I generally hate Christmas and most things that would be considered 'heartwarming', so a Christmas anthology that focused on horror sounded great to me. All the stories take place around Christmas time but have a horror plot and the blend works surprisingly well. There's a large variety of stories here so I definitely think there's something for everyone and no risk of getting bored halfway through. And if you missed reading this during the Halloween season then don't worry because it will be a great Christmas read too!

My absolute favorite genre is Christmas horror, and this anthology is up there on my Top 10 books of the entire year. With a standout cast of amazing authors contributing to this little holiday collection, the variety in horror offered allows for a little bit of something for everyone - or a whole lot of awesome if you're me!

I loved this, and am not surprised - I'm a huge fan of the editor and a large number of contributors.

Thanks so much for the advanced copy - I'll be purchasing a physical one of this for sure!

This was a fun book to read and "kind of" get you in the Christmas spirit. Some stories were great and stand out among the others but others were a bit of a let down.

The book was longer than I thought it was going to be but worth the read. I would recommend this if you like creepy / horror stories and Christmas.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this anthology! My rating on this is 3.5 stars.

The story selection was hit or miss with me, and most of them lacking real holiday horrors. I was hoping for scary Santas, demonic toys, rude reindeer, and twisted trees. Don't get me wrong, most were good, but not great. Many followed a pattern of a seemingly innocuous event that takes a sinister turn at the end. My thoughts on a few of these:

Yankee Swap by John M McIlveen was the stand out of this collection. Starts creepy then gets to the horrific bits pretty quickly.

The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough was a good, solid story and also, the longest. This one had the space to spread out with some exposition then getting into the horror.

Snake's Tail by Sarah Langan wasn't my favorite (feels a bit preachy) but it gets props for at least getting us to the creep-factor pretty early on and keeping it there throughout the story.

Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith ended with some gore, but started by giving me a laugh. It begins with a man, his wife, and a screaming baby on a plane. That's the true horror, right there!

Finally, a shout out to story number 7, Good Deeds by Jeff Strand. It really felt like a parody and struck me as more comedic than worthy of a good scare. This guy buys shoes for a random kid's mom, then basically writes The Christmas Shoes to proclaim how generous he is. Then it goes downhill from there. To me, that's some funny stuff!

With 18 stories here, a horror fan is likely to find some good tales to bring on the goosebumps as they curl up next to the Christmas Tree, but be aware that many of these simply take place around Christmas, so the usual holiday characters are few & far between. The short stories allow for this to be read over various sittings, especially for when you want something a little spooky. This is probably really good for fans of A Nightmare Before Christmas.

I picked up Hark!The Herald Angels Scream based on the editor alone. I'm a longtime fan of Christopher Golden, so I was stoked to see a short story collection he edited.
Generally, I'm not a big fan of short story collections. I lose momentum half way through and really struggle through to the end. This collection is compiled in a way that it kept the pace up and didn't feel like a drag at all.
The book did not disappoint. The stories range from cringy, weird, unnerving, creepy, and darkly funny (one author really doesn't like the Christmas shoes song).
I had so much fun reading Golden's Christmas horror collection. It reminded me a lot of The No Sleep Podcast with the scares and the fun. I especially enjoyed 'Yankee Swap', 'Good Deeds', and 'It's a Wonderful Knife'.
If you are looking for a little scare to add to this year's Christmas festivities, I highly recommend this wonderful book of fun and chills.

My thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of Hark! The Herald Angels Scream.

I was pretty excited when I discovered I had been given an early copy of Hark! I'm a huge fan of horror movies and novels, though it takes a lot to scare me, I'm always hoping it will happen someday.

And nothing says Christmas like horror.

I was pleasantly surprised by the collection of stories, a solid bunch overall written by well respected authors of the genre that were all set during Christmas with a few minor exceptions.

A collection of short stories is like those Whitman chocolate samplers. You only like a few of them because the rest of them turn out to be caramel or coconut.

My favorites include "Christmas in Barcelona," "Farrow Street" and "The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel" while others were too corny like "It's A Wonderful Knife" and what the heck is "Tenets" doing in this collection?

Shockingly, I actually read all the stories front to back, when I usually skim the first paragraph and if I don't like it, I move on.

