An awesome retelling of Poe's stories that brings them to an audience in an easier language and more modern setting. The creep factor is enhanced in some of these tales because of the modernism in them and brings a new light to Poe's macabre. I loved reading these short stories, especially as fall begins and the nights get longer. I would not put this in my classroom due to the more mature content that would not be suitable for middle grade students.

*E-ARC PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

I thought I was going to LOVE this anthology of reimagined Poe stories, but this ended up being my biggest disappointment of the year so far. I found myself truly disliking so many of these stories that I was skimming parts like crazy. The only stories that I enjoyed were: “She Rode a Horse of Fire”, “It’s Carnival”, “Night Tide”, and “The Glittering Death”. Those 4 stories are the only reason I didn’t give it a 1 star rating. Such a shame.

"His Hideous Heart" Edited by Dahlia Adler is a collection of 13 short stories that are retold and inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. The overall themes include Love and Loss, Grief and Death, Rivalry and Revenge. Edgar Allan Poe's works continue to inspire Young Adults and every reader to this day, even after more than 150 years later. I remember reading Poe in high school and remembering how I felt reading his works. I enjoyed this collection and it is very well curated by Adler. Some of my favorites are the following: THE NIGHT-TIDE By Tessa Gratton which was inspired by "Annabel Lee" and THE GLITTERING DEATH by Caleb Roehrig inspired by "The Pit and The Pendulum". I recommend this very much for a wonderful collection of short stories with amazing inspiration.

Thank you NetGalley, Flatiron Books and authors for sending me a free copy in exchange for my objective and honest review.

I had actually never read any of Poe's work before picking up this book. I was excited about the authors that were contributing their own retellings and His Hideous Heart was definitely worth the excitement. I read these stories side by side with the original inspiration and it was a great experience. Even though there was a few of Poe's stories that I couldn't really get into, the new stories were interesting and kept my attention when Poe couldn't. One example is "The Glittering Death" By Caleb Roehrig. Roehrig's story was inspired by "The Pit and the Pendulum" and while I gave up on Poe's story about half way through, "The Glittering Death" was one of my favorites.

Some of my favorites:

* Night-tide (inspired by Annabel Lee)
* Happy Days, Sweetheart (inspired by The Tell-Tale Heart)
* The Oval Filter (inspired by The Oval Portrait)


My favorite thing about this anthology is that while I chose to read the original tales to get context for these stories, you don't have to. Each story stands perfectly well on its own. It doesn't matter if you're an Edgar Allen Poe fan or if you're coming to these stories never having read Poe in your life. This will be a perfect introduction to Poe for young adults that they will very much enjoy.

I REEEEALLLY wanted to love this, but I just couldn't get into it all the way. There were obviously stories I liked more than overs, but it was super average for me.

When I have more time, I will be updating my review with actual thoughts on each individual story and a clear average rating! Stay tuned!

Edgar Allen Poe is one of my favorite writers, so naturally I was excited to see this book about retellings come up! Though I'd heard of a handful of authors who contributed to this book, there were many I hadn't heard of. I enjoyed the fact that the stories were varied. There were of course many of his famous works chosen, like The Raven and The Tell Tale Heart. But there were some of his more obscure works included, too, like Hop Frog and Ligeia.

What I liked about this collection was that each author brought something new to the story they chose. Sometimes, that was changing the genre, like making The Fall of the House of Usher into a sci-fi hacking action story, or setting the Tell Tale Heart in a high school. I enjoyed the blend of genres, which kept things really different and dynamic for me.

What I didn't care for was the overall book as a whole. I felt like most authors did a decent job, but there were quite a few stories that I felt really fell flat or didn't do enough to make the story new and interesting. But most, I just felt an overall absence of creepy. The great thing about Poe is his ability to cast such a dark, fearful spell over his readers. His stories are mysterious and spooking, in a good way, but they still give you the creeps. Most of the stories that are in this book have the horror part, to some extent, but they just aren't...creepy. A lot of the stories are just strange or leave too much to the imagination. I didn't find any of them to be all that spooky, which was a major disappointment.

I will still recommend this book to readers who enjoy Poe, or who are looking for some light scary stories, ones that won't totally freak them out.

I’ll be the first to tell you that short stories aren’t usually my thing. I like my stories long, full of detail and dialogue. The main exception being Edgar Allan Poe. Ever since I read “The Black Cat” back in high school, I’ve tried to read as much of his work as I possibly can. So when I heard that there was going to be an anthology with stories based on his work, it went on my TBR straight away.

His Hideous Heart compiles thirteen retellings of some of Poe’s most popular and least popular works, and creates a Gothic collection that Poe would be proud of. From hacking jobs and stolen identities to heartbreak and revenge, this collection works so well together. Though it does have it’s weak stories, the majority of them are phenomenal retellings that make Poe modern, diverse, and more accessible to the masses.

