Scan barcode
kindlebabe's review
4.0
★ ★ ★ ★ //5
Mother Knows Best
by: Lindy Ryan (editor)
I am a HUGE sucker for horror anthologies and this book packed a punch with a bunch of very fast paced eerie horrorish stories. I loved each of these stories for their own reasons and will def snag a physical copy of this book to have on hand for when I want to just open up and get those creepy feelings! I did really enjoy Little Mother if I had to choose one, but I honestly loved them all. This is a must have/must read book for all horror readers alike.
Mother Knows Best
by: Lindy Ryan (editor)
I am a HUGE sucker for horror anthologies and this book packed a punch with a bunch of very fast paced eerie horrorish stories. I loved each of these stories for their own reasons and will def snag a physical copy of this book to have on hand for when I want to just open up and get those creepy feelings! I did really enjoy Little Mother if I had to choose one, but I honestly loved them all. This is a must have/must read book for all horror readers alike.
tokujoe's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
justinevandale's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
3.0
When I saw this cover and title I was very introduced and requested it right away haha. I haven’t read many short story books either so figured this would be a good one to read ahha. This book was okay. Some stories were way creepier than others. The two that stuck with me was the Coraline like one and the one that for some reason reminded me of Gypsy Rose. And others I don’t really remember. I did like that some were poems.
I maybe would recommend this to others.
I maybe would recommend this to others.
grimdreadful's review against another edition
3.0
This is a horror collection of short stories and poems all about mother daughter relationships and bad mothers of all varieties.
the stories were hit or miss for me, I did enjoy many but some were so ambiguous, in a way that just felt too confusing.
a few of my favourite stories were:
- Oh What A Tangled Web, this was gross, fast paced, and I was a full book written out of this short story.
-So Lovely In The Dark, I'm not sure I fully get it but it was a good time.
-Skeleton Bird Song, I'm still thinking about this one.
-The Mom From Upstairs, this gave me Goosebumps vibes and I'm not mad about it.
-Special Medicine, WTF!! but felt cathartic.
-Your Mothers Love Is An Apocalypse, strange and reflective.
I knew this book had poetry going in, but for some reason I was expecting there to be a little more short stories over poems so this is on me. I'm not a big poetry reader, I struggle with them and I always feel like I'm just missing something. That was the case here, this is just a personal opinion but I did not care for most of them, the two poems I did enjoy were:
-Mother Bead
-Sometimes Its Hard To Let Go
Thank you to Netgalley and Black Spot books for sharing a digital copy, as always opinions are my own.
the stories were hit or miss for me, I did enjoy many but some were so ambiguous, in a way that just felt too confusing.
a few of my favourite stories were:
- Oh What A Tangled Web, this was gross, fast paced, and I was a full book written out of this short story.
-So Lovely In The Dark, I'm not sure I fully get it but it was a good time.
-Skeleton Bird Song, I'm still thinking about this one.
-The Mom From Upstairs, this gave me Goosebumps vibes and I'm not mad about it.
-Special Medicine, WTF!! but felt cathartic.
-Your Mothers Love Is An Apocalypse, strange and reflective.
I knew this book had poetry going in, but for some reason I was expecting there to be a little more short stories over poems so this is on me. I'm not a big poetry reader, I struggle with them and I always feel like I'm just missing something. That was the case here, this is just a personal opinion but I did not care for most of them, the two poems I did enjoy were:
-Mother Bead
-Sometimes Its Hard To Let Go
Thank you to Netgalley and Black Spot books for sharing a digital copy, as always opinions are my own.
soobooksalot's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Mental illness
whitwein's review against another edition
4.0
What a great horror anthology. I loved the theme Mothers of all sorts and it comes with all the emotions. Fear, gross out, sad and hopeful what I loved most was how it was compiled- to have short stories and poems spread throughout.
A fun horror anthology and I have some new to me authors I need to read now!
Thanks to netgalley for an eARC.
A fun horror anthology and I have some new to me authors I need to read now!
Thanks to netgalley for an eARC.
simonlorden's review
3.5
I received an ARC through NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.
This anthology is all about motherly love, obsession, protectiveness or neglect taken to horrific and sometimes supernatural extremes. It's all about mothers and daughters, with sons not really making an appearance. There are both short stories and poems alternating.
It was a little hit-or-miss for me. Some of the stories were really good, but some of them just felt too abstract - I like it when I actually understand what's happening in the story, even if it's horrific, and many of these just left me sort of confused instead of scared, cathartic, or whatever the intent was. This is also a personal preference, but I like when the author bios are right after the given story so that it's still fresh in my mind - when they're all included at the end, I have to keep scrolling back to see which author is which, and that's a bit difficult.
A few highlights:
- Oh, What a Tangled Web - This one builds up very nicely to the reveal.
- Little Mother - Out of the poems, this was definitely my favorite. Ouch, those last lines.
- Special Medicine - That twist!! Absolutely disgusting, but cathartic and well-deserved.
- Dog Mom - Musings about what makes a mother. I genuinely enjoyed this one, but honestly I wouldn't really consider it horror, so I was surprised to see it included here. It's mostly just sad and melancholic, with maybe one horrifying paragraph.
- Your Mother's Love is an Apocalypse - The second person narrative was a bit weird, but I liked the whole concept, a mother's possessiveness and abuse being taken to apocalyptic proportions.
This anthology is all about motherly love, obsession, protectiveness or neglect taken to horrific and sometimes supernatural extremes. It's all about mothers and daughters, with sons not really making an appearance. There are both short stories and poems alternating.
It was a little hit-or-miss for me. Some of the stories were really good, but some of them just felt too abstract - I like it when I actually understand what's happening in the story, even if it's horrific, and many of these just left me sort of confused instead of scared, cathartic, or whatever the intent was. This is also a personal preference, but I like when the author bios are right after the given story so that it's still fresh in my mind - when they're all included at the end, I have to keep scrolling back to see which author is which, and that's a bit difficult.
A few highlights:
- Oh, What a Tangled Web - This one builds up very nicely to the reveal.
- Little Mother - Out of the poems, this was definitely my favorite. Ouch, those last lines.
- Special Medicine - That twist!! Absolutely disgusting, but cathartic and well-deserved.
- Dog Mom - Musings about what makes a mother. I genuinely enjoyed this one, but honestly I wouldn't really consider it horror, so I was surprised to see it included here. It's mostly just sad and melancholic, with maybe one horrifying paragraph.
- Your Mother's Love is an Apocalypse - The second person narrative was a bit weird, but I liked the whole concept, a mother's possessiveness and abuse being taken to apocalyptic proportions.
kilayman10's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
teich's review
5.0
I really liked this entire collection, if I were to rate them all individually they would be 4 or 5 stars with my personal favorites being “Oh What a Tangled Web”, “Little Mother”, and “Sometimes It’s Hard To Let Go.” I enjoyed the mix of short stories and poetry.
witchycinnamon's review
4.0
A fantastic anthology of creepy and gory mother horror.
Each story/poem is fast paced and keeps you hooked from start to finish! Loved how there were poems in between the short stories too.
Recommend for fans of: horror anthologies, mother horror, fast paced treads.
Each story/poem is fast paced and keeps you hooked from start to finish! Loved how there were poems in between the short stories too.
Recommend for fans of: horror anthologies, mother horror, fast paced treads.