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream wasn't a bad read. If you're looking for something truly horrifying, watch The Shining or Poltergeist, but if you want an amusing read with a few chills, then pick this up. It's not a bad way to spend Christmas. Or Halloween.

Anchor and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Hark! The Herald Angels Scream. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is a collection of short stories of Christmas horror, with such popular writers as Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire, and Christoper Golden contributing. This anthology is designed to give a good scare instead of yuletide cheer. With 18 stories to choose from, fans of horror will appreciate the Christmas season theme throughout the book. Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is not unlike other short story collections that I have read, as there are few stand outs and many middle of the road offerings.

I enjoyed the first story Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong, which was a perfectly chilling way for the book to start. The story gives new meaning to the saying "Charity begins at home." Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire was just average, as the story gives only a passing glace at horror. Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski was another just average story, as the author did not push the plot at a pace needed for this short piece of writing to sing. I really liked Not Just for Christmas by Sarah Lotz, as it takes the idea of the perfect Christmas gift and turns it into a nightmare. Tenets by Josh Malerman just did not seem to fit the horror theme and was the weakest story in the book, in my opinion. Another story that was weak and lost my attention early on was Snake's Tail by Sarah Langan. Although Yankee Swap by John M. McIlveen reminded me too much of the Saw movies, I really did enjoy it. When a group of people awaken to find themselves chained to chairs around a table, the ensuing game of Yankee swap is nothing short of gruesome. Hiking Through by Michael Koryta is the story of a witch that lives on the Appalachian Trail. The tale was good, but was not scary enough.

Overall, I did enjoy reconnecting with familiar authors and found a few new ones that I am looking forward to exploring. As with any collection, there is a balance between stories that hit the theme on the head and some that deal it a glancing blow. Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is a good solid read and one I would recommend to readers who enjoy horror.

Copy/paste from my review on Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2568878552

First off, I’d like to mention I got this ebook for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And an HONEST review I will give. Probably won’t ever get books from them again, but here goes. I am not a professional reviewer and I do not have a major in English studies, nor do I feel entitled. But, I’ve read many books in my life, most of which I did not add on my Goodreads profile as I would still be here years down the road.

Most of the stories in the book don’t really have Christmas as a solid ground for the story. By that I mean that most stories happen at Christmas, but was done so by setting the decor with Christmas lights, or music, or just around the holidays, but you could have easily placed them over Spring Break and it would not have changed anything in the stories. A few however, did do this job well. “Christmas in Barcelona” and “Farrow Street” are great examples of great Christmas stories from the book and they are by far my favorite.

The book starts off strong with quite a few stories being really well written, narrated and concluded. Then it goes downhill from there. Stories like “Good Deeds” and “It’s a Wonderful Knife” should be deleted from the book as they are bad in all terms. Badly written, badly narrated, poor structure, poor characters, and do not respect the theme of the compilation. After that second one “It’s a Wonderful Knife”, I almost stopped reading right there and then, but pushed on, since I wanted to keep my end of the bargain. Then a few more good stories. So all in all, the stories are kind of like a roller coaster. Some are REALLY GOOD and some are really bad.

Another thing I’d like to mention was that I did read the book from cover to cover, including the bios of each author at the end of the book. Pretty much every bio mentions that the authors are New York Times Bestsellers. That makes me rethink how this term should be used. If every author in there is a NYT Bestseller, I should get to writing books immediately as I feel that some of these stories would have been better written by 7 year-olds.

To conclude, this is not a book I would have picked up had I been shopping for books in a bookstore or online, either in printed format or ebook. It’s not a book I would have picked up at the library either. Was it worth my time? Meh, I’m on the fence about that. As I mentioned some of the stories were really good, but the bad ones kind of left me bitter and almost made me give up the book a few times. Is it worth your money and time? Depends. If you’re willing to ignore the fact this is supposed to be a collection of Christmas horror stories and just a diversion, I’d pay about $3 tops for this as an ebook and read it from time to time. But paying more than that, I would be pissed. But there are way better story compilations out there.

Below are personal notes I took as I read the stories.

