Okay, this was definitely my favorite in Amazon's Disorder collection, and I feel like it should've been part of their horror collection instead. It wOkay, this was definitely my favorite in Amazon's Disorder collection, and I feel like it should've been part of their horror collection instead. It was weird and creepy and good, and I enjoyed it a lot!...more
A modernized retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's "William Wilson" - I liked it!A modernized retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's "William Wilson" - I liked it!...more
Wow, what an amazing way to end a great year of reading! I finished this one a few hours before midnight on the 31st, and I’m so happy with the choiceWow, what an amazing way to end a great year of reading! I finished this one a few hours before midnight on the 31st, and I’m so happy with the choice to wrap it up over anything else I was in the middle of reading – I absolutely loved it!
Being totally honest here: I sometimes struggle remembering specific stories as stand-alones when finishing a collection, and I find myself flipping back through the pages or through my notes to jog my memory of what happened, or what the story was about. With Baxter’s 16 short stories in SERVED COLD, I didn’t have that problem at all.
Just from looking at the titles in the table of contents from the book, I can easily recall the chilling scenes written on the pages, able to picture them in my mind due to how vividly the writing conveyed each tale’s situations and characters horrors. This is an absolute stand out collection, and I didn’t rate a single story in it anything less than 4 stars.
Alan Baxter’s ability to fluidly go from writing emotionally impactful horror (The Goodbye Message, pg. 106) to a terrifying adventure story about soldiers and mind-breaking monsters (In Vaulted Halls Entombed, pg. 156) is nothing short of impressive. In this collection, we meet ghosts and gangsters, murderers, demons, and worse. Rather than sticking to any specific theme beyond “darkness”, we go on a journey through doors-that-shouldn’t-be and lethal video games, stay in Lovecraftian hotels and Airbnbs that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
The range in stories provides something for lovers of different types of horror – there are so many subgenres, and Baxter touches on quite a few of them expertly throughout the collection. His writing is simultaneously ethereal and blunt, allowing the reader to indulge themselves both in gorgeously haunting storytelling, as well as excellent pacing, and plenty of cringe-inducing gore to top it all off. That also isn’t to say that this is a strictly horror collection, as a lot of the stories seem to be heavily influenced by science fiction & fantasy both; obviously, with these being my 3 favorite book genres, this is a huge win for me!
I read this with my Night Worms pals and a few other friends on Instagram for a #nightwormsbookparty, and my friend Janelle mentioned that some of the stories felt like they could be episodes of BLACK MIRROR to her, which I absolutely agree with! In fact, Baxter’s written voice and writing ability is so strongly developed that I could easily picture any of the titles from this collection as incredible screen adaptations – and you’d better bet I’d watch every second of them if they’re ever made!
I can’t recommend this one highly enough, especially to readers who may want to explore horror a bit more in all of its many genres – but it surely won’t disappoint any long term fans of the genre either! Each of the stories is relatively short, which makes the entire collection feel really bite-sized and manageable, which are qualities I love from my short stories ’cause it makes me feel productive! ...more
“I know better than to take life directions from someone without a moral compass.”
I’m going to be completely honest – I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I grabbed this book off the shelf at the library. I’d seen it floating around on Twitter & Bookstagram for most of the year (it came out in November 2018), and although I didn’t know what it was about, the cover drew me in – it’s stunning!
This story about two sisters is unlike any I’ve read before. Korede, the older and more mature sister, spends her time working and cleaning up her younger sister’s messes. The younger sister in this equation, Ayoola, spend her time going on dates, being spoiled by everyone around her, and, you know, murdering people.
I loved this unique take on your average serial killer story. Instead of the creepy sort of killer we see a lot in books about murderers, Ayoola is everything you’d imagine a sheltered, boy-crazy, magazine-reading teenage girl to be (although she’s in her 20s, she’s written to seem much younger). She’s also secretly very conniving and manipulative, and the only one who knows it is Korede.
The bond between Korede and Ayoola was one of my favorite parts of this book. I loved how strong and protective Korede was, but also ached for her at times throughout the story. She’s not the “pretty” sister, she doesn’t charm everyone she meets, but she does want to stand by her sister and family, even at the cost of her own happiness. Her narration was compelling and witty, and I especially enjoyed the own voices aspect of the book & Nigerian location part of the story.
