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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was a fun dive into the diverse world of black horror. Each story gripping and thrilling in a different way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
I’ve been waiting for this book for a while now! Im not trying to compare it to Night of the Living Queers but I would say the stories in this collection were scarier.
“Lights”, “All My Best Friends Are Dead”, and “The Teeth Come Out At Night” were the scariest ones in my opinion.
“The Consumption of Vienna Montrose”, and “Papa Pearlie” were unsettling to say the least but also enjoyable.
I think my favorite though was one of the shorter ones “Be Not Afraid”. I really liked the overall plot and the message behind that story.
“I Love Your Eyes” felt cheesy unfortunately. The big twist didn’t feel believable but I did like Frey as a character.
“The Landscape of Broken Things” was not what I expected. It wasn’t scary or that interesting. The premise of clairvoyants was fun but then it took a different turn I didn’t expect.
“Mother, Daughter and the Devil” was a lot of fun but I was confused by the fact that the mom and the daughter were both named Lily so it was hard to keep track of who’s POV we were in.
“No Harm Done” was one I WISH was longer than it was. The zombie apocalypse premise was RIGHT THERE and barely used and I felt like it could have gone so much farther than it did. The immediate betrayal by Sasha didn’t make me like her much as a character but I did enjoy this story despite this.
“Lights”, “All My Best Friends Are Dead”, and “The Teeth Come Out At Night” were the scariest ones in my opinion.
“The Consumption of Vienna Montrose”, and “Papa Pearlie” were unsettling to say the least but also enjoyable.
I think my favorite though was one of the shorter ones “Be Not Afraid”. I really liked the overall plot and the message behind that story.
“I Love Your Eyes” felt cheesy unfortunately. The big twist didn’t feel believable but I did like Frey as a character.
“The Landscape of Broken Things” was not what I expected. It wasn’t scary or that interesting. The premise of clairvoyants was fun but then it took a different turn I didn’t expect.
“Mother, Daughter and the Devil” was a lot of fun but I was confused by the fact that the mom and the daughter were both named Lily so it was hard to keep track of who’s POV we were in.
“No Harm Done” was one I WISH was longer than it was. The zombie apocalypse premise was RIGHT THERE and barely used and I felt like it could have gone so much farther than it did. The immediate betrayal by Sasha didn’t make me like her much as a character but I did enjoy this story despite this.
All These Sunken Souls is a masterpiece. I loved almost every story and many of them had me itching for more. I’ve definitely found some new favorite authors!
My thoughts on each story:
- “Lights” by Kalynn Bayron is definitely a 5 star opener. I love when things aren’t what they seem and Bayron sets up everything beautifully with the lights, shadows, and reactions of the characters.
- “Be not afraid” is another 5 star read. Loved the concept and the body horror near the end was so gruesome in the best possible way.
- “All My Best Friends are Dead” by Lisette Sambury is another 5 stars and is probably my favorite so far. Loved the switch from before and after and how that helped to gradually piece together the story. And that twist at the end? *chef’s kiss*
- “The Teeth Come Out at Night” by Sami Ellis was really good. I honestly could’ve read a full 300+ page novel about Akeela and what I assume to be the tooth fairy
- “I Love Your Eyes” by Joel Rochester had a very nice twist at then end. Also “Get fucked and have an awful afterlife” is my new favorite quote.
- “The Consumption of Vienna Montrose is probably my least favorite so far. I liked the prose and the concept of a living house is always interesting to me. There were just some elements I didn’t vibe with— what Vienna does to the stair railing being one of them 🤢
- “The Landscape of Broken Things” by Brent Lambert really had me itching for more. I would gladly read a whole series about Julien and the Time Judges. The setting and creature peaked my interest instantly.
- “Mother, Daughter, and the Devil” by Donyae Coles was a story that didn’t really grab me. It was still enjoyable though. The ending was great and I liked the prose. It was a bit repetitive at times but overall a good read.
- “Papa Pearlie” by Ryan Douglass was sooo good. I really need to read more of this author’s work cuz he’s so good at creating creepy atmospheres. Loved the premise of the story— I’d gladly read a full-length novel about it.
- “No Harm Done” by Circe Moskovitz was a great story to close this anthology on. The ending was chilling!
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Overall a fantastic anthology with a lot of excellent authors
"Lights" by Kalynn Bayron
"Lights" by Kalynn Bayron
- 5/5 ⭐
- Literally one of my top 3 authors at this moment in time. This was such a stunning opening to this anthology.
"Be Not Afraid" by Ashia Monet
- 4.5/5 ⭐
- This was such a unique concept! The way the main character here watches everything happening around her with detached interest, like a kid watching ants work, completed the atmosphere here.
"All My Best Friends Are Dead" by Liselle Sambury
- 4.5/5 ⭐
- Another absolutely incredible author with another absolutely incredible story. I had sort of managed to guess what happened to our MC, but the ENDING. Wow.
"The Teeth Come Out At Night" by Sami Ellis
- 3/5⭐
- This is one of the two stories I had the most difficult time understanding. Mostly because I felt like I hadn't been given any answers at all by the end of the story. I still don't know what that thing was and I don't know why the teeth kept changing. This story in particular did have the creepiest buildup of dread though.
"I Love Your Eyes" by Joel Rochester
- 5/5 ⭐
- THIS. Is everything I love about gothic horror. The mansion setting. The steady unfurling of all secrets, revealing every character's rotting core. The final bid for victory.