The following is my full thoughts on all 13 short stories in His Hideous Heart.


“She Rode a Horse of Fire”: Kendare Blake —- ★★★
Retelling of “Metzengerstein”

This is the most literal retelling that I have ever read. Before now, I had never read Metzengerstein, and it’s not one of my favorite Poe stories. With that said, I think Blake modernized it enough that it felt different and easier to understand. But it was so close to the source material, reading one after the other felt a bit lackluster.

“It’s Carnival!”: Tiffany D. Jackson —- ★★★★★
Retelling of “The Cask of Amontillado”

This is why “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of my favorites; because it can lend itself to a retelling like this one. Jackson adapts Poe story so well. It has the perfect amount of suspense and imagination, and still pays homage to the original story while making it completely her own. My favorite moment in this story, though, comes when the beating of a character’s heart matches the rhythm of the calypso drums outside; just marvelous.

“Night-Tide”: Tessa Gratton —- ★★★★★
Retelling of “Annabel Lee”

I was interested to see how Gratton turned “Annabel Lee” from such a haunting poem to a short story, and I think she did phenomenally. Retold as a f/f romance, “Night-Tide” was full of grief, pain, and ominous ambiance that kept me engrossed the entire time. Honestly, if she made this an entire book, I would be ecstatic.
(My initial review of this story in my notes is literally just ‘Aahhhhhhh!!!!” if that give a hint about how much I liked this one.)

“The Glittering Death”: Caleb Roehrig —- ★★★★★
Retelling of “The Pit and the Pendulum”

Never in my entire life have I been blown away by a short story like I was with this one. “The Glittering Death” is completely heart pounding, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole story. Extremely violent and a bit gruesome, it read like an episode of a cop-drama and I loved every minute of it.

“A Drop of Stolen Ink”: Emily Lloyd-Jones —- ★★
Retelling of “The Purloined Letter”

I loved the concept of this one, but I think the execution fell a bit flat. Changing the original story from a political thriller to a sci-fi story was a great transition, and worked well. My biggest issue, I think, was the world building: there just wasn’t enough of it.

“Happy Days, Sweetheart”: Stephanie Kuehn —- ★★
Retelling of “The Tell-Tale Heart”

This was just okay. Some of the ideas need a bit more development and the emotions amped up a bit – more crazed, more internal struggle, for example. I did like the twisted ending though, comparatively to the original story.

“The Raven (Remix)”: Amanda Lovelace —- ★★
Retelling of “The Raven”

Lovelace turns “The Raven” into a full ghost story in less than a hundred words. It does take away from the original poem and just kind of summarized the story, but it was still quite enjoyable.

“Changeling”: Marieke Nijkamp —- ★★
Retelling of “Hop-Frog”

I was excited for this story once I learned that it was a fae-retelling, but I felt completely underwhelmed. It was okay and the disability rep is great, but I found myself getting bored and counting the pages; it just didn’t have a similar sense of urgency and revenge as the story it’s inspired by.

“The Oval Filter”: Lamar Giles —- ★★★★.5
Retelling of “The Oval Portrait”

Lamar Giles sure knows how to write a short story. “The Oval Portrait” is one of my favorite Poe stories and he adapted it for the modern age wonderfully. I don’t even know what else to say except read this.

“Red”: Hillary Monahan —- ★★★
Retelling of “The Masque of the Red Death”

I confess, it did take a reread for me to fully understand this story, but once I did I realized it’s quite an interesting take on the original story. Narrated by Death herself, it’s an interesting commentary on economic class in the modern age which isn’t too far off from Poe’s story.

“Lygia”: Dahlia Adler —- ★★★★
Retelling of “Ligeia”

Also a f/f story, “Lygia” is such an engaging retelling. Adler seems to have really been able to grasp the Gothic themes of the original tale, while being able to make it her own and modernize it all in one fell swoop.

“The Fall of the Bank of Usher”: Fran Wilde —- ★★
Retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Making this a story focusing around hacking is such an interesting way of spinning this story, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of it. Wilde’s writing just didn’t work for me, combined with “The Fall of the House of Usher” being one of my least favorite Poe stories, I felt myself skimming the story more often than not. Though, if you enjoy sci-fi, I definitely suggest you check this story out for yourself.

“The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay”: Rin Chupeco —- ★★★
Retelling of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

I always seem to forget that Poe wrote mystery stories on top of his Gothic masterpieces, and Chupeco did a good job at mimicking his style while adding a bit more mystery, in my opinion. The trans rep in this is really great and the tone of the story was a great way to end the anthology.

