A review by daniellesteenrod
Halloween Carnival Volume 3 by Michael McBride, Brian James Freeman, Kate Maruyama, Kelley Armstrong, Taylor Grant, Greg Chapman
4.0
Halloween Carnival is a horror anthology. There are 5 volumes of this series being published throughout the month of October. This is the third installment. There are a total of 5 stories in this anthology; all of which center around Halloween. Some are sad, some are nail-biters, and some are just plain horror. This series isn’t all out gore, so if that is what you are looking for, you won’t find any of that here. I really enjoyed all 5 of these stories for different reasons. I am going to give a brief review of each story contained in this anthology and my star rating.
THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
Don’t go into the forest on Halloween night. You’ll never know who will come up missing. This was my favorite story of this collection. It was suspenseful and mysterious. I rated this story 5 out of 5 stars.
LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
This is a story of a true psychopath with some serious jealousy issues. It was quite predictable, but still enjoyable. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
This is your typical “town sells their souls to the devil in return for fortune and prosperity.” This one was scary at times, but once again, another predictable story. Still, it was fun and scary entertainment for a Halloween read. I rated this story 4 out of 5 stars.
A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
This story started out strong with a ghost sighting and a character with extreme anxiety. I was really enjoying the story and then all of a sudden it completely changed direction from what I was expecting. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
This story I rather enjoyed. It was the longest of the bunch and it did drag a bit in the middle, but overall it was a great story! This is the type of story I expect in a Halloween anthology. It was your true ghost story. Definitely my second favorite of all. I rated this story 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Overall, I recommend this entire series for all who love short stories that are spooky. They are fun reads even if they aren’t all completely original ideas.
My combined total rating came out to be 3.9 stars, so all together, I rated this entire anthology 4 out of 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
Don’t go into the forest on Halloween night. You’ll never know who will come up missing. This was my favorite story of this collection. It was suspenseful and mysterious. I rated this story 5 out of 5 stars.
LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
This is a story of a true psychopath with some serious jealousy issues. It was quite predictable, but still enjoyable. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
This is your typical “town sells their souls to the devil in return for fortune and prosperity.” This one was scary at times, but once again, another predictable story. Still, it was fun and scary entertainment for a Halloween read. I rated this story 4 out of 5 stars.
A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
This story started out strong with a ghost sighting and a character with extreme anxiety. I was really enjoying the story and then all of a sudden it completely changed direction from what I was expecting. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
This story I rather enjoyed. It was the longest of the bunch and it did drag a bit in the middle, but overall it was a great story! This is the type of story I expect in a Halloween anthology. It was your true ghost story. Definitely my second favorite of all. I rated this story 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Overall, I recommend this entire series for all who love short stories that are spooky. They are fun reads even if they aren’t all completely original ideas.
My combined total rating came out to be 3.9 stars, so all together, I rated this entire anthology 4 out of 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy in return for an honest review.