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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
- lights: 3/5
- be not afraid: 5/5
- all my best friends are dead: 4.5/5
- the teeth come out at night: 2.5/5
- i love your eyes: 5/5
- the consumption of vienna montrose: 2/5
- the landscape of broken things: 2/5
- mother, daughter, and the devil: 4/5
- papa pearlie: 3/5
- no harm done: 4.5/5
challenging
dark
slow-paced
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked most of the stories in this collection. My favorites are "Lights" for its take on monstrosity and genre expectations, "All My Best Friends Are Dead" for the way it plays with characterization and perspective, and "No Harm Done" for the sudden pivot into horror after an interesting but not obviously creepy opening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Excrement, Vomit, Car accident, Abandonment
Such a well-rounded collection of short stories!
There were so many stories in this collection that I wish were made into full-length novels because I need more answers 😂 but I’ll definitely have my eyes peeled for the future work these authors have in store for us!
Also, Circe really brings this whole series home by finishing off with a short of her own that managed to bring about both holiday spirit and the end of the world as we know it.
There were so many stories in this collection that I wish were made into full-length novels because I need more answers 😂 but I’ll definitely have my eyes peeled for the future work these authors have in store for us!
Also, Circe really brings this whole series home by finishing off with a short of her own that managed to bring about both holiday spirit and the end of the world as we know it.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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
Lights by Kalynn Bayron: A serial killer stalks a family.
The writing for this short story was impeccable, and it definitely did it's job in setting a creepy/unsettling atmosphere from the jump. 5/5 stars.
Be Not Afraid by Ashia Monet: An "angel" stumbles upon a church and begins performing miracles for the pastor.
The characterisation was amazing, and I loved how it played out - definitely could not predict where it was going, which made the payoff so good. 5/5 stars.
All My Best Friends Are Dead by Liselle Sambury: A group of friends summon a ghost during a sleepover.
This story played with an incredibly played out trope of the horror genre, but despite this I was definitely not clued in to what Sambury was doing until the very end. Amazing. 5/5 stars.
The Teeth Come Out at Night by Sami Ellis: A babysitter collects teeth.
I think this story's greatest achievement was in it's ability to set an atmosphere, most especially through it's descriptions and unsettling plot. 4/5 stars.
I Love Your Eyes by Joel Rochester: A couple celebrate their anniversary in a manor house.
Unfortunately, the way Rochester wrote this really did not do the plot any justice. I love a gothic story, especially ones with romantic horror at their core, but Rochester overwrote every element (especially dialogue) so that it all rang extremely hollow and I was never convinced of the core relationship, so I wasn't shocked by the end. It just came off corny. 2/5 stars.
The Consumption of Vienna Montrose by Joelle Wellington: A woman inherits a house.
A beautifully haunting, and slightly romantic, take on the haunted house - ultimately carried by Wellington's writing style, I'm definitely interested in seeing her other works. 5/5 stars.
The Landscape of Broken Things by Brent Lambert: A young man experiencing precognition visits his clairvoyant mother in the hospital where she is being "treated".
This story had a really cool idea, and the ending was very interesting, but I don't think a short story gave it enough time to be fleshed out as well as it could have - it's a lot of world-building to try and execute in a short story. 3/5 stars.
Mother, Daughter and the Devil by Donyae Coles: A daughter rids herself of a curse.
This was definitely my favourite story of the bunch (by a small margin, Be Not Afraid and Vienna Montrose were close contenders) - Coles manages to use every sentence of this story to really flesh out the feeling of the small cast of characters; by the time you reach the conclusion, it really feels like a cathartic resolution after getting to know the Mother, Daughter and the Devil. 5/5 stars.
Papa Pearlie by Ryan Douglass: A family celebrates their patriarch's 100th birthday.
Douglass's story is definitely carried by it's themes of generational trauma, and feeling stuck with your family - it's a very realistic tension and feeling, which sells itself well to the supernatural element Douglass brings in with the resolution. I definitely enjoyed the supernatural explanation wrought in towards the end, and the way the building tension and horror is left open-ended plays really well in this story. 4/5 stars.
