Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, the cover of this short story is immaculate. Probably one of my favorite covers ever. Beyond that, the short story was weird, but in the best way possible. If you are drawn to stories written by Lovecraft or Poe, I think you will enjoy this short story.

This story does explore grief and the horrors that it can bring to life, so be mindful of that going in if you are sensitive to that.

This was a fun short story! Cabbage has a strong atmosphere and the imagery is creepy; definitely good if you like uneasy, dread-building horror vs. more gore and violence. I also enjoyed the artwork in between the chapters, it was creepy without being overdone and really added something instead of feeling thrown in for the sake of it.

I think my main complaint is actually that I can’t say the same for a lot of the quotes/other pieces of literature and poetry which were also added between the chapters. While I appreciated the connections to the story and its themes, I think I would have preferred for that space to have been taken up with more of the author building out the themes for himself, as well as a little more backstory. I feel like this story could gain around ten pages or even be worked into a short novella and benefit heavily from the extra length; as is, Cabbage can be read in around 30 minutes, and it left me wanting more from it.

Overall, though, this one is a fun, quick read, and I would definitely pick up another release from this author. Solid writing, solid concept, solid execution! Recommended for fans of weird horror.

I really did not enjoy this book. The dialogue felt wooden and unnatural, I didn’t feel any warmth between Thomas and Rosemary, perhaps this could be explained later in the story, but the dialogue also seemed to lack any familiarity between the characters. I also did not feel especially compelled by the plot, it felt more like a fable than horror to me. I will say that the accompanying playlist did help a little with the mood and was a nice touch that I’ve never seen before.

It's a good short story about grief, not without humor and scares. Additional points for the included art.

A very short (47 pages) novella describing the horrors of loosing a child, cancer treatment and coping with grief. Sprinkle in some body-gore and blood and you have yourself a very quick horror story. Kept me engaged, loved the artwork sprinkled in, can imagine this bound up.

Strange and fantastical, Cabbage feels like a dark fairy tale bursting with magic. An old man lovingly plants a dream garden for his ailing wife, but the garden becomes something else, something corrupted and wholly unnatural, a force of nature exposing the rot within the marriage.

Illustrations and poetry are peppered in between chapters and it kept the story moving at a fast pace. I really enjoyed the bizarre art, it was beautiful and creepy. The author also thoughtfully included a playlist to listen to while reading which was great for setting the mood. This was a wonderful folk horror piece that kept me wondering where the story could possibly go.

A horror novella of tragedy, the terrifying and the macabre. Telling the tale of Rosemary and Thomas, C.S. Fritz turns a harmless vegetable into a terrifying gift that is less than harmless. This was an interesting concept for a story that bleeds terror without the need for violence or excess gore. Cabbage had me speeding through the short story, with a sense of dread and mystery on each page. With only 56 pages, Fritz creates a creative story that is marred with a terrifying atmosphere that is a perfect read for Halloween or those who love the strange and macabre.

Thank you, NetGalley and Albatross Book Co. for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great short horror story with all the creepy and unsettling feelings while reading it.

This is about Thomas and Rosemary. Thomas is bringing a sick Rosemary home from the hospital so she can live out her remaining days in the comfort of her home. While she was in the hospital Thomas created a beautiful garden for Rosemary. On the same day he brings her home an incident happens in the garden that involves a lot of blood. Is it a miracle or is it a curse?

I was fully hooked for this entire story. The beginning reminded me a lot of The Hay Bale by Piscilla Bettis and had the same kind of horror in it. The reason this isn't a five star read is because we have a lot of questions by the end of it. Sometimes it works and makes the bad downright terrifying. However I couldn't stop asking myself the questions. What happened to Anna? What did Thomas do? How did Rosemary handle it? How long ago was all this? What is up with the horse? Even after all those unanswered questions, the ending was terrifying, in a good way.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an arc copy for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this short horror story! It has the type of horror vibes that I enjoy where it is a little bit twisted but also has some dark fairy-tale type of elements to it. I also believe that there is some social commentary that can be had about what consequences actions have as well as more philosophical questions of what is it to be alive. I would recommend this to others!

If you’re in a mood for some plant-based nightmares, here’s Cabbage. Profoundly underrated in average American diet, yet rather amusing in book form. This is a story of love, gardening, and other terrors. An easy one sitting read with excellent artwork, this was pretty entertaining. In fact, the art might have been the star of the production here for me. Kudos to the author for doing double duty and writer and artist, I didn’t realize you can do that much with cabbage. Pretty good job for a self-pub. Fun quick read. Thanks Netgalley.

This short story quickly goes from beautiful and tragic to macabre and horrifying in the best possible way. Thomas plants a garden for his dying wife, Rosemary, but the things that grow from the cabbage patch are not winning any prizes at the local fair. Quick to read, but lingering long after the final page, this novella will leave you terrified of what can be bred from the soil.

This short little story was so good. The best way I could describe it is cozy horror. The setting feels warm and welcoming but when things start to go wrong it mixing really well with the supernatural elements giving a false sense of peace. The illustrations in this book are both beautiful and disturbing, helping to add to the cozy horror vibes. Thank you to NetGally and the publisher for an ARC of this in exchange for my honest review,

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!
3 stars!

