Book Review | Collision by J.S. Breukelaar

Collision is a short story collection by J.S. Breukelaar.

A collection of twelve of J.S. Breukelaar's darkest, finest stories with four new works, including the uncanny new novella "Ripples on a Blank Shore."

Introduction by award-winning author, Angela Slatter. Relish the gothic strangeness of "Union Falls," the alien horror of "Rogues Bay 3013," the heartbreaking dystopia of "Glow," the weird mythos of "Ava Rune," and others.

This collection from the author of American Monster and the internationally acclaimed and Aurealis Award finalist, Aletheia, announces a new and powerful voice in fantastical fiction.

Up next in my Women in Horror Month reviews is Collision by J.S. Breukelaar. Collision is a collection of short stories that extends past horror into all areas of speculative fiction.

This collection was my first encounter with J.S. Breukelaar's storytelling. I loved these strange and wonderful stories. I felt like I was taking a trip into Breukelaar's imagination.

These stories felt like they all had deeper meanings than what I was grasping on the page. I enjoyed each story, but I also felt like I was missing out on what Breukelaar was really sharing with each one. I was happy to find author notes for each tale at the end of the book. This was the perfect touch to conclude my journey through Collision.

I look forward to reading more of Breukelaar's work. I have a copy of Aletheia on my shelf that I can't wait to check out.

If you're a fan of strange and fantastic fiction (or you want to sample the work of J.S. Breukelaar), Collision is a great choice. The range of genres combined with the unexpected directions she takes in her stories make Collision a fun and interesting collection.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | Without Condition by Sonora Taylor

Without Condition is a horror/dark romance novel by Sonora Taylor.

Cara Vineyard lives a quiet life in rural North Carolina. She works for an emerging brewery, drives her truck late at night, and lives with her mother on a former pumpkin farm. Her mother is proud of her and keeps a wall displaying all of Cara’s accomplishments.

Cara isn’t so much proud as she is bored. She’s revitalized when she meets Jackson Price, a pharmacist in Raleigh. Every day they spend together, she falls for him a little more — which in turn makes her life more complicated. When Cara goes on her late-night drives, she often picks up men. Those men tend to die. And when Cara comes back to the farm, she brings a memento for her mother to add to her wall of accomplishments.

Cara’s mother loves her no matter what. But she doesn’t know if Jackson will feel the same — and she doesn’t want to find out.

I'm continuing my Women in Horror Month reviews with Without Condition by Sonora Taylor.

This is a tough review for me only because I was the wrong audience for this one.

The character development in Without Condition was great. I read this as a group read with several of the Ladies of Horror Fiction team, and we had some really great discussions after reading about the main character's childhood and experiences with bullying.

Without Condition was also well written and a quick read.

The only reason this wasn't a huge hit with me was it was less "horror" and more "dark romance". I'm just not a romance reader.

If you enjoy dark romance and need a great read for Women in Horror Month, Without Condition might be an excellent choice for you. I am definitely open to reading more of Sonora Taylor's work in the future.

⭐⭐⭐★★

Review copy provided by author

Book Review | A Primer to Kaaron Warren edited by Eric J. Guignard

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #2: A Primer to Kaaron Warren edited by Eric J. Guignard in an introduction to the work of Kaaron Warren.

Australian author Kaaron Warren is widely recognized as one of the leading writers today of speculative and dark short fiction. She’s published four novels, multiple novellas, and well over one hundred heart-rending tales of horror, science fiction, and beautiful fantasy, and is the first author ever to simultaneously win all three of Australia’s top speculative fiction writing awards (Ditmar, Shadows, and Aurealis awards for The Grief Hole).

Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to her work, the second in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover—or learn more of—the distinct voice of Kaaron Warren, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich.

Included within these pages are:

• Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book
• Author interview
• Complete bibliography
• Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)
• … and more!

Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Kaaron Warren.

I'm starting my Women in Horror Month reviews with a highly recommended read.

A Primer to Kaaron Warren contains six short stories by Kaaron Warren, an essay on "Why Karron Warren Matters" by Micheal Arnzen, an interview with Kaaron Warren, and essay by Kaaron Warren titled "Tips for Finalizing Your Short Story", and more.

This was my first experience reading Kaaron Warren's work. I have a couple of her novels (one fantasy and one horror) on my shelves that I am really anxious to read.

Her stories in this Primer were unlike any stories I've read before. I loved her voice, her imagination, and the feminist slant to her horror.

Like the previous book in the Exploring Dark Fiction series (A Primer to Steve Rasnic Tem), Michael Arnzen provides literary analysis/commentary after each story.

I love the setup of this series. They are also illustrated by Michelle Prebich. They truly are beautiful books inside and out.

