I actually didn’t get to read this book because it archived before I could download it to my phone so I apologize for not being able to give a decent review for it but I will give it 5 stars

This was such an intriguing collection of ghost stories from paranormal to ghost of the past and all the in between and it really gets you to thinking about things. These stories will take you on a roller coaster of emotions in the best way possible. Sara Connell is a truly remarkable author and story teller with the ability to pull you in and keep you invested. It’s rare for me to find a short story collection where I don’t really have anything bad to say about any of the stories contained within the collection. While I did have my favorites in this collection I didn’t think any of them were bad.

Thank you to NetGalley and Muse Literary for this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
#NetGalley #MuseLiterary #GhostHouse #SaraConnell

This is a short story collection based on “hauntings” that befall women. The writing is beautiful and flows seamlessly between stories. It begins with the titular story. “Ghost House” is about a couple looking for their dream house in a time when ghosts are a selling point. This was my favorite in this anthology. The author is extremely creative and demonstrates lovely prose. Ms. Connell has a talent for making every day things like house hunting or puppets seem scary. She writes excellent characters that she fleshes out lovingly. The reader is treated to a number of different representatives of paranormal lore. We get ghosts, aliens, even witches. Each story is different and beautifully written.
A couple of the stories do go a little longer than necessary. The story involving witches entitled Les Grenouilles was slow and I’m still not 100% sure what was going on. There’s always one!
Overall, this was a fun collection and I recommend it for any fan of the paranormal.

A short horror story collection, it’s a fast paced read and the stories interlock together. The stories flows together nicely. A small anthology of four stories, each one is entertaining and keeps the reader guessing. Each story is different and has a nice variety of different characters and plot lines. Although they’re different stories, each one of them tells a cautionary tale and each of the women the stories are affected by a common ailment. An enchanting book with clever characters and plots.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Muse Library for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was not quite what I was expecting from this short story collection. I get where the author was trying to go, but it didn't hit right for me. It was supposed to be famanist ghost stories , yet a lot of stories felt less famanist and more sexualizing. I know it was meant to be disturbing and get the authors point, but I wasn't thinking I was going to be reading stories about anal bleaching, sex dolls, barbies getting plastic surgery on their genitals.... it was more of a wtf am I reading than "ghost" paranormal stuff that I was expecting.

Thanks for the chance to read, but no thanks.

This book was pretty good. I enjoyed reading it but it left a lot of thrills and horror to be desired. I think it is a good entryway point into the horror genre...but it is one that didn't linger with me after finishing.

I'm sad to say this won't be a glowing review as I was quite disappointed with many of the short stories in here. I wanted these stories to be super scary and/or creepy but they weren't. Based on the cover and title I was expecting creepy hauntings, evil spirits, things not being as they seemed, but that wasn't present. Some of the themes were a little unsettling, however. I couldn't see the feminist thread i thought was supposed to run through this book, but that could have just been me! I will look out for more by this author though to see whether it was just this content that I didn't like.

A hauntingly beautiful collection of short stories. I would highly recommend it! Thank you for providing me with an E-ARC

The house that sculptor Caitlin and her currently unemployed school teacher husband John are considering buying is haunted by a ghost in the titular story, Ghost House. It is one of the selling points of the house. Caitlin isn't convinced but John insists that the ghost is a benign presence. They move in and John won't believe her, that the ghost isn't benign at all. Soon Caitlin will learn how right she is. But will it be too late for her?

The author begins with a bang. The titular story, skillfully juggles the themes of art, motherhood and unrequited desires, and is impactful.

Les Grenouilles (the Frogs, in French) is hard to summarise. It's about a group of school girls, one of whom develops a mutation that prevents her growth and requires surgery. Her friends, including the unnamed narrator, are convinced that frogs' blood will heal her. This story combines the fear of disease with the hope brought on by miracle cures and the hold that religions and psychotropic drugs can have on humans.

Terroir is about a girl's feelings of terror towards her sense of her own body and sex, as also the sense of terror generated among women by the beauty and fitness industries. Terroir is actually defined as the complete natural environment of a wine, including factors such as soil, topography and climate. But, in English, it made sense as the terror generated in an environment that thrives on hounding women to care more than necessary about their physical appearance, thriving on the creation of fear around false imperfections.

In Girls, the narrator was an unusual one. A neon poster outside a brothel, one that serves as its mascot and pulls in the customers, addresses us. This one is about the fear that respectable society feels towards the sex industry.

