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inkychaotics's review against another edition
4.0
I really, really enjoyed this collection. Each story features its own disturbing, twisted tale, yet there are threads between them that help the stories feel like they belong in this particular collection together. Christa Carmen's prose has some truly fantastic lines and I have a feeling this writer is only going to get stronger and stronger the more she writes. I can't wait to see what she does next! My favorite pieces from SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLOOD-SOAKED were "Red Room," "Lady of the Flies," (that ending!), and "Liquid Handcuffs." The protagonists of these stories go through some dark, torturous journeys, and I really appreciated the rawness in which Carmen handles these tales. A solid collection through and through!
findingmontauk1's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you so much to the author and publisher for sending this book in exchange for an honest review!
Can we first take a moment to acknowledge, appreciate, and worship this cover?! The cover is the first thing that drew me to wanting this book; I won't lie. I had just finished a huge marathon of the Saw movies and then I come across this book where a woman has this pig head or mask... SOLD!
I am going to go ahead and say, too, that short stories are not my favorite. I like a little more meat on the bones. Short stories usually leave me wanting more. There have been a couple of great collections I have read this year (this being one of them), but the majority of them have been 3 stars and left me wanting more and more. Christa Carmen's collection, however, engaged and shook me to the core! I absolutely loved these stories and never once felt cheated or left wanting.
One of the best features of this book is how Carmen just writes. I want to have a conversation with her. The words and the sentences that come out of her mouth are just pure dark poetry. She uses a wide vocabulary of delicately chosen words and I loved it. I found myself getting lost in the prose and I really feel it helps this collection stand out from others I have read.
My favorite stories include: Red Room, Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked, Liquid Handcuffs, and The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell. But all thirteen stories in the collection resonate with me on a horror-loving level and I truly recommend this collection! 5 stars for me on this excellent book!
Can we first take a moment to acknowledge, appreciate, and worship this cover?! The cover is the first thing that drew me to wanting this book; I won't lie. I had just finished a huge marathon of the Saw movies and then I come across this book where a woman has this pig head or mask... SOLD!
I am going to go ahead and say, too, that short stories are not my favorite. I like a little more meat on the bones. Short stories usually leave me wanting more. There have been a couple of great collections I have read this year (this being one of them), but the majority of them have been 3 stars and left me wanting more and more. Christa Carmen's collection, however, engaged and shook me to the core! I absolutely loved these stories and never once felt cheated or left wanting.
One of the best features of this book is how Carmen just writes. I want to have a conversation with her. The words and the sentences that come out of her mouth are just pure dark poetry. She uses a wide vocabulary of delicately chosen words and I loved it. I found myself getting lost in the prose and I really feel it helps this collection stand out from others I have read.
My favorite stories include: Red Room, Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked, Liquid Handcuffs, and The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell. But all thirteen stories in the collection resonate with me on a horror-loving level and I truly recommend this collection! 5 stars for me on this excellent book!
exorcismemily's review against another edition
4.0
"The final girl may live, but she's stripped of so much by the time the credits roll."
Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked is Christa Carmen's debut collection of 13 stories, and I enjoyed reading it!
First off, I want to say that this book has one of my favorite covers from this year. It's spooky and haunting, and this book will stick in your head. I feel like it's perfect for letting readers know that they're about to get into some crazy stuff inside.
My top 5 stories in this book are Red Room, All Souls of Eve, Liquid Handcuffs, Lady of the Flies, and The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell. I think that Red Room is probably the creepiest story in the collection, and I probably could have read an entire novel based on that story. I liked reading about all the different women in each story.
A few of the stories are linked, and it's fun to see the connections. I enjoyed seeing characters from early stories mentioned in later ones. Common themes in Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked are addiction and recovery. Christa Carmen does a great job of tapping into the horror of this situation. She shares some of her own story in the afterword of the collection, and I truly admire the boldness and honesty of her writing.
This collection is not perfect, but it is enjoyable. I rated all of the stories between 3 and 5⭐, which means that I liked everything overall. The stories were creative, and I had fun reading everything. Whatever Christa Carmen does next will be great, and I can't wait to read more from her! Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked was an entertaining collection.
Thank you so much to Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi and Unnerving for sending this to the Nightworms in exchange for reviews.
Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked is Christa Carmen's debut collection of 13 stories, and I enjoyed reading it!
First off, I want to say that this book has one of my favorite covers from this year. It's spooky and haunting, and this book will stick in your head. I feel like it's perfect for letting readers know that they're about to get into some crazy stuff inside.
