Shadows and Whispers by Michael Jess Alexander

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This collection is excellent.

A Forest Haunt:

It is a unique story about a man who wishes to live a secluded life but is bombarded with unfortunate circumstances and paranoia. The ending is wild, but it makes sense after thinking about it. 5 stars.

Famished:

I like the name of this story, and it fits the overall theme. My reading engagement was high throughout it, and the ending made me think. 5 stars.

Illusive:

This is another interesting short story about the unexpected occurring and what an opportunist does for freedom. A creature feature. 4 stars.

A Slave to Love:

This is a unique spin on a horror short based on Valentine’s Day. It reminded me of the TV series Dexter. This horror tale hits hard, and the length is perfect. Michael Jess Alexander should make shorter tales like this one. 5 stars.

On the Edge of Oblivion:

Michael Jess Alexander switches it up by alternating POVs involving the supernatural, dark fantasy, and mystery. 4 stars.

Chiornamas = disability
Zatol = to bother
Chianudor = flatulent

Michael Jess Alexander is an expert at crafting horror shorts and flash fiction. In this order, my favorite tales were A Slave to Love, Famished, and A Forest Haunt. Another notable aspect of this collection that I admire is that it is a clean read. I wish other horror writers would do the same.

Please give me more seasonal horror shorts featuring Valentine’s Day and Christmas! 🙂

I received a free book copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.



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The Rabbit Man: A Collection of Short Terrors & Flash Fiction by T.R. Slauf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Terrifying.

The Rabbit Man is a haunting collection that contains stories about serial killers, witch-hunting, paranormal horror, and more.

Pros:
1. A variety of frightening tales.
2. All the stories within this collection are good.
3. Excellent, creepy book cover. I recommend inspecting it.
4. The illustrations are a splendid touch.
5. The stories are short.
6. Easter egg mini-game.
7. There is a connection between these horror chronicles.
8. T.R. Slauf is an expert of the macabre.

Cons:
1. Blaspheming and profanity.
2. This compilation would benefit from keener editing.

The flaws listed above prevented me from giving this collection a five-star rating.

I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

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TAILS OF LOVE: Canine Parables for the Heart by Daniel Weaver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent.

The book cover is excellent. The illustrations are fantastic and they stand out. I like how there are different stories for different canine breeds. The storyline is unique, and I can tell that the author put a lot of work into this book. I enjoyed the overall theme of this book. I recommend this book to dog lovers.

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Hey guys,

I am revealing the book cover for my newest book, Twilight Perils: A Collection of Eight Secret Stories. I am happy about publishing this horror mystery collection. It took a lot of work to make it happen, and to get everything ready to meet certain deadlines. Only the e-book version is available, but if you wait a bit for the paperback version, it will include illustrations in it. Only the paperback version of this book will include illustrations. If you choose to purchase my book, please think about rating and reviewing it. If you leave a review off of the digital orders page, your review will show up as verified on Amazon. This is huge, as other readers around the world will see your review! Please also consider leaving a review on Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your blog.

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Boneyard Tales by Michael Carter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Great.

I like that this book is easy to read. You’ll be able to squeeze in 1-3 stories a day, while reading a longer novel on the side.

The stories that I enjoyed the most were Yetimaker, Becoming Bones, The Man with a Golden Face, Boilermaker, I Had a Boneyard in the Dakotas, and Monster Inside Me. The stories that I thought were the most disturbing were The Guillotine Grabber, Body Parts Jewelry, and The Last Horizon.

What I like about Boneyard Tales is how each story isn’t too long. Once you start one, you’ll be able to push through until you’re done, letting you stop at the next chronicle. The book cover is fantastic, which will increase the marketability of this book.

This book is not perfect. Most of the anecdotes aren’t scary, which was kind of a let-down for me. I thought about giving the author a five-star rating, but there was more than one story in this collection that I didn’t care for, and the editing wasn’t perfect. I also wish this book had illustrations. However, I would disagree with any other reviewer giving this collection less than a four-star rating.

There are some gems in here that will stick with you after you finish them.

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Bleached Reminders: A Gothic Anthology About Bones, Magic, and Grief by Effie Joe Stock

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Distinctive.