I love that the original stories are in the back! I flipped back and forth reading the originals first then the retellings. As most short story collections I really enjoyed some and also didn't enjoy some. Another thing to think about is if short story collections put you in a book slump which they do for me. But that's not because I don't enjoy short stories! I think its because there is no connection with short stories as soon as you start to care its over and I need to be engrossed in books to prevent slump which no short story collection has been able to provide the connection I need and get with full length books. But this is a fun spin on Poe stories (who I love) so I would definitely recommend this. But maybe while reading an actual novel along side it and only read a story or two a day.

When I first heard about this anthology, I just about lost my mind. I have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe (aka Creepy Edgar) for years! His stories and poems are so dark and twisty and spooky. They’ve always intrigued me. And then I got an email asking me to be involved in the blog tour for His Hideous Heart and I almost fainted! I could not have said yes fast enough lol.

Let’s get started!

Whenever an author (or a group of authors) retell a classic, there’s always a worry (at least for me) that they won’t do it justice. That was not a problem here. They took enough of the originals so any Poe fan (lol me) could recognize the story they were retelling but also make them unique enough that they are brilliant stories in their own. Alright, let’s talk individual stories!

She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Blake (inspired by Metzengerstein)

When a rich girl pretending to be a maid dies in a stable fire on the estate, Friedrich goes into a deep dark depression, blaming himself. He locks himself in a room and becomes obsessed with a painting. The housekeeper, Eliza, is the only one brave enough to see him and when she visits, he tells her that the picture keeps moving, changing.

But all of a sudden, he comes out of his depression and goes driving one day. He comes back with a girl and they seem to fall in love. Everything is good until Friedrich is found dead at the front gate. With no other heirs to the estate, Eliza won’t let it go to anyone else.

Thoughts: This one is so utterly creepy and atmospheric.

It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson (inspired The Cask of Amontillado)

Cindy leads a man, Darrell, back to what is supposedly her house. She tempts him with sorrel and then once he arrives, she bricks him up in the wall. It is her revenge for his past actions.

Thoughts: I loved this story! It’s all about revenge just like the original but this time, it’s a woman setting out to get justice.

Night-Tide by Tessa Gratton (inspired by Annabel Lee)

Jackie meets Annabel Lee during her trips with her family to the Kingdom of the Sea, a resort overlooking a bay. They become fast friends but soon turn into something more. Jackie and Annabel Lee fall in love. But when Annabel doesn’t return to the resort the next year, Jackie goes looking for her. She’s not sure she can live with what she finds?

Thoughts: This is one of my favorite stories in the whole anthology. It’s f/f which I love and the setting and the whole tone of the story is absolutely beautiful. TW: suicide

The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig (inspired by The Pit and the Pendulum)

Laura is taken and tortured by a killer known as The Judge. She tries to reason with him, trick him, but it never works in her favor. She finally realizes he is drugging her with the water he give her. When he starts hosing her down, she spills out her water without him noticing. Finally seeing her chance for escape, she makes a run for it. But he’s quickly stops her. Will she be able to make it out alive?

Thoughts: Oh this story was utterly perfect. It is pretty violent but Laura is a badass and smart as hell.

A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones (inspired by The Purloined Letter)

Augusta Pine (not her real name) infiltrates her way into the Atreus Partnership with a fake identity tattoo. Everyone has a tattoo that contains their personal information. She’s there to take down the head of the company. He has a duplicate ID tattoo which is supposed to be impossible and very illegal. It turns out The Feds made it, he stole it.

Augusta is facing a prison sentence and working as a spy is the only path to her freedom. But when she finds the tattoo, it’s in the last place she would have expected.

Thoughts: This story was so fun. It has an f/f relationship in it towards the end and it’s just heist-y and sci-fi and so intriguing.

Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn (inspired by The Tell-Tale Heart)

The narrator kills a boy (Jonah) she’s seeing. Why? He keeps winning everything she worked so hard for. She stabs him multiple times and then she hides the body. But when the police come, she hears a noise that shouldn’t be possible…his heartbeat. Will she turn herself in or get away with murder?

Thoughts: I LOVED this take on The Tell-Tale Heart. It was much more relatable than the original (not that I would kill a dude). The narrator’s ambition and fear and maybe even love for the boy she feels throughout the story is so complex.

The Raven (Remix) by amanda lovelace (inspired by The Raven)

Thoughts: Please read this one aloud! The rhyming scheme is perfectly in tune with the original and it’s so much fun to say and read.

Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp (inspired by Hop-Frog)

Children who the world deems broken and abuses are saved by the changelings and brought to a different world where they are cared for and wanted.

