Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

It’s difficult for me to give this book an overall rating, as my ratings for each individual story within vary so widely. There were some I loved, some I felt meh about, and some that I skipped entirely after a few pages of trying. They’re all abstract unsettledness - some more than others felt no plot just vibes.

Overall, the vibes were spooky and perfect for the end of October. There are some stories I would reread and others that I’m fine letting my first read be the last.

Great book for the spooky season! Each stories takes place in a modern day with creepy and supernatural aspects. I loved trying to make sense of what the different stories represent. It was very atmospheric and immersive.

This book was so unexpected in the best way! I loved the folklore of it. This was beautiful, sad, and cozy. Perfect for spooky season.

I wanted to love this book because I thought Thistlefoot was great. However it just didn’t do it for me. The stories were very abstract and sometimes hard to follow or understand.

An unnerving, odd, delightful menagerie of stories is housed in GennaRose Nethercott's Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart. Don't expect to find a collection of retreaded fairy tales or myths with a modern twist; Nethercott has cultivated a collection of otherworldly tales all of her own.

Often the individual stories feel like an unsettling dream after waking–confusing without a clear lesson or resolution–but they'll linger in the back of your mind for days afterward. From the titular bestiary composed by overeager florists to the fortune-telling definitions which lead a group of girls to a ghastly end, the individual stories in Fifty Beasts are as memorable as they are strange.

I've read Nethercott's previous novel, a modern reexamination of the lesser-known lore of Baba Yaga in Thistlefoot. The witch with the chicken house might be familiar fairytale iconography, but not a story I was familiar with myself. To move from the altogether comfortable nature of that novel to this perplexing collection is like moving from a cottage to a lean-to in the wilderness, yet the difficulty of the stories is part of the charm.

Like dreams, there isn't one sole lesson or idea to pull from any individual story–and Nethercott's brilliant prose will make even the trickiest puzzling plot worthwhile. This book won't be for every reader who wants a homey collection of short stories for a rainy afternoon, but the strange, befuddling tales are well worth the endeavour.

From the first page of GennaRose Nethercott's Thistlefoot, I was enraptured by her writing style. When I heard about this collection, I absolutely could not wait to get my hands on it. It did not disappoint! So many of these stories are eerie and off-putting and beautiful, and I completely devoured it.

My one gripe is just that this collection feels like parts of two different collections mashed together. There are the stories that take place in complete fantasy otherworlds, and there are those that take place in our world or something very similar to it, threaded through with speculative aspects. It was a little jarring going from one to the other. This collection is also very much for a specific kind of reader: if you don't like stories with abstract plots and vague, open endings, you will not enjoy this. If you love folklore and things being left up to the reader's interpretation, pick this up immediately.

What a fun read! And the cover is so beautiful! If you love fairytales and anthologies this is honestly the perfect book for you. I happen to love both, a lot.

It’s been what one might call a tough reading month. I’ve DNFed 3 books already and I’m not sure if it’s just all the social things I have going on or if I’m just picking up the wrong kind of books but I needed a win book wise. Luckily (or unluckily) NetGalley gently reminded me of what was on my shelf and an anthology series seamed like the perfect answer to my cries.

It is incredibly hard to describe this book. Parts of it feel like Welcome to Nightvale, others like Douglas Adams has a spooky new writing style. All of these stories conjure this sense of yearning that feels like it’s gnawing at your bones. Like being at a buffet and stopping once you are full you almost wished you hadn’t but you know you’ll feel better the next day because of it. It doesn't stop you from wanting now. I am in utter adoration and my only lamentation is it doesn’t come out till next year.

I love how meaty this book is - a short story horror book set in various, anonymous American small towns, the story coaches beautiful, heartbreaking love stories in the weird and creepy. Even the title story, essentially a bestiary of fantastical creatures that Nescott has invented, has a failed love story coached into its pages. What I appreciate even more in this collection of stories is that not all of them are about romantic love - there's also familial love and platonic love that hit just as hard (if not harder) than the romantic love stories. While, of course, I didn't like all the stories equally - "Sundown at the Eternal Staircase," "A Lily is a Lily," and "Homebody" were my favorites - I think they all contributed to the unique atmosphere of this book.

I'm looking forward to the publication of this book to get my own physical copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage anchor for this opportunity to read rage and review this arc which is available February 6,2024!

A collection of dark fairytales and fractured folklore? Hell yeah!

I enjoyed every single story. They tantalizingly stroked every dark fiber of my being. They sang a song my dark twisted little heart loved and craved.

I highly recommend

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

All short story collections I've read so far have been rated with mixed feelings. Unfortunately this one is no exception.

While I really enjoyed the autumnal and creepy monster vibes, it was a little too abstract for my taste. Many stories I did not understand at all, while others had a hidden message that I liked, but if there was a message, it pretty much only popped up during the last page of the story. Before that, I felt like I was left in the dark.

