This anthology is a lot of fun! Thankfully, because I have not, you don't need to have read the original Poe stories in order to enjoy these retellings. If you do want to, the second half of the book has the original stories.

It's an anthology, so I liked some stories and didn't like others, but the diversity definitely got major points from me and left me at the very least liking all of them. I really enjoyed the ones retold for current times, as I think those are very clever. All in all, it's a great starting point for people who've never read Edgar Allen Poe, and a fun change of pace for long time fans.

overall I wasn't disappointed by this . . . but I thought it would be better?? Feel more Poe-inspired? Some stories hit that vibe *just right* though, which is why I don't feel completely let down by this.

I'm a sucker for retellings, and this collection is pretty spot on. A great addition to any YA collection; however, those who love Poe shouldn't be turned away by the YA label. You'll want to curl up by a fire, but turn on all the lights after this read.

Love these reinvented versions of Edgar Allan Poe’s works from contemporary YA authors. I love how the authors were faithful to the original works will each one had that author’s own distinct voice in tact still.

I really enjoyed this collection of stories! They had the same eerie factor as the original works and left me sometimes at unease. I feel like they did their job well. Will definitely recommend to others!

I read various poems and short stories written by Edgar Allen Poe as early as seventh grade, when my teachers started assigning them–and they were almost always assigned around Halloween. Listening to “The Telltale Heart” and reading “The Cask of Amontillado” out loud, I became fond of his work in a way I never did with other assigned readings. Heck, I have a fancy Barnes & Noble hardcover of Poe’s complete works that have silver-gilded page edges! That and a different-kind-of-fancy copy of Dracula are the only so-called classics I own. One of my favorite YA series is a contemporary retelling/spin on Poe’s collective works! (The Nevermore trilogy by Kelly Creagh, which you should go find copies of ASAP.)

All that is to say there was no question whether I’d be checking out an anthology full of Poe retellings. Of course His Hideous Heart landed on my TBR from the moment of its announcement.

The stories vary wildly in the genres they tap into, their settings, and their loyalty to the content of the original stories, but they all pair well with what they’re retelling–and if you want to compare them with ease or just enjoy the originals, Poe’s work make up the second half of the book. Emily Lloyd-Jones and Fran Wilde take “The Purloined Letter” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” respectively into technological futures in ingenious ways; Rin Chupeco’s “The Murders in Rue Apartelle, Boracay” is an especially memorable paranormal romp set in the Philippines, though the conversational style in which the story is told may be offputting. Hillary Monahan’s “Red” sticks out as the story to most closely emulate Poe’s writing style for readers who like their retellings to keep the style while telling a new story.

The only work that doesn’t quite fit in anthology was Amanda Lovelace’s take on “The Raven” via blackout poetry. With so much blacked out, readers are left with a very short poem and nothing else. If you do an image search for blackout poetry, you’ll find some incredible work that combines poetry with illustration to be something visually interesting and memorable. “The Raven (Remix)” fails to make the most of its verbal/visual medium and just doesn’t impress.

If you’re a Poe fan like me, This Hideous Heart is sure to hit that eerie, spooky spot in your soul. Also I mean it, go look up Kelly Creagh’s Nevermore trilogy for some more Poe-related YA goodness published in the last decade!

I really loved this collection. Some were more my thing than others, but despite not necessarily loving horror, this was great.

**** Huge thank you to Flatiron Books for providing me with a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ****

General Trigger Warnings: Violence, Gore, Murder, & Death
Story specific triggers will be listed with the story below!

I have to say when I first heard about an anthology of contemporary Edgar Allan Poe retellings, I was absolutely pumped! And while there were definitely a few stories in here that I didn’t completely fall in love with there were also a few winners. Some of the stories really dragged on and felt too long and thus it took me a while to finish but the stories I did love really stuck out. Overall I feel like this is a fantastic way to introduce Edgar Allan Poe stories to younger readers and a modern audience in general. It’s always fun to see modernized versions of the classic stories you know and love!

Fun fact: all of the original Poe tales are included in this collection as well so if you have’t read them yet or need a quick brush up, they’re handy! I know I loved reading the originals and comparing them to the retellings while reading.

There’s also quite a bit of diversity in these stories ranging from POC characters, to LGTBQ+ romances, and disabled characters.

I will be reviewing each individual story but for those of you keen to know which were my favorites I’ll just leave them right here….