Ooo this was really creepy and really wrll described with the body horror and the garden!
I felt really bad for Thomas and I wanted to know what happened to their daughter but for a short story I really enjoyed it. Not too gruesome for those who don't like that sort of stuff, but really carried an unsettling atmosphere

This was such a creative little short story

Cabbage follows Thomas and his wife Rosemary as some chaos ensues after an incident occurs in their garden.

If you love horror that leaves you with an uneasy feeling without having to read pages of nothing but gore and violence, This is for you. I love extreme horror but it’s nice to have a story that fully relies on that uneasy feeling to spook you instead of over the top gore every once in a while and I feel like this is exactly that type of story

Overall, I really love the premise of this story I just wish the backstory hinted in this was given more time. I think that it could’ve added emotion to it (especially with the ending) . I also think some more explanation into how the incident occurred could’ve really elevated this story. Because of these things the story felt abrupt like the author had more to say

The author really does have such a unique and fun story I just wish we were given a little more

Thanks to Albatross Book Co. + Netgalley for this ARC !

I was pleasantly surprised by this short story.
I think the playlist that accompanied this was a fantastic backdrop to the story. It added to the overall ominous feeling.
I do agree that this is one of those stories that would have benefited from being slightly longer. The story alluded to a tragedy in the couple’s past and while that was likely left out to add to the mystery, it left something to be desired. Clearly the wife was resentful after all these years and a few more details would have made me understand why she choose to do what she did in the end. Overall, a solid read. Thank you NetGalley for putting this on my radar.

3.5 stars

When I saw the cover on Netgalley I knew I had to read it and it definitely met my expectations for how weird it was going to be. It certainly made me want to stay away from cabbages for a while. At only 56 pages long, the author does an amazing job at creating such a creepy atmosphere in such a short space, which was also helped by the playlist at the beginning of the story. Although this worked as a short story, I wish it would've been a bit longer to answer some of the questions that it was a bit vague about. I had worked out part of the ending but I still found it quite unsettling and I would like to read more from this author in the future.

This was a quick and wild ride. The imagery is spectacular and reminded me a little of VanderMeer’s mutant plant people - but this was much darker. There is a lot packed into this macabre short story, including impending loss, sorrow, and desperation. Very well written, I liked it a lot.

Cabbage by C.S. Fritz is a fun little twisted tale. Rosemary is reaching the end of her life, but before she sheds her mortal coil, her husband has decided to give her a final gift, the little garden she always dreamed of having. An odd accident reveals the garden to be magic, but the gifts it gives aren’t harmless, and Rosemary has secretly been harboring anger and resentment and now it’s about to come out. 3.5 stars. Thanks so much to Albatross Book Co. and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read and review an ARC of Cabbage.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cabbage-cs-fritz/1144215377?ean=9781959153108&bvnotificationId=76ff6694-ced1-11ee-acf5-0eccd1a3084f&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/272006516

The Q code directing you to the author’s playlist at the beginning is a fun idea, however that was really all I liked.

The writing itself seemed juvenile and the characters weren’t really fleshed out, even for a short story. The husband laments at one point that he’s disappointed about the “life they could have had” when they were married for 53 years. It wasn’t like his wife was ill that entire time and to completely disregard her feelings over dying to focus on his disappointment in her getting cancer is gross. If it was supposed to make us feel empathetic towards him, it failed. Complaining about things not going your way when the supposed love of your life is dying comes across incredibly selfish and tone deaf, and that alone put me off the story.

There’s too much repetition happening in regard to the characters reactions; three times mouths were cupped. Then we have the Greek mythology metaphors (“A mystical warning from the throat of the barn, like the sound of a minotaur hiding from the light.”) which not only seemed out of place and unnecessary, but amateurish as well.

There’s weird religious undertones throughout yet near the end Rosemary says something about the gods which doesn’t really track with things she’s previously said. Then Rosemary is randomly standing and walking at one point which doesn’t seem to strike her husband as odd. Since ambulatory wheelchair users exist it’s not an issue, except that it’s made to seem like she’s not merely dependent upon the wheelchair but is confined to it due to the cancer. There’s inconsistencies which should have been addressed during editing.

The interspersing of poetry, quotations or illustrations is wonderful when it’s not every few pages. Cabbage contains 37.5 pages of story, and 19 pages of
other people’s words and illustrations, which is entirely too much.

Based on the premise, Cabbage should be creepy if not outright scary, but it’s not. It’s not even laughable in a camp way, it’s just cringeworthy and poorly written.
1 star

A solid horror short story centered around an older couple, grief, and their haunted past..

Thomas' wife is dying; his last gift to her is a garden blooming with all her favorite flowers and vegetables. After taking Rosemary's blood for a test, Thomas accidentally spills it over the cabbage patch. The next day, the cabbage produces a stew from the past from it's leaves. The day after that, something stranger.

This short story had great imagery and a unique concept-- garden horror is cool as fuck. However, the writing could have been a bit tighter, and. I wish more of the past was revealed. The dialogue felt a bit stilted, as well. Overall, this was a fun and quick read. The strongest parts of this short story reminded me of a A24 film in the best way.

Big thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a review copy for an honest review.