ania_star's review against another edition
4.0
Received from Author in exchange for honest review
Hardened Hearths is collection of short stories, all talking about love. But not in the way we are use to (at least me). These are not happy ending, romance stories. Each story is very different, but has the same elements to it. These are stories of love, that is real, not perfect, at times heartbreaking and weird. With so many stories, that cover different aspects of love, you are bound to find some that touch you. Even though genres vary, from horror, to fiction and all in between, there is element "real-ness" to all.
The stories that stood out and touch me are:
It Break My Hearth to Watch You Rot by Somer Canon. It talk about watching someone you love, forgetting you, forgetting yourself and watching him slowly die, whilst you stand by, helplessly.
The Pink Ballon by Tom Deady. It talks about the most horrible thing than can happen to you, death of a child and the guilt that you cannot live with.
Heirloom by Theresa Braun. This is one really amazing story, that has Stephan King vibe to it. It really spooky story that I was pulled in totally and wanted to read more of.
It's that kind of book, that could be great for anyone, because there are so many different parts. I would love to see some of there stories blown up to full size novels. :)
Hardened Hearths is collection of short stories, all talking about love. But not in the way we are use to (at least me). These are not happy ending, romance stories. Each story is very different, but has the same elements to it. These are stories of love, that is real, not perfect, at times heartbreaking and weird. With so many stories, that cover different aspects of love, you are bound to find some that touch you. Even though genres vary, from horror, to fiction and all in between, there is element "real-ness" to all.
The stories that stood out and touch me are:
It Break My Hearth to Watch You Rot by Somer Canon. It talk about watching someone you love, forgetting you, forgetting yourself and watching him slowly die, whilst you stand by, helplessly.
The Pink Ballon by Tom Deady. It talks about the most horrible thing than can happen to you, death of a child and the guilt that you cannot live with.
Heirloom by Theresa Braun. This is one really amazing story, that has Stephan King vibe to it. It really spooky story that I was pulled in totally and wanted to read more of.
It's that kind of book, that could be great for anyone, because there are so many different parts. I would love to see some of there stories blown up to full size novels. :)
bookly68's review against another edition
4.0
"Love hurts. Love bites. Love’s a bitch. Love is a battlefield. I hate myself for loving you.
Love isn’t always pretty, is it? In fact, it can be downright scary, which is why for every catchy-but-disgustingly-sappy song with a title like Love Will Keep Us Together there’s one that strongly begs to differ: Love Will Tear Us Apart."
"The stories in Hardened Hearts are about love that hurts. They are tales of forbidden love, and love that’s on borrowed time. They are stories about sexual love and love between star-crossed romantics, but also included here are stories of a guilt-ridden father’s love for his little girl, obsessions with inanimate objects, and even one woman’s unnatural, and shared, love for a spider (!). Love is strange, like the Everly Brothers sang way back in 1965, but once you’ve got it you never wanna quit. And, as each entry in this fine anthology proves, there’s nothing on Earth that’s more terrifying."
I enjoyed some of these stories more than others, but overall I really enjoyed the book! I found it fascinating, funny, horrifying, creepy, dark and even a little sad (I didn’t cry though). I want to list a few of my favorites, but I’ll put on top the one I enjoyed the most!
HEIRLOOM by Theresa Braun - I really felt this one deserved it’s own book!! A++
THE HEART OF THE ORCHARD by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi - This one deserved it’s own book also! A+
IT BREAKS MY HEART TO WATCH YOU ROT by Somer Canon A
DOG TIRED by Eddie Generous A-
Those were just my favorites. I enjoyed the others too. I recommend this as a very different, creepy, dark, fascinating, quick little read. There were a few authors on here that I already knew were very good, but now I’ve learned of some others. That’s what I love about these anthologies.
Love isn’t always pretty, is it? In fact, it can be downright scary, which is why for every catchy-but-disgustingly-sappy song with a title like Love Will Keep Us Together there’s one that strongly begs to differ: Love Will Tear Us Apart."
"The stories in Hardened Hearts are about love that hurts. They are tales of forbidden love, and love that’s on borrowed time. They are stories about sexual love and love between star-crossed romantics, but also included here are stories of a guilt-ridden father’s love for his little girl, obsessions with inanimate objects, and even one woman’s unnatural, and shared, love for a spider (!). Love is strange, like the Everly Brothers sang way back in 1965, but once you’ve got it you never wanna quit. And, as each entry in this fine anthology proves, there’s nothing on Earth that’s more terrifying."