Thoughts: Excuse me while I cry because this story is so beautiful and I want it to be real! This is definitely one of my faves of the anthology. It is also written in parts going from the past to the present and I love when authors do that.

The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles (inspired by The Oval Portrait)

Tariq is a football player who’s injured but in recovery. While in an ice bath to repair his muscles, he takes out his phone and scrolls through Instagram. But while looking at pictures, he sees a picture of someone he knows shouldn’t be there. It’s Courtney. His girlfriend. She’s dead. But when he tries to show it to someone else, the account is gone.

When he goes back on Instagram, he sees it again, but this time, the pictures look wrong. They look like she’s being thrown around, hurt. The next time he checks his phone, a picture of has Courtney become his homescreen and then the picture starts to move. Different shots flick back and forth making it look like her eyes are moving.

Through the pictures, Tariq finds out who killed Courtney and he avenges her.

Thoughts: This is so perfectly interpreted for today I can barely get out words. it’s expertly done and the final scene will leave you shook!

Red by Hillary Monahan (inspired by The Masque of the Red Death)

Death (a slight woman in a shabby coat) comes arrives at Prospero’s, a fancy club for the powerful and the wealthy. And she shows no mercy.

Thoughts: This original Poe story is one of my favorites and Hillary Monahan did not disappoint with her retelling. Death comes for the rich and she does not pull any punches. *cackles*

Lygia by Dahlia Adler (inspired by Ligeia)

The narrator remembers their love with Lygia who died of cancer and everything they never got to do together and be. But then she starts falling for someone else. She likes them a lot but they still aren’t Lygia. Unless, she can make them into her??

Thoughts: This is another “grab the tissues” story. It’s also another f/f (flails with delight). I really like this one because you think it’s one thing at the beginning and then the end hits and you’re like…WOAH.

The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde (inspired by The Fall of the House of Usher)

Rik and Mad get a challenge to go to an offshore bank and see if they can hack it. If they do, they get a ton of money which would allow them to finally disappear. But it turns out to much more dangerous than they expected. Can they win the challenge or will this last shot at freedom take their lives?

Thoughts: HACKERS! Who doesn’t want to see a bank crash and burn especially after all they have done in the past? This story is utterly creepy and I wasn’t sure whether Rik and Mad were going to survive in the end (no spoilers!)

The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay by Rin Chupeco (inspired by The Murders in the Rue Morgue)

Written like a conversation between the narrator and a friend, she talks about this guy (Ogie) she met in Boracay (Philippines) and how great he is and that he doesn’t judge her. She details the time they spend together, but it soon turns dark when they begin to investigate one the multiple murders on the island. But as the narrator finishes her story, it seems like Ogie might hiding quite the secret.

Thoughts: Trans Rep!! The narrator is a trans woman and damn does this story take you on a ride. The conversational tone is PERFECT and the way it’s written made me feel like I was there. And I always love a story with a good murder investigation.

Thank you to Flatiron Books for the free ARC in exchange for my review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity of review this with honesty.

This is my first time reading Poe's stories and reading them first with the creativity and audacity of these authors is just great. The one by Tiffany D. Jackson "It's Carnaval!" WOW, that one was really good, I can't understand how a person who writes mostly contemporaries can hide this talent! We need a creepy novel or short story by her, please!. The Kendare Blake one was just creepy, like her writing in some parts of Three Dark Crowns series, I loved it. Tessa Gratton... my heart, this story was so full of emotions, I wasn't expecting an emotional and strong story like this, this story would stay with me forever, I know it.

Let me cut to the chase., this book was really good. For a person that has never read any Edgar Alan Poe work, (like me) this is just perfect to introduce them to his works. The authors were so good with their stories and reimagining that I cannot wait to read more of their works and EAP works.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this anthology since I am a big fan of them and a fan of EAP, this was a match made in heaven. All the stories were compelling and gripped me from start to finish. I love a good retelling and these stories delivered.

I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw that Dahlia Adler had edited a collection of Edgar Allan Poe re-imaginings, I was intrigued and thrilled. I'm a Poe lover for sure, so I was interested to see what the authors did with Poe's twisted sense of the macabre.

His Hideous Heart contains takes on such famous works as "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Cask of Amontillado," as well as lesser-known works such as "Ligeia" and "The Oval Portrait." Even not having read some of Poe's original tales, each of the authors' takes on the Poe texts were awesome. My absolute favorite was Tiffany D. Jackson's rendition of "The Cask of Amontillado," though Lamar Giles' "The Oval Portrait" re-imagining ran a close second.

The original Poe stories are included after the new renditions, in case you want to read the unfamiliar or re-read the beloved. If you're a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, this collection is a must.