Marionettes was another story I liked. Kate, on the verge of an engagement with boyfriend, Dan, expects to be proposed to while on holiday in Prague. Instead, her childhood fear relating to marionettes is revived until it ends with the worst outcome for her.

In Tarifa, we read about a horrific incident in the life of the unnamed mother of our unnamed narrator. As a young girl, the unnamed mother and her two friends, while on the road between Marbella and Tarifa in Spain, are propositioned and threatened at knifepoint. I was impressed with this one too. This story is to do with the fear of sexual assault.

Night Sky is a little vague. Ned's girlfriend, Joyce, a talented, atheistic artist with a scientific bent of mind, is increasingly taken with a lot of New Age things. When she vanishes, the residents of the trailer park where she lived begin to believe that she has been abducted by aliens. Will Ned find the answers he seeks?

Powell's Priests is about a people who overlook the sins of the priests because of the honey they bring them. It is the shortest story in this book, a little over a page.

In One More, a woman who has dreams about impending disasters, realises that all things destructive are named after women. She feels that her dreams have caused her to be shunned by people, as if I were a ghost.

In Salad, the narrator, stuck home due to a medical condition, becomes obsessed with a famous actress. This story takes a deliciously creepy turn towards the end.

In Unending Day, the unnamed narrator has lost her promotion after calling a colleague an expletive. The boss forces her to sign up for therapy, but the therapist, it appears, won't let her leave.

Not My Body is a poem.

I had been expecting more of a paranormal vibe. These stories were more about women and girls hounded and, in some cases, doing the hounding themselves. A few of the stories could have improved with better punctuation. I liked this author's writing style and the stories themselves.

This is a collection of scary or horror short stories. My personal favorite was "One More". All of the stories were good.
Thanks to Netgalley and Muse Literary for the ARC.

Oooooo the premise of this had me captivated! Feminist spooky?? Yes please! And oh did it deliver! Grab this for your favorite friend and yourself, but buckle in for a spooky ride.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Sara Connell but I don't think it will be my last. This collection of short stories is feminist and anti-racist. Each story gave the perspective of another "madwoman" who is condemned for not conforming to society's standards. The self-description of "modern feminist ghost stories" is perfect and that's pretty much exclusively what I want to read from here on out, haha.

4 stars overall. Most were stellar but there were a few that just didn't work for me. Still a collection I highly recommend.

Ghost House by Sara Connell was a beautiful collection of short stories that honors the ladies labeled as "madwomen" by a racist and patriarchal society. A lovely book of magical realism where we are the heroes, and everyone else should be frightened.

I wanted to like this book more, but I didn't think it lived up to my expectations. The stories are by no means awful in and of themselves. However, they are much less supernatural than you may imagine. Even though the preface mentions metaphorical ghosts, the book should nonetheless have a spooky atmosphere. Along with the title, "contemporary feminist ghost stories" is what is written in the blurb. Therefore, I don't believe it is unreasonable to anticipate something eerie or haunting-like. I had high hopes for the first story, but as I went on, my interest waned.

4 stars
Well this was super fun! Multiple short stories, all featuring enchanting women, plenty of locations, and true visual artistry. I don't know if I have ever read something that was self-described as "modern feminist ghost stories", but I dig every bit of it. Not all stories are ghost stories. Some are more supernatural, some touch on aliens, and others just give off a witchy vibe. As a fan of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, I thought some of the stories were truly reminiscent of her work. Sara's storytelling abilities are remarkable, and I would recommend this to anyone interested in horror all-year-'round (like myself) or just during the spooky season.

Nice collection of stories, some I really liked, others not so much. Loved the supernatural frogs! Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

really really good. Very interesting stories, especially the first. My favorite story is definitely "Les Grenouilles" , especially for the witches vibes.

A fabulous, female centred book of short stories!

The cover art is brilliant, the writing is haunting and captivating.

Some of the stories were sad, many had parts that resonated with me. A few were a bit more opaque and I read them a few times to garner a deeper understanding of what the author was trying to convey.

There are spooks, aliens, patriarchy, and oppression of women in these tales, reader be warned.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Sara Connell & Muse Literary for a copy!

Meh--that's exactly how I felt after reading this collection. The writing style was slightly off, it needs an editor, but most importantly, it was not at all what I expected or what it was advertised to be. There's next yo no paranormal elements to these stories. It can't even be categorized as horror.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Muse Literary and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.



A chilling mystery filled with thrills and suspense.