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alittlemixofvix's review
4.0
A horror anthology containing 11 short stories and I loved almost all of them – which is pretty good going. They were all haunting, creepy, and scary in their own different ways and a great introduction to the works of each author.
My particular favourites were:
“The Burning Boy” by Denver Grenell – a harrowing story with a brilliant ending,
“The Cold, The Grief” by Spencer Hamilton – a chilling tale full of emotion,
“My White Star” by Carla Eliot – scary and sad because it felt so realistic,
“Everyone to the Table” by Christopher Badcock – very dark and twisted,
“The Christmas Eve” by Carmilla – a creepy story highlighting the power of subconscious thoughts,
“Every Hunt is a Cold One” by Marcus Hawke – pure desperation in a desolate place and I could feel it all.
I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology and will be checking out the other anthologies edited by Nick Harper to discover more indie authors.
My particular favourites were:
“The Burning Boy” by Denver Grenell – a harrowing story with a brilliant ending,
“The Cold, The Grief” by Spencer Hamilton – a chilling tale full of emotion,
“My White Star” by Carla Eliot – scary and sad because it felt so realistic,
“Everyone to the Table” by Christopher Badcock – very dark and twisted,
“The Christmas Eve” by Carmilla – a creepy story highlighting the power of subconscious thoughts,
“Every Hunt is a Cold One” by Marcus Hawke – pure desperation in a desolate place and I could feel it all.
I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology and will be checking out the other anthologies edited by Nick Harper to discover more indie authors.
michael_benavidez's review
5.0
NOTE:
This is a review centered around the three anthology releases by Blood Rites Horror (Bitter Chills, Parasite Gods, and Wild Violence) as a whole.
Blood Rites Horror is an up and coming independent publishing press that has seen the release of Those You Killed (Christopher Badcock), Miracle Sin (Marcus Hawke) and Hide (Nick Harper) with many more set for release.
In this trilogy of anthologies they have set out a large net to bring out horror authors from all corners. From established indie authors to those making their debut, these three books showcase the diamonds in the rough of an ever growing market. Each story is unique, each anthology brings a separate challenge and style, and the authors are all on their A games in them.
From literary horror to fun b-movie styled adventures, there is something for everyone in each of these anthologies.
This is a review centered around the three anthology releases by Blood Rites Horror (Bitter Chills, Parasite Gods, and Wild Violence) as a whole.
Blood Rites Horror is an up and coming independent publishing press that has seen the release of Those You Killed (Christopher Badcock), Miracle Sin (Marcus Hawke) and Hide (Nick Harper) with many more set for release.
In this trilogy of anthologies they have set out a large net to bring out horror authors from all corners. From established indie authors to those making their debut, these three books showcase the diamonds in the rough of an ever growing market. Each story is unique, each anthology brings a separate challenge and style, and the authors are all on their A games in them.
From literary horror to fun b-movie styled adventures, there is something for everyone in each of these anthologies.
bobmetal's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
raesengele's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Since this is an anthology, I thought I'd just break my ratings down by stories. Also, trigger warnings for each one, because while they're listed in the back of the book, there's some that need more than what they provided.
THE BURNING BOY by Denver Grenell - 4✨ fun story, could have been better
tw: murder (fire), prolonged threat
SNOWBLIND by Kyle J Durrant - 5✨ so good! You really feel the cold and fear with this one
tw: car accident, light gore
THE WILD HUNT by Roxie Voorhees - 2✨ the concept was interesting and it was folk horror which made me want to love it so bad, but the structure was confusing and these seemingly very traditional Norwegian characters claim that the wild hunt starts on Samhain when the celts were the only people to celebrate Samhain 🤦🏻♀️ which made me just question everything else in this book (I'm also not a fan of "bed time" story devices, so already knocked it down a peg for me)
tw: mutilation, child? murder (the age really isn't clear), natural death
THE COLD GRIEF by Spencer Hamilton - 5✨ definitely one of the best if not the best out of the bunch! So good! Worth it for this story
tw: child death, cancer, heavy grief, mentions of alcoholism
MY WHITE STAR by Carla Eliot - 3✨ okay. Pretty middle of the road. The ending was pretty anti-climactic
tw: sexually aggressive man, sexually motivated murder (strangulation), car accident
THE KILLER SNOWMAN by Cass Oakley - 4.5✨ this one has so much potential with the queer rep and the amazing dialogue and fun concept, but it felt super rushed with glaring typos and everything
tw: animal death
EVERYONE TO THE TABLE - 5✨ SO GOOD! The other story that makes this whole anthology! Loved it
tw: family murder (poison), quasi death of a baby, grief
THE CHRISTMAS EVE - 3✨ very middle of the road. Admittedly forgot about it before I even finished the next story
tw: murder (axe), gore
