Member Reviews
Diverse selection of authors and stories. A lot of new to me authors I will follow up on. Thank you to the publisher for making available
Wow I loved this collection! These horror short stories are chilling and don’t flinch away from tough subject matter. I gave out many 5 stars and even the weaker of the stories were still solid reads. My favorites were Every Breath is a Choice and The End of Time on Rosewyld Lane.
Highly recommend this anthology! Below are my breakdowns for each story.
Clown Doll - 5 stars - A chilling story about a couple who are woken up when a neighbor outside their window begins repeatedly shaking an animatronic Halloween clown decoration that laughs.
Fool’s Blood - 3 stars - A man purchases a mine in Elko, Nevada with lofty goals of finding gold.
We Can Get Them For You Wholesale - 3.5 stars - A man seeks out a hitman when he finds his out his fiancé is cheating on him.
First Date - 4.5 stars - A very unique first date.
Doorwatch - 4.5 stars - An old man is tasked with watching an ominous door that appears in his backyard.
Pictures of a Princess - 4 stars - A father on vacation to a Disneyland-esque park with his family is enamored with a princess.
Laws of Virulence - 4 stars - Interview transcript of an infected subject detailing the infection of himself and his family.
Cursed Objects - 3.5 stars - Two girls dabble in witchy activities.
The Stone - 3 stars - A man and woman find a strange otherworldly stone dropped by a large toad.
Every Breath is a Choice - 5 stars - A heartbreaking and dark story of a family torn apart after a home invasion.
They Say the Sky is Full of Snakewolves - 5 stars - In a world overrun with monsters, a woman wonders whether the real danger is inside or outside of her home. TW: DV
The End of Time on Rosewyld Lane - 5 stars - A man reflects on the time since the disappearance of his young son.
New Fox Smell - 3 stars - A girl is invited by a frenemy to spend a summer on Fox Island.
A Better Hate - 3 stars - A wendigo is set loose upon a town.
Thank you to NetGalley and Blood Bound Books for access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review!
I bought this anthology because it was published for a good cause so the level of stories was not main concern.
Not all the stories are on the same level, some are very disturbing.
That said I discovered some interesting authors and hope people will buy it because it's for a good cause
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
A mix of horror from all established, well-respected horror authors. As with any anthology, there were stories that I enjoyed more than others, but none that I disliked. Some of the domestic violence type stories were a bit harsh for my comfort level, but I still appreciated the horror behind it.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4⭐️
As always, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Blood Bank offers a nice assortment of stories but not all of them are going to be everyone's preference. That's the fun in it though, getting to sample some excellent writers styles to develop a taster for a specific (blood) type.
Jeff Strand of course is going to be my pick of the litter. Note that I am quite biased in his favor, the dialogue in his "First Date" is so snappy and comedic. Strand puts a lot of fun into his horror.
14 dark tales to support charity is a great cause no matter the stories. I was stoked to receive this free temporary eARC because one of my favorite authors, Max Booth III has a story in the collection and they did not disappoint. Every Breath is a Choice is a harrowing story that I enjoyed every minute of. Other favorites were First Date by Jeff Strand, and Fool's Blood by Rena Mason. As with any anthology, stories can be hit and miss but overall this was an enjoyable collection for a great cause.
Great collection of short horror stories from some great authors. Definitely a must read, especially since it helps out a charity.
Fourteen stories of horror and dark fantasy where a portion of the proceeds from sales for five years goes to two charities, Read Better, Be Better supporting childhood literacy in Arizona and Hagar’s House which offers help to displaced families in New Orleans. Book was published in May 2022, so I’m sure this is being pushed again to garner more support for the charities (and for the book, sure.).
Overall the stories were of good quality. I had read two, maybe three before (definitely the Neil Gaiman and the Lucy Leitner. One other seemed familiar.)
Of the rest my favorites were the comic “First Date” by Jeff Strand, “Doorwatch” by Kealan Patrick Burke and “Every Breath is a Choice” by Max Booth III.
What a great collection of horror shorts! They were all fantastic for different reasons. I love a great story with no happy ending, and this collection absolutely delivered on that. But I have to say my favorite was the last one, “A Better Hate” by Patrick Freivald. I love folkloric-based horror, like this one involving manitou. (More commonly known as wendigo or windigo). One of my favorite types of monsters that gives a serious comeuppance to people who take what doesn’t belong to them. And this one? It was a happy ending… for some. A fantastic collection and I’d love to see another one!
Huge thanks to Bloodbound Books and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!
This was such a great collection to read, the bonuses are that the authors are all fantastic and that it supports charity.
When I saw this on NetGalley, I honestly didn't realize that I had already bought this on Kindle when it was new. As soon as I started reading, I remembered, of course. I'm not afraid of clowns, but the first story could make anyone rethink that. This is a terrific collection, with some of my favorite writers, new and old, from Neil Gaiman and Jo Kaplan to Jeff Strand and Lucy Leitner. Of course, this one is also for charity, so it's even better. Thanks to NetGalley for offering this!