This was overall a good read! Unsettling but intriguing. My mom has fibromyalgia and I never really understood it so seeing it from this view helped me not be judgmental. Also, I love horror books!!

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest rating.

This book is a collection of horror stories. I didn’t hate this book but I didn’t love it either. The plots of the stories did not captivate meme. On another note, I felt the author showed they are imaginative in the stories. My favorite story was The Exchange because I enjoyed reading about the monster the main character was tormented by.

Thank you Netgalley and Mallory McCartney for letting me read this ARC!

I didn't hate this collection, but I didn't love it either. While I absolutely sympathize and empathize with the messaging about getting medical issues like fibro and Lyme disease more public attention, I do think the introduction kind of undercuts any build up of tension or momentum for most of the stories. Maybe it would have been better structured with the introductory content and the ending acknowledgements combined, but as it stands, it immediately sets up the expectation of what these stories are about and the stories themselves confirm that, often in a heavy-handed tell-don't-show sort of way. This is unfortunate considering a lot of the horror does work, notably the body horror seen in the first half. The final story, more a novelette than a short story, is hampered by large chunks that might have been better kept a non-fictional essay or memoir as they repeat much of the introductory content. I also wonder whether the format of a short story collection could have been better realized as a cohesive novel considering the stories' connectivity taking place in the same small community of Haden (see Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad or qntm's THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION for examples of where this worked well). Another struggle I had in the writing was with what we might call the adverb problem: almost no one ever "said" anything; they "bellowed," "whispered," "shrieked," and at least once "hiccoughed." Sometimes these flourishes can be to a story's detriment when they are overused. Overall, not terrible prose despite some of the overt telling throughout and some sections dragging their feet more than others. Anything with teeth icks me out good and proper, and one early story has this in spades. As eluded to, "The Bite" was by far the story that worked most for me and left me squirming through much of the read. Kudos.

Thank you to Anuci Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

The Exchange & Other Calamities is like inviting a ghost to tea—equal parts unsettling and oddly comforting. Mallory McCartney serves up five twisted tales laced with grief, dread, and just enough supernatural spice to keep you checking the shadows. The prose is sharp, the emotions sharper, and the horror creeps in like a polite intruder—quiet at first, then impossible to ignore. I docked a star only because a few stories left me wanting just a bit more… but maybe that’s the point. Horror should haunt, after all.

I enjoyed this book. Mallorie’ explanation in the beginning on how she was inspired to write the stories gives each story an additional dimension. You could feel the anguish and terror and you could feel the pain her characters were going through.

I don’t think I could pick up a favorite story. I did devour this book in a day. I barely came up for a breath.

If you are looking for suspense, unease, discomfort and horror these stories are definitely for you.


Thank you NetGallery for sending me this ARC.

This book is a collection of horror stories that are a story within itself. It can be best described as being creepy, haunted and horror filled. First let me say the fact there is a playlist of songs for this book is most definitely a green flag!

Each story was well written and full of dread. I do love the authors diversity in her stories and how all of the stories were connected in a way. Although there are only 5 stories in this book that is more than enough. Each story contained depth and relatable characters it doesn’t get much better than that.

I seriously enjoyed all the stories in the book and it would hard for me to pick 1 or 2 I liked. So I’m not even going to try! To the author Mallory, thank you for being completely transparent with your medical history. It’s unfortunate how the healthcare system has failed so many people. You are a survivor and you’ll continue to thrive.

With you being completely transparent this makes the stories more rich, I felt your presence in every story you written. I cannot wait to read more of your books. If you are a fan of the morbid, dark, creepy, horror, ghosts, haunting and possessions this is definitely the story for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mallory McCartney,Anuci Press and BookBuzz.Net for providing me with an ARC! I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Mrs. McCartney has boldly taken her first foray into horror, and I'm proud to say it's ridiculously fun. I've read my fair share of horror, but McCartney writes in a way that made even my stomach turn at points. It takes a lot of skill to successfully create an atmosphere suitable for the horrific things happening throughout this book, but she does it here and then some, making you feel like you're smackdab in the middle of it all. By the time I turned the last page I felt like I'd been put through the wringer, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Surprisingly not for the weak of stomach. Interesting and a lot of fun for a horror book.
It just lets loose at times and doesn't stop.
Enjoyable.

This was my first foray into this authors work and it definitely wont be my last. In this collection of short horror stories, each story had me invested as to the outcome for all the characters involved, the imagery involving the settings as well as the atmosphere was well executed and immersive and it had me gripped throughout the book.
Thankyou to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy- it was a an enjoyable, interesting one sitting read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.
This was my first read by this author, and I was pleasantly surprised. Their writing style is easy to follow, and they kept my interest / attention early on!
As with any short story collection, some of the stories were better than others.
Well worth the read.

This was my first book by this author and it left a lasting impression. The subject matter and imagery were startling, tense and terrifying. The way it brought horror aspects to the medical world was genius and all of the stories had a way of pulling you in, creeping you out and making you queasy (sometimes all at once). The correlations between disease and pure terror were amazing (the first story will never be forgotten in my mind). I will be interested to see future works from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Anuci Press, BookBuzz.Net and Mallory McCartney for the advanced copy

My favorite aspect of this book is the strong imagery. The images were terrifying and helped create a mood throughout each story. I also enjoyed that the tone of each story differed slightly, which helped the stories not feel redundant. This would be a great addition to a Modern Gothic and Horror course.

Each short in this collection is a terrifying piece of a full spine-chilling horror.

note: I have never read such a perfectly accurate description of what its like to live with Fibromyalgia.

Thank you to NetGalley, Anuci Press and Mallory McCartney.

Heartbreaking and terrifying. Each story is its own unique version of well crafted horror. The storytelling is beautiful AND disturbing, the best of both worlds in horror.