Absinthe & Angels
Spooky and funny. Great story to start with. Great to read between Halloween and Christmas. Just don’t read it at night. I enjoyed this story very much and it gave me a good impression on how the book was going to be if all stories were like that. 5*****

Christmas in Barcelona
Another spooky and funny story. Another great impression. This is by far my favorite story of the book as I am writing this. It is magical kind of like in a Disney magic kind of way, and at the end… OH NO! Magic turns! Great story! 5 *****

Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow
This story is kind of a weird one. It starts off on an aggressive tone, and then cools down for a while. Then it goes back to being eerie. The babysitter in the story tells a scary story to the children. And the story ends up being true. Good story 4****

Love Me
Not really related to Christmas other than it happens at that time of the year. Story is a cheap horror story. I wouldn’t want to know who wrote it as I would never buy his books. 2**

Not Just for Christmas
Another weird and someone “random” story that made me think of Gremlins but technologically advanced. You see where this can go wrong right? And it does. 3,5***

Tenets
Great story about how a Christmas party with lots of strangers can go awkwardly wrong when an ex-cult guru attends said party. Verbal abuse ensues, but Christmas Carolers save the day. Great description of ambiance and tension between the characters.4****

Good Deeds
Oh this “story” is such a disaster. What you think will turn into a weird heartwarming Christmas story (as all stories in this book are ‘horrorish” in nature). This is just depressing. It’s not even dark/noire humour funny. It’s just plain bad taste. Should be removed from the book. Don’t waste your time on this story. It will make you bitter and angry like the characters in the book, maybe just not go as far as they end up. HORRIBLE. No stars deserved.

It’s a Wonderful Knife
Another bad taste story which left me with a bitter taste. After both these two horrible stories in a row, I almost qui reading the book right there and then. Should also be removed from the book. It will not leave you with a good feeling. Again, I understand the whole point of this book was short Christmas Horror stories, but the first few were great examples of Christmas Horror stories that are GREAT. This story is another example of how they SHOULDN’T be. No stars deserved.

Mistletoe and Holly
This one is a good example of a good balance of horror/spooky Christmas story. Great introduction, great punch delivery, not too many words, great character balance for a short story. 3.5***

Snake’s Tail
Another great story. Well told, nothing complicated, easy read. Might be hard to hard for parents as this is about disappearing children on Christmas, but great story. 3.5***

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel
Loved the way this was narrated. Great horror story. I could have read a full book on this. Left me wanting more and hoping more stories in the book were like this. 5*****

Farrow Street
This one was fun. Started off totally not expecting the ending. There is no clue in the beginning as to what will happen. Character list is extremely short but fun. Great short story! 4.5****

Doctor Velocity
Eh, where do I start with this one? Not a Christmas story. At all. The only thing related to Christmas is the Christmas lights described, and the “Christmas” gift given to one of the characters at the end. Narration is good though, but story is boring and typical. 1*

Yankee Swap
Nice little story à la Saw. Plot was a little ambiguous, but fun little story. Christmas theme fits perfectly. 4.5****

Honor Thy Mother
Boring! About a death angel, but not really? Story happens at Christmas, but other than that, has nothing to do with it. Nothing really happens, characters amateurly introduced. Phasing is horrible. 2**

Home
What the heck was that? Just lost a half hour of my life on it. No introduction to the world other than perhaps an apocalypse? Maybe? And then the main character… no clue who he is. And his Old Bob character, I still don’t understand what he’s supposed to look like. And absolutely no references to Christmas and it’s not a scary story at all. What is this story doing in this book?!?! 1*

Hiking Through
Not a Christmas story for sure. Good humour, well narrated, and a witch story. Fun nonetheless. Easy read. 4****

The Hangman’s Bride
Another story that uses “Christmas” as an excuse and has nothing to do with the story. Well narrated. 3***

Before we know it, the Christmas season will be upon us, and what would be nicer than sitting curled up with a book showcasing 18 stories spreading the Christmas cheer or should that be fear
If I reviewed every story, my review would go out on for ever, so here are a some of stories that I really liked.
Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith: Travelling is a stressful situation. Having a new born baby in tow is double the stress. This story follows a couple as they take their baby on a Christmas getaway to Barcelona. As you read the story you could feel the cracks beginning to show with their happy family. There is a feel of tension in the story as you expect something to happen at any time. The addition of the presents takes the situation from bad to worse. A good twist at the end.
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R Lansdale. Strange goings on in a hotel, gives a chance for the MC to find out more about the mystery girl who kissed him at a Christmas party many years before. Even though you know that something bad happened at the hotel, the investigation of the owner and the haunting of the room gave it a whodunnit feel to the story. Swapping timelines was smooth and made this story a quick read.
Yankee Swap by John M McIlveen. First off, I had not got a clue what Yankee Swap was so had to google it. This story had a fatal twist to the game and a Saw feel to it. Non-stop drama with an ending that I never saw coming.
The Hangman’s Bride by Sarah Pinborough. Life was hard being a chimney sweep boy, its harder when the house you are working at is haunted by a ghost. The descriptive writing made you feel that you were watching a movie. This had everything you need in a ghost story. Love, revenge and haunting ending.
Whilst I had heard of some of the authors, this was a good introduction to the others and I will be sure to look out for other work by them. As Horror comes in different shapes and form, do not expect for every story to scare you, but buy this book and pick your own favourite story.

