Title: The Mand to Send Rain Clouds Author: Leslie Marmon Silko In: The Mammoth Book of Westerns (Jon E. Lewis) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Westerns Dates read: 12th November 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: He left the room and came back wearing a long brown overcoat.
This is an interesting short story which highlights the different funeral rites and farewells.
I loved how this story investigated different funeral rites, particularly those within the different cultures often represented in westerns. Since westerns normally focus on the First Settlers (or whatever you call them), it was nice to see the focus shift to something other than the Christian practices.
I love that this story bypasses the Christian rites that I was expecting. And highlights that there’s other practices out there. It was fun and one of the westerns that I’ve enjoyed more so than many other short stories in the The Mammoth Book of Westerns collection.
This was fun and a lot more inclusive than many of the other westerns that I’ve read. I’d definitely read this story again.
Title: Freeze Out Author: Nancy Holder In: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O’Regan) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Ghosts, Horror Dates read: 12th November 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: Cody found himself remembering walking into the Lazy Daisy Flower Shop on the night of the prom to pick up Tiffany’s corsage.
It’s their mother’s funeral and their father has dementia. But he might not be as clueless as he thought he was…
Freeze Out is filled with very many creepy twists and turns. It was hard to gain a grasp on who the bad guy and the culprit in this story was. And where the ghost aspect of the ghost story would com in. Every time I felt like I had a grasp on the story, something would change and I would be swept down another turn that I just wasn’t expecting.
The “bad guy” in this story really wasn’t who I expected. Rather, towards the end, when everything was revealed, and the darkness lifted from the family… I was kind of surprised and also content to finally turn that final page.
Freeze Out was very well written and a phenomenal short story. However, it was also difficult to read and experience. Difficult in the fact that it gave me the heebie jeebies right the way through. And, although I enjoyed this, it also left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
Jack knew better. But he still made a deal with the devil. And now he’s Devil’s Jack, running errands for seven and seven and seven again.
A deal with the devil is never a good idea. But it is a really fun thing to read about. I mean, a deal with the devil is guaranteed to be an interesting beginning to a story. And a great driver for morally grey characters. After all, if they’re doing evil things, then it’s because the devil asked them to and it isn’t because they are evil themselves…
I love how although this is a story about a man who has sold his soul to the devil, it’s primarily about him outsmarting the devil. And the fact that both he and the devil know that even if he’s momentarily outsmarted the devil, it’s just a moment. A quiet little rebellion that ultimately does nothing for Jack.
This was a really fun and humorous short story. I absolutely adored it and had a huge smile on my face the whole time that I was reading it. It was funny and cute. Full of clever, witty moments and just a seriously enjoyable read.
Title: The Third Person Author: Lisa Tuttle In: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O’Regan) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Horror Dates read: 10th November 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: “I have to meet Andrew at Ikea in thirty-five minutes, but that should be plenty of time for a coffee,” Rachel said, with a hug and kiss Imogen was not quick enough to avoid.
Imogen has always been the third person in her friends’ marriage. Now she’s the third person in an affair, but could things be far more sinister than even she realised?
I’m writing this review the morning after I read this story. And I can tell you, that of all the ghost stories that I’ve been reading recently, this is the one that made it really hard to sleep last night. After all, the final scene is of a knife and someone running in the help that they can defend themselves… it was seriously open-ended and made me stop to think about who has access to my house.
This whole story left a bitter taste in my mouth. From beginning to end. Not only because it features an affair, but all of those other little moments and hints throughout… I can’t imagine being a third person / wheel in someone else’s life, and this just made it all that much more… creepy. There were just way too many stalkerish vibes throughout this story.
All in all, this was seriously creepy and uncomfortable. But it’s also a bit of a reminder of some of the dangers and pitfalls of being a woman. Yup, sometimes it just seriously sucks…
A girl who is desperate for her forever boy to ask her to prom finds a corsage that will grant three wishes. But what follows creates a prom night from hell.
This was a seriously creepy and tragic prom story. Like goosebumps and looking over your shoulder (which in my case meant looking at a blank wall) type creepy. And yet, it was somehow kind of sweet and most definitely heartbreaking. More the kind of prom that I want to read about than the happy, sappy happily ever after crap. Which we won’t go too much into what that actually says about me…
The Corsage is a prom story about first loves and first heartbreaks. With a pretty major twist – it’s not the kind of heartbreak that you would expect. Or at least, it wasn’t what I would have expected in this collection. I had honestly anticipated a lot more happiness and cheerful endings. I’m so happy that Myracle proved me wrong.
Like a lot of stories that feature wish fulfillment in some way, this story acted as a great reminder that what you wish for may not be what you actually want and need. And sometimes making a wish can be the worst possible thing to do. It leaves this story sitting in my pile of not-so-happily-ever-after stories. And definitely one of my favourite novellas…
Two men are in love with the same woman, and on a hunting trip. What you think is going to go wrong gets slightly derailed when they stumble across a black train and a plot to destroy.
