Difficult Women By: Roxane Gay Review

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ebook copy of Difficult Women By: Roxane Gay in exchange for an honest review. 

This is the first book by Roxane Gay that I have read and for the most part it's a pretty good set of stories. I enjoyed how the stories featured all kinds of women from different walks of life. Some of the stories are pretty emotional, which is something that I really enjoy. 

#IsItWeirdThatIEnjoyThat?

However, I will say that some of the stories are a bit dull or just not to my taste.  Part of that may be that I did get a little tired of how much sex there is. I could have done with a little less of that honestly. I don't think sex has to be used in everything to make an impact. 

#SexSexSex

Overall Difficult Women is a pretty good set of stories. Since this is the first I've read from this author I didn't know what to expect, but I really love her writing style. I'm glad that I read this one because some of the stories are really fantastic. I would read more by Roxane Gay in the future just for the writing alone to be honest. 

#BeautifulWriting

I recommend Difficult Women for anyone interested in stories about women with beautiful writing. 

#DidIMentionBeautifulWriting?

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams By: Stephen King EXTRA MINI Reviews For Each Story!

Short Review Summary: 

Another great set of short stories from Stephen King! 

I'm going to do a VERY short review for each story in this collection. Pretty much these are the short notes I made while reading. I thought it would be fun to share these for each story instead of a GIGANTIC review. :) 

Mile 81:

5 Stars

This is a great way to start off a book of short stories! SK can really write creepy cars.

Premium Harmony:

3 Stars

This one is pretty meh. I didn't hate it, but it's nothing that I will remember later.

Batman and Robin Have an Altercation: 

4 Stars

This is a simple, but effective story. I really liked it, but I'm not sure why. HAHA.

The Dune:

5 Stars

Before all of the stories in this book SK says a little something about each. For this one he says that this is one of his favorite endings. I have to agree with him there. The ending to this one is fantastic.

Bad Little Kid: 

5 Stars

Creepy kid for the win! I really like this one and how the story played out.

A Death:

4 Stars

Ooo the surprise in this one is great.

The Bone Church:

3 Stars

Interesting, but weird poem. 

Morality:

5 Stars

This one is very captivating.

Afterlife:

5 Stars

I love unique takes on the afterlife!

Ur:

5 Stars

I LOVE this one. SK really knows how to come up with ideas that seem wonderful, at first. They never end well though, do they?

Herman Wouk is Still Alive: 

5 Stars

I like this one a lot, even though it is a little depressing. 

Under the Weather:

5 Stars

I love this one and how you know the outcome at the beginning, but it WORKS.

Blockade Billy:

2 Stars

This one wasn't for me. Boring. 

Mister Yummy:

4 Stars

Someone must be thinking about old age and dying a lot, but it sure makes for some good stories!

Tommy:

4 Stars

I enjoyed this poem better than the other one for sure. 

The Little Green God of Agony:

5 Stars

This story is so wacky! I love it. 

That Bus is Another World:

3 Stars

Eh, this one is just okay. I like the idea behind it more than the execution.

Obits:

3 Stars

I liked this one, but I didn't love it. 

Drunken Fireworks:

4 Stars

Yet another good one!

Summer Thunder:

4 Stars

I'm thrilled that this collection ended with a great story!

Overall I really enjoyed The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. It's no secret that I'm a big King fan and this collection has some magnificent stories. A few of them aren't really for me, but that's okay because there are plenty that I LOVE. I also love the intros from SK before each story. I think that is such a cool idea and I would love more short story collections to do that. 

I recommend The Bazaar of Bad Dreams for fans of Stephen King and short stories. 

MINI REVIEWS!! The Birds & Other Stories By: Daphne Du Maurier & Feel Me Break By: Tara R.

Sorry, no memes this week! 

My overall rating for The Birds & Other Stories is 4 stars, but since it is a collection of stories I decided to also rate the stories individually. 

The Birds

5 Stars

I LOVED this one. I grew up watching the Alfred Hitchcock movie for The Birds, but I never knew it was a story first until a few years ago. Since then I've been meaning to read it and I finally got around to it! As much as I loved it I can't say it's better than the movie. I really enjoyed the movie and story equally. 

#BirdsScareMe

Monte Verita

2 Stars

This one was a little bit meh for me. It was kind of slow and just an okay story. It wasn't bad, but not great either. It was also very long so it did drag on and on. 