She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Black
It’s Carnival by Tiffany D. Jackson
The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig
The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay by Rin Chupeco


She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Blake – ★★★★
Retold: Metzengerstein

I have to say this was a story by Poe I wasn’t completely familiar with but after reading both I have to say this was a very good retelling, keeping close to the original while switching things up a bit. The story is told from the POV of a maid working in a mansion on a lavish estate under the care of a young, wealthy man named Friedrich. After his most recent lover perishes in a fire on the property it’s discovered she was in fact the daughter of another family with whom his has feuded for generations. Friedrich then begins spending time with a strange new woman that suddenly appears, who also happens to look like a woman in a tapestry in the mansion….

As I said the similarities with this retelling and the original were on point! I thought it was a lot of fun drawing comparisons with this one. Although I will say it would have been nice to get a little but “more” from the characters, more insight or more personality.

It’s Carnival by Tiffany D. Jackson – ★★★★
Retold: The Cask of Amantillado

I’m not sure why but this one was just a lot of fun to read, and yes I do realize I just called “murder” fun to read. This story also follows the original quite well but at the same time had its own unique feel. We have a diverse main character named Cindy who is of Caribbean/Barbadian ethnicity and plans to exact her revenge on a boy named Darrel using the cover of the West Indian Day Carnival in Brooklyn to do it. As I already mentioned it follows the original tale very closely so it unfolds much in the same way but I just really enjoyed this modern spin on it and the writing style just pulled me along!

Night Tide by Tessa Gratton – ★★
Retold: Annabel Lee

I really wanted to like this story more but sadly I was left feeling cold and confused. This retells Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” which is one of my favorites and puts an F/F romance spin on things. This story follows a young girl and her family at resort they always vacation at and how she is excited to see the girl she loves again, however, she soon learns that the girl had fallen gravely ill and passed away. She then reminisces about her time with Annabel Lee.

The writing in this one was very beautiful but I just could not get into it. I felt things were way too vague and left me feeling confused and distant from the story. The characters were bland and I just didn’t feel anything for them. I wanted to feel that longing and sadness present in the poem but found this story to be quite forgettable for me.

The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig – ★★★★ (4.5)
Retold: The Pit & the Pendulum

Trigger Warnings: Abduction, Abuse, & Torture

I would like to start off by saying this was one of the more disturbing stories but also one of my favorites because it was so dark and addictive. This one is about a teen girl who is abducted by a serial killer called “The Judge” who is known for taking girls he has deemed “sinners”. He attempts to get her to “confess her sins” before killing her by torturing her.

I loved how clever the MC was but I won’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil it! I would say this one was definitely action-packed and kept me turning pages, I wouldn’t mind reading this as a whole novel to be honest!

A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones – ★★★ (3.5)
Retold: The Purloined Letter

This story followed the general plot points of the original but definitely gave it its own very unique story which I was really enjoying. It’s futuristic with a very sci-fi feel to it about a girl who needs a new start and is in a precarious position with the government who “hires” her for a mission of sorts. In this world everyone’s identity comes in the form of a tattoo on their body making identity theft nigh impossible. When one of these tattoos is stolen it’s our MC’s job to find it.

I actually really liked the characterization in this one, we actually got backstory and got to know the characters. I also really loved the whole “heist” kind of theme and of course all the sci-fi tech. There’s also a bit of an F/F romance but I think it’s mostly just platonic. The reason I didn’t give this one a full 4 or 5 stars is because the pacing was a bit off and it felt way too long.

Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn – ★★★
Retold: The Tell-Tale Heart

This is definitely a pretty unique retelling as the only real connection it has to the original is the “hearing the beating heart” bit in my opinion. This is about a girl who has always tried very hard to the “best” at everything in school, but she ultimately struggles due to her minority status (she is half black and half Mexican). There is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed wealthy white boy that gets all the attention and awards, he’s essentially handed everything. She strikes up a relationship with him but when the end of her senior year comes around she will do anything to be the class valedictorian.

I liked how there was a deeper theme and message revolving around privilege and race in this one and loved Kuehn’s writing style. My only issue with this one was that the ending felt a little lackluster and abrupt.

The Raven (Remix) by Amanda Lovelace – N/A
Retold: The Raven

So I did not realize this right away but apparently the eARC I received was not formatted correctly. This is supposed to be “The Raven” retold by blacking out parts in order to tell another story/poem. However, since I had no way of reading this in it’s proper format I won’t be reviewing or rating it.

Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp – ★★★
Retold: Hop-Frog

Trigger Warnings: Abuse & Ableism

“Hop-Frog” isn’t one of my favorite stories but this retelling was alright, I’m always up for a good revenge story. This is told in a split timeline by one MC, a “before” being rescued by a Fae and an “after”. The Fae come for children that are disfigured or disabled because they are horribly mistreated and give them a choice to come with them to the Unseelie realm and to take revenge on the people that tormented them.

I loved the Fae aspect in this story but overall it was a bit slow and failed to grasp my attention fully.

The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles – ★★ (2.5)
Retold: The Oval Portrait

I have a lot of conflicted feelings about this story, it had really great potential but I felt the ending was….not great. It did follow the original tale in an interesting way and definitely put a modernized spin on it though.

It follows Tariq, a young African American boy nursing a football injury, whose girlfriend is haunting him through an oval-shaped filter on Instagram in order to have him find who killed her. It started off pretty creepy but after a while it lost that bit of flair. And that ending? What? It made zero sense to me and was very abrupt, it left me feeling pretty unsatisfied overall.

Red by Hillary Monahan – ★★
Retold: The Masque of the Red Death

I really enjoy Hillary Monahan’s stories because they always creep me out and the writing is great. However, I was very disappointed with this story. I liked how it followed a certain path set in the original tale and subtle references were fun to pick out but overall this story was confusing as hell.

It follows a “girl” with red hair walking out through the dark streets of Boston on her way to a club where she seeks out revenge on a man. However, we got zero explanations as to who or what she is (supernatural entity of some kind maybe?) and why she seeks revenge. While this added a certain aura of mystery that I liked, I felt a few things could have been explained in order to enjoy the story more. I was left with a “what?” expression and a completely forgettable story due to my lack of understanding it.

Lygia by Dahlia Adler – ★★
Retold: Ligeia

Trigger Warnings: Cancer Related Death & Homophobic Statements

This felt very similar to the story “Night-Tide” which retold “Annabel Lee”, and I understand the stories both deal with lost love and grief but…..it just felt too similar for me. This is about a girl who lost her lover to cancer and finds herself entering into a relationship with a new girl at school. She slowly begins to transform her into the spitting image of her lost love.

It is very similar to the original tale and it’s a good retelling in that sense but it’s just not my cup of tea.

The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde – ★
Retold: The Fall of the House of Usher

Okay. This is my least favorite story in the entire collection and to be perfectly honest I was so bored that I skimmed quite a bit. I didn’t think it was all that creative and I just could have cared less about anything with the story or characters.

It’s about twins who are hired to try and hack an “un-hackable” bank. It’s full of very futuristic tech etc. I just quite caring after that.

The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay by Rin Chupeco – ★★★★★
Retold: The Murders in the Rue Morgue

I have always loved Rin Chupeco and I was NOT disappointed with this story, definitely my favorite in the whole collection hands down. I loved the inclusion of all the Asian mythology and supernatural creatures, it kept my interest. It also follows the original tale very well too and even with prior knowledge of the original nothing is really spoiled either. I was surprised by the ending and loved how there was some characterization in such a short story too. I wouldn’t mind this being a full length novel!

Overall there were a few stories I found worth the read but there were more misses than hits for me unfortunately. However, I would still recommend this book if you’re a fan of retellings and Edgar Allan Poe, there’s something for every fan here I believe!

I loved this book, and I can't wait to teach some of these stories alongside Poe's works in the future!

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

I really enjoyed His Hideous Heart, I definitely loved the Edgar Allan Poe works since he's my favorite author. As soon as I saw this was available, I requested it. I needed it so bad! I thought I had already wrote this review, but I have been crazy busy so I guess I didn't. I also enjoyed the reimagining's of Edgar Allan Poe's works, they are easier to read just because they are more modern. I was surprised to see some of the author's in here that I did.

The 13 young adult shorts in this collection -- inspired by specific works of Edgar Allan Poe -- run the gamut from straight horror to science fiction to fantasy. Bonus: the anthology even includes the original works so you can compare and contrast Poe's source material with the retellings. While the overall anthology is weighed down by a few clunkers (because what collection isn't?), His Hideous Heart features some really well written, diverse stories for a modern age that pay homage to the master of the macabre.

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler is a collection of 13 tales inspired by works by Edgar Allan Poe. Included are tales by Kendare Blake, Tiffany Jackson, Tessa Gratton, Caleb Roehrig, Emily Lloyd-Jones, Stephanie Kuehn, Amanda Lovelace, Marieke Nijkamp, Lamar Giles, Hilary Monahan, Dahlia Adler, Fran Wilde, and Rin Chupeco. The stories themselves are varied from historicals to science fiction to horror and mystery.

