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Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'
The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror by Tori Bovalino
5 reviews
wardenred's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
In hypothetical lunchtime conversations, rehashing movies and true crime documentaries, we always say we’ll fight back. That it’s weak and foolish to let yourself be bested, to let yourself be killed. As if it’s the victim’s idea to become a victim.
Like pretty much any anthology, this one is varied: there were stories that left a lasting impressions on me, there were ones that were more forgettable. Still, on the whole, I really, really liked this read. The lowest I’d rate any given story would be 3.5, and there were quite a few clearly 5-star ones.
My absolute favorite story here is Loved by All, Save One by Tori Bovalino. It starts as a ghost story, then goes into a far more realistic and terrifying direction, and when the ghost does appear, it definitely doesn’t happen in a predictable ghost story way. This was the one tale that actually genuinely scared me, to the point that I very much regretted reading it after dark with everyone around me asleep. I also just genuinely loved the heartbreaking idea behind the whole thing (staying vague here because I don’t want to spoil anything).
Another one I enjoyed a lot was One-Lane Bridge by Hannah Whitten. Despite the small size of the tale, I felt like I connected with the MC very well. I liked the small twists along the road and absolutely adored the ending. Also, the vibes early on kind of reminded me of one of my favorite early episodes of Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural. The one with the bridge, you know the one.
To round off the top-3, I think I’m choosing Truth or Dare by Alex Brown. An absolute trip, dreamlike and sad, beautifully written. It gave me some Orpheus and Euridica vibes, except kind of upside down / the other way round. So strange and delicious.
For a couple of honorable mentions, there’ Stay by Erica Waters—a little rushed, I felt, but ultimately super atmospheric and evocative. And also Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft that focuses so hard on the pain of letting go and builds up to a more hopeful ending than I expected.
I perhaps found it a little repetitive how many stories were set during the characters’ last summer holiday or last summer in their hometowns, but at the same time I understand why the authors must have gravitated toward the same decisions. It’s a bit of a liminal time when the old weighs you down harder than usual, everything is possible, and everything is about to change. Makes it promising for YA horror in many ways.
All in all, I liked this way more than I expected to like it and definitely recommend it to those who are into folk horror and YA horror in general!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
spookily's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Violence, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Pedophilia, Grief, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Torture, Vomit, Car accident, Alcoholism, and Bullying
Minor: Cursing, Dementia, Cannibalism, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
kaetheluise_nckl's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Stay - Erica Waters: 1/5 -> i read this one so long ago that i barely remember the plot. eh.
The Tallest Poppy - Chloe Gong -> 4.5/5
-> Ms Chloe is the queen of vibes, but the ending was confusing so ???
Loved By All, Save One - Tori Bovalino: 5/5 -> i will eat up anything Tori writes and this whole book could have just been. an anthology of Tori’s mini-horror stories
One-Lane Bridge - Hannah Whitten: 4/5
-> yes. strong horror vibes. loved to read it. but it’s not Tori Bovalino.
Ghost on the Shore - Allison Shaft: 4.5/5
-> LET’S GO LESBIANS, LET’S GO!!!
Petrified - Olivia Chadha: 3.5/5 -> i could see what she was trying to do, but the amount of unexplained lore kinda backfired. but yeah, we love sacrificing annoying men in this house.
Third Burn - Courtney Ghould: 5/5 -> WHERE IS THE REST OF THIS I NEED MORE!?!?!?!
It Stays With You - Aden Polydoros: 2.5/5
-> listen. the horror vibes are so strong, but i just don’t vibe with suicidal thoughts and kids having cancer anymore. it hits too close to home.
Truth or Dare - Alex Brown: 5/5 -> i could relate to this on a spiritual level. i’m glad homegirl got rid of him.
The Burning One - Shakira Toussaint: 0/5 -> someone explain to me what was going on here because i genuinely don’t know what i just read. 0% scary, 100% confusing.
The Tallest Poppy - Chloe Gong -> 4.5/5
-> Ms Chloe is the queen of vibes, but the ending was confusing so ???
Loved By All, Save One - Tori Bovalino: 5/5 -> i will eat up anything Tori writes and this whole book could have just been. an anthology of Tori’s mini-horror stories
One-Lane Bridge - Hannah Whitten: 4/5
-> yes. strong horror vibes. loved to read it. but it’s not Tori Bovalino.
Ghost on the Shore - Allison Shaft: 4.5/5
-> LET’S GO LESBIANS, LET’S GO!!!
Petrified - Olivia Chadha: 3.5/5 -> i could see what she was trying to do, but the amount of unexplained lore kinda backfired. but yeah, we love sacrificing annoying men in this house.
Third Burn - Courtney Ghould: 5/5 -> WHERE IS THE REST OF THIS I NEED MORE!?!?!?!
It Stays With You - Aden Polydoros: 2.5/5
-> listen. the horror vibes are so strong, but i just don’t vibe with suicidal thoughts and kids having cancer anymore. it hits too close to home.
Truth or Dare - Alex Brown: 5/5 -> i could relate to this on a spiritual level. i’m glad homegirl got rid of him.
The Burning One - Shakira Toussaint: 0/5 -> someone explain to me what was going on here because i genuinely don’t know what i just read. 0% scary, 100% confusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, and Cancer
Minor: Rape and Suicidal thoughts
ash_hernick's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Death, Drug use, and Toxic friendship
This book is an anthology, so content warnings vary from story to story. Most only apply to one or two stories, and are shown at varying degrees of severity on a case-by-case basis. The book includes its own content warning in the front cover, mentioning warnings for "implied sexual abuse and trauma, body horror, gore, violence, death of a child/teenager, mentions of drug/substance abuse, terminal illness" but does not detail which stories these warnings apply to specifically.thesmutsister_emma's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Spooky Scary Skeletons
I usually don't stray outside of romance (or books I have to read for class) but this book's cover really caught my eye. I wanted something a little darker for Halloween season and this was perfect. There was no way I was going to be able to escape this book and I am so thankful for that. These stories were so amazing and had such a wonderful diversified cast. I liked the "lessons" being taught in the stories in this book and honestly had a great time reading it. I lost about an hour and a half on an already short night of sleep because of this book.
The Final Verdict
This is definitely a wonderful book for horror fans who want an anthology of horror stories. I will be recommending this to all of my horror fan buddies.
I usually don't stray outside of romance (or books I have to read for class) but this book's cover really caught my eye. I wanted something a little darker for Halloween season and this was perfect. There was no way I was going to be able to escape this book and I am so thankful for that. These stories were so amazing and had such a wonderful diversified cast. I liked the "lessons" being taught in the stories in this book and honestly had a great time reading it. I lost about an hour and a half on an already short night of sleep because of this book.
The Final Verdict
This is definitely a wonderful book for horror fans who want an anthology of horror stories. I will be recommending this to all of my horror fan buddies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault
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