My top 5 stories in this book are Red Room, All Souls of Eve, Liquid Handcuffs, Lady of the Flies, and The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell. I think that Red Room is probably the creepiest story in the collection, and I probably could have read an entire novel based on that story. I liked reading about all the different women in each story.
A few of the stories are linked, and it's fun to see the connections. I enjoyed seeing characters from early stories mentioned in later ones. Common themes in Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked are addiction and recovery. Christa Carmen does a great job of tapping into the horror of this situation. She shares some of her own story in the afterword of the collection, and I truly admire the boldness and honesty of her writing.
This collection is not perfect, but it is enjoyable. I rated all of the stories between 3 and 5⭐, which means that I liked everything overall. The stories were creative, and I had fun reading everything. Whatever Christa Carmen does next will be great, and I can't wait to read more from her! Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked was an entertaining collection.
Thank you so much to Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi and Unnerving for sending this to the Nightworms in exchange for reviews.
teamredmon's review against another edition
5.0
These are very good, very scary short stories. The Red Room and Liquid Handcuffs are particularly unsettling. I really enjoyed Christa Carmen's writing style and will be looking for more from her.
errantdreams's review against another edition
5.0
Christa Carmen’s Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked is an intense and harrowing collection of horror short stories. A handful of them interconnect, with a couple mentioning the same city, a couple connecting at the same methadone clinic, a couple taking place on the same All Hallow’s Eve, and one that just uses two familiar names and leaves you to speculate. While some of these stories may seem paranormal in aspect, the tales have a real-world grime to them. Heroin addiction is a familiar refrain that comes back several times over. Even a story involving a visitation by three ghosts on All Hallow’s Eve is heavily grounded in real relationship and career troubles. Besides, with one mental health facility making an appearance in here, as well as drug use, there’s always a question as to just how real certain things might (or might not) be.
Some stories are a touch surreal, like the opening “Thirsty Creatures,” in which the water supply suddenly becomes poisonous. A couple of the stories have a poetic air to them.
While some stories end without much explanation of what happened, there always seems to be enough possibility to them that for the most part I didn’t feel confused or cheated. There’s plenty to hang your imagination on.
Some stories are long and involved, such as “Liquid Handcuffs”. Heroin addict Eddie kidnaps counselor Olive as revenge, and proceeds to shoot her up with heroin repeatedly. This one feels real-world hellish and scary, and by the time it ended I absolutely loved it. Other stories, such as “A Fairy Plant in Grief” or “The One Who Answers the Door”, are shorter, and tend to rely a little more heavily on atmosphere and/or twists. They pull it off well.
Any nit-picks I had are really too small to be worth mentioning. I found these stories immersive, entrancing, and quite tense. I felt my heart race a few times as I got drawn in! There’s even a rather bloody, somewhat humorous tale called “The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell,” in which several heroin addicts shoot up using contaminated water and turn into hungry monsters who can feel no pain. “Flowers from Amaryllis” was another favorite, in which a woman who has tried to commit suicide and been committed to a mental ward seems to have an unusual protector. These are dark tales, with blood, gore, and some adult content. The content is well-balanced and fun to read!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/02/review-something-borrowed-something-blood-soaked-christa-carmen/
Some stories are a touch surreal, like the opening “Thirsty Creatures,” in which the water supply suddenly becomes poisonous. A couple of the stories have a poetic air to them.
While some stories end without much explanation of what happened, there always seems to be enough possibility to them that for the most part I didn’t feel confused or cheated. There’s plenty to hang your imagination on.
Some stories are long and involved, such as “Liquid Handcuffs”. Heroin addict Eddie kidnaps counselor Olive as revenge, and proceeds to shoot her up with heroin repeatedly. This one feels real-world hellish and scary, and by the time it ended I absolutely loved it. Other stories, such as “A Fairy Plant in Grief” or “The One Who Answers the Door”, are shorter, and tend to rely a little more heavily on atmosphere and/or twists. They pull it off well.
