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karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
I have never been one to like short stories, except by Ray Bradbury, until I found these anthologies for my Kindle. Reading this book also reminded how much I enjoy a good ghost story. All 13 of them are spine tingling.
rebeccamahanyhorton's review against another edition
3.0
This was a pretty quick and easy read. Usually I stay away from ghost stories--I'm the sort of person who can't sleep after reading Sherlock Holmes, let alone anything with paranormal elements--but I doubt any of these stories are going to trouble me like that. This was a light and fun read; the stories were on the whole good.
The first story, "Strangeways vs. the Wraith" (by Judith Graves)is about a girl named Amelia Strangeways, who is a necromancer-in-training but forbidden from entering the Hunter Council due to her sex, since the story is set in what I assumed was England in the early 1900s. (As a side note, I am thoroughly done with authors using the women's rights movement in order to make their female characters automatically more spirited, likable, and independent.) She has to prove herself at what is essentially the coming-out ball for her charge, Nora Rumsay, when it turns out that Nora's father has sinister plans.
The next story was "The Senet Box" by Jill Williamson. It's based on a historical event (the succession of the throne in a country, I forget which one, after the king dies), which I guessed beforehand but didn't know until the author's note at the end of the story. Had I known that before, I think I would have enjoyed the story a lot more. The story focuses on the oldest son, who becomes enchanted with a box that he can't open. I didn't really like the ending but besides that, it was very interesting.
"Stained," by Mark Finnemore, was one of my favorites out of the bunch. It's about a witch hunter named Isaiah who can detect the "stain" of magic on people, but doesn't realize that he has the sort of gift that would inspire those like him to want him dead.
"Thread of the Past" by Dawn Dalton is about a highschooler named Letitia Hawke who doesn't really fit in with the other giggling girls at her high school. She wears a steampunk dress and goggles to prom; they're decked out in glitter and lip gloss. "Backstabbing was a team sport at Cleveland Heights High", she remarks (one of my favorite lines in the whole story), though the sole crime of her classmates appears to be that they never talk to her--which isn't surprising, considering the staggering amount of contempt she holds for them. But when they all travel to Franklin Castle, which is predictably haunted, she finds out that there might be a reason that they treat her like she's invisible.
"The Cold One" by Candace Havens was okay. The main character, who speaks "English with some Puerto Rican thrown in" (because Puerto Rican is definitely a language), speaks in the annoying faux-teen-speak you find in stories by authors who are trying way too hard to emulate the way that teenagers actually think. The actual premise behind the story was interesting, though: a girl finds out she has special powers and is now the guardian of the treasure of ancient warriors. She now has to find this treasure, which her dead grandmother hid somewhere, to return it to an angry Viking. Oh, and both her grandmother and the Viking are going to haunt her until she does it.
"Death Becomes Her" by Kitty Keswick is a modern spin-off on Cinderella--mostly in that the main character doesn't have a dress, gets a dress, and goes to a dance. The stepsister character didn't seem believable in her intense hatred of Willow, but I liked the very unique twist the author added
"The Oast House" by Cameron Tudor, "New Girl" by Maria V. Snyder, and "Aftermath" by Halli Dee Lilburn were a few more of my favorites (and conveniently all right in a row!).
"Phantom of the Prom" by Linda Joy Singleton was light on the plot and fairly easily resolved, but fun to read. (And, to top it off, the main character had a spirit guide named Opal, who was a Mayan "sacrificial peasant girl" but somehow manages to have a Spanish accent anyway.) "Night Queen" and "To Hel and Back" were similarly interesting but forgettable.
"The Story of Late" by Heather Kenealy, the last story, had to be my absolute favorite out of all of them. I definitely wished there was more of it to read.
I mostly got it because it featured a story by one of my favorite authors of late (Maria V. Snyder) and because its price ($0.99 on Amazon for the Kindle!) was very reasonable. Additionally, the proceeds go to a literacy-based charity. So, all in all, a couple of the stories were hit-or-miss, but enjoyable and definitely worth it.
