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breadbummer's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
3.25
I think I went into this one expecting more horror in it. Yeah, sure, a few of these stories really sucked me in ("The Moon in the Glass," "Hearteater," "Quicksilver Prometheus"), but most of them, to use a metaphor, left me feeling like I was given a light snack when I was expecting a full meal. I totally wanted more of "Doctor Barlowe's Mirror" (this one was, compared to most others in the book, pretty solid content-wise, though) and "Rodeo," which both felt like just the beginning of stories that should have been novels in their own right. I didn't expect so many of the tales to have such cheesy endings, and cheese isn't my literary taste (don't know what it is with me and food tonight lol). Some had way too many unanswered questions and/or were just kind of all over the place, leading me to wonder what the point of the story was in the first place. I dunno, I guess I was expecting more from this collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Body horror, Stalking, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Murder, War, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Being an anthology, every chapter has different potential triggers that come with them. Twirling Book Princess sums them up nicely: Let Down by Claire Hamilton Russell: imprisonment, non-consensual sex Moonlight by Ally Kölzow: death of loved one An Account of Service at Meryll Point, as recollected and set down by C.L.: societal transphobia (narrator is accepting, however) The White Door by Lindsay King-Miller: violence, murder Doctor Barlowe’s Mirror by Avery Kit Malone: none Laguna and the Engkanto by Katalina Watt: death of parent The Moon in the Glass by Jude Reid: murder, hallucinations Brideprice by S.T. Gibson: mention of sexual assault, murder, blood-drinking Lure of the Abyss by Jenna MacDonald: some people get eaten by a sea monster Hearteater by Eliza Temple: none Quicksilver Prometheus by Katie Young: hallucinations, mention of death of children Homesick by Sam Hirst: none Rodeo by Ryann Fletcher: homophobia, domestic violence, murder Lady of Letters; or, the Twenty-First Century Homunculus by Heather Valentine: cheating Taylor Hall by Jen Glifort: panphobia (challenged) The Ruin by E. Saxey: threat of the apocalypse The Dream Eater by Anna Moon: illness of loved one Leadbitter House by Mason Hawthorne: body horrormaisierosereads's review
4.0
<a href= "https://maisierosereads.wordpress.com/2020/12/13/unspeakable/">Read my review on my blog, with a free bookmark design for each story, here!</a>
Note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher and Caffeine Book Tours in exchange for my participation in this tour, including an honest review.
I really enjoyed reading Unspeakable. The stories range in style from classic gothic to modern paranormal, with a wide range of themes, identities, and settings. There are curses, hauntings, vampires, mermaids, werewolves, and plenty of other monsters besides. Some of the stories are heartwarming (such as Homesick), others might leave you feeling a little queasy (note the body horror warning for Leadbitter House!) – and if there is an individual story which you don’t fancy reading due to the content warnings or for any other reason, there will be plenty of others for you to enjoy.
The world definitely needs more diverse gothic fiction – I find that so many of the classics can be difficult to enjoy as a disabled queer woman! Whilst this collection doesn’t represent all aspects of diversity, it does contain many queer characters in the main roles, not just as tragic side characters.
I sometimes find it difficult to rate anthologies due to how much the quality can vary between stories, but I didn’t have that problem with Unspeakable. Although of course I had my favourites, and a couple of stories didn’t quite hit the mark for me, on average I feel that this collection deserves the 4 stars I’ve given it. If you’re a fan of the gothic, paranormal, or eerie side of horror I think you’ll enjoy it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse
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