Member Reviews
Loved this anthology. As with any anthology some of the stories were better than others. But over all it was a good sampler of the different authors. My fave was loreth Anne whites short story
This one was 50/50 for me. Half the stories I loved, the other half I almost wish I hadn't read. Overall a fun concept and I love how the "never tell" concept was portrayed in each story.
Never Tell is a short story collection by authors most of us know and love. I love Constantine's writing so my favorite short story in the collection was Everywhere You Look by Liv Constantine. I have been really into anthologies so this was right on time. Whether you want to enjoy something new from your favorite author or find a new voice in fiction, this is the collection for you.
In this short story collection, there are six books by well-known authors. It is a great way to read a short story from a favorite author and experience/find new authors to love. My favorite story and author from this collection was Everywhere You Look by Liv Constantine. I just love her writing style and always look forward to anything she writes. My favorite from a new to me author was The Ghost Writer by Loreth Anne White. However, all of these were interesting and a great way to spend time. I'm really enjoying these collections from Amazon!
"Never Tell" is a great collection of short stories form a range of female authors. Each one centers on the disclosure or revelation of a secret, all of which have major implications for the lives of the protagonists. The stories all felt appropriate for shorter or novelette length, highly engaging and ending right when they needed to. Although I'm familiar with a few of the authors, the story served as a good introduction to their styles and I look forward to reading more of their works in the future.
4.5★s
Everywhere You Look is a short story in the Never Tell Collection by Liv Constantine. At twenty-eight, Jade Grey has been mourning the loss of her father for ten years and now, with the betrayal of the man she’d hoped to marry, is ready to end her life. But, as she honours the filial tradition of a dinner in New York before she ends her life, she catches a glimpse of the impossible: her father, outside the restaurant. Have the last ten years been a lie? No matter how much friends and family try to convince her she must be mistaken, Jade is determined to find out the truth. Short but packed with intrigue. 5stars
The Ghost Writer is a short story in the Never Tell Collection by Loreth Anne White. Being not long widowed by a traumatic incident is only one reason that true crime writer, Grace Logan could reject her editor’s recommendation to travel to The Overlook on Claudia Blackwood’s private island to ghost-write the woman’s memoir. Another might be that the previous ghostwriter fell to her death off the cliff. As a teen, Blackwood was implicated but never found guilty of the murder of two teens and a minor. Against her better judgement, Grace accepts the invitation on the promise that Blackwood will reveal new information about the killings. A gothic thriller with a clever twist that might have an unreliable narrator. 4 stars
The Other Side of the Road is a short story in the Never Tell Collection by Andrea Bartz. Newly-wed and expecting, Kelsey and Lauren quit Brooklyn after a long search to move into their dream house in Krumville. The only flies in the ointment are the extremely nosy neighbours opposite, and finding out that the previous owner died after a disagreement with the creepy husband of that couple. While Kelsey is away for work, Lauren finds some disturbing items that have her worried for her safety. .. Cleverly plotted with a truly nasty twist. 5 stars
Scorpions is a short story in the Never Tell Collection by Rachel Howzell Hall. Once she had ahead of her a promising career as a rocket scientist; now, at twenty-five, a series of unfortunate incidents and vital things overlooked, and Francesca is an ex-con caring for eighty-seven-year-old obnoxious Ruben Mayer. Who turns out to be Victor Rangel, the only survivor of an armoured car heist. And when he dies, because “of all the people I hated, I hated you the least”, he gives her the directions to the loot, hidden in a mine shaft in Death Valley, where the most common lifeform is scorpions. But Frankie’s not the only one who knows about the stash… Classic Howzell Hall. 5 stars
Jackrabbit Skin is a short story in the Never Tell Collection by Ivy Pochoda. When skin artist Swan splits from her husband Paul, she quits LA, homeless and almost broke, and heads for the desert, where her friends have offered the use of a container in the tightly-bound community of Miracle Wash. The locals might be friendly, eventually. The house opposite was burnt down, but that probably was a one off? The neighbour who hangs out there is snarky, but maybe there’s a reason? Her sketches attract a customer wanting a tattoo, but that garners the disapproval of the community. Why? A well-plotted tale with an excellent, if chilling, twist. 5 stars
The Bad Friend is a short story in the Never Tell Collection by Caroline Kepnes. Pregnant and engaged to the good, kind Troy (who doesn’t excite her), Ellen and her fiancé are at a restaurant waiting for her best friend Tanya (late as usual) and her latest (probably another loser) boyfriend. A tall, gorgeous, blue-eyed man catches her eye. He winks. She stares. Is he flirting with her? It’s a shock when this is the guy Tanya brings to meet them. Ross Tate continues the looks, winks. But Ellen is engaged, and her baby girl will be someone she can love, someone who will love her. Fast forward a few years, Ellen has lost contact with Tanya, her boredom leads to divorce from Troy and, a few years on, a hook-up with guess who! But is this a good idea? A second-person narrative in which the protagonist isn’t very likeable, and maybe gets what she deserves? A jaw-dropping twist. 4 stars
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
I really enjoyed this short stories collection! They were all super twisty and full of secrets, I loved how all were intriguing and addictive!
