If only a heart and other tales of terror by Caleb Stephens is a collection of horror short stories. The stories had a nice vibe of horror which makes them interesting. For me, the first story "The Wallpaper Man" was very haunting and terrifying. But, the other stories could not create that much terror. They were just simple stories and just a hint of terror. I had high hopes from the book.

I felt the stories missed to make their mark. I could only give it 3 stars only.

A creepy collection of short stories that explores the darkness in the mundanity of life. From the haunting shadow in a child's bedroom to a garden full of surprises to a waterslide that leads to an unexpected place, this collection brings a lot of creativity to scare the readers. There were a few stories here that left a lasting impression, including "The Backward Man" where a boy is haunted by an uncanny man, and "You Have To Let Him Burn" where a woman's plane ride takes a shocking turn. I did find some of the stories ended very similarly to each other, which made them very predictable. Once a twist ending is employed, using it again lessens the impact. An interesting, quick read for fans of short horror stories.

Very enjoyable collection of short stories by an author I've never encountered before. A lot of these focused on horror entwined with grief, which is one of my favorite sub-genres of horror. I'll definitely be looking forward to more from this author!

This was my first read from Caleb Stephens. As with any "short story collection," there were some stories that were much better than others.
I will be honest and say that there were two stories that I struggled to get through, but finished for the sake of finishing, haha.

My favorite stories were;
The Wallpaper Man - great disability rep.
Don't let her in - fat shaming. ugh.
Welcome To Camp - interesting concept.
Shadow Puppets - loved this idea, and would have loved to read a full novel about this.

I disliked;
Stay out of the swamp
the crowing

The others were either okay or didn't make a big impression overall.
The writing style was great. Most of the stories were engaging. Keep in mind the stories range in length, but most are very short. Great for those with add like me, haha.

This is a great collection of stories and I love the authors writing style! Creepy shorts that are long enough to enjoy and short enough to squeeze in when you have little time to kill.

An anthology of thirteen horror stories that will engross and creep out the reader. Each story harmonizes with each other and it feels like the stories are a continuous plot instead of individual short stories. A well written anthology. Kudos to the author.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and BookGoSocial for this book, I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Some nights you can devote hours of time to read. This is great way to get your book and horror fix in a short amount of time.

I am a huge fan of shorty stories and these did not disappoint! Just enough to make you question if it’s safe to turn out the light!

Loved the authors writing style! More please!!

This one was an okay, book I shared a couple of quotes with some friends from the back, but it wasn’t extremely memorable. I’m definitely glad I got a chance to read it though, so thank you very much.

A huge thanks to Netgalley and Caleb Stephens for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This collection of scary short stories was actually really good. I was surprised by how much I liked the stories in this book. The stories in this book by Caleb Stephens are about grief, loss, guilt and about monsters struggling to grow, and to love.

A breakdown of my ratings for each story:

The Wallpaper Man- creepy, scary, good fun. 5⭐️
Don't Let Her In - 4⭐️
I Will Wait for You -3⭐️
If Only a Heart -3⭐️
Camp Lohani - 4⭐️
Stay Out of the Swamp, Jasper Dosset- 2.5 ⭐️
The Crowning -3⭐️
Shadow Puppets -3⭐️
You Always Wanted a Garden - 2⭐️
The Backyard Man - 3⭐️
You Have to Let him Burn -3⭐️
The Atoll - 2.5 ⭐️

I recommend this book to those who love to read horror and short stories and want a good little scare during Halloween.

If Only a Heart and Other Tales of Terror by Caleb Stephens is a collection of horror stories that run a broad gamut of themes. In the fairness of disclosure and to the author I struggled to get through this book while my son and I were ill with an URV that lingered (Not C-19), and I struggled to engage with the stories.
On the surface there is much about the book that seems like it would normally appeal to me but the fact that it took me 3 weeks to finish the book tells me that I was never became vested in it for whatever reason.
I plan on revisiting this book in the future to see if it was perhaps just unfortunate timing.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #BooksGoSocial, and Caleb Stephens for the ARC of #IfOnlyaHeartandOtherTalesofTerror.

If Only a Heart and Other Tales of Terror is a visceral collection of thirteen stories that explore what happens when we open ourselves to others and dare to let them in.

Wow I caught myself holding my breath more than once,

Thank you Net Galley and BooksGoSocial for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how the different horror stories were so unique, with them not being too similar to each other, making it a very easy read. The writing was immaculate, with such emotion weaved into each character. This book was perfect for Halloween and for lovers of horror.

Such a fantastic mix of short horror stories!

Each story is filled with tension & it’s the perfect read for this season; my favourite story being “Don’t let her in”, some of these tales will definitely stay with you long after the last page!

Wow, I can't believe these are all from the same author! Very diverse, some better than others. The Crowing had me hooked and I NEED MORE!!
Honestly looking forward to other works from this author.

short read, short stories.
These reminded me of goosebumps, not too scary but freak you out a bit.
Short stories are not my favorite read but I did enjoy this one.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an e-version of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed some of these stories more than others. I wish that they were each a little bit longer—the length left character development behind, and I didn’t feel committed to the characters.

This book was amazing. Couldn't put it down and wanted to read more!
Not only was the book amazing and will look out for mores the cover was amazing!

Thanks for letting me review this book! Keep writing!

I was given a copy in exchange for a frank evaluation, but I didn't like it. I rarely DNF books, but these were challenging to get through. I was bored because there were no meaningful climaxes or justifications. I had great expectations because the artwork was so amazing. I'm sure I'll read his next book.

The Wallpaper Man

Disability rep. Bullies. Abusive fathers. Scared daughters. The Wallpaper Man reminds me of The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories. Is he going crazy? Are you?

Don’t Let Her In

Not that anyone should fat shame, but there should be a special place in your hell of choice for parents that fat shame their children. Grandma is creepy. Grandma is not grandma. People name children Jolene?

I Will Wait for You

Any Doctor Who fans? This brings “Are You My Mummy?” vibes.

If Only a Heart

If you’re going to name the entire set of short stories after one, maybe make it good? This wasn’t good. If you wanted clarification.

Welcome to Camp Klehani

I can’t with the idea of fat camp. Why? Anyway they’re fattened up and eaten by the hot camp counselors that aren’t actually hot camp counselors.

Stay Out of the Swamp, Jasper Doucet

Not sure what that had to do with a swamp. Straight up sucked.

The Crowing

This wanted to be A Game of Thrones. It’s not. Also what kind of name is Cateline? Unless you’re just spelling Katelyn oddly. Could be.

Shadow Puppets

Indie music and fried pickles are life.

Again, not sure what in the hell that was. It was a little more amusing than some of the others.

You Always Wanted a Garden

Death is so hard. This was sweet.

The Backward Man

You don't really need an A/C in Seattle, but okay.

What even is the Backward Man? I'm not scared of him.

A Slide Infinite

Colonel Hook, not Captain Hook?

You Have to Let Him Burn

How does a child just disappear?

The Atoll

Don't trust anything in the water.

Yes. Let's go somewhere called Island of the Dead. That seems wise.

This was a really fun collection of scary short stories! There were a few that I loved more than the rest, as is typical for short story collections, but I think Camp Khelani and The Wallpaper Man take the cake for me. Each story was unique, had excellent creep factor, and kept me entertained. I highly recommend this spine tingling read for spooky season, and horror lovers alike.