A review by exorcismofemilyreed
Hardened Hearts by Robert Dean, J. L. Knight, Jennifer Williams
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.