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lezlie's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
For readers who just want a little scare, or enough dark intrigue to let their own imaginations take over - this is the collection for you.
Thirteen tales that cover a wide variety of delicious tropes, such as hauntings, cursed objects, urban legends, folklore, strangers at crossroads, clowns and even Christmas! (Seriously, nothing is safe!) Readers also visit different regions and time periods as they read through this collection, which showed how much effort this author took to research locations, styles of dress, manner of speech and history/legends regarding folklore. The little historical sponge in me just soaked it up! I even learned a few true facts about historical figures I had not known previously. Enjoyable AND educational!
Along with the suspense, fear, dread and uncomfortable knowledge shared in these stories, there were also moments of humor that I loved. Sometimes you need a good laugh to give yourself a break from the dark path your imagination is traveling. Of course, that opens you up for something to sneak up behind you too - you've been warned.
Francesca Maria's writing style is excellent - it's accessible and allows the reader to focus on the plot and the characters rather than puzzling out complex prose and getting pulled out of the story. I don't mind complex prose or purple prose, but for my horror stories/books - stay out of the way of my fear! Write it so I can fly forward, reading as fast as my racing heartbeat to see what's about to happen. Maria had this nailed down and her pacing was spot on.
A few of these stories were absolutely made better by their atmosphere. Francesca Maria knows how to set the scene for her tales, the mark of an excellent storyteller. Make the reader feel the cold and creeping dread, the hair raising on the back of the reader's neck along with the character in the story! Yes!!! This is what I live for!
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, start to finish. This was my first time reading anything by this author, so I owe a huge thank you to the publisher, Brigids Gate Press for reaching out to me to see if I'd be interested in reading a copy in consideration for review.
Thirteen tales that cover a wide variety of delicious tropes, such as hauntings, cursed objects, urban legends, folklore, strangers at crossroads, clowns and even Christmas! (Seriously, nothing is safe!) Readers also visit different regions and time periods as they read through this collection, which showed how much effort this author took to research locations, styles of dress, manner of speech and history/legends regarding folklore. The little historical sponge in me just soaked it up! I even learned a few true facts about historical figures I had not known previously. Enjoyable AND educational!
Along with the suspense, fear, dread and uncomfortable knowledge shared in these stories, there were also moments of humor that I loved. Sometimes you need a good laugh to give yourself a break from the dark path your imagination is traveling. Of course, that opens you up for something to sneak up behind you too - you've been warned.
Francesca Maria's writing style is excellent - it's accessible and allows the reader to focus on the plot and the characters rather than puzzling out complex prose and getting pulled out of the story. I don't mind complex prose or purple prose, but for my horror stories/books - stay out of the way of my fear! Write it so I can fly forward, reading as fast as my racing heartbeat to see what's about to happen. Maria had this nailed down and her pacing was spot on.
A few of these stories were absolutely made better by their atmosphere. Francesca Maria knows how to set the scene for her tales, the mark of an excellent storyteller. Make the reader feel the cold and creeping dread, the hair raising on the back of the reader's neck along with the character in the story! Yes!!! This is what I live for!
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, start to finish. This was my first time reading anything by this author, so I owe a huge thank you to the publisher, Brigids Gate Press for reaching out to me to see if I'd be interested in reading a copy in consideration for review.
simplysonia's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
These stories are extremely well crafted and thought out. The pacing of each story is excellent and there are so many different concepts. I loved several of the stories and find it hard to even pick a favorite. I was lucky to snag an advance copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
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