thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and yah-yah scholfield for the advanced reader copy of "just a little snack". this book is a collection of queer gothic short story collection that is marketed as ideal for fans of "her body and other parties". i love short story collections, and prior to looking at this title, i had never heard of scholfield before, so i was eager to dive into this work of theirs. scholfield did a superb job at establishing a spooky, gothic atmosphere, but what dampened my reading experience was the fact that many of the tales ended too ambiguously for my taste.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Even though the first story of this book, Just a Little Snack, got my attention, I didn't find it dark/scary enough, so it left a bad taste in my mouth and I had a hard time finishing the book. As mentioned by other reviewers, I too felt like some stories ended abruptly/ambiguously and as a result I was let down a bit. There were some interesting ideas and topics that were explored in each story, and some stories were better than others, but ultimately I didn't exactly love the time I spent with the book. It's not a bad book by any means, but it just didn't really click with me the way I thought it would. I would still recommend it, though, to horror fans as other people might enjoy it more than me. I'm rating 4/5 but it's more like 3,5/5 to me.

Usually with short story anthologies, I end up really liking some, really disliking others, and being indifferent about the rest. In this case, I think the problem was that this author's writing just doesn't work for me, for whatever reason. Some of the stories caught my interest at the beginning, but lost my interest pretty quickly. However, I will say this was the last book I read in October, with all of the other books I read that month also being horror, so it's entirely possible that I was just burned out with that genre. I didn't necessarily dislike the stories in this anthology, but none of them were able to capture my attention.

A collection of horror short stories, from pregnancy cravings, over changelings and witches to werewolves, there's a little bit of everything in here.

Every single one of these shortstories was interesting, every single one had something new, something I honestly had never read or seen like this before, even though a lot of them use tropes of creatures that are quite common within the genre. There were so many stories where I would have loved to have more, know what happens after, or what happened before.
All in all, a very enjoyable book, even if the gorey and at times disgusting description made you squirm. After all, that's sort of exactly what you're looking for in a horror book.

A pregnant woman is devoured by an unsettling hunger. A man is buried alive, punished for a crime that is none. A boy goes missing, and he returns, changed.

A really great short story collection! Some of the stories grabbed me more than others, but I overall enjoyed the collection.

A book of short stories that were eerie, horrific, and some were downright chilling. This was my first time ever reading Yah Yah Scholfield, and now I’m going to buy their novel they previously wrote. Stories about weird pregnancy cravings, changelings and murder were told top tier. Each story is so different and will just bring out all kind of emotions. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! #netgalley #justalittlesnack

I really enjoyed each of these stories. I thought they were all very different from one another but each had an interesting theme. I only take off a star because a few were slightly confusing when first getting into it.

I want to thank Netgalley for an advanced ARC and also say all opinions in this review are my own .

This was one of the 1st Arcs I asked for and was happy to be given a chance to read this new book coming out next year.

In the 9 short s tories we read in this novel there was a mixed selection and afew I really liked, out of the 9 short stories 5 I really enjoyed and the others where OK but a little too short for me to feel like I got the theme for them exactly. But with each story I appreciated the writing style and the topics at hand, with the stories I especially liked I grow a liking for the characters and could imagine myself in the situations watching it play out.

If u like Horror and stories that are straight to the point but also beautifully written then I suggest these - but every story may not be to everyone's cup of tea bit that's the joy of short stories.

Just A Little Snack by Yah-Yah Scholfield is distinctive collection of short stories that are unsettling, engrossing and even heart-wrenching.

The stories are told from different perspectives and focus upon various topics: a pregnant woman deals with an all-consuming hunger, a young woman suffers with lingering guilt due to the choices she made as a teenager and a mother contends with the return of a missing child who she knows in her heart is not her own.

There are some stories that felt as though they ended too quickly, such as Suddenly I See and Ain’t No Grave and others that stuck with me, such as What Dinah Knew and Niecey’s Garden. Even when depicting horrific situations: what becomes of a child who is lured into the woods, how a young woman changes following an attack, the writing is enthralling and immersive.

The pain of isolation from those around you, unresolved guilt, mistakes that can never be undone, the belief that you don’t belong are all feelings that most people can relate to even if werewolves and other monsters aren’t present.

Readers should be aware that there are depictions that they may find triggering: misogyny, murder, child abuse, racism, homophobia, religious trauma and suicide are all touched upon within the collection.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nyx Publishing and Yah-Yah Scholfield for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my opinion.

Thanks to netgalley and nyx publishers for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review. Well tbvh, I think that people would really love this but it's just not my cup of tea..... For me it was very hard to read an I wasn't even able to get through at least the first half of the book.....

