First I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this promising ebook. However I gotta say this is just one big nope from me.

It’s billed as a horror anthology but the first story is literally just how to grow pumpkins?? What? After that it honestly just got weird and if this is what horror is then maybe I don’t care for the genre.

Idk it just wasn’t for me.

⭐️💫

A little less spooky than I expected…… I feel this collection will fit the reading tastes of younger readers better. I find the whole book binge worthy as all the stories are quite short and easy to go through.

I never pick up an anthology expecting it to be 5/5 stars. I just love reading the short stories and being exposed to new authors and this did just that. Along with setting the spooky, halloween vibes, I enjoyed reading and these stories and the one that sticks out most is Alone on Halloween!

Blame it on the Pumpkin by various authors and edited by Tara Moeller, was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. This anthology of 10 stories was a quick read. The stories went from decent to not good and was intended for a Young Audience.

3.5 Stars

This is an anthology of most pumpkin stories, including a nonfiction article on pumpkins and one poem. The stories are entertaining. They are good for Halloween as long as you aren’t looking for horror. The stories are not what I would call horror but they are scary. I don’t think anyone would have bad dreams after reading these. There is an element of surprise in some of the stories. It is worth reading.

Horror fiction is my jam. I love fantasy and science fiction, but horror has always been the genre I love the most. Combine it with my favorite holiday, Halloween, and my little black heart swells like a bloated vampire in an empty blood bank.

If only this anthology could have given me that...

Consisting of eight short stories, one nonfiction piece, and a single flash fiction entry, Blame It On The Pumpkin tries--bless its heart--to be spooky but fails across the board. Plagued with typos, spelling and grammar issues, lackluster plots, flat characters, and a complete lack of atmosphere, the short stories are universally, for a lack of better words, bland. Given the fundamental problems in this anthology, I question whether there was any editing performed or if submissions were simply accepted "as-is" and a cover slapped on the collection along with a price tag.

Here's a breakdown of each selection along with my grade in stars:

1. From pumpkin to Jack-o'-lantern (nonfiction) by Marjory Leposky: A brief "essay" outlining how a pumpkin is grown, transported to market, and then turned into the quintessential Halloween accessory, the jack o'lantern. (3 stars)

2. Moonlit Hunt (flash fiction) by J.M. Silverleaf: Paragraph. Visual. (3 stars)

3. Pumpkin Hollow (short story) by Pamela Kinney: Five friends venture to an unknown haunt in a rural Virginia town. (1star -- typos, flat characters, absence of atmosphere)

4. Vampire Gourd (short story) by Jennifer Kyrnin: A man takes growing the biggest blue ribbon vegetable to an extreme. (4 stars -- probably the most fleshed-out character and plot as well as a unique twist on the vampire trope)

5. Nasty Old B!tch (short story) by S.P. Mount: Myrtle Soppingbottom makes plans to go out with a bang on Halloween. (2 stars -- had so much potential but the overuse of slang and multiple typos killed it...no pun intended)

6. Flock of Badb (short story) by S.P. Mount: Is Winnie caught in an Alfred Hitchcock film or is she the latest victim of a long-standing family curse? (2 stars -- again, had so much potential but the overuse of slang and a rushed ending were this story's downfalls)

7. Alone on Halloween (short story) by Michael Gore: A tragedy the year before finds a teen alone and in a new town on Halloween. (4 stars -- lots of atmosphere, good character development, and a twisted plot makes this story the best in the bunch as well as my favorite)

8. Dance of Masks and Fire: The Witchfinder's Shadow (short story) by Greg Patrick: Salem, Massachusetts is the backdrop for this Halloween night showdown between old enemies. (2 stars -- typos, a convoluted plot, disorienting character points-of-view, rushed and confusing action...could've been so much better)