I enjoyed some of these stories more than others, but overall I really enjoyed the book! I found it fascinating, funny, horrifying, creepy, dark and even a little sad (I didn’t cry though). I want to list a few of my favorites, but I’ll put on top the one I enjoyed the most!
HEIRLOOM by Theresa Braun - I really felt this one deserved it’s own book!! A++
THE HEART OF THE ORCHARD by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi - This one deserved it’s own book also! A+
IT BREAKS MY HEART TO WATCH YOU ROT by Somer Canon A
DOG TIRED by Eddie Generous A-
Those were just my favorites. I enjoyed the others too. I recommend this as a very different, creepy, dark, fascinating, quick little read. There were a few authors on here that I already knew were very good, but now I’ve learned of some others. That’s what I love about these anthologies.
spookishmommy's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to Theresa for the free copy! My favorite story in this collection was the first story, "40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover". There were a few others that I enjoyed like "Heirloom" and "The Pink Balloon" but many of the stories seemed rushed and that they needed more time to be fleshed out. If you're a fan of horror in regards to love and enjoy short stories, it's worth a read.
mariahaskins's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great collection of dark, twisted, disturbing stories about love, lust, and heartache. With seventeen authors, the voices included in this anthology are varied and it offers a pretty eclectic mix of fantasy, noir, and horror. All the stories reflect on love - as a concept or as a reality - in some way, and all the stories make for solid and enjoyable reading.
Some standouts for me:
'It Breaks my Heart to Watch You Rot' by Somer Canon, a story that reflects on what it's like to watch old age consume someone you love...if you are yourself immortal.
'What Is Love' by Calvin Demmer, a story about powerful magic and love and obsession, has an ending that made me cringe (that's a good thing in this case!).
'40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover' by Gwendolyn Kiste is a real treat, an evocative and gripping tale of getting caught up with a lover who is definitely no good for you (and how to get out!).
'Dog Tired' by Eddie Generous is a cool, visceral horror take on werewolves - and I am always up for a good werewolf tale.
'Learning To Love' by Jennifer Williams is a terrific, twisting tale of hungry, painful love.
'Porcelain Skin' by Laura Blackwell is a fabulous tale about a box, friendship and love, and the regrets of things not said and done in time. It stands out because even though it's not exactly a happy love story, it is a story that offers an ending that actually is kind of happy, if a little strange.
This is definitely an anthology worth checking out for those who like stories that peek at the darker side of life and love.
Some standouts for me:
'It Breaks my Heart to Watch You Rot' by Somer Canon, a story that reflects on what it's like to watch old age consume someone you love...if you are yourself immortal.
'What Is Love' by Calvin Demmer, a story about powerful magic and love and obsession, has an ending that made me cringe (that's a good thing in this case!).
'40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover' by Gwendolyn Kiste is a real treat, an evocative and gripping tale of getting caught up with a lover who is definitely no good for you (and how to get out!).
'Dog Tired' by Eddie Generous is a cool, visceral horror take on werewolves - and I am always up for a good werewolf tale.
'Learning To Love' by Jennifer Williams is a terrific, twisting tale of hungry, painful love.
'Porcelain Skin' by Laura Blackwell is a fabulous tale about a box, friendship and love, and the regrets of things not said and done in time. It stands out because even though it's not exactly a happy love story, it is a story that offers an ending that actually is kind of happy, if a little strange.
This is definitely an anthology worth checking out for those who like stories that peek at the darker side of life and love.
arrrjae's review against another edition
3.0
If I’m being honest, I was skeptical about reading this collection of stories. I wasn’t sure it would be for me. I normally steer clear of short story collections....and I can’t seem to deduce a justifiable reason for that… However, I am glad that I read it anyway as this collection of short stories was a wonderful challenge of what society considers a “love story”.
Some of the stories I really enjoyed, some of them I wanted more of, some of them I didn’t like, some of them we’re really confusing, some of them were still good despite the confusion, and some of them didn’t do anything for me.
Anyway, I give this collection three stars because that’s a good median rating and since I didn’t care for all of the stories, I can’t justify a higher rating than three. I feel like that could be fairly common with short story collections. If you’re looking for a book/collection with a bunch of different view points and ideas, then this is a great suggestion.