I particularly liked "It's Carnival!" by Tiffany Jackson based on "The Cask of Amontillado." I also enjoyed, "Happy Days, Sweetheart" by Stephanie Kuehn, a re-imagining of "The Tell-Tale Heart."

Basically, all the stories were good. It was clear where the inspiration for each came from. The book is structured in such a way that the reader can read the originals by Poe as well. It was interesting to see how each author wrote a tale for the modern reader while keeping true to the inspirational material.

Overall I gave this collection 4 out of 5 stars. It's imaginative and well-written. I would recommend it especially to fans of Edgar Allan Poe. But, I can also see it serving as an introduction and bridge to new readers of his works as well. It's also a perfect October read.

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler was published September 10th, 2019 by Flatiron books.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

*Thank you to netgalley for the e-arc!*

I think it is really hard to review an anthology since there is such a wide range of authors and story directions that the read becomes a rollercoaster of ups and downs, of likes and dislikes. Looking back I enjoyed most of the re-imaginings and absolutely loved how the original tales were included for I ended up reading the original after the new tale.

Stories I loved: Night-Tide, Changeling, The Oval Filter, and Red
Stories I liked: The Glittering Death, The Fall of the Bank of Usher, The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay, and A Drop of Stolen Ink
Stories I thought were just okay: Lygia, Happy Days, Sweetheart, and She Rode a Horse of Fire
Stories I didn't like: It's Carnival! and The Raven (Remix)

Some I was disappointed in because I loved the original tale and had high expectations. Some were barely re-imagined which also disappointed me. Most, however, were a delight of eery, atmospheric, and dark and they were perfect.

I highly recommend this anthology for anyone who loves the macabre!
I can't wait to read the upcoming anthology from Adler based on Shakespeare's works!

I can’t lie: unlike most anthologies I request or read, I don’t have a lot of experience with this “topic.” I like to read retellings in general and have been so curious about this compilation of Edgar Allen Poe reimaginings since Dahlia first spoke about it on Twitter years ago. I thought, why not give it a shot? I saw that the original stories by Poe were in the back of the book in case I wanted to read those too, but I figured I’d read quick synopses online for each instead. I also decided to break this up over the course of October to (a) not pressure myself too much and (b) break up the spooky across the whole month! With there being 13 stories, I needed to complete a story every 2-3 days to finish by the end of the month. Therefore, I decided to read one story approximately every other weekday and move things around if I knew I had plans that wouldn’t allow for much reading. I ended up really liking the vast majority of these though, which led to a bit quicker of a read time than I expected!

As usual, here are mini reviews for each story in the anthology and the overall rating (above) is an average of all the stories’ ratings.

She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Blake | Inspired by: Metzengerstein
four-stars
This was nice and spooky! I was invested and curious without knowing as much about the original tale. I think I was a bit confused though because actually a lot happens in this one for such a short story? There was some kind of family drama, a fire, death, some paranormal stuff, a second love interest… I don’t think I even fully understood who the narrator was… But for some reason I just enjoyed the creepiness enough to give it four stars. 😉

It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson | Inspired by: The Cask of Amontillado
four-stars
Whew, this one fucked me up! The original story is a doozy, where the guy just tricks an annoying person into being basically buried alive. Aaand that’s exactly what happened here. This one definitely gave me the creeps and was incredibly true to the original story. I liked the twist where this all occurred during a Jamaican Carnival event, so that was a great additional element/setting.

Night-Tide by Tessa Gratton | Inspired by: Annabelle Lee
four-half-stars
I LOVED this. This story is more sad than creepy, for sure. It’s a f/f retelling of the story and made it so much more interesting! Instead of just a sad hetero love story like the original, the main character is unfortunately led to believe that her “unnatural” feelings for Annabelle led to her death. Just hit really hard and was such a great way to tell this story in a new way.

The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig | Inspired by: The Pit and the Pendulum
four-half-stars
I’ve been so curious to read something by this author so this was a great way to do it finally! I love that this was more of a creepy murder mystery/serial killer kind of thing. I know he writes books like that in general so it seems like a wonderful representation of what his full-length novels could be like. When I read the summary of the original Poe story, I was a bit underwhelmed; it sounded kind of boring. I think Roehrig did a wonderful job of making it more intriguing. (It was nice to know the ending ahead of time too!)