REALMER, REDEEMER by Joe Clements - 4✨ nice Lovecraftian vibes, but at a definite disadvantage because not only is a cryptid boyfriend introduced, the phrase "steeple phallus" was typed and not a speck of smut followed
tw: disappointing use of someone's cryptid boyfriend
EVERY HUNT IS A COLD ONE - 0✨ skimmed this one once it became clear it was a male author attempting to do a kidnapping rape/revenge story. No rape happens on the page, but that's absolutely where it was implied to be headed and I'm not here for that
tw: INCEST, (implied) PEDOPHILIA, SUGGESTED RAPE, religious bigotry, injury detail, cannibalism, child death
THE VIOLENT SNOW by Patrick Whitehurst - 4✨ a really fun concept and the writing was great, but the conflict kind of fizzled out once the cryptid boyfriend showed up (again no smut, male authors stop stealing women's cryptid boyfriends and not taking advantage of it) leaving the ending a bit anticlimactic
tw: death of cryptid boyfriend and not by snu snu
THE BURNING BOY by Denver Grenell - 4✨ fun story, could have been better
tw: murder (fire), prolonged threat
SNOWBLIND by Kyle J Durrant - 5✨ so good! You really feel the cold and fear with this one
tw: car accident, light gore
THE WILD HUNT by Roxie Voorhees - 2✨ the concept was interesting and it was folk horror which made me want to love it so bad, but the structure was confusing and these seemingly very traditional Norwegian characters claim that the wild hunt starts on Samhain when the celts were the only people to celebrate Samhain 🤦🏻♀️ which made me just question everything else in this book (I'm also not a fan of "bed time" story devices, so already knocked it down a peg for me)
tw: mutilation, child? murder (the age really isn't clear), natural death
THE COLD GRIEF by Spencer Hamilton - 5✨ definitely one of the best if not the best out of the bunch! So good! Worth it for this story
tw: child death, cancer, heavy grief, mentions of alcoholism
MY WHITE STAR by Carla Eliot - 3✨ okay. Pretty middle of the road. The ending was pretty anti-climactic
tw: sexually aggressive man, sexually motivated murder (strangulation), car accident
THE KILLER SNOWMAN by Cass Oakley - 4.5✨ this one has so much potential with the queer rep and the amazing dialogue and fun concept, but it felt super rushed with glaring typos and everything
tw: animal death
EVERYONE TO THE TABLE - 5✨ SO GOOD! The other story that makes this whole anthology! Loved it
tw: family murder (poison), quasi death of a baby, grief
THE CHRISTMAS EVE - 3✨ very middle of the road. Admittedly forgot about it before I even finished the next story
tw: murder (axe), gore
REALMER, REDEEMER by Joe Clements - 4✨ nice Lovecraftian vibes, but at a definite disadvantage because not only is a cryptid boyfriend introduced, the phrase "steeple phallus" was typed and not a speck of smut followed
tw: disappointing use of someone's cryptid boyfriend
EVERY HUNT IS A COLD ONE - 0✨ skimmed this one once it became clear it was a male author attempting to do a kidnapping rape/revenge story. No rape happens on the page, but that's absolutely where it was implied to be headed and I'm not here for that
tw: INCEST, (implied) PEDOPHILIA, SUGGESTED RAPE, religious bigotry, injury detail, cannibalism, child death
THE VIOLENT SNOW by Patrick Whitehurst - 4✨ a really fun concept and the writing was great, but the conflict kind of fizzled out once the cryptid boyfriend showed up (again no smut, male authors stop stealing women's cryptid boyfriends and not taking advantage of it) leaving the ending a bit anticlimactic
tw: death of cryptid boyfriend and not by snu snu
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Car accident
Moderate: Car accident, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child death, and Confinement
Minor: Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Incest
These are not in every story, but do come up in at least onezxillaisreading's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
dannireadsallthetime's review
2.0
This looked really promising and I read the first story in this novella and really enjoyed it. I found it really creepy and it definitely gave me the chills.... then the rest of the stories just didn't engage me. I can't even remember what they were about. Not for me, just not compelling.
jcue_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
karlakayjenniges's review
4.0
"In 'Bitter Chills', you'll find tales of haunting, spectral figures and snow-dusted beasts; new and exciting turns on folk legends and horrible, wintry interpretations of guilt and sorrow."
Chilling, winter themed stories from some superb indie authors!
The best thing about anthologies is the ability to enjoy numerous authors. To enjoy the talent that shines through each individual, unique story, learn more about their writing style and discover authors that one may not yet be aware of.
I enjoyed every story in my own way and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of the anthologies by Blood Rites Horror!
Chilling, winter themed stories from some superb indie authors!
The best thing about anthologies is the ability to enjoy numerous authors. To enjoy the talent that shines through each individual, unique story, learn more about their writing style and discover authors that one may not yet be aware of.
I enjoyed every story in my own way and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of the anthologies by Blood Rites Horror!
edith_emily_reads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5