9. Trick or Treat: Once Upon a Hunter's Moon (short story) by Greg Patrick: One man's Halloween night goes horrible awry after moving into a rumored "witch house." (3 stars -- the typos are few and the plot is more fleshed out than in the previous offering from this author, however, the overall story feels familiar)

10. The Halloween Séances (short story) by E.W. Farnsworth: Four widows gather on Halloween for their annual séance. (2 starts -- as with most of the stories offered here, this one had potential but failed thanks largely to a lack of atmosphere, non-existent plot, flat characters, and and overall lack of editing)

Overall, Blame It On The Pumpkin largely fails because of a disconnect between the stories and the horror genre. Horror requires atmosphere, dynamic characters, twisted plots, and above all, the steadily creeping sense of impending doom. Even novels can struggle with these elements, but short stories must deliver on these quickly and with bigger stakes. I can see the potential in these stories and if given a greater word count/page number, perhaps most of them would be able to reach and even surpass that potential. Unfortunately, Blame It On The Pumpkin is largely a disappointment.

You can't have Halloween without pumpkins--pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, pumpkin spiced festive drinks...but are they always as innocent as they seem? This is a fun collection of 8 different stories featuring the classic Halloween symbol but after reading you may find yourself a bit reluctant to bring a pumpkin into your house this year! Fun and festive read for Halloween.

This was a fun, quick read. A Halloween anthology that would have been perfect for spooky season, but really can read whenever.

Each story involving different takes on the season; corn maze, pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, etc. My fave was Vampire Gourd- a man very deeply invested in his gardening. I will say it had a bit of a young tone to it, but all-in-all was really enjoyable that I read it in a day.

This collection of Halloween themed stories was just an okay read for me. While they were Halloween themed, they weren't especially scary to me, mostly just creepy. All of the stories except for one of them (more on that to come) would be considered 2 stars in my opinion. They were okay, but just didn't catch my interest entirely.

The exception to the above statement would be the story "Vampire Gourd" by Jennifer Kyrnin. I did like this a lot, and would probably rate it a little higher at like a 3.5 or a 4 star. The story was well written, and it gave me creepy Little Shop of Horrors vibes. I'd be really interested in reading more by Jennifer Kyrnin.

Overall this was a nice anthology and it'd be a quick read if you're looking for something Halloween-esque.

Thank you to DreamPunk Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Blame It On The Pumpkin is an anthology-style book. It contains several Halloween/Horror related stories. I was very much interested in this book, but was ultimately let down with it. There are two really great stories in this book, that are worth their own novellas or a bigger story, but that's it. The others are not great, make no sense, or just the writing isn't quite there. I don't think I'd recommend this book.

DNF - Maybe it was just me, there are probably a ton of other readers who will adore every aspect of this collection but, I didn't connect with it as I hoped I was going to.

Well this certainly gave that Halloween chill! I like the descriptive way in which it was written; it's neither wordy nor boring. It's eerie and whatever gore there was, is mentioned to evoke fear as opposed to pain. I think with adult guidance, this book might be suitable for children in their tweens.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Man I am bummed! I just got off of the high of reading the Human Monsters anthology and while this is young adult, I expected more. I do really enjoy young adult horror but this collection missed the mark on numerous occasions. Some of it read YA while others read middle grade or adult. It's hard to say who this collection is truly for. I also did not find these stories to be that scary, but I did expect a lot of pumpkins. Starting the collection off with a nonfiction description on how pumpkins are farmed would make you think you're in for a bunch of pumpkins but that just didn't happen.

Overall, this collection is okay for someone that just wants a few Halloween-themed stories that you can easily pick up and go through. I needed a bit more (pumpkin) meat in this.

I would also suggest that triggers be placed in this book, especially before the ones involving self-harm. There should also be triggers in here for transphobia as well as some other things I am not listing as they didn't specifically stand out to me, but could be harmful to others.

See below for my individual short story reviews.

