This book presents a compilation of short horror stories that eventually intersect. The individual stories are exceptionally well-written, and the author's technique of connecting them as the narrative unfolds is laudable. To avoid revealing spoilers, I will refrain from additional remarks, but the book is supremely well-crafted.

The Poorly Made and Other Things is the second book by Sam Rebelein and the readers second visit to Renfield County and its surrounding towns. This book continues to provide insights into the mysteries of what happened in the town all those years ago and what horrible things continue to happen. This is a short story collection with of vignettes of Renfield county, with a series of “interstitials” throughout that tell another story. These stories are cruel, and mean, and scary. Fans of Edenville will love being back and getting more of the horror and the mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a digital ARC in exchange for a fair review.

The Poorly Made and Other Things is a series of gnarly short stories in the same universe. Sam Rebelein can surely paint a vivid, disturbing picture with words. Each tale is a standalone masterpiece, but the connection to one universe took away from the collection in my opinion. I was thinking too hard about how to tie things together.

Still, this is a great read for anyone who loves a good scare. I'd definitely check out more from this author.

This is my Roman Empire.

After reading Edenville, not even a week ago, I was left with a lingering need, desire, or one might even say gravitational pull to be back on Rendfield County. Thankfully, I knew I had the ARC for The Poorly Made and Other Things, and I could start it at any time. I tried to read something else in between, but I couldn't let go of the want to be back into this storyline.

I NEEDED to read more into it.

This is a story, within a story, with lore, background, and a haunting past of the county of Rendfield and its surrounding areas. There is so much to unpack in these 288 pages, which honestly seems like so little, but there is a lot to be told.

We have 10 very unique, unhinged, and uncanny stories, with email accounts in between that tell the lore of Rendfield County. I gobbled them all up.

Be careful while reading , this book is not to be skimmed because the stories are intertwined, and this book is also not for people who like linear stories. If you like your books to be linear, point A to point B, this might be a little hard for you to try to keep up with.

The story telling, the lore, the different approaches of horror, the endless possibilities to come (which I'm praying there is more to come) makes this one of the best books I've read to date. I already want to re-read them both! I could yap about it all day! (And if you have read the ARC, please feel free to message me, I need more people to discuss this with)

If you enjoy Black Mirror, Junji Ito, American Horror Story, then this book is for you.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Sam Rebelein, and William Morrow for allowing me to read and review this e-book ARC Masterpiece.

Can't wait to be back in Rendfield.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. I am leaving an honest review.

This book is creepy and haunting. The stories are connected by an interesting thread of emails sent between estranged siblings. At times, I found the stories very sad. Strong writing and character development within the stories.

Wow. Just - wow. I cannot even find the words to explain how fabulous the writing is here... Rebelein has crafted aseries of horrifically beautiful stories here and woven them together with yet another story to produce a hole that is greater than the sum of its parts, and it's parts are amazing. This is not a book for the squeamish. The stories are gruesome and gory and the excellent writing only makes them feel more horrifying because they are sprinkled with snarky and clever bits that lull you in and then whack you over the head with a 2x4. I had a hard time reading a lot of the descriptions - splatter con is not really my thing - but the writing is so evocative that I kept turning pages even though I was reading squinting through my fingers half the time. My father always used to say he thought the alien in Ridley Scott's Aliens was the most beautifully ugly thing he'd ever seen. That's how I feel about these stories - they are horrific, but gorgeously so!

Loved this! Just a disclaimer that you do not need to read Edenville to enjoy this book of short stories. Edenville is a novel that takes place in the same universe. I enjoyed the short stories a bit more than the novel.

The book is tied together with the main character, Rachel, emailing her estranged brother, Tom, after the mysterious death of their mother. Rachel lives in Renfield county which is shrouded in the bloody history of a family annihilation that took place a long time ago.

Each story ties into the history of Renfield county, the Renfield family murders, and the blood soaked wood from the Renfield’s house and barn.

I read this one fast. I really enjoyed all the stories and can’t pick favorites. I love when authors create a whole new world and I’m looking forward to whatever is next in Renfield county.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: February 11, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

Absolutely YES. 100% YES. I loved this spooky eerie and creepy collection. Every page of this book held some type of terror and you didn’t know what was looming on the next page. Each collection story is crafted with perfection and gives its reader that goosebumps heart racing feeling. I enjoyed ALL of the stories and refuse to choose just one.

I think that if you are into collections of terrorIFIC stories and love feeling as though someone is watching you while you read 👀…then you should pick this up and add to your collection. Try to read it alone in the dark if you dare 😉. Really though friends, I am already recommending this book to all of my friends who love these types of books. There is a story or more than one in this book (in my case ALL) for everybody.

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as William Morrow, William Morrow Paperbacks

Don't come after me y'all. This just wasn't the type of story for me. If it is your jam, then I think it was well written. Some of the short stories were just a little too on the disturbing side for me and creeped me out although I guess that is the point! Other readers raved about this so I honestly think it just isn't *my* cup of tea but I still finished it and tried something new and if you like this type of genre then go for it when it comes out in February. ☺️

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I want to preface my review with stating that it has been a while since I have read any horror novels. When I was reading horror regularly, it tended to drift more towards the classic horror (think Dracula) and Stephen King. So dipping my toes into a new release by a fairly new author is not my forte. Thankfully, I took the plunge.

This is a series of short stories, all written by Sam Rebelein, with a connection to Renfield County and the murders committed by Lawrence Renfield. Now I need to emphasize that all of these stories are written by the single author because they don't read like that. Each story has a unique voice. They're told from a unique perspective. And the fear factor, the creepiness, it isn't the same for each story. There's body horror, paranormal horror, psychological horror. It's just a bit of everything and it feels like it shouldn't be cohesive but it works perfectly. Honestly, reminded me so much of the movie: V/H/S.