No Harm Done by Circe Moskowitz: A young woman meets her twin and then there's an apocalypse.
This story was a little hard to really get invested in, primarily because it feels like there are quite a lot of skips and jumps in such a short time-frame, which makes it difficult for the necessary tension to be built, so the conclusion falls a little flat. However, I do definitely see the themes Moskowitz was building into her story and I feel she executed them well (unfortunately, at the expense of tension, or a strong defining plot). 3/5 stars.
Altogether, this anthology was thoroughly enjoyable with many 5 star stories that I'd definitely like to return to, so 5 stars overall.
The writing for this short story was impeccable, and it definitely did it's job in setting a creepy/unsettling atmosphere from the jump. 5/5 stars.
Be Not Afraid by Ashia Monet: An "angel" stumbles upon a church and begins performing miracles for the pastor.
The characterisation was amazing, and I loved how it played out - definitely could not predict where it was going, which made the payoff so good. 5/5 stars.
All My Best Friends Are Dead by Liselle Sambury: A group of friends summon a ghost during a sleepover.
This story played with an incredibly played out trope of the horror genre, but despite this I was definitely not clued in to what Sambury was doing until the very end. Amazing. 5/5 stars.
The Teeth Come Out at Night by Sami Ellis: A babysitter collects teeth.
I think this story's greatest achievement was in it's ability to set an atmosphere, most especially through it's descriptions and unsettling plot. 4/5 stars.
I Love Your Eyes by Joel Rochester: A couple celebrate their anniversary in a manor house.
Unfortunately, the way Rochester wrote this really did not do the plot any justice. I love a gothic story, especially ones with romantic horror at their core, but Rochester overwrote every element (especially dialogue) so that it all rang extremely hollow and I was never convinced of the core relationship, so I wasn't shocked by the end. It just came off corny. 2/5 stars.
The Consumption of Vienna Montrose by Joelle Wellington: A woman inherits a house.
A beautifully haunting, and slightly romantic, take on the haunted house - ultimately carried by Wellington's writing style, I'm definitely interested in seeing her other works. 5/5 stars.
The Landscape of Broken Things by Brent Lambert: A young man experiencing precognition visits his clairvoyant mother in the hospital where she is being "treated".
This story had a really cool idea, and the ending was very interesting, but I don't think a short story gave it enough time to be fleshed out as well as it could have - it's a lot of world-building to try and execute in a short story. 3/5 stars.
Mother, Daughter and the Devil by Donyae Coles: A daughter rids herself of a curse.
This was definitely my favourite story of the bunch (by a small margin, Be Not Afraid and Vienna Montrose were close contenders) - Coles manages to use every sentence of this story to really flesh out the feeling of the small cast of characters; by the time you reach the conclusion, it really feels like a cathartic resolution after getting to know the Mother, Daughter and the Devil. 5/5 stars.
Papa Pearlie by Ryan Douglass: A family celebrates their patriarch's 100th birthday.
Douglass's story is definitely carried by it's themes of generational trauma, and feeling stuck with your family - it's a very realistic tension and feeling, which sells itself well to the supernatural element Douglass brings in with the resolution. I definitely enjoyed the supernatural explanation wrought in towards the end, and the way the building tension and horror is left open-ended plays really well in this story. 4/5 stars.
No Harm Done by Circe Moskowitz: A young woman meets her twin and then there's an apocalypse.
This story was a little hard to really get invested in, primarily because it feels like there are quite a lot of skips and jumps in such a short time-frame, which makes it difficult for the necessary tension to be built, so the conclusion falls a little flat. However, I do definitely see the themes Moskowitz was building into her story and I feel she executed them well (unfortunately, at the expense of tension, or a strong defining plot). 3/5 stars.
Altogether, this anthology was thoroughly enjoyable with many 5 star stories that I'd definitely like to return to, so 5 stars overall.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes