It was well done! Every story was complete and so brilliantly done given the word restriction. One thought f strategy experts say that constraints truly help us become creative and this novel proves that.

First of all, I have to say that I have mad respect for anyone who can write a story (or 55 of them) in just 55 words. That's such a limiting frame.

Overall, I would say that I enjoyed half of those stories. Some were great; some felt a bit meh.

I would not call them "sinister" because most were anything but. Plus I have to re-read some of them to really get them.

<i>He was like family, that's all. He was her backup, her Plan B.

She eyed the wedding invite warily. It hadn't occurred to her that he might be someone else's Plan A. </i>

And a lovely illustration for each story.

<i> She liked things whole. She could only take one bite of a fruit before throwing it away. She broke up with her last boyfriend because of his fondness for fingerless gloves.

But this new guy seemed perfect... <spoiler>until she saw the scar.

I donated a kidney to my father," he smiled, unknowingly sealing his fate.</spoiler></i>

A selection of 55 micro-fictions, all made of precisely 55 words. Generally they feature a man and a woman and some kind of connection between the two, but they may also spin off a macabre slice of life, or a silly pun.

The author recommends we stick to three of these tales per day, to ration them, but I wanted more – I wanted something so good such restraint was impossible. Sadly, I read them much quicker than intended as a fair few weren't all that great – although 'Bun in the Oven' will certainly raise a laugh, and a heck of a lot more fun was to be had from these pages than a compilation of the "world's best" flash fiction I remember enduring a year or two ago. The author's illustrations accompanying them both pad things out no end and add a certain style to it all; they indicate how this looked as a limited arty release (from Lebanon, of all places) before this mainstream edition.

Three stars might be a little stingy.

55 sinister stories promised fifty five short stories comprising of fifty words each perfectly wrapped with absurdity and it DELIVERED!!!

i loved all these spicy tit bits, each with a different theme, some easier to grasp with a single read and others requiring a multiple tries. while i couldn't get some, i overall enjoyed this new genre(if i might call it) and found myself getting sucked in this deliciously sinister book.

What a fun little book of flash fiction. I so enjoyed these mircro-stories, each with a micro-twist that lent them spice and interest. Recommended for lovers of innovative flash fiction.

So astonishingly by it's title, surprisingly executed fabulously. It's funny that I'm surprised to find the content to be as slightly sinister as one can get, but yeah I cannot deny that I am. And I enjoyed every story immensely. I also have several favorites in between.

Review to be posted on blog/goodreads mid-may.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I was definitely curious about this one when I saw it on Netgalley. I was looking around for books to read during the time of stay-inside (which is probably still happening at the time I post this review) (rationing books, yay) and this one looked quite interesting. Short stories of just a few sentences with a dark twist? Sign me up.

And while I did enjoy the book and I did find some stories that I enjoyed (3 of which I shared on Twitter) many of the stories were not so sinister, sometimes not even slightly. While they were enjoyable those not so sinister stories, I did come here for sinisterness (if that is a word??).
Luckily there were a few sinister story that had me shiver in delight at their sinistress (again is this a word??).

I also did like that each story was just comprised of a few sentences but still felt like a story and I definitely liked that. Some I would definitely see expanded into a few more sentences.

There are also illustrations to accompany each short story and I quite like the style, though it was kind of funny that the illustrations were often more sinister than the stories were.

All in all, hit and miss but still I am happy I picked this one up and I would say try it out.

The author has outdone herself in narrowing down a story to its essential idea, at the same time making sure that it does not lose its poignancy. Each story in 55 Slightly Sinister Stories is only 55 words long, yet the stories are still amusing, inspiring and thought provoking. This is a mighty task to accomplish in just 1 or 2 short paragraphs.
Rejected lovers, dismayed spouses and embittered writers come alive in a few exceptionally planned out lines.
What’s more is that the book is peppered with charming illustrations which make reading much more enjoyable and serve as eye candy.
I enjoyed reading this book very much and would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy, so that I could review it.

I'm not sure how this is being marketed as humor OR "sinister". All I got were fairly "meh" short stories about failed romances.

I went into this wanting a short book to read for a monthly book challenge, and thought it sounded fun. Ohhh boy. I absolutely loved everything about this sinister little book of short stories. Each story is 55 words or less, and frankly that is the perfect amount to tease your brain into wanting more, yet being satisfied that you just read a perfect story with no unnecessary filler, no lulls in development, or anything else you can think of. Only perfection. Well, slight lie-I wanted more stories!

There is a blank page between each of the stories in the ebook, and I am not sure if this is a placeholder for artwork, or if there will be a blank page between each story in the finished copy. Either way, I think I will be getting my hands on a finished copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing for this early review copy, and for introducing me to Flash Fiction and giving me the idea to write my own FF!

What a creepy; deviant little book! I absolutely FLEW through this is one- sitting.

This was my first experience with what is known as “micro-fiction” ( stories that are 100 words or less) and let’s just say that I have have found a new genre to seek out.

Each story has an deeply ominous drawing directly before it, foreshadowing what is to come in writing. The illustrations are at times beautiful, mostly eerie; always peculiar.

My favorite stories were as follows ( in order by page):
- The Best-Laid Plans
- Lucky Duck
- Complementary
- Frankenstein Revisited
- Lip Service
- A Literary Death
- Some People Eat to Live...
- At Sea
- Fatal Beauty
- Bun in the Oven
- Food for Thought
- The End ( Part 1)
- Unrequited
- Chart-Toppers

If you are quirky and have a wicked sense of humor— this book is 1000% for you.

Publish date is : June 20, 2020 and I can’t wait to pick this up and own a physical copy! I will definitely be re-reading this many times. I think it will be deliciously spooky to pick up around Halloween & share with your friends for a good laugh around the campfire!

In my opinion, this book is an adult version of “Scary Stories to tell in the Dark.”

Thank you to Netgalley & Andrew Mcmeel Publishing for providing me with an early ARC to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

5 stars!!

~She wore everyone's expectations like a scratchy sweater. It fit beautifully, but she was always itching to shrug it off~

If you like Rupi Kaur or Amanda Lovelace and such writings you will like reading this collection.
If you like writings with undertones of malancholy about life in general regarding past relationships and the people in it, you will most probably enjoy this collection.

What more to expect:
Really short stories of hardly 4 to 5 lines.
The black and white ink illustrations in between the pages.

I enjoyed the few good parts. But at times I feel like the author gets a bit too outspoken and insensitive to the shortcomings of other people. I can understand and interpret well sarcasm but I just cannot stand insensitive mockery in writing about disability, body shaming, impotency or rather, let's say, the shortcomings of others.

There are some disturbing 'stories' here which I cannot unread again. This collection talks about fat/body shaming, eating disorders, make believe beauty, cheating in relationships, suicide, dementia, perfection (if there's anything like that with humans!), terminal illness, and some topics like plane crash, broken marriages, convenient relationships, death.
Overall, I felt like this collection is a way too negative. I would have liked it if it was just dark, sad and emotional. I knew what I was getting into when I picked up this one but I didn't think it would be something really negative. I know people close to us can be really bad and insensitive but I want to know the hurt and the pain through good writing and expression. Sadly this one didn't work for me.

Thank you #NetGalley for the book #55SlightlySinisterStories

I've always been intrigued with flash fiction or micro-fiction, and this collection is all about that. 55 stories, 55 words each.

The stories all are about relationships, heartbreak, and disappointments. I liked a lot of them, some of them felt repetitive, others didn't deliver the right punch. The trick with these very short stories is to choose the words carefully and have a killer first and last lines, some stories lacked that. but I still liked it.

I thank netgalley for the digital arc.

sorry, but i did not enjoy this book. the illustrations are kinda cute, but the stories are disappointing.

dark humor? intrigue? where? i don’t think the stories are funny/creepy or something like that. maybe absurd is the only adjetive i would use to describe them.

Absolutely lovely; Mourtada's short story -that could definitely be characterized as prose-poems as well- collection is painfully sincere and highly entairtaining.

I loved it. Short stories are not something I ever read but I am happy I took the opportunity to read these. They all leave you wanting more, yet they are neatly tied up in a 55 word bundle. They're a little dark, a little weird and a lot of fun.

**I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Racha Mourtada brings 55 slightly sinister stories, a collection of 55 drabbles that are all 55 words long exactly. There are corresponding illustrations for the drabbles that are included in the collection as well.

This collection is in that space of writing where I tend to consider it a sort of blending prose and poetry. The author's voice is clear and consistent. The collection frequently contains a dark humor that I enjoyed as well. Each of the stories are interesting on their own. However, I believe they can be more impactful reading two or three at a time as the author recommends, rather than reading the whole collection in one sitting as I did.

I enjoyed the collection and found it fun, but do not feel fondly enough about it to count it as a new favorite.

55 Slightly Siniter Stories brings me back to my childhood. Not what you were expecting, I'm sure! This book of short stories was very reminiscent of Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. A version for grown ups if you will.

Lyrical. Fascinating. Devastating. Humours. Each little story brought something unique and different. Within 55 words a whole picture was painted. With illustrations sprinkled throughout this is a quick, enjoyable read!

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This was fantastic! It reminded me of something by Alvin Schwartz. Super odd and only a little sinister - just the way I like things.

Bite-sized portions of clever stories that leave you filling in gaps and rereading in order to find that piece you think you're missing. There's something enjoyable about flipping to a page and seeing the whole of the story laid out in tweet-sized text. I especially enjoyed "Growing Pains", "A Literary Death", "Testing the Waters", and "X Marks the Spot".

I enjoyed the art that accompanied each story.

The stories are heavy on "failed" or "flawed" romance and the title of "slightly sinister" is fitting, as the twist is often ironic or sardonic, but nowhere near scary.