Full Review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/01/12/review-hardened-hearts-by-various-authors-collection-of-short-stories/
Some of the stories I really enjoyed, some of them I wanted more of, some of them I didn’t like, some of them we’re really confusing, some of them were still good despite the confusion, and some of them didn’t do anything for me.
Anyway, I give this collection three stars because that’s a good median rating and since I didn’t care for all of the stories, I can’t justify a higher rating than three. I feel like that could be fairly common with short story collections. If you’re looking for a book/collection with a bunch of different view points and ideas, then this is a great suggestion.
Full Review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/01/12/review-hardened-hearts-by-various-authors-collection-of-short-stories/
motherhorror's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
Who would have thought love and horror would go so well together? It makes sense though because love adds risk to any good story and if there’s a horror element, now you’re doubling down on the risk!
This anthology takes this theme and taps some amazing writers to plumb the depths of it.
There were some *killer* standouts in the collection that easily make this book worth your time and money.
Tom Deady’s Pink Balloon was especially well written and moved me to tears.
Erin Sweet Al-Mihairi’s dark fairytale about a woman with someone in her Orchard...
And 40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover was my favorite story in the whole collection, the author’s name is Gwendolyn Kiste. I’ll be looking for more by her. Theresa Braun’s tale was another stand out favorite with a mirror that bridges the gap between this life and other lives lived by one woman-it was clever, sexy and suspenseful. I also enjoyed Eddie Generous’ Dog Tired werewolf story—-all in all, a really great collection here. I enjoyed it. There were a few really short stories, just a page or two that broke up the momentum for me so I rated it 4.5 for those. Thank you, Erin for the review copy in exchange for an honest review
Who would have thought love and horror would go so well together? It makes sense though because love adds risk to any good story and if there’s a horror element, now you’re doubling down on the risk!
This anthology takes this theme and taps some amazing writers to plumb the depths of it.
There were some *killer* standouts in the collection that easily make this book worth your time and money.
Tom Deady’s Pink Balloon was especially well written and moved me to tears.
Erin Sweet Al-Mihairi’s dark fairytale about a woman with someone in her Orchard...
And 40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover was my favorite story in the whole collection, the author’s name is Gwendolyn Kiste. I’ll be looking for more by her. Theresa Braun’s tale was another stand out favorite with a mirror that bridges the gap between this life and other lives lived by one woman-it was clever, sexy and suspenseful. I also enjoyed Eddie Generous’ Dog Tired werewolf story—-all in all, a really great collection here. I enjoyed it. There were a few really short stories, just a page or two that broke up the momentum for me so I rated it 4.5 for those. Thank you, Erin for the review copy in exchange for an honest review
candacerobinsonauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly, I hate reading most story collections by different authors because the writing styles are so different—which is great, but sometimes it just doesn't jive. Then most of the time I only like a few of the reads. This didn't happen here, though. I definitely liked almost all of the stories! My favorites have to be... Canon's, Demmer's Braun's, Deady's, Blackwell's, and Al-Mehairi's!
It Breaks My Heart to Watch You Rot by: Somer Canon - Loved this one! It even caused me to tear up! The real scenario of when an immortal loves a mortal is a heartbreaking thing.
What is Love? by: Calvin Demmer - Calvin is the master at writing short stories. So, I wasn't surprised at all that this one was amazing! Loved the ending!
Heirloom by: Theresa Braun - I found this one extremely addicting and kept wanting to know what the heck was going on! Braun's writing is flawless, and the story is intriguing!
The Pink Balloon by: Tom Deady - Let me go cry myself to sleep after reading this one, no, seriously!
Porcelain Skin by: Laura Blackwell - This had a very whimsical feel to it, and I was thoroughly captivated!
The Heart of the Orchard by: Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi - Loved, loved, loved this one—the setting, the tone, the writing—all of it was great!
What I also liked is that there are a variety in genres, even though I prefer ones that have supernatural stuff, which most of them did! Now, the first story is written in second person (the only story written this way), which tends to scare me off because it is just such a weird thing. I mean, I don't want to feel like the story is talking to me—I want to pretend I'm somewhere else! Anyway, I think this is the first time where second person didn't totally creep me out. Overall, a great read where happily ever afters don't exist, but the reader still feels like they get what they wanted in the end!