ARC provided off NetGalley for Never Tell Collection
#1 Honestly, I expected a better twist? The ending was too light for me given my expectations from The Last Mrs Parrish. Enjoyed otherwise!
#2 Loved this twist! Short and atmospheric with a great ending
#3 This collection keeps getting better and better!! Loved this one, houses in the woods with big windows always give me the creeps
#4 The story here was good and I enjoyed the main character's voice but after the last two it was slightly more lacklustre of a story in terms of thrillers.
#5 I really enjoyed this one, the meandering, the desert, the characters were all too real which is frightening. This author was one of the few in the collection I'd not read any novels from but I will be adding them to my tbr!
#6 This was a dark one to end the series, everyone deeply unlikable and also in the end a bit mundane.
1- EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK was very engaging, I only wish it had been longer.
2-THE GHOST WRITER was my favorite! I loved the Gothic vibes and the twist - Excellent!!
3-THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD was my second favorite of the collection.
It definitely has the potential for a full length novel.
4-SCORPIONS was an entertaining, twisty read that I enjoyed.
5-JACKRABBIT SKIN was odd and a bit puzzling and did not suck me in.
6-THE BAD FRIEND was my least favorite of the bunch.
I was not a fan of the odd second person POV.
Six novellas written by six of my favorite authors. I was anticipating to be blown away, and I was. Their talents know no bounds. These books were eerie, twisty, shocking, an very fast-paced! I hope this isn't the last time readers are graced with something this incredible.
(I will be individually reviewing all novella on my Instagram platform soon)
I enjoyed this anthology of six novellas from six thriller authors I have always enjoyed reading books from. Liv Constantine and Caroline Kepnes were my favorite.
I liked the idea of a book of short stories, but after I got into it, I realized that is not my preferred reading style. The themes were similar so I think once I got further in, they seemed to run together a bit. i will stick to novels.
#1
I wasn't expecting this to go where it did, but I'm glad it did. Without spoilers, I don't see many mysteries take this turn, and I'm glad I read this one.
The first book in this new Amazon collection and it set up the rest of the rest of the time to have high expectations! I didn't know until opening the collection that Caroline Keepnes is in this lineup, too. Cannot wait for that one.
Thank you, NetGalley and the Amazon publishers, for early access to this new Amazon Orginal Collection out March 19th on Prime Reading
#2
This short story kinda does the thing I usually hate in mysteries where the beginning and ending feel unrelated and as if I had to point in reading the beginning. But this one was thoroughly entertaining, and the ending does fully connect once you read the end. One of those, once you finish, you can re-read the same words from a new perspective and go, "OH MY GOD HOW DIDN'T I KNOW."
Thank you, NetGalley and the Amazon publishers, for early access to this new Amazon Orginal Collection out March 19th on Prime Reading.
#3
Gasped at the twist of this one. The setup and lead-up are quite good. I just don't like the time jumps. I feel like it had been a little longer than 31 pages, but it's still a short story there that could've been more anxious and anticipated. The ending is quite lacklustre, too. You hit the climax, and it just ends.
I will say it was a 5-star, and then as I started to think about it as a review, it dropped. Emotional, it's really good, and I sped through it. But critically, it falls.
Thank you, NetGalley and the Amazon publishers for early access to this new Amazon Orginal Collection out March 19th on Prime Reading.
