Another highly enjoyable collection from Tamel Wino, although I do think I enjoyed his first collection just a bit more.

Once again, the author relies on the horror of humanity as opposed to any ghouls and goblins. Some may say that this collection falls more properly under dark fiction than under horror, but I personally think that they can be one and the same (or that dark fiction, at least, sits beneath the horror umbrella). His writing style is extraordinarily readable, and although I could tell where most of the stories were headed, they were engaging enough that it didn't bother me at all: it felt more like an exploration of these obvious avenues as opposed to stuffing in twists that weren't needed.

I'd definitely recommend this collection, as well as his past one! Just like before, I'll be keeping an eye out for more of his work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the first collection of stories this author wrote, and this one was just as good, if not better. I love stories that provide a different type of "horror" than what the usual horror books come out with, especially human horror. This will definitely be a book I purchase

5 Stars

I am grateful to the author for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook for review.

I was so impressed by this little collection of stories. I have been having good luck with short story collections and I hope this continues. This is one that leans into the mundane, but with a twist. Even though this may seem formulaic, it works in this collection because of how varied the stories are.

The stories all seemed to have a dark twist or inciting incident, but the ways the presented those were very different, with some being sudden while some were gradual and creeping. Each of these stories start off with a very mundane plot, that quickly degenerates along with the state of the characters involved.

The stories were well written, dark, and concise. I would recommend this collection to readers who enjoy short fiction, horror, and general speculative fiction.

I really enjoyed this book! I rarely ever read books of short stories. This one is a winner. Each and every story was unique, tense, atmospheric, and after finishing one story, I wanted to read the next--instead of putting the book down for awhile. I just must read more by this author!

This collection of short stories was a pretty surprise to me. I rarely read short stories but this book somehow caught my attention and I have no regrets.
There are five stories and each one is, I would say dedicated to some kind of human darkness. Some of them are mostly predictive, as people usually are with its behavior. But the way they are written is what it counts here and therefore I would say that they are written good, especially "When in doubt" and the last one "All in". For me, those two have something special in them, something which caught me in their web, and therefore, they are my favorites.
Read and chose yours.

This wasn't good, unfortunately. The themes of the stories didn't quite corollate with what the novel suggested. The writing was under developed and below standard, as well as too fast paced and filled with blemishes and mistakes. It just wasn't well written, and I was repulsed by the amount of sexual violence in almost every story. There didn't seem to be a plot in most, where we were introduced to some good characters who had no arc and served no purpose but to reveal the villains.

I felt especially that the second story made no sense and had a dramatic flair that didn't come together in the end, a very disappointing read that fortunately didn't even take long. But it wasn't to my taste, and I highly recommend the author possibly try to find a better suit and write, as well as edit, more.

Thank you so much to BookBuzz and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

This collection consists of six short horror stories that are all based in reality, and the cruel things humans are capable of. They are as follows:

Marlene - The concept of this one was a bit counter-intuitive. This is definitely one of the most real scenarios in this collection though. Sets the tone of the book well.

No Place Like Home - I enjoyed that this was a horror story centered around vlogging. You could feel the manufactured happiness of the family in the beginning. However, I just don't understand the husband's actions in this one. He was way more wary than most Horror MC's are portrayed, which was nice, but he didn't do anything about it, and that's where it lost me.

En Prise - My favorite in this collection. The tension and anxiety were spot on, and you couldn't really guess the character's next moves. There was one scene where the MC acted so stupid, but the whole, "thinking on your feet to save yourself" concept was pretty well done. There was a point in the story where it said it was "about midnight", and then several pages later, after a few hours had passed, it said it was "about midnight" yet again. I assume this will be fixed in the final edit though.

All Day and a Night - This one has only male characters, so it's not just women facing horror here. It was predictable, but still interesting, especially the setting. One of the characters also has an accent that was written to where I could "hear" it quite well.

Blue Devils - My least favorite of the bunch. The writing style here felt different compared to the previous stories, and just not as well done. Content warning for sexual assault.

The Descent - This one was the least obvious and predictable of the bunch. The horror doesn't come in until near the end, but it's done in an effective way that will stick with me for a bit.

Overall I enjoyed the writing style, and how the author could convey a character's personality and life so quickly. My enjoyment of the stories themselves varies greatly though, but I suppose you could say that there is something for everyone here then.

Tamel Wino had sufficiently impressed me with his debut collection of the same (minus the abyss) title and so I downloaded this book as soon as I noticed it on Netgalley. Indie authors are usually a mixed bag, but Wino has that organic storyteller quality so many strive for and so few arrive at, which was amply demonstrated in his first collection and, once again, in this one.
It isn’t perfect, sometimes the endings don’t quite land as was the case with the first story (and the author really utilizes the final twist formula, so this is important), but overall, it’s really quite good. The stories are uniformly dark in tone and themes, psychologically terrifying, though it stands to mention that all of the monsters within these pages are of carbonbased bipedal variety. In fact, it’s what makes it so scary. The fact that every story is an everyday situation that takes a terrible turn.
Wino’s protagonists encounter serial killers, perverted abductors and other charming individuals, including themselves, and find the strength to fight back…or not. In fact, objectively, I’d say even his final twists have improved in quality and surprise element. But mostly it’s the writing…very good, very natural, very authentic, from descriptions to dialogue, it works well, reads quickly, entertains plenty. So nice to find an indie writer who can. And consistently.
Fans of dark psychological fiction should enjoy this one. Recommended.

Twisty, stabby, murderous, captivating. These are all words I'd use to describe this book. The layout starts off a little confusing but the way everything comes together was positively profound. I saw this book on Bookstagram and knew I had to run over to NetGalley to get my copy. Pick it up! You won't regret it.

I absolutely adore this one of a kind book of short stories. I found the characters easily understood and couldn’t wait to read more.