Reviews

Under Her Black Wings: 2020 Women of Horror Anthology by Kandisha Press

mehsi's review

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4.0

A delightfully creepy book featuring 18 spooky and creepy stories.


I had been meaning to read this one and then I saw on Twitter it was for free! I decided to immediately buy it, doesn’t matter it was midnight and I wanted to sleep. First get this book. After that my hubby had to steal my Kindle as I started reading.

inkedwxtchreads's review

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4.0

This will be a long review as for my own benefit and me memory I will be doing a short review of each short story. Will not give away details of the story though, since they’re already short! As mentioned; This is an Anthology of short horror stories written by women around the world. I would recommend it for that reason alone even if all the stories aren’t all great. I will have a * in front of the stories I did not enjoy that much. The theme of this specific collection is “woman monsters”. So lots of creatures of all different kinds in this!

What you eat- this one was super fun, and I really liked it. I wouldn’t say it was overly scary, but it had a delightfully unlikeable character, and a super unsettling old woman. The ending was so satisfying!

*Aztec- had potential to be a compelling witch story. But I didn’t like this one all that much. There was no awe or surprise to it. And the random Spanish really took me out of it. I love that there are not only women authors in this, but bipoc ones. I also love culture being inserted into a story. However, it was the way in which it was inserted that didn’t work for me. It also wasn’t a horror story like… at all. But I think it definitely tried to be.

The riddled path- gore, dad jokes, a forest, and a Sphinx. What’s not to like? This one was a really fun story and actually made me laugh out loud.

Desert kisses- where the last one was light hearted and funny, this one was actually really dark, gory and brutal. A really good tale of revenge from beyond the grave considering how short it is. Unique too. Totally worth reading. Trigger warning: sexual assault and mention of said assault.

*Somewhere to belong- this one wasn’t bad. But for being so short it just felt like it was everywhere and trying to be too many things at once. It features loneliness, lack of belonging, creepy kids, and cosmic horror.

*Heart for the heartless- this could have been good, but was also everywhere and the ending felt forced. It could have ended two pages prior and been better. Involves an undead model with a curious appetite. The writing was hard to connect with.

The darkness- this one was post apocalyptic and I loved it. It involves bugs and a pretty crazy twist for a short story. Super good.

Sarah smiles- this one was fine, leaning more on the “good” side of fine though. I enjoyed it, but wasn’t absolutely in love. Involves obsession and a cult!

*Goddess of the lake- this one was way too short. I appreciate the mythological appeal. But the story just lacked in general for me. It didn’t really satisfy me in any aspect sadly.

*Abigails army- I don’t want to be mean at all… but part of me doesn’t understand how this one was allowed to be put in here as is. It’s literally 4 pages and there’s absolutely nothing to it :(. Not to say the author isn’t a good writer though. The voice was actually pretty good.

Road rage- another tale of revenge from beyond the grave. I really loved this one. The guy in this was scum and deserved what he got! The writing was just really good too.

Cold calling- this one wasn’t perfect, but idk I enjoyed it. Another story that isn’t necessarily revenge but is a woman turning the tables on a awful man after he tries to prank her in a really humiliating way. I really liked the writing in this one.

*Upon acceptance- this one was a case of the author trying to give us one of those ironic endings and it just didn’t work. Instead it reads as the character being unbelievably stupid for no reason. Took enjoyment away for me.

The faceless woman- this one actually gave me chills and I really liked it! It’s paranormal and is about a spirit that sort of… latches on I guess you could say. Taking peoples faces! Super fun and the writing was good as well.

Unplugged- a porn star and her psychiatrist become friends. What could go wrong right? This one actually threw me for a bit of a loop because it didn’t end how I expected. Super clever on the authors part. A story of vengeance sort of..

First born- this one was a little longer than some of the ones I felt meh about and even some of the ones I liked! Imo this paid off big time as this was one of my favorites. It was written so well and the story was so interesting. Involves lore/creatures from another culture that like to steal/hurt newborns!

