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lefttorread's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't realise this was a book of short stories until I began to read it. The first story was good, has a supernatural feeling to it and the rest of the stories all had elements of spookiness, gore and horror that gripped me, but that last story.. Walker, that was epic. I'd love for that to have been a full novel.
kirkw1972's review against another edition
3.0
This is a good little collection of short stories (not normally my preferred reading choice) with "Come as you Are" being the standout and my favourite. It's quite gory for a Young Adult novel. Demons living in a school locker is definitely a new one! I actually think this could be pulled apart and re-done as a longer length novel with more emphasis on how the demons came into being, the janitors struggles, how to cope with teenage death... there's so much scope for something bigger.
The other stories were ok but nothing special. Like most short story collections it's a fast, easy read and great for the beach.
wellwortharead's review
5.0
It's times like this that I wish I was a writer myself, so that I could more adequately describe how much I enjoyed this book and why any horror lover should be dropping everything to read this as soon as it becomes available. I mean seriously do yourself a favor and clean up your "to be read list"
The title story "Come As You Are" really grabbed me. Who doesn't hate a bully? Ivan is having a rough time at school, and when he finds a notebook belonging to a former student who was also bullied before he disappeared.. who can blame him for taking a peek? Revenge is not always sweet as Ivan finds out the hard way. This was an excellent story. It may say "young adult fiction" but to me it was just plain classic horror. It would have made for a great episode of Tales From The Crypt. Well...if Tales hadn't had so many clunkers and so few good episodes. If it is "young adult" it is only because it is horror without sex scenes and when you are being this entertained you don't need them. When it ended I thought to myself sure, here comes the bland filler stories to make this novel length. I will now admit that thought was WRONG. Nothing here is empty filler. Every single story is a creepy little gem. There's a man who has a new lease on life after recovering from oral cancer, in fact he's so happy he's singing, but heaven help you if you hear him. You may want to put your ear plugs in. Don't even get me started on what can happen if you wake a sleep walker. Everyone knows not to do that right? Unfortunately some don't believe until it's too late.
Do you have a fear of spiders? Not necessarily the big giant invaders of arachnophobia, but what about the little spider you can't see? The one that's hiding in your home right now, maybe plotting against you. I don't want to go on and on, giving away too much. I will just say if you have read my reviews you know I don't rate 5 stars often or lightly. Come As You Are gets a big fat freaky and frightening 5 out of 5 stars from me.
I received an advance copy for review.
The title story "Come As You Are" really grabbed me. Who doesn't hate a bully? Ivan is having a rough time at school, and when he finds a notebook belonging to a former student who was also bullied before he disappeared.. who can blame him for taking a peek? Revenge is not always sweet as Ivan finds out the hard way. This was an excellent story. It may say "young adult fiction" but to me it was just plain classic horror. It would have made for a great episode of Tales From The Crypt. Well...if Tales hadn't had so many clunkers and so few good episodes. If it is "young adult" it is only because it is horror without sex scenes and when you are being this entertained you don't need them. When it ended I thought to myself sure, here comes the bland filler stories to make this novel length. I will now admit that thought was WRONG. Nothing here is empty filler. Every single story is a creepy little gem. There's a man who has a new lease on life after recovering from oral cancer, in fact he's so happy he's singing, but heaven help you if you hear him. You may want to put your ear plugs in. Don't even get me started on what can happen if you wake a sleep walker. Everyone knows not to do that right? Unfortunately some don't believe until it's too late.
Do you have a fear of spiders? Not necessarily the big giant invaders of arachnophobia, but what about the little spider you can't see? The one that's hiding in your home right now, maybe plotting against you. I don't want to go on and on, giving away too much. I will just say if you have read my reviews you know I don't rate 5 stars often or lightly. Come As You Are gets a big fat freaky and frightening 5 out of 5 stars from me.
I received an advance copy for review.
novelbloglover's review
5.0
YA supernatural horror was a genre I read a lot of back in the day but haven't read much from recently but Come As You Are reminded me of Pandora's box and the consequences of seeking revenge. The short novel part of this story was beautifully executed and well written but the short stories just adding that little something extra, that really made the book outstanding.
lilyn_g's review
3.0
Come As You Are is an interesting collection of horror short stories by author Steven Ramirez. It fits neatly into the young adult sub-genre. There are a few very interesting tales in the mix, but they’re balanced out by a handful of weaker ones so that the whole collection as a whole feels somewhat mediocre. I would be interested in reading more of the author’s work, just perhaps in longer novels instead of a collection.
Come As You Are, the title novella of this collection, was an interesting middle-grade-ish horror story. I had trouble believing some of the adult mindset of the twelve year old protagonist, but other than that, no real picks. I think pretty much every kid that’s ever been bullied has wished they had a way to get back at the bullies. Come as You Are was a warning about being careful what you wish for. Well written and doesn’t hold back on the disturbing imagery.
Nailed It was a bit weird. Adult-ish characters on a plane, and one of them tells the other a disturbing story. Not really much to stay about it.
Brown the Recluse was disturbing. This version of Spiderman could give readers nightmares if they have even a touch of arachnophobia. Very, very creepy, and well-told in the few pages it was given. Surreal. It’s definitely the type of story to linger in your mind.