A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones | Inspired by: The Purloined Letter
four-half-stars
Despite loving most of the stories so far, this was a breath of fresh air due to a genre shift to something a bit more futuristic. I loved the concept and it was well-executed. It sort of felt like a retelling but also was more like a new story. The author was clever to update the letter aspect from the original story to a futuristic e-ink tattoo ID. There was a touch of f/f representation here as well, which was nice.

Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn | Inspired by: The Tell-Tale Heart
five-stars
Like most people, this is the Poe story I am most familiar with. I even saw a play of it back in middle school, which is weird. And like many other authors in this anthology, I was curious to read a book/story by Stephanie Kuehn and try her out! I wasn’t expecting for this retelling to be about a student body presidential campaign so the beginning was a bit jarring. I loved that this was a genderbent version though and there were obvious parallels to and discussions about how our society treats women in positions of power (or their lack of ability to get there). A lot of deeper messages in this one! Well-done. Amazing ending!

The Raven (Remix) by Amanda Lovelace | Inspired by: The Raven
two-half-stars
This is the other Poe story I’m most familiar with, of course. Having a poem mixed in with all of the short stories was a refreshing change, too. The formatting in the egalley didn’t translate over, so the blackout poem that this is supposed to be really just appeared like the normal poem. I had to find a copy to read the real version. Still, didn’t enjoy or understand it that much. Very meh on this one but I’m giving it some stars for creativity.

Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp | Inspired by: Hop-Frog
three-stars
While the formatting for this one confused me quite a bit, I think I understood the overall message? Nijkamp followed the idea of the original story (a character with dwarfism getting revenge and escaping with a close friend/lover? not sure) and updated it to include fae, a disabled MC, and a queer love story. The format changed perspectives between the two (or more – I genuinely couldn’t tell) characters, but I never knew whose perspective I was reading from.

The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles | Inspired by: The Oval Portrait
four-stars
This was a good one! It follows a football player, Tariq, who suddenly sees pictures on his deceased girlfriend’s Instagram account, which inevitably leads him to some information. I like how he sort of flipped the story from the original and turned it into somewhat of a mystery too. I do wish there was a little more at the end when we get some answers, because it just felt slightly unfinished.

Red by Hillary Monahan | Inspired by: The Masque of the Red Death
two-stars
I don’t enjoy rating books this low when it’s mostly because I personally didn’t understand the story. I actually have seen similar ratings though, so maybe it wasn’t just me! I enjoyed the writing style and the aesthetic of the story, but it fell flat by the end from lack of comprehension. I could definitely see the connections (especially with the colors) to the original story.

Lygia by Dahlia Adler | Inspired by: Ligeia
four-stars
I’m a big fan of Dahlia Alder and obviously she edited this book, so I was eager to get to her story. It did not disappoint! This was a really solid story that has gotten better in my mind over time as well. Just creepy enough and wonderfully connected to the original story, from what I understand. (After reading the summary for the original story, I didn’t fully get it, but this retelling was so well-done that I understand.) I still found myself slightly confused by the ending but not enough to detract from my feelings.

The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde | Inspired by: The Fall of the House of Usher
three-stars
I could obviously see the vague connection to the original story (the bones of it were there) but it was kind of meh. I liked the sibling relationship and futuristic sort of take on this, but I don’t have much to say. This felt really long too for some reason.

The Murders in Rue Apartelle, Boracay by Rin Chupeco | Inspired by: The Murders in the Rue Morgue
three-half-stars
This was interesting! I loved that Chupeco mixed in some fantastical elements (fairies, shape-shifters, mermaids, etc.) into this story. The ending was not like the original story, so it was a refreshing (non-obvious) change

Overall, this was such a solid group of stories! There are some under 3 stars but they’re mostly 3 stars or above. I would say that for a group of stories based around something I’m not overly familiar with, these were so well-done and really worked for me! Perfect level of spookiness for October. I believe the overall rating from the 13 stories is 3.7 stars, but I’m rounding up to 4 stars total – I just loved so many of these!

5 Stars
Night-Tide by Tessa Gratton
- So queer, so sad

The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig
- Probably my absolute favorite and I know need to read a full length novel by Caleb.

Lygia by Dahlia Adler
- Also very queer, and also very sad

4 Stars
It's Carnival by Tiffany Jackson
A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily-Lloyd Jones
Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp
The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles

3.5 Stars
The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde
The Murders in the Rue Apartelle by Rin Chupeco

3 Stars
She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Blake

2 Stars
Red by Hilary Monahan

1 Star
Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn
- Liked the opening of this story and then it just became very ehhhhh.