Just A Little Snack is a collection of short stories that are fast-paced, raw, and incredibly engaging. I love reading short stories that are just a little unsettling, and this book was exactly what I have been looking for. each story was impossible to put down, even as they gave me the feeling that something was just around the corner, raising the hair on the back of my neck. These stories are not horror in the vein of jump scares and outright fear, but more in the vein of making you look over your shoulder and be just a bit suspicious of your neighbor. These stories also use the medium well to comment on various important topics such as feminism, trauma, and isolation in a very poignant way. Many had ambiguous endings that left me thinking. My one biggest critique is that this ARC had many typos that I hope will be edited in the final version. Overall though, I truly enjoyed these stories and will be looking for more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel. Short story collections are one of my favorite things to read, and this author absolutely blew me away. Every story was engaging, I didn't want to put the book down until I was finished. The author made everything super descriptive without it being too overwhelming, and all of the stories blended seamlessly together. I will definitely be purchasing a copy of this book and would 10/10 recommend it to anyone who likes creepy stories that make you think and feel deep emotions.

Posted on GoodReads:

4.25/5

This is the first time I'm reading Yah-Yah and I have to say, I'm looking forward to reading her other works. This book of short stories flowed nicely and very well written. Each story gave me a sense of discomfort or spine chill that I look for reading any type of horror.

The stories: You have a pregnant woman who has strange cravings. (This was my favorite. ) A murderer who experiences the other side. A strained friendship after a prom outing goes wrong. A single woman who decides to become one with her garden. A mother whose son goes missing and when he comes back, well, I guess he's back. A young girl being taught how to tell herbs via sight. A queer man is punished for his actions. A young woman experiences religious rapture. And a girl walks home alone and experiences being washed followed by...

All stories has a unique twist. Though there was one or two that weren't very fulfilling, most, I feel were strong. Writing short stories is no easy feat and it takes talent to give a full stories in such few words and I believe Yah-Yah did this quite well. I look forward to reading her other work.

Thanks to net galley, nyx publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this gem. Best of luck on release day.

This is a collection of short horror stories exploring various themes including feminism, isolation, religion, and death. Even though this book is labelled as horror, I personally didn't find the stories to be very horrifying? I typically expect a certain amount of gore, or just scary shit, which some of the stories delivered, and some just kind of didn't. Which, I mean, is really just my personal taste, but I found that I appreciated this collection more when approaching it as lit fic. Overall, I found most of the stories to be rather interesting peeks into different characters' lives, and I liked how every story in this collection offers something completely different and unique from each other, in terms of the variety of themes and plots.
The largest drawback for me is the length of the stories. I know this is a short story collection, but these stories felt extra short somehow? I feel like each story gives you a taste of the world it offers, and right when you want more, it ends. Although this might just be me, because I don't usually go for short stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yah Yah Scholfield for the opportunity to read this ARC

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A pregnant woman is devoured by an unsettling hunger. A man is buried alive, punished for a crime that is none. A boy goes missing, and he returns, changed.

Review:
I really really enjoyed this book. I really couldn’t put it down because I wanted to know what happened next or what twist was coming. I can honestly say this is now one of my top 10 reads of 2023. I can’t wait to read more for Scholfield!

3.5 stars rounded to 4. There have been so many good horror short story collections in 2023, it's really hard to find one that really stands out so late in the year. 'Just a Little Snack' contains some stories which do manage to reach above most, but overall I felt a bit let down. The premises are original ("Just a Little Snack," "Something Got a Hold On Me," "A Girl Walks Alone"") and the ideas sometimes incredible ("Niecey’s Garden"), but why keep some stories so short? and why not pick simply the best and discard the rest? I mean those with entirely ambiguous endings, without resolution, without ending properly. Those just made me go find a different collection, hungry for proper stories.

A book of short stories that were eerie, horrific, and some were downright chilling.

What Dinah Knew was by far my absolute favorite that sent chills down my spine. Maybe it’s because I’m a parent myself and the thought of this happening is absolutely terrifying, but, nonetheless, it chilled me to my core.

I loved the writing, and how even though it was short stories, it still was very detailed and immersive. The stories all flowed extremely well.

I definitely loved how every story was different, and had a different type of ending. Some happy, some not so happy.

This was my first time ever reading Yah Yah Scholfield, and now I’m going to buy her novel she previously wrote.

**I would like to thank Netgalley, the author, & Nyx Publishing for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book. All thoughts here are my own.**

Brilliantly tragic. A collection of short stories that capture the nuance of human experience. They will horrify, depress, and may even inspire you. My favorite story is Niecey’s Garden. Human life, even in death, can be beautiful. Fans of The Salt Grows Heavy and Mary: An Awakening of Terror will love this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Nyx Publishing for this ARC.

3 stars

I love the title of this one. It fits perfectly. Now as with all short story collections you have winners and a few you dont love so much. I enjoyed the writing for the most part, I will say that I was left with some unanswered questions at the end of some of these, which was rather frustrating.
Some were just plain flat out good though, I found myself wishing they were longer.
Overall, it’s a fairly solid collection.

I’ll look forward to seeing more my this author.