A varied collection of lyrical prose and poetry, focusing mainly on female perspectives and body horror. Some work was outstanding, others not so much and overall it was hard to maintain interest when the quality of the work varied so much.

Under her skin by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller.
Edited by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller, Under Her Skin celebrates women in horror from cover to cover. In addition to poems contributed by seventy poets, the collection also features a foreword penned by Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA) Grand Master and recipient of the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, Linda D. Addison; interior illustrations by Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association Grand Master and recipient of the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award Marge Simon; and cover art by noted horror artist Lynne Hansen.
A very powerful read. 4*.

This is a body horror poetry collection written by various femme presenting authors.

The poetry in here was good and stuck well with the theme. I prefer poetry that tells an overarching story but it isn't fair to judge an anthology of multiple authors based on that.

Recommend for anyone who likes dark poetry and might be looking for a new author to fall in love with

Firstly I have to admit that I thought this anthology was going to be about all types of horror from a woman's (cis, trans and non- binary femmes) perspective so wasn't really expecting only body horror either self inflicted or by others. It's definitely an anthology to dip in and out of as it's so dark and depressing. The poems obviously contain deeply held hurt and anger and some writers were better at expressing this than others. Also it seemed a shame for those authors nearer the end of the book as I felt themes and imagery became a little repetitive at times
thank you to netgalley and black spot books for an advance copy of this book.

Not quite what I was expecting, but this is certainly a very powerful and thought provoking poetry collection. And a darn fantastic cover! 3.5 stars

A darkly beautiful and haunting series of poems and prose pieces from women in horror, covering themes including the body, beauty, pain, addiction, madness and loss. A really powerful collection that will stay with you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Although poetry is not for me, I love horror and Lynne is a big favourite of mine in everything that she does, and that includes the cover and so I wanted to give it a go.

Poetry is still not for me, unfortunately, however, I did find each poem very well written, and I would recommend it to anyone that loves horror and poetry together, as I think you will likely enjoy Under Her Skin.

I’ve learned in the last year or so that horror really is one of my favorite genres, even if I don’t always have the chance to read it as often as I’d like. Having said that, you can probably guess how excited I was to pick up this anthology!!! (And, spoiler alert, it did not disappoint).

I will begin by stating the obvious, what a GORGEOUS cover! Also, if the cover was not enough to get me to pick up this anthology (because we all know that I love to judge a book by its cover), I loved the fact that it was written by women (both cis and trans) and non-binary femmes in horror!

As a poetry anthology, “Under Her Skin” is both beautiful, haunting, and even gruesome at times. Each unique poem featured in this anthology explores the horror inflicted upon a woman’s body or femme-presenting body in today’s world. Recently, I have been especially drawn to stories that feature body horror, and it was quite interesting to see how different authors approach body horror in different ways.

Overall, I loved this anthology! It features unique poems, written by diverse voices, in all various writing styles. Of course, as it is true with most poetry anthologies, I didn’t connect to every single poem in the same way. While I understand that this anthology might not be for everyone, I would totally recommend it to anyone who is somewhat intrigued by it.

Thank you to @netgalley and @blackspotbooks for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an incredible collection of horror poetry. I can't even say which were my favorite, because each poem brought something so horrifying and beautiful to this anthology. Definitely going to be a collection I'll want to re-read for years to come.

If you appreciate women, nonbinary, and queer individuals dissecting the myriad ways society seeks to control the femme identifying self, this collection is for you. These poems are sharp, dark, bloody, and will instantly grip your mind.
What a powerful collections of poems and even though this is a horror collection, it leaves such an impression on the reader. Each poet has uniquely and unequivocally captured all the horrors placed upon the femme presenting body. They trace the cuts, bruises, taunts, violence, and intent that society foists upon us, women and women-identifying, queer, straight, and nonbinary. All that prevent existing.
All of us have felt the pressures to be perfect as the patriarchy demands, totally ignoring what already makes us perfect, our assymetries, voice, and expression of self. What these poems conjure is a clarion call; a call to let us know that each contributor knows and has experienced it as well, and that they have rejected all that aims at corralling us, with poems that show how broad a spectrum body horror can be and all the ways in which we fight.

Under Her Skin by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller (editors)
Expected Publication date: April 5, 2022

Date read: March 12, 2022



Black Spot Books presents its inaugural Poetry Showcase, featuring the best in never-before-published dark verse and lyrical prose from the voices of Women in Horror. This collection centers on the concept of body horror, specifically focused on the female body.