The Raven (remix) by Amanda Lovelace
- I'm still confused by this one. Was there any difference between this and the original?? If there was I didn't notice them.

His Hideous Heart is a short story collection of re-imaginings of Edgar Allen Poe (hereafter referred to as EAP) short stories (and one poem) written by various Young Adult authors. Instead of going story-by-story and giving you a review and synopsis of each, I’m going to talk to you about the highs & lows of the collection.

The first story in this collection that was actually interesting to me was “Night-Tide” by Tessa Gratton, which is based on EAP’s “Annabel Lee.” This story had some mysterious substance to it, and wasn’t just a surface plot-based retelling. The emotion behind this story was made clear through the gorgeous, careful language. It struck a good balance between being original but also referencing its source material. Also yay it’s gay! My only issue with this one was that I was (and still am) unsure about what time period it’s supposed to be set in, which doesn’t really make a difference in terms of how good the story & writing are. I definitely think that Tessa Gratton was the perfect author for this one, and I ended up giving it a 4/5 stars.

One of the most disappointing ones to me was “The Glittering Death,” which is the story based on EAP’s “The Pit & the Pendulum.” I am more familiar with “Pit & Pendulum” than I am with any other EAP stories, so I went into this one with high expectations. Unfortunately I just didn’t find this one very chilling, especially in comparison with the original. I didn’t like that the main character, Laura, was part of a “mean girls” type clique at school. It created a gap between me as a reader and her and I couldn’t connect. It all felt superficial and I couldn’t quite buy into the creepiness or dread of her situation & captivity. I ended up rating this story 2/5 stars.

Though I didn’t rate it particularly high, I feel the need to talk a little bit about the story “The Oval Filter” – based on EAP’s story “The Oval Portrait.” I had some very overwhelming feelings about it – some positive and some negative – that I’d like to just touch on & point out. My initial reaction to it was that it was gross; the writing style had some very bro-y language in it that was unnecessary. For example, the main character describes his past girlfriend as “Rihanna-esque” and a “bad chick.” It was so very focused on how pleasant her body and features were to him and it was gross to read. And not very professional writing, in my opinion. Just very surface and disappointing. The plot itself though was actually super cool! The way she like, hacked into his phone and controlled it, it was cool and creepy and fun. And the ending was badass! I just wish this story had focused more on the fun mystery plot and the supernatural elements to it than on the flimsy, bad “character development.” I ended up giving it a 2/5 stars.

My favorite story of the collection was actually “Changeling,” based on “Hop-Frog.” I didn’t quite know that it was my favorite until I had finished the whole collection and went back through all of my thoughts I had written down to write this review. This story, while not necessarily the “scariest” of the bunch, was the most original, intentional, and well-written of the bunch for me. Despite it being short in length it still managed to be intricate in every way. There was a fleshed-out history & context for the characters and the fantasy world it’s set in. Like I said before, the story was intentional in every way; the word choice seemed thought out and the characters relationships & choices seemed like they served a deliberative purpose. It was confusing in the best way – an authentically mysterious way. Overall it just was a sweet story, which is surprising to say considering the themes and ideas were fairly dark. I gave it 4/5 stars.

And all of the others stories were either not memorable or too confusing and should have been longer. Overall I was a bit disappointed in this book as a whole. It wasn’t as spooky as I would have liked, and it seemed all over the place – likely due to the fact that the stories were all written by different authors. At the very least with EAP’s original stories, the voice and vibe of the stories & poems were consistent because the same author was writing them. And I think that’s why I had trouble with this. It was very disorienting and I felt jerked around and like I couldn’t get into anything. And once I did get into it and start to understand it, it was over. I think this was a personal reading experience – I 100% still think that if you like gothic-type books, want something to read for Halloween times, or like EAP, you should definitely give this a try yourself.

this was fun, some things i enjoyed more than others but overall a good read and i would read it again

Rating: 3.5/3.75 It's been a long time since I've read anything by Edgar Allen Poe and I forgot just how much I enjoyed his creepy atmospheric writing. This was one of the first anthologies where I enjoyed most or the stories. The retellings were all modern and and interesting takes on the poe classics.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect spooky anthology for Halloween! As a fan of Poe, I loved this anthology so much. There's a wonderful mix of modern updates, and entirely new retellings with twists and turns. I think that, even if a reader wasn't a fan of Poe, they would still find stories they love within this book.