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A review by iamrainbou
Gothic Tales of Haunted Love by Hope Nicholson, S.M. Beiko
3.0
20 stories about ghosts, murder, and love go wrong. The collection is full of marginalized writers and illustrators, with LGBTQ and POC characters. Gothic Tales of Haunted Love was a wonderful read; the characters are all very complex and the art is delightful.
*Crush (Janet Hetherington, Ronn Sutton, Becka Kinzie & Zakk Saam): Black woman MC. Constance is hired as a governess for a white family, falling a little over the head of the family, Captain Harcorte. But he soon loses interest in her and ignores her for his white lovers. She will not let him get away with the disrespect and ingratitude.
*Rose’s Heart (Colleen Coover): Rose appears as a very innocent white girl, but she is not. Kinda classic horror plot twist but very satisfying to see. I was a little bit concerned by the love interest who couldn't get the hint to take off, but the story is solid.
*Secrets in the silk (Nika): Taiwanese MC. It was one of my favorites because women helping women to narrate their lost stories, ghosts, vengeance, machitos getting what they deserve and happy endings.
*L’Heure Verte (Caroline Dougherty, Caroline Dougherty & Zakk Saam): Women of color MC and LI, wlw. A favorite, the art is gorgeous and the story great. A costume party, Ada decides to take some air and finds this strange and pretty girl in the stairs. She follows her around the house, her breath taken by the woman’s beauty.
*Goldblind (Hope Nicholson and Scott Chantler): Very very creepy story about a couple living in the mountains looking for gold. The art is gorgeous and the end so good.
*Minefield (Hien Pham): Vietnamese MC and LI, m/m couple. It’s the Vietnam war, and this couple is being happy in the forest when American soldiers start to shot. Written entirely in Vietnamese, the art is wonderful and very expressive. It’s a bittersweet story and I really enjoyed it.
*The Return (David A. Robertson & Scott B. Henderson): Indigenous/Native MCs and side characters. Father and son help heal and come back to life a woman that appears one day at night; as they start to build a relationship, she narrates her story. It is a great story and definitely one of my favorite from the collection.
*Green, Gold and Black (Cherelle Higgins & Rina Rozsas): Set in a southern plantation, the story is not easy to read; sexual assault, a terrible childbirth, murder, and white supremacy. The story is narrated by the ghost of the dead children and it’s a terrifying story.
*Ladies of the Lake (Sarah W. Searle): Black woman MC, f/f biracial couple. Gwen just married, but there is no happy ending in her new house. Her husband completely ignores her and he is never home. Her maid, at least, gives her hope and comfort. The romance is sweet and the horror just great.
*Fazenda do Sangue Azul (H. Pueyo & Dante L.): Queer Afrolatinx MC, set in Brazil, multiracial LI, m/m couple. Hernanes settles in an abandoned house escaping the dictatorship. He is a writer and soon finds out that he is not alone. As he starts to investigate the house’s history, he meets Luka and their relationship grows. A very bittersweet and amazing story.
*A heritage of woods (S.M Beiko & Maja Kobabe): Ukrainian MC. The story is heavily influenced by Ukrainian stories. Mirin remembers the stories that her grandmother told her about their family and the forest when in her new house the trees start to call her. I wasn’t a fan of this story but not because it is bad.
*Lovers Moon (Chris Stone & Dani Bee): Ava has to decide for one of her two suitors. She doesn’t want to marry and her father won’t listen to her pleads, so she prays for a miracle. A pretty terrifying story, sad ending but perfect for the mood.
*Mistress Fox (Megan Kearney): This story gave me a real chill. The family is dining together, celebrating the new marriage, when the bride starts to narrate a very horrific dream. It is great, it is dreadful, and it is one of the best horrors of the collection.
*My heart stills beats for you (Amber Noelle and Allison Paige): Nonbinary black man MC, black man LI, NB/M couple. Gabriel is waiting for a heart transplant and quickly falling for their nurse, Henri. This story was more than anything very heartbreaking, the art is delightful and so! sweet!
*One more cup (Barbara Guttman): A woman finds herself talking with a supernatural creature, trying to save people of its hunger, Quickly they establish a friendly relationship, a routine of talking at night while drinking tea. I wasn’t really very into it. I’m not a fan of supernatural romance and the relationship didn’t really work for me. The art is amazing tho.
*Ouroboros (Svetla Nikolova & LAB): Black woman MC, biracial couple. The lover gives his life to revive his partner. Although they enjoy some happy moments together, quickly he is the one sick this time. The story wasn’t bad but I didn’t really enjoy it; there wasn’t enough to know or care for the characters, and the story ended pretty quickly.
*I am the song (Cecil Castellucci, Willow Dawson, Becka Kinzie & Zakk Saam): A love story narrated by ‘the song’, like a song is the narrator. It was pretty confusing and I really don’t enjoy sad love stories.