I think I would totally use this in my classroom to compare the retelling to the original of The Fall of the House of Usher, which I teach each year, and The Tell-Tall Heart. Those just so happened to be my favorite stories in this collection as well. The collection itself was well down with threads of the original tales woven throughout the retelling, while also making each story uniquely its own.

His Hideous Heart is a short story collection of Poe reimaginings from popular authors. I really enjoyed these stories: they were true to the feel of a Poe story while updating the themes with new and relevant aspects of our modern lives. I was sufficiently creeped out and moved by the vast majority of the stories, just as you would hope to be in this case. His Hideous Heart is the perfect read for fall, when you're gearing up for spooky season. The short stories are easy to get through yet substantial enough to be engaging. I will be recommending this collection to my horror YA readers all season long.

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler is an anthology of thirteen classic Edgar Allan Poe tales as reimagined by top YA authors. Needless to say, Edgar Allan Poe is one of my all time favorites so I had incredibly high expectations for this collection with an all new audience in mind. I loved that these talented authors have created such unique takes on these classics, some of which are quite unexpected. It was so much fun to be surprised by where some of the stories were so cleverly taken while still being able to recognize them at their core. My favorites included The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde (The Fall of the House of Usher), The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig (The Pit and the Pendulum), It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson (The Cask of Amontillado), A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones (The Purloined Letter), Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp (Hop-Frog), and The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles (The Oval Portrait). Of all of these retellings, I was the most excited to see what Fran Wilde made of The Fall of the House of Usher as it's been a long time favorite and luckily her short tops my list of all thirteen retellings. I can't say I was expecting a sci-fi hacker heist, but it totally worked for me. Also, out of all of the self-contained stories in this anthology, this is the one where I wouldn't mind a longer novella or even a full-length novel of Mad and Rik's exploits. Overall, if you enjoy Edgar Allan Poe as much as I do, this collection of some of his most well known tales retold is well worth picking up. Don't worry if you aren't familiar with the original stories featured here because they are actually included at the back of the book for your enjoyment. Now I feel like watching some of Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations featuring Vincent Price!

As a huge Poe fan I was so excited to get to read this book. It didn't disappoint. The retellings were original and all great. I loved how they had the original stories in this book as well. There are amazing author's included in this book so YA fans are sure to find an author they know mixed in. I'd recommend it to teens/people looking for a great October read.

I often find that anthologies are hit-or-miss for me. I either love all/most of the stories in them or feel just luke-warm about them. In this instance, however, I ended up enjoying most of the stories.

Thanks so much to Macmillan and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

As with my usual reviews of anthologies, I will give a review of each story, along with an individual rating and then some final thoughts at the end.

1. She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Blake (inspired by “Metzengerstein”) 3.5/5 stars

Like most stories I’ve read by Poe, this one had the same sort of atmospheric, Gothic vibe. Freidrich Baron, the young master of the home is devastated after the fire that took the life of his latest fling, a young maid who happens to be the daughter of a prestigious family. He then meets a mysterious girl who seems to occupy all of his time and leads to his untimely death. I’m not really sure what the final message of this story is - although that’s another common theme with Poe and me!

2. It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson (inspired by “The Cask of Amontillado”) 4/5 stars

I’m perhaps a bit more partial to this story having read the original before... and I’ve always loved a good revenge story. I’m a little murky on what Darrell did to be “Amontillado-ed”, it was sort of explained but I’m not sure I fully felt Cindy’s emotions that justified it. I would have loved to see this turned into a longer story with more details.

3. Night-Tide by Tessa Gratton (inspired by “Annabel Lee”) 5/5 stars

So far my favourite of the collection! This f/f retelling of Annabel Lee spins the tale on its head. While I don’t believe the original narrator of the poem is ever identified as male, there’s something about the voice, or perhaps the fact that Poe wrote it, that makes many readers assume the gender of the speaker. In this case, however, Annabel Lee’s lover is a young girl positively distraught over her death. I really enjoyed this one and I think the length suited the story perfectly!

4. The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig (inspired by “The Pit and the Pendulum”) 4/5 stars

Perhaps the most atmospheric of the stories so far, this one takes place in a more contemporary setting. The Judge, a serial killer on the loose, is after young girls who commit, in his view, any number of the Seven Deadly Sins. I’m not sure how closely this relates to the original story from Poe because it’s not one I’m familiar with but I did find it really interesting and another one that I would have appreciated a longer version of!

5. A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones (inspired by “The Purloined Letter”) 5/5 stars

Ok, maybe this one is my new favourite! A near-future retelling where your identity is embedded in the tattoo ink in your skin, sign me up! Top it off with stolen identities, spies, and a budding f/f romance? I’m sold! This one was one of the longer ones I’ve read so far in the collection and while things are more or less wrapped up, I’d love to see this one as a full length novel.

6. Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn (inspired by “The Tell-Tale Heart”) 4.5/5 stars

This was a fascinating and particularly topical story. I *think* I may have read the original, or at least heard a version of it because it seemed familiar, but I can’t quite be certain. I did really enjoy the story, it was definitely darker than any of the other retellings, but I think that added to the Poe-like nature. I think the length was perfect, I was drawn in right away and hooked until the very end. Definitely another favourite of the collection.

7. The Raven (Remix) by amanda lovelace (inspired by “The Raven”) 2/5 stars

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not really familiar with the original (scandalous, I know) or if I’m just out of practice with reading poetry but this one didn’t really jive with me. I think fans of the original poem by Poe would probably find it more interesting and come up with more succinct thoughts, but I’m not sure I’m capable.

8. Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp (inspired by “Hop-Frog”) 4/5 stars

I remember reading Hop-Frog, but I’m not sure I entirely remember what it was about. This version deals with fae and what the 1800s referred to as “crippled children” who were left out for the fae to take. This is a tale of revenge but also acceptance and coming into your own in the face of cruelty and evil. In addition to the differently-abled components of this story, there were also hints of a f/f relationship between two of the characters.

9. The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles (inspired by “The Oval Portrait”) 3.5/5 stars

Another one where I’m not really familiar with the original story. This one is about the murder of Tariq’s sort-of girlfriend. In typical Poe style, it is spooky, atmospheric, and, at times, borderline claustrophobic. By the end of it, I was questioning what really happened, but in a good way? I know things ended somewhat abruptly because it would have been less Poe-like to give the reader all the answers but I think I need to think a bit more on this one to fully get it.

10. Red by Hillary Monahan (inspired by “The Masque of the Red Death”) 2/5 stars

Knowing the original story, I thought I would enjoy this one more. Unfortunately, I just didn’t connect with the story. I’m not entirely sure what was happening and I don’t think I really know ~what~ happened in the end. I think there were just too many things missing from the story for me to fully get it.

11. Lygia by Dahlia Adler (inspired by “Ligeia”) 4.5/5 stars

I have a vague memory of reading the original story, something about a girl who dies and is replaced by another... I don’t quite remember. This retelling was really well done, I’ve liked the previous work I’ve read from Adler, so I wasn’t particularly surprised. This was another f/f romance story (can I just say I’m loving the number of f/f romances in this collection!) and I really loved the Gothic themes mixing with the more modern day elements.

12. The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde (inspired by “The Fall of the House of Usher”) 3/5 stars

I don’t know if it’s just my general dislike for hacker stories but I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. I know I’ve read the original story but don’t really remember everything exactly. But I think I remember the Gothic home and the all-consuming nature of it. I think this retelling did capture that feeling, even if I didn’t love the direction it took.

13. The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay by Ron Chupeco (inspired by “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”) 3.5/5 stars

One of the more diverse stories, this one focuses on a transgender main character and an American-Filipino love interest. I’m not familiar with the original story but I did find this retelling a bit more Agatha Christie-esque than Poe inspired. While this wasn’t a particularly bad story by any stretch of the imagination, I didn’t find myself as invested in it as I did some of the others. Perhaps if I knew the original story, I would have enjoyed it more.

I would say that the stories closer to the beginning of the book were more interesting for me, and even though I didn't know all the originals, I was still able to enjoy them. The original Poe tales are included at the back of the book so you can read them after or before the reimagined ones.

Overall, a solid collection of new stories that capture the essence of Poe while giving them a modern twist!

His Hideous Heart is a collection of Edgar Allen Poe tales retold, as with any anthology some of the stories where a little lackluster but oververall this is a solid collection. This book also containes the original tales so the reader can compare and it also serves as a good introduction to anyone who may not be familliar with Poes work. I would recomend this book for any fan of Poe.

In general an anthology is a good way to explore a ganre you may not be familliar with or a way to discover new authors. I love anthologies so I would recomend them in general.

Edgar Allan Poe stories with a diverse, YA twist? Yes, please! So many of us first discover Poe during our teenage years that it seems perfectly fitting to reinterpret his stories in a young adult context. Editor Dahlia Adler does exactly this in her upcoming anthology His Hideous Heart, which gathers together thirteen celebrated YA authors to write modern tales inspired by some of Poe’s. I’ve been invited to participate in the official blog tour for His Hideous Heart, which comes out on September 10. See my thoughts on the book below, and be sure to check out the preorder link at the end of the post!