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!

Fun Christmas horror

There are 18 Christmas-based horror short stories in this anthology edited by Christopher Golden and I enjoyed each and every one of them.

I don't read very many anthologies because I've found in the past that there are usually 2 or 3 stories out of the whole book that I like and I plod through the rest.

But when I saw that Christopher Golden had edited the book plus had a story in it plus some of my other favorite authors - Joe Lansdale, Seaman McGuire, Jeff Strand, Tim Lebbon, Sarah Langan and more - I asked for a copy of the ARC. I definitely was not disappointed.

I never really thought of horror stories being based around the Christmas holidays but why not? Most of us, I'm sure, can think of some pretty horrific Christmases in the past. Mix families, alcohol and high expectations and there's usually a story there.

I highly recommend this selection of short stories.

I received this book from Penguin Random House through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Have yourself a scary little Christmas! What a great collection of stories by so many great authors. Cover art is fantastic!

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is a fun book of Christmas themed horror stories with some good, great and a few duds amongst its collection. I doubt it will convert the non-horror fan but if you like Christmas stories with a little edge or even a fan of the M.R James TV films from the 70's and 80's this should appeal to you.
Unfortunately for me there where more let downs than I would have expected for such an anthology but it is one to pick up and dip into every couple of nights. One to look out for is ‘Not Just for Christmas’ which is a story to make you laugh a couple of times amongst the more darker tales.

Hark! the Herald Angels Scream is an anthology of eighteen Christmas themed short horror stories from a unique and talented writers of the genre. Some of my favorite authors of the group include Christopher Golden (also the editor here), Seanan McGuire, Thomas E. Sniegoski, and Jonathan Maberry. While some of the shorts just weren't quite my style, there were some truly fantastic gems that were exactly what I was looking for. For me, the real standouts from the collection are "Absinthe & Angels" by Kelley Armstrong, "Christmas in Barcelona" by Scott Smith, "Love Me" by Thomas E. Sniegoski, "It's a Wonderful Knife" by Christopher Golden, and "The Hangman's Bride" by Sarah Pinborough. That's not to say that the other stories were bad, they just weren't what I has hoping for. Overall, I do recommend this collection, especially if you enjoy Tales From The Crypt or holiday centered horror.

*I was given an advanced copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review*
What could possibly get you in the Christmas spirit more than horror stories?? Or maybe, you'd rather get in the Halloween spirit by reading about people being tormented during the most wonderful time of the year!
Frankly, I think Christmas is an EXCELLENT setting for horror. I mean, who WASN'T freaked out by the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol ? (I, personally, would have liked more characterization of him to really Amp up the creep factor.)
As a huge fan of Blumhouse Productions, I was very into the idea of reading their holiday themed anthology Hark! The Herald Angels Scream which features stories from some of the hottest names in the horror circuit right now.

Sadly, most of those stories just didn't do it for me. There were a handful that were definetly worth it, but more that fell flat.

This is why I hate reviewing anthologies, because I wish I could review each story individually, but that would just be a nightmare for you to read. Then what? They're short stories, a review would be almost as long as them, how would I keep from ruining it for you??

So instead I'll give you the short lists: the three best and the three worst. At least, that way, you'll have my recommendations for what to hit and what to miss.