"The Consumption of Vienna Montrose" by Joelle Wellington
- 2/5 ⭐
- Eugghhhhhhh she fucked the house. She. FUCKED. the. HOUSE. I was not expecting that in a YA Horror Anthology so it just really caught me off guard
"The Landscape of Broken Things" by Brent Lambert
- 4.5/5⭐
- Ohhhh I liked this one a LOT! The concept was very interesting and fresh. I enjoyed learning more about the mystery behind why the psychics couldn't see the future anymore.
"Mother, Daughter, and the Devil" by Donyae Coles
- 4/5 ⭐
- This exploration of the trauma passed down to us is rife with imagery. Whether it be the teeth, the smell, the crime, the revenge... All of it is vividly written in this story
"Papa Pearlie" by Ryan Douglass
- 3/5 ⭐
- Look. Dolls are creepy AF. But I am so disappointed in the MC here. Zeke did himself and his sister dirty.
"No Harm Done" by Circe Moskowitz
- 4/5 ⭐
- Truly I did not see this plot coming. I was fully prepared for a doppelganger situation, and well... I sort of got it I guess! That family is absolutely nuts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
dark
mysterious
medium-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
I love horror short stories, so I was very excited when I was approved for this ARC! Thanks to NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for providing this title in exchange for an honest review.
“All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology” (2023) is a collection of 10 stories from various authors, edited by Circe Moskowitz. The blurb says that this book “tackles a genre that historically has tokenized and exploited Black characters and opens discussion on how horror translates into the current time we live in”. Amazing!
The first half of the book set a very high bar, as it starts with the most solid stories of this volume. Then I thought it dipped in the middle, as these were my least favourite stories - but it ended with a bang! So I think the order of the stories was a pretty good editorial choice.
There’s something for everyone here: haunted houses, zombie apocalypses, ghosts, monsters… It’s labelled as YA, but some of the stories were plenty gory!
My rating by story:
“Lights” by Kalynn Bayron: 5⭐ A monster eager to feed meets his match when stalking a family. Unexpected and creepy.
“Be not afraid” by Ashia Money: 5⭐ A miraculous entity arrives at a church. This one reminded me of “Midnight Mass”! It deals with racism and Christian hypocrisy.
“All my best friends are dead” by Liselle Sambury: 5⭐ Bloody Mary with a delightful, terrifying twist!
“The teeth come out at night” by Sami Ellis: 4⭐ A student on a tight budget tries to get some money for her college fund by taking something she shouldn’t.
“I love your eyes” by Joel Rochester: 3⭐ Secrets come out when a happy couple celebrates their anniversary in a secluded mansion. This one had an interesting resolution, but the execution fell flat for me because at no point did I buy into the relationship.
“The consumption of Vienna Montrose” by Joelle Wellington: 3⭐ A young woman inherits an old house from her grandmother.
“The landscape of broken things” by Brent Lambert: 3⭐ In this dystopia, the seers that once helped humanity are now treated as a menace, and a teen struggles to save his mother.
“Mother Daughter and the Devil” by Donyae Coles: 3.5⭐ This has such a solid premise about generational trauma, but it was a little too meandering.
“Papa Pearlie” by Ryan Douglass: 3⭐ A young man visits the patriarch of the family and discovers a secret about his handmade dolls.
“No harm done” by Circe Moskowitz: 5⭐ A teenager meets her long-lost twin right as the zombie apocalypse begins. A unique take on this trope!
Overall, I was delighted with this anthology and can’t recommend it enough to any horror fans looking for their next scare!
“All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology” (2023) is a collection of 10 stories from various authors, edited by Circe Moskowitz. The blurb says that this book “tackles a genre that historically has tokenized and exploited Black characters and opens discussion on how horror translates into the current time we live in”. Amazing!
The first half of the book set a very high bar, as it starts with the most solid stories of this volume. Then I thought it dipped in the middle, as these were my least favourite stories - but it ended with a bang! So I think the order of the stories was a pretty good editorial choice.
There’s something for everyone here: haunted houses, zombie apocalypses, ghosts, monsters… It’s labelled as YA, but some of the stories were plenty gory!
My rating by story:
“Lights” by Kalynn Bayron: 5⭐ A monster eager to feed meets his match when stalking a family. Unexpected and creepy.
“Be not afraid” by Ashia Money: 5⭐ A miraculous entity arrives at a church. This one reminded me of “Midnight Mass”! It deals with racism and Christian hypocrisy.
“All my best friends are dead” by Liselle Sambury: 5⭐ Bloody Mary with a delightful, terrifying twist!
“The teeth come out at night” by Sami Ellis: 4⭐ A student on a tight budget tries to get some money for her college fund by taking something she shouldn’t.
“I love your eyes” by Joel Rochester: 3⭐ Secrets come out when a happy couple celebrates their anniversary in a secluded mansion. This one had an interesting resolution, but the execution fell flat for me because at no point did I buy into the relationship.
“The consumption of Vienna Montrose” by Joelle Wellington: 3⭐ A young woman inherits an old house from her grandmother.
“The landscape of broken things” by Brent Lambert: 3⭐ In this dystopia, the seers that once helped humanity are now treated as a menace, and a teen struggles to save his mother.
“Mother Daughter and the Devil” by Donyae Coles: 3.5⭐ This has such a solid premise about generational trauma, but it was a little too meandering.
“Papa Pearlie” by Ryan Douglass: 3⭐ A young man visits the patriarch of the family and discovers a secret about his handmade dolls.
“No harm done” by Circe Moskowitz: 5⭐ A teenager meets her long-lost twin right as the zombie apocalypse begins. A unique take on this trope!
Overall, I was delighted with this anthology and can’t recommend it enough to any horror fans looking for their next scare!
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder
SOFT DNF!!
Wasn't in the horror mood again, so I am gonna purchase my own copy.
Wasn't in the horror mood again, so I am gonna purchase my own copy.