The entire book was so well done that I couldn't put it down, while I still needed to take a breather between each story. I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this. I loved it enough that as soon as it is released, I will not only purchase a hardcopy for myself, I will be gifting copies to my horror-loving friends as well.

Wow, this book is amazing! I love short story collections, especially horror stories; and The Poorly Made just jumped into my list of favorites in this category.

The Poorly Made takes us deep into the region & lore of historic Renfield county, exploring the darkness at its roots and in its people through unconnected stories. But... are they unconnected? How deep does the rot go in Renfield? Come find out, if you dare.

This book is creepy, creepy, creepy. It's a mix of folk horror & the new weird that I really enjoyed as a fan of both. There are some truly nightmarish moments, but the overall impression is a spiralling sense of dread & deep unease that sinks its claws in and won't let the reader go.

I was blown away by the talent displayed through this book. I've heard that short stories are some of the most difficult things to write; and most anthologies have at least one story that isn't as enjoyable as the others. For me, every single short story in The Poorly Made was 5 stars. Not only were all the stories individually strong, but I loved the way the author connected them as you continue reading; I won't say anything further to avoid spoilers, but this book is incredibly well done. I haven't yet read Edenville by this author, but I put it on hold at the library immediately after starting The Poorly Made; and I can't wait to see what else he writes moving forward!

I would recommend The Poorly Made to fans of Andrew Michael Hurley and Adam Nevill, as well as readers who enjoy short story collections & folk horror.

Thank you to NetGalley & William Morrow Books for an arc in exchange for a honest review!

Sam Rebelein's The Poorly Made and Other Things is a masterclass in atmospheric horror-an assemblage of stories that moves deep into the cursed lore of Renfield County. Seamlessly blending creeping dread with visceral terror, this book builds upon the foundation established in Edenville while standing strongly on its own as a chilling, self-contained work. Invention in structure: through the stories alternating and the interstitial emails, Rebelein weaves a story that feels both intimate and mythic.

The collection opens with a frantic email exchange that peels back, layer by layer, the haunted history of Renfield, a fictional upstate New York town that feels uncomfortably real. These set a creepy backdrop to the standalone stories that weave through the lives of those who find themselves drawn in-or trapped by-this cursed land. The combination of epistolary modern horror and dark, folkloric storytelling gives way to a cadence that draws in before delivering gut-wrenching twists.

Each story pulsates with its independent, horrific rhythm, which can subtly be unnerving or right out terrifying. It ranges from "Detour," a quietly devious tale which gets into chaos, to "Every Thursday We Feed the Cats," an extremely macabre study of routine and denial. Stories like "Red X" and "Allison's Face" press against the limits of visceral horror, sending readers recoiling in their graphic description. Meanwhile, “My Name is Ellie” is a psychological nightmare that lingers long after the final page.

Thematically, The Poorly Made and Other Things is about generational trauma, isolation, and the way cursed objects and places hold power over the living. Most unnerving is the recurring motif of the "Renfield Taint"; not only does it imply a contaminating dread confined to this land, but also that every bathtub on a porch or every abandoned heirloom has the potential to be a vector for its malignancy.

Rebelein's prose is both poetic and unsettling, its rhythm like a lullaby tucking you in just to hurl you headfirst into terror. If you're a fan of Josh Malerman's Goblin or anything from Sarah Read, you know to expect a masterful pace and multi-layered world-building within these pages. Lovecraftian horror pulls big time in this collection, too, with a complex, unsettling mythology attributed to the fiction town within its pages.

A true masterpiece of horror, both deeply personal and hauntingly universal. Be one a fan of Edenville or entirely new to Rebelein's work, this is a collection not to be missed. Just don't expect to sleep well after.

This was a strong horror collection of stories, it had that atmosphere that I was looking for and enjoyed how everything worked in the horror genre. The characters in each story worked well overall and was invested in their world. Sam Rebelein has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this.

This is some of the best new horror I’ve read in a long time. Stand-alone short stories all connected by common threads in the form of a one-way email chain.
These stories were so incredibly well written and bone chilling. Lots of body horror done extremely well.
I haven’t read Edenville so I’m not sure how much it relates to these stories, but it’s high on my tbr after reading the Poorly Made.
I cannot recommend this collection enough!!

This was a hard read. It was complicated and messy writing. It was also hard to visualize what the author was trying to tell the reader or story.

this one was terrifying in a way I rarely get from horror stories. my favorites were Hector Grim and The Wag, but a lot of them were very existential dread. 4.5 stars, rounded up. would recommend. tysm for the arc.

I loved Rebelein's debut novel Edenville, so I couldn't wait to dive into this short story collection. These stories are creepy, unsettling, and weird and all focus on the Renfield universe. It was a treat to go back and visit, but I'm glad I don't live there. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

A new to me author and I was not disappointed. I've also started Edenville. I don't think it you need to read is 1st. These stories were great and perfect for spooky season. I tried to pace myself so that I would finish on Halloween, but that didn't work. Snuggled in a warm blanket with my favorite beverage, I couldn't put it down. Just one more email, one more story, - I was finished with the book.

Sam Rebelein does it again. The madness behind Edenville takes us on a deep dive into the lore of this cursed land. The mythology here is so meticulously fleshed out, every bloody piece of this nightmare tapestry weaved together perfectly. I can't wait to reread Edenville with a full understanding of the cosmic and human horror soaked into every fiber of this story. This collection is my favorite horror experience this year!!!!

This book focuses on a collection of short horror stories that end up connecting in the end. Short story horror collections are always a good time considering the length is perfect to mystify and keep an audience guessing. This book no exception! Overall a good read and the element of linking all the stories together added a fun twist to an already amazing collection.