Overall, this is a quick read that’s witty, fast-paced, and extremely entertaining. I almost wish the ending were a little different, but I feel it fit the story and characters, and love it still....more
Really did not like the message to this story, and am not super impressed with Amazon's Dark Corners collection, which is disappointing!Really did not like the message to this story, and am not super impressed with Amazon's Dark Corners collection, which is disappointing!...more
"There exists inside me a blackheartedness that wants only for siren song and danger and blood."
I absolutely loved the cover of this book, and the pre"There exists inside me a blackheartedness that wants only for siren song and danger and blood."
I absolutely loved the cover of this book, and the premise pulled me in immediately. I love reading about oceanic tragedies or mysteries, especially when they involve creatures, so this debut with sirens as the focal point was definitely right up my alley! Within the first few pages, I was immersed in the story, and I loved the atmosphere of this coastal island town, its inhabitants, its mysteries, and its lighthouse.
Unfortunately, the sirens that pulled me in didn't play as big of a role as the synopsis or cover would have led me to believe. We aren't given any solid backstory on them despite the fact that the sirens have coexisted for ages with the people on the island, and there are very few portions of the stories where the sirens are physically present. It felt like the sirens were used more as a plot device than anything else, a sort of catalyst for why x, y, and z plot points had occurred or were occurring. I wasn't very happy with this, as it felt like the book was built up to involve them more, and then focused on less fantasy-esque things.
I avoid spoilers whenever possible in my reviews, but I did have an issue with a few certain plot points that it's impossible to mention without explaining - so if you're wary of spoilers for this book, please skip the below bit.
(view spoiler)[ During one part of the book, the main character discovers that her beau's been hiding this siren in a room in his lighthouse. He explains it that his uncle is the one who took her, literally tortured her (mutilated and hurt this creature horribly), and kept her locked up - but in the book, it's already explained that his uncle has been gone for quite some time at this point. While his uncle has been gone, Jude (main character's beau) has "tried to help" by buying raw meat to feed her, but hasn't told anyone or tried to release her on his own (despite how super light & easy to carry she is, as he states just a couple pages after Moira finds the siren). So, okay, he didn't kidnap this creature or torture her - but he also didn't tell anyone for like a year, or try to get help at all, even though his uncle is off at another lighthouse somewhere doing lighthouse business??? This entire section of the book felt oddly cruel and unnecessary, and nobody is ever really held accountable - least of all, Jude, who is hailed as being such a "wonderful" part of the community, and is hailed throughout the book as the primary male protagonist. It's introduced, and then Moira forces him to free her, and then that's that - nothing really much mentioned afterward. The sirens are very clearly personified as female, and this random violence and cruelty to one of them by a male character - or, more than one, as we later come to find out - just felt like more of the sirens being used as a plot device, without really fleshing them out as entities of their own (which sucks, considering the book's cover and entire synopsis).
Another big issue I had with the book was that instead of focusing on the sirens, the entire thing ended up being more of a murder mystery, only the mystery is revealed in a way twice that feels completely premature, and lacking any actual surprise or big "aha!" moment. We spend most of the book trying to figure out who a couple of killers are, and then they're both just overhead announcing their murders by the main character while she's eavesdropping, because of course they are! It felt lazy, and I didn't like it. (hide spoiler)]
As far as the overall story went, I liked the world building, at least up until the siren portion, which I felt was severely underdeveloped. The lighthouse mythos, the nickname and position passed down through the generations, were really unique points, and I did think Jude had a really cool character. I didn't like Moira very much - she was headstrong to the point of being very dumb, and causing more trouble and emotional upset than she seemed to care about - but Jude, and even Moira's mom, felt like solid characters, and I liked the bits of dialogue throughout. The way things were worded often made me smile, as did some of the snappy retorts between both Jude and Moira.
Despite the issues I had with some of the key plot points, Kelly Powell's writing itself is very strong, and the prose had an almost lyrical quality that I thought was very fitting for the theme and book itself. When she described the brutality of the island's living conditions, or the harsh beauty of the sirens themselves, I found myself painting clear mental images from her words - she has a real knack for expressive description. Although this wasn't quite what I was hoping for in terms of siren involvement and plot points, I can absolutely see it being adored by another reader, and I'll definitely be checking out future releases from Kelly Powell when they happen!...more
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