HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SCREAM BY VARIOUS AUTHORS

This book is a horror, Christmas anthology! The book contains 18 short stories by various authors within the horror genre. If you like scary (somewhat) stories you may want to give this a try. I personally felt indifferent to it. 

Rating: ★★★
​Release Date: October 23, 2018
Genre: Horror/ Anthology
Series: None. Standalone. 
Pages: 384 pages
Format: eBook. ARC. 

Eighteen stories of Christmas horror from bestselling, acclaimed authors including Scott Smith, Seanan McGuire, Josh Malerman, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, and many more.

That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together. The hideous children--Want and Ignorance--beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts. 
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Bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

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Read my Book Review

​Release Date: October 23, 2018
Genre: Horror Anthology with a Christmas Theme
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Okay. For the most part, this is a good book. It's a horror anthology centered around Christmas and features 18 short stories. Many of the stories are great. They are well written, interesting, somewhat creepy, and original. However, there were a few that didn't bode well with me and I had a hard time finishing them. Because of this, I am right in the middle in terms of my rating. I liked the book, but I didn't love it. 

One of the best things that I personally got out of this anthology is a list of new authors whose books I will be checking out in the near future. Horror novels seem to be so few and far between these days and I never know which authors are going to thrill me or kill me (not in the literal sense). So this was really exciting! 

Ahead you will find my thoughts on each short story within this anthology. There aren't any spoilers ahead just a few thoughts about each one including my personal rating for each story. 

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Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong: 3.5/5 stars 
My Thoughts: A very short read, but has a creepy urband legend attached (a Christmas one). If this was to be made into a full length horror/Christmas novel I think I would like it.


Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith: 2/5 stars
My Thoughts This didn’t feel like a horror tale and I skimmed the story. The writing style wasn’t in my taste either so the way it was told bothered me. 


Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire 4/5 stars
My Thoughts: This was a good one! Nothing truly felt creepy until the end, but it certainly ended with a bang I was looking for! I think many readers will enjoy this story. Additionally, I like the way the story was told. I felt as if I were a part of it. 


Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegosky 5/5 stars
My Thoughts This was a good one! Very creepy. Something that will haunt your nightmares! I guess I won’t be looking at dolls and stuffed animals the same again! 


Not Just For Christmas by Sarah Lotz: 4/5 stars
My Thoughts Wow. What an interesting read this one is! It’s original, funny, and creepy all in one. If this is what the future looks like. Eeek! 


Tenets by Josh Malerman: 2/5 stars
My Thoughts: The writing style is something to be desired. I can’t stand sentences that go on, and on, and on…. And they did with this story. Had the writing been a bit more… Normal? I don’t know, maybe this is the authors thing. It would have been good. I liked the ending, that’s for sure. 


Good Deeds by Jeff Strand: 5/5
My Thoughts: Gruesome, somewhat hilarious, and an all-around Christmas tale of terror! So far, this has been my favorite of the bunch. I loved the narrator even though he was an egotistical tool! 


It’s a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden: 4/5 stars
My Thoughts Interesting short story. I liked the idea of this one and seeing as I am a fan of psychological horror this one fit the bill. 


Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore: 4/5 stars
My Thoughts: This is a creepy story! It’s like Pet Semetary but for humans! This is another favorite of the bunch and I think many readers will like it. 


Snake’s Tail by Sarah Langan: 2/5 stars
My Thoughts: This one was weirdly religious and my feelings for it are… undetermined I guess you could say. I didn’t hate it but I can’t quite say that I liked it either. 


The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale: 3.5/5 stars
My Thoughts: This is a good ghost story although my thoughts were left wondering why the narrator was taken to the hotel in the first place.


Farrow Street by Elizabeth Hand: 1/5 stars
My thoughts: Didn’t make much sense and it certainly wasn’t scary. 


Doctor Velocity by Jonathan Maberry: DNF 
My Thoughts: This short story simply wasn’t my cup of tea


Yankee Swap by John M. McIlveen: 5/5 stars
My Thoughts: WOW! I really enjoyed this one. I feel like I have seen a movie like this 


Honor Thy Mother by Angela Slatter: 4/5 stars
My Thoughts : This was a lot of fun to read. I do think it could have been a bit creepier if the author TOLD us what the mother did in the end instead of making us guess. 


Home by Tim Lebbon: 1/5 
My Thoughts: Unfortunately, this did not feel like a horror or Christmas tale to me. I didn’y enjoy it at all. 


Hiking Through by Michael Koryta: 4/5 stars
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. It’s an interesting ghost story with a really cool concept.

The Hangman’s Bride by Sarah Pinborough: 2/5 stars
My Thoughts: I normally love the authors books and have read a few that I really enjoyed. This one, not so much. I felt like skimming it even though it’s a short story. It just didn’t hold my interest.

★★★