#OnAndOnAndOn

The Apple Tree

4.5 Stars

I originally was going to give this one 4 stars without the other half star, but after some time went by I kept thinking about it. This a story that is good while reading it, but ends up great because it stays in your mind.

#StillThinkingAboutIt

The Little Photographer 

3 Stars

This one was like Monte Verita for me. It wasn't bad, but not terrific either. I did like it better than Monte Verita, but it wasn't as long either. 

#JustOkay

Kiss Me Again, Stranger

4 Stars

How could I not like this one? The line, "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" alone is just magnificent. 

#LoveThatLine

The Old Man

4 Stars

This story started off a little blah, but then I did like the ending. Even though it was pretty odd. It was a bit out of nowhere and it reminded me of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Which I LOVE, so I ended up really enjoying this one. 

#ThatEndingGotMeLikeWHAT?!

Overall The Birds & Other Stories is a pretty great set of gothic stories. The Birds is my favorite story in the book of course, but there are other good ones too that make this worth a read. As always with collections of stories there are always a few that you just don't care for as much as others. 

#ILoveGothicStories

I recommend The Birds & Other Stories for fans of Shirley Jackson, Poe, and Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. This is a perfect book for fans of gothic reads.

#HellYesIRecommendIt

Thank you to the author for providing an ebook copy of Feel Me Break in exchange for an honest review! 

As you all may know by now I am not really a novella reader. However the summary of Feel Me Break really stood out to me and so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. There is a whole lot of emotions packed into this novella! 

#EMOTIONAL

The author did let me know that this is a prequel novella (with cliffhanger) and that there will be a full length novel coming out. I am so HAPPY that there will be a full length novel because after reading this I really need it. My favorite thing about this novella is Chloe and Nick's characters. Gosh, they just had such good chemistry and I like both of them. Also, the writing is just beautiful and drew me in from page one. Which let's face it is a must for such a short read!

#BeauifulWritingAndGreatChemistry

Overall Feel Me Break is a fantastic novella. I can't wait for the full length novel, Watch Me Rise. I need to know what happens to Chloe and Nick! I feel like it left off right as it was getting to all of the really GOOD stuff. Feel Me Break certainly left me wanting more that's for sure. 

#TheEndingOMGTheEnding

I recommend Feel Me Break for all New Adult fans. This is such a fast read and it's only $0.99 on Amazon right now! If you love New Adult books then I say why not try this one before Watch Me Rise comes out.

#CallingAllNewAdultReaders!

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Seize the Night: New Tales of Vampiric Terror Anthology ARC Review

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Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read and review an ebook copy of Seize The Night: New Tales of Vampiric Terror. Edited By: Christopher Golden. 

Seize the Night is an anthology collection of short stories about vampires.

No, these ARE NOT stories featuring romanticized emo vampire heroes.

This anthology brings back terrifying vampires in new stories from authors such as : Charlaine Harris, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Scott Smith, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kelley Armstrong, Brian Keene, Tim Lebbon, David Wellington and Michael Kortya.

Don't be put off by the three stars rating! Seize the Night is a fantastic anthology of frightening vampire short stories. Of course there were some stories I LOVED, some I liked, and a few that I didn't particularly care for. 

Out of all the short stories here are a few of my favorites: 

Up in Old Vermont- Scott Smith

On the Dark Side of Sunlight Basin- Michael Koryta

The Neighbors- Sherrilyn Kenyon

Paper Cuts- Gary A. Braunbeck 

Mrs. Fondevant- Charlaine Harris 

The Last Supper- Brian Keene

What Kept you so Long?- John Ajvide Lindqvist

The best thing about this collection is the fact that the vampires are SCARY. I like all kinds of vampire stories, even the romanticized ones, but I like the horror ones best.  I read "On the Dark Side of Sunlight Basin" one night right before going to sleep and I was a bit freaked out by it. That one definitely got to me! I can't remember the last time I was creeped out by anything vampire related. That right there is the awesomeness of this anthology. I enjoyed the majority of these stories and those are the ones that make it worth a read.

I recommend Seize the Night: New Tales of Vampiric Terror to fans of horror, fans of the old school vampires, fans of any of the authors, and to anyone looking for something new and creepy to read this Halloween season. 

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