If you are looking for a woman horror writer to celebrate during Women in Horror Month (or after!!) or short fiction to read this month for the Ladies of Horror Fiction Readathon, I highly recommend A Primer to Kaaron Warren. The stories in this collection made my dark heart happy.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review copy provided by publisher

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | February 3

February is Women in Horror Month! If you are looking for ways to get involved, the Ladies of Horror Fiction team have several events going on through the month of February. (If you need help finding women horror authors, be sure to check out the extensive LOHF Directory!)

We are doing another #LadiesofHorrorFiction photo challenge on Instagram if you'd like to join in on the fun over there.

We are also hosting a month long #LOHFReadathon along with Alex (Hey Little Thrifter). You can watch Alex's booktube video about the readathon here:

We are also hosting community wide readalong of The Between by Tananarive Due. Be sure to check out the full readalong schedule.

And be sure to hang out with me here all month as I review and share horror books written by women. If you post any #WiHM reviews this month, be sure to let me know so I can share those, too!

Posted Last Week

I posted my ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ review of Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire.

Finished Reading

My first Women in Horror read for the month was Sonora Taylor's Without Condition. ⭐⭐⭐★★

I also finished reading Exploring Dark Short Fiction #2: A Primer to Kaaron Warren edited by Eric J. Guignard ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.

Stay tuned for full reviews of both this month.

Currently Reading

My current Women in Horror Month read is Black Wings by Megan Hart.

I'm also reading and enjoying the next Wayward Children book Beneath a Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire.

Recent Acquisitions

Many thanks to Tor.com for sending out Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, Finding Baba Yaga by Jane Yolen, Bedfellow by Jeremy C. Shipp. Middlegame is Seanan McGuire's upcoming release due out on May 7, 2019. The Jane Yolen book is a Baba Yaga book written in verse! What a perfect book for me! I also excited to check out the "tense dark fantasy novel of psychological horror" Bedfellow.

Thank you to DAW for the Kindle ARC of Finder by Suzanne Palmer. I'm looking forward to this action packed scifi novel.

I also grabbed a couple Audible deals this week that I'm excited about: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal and Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse.

So what about you? Let me know what you're reading this week or leave me some links!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Women in Horror Month: Resources!

I usually start the month out with a horror spotlight on all of the new horror releases, but it's Women in Horror Month! I'm going to push back the regular post a bit so we can focus first on WiHM.

Do you need suggestions for what to read this month? The following is a list of resources to help you discover some amazing women horror writers:

Last year I wrote a post on Women in Horror A-Z. If you are looking for some suggestions on what to read this month, please give it visit! There are some amazing women and books to be found there.

Did you know there is a genre on Goodreads called "Women and Horror"?! Check it out!

"Tucked away on the dark and dusty shelves of libraries around the world are pages packed with murder: tales of lands where only the most wicked of creatures dwell...Here is a short round up of the women you may not know yet, but once you do, they’ll surely haunt your bookshelves evermore." 6 Female Horror Writers To Read Right Now

My friend Anita wrote this post a few years ago for Hellnotes, and it is an amazing resources for discovering women horror writers: Top 25 Women Horror Writers You Probably Haven’t Heard Of (But Should Know)

Melissa at Little Miss Zombie wrote a post several years ago listing 50 Kindle Horror Books Written By Women, and Gef at Wag the Fox followed it up with a list of 50 MORE Kindle Horror Books Written by Women. These lists are awesome.

Updates:

Becky at RA for All: Horror posted an announcement for Women in Horror Month that includes some great recommendations: Women in Horror Month 8 Begins Today!

If you have any resources you would like to add, please let me know! I will add them to the updates.

Women of Horror A - Z | Horror Spotlight

Horror Spotlight is a feature highlighting the newest in horror fiction. If you would like to connect with me or contribute to my Horror Spotlight posts, please feel free to drop me a comment or send me an email at bookdenblog(at)gmail(dot)com.

February is Women in Horror Month! This week I'm combining Women in Horror and my Horror Spotlight feature with an A - Z list featuring women who have published horror books within the last year. The first book you see listed is their latest release, but I'm also including some back titles because I really just want to share their work with you.

All photos including the author/editor photo will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads.

Ania Ahlborn

Libba Bray

Nicole Cushing

Ellen Datlow

Susan Ee

Teresa Frohock

Mira Grant

Christina Henry

Maureen Johnson

Amie Kaufman

Alison Littlewood

J.H. Moncrieff

Naomi Novik

Kelli Owen

Sarah Pinborough

Madeleine Roux

Lucy A. Snyder

Melanie Tem

Ursula Vernon

Rachel Vincent

Kali Wallace

Mercedes M. Yardley

Who are your favorite women horror authors and editors? Be sure to share them in the comments!