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breadbummer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I think I went into this one expecting more horror in it. Yeah, sure, a few of these stories really sucked me in ("The Moon in the Glass," "Hearteater," "Quicksilver Prometheus"), but most of them, to use a metaphor, left me feeling like I was given a light snack when I was expecting a full meal. I totally wanted more of "Doctor Barlowe's Mirror" (this one was, compared to most others in the book, pretty solid content-wise, though) and "Rodeo," which both felt like just the beginning of stories that should have been novels in their own right. I didn't expect so many of the tales to have such cheesy endings, and cheese isn't my literary taste (don't know what it is with me and food tonight lol). Some had way too many unanswered questions and/or were just kind of all over the place, leading me to wonder what the point of the story was in the first place. I dunno, I guess I was expecting more from this collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, and Stalking
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, and War
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Being an anthology, every chapter has different potential triggers that come with them. Twirling Book Princess sums them up nicely: Let Down by Claire Hamilton Russell: imprisonment, non-consensual sex Moonlight by Ally Kölzow: death of loved one An Account of Service at Meryll Point, as recollected and set down by C.L.: societal transphobia (narrator is accepting, however) The White Door by Lindsay King-Miller: violence, murder Doctor Barlowe’s Mirror by Avery Kit Malone: none Laguna and the Engkanto by Katalina Watt: death of parent The Moon in the Glass by Jude Reid: murder, hallucinations Brideprice by S.T. Gibson: mention of sexual assault, murder, blood-drinking Lure of the Abyss by Jenna MacDonald: some people get eaten by a sea monster Hearteater by Eliza Temple: none Quicksilver Prometheus by Katie Young: hallucinations, mention of death of children Homesick by Sam Hirst: none Rodeo by Ryann Fletcher: homophobia, domestic violence, murder Lady of Letters; or, the Twenty-First Century Homunculus by Heather Valentine: cheating Taylor Hall by Jen Glifort: panphobia (challenged) The Ruin by E. Saxey: threat of the apocalypse The Dream Eater by Anna Moon: illness of loved one Leadbitter House by Mason Hawthorne: body horror