His Hideous Heart accomplishes the impressive feat of honoring Poe’s original works, while also bringing in some much-needed new perspectives. I absolutely adore old Edgar, but even I have to admit that he has a few shortcomings—one of the most prominent of which is that almost all of his tales are told from the limited perspective of straight, white men. His Hideous Heart takes these stories back to the margins, where horror thrives, by reimagining them from more marginalized perspectives. The vast majority of the tales here are told from the perspective of teenage girls, many of whom are queer or people of color. The protagonists are outcasts, orphans, servants, or simply kids, facing not just the horrors of a Poe-worthy plot, but also the horrors of moving through a world in which others are given power over them. Dahlia Adler sets the tone of the collection in a short introduction, in which she reminisces about her first encounters with Poe’s works and discusses how new perspectives can entirely change the story. What follows are twelve stories and a poem, each inspired by one of Poe’s works, both the obvious and the obscure. The book also includes the text of the original tales at the back, which you’ll definitely want to check out if you need a refresher. I found myself flipping back and forth to reread the original tales, either before or after reading the reimagined version, to catch all the nuanced details that these clever authors snuck in!

Some of my favorite stories in this collection were those that featured a femme fatale. Edgar Allan Poe liked to write from the perspective of slightly unhinged killers, to evoke horror through exploring inside the mind of a madman and a murderer. However, when you recast the protagonists as girls with some very real grievances, suddenly their acts of violence seem a little bit more understandable. The first story in this collection to truly knock me off my feet was “It’s Carnival!” by Tiffany D. Jackson, which reimagines “The Cask of Amontillado” set during the West Indian Day parade in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I’m a little bit biased because I love seeing stories set in my own neighborhood, but I thought it was profoundly clever to have a young woman in an elaborate feathered costume lure away her neighborhood bully amidst the chaos of the parade with the promise of her father’s sorrel drink. Stephanie Kuehn has a similarly cut-throat protagonist in “Happy Days, Sweetheart,” her version of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” in which a high school senior devises a heartless plan to do away with her rival for class valedictorian. Kuehn creates an interesting commentary on gender when, instead of having her narrator insist “I am not mad,” her repeated phrase is “I didn’t cry.” For women, the opposite of being rational and respected is not madness, but merely emotion. Kuehn also makes a convincing argument that changing the gender of the story’s protagonist significantly changes its ending.

Another of Poe’s favorite themes, apart from ruthless killers, was love. Specifically, the love of a young man for a dead or dying woman. In His Hideous Heart, however, love exists among many different identities and orientations. What if you not only had to deal with the death of the girl you loved most in the world, but also with the stigma of homophobia adding guilt to your grief? Tessa Gratton explores this concept in “Night-Tide,” a lesbian retelling of “Annabel Lee” set in a seaside resort called Kingdom by the Sea. Dahlia Adler’s own story, “Lygia,” features a more toxic relationship. The narrator in this story deals with her grief by trying to make her new girlfriend more like her first one. And on prom night … she finally succeeds. Rin Chupeco gives us a happier love story in “The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay,” a story that takes the premise of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” but sets it in a fantastical version of the Philippines populated by vampires, werewolves, and aswangs. Ogie Dupin is the brilliant half-French, half-Filipino son of an ambassador. The story’s narrator is a transgender Filipina girl who quickly falls for him. Together, they solve a mystery related to two dead Americans—but the story has a twist ending quite different from Poe’s original.

Lastly, some of the most imaginative tales in this piece were those that decided to play around with genre. There were two stories in particular that went further than merely modernizing the tales, instead placing the stories in futuristic sci-fi settings to give them a fun speculative spin. The first of these is “A Drop of Stolen Ink,” Emily Lloyd Jones’s take on Poe’s third mystery to feature the detective Dupin, “The Purloined Letter.” Set in a world where everyone’s identity is contained in a government-issued tattoo, this story has only a roughly similar plot to Poe’s original, but it emphasizes the same overarching theme: the thing you’re looking for may be hidden in plain sight. The protagonist is a teenage cyborg currently going by the name Augusta, who is given a secret mission to discover where a criminal has hidden a stolen identity tattoo. Fran Wilde’s “The Fall of the Bank of Usher” (an obvious riff on “The Fall of the House of Usher”) has a similarly cyberpunk vibe. The story features teenage hackers, Mad and Rik, who take on a challenge issued by a well-respected bank to test its security features. When they find themselves trapped inside, they realize that the only way to take down the bank’s defenses may just be to take down the bank itself.

And these are only half the stories in the collection! The others are equally inventive and insightful. Each story in the anthology manages to serve as both a critique and a celebration of Poe’s works. I recommend the collection anyone who either loves Edgar Allan Poe or YA literature. And if you, like me, are at the intersection of these two interests, you’ll want to bump this book to the top of your list! You’ll be able to find His Hideous Heart in stores beginning on September 10. You can also preorder it online from an independent bookstore and support The Gothic Library in the process by clicking on the IndieBound affiliate link below. Once you’ve read it, be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!