The Good
Story 1: Absinthe & Angels
What couple hasn't thought about taking a nice, romantic, secluded holiday together in a snowy cabin with no one for miles around? (well, me, personally, but that's because I studied forensic psychology and I'm sure there's a psychopath hanging out waiting to take advantage.)
This story is about a couple who rents a cabin alone a few miles away from where their friends are staying, to have a more romantic Christmas. After indulging in some Absinthe, they receive some unexpected visitors. Based on the cover art, you should be able to tell that it all goes downhill from there.
It was a very solid start for the book, and left me very hopeful for the rest of the anthology.

Story 2: Christmas in Barcelona
Another great one came right at the beginning, really drawing me in. This one, follows a husband and wife as they travel out of the country for the holiday with their young infant. Like so many babies, he doesn't do well with the trip, but that isn't the most horrific part of this story. I'm really only going to tell you that much, because the uncertainty about what is going to happen is part of what made the build so fantastic.

Story 18: The Hangman's Bride
Finishing the book on a strong high note, is this story of a young orphan who is taken in by a manipulative chimney sweep who,in exchange for room and board (barely) forces the boy to work for him, climbing into the flues with his tiny, flexible body. (ie, literally the guy's dirty work.) While working in a large manor, he begins to experience strange things in the flues (and just in the company of the residents, frankly.) This one was a wild ride, and honestly was more of a novella, with more in-depth fleshing out of characters, as well as a beginning, middle, and end.

The Bad
Story 5: Not Just for Christmas
This one, I think, was meant to be a lighthearted, comedic story. I just found it asinine and annoying. A father trys to buy his place in his estranged family back with an expensive, hybrid dog that can be programmed like a smart thermometer. As you can imagine, things go awry. That's all I'm gonna say.

Story 6: Tenets
Honestly, this one might have been a good kernel to start a full novella or novel, but as a short story it was disjointed, confusing, and not scary in the least. There were too many narrators to keep up with, for a "twist" ending that... Wasn't twisted? I don't know, you can read it, but I don't recommend it, and I wish I could get my time back that I wasted trying to figure it out. (I read this one twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. I didn't.)

Story 7: Good Deeds
Can I just tell you, that in trying to make this list and write my reviews, I have had to look this story up like five times because I keep forgetting what the fuck it was about. And then I remember. I can't even tell you anything about it because the premise is so basic, I would be giving everything away. What I can say, is this is exactly what we all feared sitting around a bonfire when some guy breaks out his acoustic guitar.

SO- the moral of the story? I don't know, I mean, some of them are good, some of them aren't, and they're all mixed together so it's hard to tell you whether you should read it or not. I, personally, will not be recommending it simply because the balance was tipped more towards boring than terrifying for me.


The Book
🌹🌹

The Writing
🕯️🕯️

Readability
🕰️🕰️

This is a fun collection of horror short stories all set around the holiday season. I was fairly happy with the variety of the stories in the collection with each author taking a unique angle on the season with stories about everything from vacations to office parties.

The stories were light-hearted and easy to read. There were some dark moments, but, overall, the stories didn't seem to take themselves too seriously. Unfortunately, I found most of the stories to be quite lackluster and forgettable. However, I did enjoy a few of the stories. Since I have a particular love for invasion/hostage related horror, my favourite stories in the collection were:

Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong
Yankee Swap by John M. Mcillveen

I requested this anthology from Netgalley because I love holiday-themed horror and, honestly, I was pulled in by the amazing cover art!

Christmas! I really can't stand it, but this anthology appealed to me for the following reasons. 1. The killer cover! (For which I got to host the exclusive cover reveal on my blog, Char's Horror Corner, and it was very exciting!) 2. It was edited by Christopher Golden and I've had good luck with anthologies he's edited in the past. I'm happy to report this one was no exception!

This book was chock full of stories, nearly 400 pages worth, so I can't get into all of them here, but I will briefly talk about the tales that stood out for me:

YANKEE SWAP by John McIlveen. Wow! We go from a woman trying to avoid her sexually aggressive boss at a Christmas party, to her getting knocked over the head and waking up tied to a chair. This tale had it all-violence, surprises and plot twists along with a satisfying conclusion. Bravo! 5*

CHRISTMAS IN BARCELONA by Scott Smith. I love Scott's A SIMPLE PLAN, but this tale was completely different from his usual stuff. I was able to guess the end just before the story got there, but that didn't spoil the fun at all. 4.5*

THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE CHRISTMAS HOTEL by Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe Lansdale. This was a perfect "ghost gets revenge" type story and I loved it, as I do most anything he writes. 4.5*