From Pumpkin to Jack-o-lantern by Majory E Laposky
Overall: ⭐️/5
This is a nonfiction piece and while I liked some of the facts presented, it wasn’t written in a way that easily flows. It felt like something I would have written for school back in the day. It just felt out of place

Moonlit Hunt by JM Silverlead
Overall: ⭐️⭐️/5
This poem would have been a better opening for this book.

Pumpkin Hollow by Pamela Kinney
Overall: ⭐️⭐️/5
This story has a lot of potential. There were a lot of pieces that I could have enjoyed had the story been tweaked a bit.

Vampire Gourd by Jennifer Kyrnin
Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I really enjoyed this story. This is the absolute stand out in the collection. It gave me Little Shop of Horror and Don”t Go Into the Basement (Goosebumps) vibes and I was 100% here for that. I want to read more from this author!

Nasty Old B!tch by SP Mount
I’m not going to rate this one. Content warnings for transphobia, suicide, and more. I skimmed through the second half of this story. This one is not for me.

Flock of Badb by SP Mount
Skipping based on the story prior by this author.

Alone on Halloween by Michael Gore
DNFing this story as well due to a personal trigger regarding self harm. Based on other reviews, I made the right choice in stopping.

Dance of Madks and Fire The Witchfinder’s Shadow by Greg Patrick
Overall: ⭐️⭐️/5
This was alright. I think a short story doesn’t do this kind of theme justice. I want more witch hunting, more revenge, more character development. It has potential.

Trick or Treat: Once Upon a Hunter’s Moon by Greg Patrick
It isn’t super clear to me but it seems like this is a spin off from the prior story. Mr. Elmer appears in both and the witches. It feels disconnected but I suppose it would since these are two short stories. I’d rather just have a novella, personally.

The Halloween Seances by EW Farnsworth
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I’m not exactly sure what to think of this story. It had Sex and the City vibes but also some mob stuff. I liked a lot of things from this story but it, like another story in this collection, needs to be its own novella or novel. But also - why is this in a horror collection?

My other issue is I thought that the term “gypsy” is offensive. I can’t speak to this as I’m not Romani but I have read a few articles where we should not be using this term anymore.

A collection of ten short stories that is going to leave children covered in gooseflesh.
If you're looking to start reading in the horror genre, you will love this book! The stories are between 10 - 20 pages making them quick reads with a world to fall into. However, you won't find themselves wrapped in a story that is too scary to handle. Some of them are even informational!
"From Pumpkin to Jack o' Lantern" follows the life-cycle of a pumpkin. Starting in the dirt all the way to the reader's front porch in time for Halloween.
If information is not what the reader is looking for, there are some spookier stories such as "Pumpkin Hollow".
This anthology has a little bit of everything for everyone. So curl up with a warm cup of pumpkin spice & fall into the cozy vibes of "Blame It on the Pumpkin".

This book is a collection of eightdifferent stories and a chapter on how to grow pumpkins. The other stories however we’re great. They all surround some type of pumpkin event in a town I’m sure all of us are familiar with. I thought the stories were so good and I was going to read to each night but on the first night I read six and only had two left. I really enjoyed the stories and if you like teen horror Then you’ll definitely like this book I certainly did and highly recommend it. You can tell those who ride horror for Hubby😍 in then you’ll definitely like this book I certainly did and highly recommend it. You can tell those who write aura for a hobby and those who are absolutely talented and I think that’s the riders that contributed to this book because every story is OMG good and worth buying on its own as a novella. I received this book from NetGalley and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Blame it on the Pumpkin was an okay and interesting anthology but it lacked cohesiveness and felt kind of messy. I really got excited for it, and expected more.

This was an interesting collection of spooky stories. I found some of them to be decent. The writing with several stories was a bit messy and the collection of stories together didn’t necessarily flow cohesively. Nevertheless, the stories that were decent were on the creepy side of things but maybe geared for a younger audience. The stories were pretty quick to get through. A decent read for the spooky season.