When I first started this collection, I questioned the use of the term "body horror" in the synopses, as most of the poems were more about how the female body is treated, and tended to be a bit gory and raw, but not really "body horror". More about body dysmorphia or body image. But as the collection continued, there was definitely more body horror to be found.

Despite a fair amount of gore and queasy content, this collection is overall very beautiful. I don't read a lot of poetry, but I really liked this collection and the way that these authors find a way to be both beautiful and disturbing with so little word count.

This collection isn't exactly what I was expecting, as I was anticipating more scary content (with the horror genre) than disturbing/gory content, and there really wasn't anything scary in the collection. But I think that was more my naive interpretation of "horror poetry" than anything negative against this collection.

Overall, I really liked this book. It's a quick read, but there were a lot of poems that really stuck with me (whether for the beauty of the words or for the disturbing feeling left by them). I can't wait to read more collections from this group in the years to come.

Favorite poems:

Harm by Emily Ruth Verona

Winnow by Tiffany Michelle Brown

Lilies Left for Mom by Brianna Malotke

The Carrion Flowers by Morgan Sylvia



Rating: 4/5 stars

Trigger warning: body horror, violence, gore, body dysmorphia, rape

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

This was a hard read for me. It's advertised as a collection of horror themed poems written by women, which is what got my attention from the start. I'm not the biggest fan of poetry but I love horror and believe woman who write horror don't get their fair share of attention.

But, as I've said in other reviews, not everyone has the same definition of horror. I expected poems of murder, mayhem, and monsters but what I got was the pain and horror of how some women see themselves and their bodies.
It hurts to read these poems. To think anyone would be made to feel that much hatred and despair because of wrinkles or being heavy or going gray. Its heartbreaking.

Thanks to @netgalley, Black Spot Books, and the editors; Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This collection is a bit different than what I was expecting. It definitely has body horror, and there's some straight-up creepy stuff, but for the most part, this is social horror - the horrors of abusive partners, of being judged on appearance, the ways women hurt themselves in order to be accepted. I admit, I was looking for spooky tales of ghosts and witches and things that go bump in the night, but the horrors found here are certainly valid and horrific. As with any collection featuring numerous authors, some poems were hits and some were misses for me; YMMV. The themes and imagery got a bit repetitive at times, and the poems started blending together, so the reader might want to read this collection a few poems at a time, rather than in one shot like I did. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

#UnderHerSkin #NetGalley

In principle, this sounds like a perfect read for me: an anthology of poetry by women in horror, exploring their experiences of gender and identity. It’s possible my own high expectations contributed to my ultimate lukewarm response, but sadly I felt there was little here to push the boundaries of either horror or feminist writing.

I definitely appreciate how inclusive the project is, with cis, trans, and non-binary femmes representing various facets of womanhood. While there are some definite gems peppered throughout (I particularly admire pieces that focus on the horror women often inflict upon their own bodies as a result of societal pressures), I never felt particularly inspired to seek out more work from any of the featured writers. Beyond that, most of the pieces blur together somewhat due to repetition in tone and imagery. It feels cohesive as a collection of works in that respect, but lacking in dynamism.

I love what the book wants to achieve, and there are certainly glimmers of success on that front, but sadly the selection feels too bloated and one-note in its perspective and approach.

Thank you to the publisher for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“My shadow loved all of this, the true beauty beneath the thin, overworked outer layer of ectodermal tissue, because in the end, we were never the Final Girl. We are the Witch, the Myth, the giver of Life, feared.”—Linda D. Addison, award-winning author, HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and SFPA Grand Master

Addison’s fantastic forward sets the tone for the poems, which show the horror that is part and parcel of the feminine experience, as does the interior illustrations and Lynn Hansen’s stunning cover.

The poems explore the body’s exterior, its ooey gooey interior, and the associated physical and mental pain inflicted upon by the world.

I particularly liked the nods to mythology and the paranormal as well as the unflinching depictions of bodily horrors.