It was refreshing to read a book like this, and I am glad that Effie Joe Stock chose not to overdo it in terms of word count. I chose to read this because it had good ratings and reviews, and because I wanted to read something different. I was happy to see that it was edited, and the text was easy to read. I did enjoy the poetry and I thought that was a clever addition to this work.

I decided not to issue this book a five-star rating because in my opinion, the prose is not amazing. For me, a five-star book is amazing, a four-star rating means I really liked it, and a three-star rating means it was OK. For an anthology, I think that the book is too short in terms of word count. In most cases, an anthology is a group of works from different writers combined into one book, so I thought it was strange that the author chose to title this an anthology. In my opinion, the book cover is lackluster, and hurts the marketability of this book. To be clear, this fiction would have benefited from including more short stories and/or poetry.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Boarded Windows, Dead Leaves by Michael Jess Alexander

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A good selection of grisly stories to read before you go to bed.

I like how there is a connected theme throughout this book. I’ve always been a fan of short chronicles, and this group’s brevity is welcome.

My favorites in this collection are Warm and Tender, The Delivery, Accident at the Laboratory, and Vic.

There are some great twists given in these stories, my favorite being The Delivery. After reading it, I found myself thinking about this ghastly tale while devouring my delicious meal. At first, the description of the villain wasn’t frightening to me, but after thinking about it, it dawned on me how creepy it is!

Accident at the Laboratory had me thinking about The Flying Spaghetti Monster, and I enjoyed the different style of this work compared to the others. I relished the transformation given in Vic, and karma is something to watch out for in Warm and Tender.

Only four stars because the selection as a whole has to be fantastic to get a five-star rating. Nonetheless, this is a great fiction assembly; if you don’t mind getting goosebumps, I recommend feasting on this ensemble of grim stories.

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Death and Other Survival Strategies by Carolyn R. Russell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Different.

This was my first-time reading flash fiction, and I enjoyed it. I was able to push through this album because I knew that each story would end in less than ten pages. If you’re thinking about reading this book, I’d say give it a shot. Please note that there is profanity and blaspheming in this book, as this collection is geared towards a mature audience. The book cover makes sense after reading some of the stories in this book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Conjured Darkness: Six Macabre Tales by Michael Jess Alexander

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Good short stories.

Out of the six short stories in Conjured Darkness: Six Macabre Tales, my favorites were The Experiment, and The Screaming Void. I noticed that my reading engagement was the highest when reading these two.

For those of you wondering, here are the meanings of the incantations in Small Revolution and The Screaming Void:

Small Revolution

Contarso = account (Portuguese)
rencollo = quarrel? dispute? (Spanish-English Dictionary)
ivist = visit?
Eldri = older (Icelandic)
enn = than (Norwegian)
Kandveer = cane spring (Afrikaans)

The Screaming Void

jasu = brightness (Czech)
bhitho = be (Scottish Gaelic)
Xaant = barn (Somali)
maati = family (Oromo); maati o = don’t you (Yoruba) or dirty
otrok = a child (Slovenian)
devosto = devoted (Italian)

What I really liked were the characters in the The Screaming Void. Mrs. Loneagan and Treat (notice the names). When you read the book, it fits so well. As for the mad scientist, that was eerie indeed.

Only four stars because not all the books were that great, but I do applaud the author for trying.

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Horrific Modern Tales by Nick Schroeder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Unique.

Horrific Modern Tales is a delight to read; book lovers who are looking for fun, originality, and a few scares will enjoy this album of anecdotes. Imagine the atrocity that would occur if something like SlimX-9000 or Losing Control happened. This writer’s creativity will astound bookworms, and it’s advised to read this at nighttime to maximize the ghastliness of this compilation. Nick Schroeder has crafted unconventional and powerful illustrations, adding depth to this assembly.

Unfortunately, this short story collection is lacking in character development. Backstories are essential for readers to be able to connect to the protagonist of a fictional tale, as well as bring the story to life. Two examples would be the yarns Ding-Dong and Losing Control. For this reason, this assortment of scares cannot be rewarded with a five-star rating.

There is a clerical error with the word “Walter” being misspelled in the tale Virtually Impossible. Another misprint can be found in the narrative Instant Message, where boink has been incorrectly spelled. The author should consider releasing a future edition of this book after working with an editor who can assist him in developing these chronicles further, as well as proofreading the prose. These alterations would add more depth and intrigue to this dreadful assortment.

I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

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