elle a Vu un Loup by Loren Rhoads - ★★★★☆ (the writing though wow will pick up Unsafe Words)
The House on River Road by Bill Bodden - ★★★☆☆ (side note I grew up off River Road so extra creepy points for that)
please keep in mind these individual ratings are based more off enjoyment than anything else
cameronstbr's review
3.0
I received an e-arc from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
3.5/5 Stars
This short story collection was fun! As it is with other short stories, I preferred some over others. Some of my favorites included “Twenty Questions” by Jennifer Brozek and “The Haunting of Mrs. Poole” by Angel Leigh McCoy.
I appreciated how some stories had ambiguous endings. It made the stories more thrilling not knowing how they could have resolved. I also felt like the stories fit together very well. Despite the different writing styles and plots, each story was complimentary to one another. It is obvious all the authors are talented writers and are exceptional at descriptive imagery.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those who want a light horror read. These stories were quick and well-crafted and I am interested in looking at other works by some of the authors.
3.5/5 Stars
This short story collection was fun! As it is with other short stories, I preferred some over others. Some of my favorites included “Twenty Questions” by Jennifer Brozek and “The Haunting of Mrs. Poole” by Angel Leigh McCoy.
I appreciated how some stories had ambiguous endings. It made the stories more thrilling not knowing how they could have resolved. I also felt like the stories fit together very well. Despite the different writing styles and plots, each story was complimentary to one another. It is obvious all the authors are talented writers and are exceptional at descriptive imagery.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those who want a light horror read. These stories were quick and well-crafted and I am interested in looking at other works by some of the authors.
house_of_hannah's review
dark
fast-paced
3.5
Thank you so much to SFWA and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.
This collection has 9 short stories from authors of all walks of life. I'm going to include all the title names + authors, as well as a one sentence summary of each story.
La Japonesa - Lisa Morton
A woman writing a book on local folk tales discovers the story of a Japanese cat-woman. 4 Stars.
Into the Quiet - Alison J. McKenzie
A worn out mother is tormented by what she believes are hallucinations.
I loved the writing in this. Definitely want to check out the author's other work. 5 Stars.
The Dark Watchers - E.S. Magill
A man who worked as a guide for hikers until a terrible accident comes out of retirement when he's offered a hefty sum. His three clients give off red flags though, and he will soon find out exactly what that entails. 3 Stars.
Recall - Yvonne Navarro
A cop is haunted by the fact that he wasn't able to save his parents during a home invasion. 4 Stars.
Twenty Questions - Jennifer Brozek
Mixed media format. A woman agrees to play the game 20 questions with an online stranger. 2 Stars.
The Haunting of Mrs. Poole - Angel Leigh McCoy
A woman is haunted by a spectre that seems to be warning her of atrocities to come. 3 Stars.
Glue and the Art of Supermodel Maintenance - Weston Ochse
A man creates his own love dolls out of supermodels. 2 Stars.
Elle a Vu in Loup - Loren Rhoads
A woman heads to Mackinac Island to take care of a werewolf problem. As someone who grew up in Michigan, I loved the setting. 4 Stars.
The House on River Road - Bill Bodden
A house that appears once a year may be the cause of a multitude of disappearances. 3 Stars.
Averaging my ratings brings it to a 3.3. As you can see this collection started off very strong, and I am interested in checking out the first Wily Writers Presents, as well as the others yet to come. I like that this is kept short, as I sometimes get overwhelemed when it's 20+ stories. I had only heard of one of these authors before, so I enjoy how short story collections introduce me to authors I may not have picked up otherwise.
This collection has 9 short stories from authors of all walks of life. I'm going to include all the title names + authors, as well as a one sentence summary of each story.
La Japonesa - Lisa Morton
A woman writing a book on local folk tales discovers the story of a Japanese cat-woman. 4 Stars.
Into the Quiet - Alison J. McKenzie
A worn out mother is tormented by what she believes are hallucinations.
I loved the writing in this. Definitely want to check out the author's other work. 5 Stars.
The Dark Watchers - E.S. Magill
A man who worked as a guide for hikers until a terrible accident comes out of retirement when he's offered a hefty sum. His three clients give off red flags though, and he will soon find out exactly what that entails. 3 Stars.
Recall - Yvonne Navarro
A cop is haunted by the fact that he wasn't able to save his parents during a home invasion. 4 Stars.
Twenty Questions - Jennifer Brozek
Mixed media format. A woman agrees to play the game 20 questions with an online stranger. 2 Stars.
The Haunting of Mrs. Poole - Angel Leigh McCoy
A woman is haunted by a spectre that seems to be warning her of atrocities to come. 3 Stars.
Glue and the Art of Supermodel Maintenance - Weston Ochse
A man creates his own love dolls out of supermodels. 2 Stars.
Elle a Vu in Loup - Loren Rhoads
A woman heads to Mackinac Island to take care of a werewolf problem. As someone who grew up in Michigan, I loved the setting. 4 Stars.
The House on River Road - Bill Bodden
A house that appears once a year may be the cause of a multitude of disappearances. 3 Stars.
Averaging my ratings brings it to a 3.3. As you can see this collection started off very strong, and I am interested in checking out the first Wily Writers Presents, as well as the others yet to come. I like that this is kept short, as I sometimes get overwhelemed when it's 20+ stories. I had only heard of one of these authors before, so I enjoy how short story collections introduce me to authors I may not have picked up otherwise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Mental illness
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