Blame It On the Pumpkin was a nice anthology, but it wasn't a great one. It could have been improved with another round of editing, and the stories weren't my cup of tea.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a bit hard to get into and a tad more darker than I thought it’d be.

⭐⭐.5

I was so stoked when I got this one on NetGalley and instantly knew I had to read it for the spooky season. I read it a few days before Halloween - expecting it to set me in the spooky mood - but unfortunately, there were some moments I didn’t love.

This anthology consists of eight stories (technically ten):

1) From Pumpkin to Jack-o-lantern ~ ⭐⭐
I am a bit confused as to why this was the first story. I feel like it didn’t set the spooky mood and was honestly not the right start. It’s a short non-fiction story about how to grow pumpkins and turn them into Jack-O-Lanterns. This was definitely intended for a younger audience.

2) Moonlit Hunt ~ ⭐⭐⭐
This was a super quick story - less than a page - but I did enjoy it and it was a bit creepy.

3) Pumpkin Hollow ~ ⭐⭐.5
This story had a super interesting premise - a young woman named Penny gets an invitation to a Halloween festival and invites four others to go with her. When they get there, they realize there’s something more sinister going on. I wanted to love this one really badly, it started out super promising but I felt like it was too rushed and it took a route I didn’t enjoy.

4) Vampire Gourd ~ ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I actually enjoyed the uniqueness of this story, a man who is very invested in his gardening. It started out super promising and I was so invested in the gory and blood it had. I enjoyed this story and it definitely set the mood, I liked the way it was written and the route it took.

5) Nasty Old B!tch ~ ⭐⭐⭐
Can I just say I love this title - this one was a bit weird and unbelievable, but it was still worth the read. There were some humorous moments I enjoyed. This is one that's super complicated to talk about without giving spoilers away so all I’ll say is… it was very far-fetched, but it was still enjoyable if you suspend your beliefs.

6) Flock of Badb ~ ⭐⭐⭐.5
This one had a super likable character. I was very entertained reading about Wilhelmina Lee - who has been told her family is cursed and she’ll turn into a raven when she turns 21. It was super unique and there were some funny moments. She goes through some grieving moments and some mean things are said to her.

7) Alone on Halloween ~ ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
This one was definitely my favorite out of all these stories. It started out super promising and kept me intrigued the whole time. We follow Nick, who is very into Halloween and his secrets. Some twists had me shocked and I wasn’t expecting some of them. This one definitely had me more excited and gave me a spooky atmosphere. I enjoyed Nick’s character, my only downside is the lack of his backstory. I had unanswered questions that I wish were answered.

8) Dance of Masks and Fire The Witchfinder’s Shadow ~ ⭐⭐⭐
This is probably the one I would consider to be a horror read out of all the others. I don’t really like reading witchy books as I just don’t care for the stories. This one had super interesting moments with reference to horror stories. Unfortunately, I didn’t care too much for them and the story was just okay.

9) Trick or Treat: Once Upon a Hunter’s Moon ~ ⭐⭐
I struggled reading this one as it had many typos, I usually try to ignore them in ARCs, but it was really difficult to read and care for this story. There were name changes that had me so confused. This one had such huge potential, but unfortunately, it was a bit difficult to read and the story was very well developed.

10) The Halloween Seances ~ ⭐⭐
I was really intrigued by this one - four friends together on Halloween decide to do a seance. It was difficult to get into the writing style and I found myself wanting to get through it quickly. It's the last story so I just wanted to finish the book. I think this was a letdown to finish off the anthology.

Overall, some of these stories were super interesting but unfortunately, most of them were a bit disappointing. I was expecting this to be the perfect Halloween read with so many short stories, but there were so many issues with a bunch of them. I appreciate all these authors and the stories they wrote, but I was expecting more from the stories. While none of them were five stars my favorite was definitely Alone For Halloween.

Thank you Dreampunk Press and NetGalley for my e-ARC, all thoughts are my own!