The foreword sets the intention of this anthology: “… to exalt women's voices… Tainted Love explores all the many ways that love can go wrong.” Each of the 15 stories examines the sinister facets of affection and devotion through various distinctive filters of selfishness and imbalance. Whether wronged or wrongdoer these characters deal with assorted betrayals, love triangles, schemes, and hauntings, crimes and punishments. Contemporary, historical, SciFi, and speculative tales offer an atmospheric blend of situations reminiscent of Hitchcock and The Twilight Zone with some menacing sexual chemistry added to heighten the sense of imminent peril. With lots of bad attitudes, devious acts, and some gore these authors explore themes of the gilded cage of domesticity as female captivity, grooming of children by adult predators, persecution for one's gender identity, and more. Each story is provocative. These are the standouts: “Vanitas" by A. Nox & E. Ruhe, “Chronic Chills” by H. Wilding, “Sleep" by M. Anderson, and “My Lady Bathory" by M. Burkhead.

A few stories, for example “The Flagship" engage readers with a strong premise weakened by a somewhat muddled execution that would flourish in a longer format. Minor proofing oversights in viscerally compelling tales with morbid humor in “They Want to Talk" and a lesson in karma in “Unfinished Business" and some others distract from their general excellence.

Tainted Love opens with a helpful trigger warning and closes with insightful backstory tidbits in the interview with the authors. It's the perfect read for people who enjoy moody happily-never-afters.

Perfect creepy little Valentine's read! All of the stories in this fun anthology have the theme of "love" or "love gone wrong". These are high quality stories and I recommend this book to any horror fan or someone wanting something to read for Valentine's Day that is not a cheesy romance story. This book is fun! Grab it up and enjoy!

Some of these in the anthology were much better than others, some really just didnt captivate me, but overall a decent read!!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The cover of this book is dark but eye-catching.
Some of the stories in this anthology were absolutely amazing and disturbing, but some were just... meh.
I expect that with pretty much any anthology though.

I'd definitely purchase a copy and check out other books by the author.

Wow. I have just finished this anthology and I’m blown away by the quality of the stories therein. All of the stories explore a facet of love and the horrors that come from it, with it, despite it.

I knew by the end of the second story, “Vanitas”, that I was hooked, line and sinker, no pun intended. This story is a unique twist on the sirens of legend, artfully accomplished. It was fun, haunting and horrifying in all the right ways.

Other favorites were Make a (Death) Wish and Of Guys and Dolls. Both were fun little tales with gruesome touches.

The anthology also has some very dark stories, such as Sleep and Prey, which were both as enthralling as they were disturbing.

And the very last story, My Lady Bathory, is everything you want from a reimagining of the true story of the Blood Countess.

Overall this is a must read his February, a month that celebrates love AND women in horror, much like this anthology.

Tainted Love is slated to be published February 16, 2021.

A decent enough anthology, although I will admit quite a few of the stories fell rather short for me. While I loved the idea of the anthology itself, and also love that the stories have all been written by women, a lot of the stories didn't really feel like they packed much of a punch for me; while I didn't actively dislike them, they didn't have any particular effect on me. There were a few stories that were much better than others, but also a few stories that either just seemed poorly written or at least badly in need of some editing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I dnfed after the third story. I was expecting more horror and less vague descriptions. The second story, Vanitas, had an interesting concept, with some fantastic unwilling transformation at the end, but it took a while to engaged my interest. The others were too vague and short to enjoy anything. The third especially bothered me, with repetitive writing, no idea what time period (mention of petticoats and passenger ships, but the MC also said she'd slept in her fiancé's bed?), and nothing chilling about it.

I received a free ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily...

As Valentine's Day quickly draws nigh, I found myself drawn to this collection of stories about tainted love. In the beginning, there is a long list of triggers included in the book. Please take note because this book is not for the fainthearted.

Each story was written by a female author and focused on love gone wrong. I actually enjoyed them all but my favorite was the story which stayed with me long after I read the book and that was "Vanitas" by Azzurra Nox & Erica Ruhe. The story of the sirens has always been very fascinating to me and I liked how the story was done in a setting different from where it would normally take place.

"Make A (Death) Wish" by Melissa Burkley was also another favorite. I did not expect the ending and was quite stunned by the events which unfolded. "Of Guys And Dolls" by Stella B. James was also quite enthralling.

I enjoyed this collection of tales and wouldn't mind checking out more work by each author included within this book.

Due to very disturbing content and the numerous triggers, I would suggest that this book be read by adults

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Tainted Love is an eclectic mix of horror stories, all written by women. It is definitely not a ‘feel-good’ collection, but rather explores some of the darker themes relating to love. It also looks at all sorts of relationships, from lovers to friends to family members. There is a content warning in the introduction and is definitely only suited for mature audiences.

It was a little hard for me to get into at first. I was not a fan of the opening tales, but was glad I kept reading. As the book went on, the stories just kept getting darker and more enjoyable. My favourites were Make a (Death) Wish by Melissa Burkeley and My Lady Báthory by Mandy Burkhead. I would recommend this anthology to fans of twisted horror tales.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book on NetGalley and have provided an honest review.*

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of tainted love short stories - everything from obsession, possession, chain saws, enchanted paint brushes - something for everyone. Can't wait to check out other stories by these authors.

This is an anthology collection of short romance stories. If you’re looking for light, fluffy romance look elsewhere. These are dark romances and few have happy endings.
The book comes with trigger warnings in the front matter, and with good reason. Those who are sensitive to body horror and sexual assault be warned. That’s in here. Don’t take that warning lightly because you’ll need it.
This is gothic in every sense. It’s dark, sometimes gory, and outright gut wrenching.
Overall, I enjoyed it. My favorite was the second in the collection.
I want to praise the writers for not being afraid to explore the darker side of romance. Unfortunately I had to read a few less thoroughly due to the SA and Body gore in some of the stories.
If you’re okay with these, I can recommend this anthology.
If you want something that ends on a happy note, the first story is short, and left ambiguous to readers interpretation. I quite liked that.

I received this on Netgalley and am leaving an honest review. All thoughts are my own,

Originally, I just wanted to get my hands on this book to read Erin Lee's horror contribution, Prey, but soon discovered that is not the only story I really enjoyed. I look forward to reading more by these writers.

Thank you, NetGalley for the early copy.

Tainted Love is the second Women in Horror anthology I have read and enjoyed. This short story collection has something for all tastes, from a revenge tale featuring Batman to a story with shades of Red Riding Hood. The stories have an inventive style and tend towards the macabre rather than the gory.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Tainted Love is true to it's title. True enough that I was actually a bit disappointed to find that the stories were somewhat centered on women done wrong, usually by men. I didn't find the stories scary, but some were inventive in how they interpret horror.. I'm afraid these just weren't up my alley. #TaintedLove #netgalley

Some of these stories were interesting, but none of them freaked me out, or scared me. And I actively wasn’t interested in one or two of them.