Dark, delicious, diverse, feminist, eerie, memorable, and twisted—welcome to the new generation of Edgar Allan Poe. It’s a lot of fun in here.

In <i>His Hideous Heart</i>, editor Dahlia Adler has compiled a truly impressive shortlist of some of Poe’s most famous tales, reimagined for a 2019 audience. I couldn’t believe how nuanced and imaginative these retellings were, and how eerily similar they felt to their original inspirations. Having the original Poe tales in the back of the collection was such a good call—I actually read each tale in tandem, from new reimagining to old inspiration to compare and contrast each entry.

To keep this review shorter than its original anthology, here are my quick thoughts and ratings on each of the 13 tales:

She Rode a Horse of Fire (Metzengerstein) by Kendare Blake
Rating: 5 stars
The perfect opener to this anthology, this historically-minded tale about a manor house experiencing the entrancement and death of its lord was the PERFECT amount of spooky.

It’s Carnival! (The Cask of Amontillado) by Tiffany D. Jackson
Rating: 4 stars
A tale twisted to a diverse feminist revenge story, this entry watches the narrator as she exacts a clinical end to the man who mocked her and her family for not being Jamacian enough with deadly results in modern-day New Orleans.

Night-Tide (Annabelle Lee) by Tessa Gratton
Rating 5 stars
Tied as my favorite, this prose retelling of the poem follows the summer seaside hypnotic reality of the narrator as she questions whether her illicit love for Annabelle Lee was the cause of Annabelle’s death in this historic New England tale perfect for fans of f/f star-crossed lovers.

The Glittering Death (The Pit and the Pendulum) by Caleb Roehrig
Rating: 4 stars
A modern tale of a serial killer who targets women, and the girl who finds herself a live captive in need of escape—extremely gritty, and another parable on modern-day feminism.

A Drop of Stolen Ink (The Purloined Letter) by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Rating: 4.5 stars
Edgar Allan Poe meets the future in a world where information is coded in biometric tattoos and one girl is sent to uncover a CEO’s treachery in the high-stakes world of the tattoo data black market.

Happy Days, Sweetheart (The Tell-Tale Heart) by Stephanie Kuehn
Rating: 5 stars
A high-achieving diverse female student always comes in second to the mediocrity of her white male competitor at their private school—so she decides to balance the scales of justice and eliminate him in this gruesome tale of cold revenge.

The Raven (Remix) by Amanda Lovelace
Rating: 3 stars
The poem The Raven, blacked out to create a new narrative, remained cool in concept by struggled to shine in between such impressive prose entries.

Changeling (Hop-Frog) by Marieke Nijkamp
Rating: 4 stars
Set in 1832, this tale of the Fae is reimagined as a vigilante group of former disabled and neglected abused children who receive a glorious second chance at a happy life or a vengeful one in a dark tale of one girl questing to retrieve those who deserve more than what the mortal world can give them by transporting them to the kingdom of the Fae and punishing their perpetrators.

The Oval Filter (The Oval Portrait) by Lamar Giles
Rating: 5 stars
A college football star’s dead girlfriend shows up in his Instagram feed trapped in an oval filter that appears to be suffocating her behind the screen—can Tariq solve the mystery behind her appearance before it drives him mad?

Red (The Masque of the Red Death) by Hillary Monahan
Rating: 2 stars
My least favorite in the collection, this tale should be read for the aesthetic and not for the narrative as it is essentially a color-coded picture show with a dark conclusion.

Lygia (Ligeia) by Dahlia Adler
Rating: 3.5 stars
A f/f tale of loss and mourning gone too far, the narrator mourns her dead girlfriend, Lygia, and tries to remake her presence in her new girlfriend with dark results.

The Fall of the Bank of Usher (The Fall of the House of Usher) by Fran Wilde
Rating: 5 stars
Tied as my favorite, this masterful blend of futuristic nanotech with old-school English manor joins the heist trope in this tale of (potentially) gender-fluid twins who take the job of hacking the unhackable Bank of Usher in an old manor house guarded by semi-sentient computerized mold. (I hear you saying “wtf”—just read it. It’s amazing.)

The Murders in Rue Apartelle, Boracay (The Murders in the Rue Morgue) by Rin Chupeco
Rating: 3 stars
Confusing and at times overly complicated given its length, this tale was a modern blend of magical realism in the Philippines told by the female narrator as she recounts the tale of her mysterious rich boyfriend who may or may not be too knowledgeable about a murder case.

His Hideous Heartcomes out on September 10, 2019.