LOVE ME by Thomas Sniegoski. This twisted little tale reminded me of the Tribble episode from Star Trek. What fun! 4*

GOOD DEEDS by Jeff Strand. I don't even know what to say about this one, but it's Jeff Strand. What else do I have to say, really? 4*

IT'S A WONDERFUL KNIFE BY Christopher Golden. I figured out the conclusion early on, but that didn't spoil the fun getting there. 3.5*

HOME by Tim Lebbon. This was a twisted little tale of the end of the world and Santa, albeit a Santa you would never recognize in a million years. 3.5*

Lastly, THE HANGMAN'S BRIDE by Sarah Pinborough. Sarah's books have quickly become some of my favorites in recent history, (and I'm glad I have a good-sized backlog to catch up with), but this tale really took the cake. My second favorite in this anthology, with a distinct Dickensian feel, young William and his soot-filled lungs stole my heart. 5*

Most anthologies are hit and miss with me-very rarely do all the stories hit their mark. In this case, though, it was pretty close to doing so, therefore I gave it a four star rating.

Even if you hate Christmas, and you "Bah Humbug" with the best of them, this anthology has something for everyone-the variety is outstanding. So as the title suggests HARK people! Come and hear the angels scream!

Highly recommended!

*Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for the e-ARC of this anthology in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

Christmas horror in time for Halloween? Yes please! count me in! What a great way to kick off the holiday season. Not only do the herald angels scream, they bring you tidings of discomfort and fear. I love short horror stories in any season, but I savor them even more this time of year when busy schedules, holiday baking, and decorating the house for hordes of trick or treaters infringe on my reading time. Oh Dear, I didn't mean to sound like scrooge. There is just something so satisfying to me about being able to finish a long day of holiday chores and reward myself by sinking my teeth into a good story (instead of the Halloween candies or Christmas cookies) There are 18 tales in this goodie bag and I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite. I enjoyed most of them very much. In fact the first treat I pulled from this bag "Absinthe and Angels" by Kelly Armstrong was deliciously creepy and set the bar rather high for those that followed. There are stories of down and out husbands in search of the perfect gift to get back in their family's good graces. There's a newly single mom trying to cope with her first Christmas without her husband. There are holiday parties you are better off not invited to attend, a couple's first trip to Barcelona with their new baby in time for Christmas is one I will bet they never forget. A haunted hotel room, a tongue in cheek version of my all time least favorite song The Christmas shoes titled "Good Deeds" by Jeff Strand was a perfect fit for my twisted humor.
All in all this anthology was well worth a read.

The first story, Absinthe & Angels was a great little short. It was a Christmas myth that I’m not familiar with, but now after reading it, I found, it downright scary. Christmas in Barcelona was a slow burn that could have and should have been half as long. The end was nicely done but getting there was a long journey. Fresh as the new fallen snow was a nice little tale, a children’s story for sure. I kept waiting for the bang, but it was only a soft clap. Love me, was straight up twilight zone shit. A nasty twist of the knife right in the back. Not just for Christmas was very creative, and most appropriate for this age we live in. Only in a horror book can you find a genetic pet and know it’s all going to end in a bad way..These last two I've mentioned were my favorites, the stories not mentioned were average and hard to finish. My overall impression of this book was a feeling of lackluster storytelling. Sadly the cover was better than most of the stories.

A collection of Christmas stories in the Horror genre was just too good of an idea to pass up! This one is a collection of 18 stories by a variety of authors. I had actually heard of three of them and read something by two of those, which gave me confidence of a certain level of writing.

To be honest, not all of the stories held up to expectation but enough of them did to make the collection worthwhile. Just two of them were written in present tense, which I find difficult to read, and two others were written in second person, which I don't see often.

There were some interesting ideas explored; zombie elves, creepy children, melting babies, obsessive or robot pets, a great twist on revenge, and an abusive husband returning from the dead among others.

The stand outs for me were Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski, Not Just For Christmas by Sarah Lotz, It's A Wonderful Life by Christopher Golden, The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale and Darrow Street by Elizabeth Hand.

Also very worthwhile were Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seaman McGuire, Good Deeds by Jeff Strand (a very humorous entry), Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore, Home by Tim Lebbon and The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough.

The collection is definitely worthwhile for the Horror fan.