Sadie- I’m not entirely sure I understand what happened in this one. But it wasn’t bad! It’s either a creepy dream coming true, or mental illness based. I kinda hope it’s the former. But since I don’t know for sure I can’t say much.

Pontianak- this one was actually my favorite even though it wasn’t super scary. It’s Malaysian legend, and involves the story of a young girl who essentially had some terrible things happen to her and now is made to prey on men in the after life. Don’t wanna give too much away. But I really loved it and the writing was insanely good!

There were some misses in this but imo just as many hits. I loved the experience of reading this and will like to read the other 3. The ones that weren’t for me weren’t that long and weren’t totally terrible to read so they didn’t take away from my experience!

Liked: 12 Disliked: 6

blatdriver's review

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4.0

There were some great stories in this Anthology, some of my favourites are
Desert Kisses - revenge from the grave story
The Darkness - An apocalyptic story of survival of the fittest
Goddess Of The Lake - a fork law tale
Unplugged - a stalker story

stranger_sights's review against another edition

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4.0

You can read my full review at: https://mediadrome.wordpress.com/2020/08/21/under-her-black-wings-2020-women-of-horror-anthology/

Although there were two stories that didn’t click with me at all, this is overall a pretty solid collection of stories by and about women. Although, as I mentioned above, I think the opportunity to have a quality foreword written by a woman as well was wasted. I am hoping that this will be remedied in Graveyard Smash, which I’m still definitely looking forward to!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads.

josephvanburen's review

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4.0

This is a solid anthology that was a lot of fun to read! A few of the stories were excellent, worth the price of the book, and gave me new authors to follow. Most of the other stories were at least entertaining; a few didn't quite do it for me, but that is usually how anthologies go. What is cool about this book is that even though there is a theme (female monsters written by female authors), each story comes at it from a different perspective and a different style. It is great to read such a range of voices in one volume. Kandisha Press did a great job, and I'm looking forward to their next release.

karlakayjenniges's review

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4.0

After having the honored privilege of reading and reviewing a complimentary copy of 'The One That Got Away : Women of Horror Anthology Volume 3', I spoiled myself by purchasing the other 2. No regrets!

Forward by Brandon Scott
Published by Kandisha Press
Theme: Woman Monsters

What You Eat by Alys Hobbs
The Aztec by Carmen Baca
The Riddled Path by Comer Canon
Desert Kisses by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason
Somewhere to Belong by Yolanda Sfetsos
Heart for the Heartless by Charlotte Munro
The Darkness by Stevie Kopas
Sarah Smiles by Christy Aldridge
Goddess of the Lake by Malena Salazar Macia
Abigail's Army by Sharon Frame Gay
Road Rage by Sharon Frame Gray
Cold Calling by Paula R.C. Readman
Upon Acceptance by Cooper Rose
The Faceless Woman by Maria Lanza
Unplugged by Dawn DeBraal
Firstborn by Jill Girardi
Sadie by Lydia Prime
Pontianak by Tina Isaacs

As with all anthologies, there will be stories that will be captivating and some that are not as much. That certainly is not a particularly bad thing at all. It's all in ones own perspective, likes and dislikes.

Each and every story is unique and creative, the voices of these authors shine through. So much amazing diversity. Intense and emotional, creepy and twisted, all gushing with personality.

Deliciously Gratifying!

roxiethebookslayer's review

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4.0

3.5 stars. Full RTC

mlmorgenstern's review

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4.0

Loved these stories! Some are scarier than others, but the overall effect is that of talented women doing amazing horror writing. When does Under Her Black Wings 2 come out??? ;-)

woffordleejones's review

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5.0

The place where it is the darkest is Under Her Black Wings. High praise to Kandisha Press and Jill Girardi (who compiled all these works—that must’ve been a massive feat) for an excellent collection of horror collaborating with the top names of women writing horror today. All the stories within this collection affected me in different ways (or a combination of the following), whether I was unnerved by the creepy (and many of them had a high creep factor), shocked into open-mouthed wonder by the surprising twists (or double-twists), grossed out by the disgusting or actually scared by the creatures that roamed between these pages. It was such an excellent variety of eclectic horror. Thank you to all the women in the collection for sharing your stories with me. Instead of stars, I’m giving five black feathers on this one pulled straight from her black wings.

