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goodbyepuckpie's review
4.0
note: I really wish there was an easy alternative to the straight-star review for anthologies because as with most, this was a mixed bag for me; a few stories I really liked, a few that were okay, a couple I just skimmed through as they weren't my taste. As the foreword suggests, there are a few non-consensual scenes in the anthology; I found they were telegraphed sufficiently that I could tell which stories were going in that direction, which I appreciated.
C Paige Foster's the Flavor of Fear was interesting - it was a neat take on both ghosts and vampires, and it was a good slice of both a self-contained story and a wider world.
I also liked Sara Dobie Bauer's Forever Dead - it read like a slice out of a solid genre novel, and I liked the relationship between Zach and Dario.
Marguerite Monroe's Bound took a twist on what I thought it was going to do and was one of my favourites in the anthology; great POV character and interesting world-building.
Sean Eads' When April Comes Around was also interesting; not quite what I'd usually read but definitely a fresh take.
Iskra Ryder's Better than Food was my other favourite from this antho; a really neat take on the vampire mythology, interesting characters who I'd happily read more of, and it does a good job of melding world building while being a complete story.
V Hummingbird's Palladian Excursions was an interesting concept, and a decent story, but didn't quite land all the way for me; I think I wanted it to be longer or take in more of the worldbuilding that's hinted at.
Midnight Lunch by Bruce Lee Bond was another one of the standouts; takes a really great logical point -- how WOULD night-active vampires work in the Arctic -- and does a good spin on it.
Colleen Anderson's Hold Back the Night was also really good - vivid and very engaging. (Note: warning for violence against women in this one, and the ending is justifiably sad.)
Also really enjoyed Mary Trepanier's Our Bower Red with Blood; really interesting take on the vampire trope, interesting characters and a story that you read and then think, "oh yeah, humans would totally do this".
C Paige Foster's the Flavor of Fear was interesting - it was a neat take on both ghosts and vampires, and it was a good slice of both a self-contained story and a wider world.
I also liked Sara Dobie Bauer's Forever Dead - it read like a slice out of a solid genre novel, and I liked the relationship between Zach and Dario.
Marguerite Monroe's Bound took a twist on what I thought it was going to do and was one of my favourites in the anthology; great POV character and interesting world-building.
Sean Eads' When April Comes Around was also interesting; not quite what I'd usually read but definitely a fresh take.
Iskra Ryder's Better than Food was my other favourite from this antho; a really neat take on the vampire mythology, interesting characters who I'd happily read more of, and it does a good job of melding world building while being a complete story.
V Hummingbird's Palladian Excursions was an interesting concept, and a decent story, but didn't quite land all the way for me; I think I wanted it to be longer or take in more of the worldbuilding that's hinted at.
Midnight Lunch by Bruce Lee Bond was another one of the standouts; takes a really great logical point -- how WOULD night-active vampires work in the Arctic -- and does a good spin on it.
Colleen Anderson's Hold Back the Night was also really good - vivid and very engaging. (Note: warning for violence against women in this one, and the ending is justifiably sad.)
Also really enjoyed Mary Trepanier's Our Bower Red with Blood; really interesting take on the vampire trope, interesting characters and a story that you read and then think, "oh yeah, humans would totally do this".
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