While each piece is powerful in its own way, my favorites are as follows:

“Beautiful” by L. Marie Wood
“Snakeskin” by Stephanie M. Wytovich
“When the Witches Came Out of Us” by Donna Lynch
“Proserpine” by Antonia Rachel Ward
“To Bloom in Blood” by Sara Tantlinger
“Shredded Alterations” by Sara Tantlinger
“My Body, My Book” by Carina Bissett
“Pieces” by Annie Neugebauer
“Conception” by EV Knight
“Shed” by Vivian Kasley
“Danse de la Mort” by R. J. Joseph
“Medusa in Face and Form” by Cordelia Harrison
“Trapped” by Kerri-Leigh Grady

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Black Spot Books for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

Under Her Skin is a horror poetry collection focusing on the society's beauty standards for women. Overall the poems were quite beautiful, macabre and visceral, however at times forced or difficult to interpret. I would definitely read this collection again to try to gain new insight, however, I didn't love most of the poems on the first read through.

sometimes a book just isn't your thing, and that's how I felt on reading Under Her Skin, which was on the whole disappointing despite a handful of strong poems, such as "With Blood" by Jennifer Crow or "Harm" by Emily Ruth Verona. I don't expect poetry or story collections to fully wow me; I'm typically quite pleased if I can say 3/4s had a positive impact, pleased if it's half. I didn't achieve even that with this collection though and struggled to finish it to be honest. Issues I had were: very few of the poems seemed to bring anything new to the table, very few were startling (something I always look for in poetry) due to language or image or metaphor or structure. Many, actually I'd say most, were just way too overt/direct for my own personal preference, and as a collection, it all felt a bit one-note, with repetitive themes, scenes, language, and images. I will note two caveats to this poor review: one is the usual poetry caveat that poetry probably the most subjective of any writing in terms of audience response so one's mileage may vary, especially if one likes straightforward poetry and language. The other caveat is I'm coming from a male perspective, and so almost assuredly don't feel the same weight of these poems' themes.

Truly moving, powerful, eerie, monstrous feelings move through most of the stories. Favorites include works by Nico Bell, Cassondra Windwalker, Donna Lynch, and many others.

Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The description of this book led me to believe that this would be a horror poetry book….it’s not. It’s a whole lot of poems talking about the horror in society’s expectations and the horror of life as a woman. That’s my take on it anyway and that was a bummer :( anyway now that the clarification is out of the way, the review:

The book had lovely illustrations, fitting perfectly near the poems they’re placed in and would catch my eye for a few seconds and allow me to guess what poem to expect. I had really high expectations starting this anthology, a breath of fresh air with women’s poems, but was slightly disappointed almost 25% in. The poems are good, but when they’re saying the same thing over and over again it doesn’t matter how good they are, they end up feeling redundant.

I rated most of the poems here 3 and 4 stars while some got 5 stars, those are the ones I ended up bookmarking to come back to later.

Some of my faves from the collection:
- “We” by Morgan Sylvia, she incorporated horror references so well in this and I loved her lines “we brought the things you asked for/ The skulls filled with memories, the severed arms heavy with violence/ The bones full of pain/ But it was never enough”. Her poem was also quite delicious on the tongue with its flow and rhythm, so definitely worth the 5

- “Beautiful” by L. Marie Wood who had such an impactful piece, I wish I could post the whole thing here, but alas that wouldn’t be allowed.

- “Metamorphosis” by Caitlin Marceau.This was heartbreaking to read, because of how relatable it is to every woman, when everyone has a say on your body, from the men you pass on the streets with their stares that speak volumes, to the magazines telling you what body you need to have and why yours is not the ideal one. She brought out this battle so well with her words.

- “Snakeskin” by Stephanie M. Wytovich whose poem felt freshly unique and vividly intriguing.

- “These men are all one monster” by Cassondra Windwalker. Reminds me of “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. This had such beautiful mastery of language, a pleasure to read and visualise.
- “Shredded Alterations” by Sara Tantlinger whose poem on change had so much depth and meaning.

Others that deserve an Honorable Mention:
- “Outside In” by Dalena Storm
- “Zombification” by Roni Stinger,
- “I carry” by Maureen O’Leary
- “Pieces” by Annie Neugebauer
- “Danse De La Mort” by R. J. Joseph
- “The Carrion Flowers” by Morgan Sylvia, and many more, even the ones which I rated 3 and 4 were pretty good too, while the ones I gave 2 were a handful of them at most.

Overall I’d give this book a 3.5/5, because out of 88, most had 3 and 4 stars, but because the description misled me, I’m gonna remove a .5 and rate it a solid 3. It’s an interesting collection, just wish it had a bigger range in terms of content. If you plan on reading this then please be aware that there might be some triggers like implied ED, self harm, suicide, abuse, death etc.

Happy reading :)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for accepting me for this arc

this poetry was beautiful and powerful but some of the poems could be triggering to many so there should be some content warnings. i think many would be moved by the words written