WHAT YOU EAT by Alys Hobbs - such a creepy, disgusting, little story. If you could’ve seen my face as I read this one. Great descriptions; I squirmed a little on this one.

THE AZTEC by Carmen Baca - Living life by placing spells on items and people to get what you want can have grave repercussions in the end. Karma’s a bitch. This was such a great story.

THE RIDDLED PATH by Somer Canon This is the one story of the book that scared me the most. Great descriptions of the creature in this one.

DESERT KISSES by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason - High praise for this one. It had a twist (or was that two) that I didn’t see coming. Well-crafted. Very good writing/descriptions. Payback is hell! Always love it when the bad guy gets it in the worst way.

SOMEWHERE TO BELONG by Yolanda Sfetsos - Such a heartbreaking story but one with such a happy and feel-good ending. Enid is exactly where she belongs now.

HEART FOR THE HEARTLESS by Charlotte Monroe - A different take on the Frankenstein tale but oh, so damn great...with even an added twist on the end. Loved this one.

THE DARKNESS by Stevie Kopas - This story flipped me on my head. It made you think one thing but turned out to be something totally different. A very satisfying read. One of my favorites in this collection. Loved it!

SARAH SMILES by Christy Albridge - Obsession is a terrible thing; it can lead to doing terrible things. It can lead you into a bad situation. Wasn’t expecting that ending and neither was Chad. Like Sarah, I was smiling at the end of that story.

GODDESS OF THE LAKE by Malena Salazar Macia - When you least expect it, the tables can be turned on a situation. In this one; it happened extremely fast. So visceral.

ABAGAIL’S ARMY by Sharon Frame Gay, a twisted, little tale about two women and the way they were winning the Civil War.

ROAD RAGE by Sharon Frame Gay was an amazing story of Karma. You might think you know where this story is going, but you really won’t. That was a great piece of writing and oh so creepy.

COLD CALLING by Paula RC Readman - A creatively told story about playing a trick on someone and how the tables can turn on them. A very satisfying read.

UPON ACCEPTANCE by Copper Rose - Sometimes you have to do some dirty work to save the one you love. It was really great that she succeeded but really sucks that it wasn’t in the way she wanted. This had a heart-wrenching ending. I just hurt for the lead in this one.

THE FACELESS WOMAN by Marie Lanza - This one, by far, the creepiest story in this bunch. Sometimes the urban legends are real and can be possessive. This on holds on and won’t let go...literally.

UNPLUGGED by Dawn DeBraal - This was a dark a cleverly-told tale. Events in this story are not always as they seem. Ms. Dawn got me on this story. I approve. So good.

FIRSTBORN by Jill Girardi - A vicious, fast-paced story about a man’s fight against a legendary creature (The Penanggal) to protect his family and lineage. This one was a heavy-hitter.

SADIE by Lynda Prime - A tale where nothing is as it seems for Sadie and the reader...until the end. Couldn’t help but think of the phrase: “me, myself and I”, that Sadie was all three characters. Such a great little, bloody story.

PONTIANAK by Tina Isaacs - A man’s detailed account to his son about his encounter with the Pontianak years ago. Loved the detailed account of exactly what went down. Very unnerving when the true appearance came shining through. Great writing on this story.

errantdreams's review

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4.0

Under Her Black Wings: 2020 Women of Horror Anthology is an anthology of all female-authored stories (19 of them). The overall quality is quite good, although I found one or two stories that didn’t entirely appeal to me. I also thought it was a little tone-deaf to have a man write the foreword for a book of all women authors, as if someone thought the book wouldn’t stand on its own without at least one guy involved.

The only content warning I have is for some animal harm and some gore. Nothing extreme. I do have a mild objection to the fact that multiple stories identify their bad guys by bad teeth, which is really just another variation on the old “ugly = evil” stereotype that I hate so much. On an entertaining side though, I find it amusing that an anthology written by women has at least two stories for which the moral seems to be “never accept a party invitation from someone who wouldn’t normally give you the time of day.” That seems to be a very female-driven setup.

Alys Hobbs’s “What You Eat” is a bit bizarre. A young woman’s strange new governess keeps pushing food at her.

Carmen Baca’s “The Aztec” is intriguing. Señora Atlacamani Ahuatzi is looking for a particular woman who will suit her needs.

One of my favorite stories in here is “The Riddled Path” by Somer Canon. Mark takes his son’s Boy Scout troop for a hike and encounters a Sphynx. The Sphynx’s riddles are just entirely too much fun! Normally I find riddle stories to be kind of eh, but this one made me laugh out loud.

“Desert Kisses” by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason is a satisfying tale of beyond-the-grave vengeance.

“Somewhere to Belong,” by Yolanda Sfetsos, is a very poignant story. It’s oddly horrifying and yet sort-of weirdly optimistic at the same time. Enid meets a mysterious little girl at the playground who wants to help her shed her loneliness.

Charlotte Munro’s “Heart for the Heartless” is a bizarre story of obsession and life after death. It has some nuance to it, although it’s also a bit “talky.”

Another favorite story is Stevie Kopas’s “The Darkness.” The world has ended in plague and a mysterious Darkness. Lana needs to find food before her starving younger sister Katie dies. It just gets awesome from there.
I didn’t entirely enjoy “Sarah Smiles.” I mean sure, it’s great to see a guy who obsesses over a girl and won’t give up after she breaks up with him get a rather harsh lesson in letting go, but the rest of the story is just sort of… random. It left me with too many unanswered questions.

“Goddess of the Lake” by Malena Salazar Maciá is short but sweet. Morgo decides to use two hapless refugees as bait in order to hunt the Goddess of the Lake. Only things don’t turn out the way he expected.

Sharon Frame Gay’s “Abigail’s Army” introduces us to two sisters during the Civil War trying to maintain their farm. When an injured soldier comes looking for a place to rest and hide, they offer to help him in exchange for his help with their farm. I started out disliking Abigail, and absolutely loved her at the end.

Sharon Frame Gay has a second story in here called “Road Rage.” Chris’s husband is a cheater, and he just died in a car accident. From there things get interesting.

Paula R.C. Readman wrote “Cold Calling,” a story in which Evelina has been roped into helping her boss’s daughter decorate for a Halloween party–and now she’s invited.

Copper Rose’s “Upon Acceptance” is the other story in which a woman receives an unexpected invite to a party with the beautiful people. This story felt a bit glib for its subject.

Maria Lanza’s “The Faceless Woman” involves a couple who are speculating about various urban legends connected to the place where they’re hanging out. The ending is a little abrupt.

Andrea Dawn’s “Kingdom By The Sea” is melancholy and beautiful. Allan is an orphan with a lung disease; there’s little he can do to help out in the whaling town where he lives. Then he meets a gorgeous, exotic woman who lives in the sea. This is a very poignant tale.

I feel like Dawn DeBraal’s “Unplugged” is a great concept with questionable execution. Vivian Markley, former pornstar, becomes good friends with her therapist, Dr. Lauren Fenton. The point of view is slippery; sometimes it slides from one character to another in the middle of a scene, which is very awkward. Also the pacing is odd, with too many short, terse sentences.

Interestingly, there are two stories involving Malaysian mythology. In Jill Girarde’s “Firstborn,” Adi Mansur’s wife Hajar is due to give birth at any time–while Adi has intense erotic dreams about a mysterious young woman. In Tina Isaacs’s “Pontianak,” Corey wants to visit Malaysia–but his father won’t let him go. Finally his dad tells his son the truth about what happened when he visited in his own youth. My only problem with this story is that it’s hard to imagine a father telling his teenaged son a story in this much explicit detail, down to phrases like “her moist core.”

Lydia Prime’s “Sadie” is short but interesting, starting off with a woman having absolutely bizarre nightmares that eventually bleed into reality.

All in all I enjoyed this anthology. It had a few rough spots, but otherwise was entirely worthwhile


Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/07/review-under-her-black-wings-various-authors/