Excellent collection. I definitely did not want to TELL. I love mystery/thriller titles and this one did not disappoint! Definitely a 5 star read!!!!! So many things keep this read exciting and kept my attention. I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. Definitely recommend!
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC of these!
I wasn't particularly impressed with these thrillers. As someone who doesn't read a lot of the genre, I tend to be easily surprised by twists still, and I think I saw almost every single one in here coming.
All of these were excellent short stories. Thank you NetGalley for the arc. Loreth Anne White and Liv Constantine are two of my favorite authors. You can never go wrong with any of them. Reading the others just gave me new authors to check out.
Never Tell is a great collection of short stories to pass those little bits of time we have here and there throughout the day, like waiting at the doctor's office, in the car pickup line at school, a slow day at work, relaxing before bed, etc.
What impressed me about all of these stories was how they each built interesting characters in a short story.
I've read some of these authors before; Liv Constantine, for instance, is a favorite of mine. Their story, Everywhere You Look, did not disappoint. I always enjoy their twists and turns.
Loreth Anne White was a new-to-me author, and I enjoyed the atmosphere in The Ghost Writer. I'll definitely seek out more of her work.
Jackrabbit Skin and Scorpions are both set in the west, which is not something I would have thought to seek out, but I enjoyed them both and I'm glad I read them. I liked that the main character in Jackrabbit Skin was a tattoo artist. It added a very interesting dimension to the story.
The Other Side of the Road had some good twists and turns. The main characters are lesbians, so I'd recommend that story to people who enjoy LGBT characters.
The Bad Friend was told in second person POV, which didn't really work for me.
Overall, it's a good collection that delves into the darkness and deception of human nature.
Everywhere You Look - Liv Constantine (2.5 Stars)
Everywhere You Look had interesting moments but there were also boring moments. It was an ok read for me. I didn't really care for the main character but I wanted to see where it was going so I kept reading. I wasn't a fan of this story.
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Originals stories for an eARC of this collection.
Overall I don't feel like this collections was all that cohesive. I think Everywhere You Look, The Ghost Writer, The Other Side of the Road and Jackrabbit Skin easily makes since together, but not Scorpion and The Bad Friend, Both of those stick out as outliers was too much in the collection.
Everywhere You Look - 4 stars
This was pretty entertaining, and captivating. I was not necessarily expecting this book to go where it did, but I was pleasantly surprised by the indepthness of it.
The Ghost Writer- 4 stars
I adored and enjoyed this book. I did not see any of twist and turns of this book. I enjoyed all of the characters, and thought it was both captivating and a compulsive read.
The Other Side of the Road - 3 stars
The ending of this threw me off so much, like SO MUCH. I was all on board with this book for the majority of the book, but the last couple of pages threw me off so much. The twist would have sat so much better with me if the MC wouldn't have just been like 100% okay with it. Her just being SO on board with it really threw me out of the story, and I found myself liking it a whole lot less because of it
Scorpions- 2 stars
I honesty don't really understand the point of this book, and I'm not saying that in a bad way. I do and have enjoyed books where there isnt really a point to the book besides good writings and good characters. but this book felt so odd and out of place with in this collection.
Jackrabbit Skin- 4 stars
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It felt very genuine to me. I like the twist and enjoyed the characters especially the main two characters. This felt like a thriller unlike some of the others in this collections. I think it was well written, I always enjoy it when the grief feels real and genuine in a book and it very much did in this
The Bad Friend- 1 star
This was definitely not a me book. I very much did not enjoy it. I don't love 2nd perspective, especially in a case where the mc makes me feel so icky. Please check trigger warnings if you read this. This book was not at all what I expected it to be.
EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK was an engaging read, but given the subject matter, it was a little much for a short read. I wish it had been longer.
THE BAD FRIEND was my least favorite of the collection because of the odd second person narration that was much too reminiscent of YOU. I felt like Joe Goldberg was talking to me the entire time.
JACKRABBIT SKIN was a little puzzling and odd and never really drew me in.
SCORPIONS was a clever, twisty read that I enjoyed.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD was my second favorite of the bunch. While it made a great short, it definitely has the potential for a full-length novel.
THE GHOST WRITER was my favorite! I loved the Gothic vibes and the twist in the story. Excellent read.