The first story, "Strangeways vs. the Wraith" (by Judith Graves)is about a girl named Amelia Strangeways, who is a necromancer-in-training but forbidden from entering the Hunter Council due to her sex, since the story is set in what I assumed was England in the early 1900s. (As a side note, I am thoroughly done with authors using the women's rights movement in order to make their female characters automatically more spirited, likable, and independent.) She has to prove herself at what is essentially the coming-out ball for her charge, Nora Rumsay, when it turns out that Nora's father has sinister plans.
The next story was "The Senet Box" by Jill Williamson. It's based on a historical event (the succession of the throne in a country, I forget which one, after the king dies), which I guessed beforehand but didn't know until the author's note at the end of the story. Had I known that before, I think I would have enjoyed the story a lot more. The story focuses on the oldest son, who becomes enchanted with a box that he can't open. I didn't really like the ending
Spoiler
(the main character just ends up stuck in a box with no resolution whatsoever)"Stained," by Mark Finnemore, was one of my favorites out of the bunch. It's about a witch hunter named Isaiah who can detect the "stain" of magic on people, but doesn't realize that he has the sort of gift that would inspire those like him to want him dead.
"Thread of the Past" by Dawn Dalton is about a highschooler named Letitia Hawke who doesn't really fit in with the other giggling girls at her high school. She wears a steampunk dress and goggles to prom; they're decked out in glitter and lip gloss. "Backstabbing was a team sport at Cleveland Heights High", she remarks (one of my favorite lines in the whole story), though the sole crime of her classmates appears to be that they never talk to her--which isn't surprising, considering the staggering amount of contempt she holds for them. But when they all travel to Franklin Castle, which is predictably haunted, she finds out that there might be a reason that they treat her like she's invisible.
Spoiler
My takeaway from the ending was that she was the sister who hung herself in the tower after she couldn't be with her true love, who I assumed to be the mysterious boy Elijah, who is definitely a ghost. That leaves two options all along: she is a ghost, but didn't remember, which doesn't make sense; or Elijah is just super-creepy and convinced she's the ghost. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the former, but it makes no sense."The Cold One" by Candace Havens was okay. The main character, who speaks "English with some Puerto Rican thrown in" (because Puerto Rican is definitely a language), speaks in the annoying faux-teen-speak you find in stories by authors who are trying way too hard to emulate the way that teenagers actually think. The actual premise behind the story was interesting, though: a girl finds out she has special powers and is now the guardian of the treasure of ancient warriors. She now has to find this treasure, which her dead grandmother hid somewhere, to return it to an angry Viking. Oh, and both her grandmother and the Viking are going to haunt her until she does it.
"Death Becomes Her" by Kitty Keswick is a modern spin-off on Cinderella--mostly in that the main character doesn't have a dress, gets a dress, and goes to a dance. The stepsister character didn't seem believable in her intense hatred of Willow, but I liked the very unique twist the author added
Spoiler
though I never figured out how the poisoned dress ended up at the thrift store in the first place."The Oast House" by Cameron Tudor, "New Girl" by Maria V. Snyder, and "Aftermath" by Halli Dee Lilburn were a few more of my favorites (and conveniently all right in a row!).
"Phantom of the Prom" by Linda Joy Singleton was light on the plot and fairly easily resolved, but fun to read. (And, to top it off, the main character had a spirit guide named Opal, who was a Mayan "sacrificial peasant girl" but somehow manages to have a Spanish accent anyway.) "Night Queen" and "To Hel and Back" were similarly interesting but forgettable.
"The Story of Late" by Heather Kenealy, the last story, had to be my absolute favorite out of all of them. I definitely wished there was more of it to read.
I mostly got it because it featured a story by one of my favorite authors of late (Maria V. Snyder) and because its price ($0.99 on Amazon for the Kindle!) was very reasonable. Additionally, the proceeds go to a literacy-based charity. So, all in all, a couple of the stories were hit-or-miss, but enjoyable and definitely worth it.
shirleonelsie's review against another edition
4.0
There were a few stories in this collection that were only okay. The rest were interesting enough that I wanted more and more!
They were definitely spooky enough to make me consider sleeping with the lights on!
They were definitely spooky enough to make me consider sleeping with the lights on!
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