*What’s Best (Katie West, Ray Fawkes & Zakk Saam): A mother is set to do anything necessary to give her daughter the best life. I really liked this one. The typography was kinda hard to read, but the mother’s love is clear from the beginning and the story fascinating.
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange an honest review.
*Crush (Janet Hetherington, Ronn Sutton, Becka Kinzie & Zakk Saam): Black woman MC. Constance is hired as a governess for a white family, falling a little over the head of the family, Captain Harcorte. But he soon loses interest in her and ignores her for his white lovers. She will not let him get away with the disrespect and ingratitude.
*Rose’s Heart (Colleen Coover): Rose appears as a very innocent white girl, but she is not. Kinda classic horror plot twist but very satisfying to see. I was a little bit concerned by the love interest who couldn't get the hint to take off, but the story is solid.
*Secrets in the silk (Nika): Taiwanese MC. It was one of my favorites because women helping women to narrate their lost stories, ghosts, vengeance, machitos getting what they deserve and happy endings.
*L’Heure Verte (Caroline Dougherty, Caroline Dougherty & Zakk Saam): Women of color MC and LI, wlw. A favorite, the art is gorgeous and the story great. A costume party, Ada decides to take some air and finds this strange and pretty girl in the stairs. She follows her around the house, her breath taken by the woman’s beauty.
*Goldblind (Hope Nicholson and Scott Chantler): Very very creepy story about a couple living in the mountains looking for gold. The art is gorgeous and the end so good.
*Minefield (Hien Pham): Vietnamese MC and LI, m/m couple. It’s the Vietnam war, and this couple is being happy in the forest when American soldiers start to shot. Written entirely in Vietnamese, the art is wonderful and very expressive. It’s a bittersweet story and I really enjoyed it.
*The Return (David A. Robertson & Scott B. Henderson): Indigenous/Native MCs and side characters. Father and son help heal and come back to life a woman that appears one day at night; as they start to build a relationship, she narrates her story. It is a great story and definitely one of my favorite from the collection.
*Green, Gold and Black (Cherelle Higgins & Rina Rozsas): Set in a southern plantation, the story is not easy to read; sexual assault, a terrible childbirth, murder, and white supremacy. The story is narrated by the ghost of the dead children and it’s a terrifying story.
*Ladies of the Lake (Sarah W. Searle): Black woman MC, f/f biracial couple. Gwen just married, but there is no happy ending in her new house. Her husband completely ignores her and he is never home. Her maid, at least, gives her hope and comfort. The romance is sweet and the horror just great.
*Fazenda do Sangue Azul (H. Pueyo & Dante L.): Queer Afrolatinx MC, set in Brazil, multiracial LI, m/m couple. Hernanes settles in an abandoned house escaping the dictatorship. He is a writer and soon finds out that he is not alone. As he starts to investigate the house’s history, he meets Luka and their relationship grows. A very bittersweet and amazing story.
*A heritage of woods (S.M Beiko & Maja Kobabe): Ukrainian MC. The story is heavily influenced by Ukrainian stories. Mirin remembers the stories that her grandmother told her about their family and the forest when in her new house the trees start to call her. I wasn’t a fan of this story but not because it is bad.
*Lovers Moon (Chris Stone & Dani Bee): Ava has to decide for one of her two suitors. She doesn’t want to marry and her father won’t listen to her pleads, so she prays for a miracle. A pretty terrifying story, sad ending but perfect for the mood.
*Mistress Fox (Megan Kearney): This story gave me a real chill. The family is dining together, celebrating the new marriage, when the bride starts to narrate a very horrific dream. It is great, it is dreadful, and it is one of the best horrors of the collection.
*My heart stills beats for you (Amber Noelle and Allison Paige): Nonbinary black man MC, black man LI, NB/M couple. Gabriel is waiting for a heart transplant and quickly falling for their nurse, Henri. This story was more than anything very heartbreaking, the art is delightful and so! sweet!
*One more cup (Barbara Guttman): A woman finds herself talking with a supernatural creature, trying to save people of its hunger, Quickly they establish a friendly relationship, a routine of talking at night while drinking tea. I wasn’t really very into it. I’m not a fan of supernatural romance and the relationship didn’t really work for me. The art is amazing tho.
*Ouroboros (Svetla Nikolova & LAB): Black woman MC, biracial couple. The lover gives his life to revive his partner. Although they enjoy some happy moments together, quickly he is the one sick this time. The story wasn’t bad but I didn’t really enjoy it; there wasn’t enough to know or care for the characters, and the story ended pretty quickly.
*I am the song (Cecil Castellucci, Willow Dawson, Becka Kinzie & Zakk Saam): A love story narrated by ‘the song’, like a song is the narrator. It was pretty confusing and I really don’t enjoy sad love stories.
*What’s Best (Katie West, Ray Fawkes & Zakk Saam): A mother is set to do anything necessary to give her daughter the best life. I really liked this one. The typography was kinda hard to read, but the mother’s love is clear from the beginning and the story fascinating.
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange an honest review.