Reviews

The Twelve Even Stranger Days of Christmas by Syd Moore

gabysreading's review

2.0

This short story collection felt all over the place, both as a collection and as individual stories. The only saving grace was that the book was very very easy to get through.

blyton's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

jean_atlas's review

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

4.0

Enjoyed most of the stories. Reminded me a bit of Inside No. 9. A couple stories were about some awful dudes getting their comeuppance which is always a good time. Favorites were The Overwinter Harrowing of Constance Hearst and Journey of the Magi: a Triptych.

bookcrazyamy's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

annarella's review

5.0

I love Essex Witch Museum Mysteries, an excellent series that mixes mystery, humour and paranormal creating gripping and highly entertaining stories.
I read The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas and appreciated Syd Moore’s skill in writing short stories of different types: from humorous to creepy.
The Twelve Even Stranger Days Of Christmas is another anthologies of short stories I thoroughly enjoyed.
These stories are an excellent example of the author’s versatility as they are well written regardless of the genre: paranormal mystery, creepy, horror, humorous. There’s a very funny retelling of White Snow, there’s a very creepy story with some echo of Simon R. Green (please consider it a compliment as he’s one of my fav fantasy writers). There’s also a visit to the Witch Museum and it’s always a pleasure read something form the series.
This is a blog tour I couldn’t miss as I love the author and her style of writing.
I can’t wait to read another story in Essex Witch Museum, this anthology is highly recommended.
Many thanks to Syd Moore and Rachel's Random Resources for this digital copy, all opinion are mine

dtaylorbooks's review

Where did I stop? 46% in

Why? I’m not sure what’s going on with this book, but it doesn’t have much, if anything, to do with Christmas. I read half the book and only two stories were even set at Christmas, and that’s where that ended. The holiday was a mention, and then the story had nothing else to do with it. With the way it’s packaged, from the cover to the blurb, you’d expect something nominally holiday-like. That’s really not happening here. The stories are odd, and I think in another anthology I could have appreciated some of them, but they don’t really seem to be linked in any meaningful way. This just felt like a book of random short stories packaged as something to do with Christmas. It’s very misleading. I honestly think this book would do better not packaged as having anything to do with Christmas. That’s really what made me stop reading. I’d picked it up because I was expecting something creepy, maybe spooky, and left of center around Christmas. That’s not what I got. Creepy, spooky, odd, yes. But not Christmas. That’s literally the whole reason I bought this book, and I did not get what I thought I was paying for. To be clear: I was NOT expecting a cozy out of this book. It doesn’t come off as cozy at all. I was just expecting something vaguely Christmasy, and it’s not there.

pixierissuhh's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

2.0

harper2301's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

nichola's review

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I adore this author. Genuinely. It is like a little treat I get every time a new one of these books available. I loooove these little stories. 

Even the shortest of these stories is excellent.

I LOVE the mini novella in the middle of this book. 

These books have the most delightful links to folklore and history that bring about some of the most wonderful realness and appreciation for English heritage.

daria_nedelcu19's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25