Kyra

The Mouthless Body in The Lake

3/5 was written well but didn’t really enjoy it

Cold as Ice

3/5 this was a cool idea, I just wish there was little more meat to the story.

Children aren’t the only ones…

2/5 sad cause I really love Josh Malerman’s writing normally but this pretty forgettable.

The Vermin Moon

2/5 another really forgettable read that I personally didn’t find that interesting.

The Body of Leonora James

4/5 this was definitely a more enjoyable one. The story was interesting and had a brothers grim kinda vibe.

Mr. Butler

1/5 this one was creepy and not in a fun way, didn’t enjoy it but the author did manage to create a really unsettling story.

Feast of Gray

1/5 even more forgettable than the others.

Father’s Last Christmas

5/5 I really like this one it felt like the beginning of an epic novel but was still satisfying in its end.

The Warmth of Snow

1/5 felt like just reading someone complaining nonstop, almost skipped it part way through as it was almost unbearable to read.

Wintry Blue

4.5/5 I did like this one, had a good atmosphere and set was a little cringy at some parts but enjoyed it.

Carol of the Hells

4/5 not bad per se, was a really interesting idea. And definitely built up some dread but felt lacking.

Nice

5/5 I really liked this one as well thought it was really funny. And it work super well in the short format

Thaw

4/5 this one was fun was perfect length for what it was, wasn’t anything special though

Candy Cane

4/5 this is one I wished was longer I think this could make for a really fun full novel.

Eggnog

5/5 I really really loved this one, more realistic than the others which I think add to the horror.

Threads

5/5 another really good read, I do wish it was longer as it felt like there could be so much too but I still loved reading it.

The Ladies’ Society for the Dead

3/5 I typically like Darcy Coates writing, I really liked the setup but didn’t feel it really followed through.

Being Nice

5/5 this was super funny, and felt almost like a comedy sketch definitely drawn me to reading more from Jeff Strand

Ghosted

2/5 just kinda sad, and not very enjoyable.

Bruiser

4.5/5 while I really did love this story, find it sentimental and sweet, I didn’t feel like it really fit with the rest of the collection.

Overall I am glad to have read this collection, had 11 stories out of the 22 that I really liked, and 14 that were at least a 3 or above so not too bad.

This is one of those books where I did like the build up of the story and thought it was going in a really interesting direction for like the first 80-90% and then just found its last bit kinda boring.