Review on my blog https://literarydust.wordpress.com/2018/01/02/review-hardened-hearts/
It Breaks My Heart to Watch You Rot by: Somer Canon - Loved this one! It even caused me to tear up! The real scenario of when an immortal loves a mortal is a heartbreaking thing.
What is Love? by: Calvin Demmer - Calvin is the master at writing short stories. So, I wasn't surprised at all that this one was amazing! Loved the ending!
Heirloom by: Theresa Braun - I found this one extremely addicting and kept wanting to know what the heck was going on! Braun's writing is flawless, and the story is intriguing!
The Pink Balloon by: Tom Deady - Let me go cry myself to sleep after reading this one, no, seriously!
Porcelain Skin by: Laura Blackwell - This had a very whimsical feel to it, and I was thoroughly captivated!
The Heart of the Orchard by: Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi - Loved, loved, loved this one—the setting, the tone, the writing—all of it was great!
What I also liked is that there are a variety in genres, even though I prefer ones that have supernatural stuff, which most of them did! Now, the first story is written in second person (the only story written this way), which tends to scare me off because it is just such a weird thing. I mean, I don't want to feel like the story is talking to me—I want to pretend I'm somewhere else! Anyway, I think this is the first time where second person didn't totally creep me out. Overall, a great read where happily ever afters don't exist, but the reader still feels like they get what they wanted in the end!
Review on my blog https://literarydust.wordpress.com/2018/01/02/review-hardened-hearts/
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 stars!
HARDENED HEARTS contains dark fiction stories connected by the theme of love-all kinds of love. This book's strength is in its diversity. It covers so many facets of the subject, there's something here for everyone. The tales that stood out for me were:
Calvin Demmer's story WHAT IS LOVE knocked my socks off!
THE HEART OF THE ORCHARD by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi. This read almost like a warped fairy tale, and as we all know, fairy tales can often be quite grim.
PINK BALLOON by Tom Deady was my favorite story in the book. It totally broke my heart.
HEIRLOOM by Theresa Braun. I love tales about mirrors and this was an excellent example of why. This was my first experience with Theresa Braun's work and we are off to a good start.
THE RECLUSE by John Boden. Short and sweet, Boden always impresses me.
ClASS OF 2000 by Robert Dean. I guess the moral of this tale is not to mess with someone that can throw a baseball at 100 mph. It seems like common sense to me.
BURNING SAMANTHA by Scott Hallum. I had never previously heard of Scott, but he's on my radar now.
50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR MONSTER LOVER by Gwendolyn Kiste. Here is another author that I haven't had any experience with but whose story was impressive.
Lastly, IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO by J.L. Knight. A heartbreaking story about love and loss. Poignant and dark all at the same time.
9 of the 17 tales resonated deeply with me and that's above average, so I rounded up my original rating from 3 to 4 stars. I have some new authors to follow and I think they are offering up original work which only improves the genre. Bravo!
Recommended for fans of diverse dark fiction.
*Thanks to John Boden for providing an e-ARC of this anthology in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
HARDENED HEARTS contains dark fiction stories connected by the theme of love-all kinds of love. This book's strength is in its diversity. It covers so many facets of the subject, there's something here for everyone. The tales that stood out for me were:
Calvin Demmer's story WHAT IS LOVE knocked my socks off!
THE HEART OF THE ORCHARD by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi. This read almost like a warped fairy tale, and as we all know, fairy tales can often be quite grim.
PINK BALLOON by Tom Deady was my favorite story in the book. It totally broke my heart.
HEIRLOOM by Theresa Braun. I love tales about mirrors and this was an excellent example of why. This was my first experience with Theresa Braun's work and we are off to a good start.
THE RECLUSE by John Boden. Short and sweet, Boden always impresses me.
ClASS OF 2000 by Robert Dean. I guess the moral of this tale is not to mess with someone that can throw a baseball at 100 mph. It seems like common sense to me.
BURNING SAMANTHA by Scott Hallum. I had never previously heard of Scott, but he's on my radar now.
50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR MONSTER LOVER by Gwendolyn Kiste. Here is another author that I haven't had any experience with but whose story was impressive.
Lastly, IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO by J.L. Knight. A heartbreaking story about love and loss. Poignant and dark all at the same time.