Any nit-picks I had are really too small to be worth mentioning. I found these stories immersive, entrancing, and quite tense. I felt my heart race a few times as I got drawn in! There’s even a rather bloody, somewhat humorous tale called “The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell,” in which several heroin addicts shoot up using contaminated water and turn into hungry monsters who can feel no pain. “Flowers from Amaryllis” was another favorite, in which a woman who has tried to commit suicide and been committed to a mental ward seems to have an unusual protector. These are dark tales, with blood, gore, and some adult content. The content is well-balanced and fun to read!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/02/review-something-borrowed-something-blood-soaked-christa-carmen/
sjgomzi's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite short story collection of the year! I was blown away by this book. Christa Carmen is a future horror superstar. Gorgeous writing, beautifully written characters, and scary as fuck situations make up one of the finest author debuts I have ever read. It actually makes me sad she has no other books out there at the moment. I am counting the days till she finishes her novel, which I promise to buy and read the day it’s published. My highest recommendation. I plan on pushing this book on anyone who’ll listen for the foreseeable future until everyone’s had a chance to read this horror gem, and Carmen gets the audience she deserves.
spookishmommy's review
4.0
Thank you to Christa Carmen and Unnerving for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Ok, this cover is awesome. I love it. And why am I so hard on short stories? I need to stop because this collection was AWESOME. I loved the variety of horror. I think my favorite story was Liquid Handcuffs. It was so raw and gritty. Red Room was awesome too. So gruesome!! And to round out my top 3 I'm going with All Souls of Eve. It packed a lot of emotion.
Ok, this cover is awesome. I love it. And why am I so hard on short stories? I need to stop because this collection was AWESOME. I loved the variety of horror. I think my favorite story was Liquid Handcuffs. It was so raw and gritty. Red Room was awesome too. So gruesome!! And to round out my top 3 I'm going with All Souls of Eve. It packed a lot of emotion.
brucemri's review
5.0
Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked is the first collection from Christa Carmen, whom I'd heard of but hadn't read. What really strikes me about this volume is how much the stories aren't like each other - Carmen is trying lots of things, looking in lots of directions, approaching many subjects in many different ways. I like that!
Some of these stories are intensely supernatural, while others are starkly naturalistic. Some are thick with well-done symbolism, while others are straightforward narratives presenting their events. One, "The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell", is downright funny. Some spell out the horrors confronting their protagonists, while others are compact and deeply allusive. I finished the volume feeling that I don't yet have a good handle on what to expect from "a Christa Carmen story", except that I'm likely to like it a lot. About three stories suggest connections between them, while most stand thoroughly alone.
I do have a feeling that it's going to be really interesting to look back on this, say, ten years from now, to see what's foreshadowed in it. In the meantime, very much recommended.
One technical note: the Kindle version of this has the whole thing in boldface. I reported it, and it's not a big problem, and I imagine it'll get fixed in due season, but if you check it out, no, it's not a problem on your end, as nearly as I know.
Some of these stories are intensely supernatural, while others are starkly naturalistic. Some are thick with well-done symbolism, while others are straightforward narratives presenting their events. One, "The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell", is downright funny. Some spell out the horrors confronting their protagonists, while others are compact and deeply allusive. I finished the volume feeling that I don't yet have a good handle on what to expect from "a Christa Carmen story", except that I'm likely to like it a lot. About three stories suggest connections between them, while most stand thoroughly alone.
I do have a feeling that it's going to be really interesting to look back on this, say, ten years from now, to see what's foreshadowed in it. In the meantime, very much recommended.
One technical note: the Kindle version of this has the whole thing in boldface. I reported it, and it's not a big problem, and I imagine it'll get fixed in due season, but if you check it out, no, it's not a problem on your end, as nearly as I know.
wanderfca69's review
5.0
I left a review for another book on this book by mistake. I will be reading this book and leaving a corrected review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
tightropetothesun's review
4.0
"Though the 'final girl' usually got out alive, she was stripped of so much by the time the credits rolled.”
While I don't usually end up enjoying short story collections that are exclusively written by one author, I found this one to be quite successful. The stories felt complete and while they shared some overall themes (sometimes the characters even slightly overlapped), they were all different enough that it didn't feel repetitive.
At no point during this reading experience was I scared/frightened/creeped out, BUT the stories were a lot of fun and played with a number of different horror tropes/elements. Some of my favorites included a Halloween version of 'A Christmas Carol,' a kidnapper who is striving to make his victim a drug addict, and a girl defending her home against human-esque creatures who feel no pain and are bent on death and destruction.
I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys horror fiction. 3.5 stars
While I don't usually end up enjoying short story collections that are exclusively written by one author, I found this one to be quite successful. The stories felt complete and while they shared some overall themes (sometimes the characters even slightly overlapped), they were all different enough that it didn't feel repetitive.
At no point during this reading experience was I scared/frightened/creeped out, BUT the stories were a lot of fun and played with a number of different horror tropes/elements. Some of my favorites included a Halloween version of 'A Christmas Carol,' a kidnapper who is striving to make his victim a drug addict, and a girl defending her home against human-esque creatures who feel no pain and are bent on death and destruction.
I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys horror fiction. 3.5 stars