I’ve Been Better wasn’t very good. It was one of those stories that leave you wondering “What the …” The author tries to put in a twist at the end that just really doesn’t make sense, considering how everything is laid out.
A Bone in the Throat was definitely different. I knew where it was heading pretty quickly, but the author managed to surprise me with the sheer savagery of what happened in the end. It’s the type of revenge that lasts for a long, long time. A very satisfying read that left me smiling at the end. Good to see someone like that get what’s coming to them.
Regino Sings– It seems to be a theme in this collection of how bad things you do come back to bite you in the butt. Regino Sings had an interesting concept in the man with the mechanical mouth, and how he thinks it has it all, only to have everything turned around on him. But, it’s one of the weaker stories in the collection with no lasting power.
A Proper Revenge Takes Time was ‘ok’. I liked the idea behind it, and it was something I haven’t read much about in horror stories. However, it just didn’t have much of an impact. It was a skim-type read that fled my mind almost as soon as I’d finished it.
Something to Hold was… honestly, it was so boring I don’t even want to write any more about it. Let’s just say interesting idea, weak execution. Moving on.
The Widow and Her Magician was a fun read. I giggled at one of the scenes where a saying is taken literally. A bit risqué and off-beat, it was a nice counterpoint to the three weaker ones that had come before it.
Walker was solid read showing the talent that came through in Brown the Recluse. It’s a disturbing tale based off an old superstition. The scenes are worded perfectly, and the imagery will stay in the reader’s mind.
Overall, it was worth the read just for some of the stories like Brown the Recluse and Walker. The rest are fairly forgettable, but it was only a few hours of reading, so easy to get through regardless.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.
Come As You Are, the title novella of this collection, was an interesting middle-grade-ish horror story. I had trouble believing some of the adult mindset of the twelve year old protagonist, but other than that, no real picks. I think pretty much every kid that’s ever been bullied has wished they had a way to get back at the bullies. Come as You Are was a warning about being careful what you wish for. Well written and doesn’t hold back on the disturbing imagery.
Nailed It was a bit weird. Adult-ish characters on a plane, and one of them tells the other a disturbing story. Not really much to stay about it.
Brown the Recluse was disturbing. This version of Spiderman could give readers nightmares if they have even a touch of arachnophobia. Very, very creepy, and well-told in the few pages it was given. Surreal. It’s definitely the type of story to linger in your mind.
I’ve Been Better wasn’t very good. It was one of those stories that leave you wondering “What the …” The author tries to put in a twist at the end that just really doesn’t make sense, considering how everything is laid out.
A Bone in the Throat was definitely different. I knew where it was heading pretty quickly, but the author managed to surprise me with the sheer savagery of what happened in the end. It’s the type of revenge that lasts for a long, long time. A very satisfying read that left me smiling at the end. Good to see someone like that get what’s coming to them.
Regino Sings– It seems to be a theme in this collection of how bad things you do come back to bite you in the butt. Regino Sings had an interesting concept in the man with the mechanical mouth, and how he thinks it has it all, only to have everything turned around on him. But, it’s one of the weaker stories in the collection with no lasting power.
A Proper Revenge Takes Time was ‘ok’. I liked the idea behind it, and it was something I haven’t read much about in horror stories. However, it just didn’t have much of an impact. It was a skim-type read that fled my mind almost as soon as I’d finished it.
Something to Hold was… honestly, it was so boring I don’t even want to write any more about it. Let’s just say interesting idea, weak execution. Moving on.
The Widow and Her Magician was a fun read. I giggled at one of the scenes where a saying is taken literally. A bit risqué and off-beat, it was a nice counterpoint to the three weaker ones that had come before it.
Walker was solid read showing the talent that came through in Brown the Recluse. It’s a disturbing tale based off an old superstition. The scenes are worded perfectly, and the imagery will stay in the reader’s mind.
Overall, it was worth the read just for some of the stories like Brown the Recluse and Walker. The rest are fairly forgettable, but it was only a few hours of reading, so easy to get through regardless.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.
patsonfire's review
3.0
This book sounded great: 10 horror short stories by a new author. Why not?
The first story, "Come As You Are" - was amazing. Enthralling, great characters, supernatural elements on top -I loved it!-, but, unfortunately, it was as far as good as this collection went
I found the other stories really disappointing. It was clear for me that the author had great ideas for them, but he just couldn't make them work. The other 9 stories were too short or really poorly developed to have the same impact as the first one had, so I reached a time where I was just waiting to finish this book.
"Walker", the last story, however, was a surprise. It was actually good, and considering its lenght, it was well-developed.
Overall, I'd rather prefer this book to have less stories that were better, than all these 10 whose majority was bad.
The first story, "Come As You Are" - was amazing. Enthralling, great characters, supernatural elements on top -I loved it!-, but, unfortunately, it was as far as good as this collection went
I found the other stories really disappointing. It was clear for me that the author had great ideas for them, but he just couldn't make them work. The other 9 stories were too short or really poorly developed to have the same impact as the first one had, so I reached a time where I was just waiting to finish this book.
"Walker", the last story, however, was a surprise. It was actually good, and considering its lenght, it was well-developed.
Overall, I'd rather prefer this book to have less stories that were better, than all these 10 whose majority was bad.
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