Though I understand that short stories like these should animate readers to think about them (and maybe even discuss them with others), I would've highly appreciated some guidance - even if it would've been in the epilogue.

It is clear to me that Nethercott can write - my experience here won't influence my desire to read Thistlefoot negatively. I think if you're looking for fever dream like stories or if you liked "Bunny" by Mona Awad, you will have a good time. :)

For anyone interested I will list my seperate ratings for the stories here:

Sundown At The Eternal Staircase - 4 stars - really liked it, but quick ending

A Diviner's Abecedarian - 2 stars - hard to understand

The Thread Boy - 4 stars - loved the message, but also quick ending

Fox Jaw - 1 star - did not understand

The War Of Fog - 1 star - did not understand

Drowning Lessons - 3 stars - loved the writing, did not understand the ending

The Autumn Kill - 3 stars - very autumnal, was missing a deeper message

Fifty Beasts To Break Your Heart - 3 stars - oddly long, but kind of funny and inspiring

A Lily Is A Lily - 4.5 stars

Dear Henrietta - 4 stars

Possessions - 4.5 stars

Homebody - 3 stars - beautiful writing, but veeeery abstract

A Haunted Calendar - 1 star - uh, what?

The Plums At The End Of The World - no rating, cause I was tired of reading this book ;')

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

I loved everything about this. The ideas, the execution, the prose that was Gothic and literary and lush. the passages on longing and yearning were just so incredible as was the use of color in Homebody.

My favorite was Drowning Lessons for the yearning but also the Voice and how real it all felt.

The anthology opens strong with Sundown at the Eternal Staircase and it never lets up, only building further and further as it continues to express different ideas on how to express the many facets of yearning.

I want to say more but all I can really say is 'please try this anthology.'

Id best describe this collection of stories as very strange fairytales. Some stories were so abstract that I had to keep reading to know where it ended while others felt drawn out and not very fulfilling. Overall it was an interesting read but maybe too abstract at times.

Very well-written, but overall the stories were mostly just atmospheric pieces with little in the way of plots. Each story was a bit too much like all the others, with no real differences in the voices of the characters or in the actions they took. This made each story feel a bit repetitive for me, unfortunately. GennaRose Nethercott is a talented writer and I know there are readers who will appreciate this style of writing, but it's just not for me.

Thank you to Netgally and to for an advance copy in exchange for review.

Unfortunately those stories happened to be too disjointed and abstract for me to enjoy. Spoiled by Thistlefoot, I've expected to read something similar, just bitesize. Alas, weird + no plot = not my favorite combination. I like my weird reads in a whimsical but coherent state. 2 and a half stars from me

Well, this was really fucking lovely and weird.

I was initially intending to rate each of the 14 short stories that make up this book, or rank them, or give mini-reviews for each, but it didn't take me long to realize that would be a very difficult task as each story had the same dark fairytale vibes, lyrical writing, and imaginative eerieness. I think the standouts for me were A Diviner's Abecedarian, The Autumn Kill, and Homebody, but honestly, every story was wonderful in its own weird way.

GennaRose Nethercott truly has a way with words. The writing is beautiful and lush and often adds to the confusion of what is actually going on in the story itself, which is to say: the writing is like another character in each story. In just a few pages, I found myself immersed in each little bit of the world, usually with some oddity, some magic, some creature.

I've just finished this collection a few hours ago, and already want to revisit some of these stories. I think I'll be thinking about some of these for a long time to come.

I'll end by saying I'm not sure why this is releasing in February, when it has the perfect spooky and autumnal vibes, so I am especially grateful to the publisher, Vintage Anchor, and to NetGalley for the ARC for allowing me to read this to kick off my October.

Oh how my weird little heart loved this!

To be fair, I dont think this will be for everyone but for someone who thinks of themselves as an "atmosphere over plot" reader...this collection of stories was perfection! These stories are haunting and weird and a little abstract. Readers will have to be okay with allowing their imaginations to run wild and fill in some blanks. If you are someone who find beauty and freedom in that, I would certainly recommend you pick this one up!

I am not certain Nethercrott could write a shopping list that wasn't deeply atmospheric and evocative. I am here for whatever she gives us!

I enjoyed reading the variety of tones throughout the stories included in this collection. There were stories that were sinister, some that were emotion, some that were highly metaphoric. Overall, this short story collection was insightful and well-written.

From the author of the breakout fantasy novel Thistlefoot : a collection of dark fairytales and fractured folklore exploring all the ways love can save us—or go monstrously wrong.

This was, simply put, delightful. Definitely will recommend it to friends.

This collection of short stories was brilliant. I enjoyed the whole thing. This sort of magical realism and/or creepypasta-y vibes was just right. I think my favourite story was the first one in the collection, Sundown at the Eternal Staircase, It just filled me with dread and excitement at the same time.

Very interested in reading other works by Gennerose Nethercott as I feel like I really connected to her writing style.