9 of the 17 tales resonated deeply with me and that's above average, so I rounded up my original rating from 3 to 4 stars. I have some new authors to follow and I think they are offering up original work which only improves the genre. Bravo!
Recommended for fans of diverse dark fiction.
*Thanks to John Boden for providing an e-ARC of this anthology in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition
4.0
"Effective horror must leave us damaged in some way." (James Newman)
Hardened Hearts was such a fun collection to read. This is a book of dark/weird/creepy/heartbreaking love stories (some of them are definitely not love, but you know what I mean). This collection will take you through a range of emotions, and I loved it. The stories are unique, and I liked that there were a variety of different topics.
Before I get into talking about my favorites, I'm going to mention the thing I was confused about. I spent about half the book wondering why there weren't diverse relationships in the stories. Then, in the middle of the book, there are a few LGBTQ+ stories grouped together, and then it goes back to stories about heterosexual & cisgender couples. I found this to be an odd choice, and I don't understand why there wouldn't be a balance throughout the book of different types of couples.
None of the stories in this book were bad - the lowest rated story was 3⭐, and there were a few 5⭐ stories. I found some writers that I definitely want to read more from, and that's always a treat to find in a short story collection. Some of the stories were really short (like 2 pages), and I had a tough time connecting with those ones. It is a good collection overall, though.
My #1 favorite is 40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover by Gwendolyn Kiste. I adored this story, and her writing. I'm glad that the collection opened with this story because it put me in a good mood for the rest of the book.
There are two stories in this book that were so heartbreaking, and will stick with me - Burning Samantha by Scott Hallam & The Pink Balloon by Tom Deady. They are both beautifully written, and have such an intense sense of loss that the reader easily gets wrapped in.
The Class of 2000 was another one of my favorites. This one was also sad, but I appreciated that justice was served in this story - you don't always get to see that, especially in stories like this one.
My other two favorites were The Heart of the Orchard by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi and Heirloom by Theresa Braun. These were both on the dark fantasy side, and I had so much fun reading both of them. I would love to read more from both of these writers.
Thank you so much to Theresa Braun for sending me a copy of Hardened Hearts to review! I really enjoyed it.
Hardened Hearts was such a fun collection to read. This is a book of dark/weird/creepy/heartbreaking love stories (some of them are definitely not love, but you know what I mean). This collection will take you through a range of emotions, and I loved it. The stories are unique, and I liked that there were a variety of different topics.
Before I get into talking about my favorites, I'm going to mention the thing I was confused about. I spent about half the book wondering why there weren't diverse relationships in the stories. Then, in the middle of the book, there are a few LGBTQ+ stories grouped together, and then it goes back to stories about heterosexual & cisgender couples. I found this to be an odd choice, and I don't understand why there wouldn't be a balance throughout the book of different types of couples.
None of the stories in this book were bad - the lowest rated story was 3⭐, and there were a few 5⭐ stories. I found some writers that I definitely want to read more from, and that's always a treat to find in a short story collection. Some of the stories were really short (like 2 pages), and I had a tough time connecting with those ones. It is a good collection overall, though.
My #1 favorite is 40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover by Gwendolyn Kiste. I adored this story, and her writing. I'm glad that the collection opened with this story because it put me in a good mood for the rest of the book.
There are two stories in this book that were so heartbreaking, and will stick with me - Burning Samantha by Scott Hallam & The Pink Balloon by Tom Deady. They are both beautifully written, and have such an intense sense of loss that the reader easily gets wrapped in.
The Class of 2000 was another one of my favorites. This one was also sad, but I appreciated that justice was served in this story - you don't always get to see that, especially in stories like this one.
My other two favorites were The Heart of the Orchard by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi and Heirloom by Theresa Braun. These were both on the dark fantasy side, and I had so much fun reading both of them. I would love to read more from both of these writers.
Thank you so much to Theresa Braun for sending me a copy of Hardened Hearts to review! I really enjoyed it.
spookishmommy's review
3.0
Thank you to Theresa for the free copy! My favorite story in this collection was the first story, "40 Ways to Leave Your Monster Lover". There were a few others that I enjoyed like "Heirloom" and "The Pink Balloon" but many of the stories seemed rushed and that they needed more time to be fleshed out. If you're a fan of horror in regards to love and enjoy short stories, it's worth a read.