I really enjoyed this mould-driven short story. After all, mould is actually kind of a scary and insidious thing if you really think about it. So using it as a biological weapon and scary object in this short story was brilliant. And made me want to scrub every inch of my house to make sure that there wasn’t any zombie mould anywhere…
I found Evan and Charlie to be a very interesting team. They are so unalike, yet so similar at the same time. A great little juxtaposition that drew me in. Plus, from the beginning it’s obvious that they really don’t like one another. Though the depths of this dislike are only slowly unveiled. Yet another aspect of this story that I quite enjoyed – not everything was spelt out and indicated from the very beginning, but it is slowly revealed.
As with many short stories that I love, this tale ends with a very open-ended feeling. It highlights the dangers of such a weapon. And, just generally left me with a goosebump feeling. And some serious awkwardness.
She has the Gift, but it’s causing her to live a bit like a spinster. Then her brother encourages her to go on vacation, and things take a far more enjoyable and lustful turn…
I really loved the New Orleans feel to this story. Which makes sense, because part of it is based in the city itself, and the rest is based elsewhere. It’s certainly fun and it’s one of the few cities in the USA that actually interests me…
A lot of the stories that I read about psychics and people who have the gift focus on the whole idea of how much the horrors of the future can damage a person. This story instead focused on the ways in which the gift can destroy relationships and spell the end before the beginning. Luckily, it’s not all bad, and there is a happy ending in there as well.
I love that this story has it all – werewolves and psychics, cops and witches, revenge and the beginning of new loves. There’s also a fun pole dancer thrown in there to make it all that much more fun and giggle-worthy.
National bestselling author Rochelle Alers demonstrates that passion and the courage to step outside the box can accomplish the impossible for under-resourced students on Chicago’s south side in her tribute to Lara Tavares, founder of Sky’s the Limit.
I loved this novella. But I seriously, deeply, truly can’t imagine the trauma of losing a child. And to read a novella that is both a romance, and a beacon of hope for a charity, but also about recovering from that loss. It was pretty powerful. Yet even though it deals with something that is really sad, depressing and dark. It also has this wonderful sense of hope.
Something about this story, about starting a non-profit in which disadvantaged teens are able to get computers, makes me want to start my own non-profit. I’m not ever going to be able to. I get way too easily distracted. But, still, this story shows how such amazing charities are begun. And it is seriously inspiring and wonderful.
The fact that this is ultimately a reconciliation story helps to make everything about this even more… heart warming and beautiful. Finding a way past the past is probably one of the most difficult things I think anyone has to do. I love this story. It goes from strength to strength. And I would most definitely read this again and again.
Title: Missing Persons Author: Ellie Marney In: Begin, End, Begin (Danielle Binks) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Contemporary, Young adult Dates read: 9th November 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: ‘I don’t think you should – ‘
Rachel is about to start high school in Melbourne, the Big Smoke, for the first time. It’s very different from the rolling plains and open spaces of her family’s farm. It’ll take a little bit of getting used to…
I can completely, totally, and utterly understand the feeling of not quite fitting into a city. That hatred of living in an area where you struggle to see the wide, open skies. I know it’s why I chose to live in the country as soon as I was able to realistically do so. Although, to be fair, my version of country is nowhere near as open as Rachel’s.
This is a typical fish-out-of-water story. But it’s also a great coming of age tale. After all, Rachel is not only trying to figure out how to fit in with a whole new, terrifying world, but she’s also a teenager who has a whole slew of other issues to contend with. And I love that the Mad Scientist, Mycroft, seems to be the main person who is likely to help her do so. He’s completely off kilter and odd. The perfect person to help you try to figure out your way in a new world.
Although Rachel feels like a “missing person” in this story and still hasn’t quite come to terms with her new life, there is still a ray of hope at the end. This feeling that things will all turn out for the best, and eventually Rachel will find her own place in this new world she’s been thrust into.
Title: The Cruel Prince Author: Holly Black Series: The Folk of the Air #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fae, Fantasy, Paranormal fantasy, Young adult Dates read: 3rd – 9th November 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Hot Key Books Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: My blood is on fire, boiling in my veins.
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered. The fearsome assassin abducts all three girls to the Faerie court, where Jude soon realises that to survive she needs to be as cunning and deceitful as the Fey themselves. But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan.
I seriously can’t stop thinking about this novel. Even though I’m writing this review days after I finished reading it, the words, the occurrences, the entire story is still in my mind’s eye. It was just amazing. Which really isn’t surprising since it was written by Holly Black and everything that I’ve had the pleasure of reading by her is a book that quickly finds its way to the top of my list.
The twist at the end of the story was only obvious about a paragraph before it happened. So, really not obvious or something that I guessed at all. And it was the best twist ever. Luckily, I couldn’t find The Wicked King in my TBR immediately after I finished The Cruel Prince… considering I have a massive stack of books that I’ve already started reading…
Jude is an awesome, completely kick ass lead character. I’m not necessarily in love with her as a person… she’s a little too confrontational and kind of nuts in my opinion. But as a product of being raised by the fae? Yeah, I absolutely loved her. It kind of makes me fear what Taryn will be like in the later books… I mean, they’re twins and whilst they’ve taken a different route to power… it’ll be interesting to see what happens next is the least that I can say.
I’ve only read the one series by Holly Black, and the thing that I loved the most about it was that she depicts the fae beautifully. She continues that vein in this story – the fae aren’t fun, happy, or light. This already feels so much darker than her Modern Faerie Tales series. But it’s still a great indication of the horrors that are in the traditional faerie tales….
Earth and Skye 