Scan barcode
el_viral's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Overall a fantastic read and highly recommended.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
bea_reads_books's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity and Abortion
slothburglar's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
4.75
The ghost stories were spooky and contained surprisingly cozy elements! Reading this felt comfortable until the horrible, ghostly things started happening. There was a really interesting mix of characters in different parts of their life.
Graphic: Mental illness and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Medical trauma
stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As the collection is meant to reference the Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories during the Christmas season, all of the stories had a delightfully gothic feel. In fact, some were so well written in that classical style I'm used to reading in older books that I had to double check that the author was from this time period and not from the past.
The only story that didn't quite fit was "The Eel Dancers". I liked it, but it stood out from the rest (and not necessarily in a good way). The tone and style of that story did not match the other stories in the collection.
Picking a favourite story is a tough choice, but at the time I'm writing this I think I have to go with "Confinement" because of its exploration of postpartum depression/psychosis. The more I delve into the world of horror - and the more I learn about the human body - the more I've come to realize that pregnancy, childbirth, and all related conditions terrify me.
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
nadia's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape
chrispybacon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
A solid venture by Collins into the horror short story, albeit a bit lackluster.
Thwaite's Tenant⭐️⭐️
The ending was a pleasant surprise
The Eel Singers 0
Trash. Pulley could at least have tried to come up with a story that doesn't require to know her other novels. Made no sense and I hated every page of it. This is the only story where the hauntings had no impact on the characters and I hated it.
Lily Wilt ⭐️
Bad pacing. Funny idea badly executed.
The Chillingham Chair⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By times unintentionally funny, predictable but overall well written.
The Hanging of the Greens ⭐️
Bland, the flashback/ pulling the Protagonist along in visions trope is so annoying and uncreative.
Confinement ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pretty good pregnancy & post-partum trauma depiction.
Monster 0
stop👏apologizing👏rapists'👏behaviour👏 No kidding. The author seems to have been aware of the protagonist being awful but still tried to find apologies for him. Cringe.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
maxineee's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
cabbagecakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
venomousmushrooms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse