Member Reviews

Honestly, I think this is a me issue because I’ve seen several people enjoy this book however I did not. Typically, I like books that have multiple POV’s/multiple stories intertwined together, this one I just stopped during the Shamash because it just was not for me, I lost connection to the character and plot.

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This is a hard one because of course with all anthologies, you have some stories that are stronger than others. However, I think the disparity between the strong and week stories was really apparent. A good number of the stories don't have anything to do with the actual holiday, they are just set during Hannukah, which is fine but it felt like they were just normal stories and then the setting was put at Hannukah so they could be put into this collection. The narration of this collection was GREAT!

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As person who is not Jewish, I was still hoping I would enjoy the stories in this collection, and I am happy to report that, overall, I found most of the stories entertaining. As with most short story collections, there are hits and misses. Unfortunately, I feel like the misses slightly outnumber the hits in this one.

The variety of stories is super fun, though. There are noir stories, funny stories, and even stories that offer a heartfelt meditation on what Hannukah means. I didn't expect to be moved by anything in this book, and I am grateful I was. Unfortunately, I was rarely scared or on the edge of my seat. The good news is I was never, ever bored so, if you want something different to entertain you during the holiday season, pick this one up!

I absolutely loved the audio on this one. I am a sucker for an audiobook with multiple narrators, and this book really delivers on that front. High recommend for the audiobook!

Many thanks to RBMedia/Recorded Books and Netgalley for providing a copy of this audiobook for review purposes. My opinions are my own.

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This was a great collection of stories. I thought they were suspenseful and they kept my interest throughout the book. This is a great way to sample new-to-me authors, and I will definitely be checking out more from them. I really liked the narrator as well.

Thank you to the author and publishers for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

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I really thought I would enjoy this one but for some reason, I just really couldn't get into it. Thank you for the opportunity to review this title, I unfortunately was unable to finish.

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This was a fabulous collection of short dark haunaka stories. I will be adding a few of the featured authors to my TBR. I can't wait to see if another collection is released in the future.

#EightVeryBadNights
#NetGalley

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I enjoyed this. I love short story collections with a theme, although Hanukkah didn't always play a big role in these little mysteries. The stories were entertaining and the narrators were good.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

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This collection of short stories was okay but not really my favorite. I liked the first and then from there it seemed like I cared less and less. Several of the stories are bloody and most involve heavy crime, which I’m not a huge fan of. This may be a good one for someone, just not me.

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Eight Very Bad Nights edited by Tod Goldberg; DNF

I thought this was a really interesting concept for a book and I was happy to receive a copy from NetGalley and the publishers. Unfortunately, none of these books hooked me, and I wasn’t impressed with any of the stories. I decided to DNF this book after many attempts to really sit down and listen to it. I listened to five out of twelve stories and I didn’t like any of them and was left with little hope to enjoy the remainder of them.

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Eight short stories all dealing with crimes surrounding Hanukkah. There were certain stories that stood out more than others.

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This book sounded like fun, but I was a little disappointed. Some of the stories have little or nothing to do with Hanukkah except for the time of year, but some weave in the traditions. As is often the case with collections by multiple authors, the quality of the stories varies very widely. I also did not find any of the protagonists very relatable or engaging. Most were just obnoxious. It was a meh read for me.
Thank you to NetGalley for the audio arc to preivew.

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This was an interesting collection. It contained a variety of dark Hannukah stories. The darkness changed depending on the author and the story. The first story still sits with me and it wasn't even monstrous.
The performances were great. They changed depended based on the stories which I really liked.
Overly, it's on par with most short story collections: some really goods ones and mostly average ones.

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This is a collection of stories based around Hanukkah. Some of the stories were very good. Others were just ok. I personally don’t love books that are a collection of stories as I like to get more invested in the stories. This one was definitely interesting and a fun read. I enjoy holiday themed books in December and it’s refreshing to have more Hanukkah books.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

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The narrators MADE this collection, they were so amazing, I loved listening to all of them.

The stories themselves were all engaging and interesting, though some were looser tied to Hanukkah than others. I enjoyed all the stories, will definitely be checking out longer works from some of the authors. All in all, a great noir collection to listen to over Hanukkah!

Thank you Netgalley for the audiobook!

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Very creative selection of stories. I didn’t realize when I requested it that they were short stories but they seemed to go together nicely—unique enough from one another to stand out but similar in scope enough to feel cohesive.

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Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

Definitely a mix of short stories, some I wasn’t all that interested in but some were SO good I want to buy this book just so I can read those more often. The ones I loved was story #3 , #4, #7, and #9. I’d recommend reading this just for those great and fun short stories!

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 29th December and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of January

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Like all multi-author collections this is a mixed bag in terms of quality, but on the whole it’s a solid collection and worth a read.

It’s nice to see a Hanukkah collection at the holidays, though I’ll caution that most of these stories are only very loosely tied to the holiday and most of them have little to no holiday atmosphere. I’m also not sure I’d call it a noir collection, but rather a more general catch-all like Crime.

Not a Dinner Party Person by Stefanie Leder is by far the most fun and clever story in the book, a delightfully macabre account of a sociopath who has absolutely had it with her sister’s awful partner.

Also worth a read: Johnny Christmas, If I Were a Rich Man, Mi Shebeirach, Dead Weight, and Very Bad Nights.

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I usually enjoy reading short stories, but I didn’t like this one. Lee Goldberg was the only author I have read before, but his story was pornographic. Other stories are also nothing to write about. I got to know a few Hanukkah customs, however I would always associate those with the dark theme in all the stories

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC

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This one was just totally kind of fine. I didn’t love it some stories were better than others but overall I just wanted to like it and I didn’t.

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An odd collection of short stories that vaguely have some reference to Hannukah.

From Mikey being in prison and his Bubbie being in a lot menorah every night to the outside of the prison where he can see the lights every night , to Ray who stays in a hotel and gets somewhat blackmailed by a young woman wanting college tuition.

All are written well and despite not bringing the light and meaning of Hannukah to the stories, it was an entertaining listen

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