I'm not usually one for short story collections, but I have to say I wasn't especially impressed with this one. All the stories were well written, but nothing really grabbed me, and some just left me confused. However, the final eponymous story was by far the best one in this collection.
And I quite enjoyed the final poem as well.


Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC.

This short story collection had some real winners for me. Of the 8 there are a couple that still are rolling around in my mind. But overall this wasn't a true standout for me.

This book contains 8 short psychological horrow stories. A child is forced to grow up too soon. A woman trusts her doctor too much. And more.

I was hesitant to pick up this book since horror isn't normally my thing, but I thought I would try something different. The writing in the novels was good, but the stories themselves seemed half done. I didn't understand what was happening in about half of them, as there was a lot of inferencing. I did enjoy The Taste of Yellow and Confidence Game, and I would love to see more like that from this author. Overall, I was left wanting more from the stories.

I rate this book 2.5 🌟

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Not sure how to feel about this one...
I guess my expectations, based on the description, were higher.. a bit of a let down.
Interesting word choices and descriptions, which just made some part "weak" and confusing.
Based on the description, the stories felt bland.. the horror wasn't there.
The different writing styles were not flowing either.

I thought that this was a very interesting short story collections.

I don't want to say much, because I felt like the experience was so unique going in completely blindsided. Just know that this is a wild ride.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for the early e-arc.

I know this was said to be a psychological horror book but it didn't feel very psychological. I really liked the author's writing and how different the stories were. I felt like each story had its own personality and I know that can be very hard to pull off.

Stories I Told My Dead Lover by Jo Paquette has eight short horror stories.
I enjoyed reading these stories. They are dark, intriguing and very interesting.
This collection of stories held my attention from the beginning to end.

Thank You NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I am beginning to think that maybe a collaboration of short stories by multiple authors is not my thing…. I find it hard to switch between writing styles that fast and try to keep up at the same time. That being said, I tried not to let that detour my rating too badly.

Most of the stories felt very bland and unremarkable as if they were a beginning thought of a much better book. The theme, too, didn’t quite seam to be continued in every story. The most notable and my favorite was finally the last one. It was because of this, that my guess was why they gave the book this title. To the author that wrote the last story: write more.

This was a rather interesting story. Nothing like anything I have read before. The cover intrigued me at first and I am glad I picked this one up.

I've got to be honest -- this was... not good. The stories werent scary, no horror. Seemed kind of like a Black Mirror type book but it just completely missed the mark. I read 3 of the stories and just thought it was not worth it.

Im sorry to say! Others may enjoy it more.
The cover is absolutely beautiful though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BlackstonwPublishing for the book #StoriesIToldMyDeadLover by #JoPaquette. This book has 8 short stories in it. A mix of psychological thrillers that will haunt you. I read these disturbing stories in one sitting and would recommend it.

I ended a few of these stories but some were ok. It was an ok read over all short and easy to get through but didn’t really feel it. I don’t know why. Maybe it just wasn't the right time to read it. Might try again soon just to see if my thoughts about it change.

This was a five star read. First of all, I absolutely love the cover of this book. I went in blind and really enjoyed it. There’s 8 different stories in this book. They’re psychological horror stories. Super entertaining and creepy. Reminded me of those scary story books when I was a kid. I love the concept of short stories in a book. I would highly recommend for a quick read.

**a note for the publisher**

This eARC downloads incorrectly when viewed on a kindle. Entire paragraphs/excerpts were pieced together out of order throughout each short story and made it a guessing game as to wear each excerpt fit appropriately within the story. Please have someone look at this before it is published.

Due to the misprint in viewing this on kindle, I was not able to read the stories in the correct order and therefore, feel I didn’t get a chance to experience this collection of short stories to their fullest extent, and therefore will not be leaving a true review. I ended up having to DNF at the 63% mark because nothing was making sense. What I could piece together of what I read was enjoyable.

I would actually give this a 3.5. As tends to happen with short story collections, some are much better than others. I was initially a little worried because the first story was one of my least favorites. But the second story was my favorite of the bunch. I loved how it was written as a manual for caring for the Neep. The Taste of Yellow was another stand out one for me.

I almost DNF'd this book towards the beginning, but am surprised that I ended up enjoying it more than I was expecting. I enjoyed the overall flow of the writing. A couple of these short stories missed the mark for horror or thriller to me. They felt like they were building up to something then were very anti climatic. There were 8 short stories and a poem.

1. Left Turn At The Lost Soul- This was a complete miss for me. I may have just completely missed the point of this one, but it just didn't make much sense to me. 1/5

2. Confidence Game- This one reminded me of the Gremlins and that creepy childhood toy, the Furby, were mashed together. You have a high tech new companion, the Neep, that comes with a strict set of guidelines. As you read, you have those moments where you're like well this is going to end badly, and sure enough, it did. I liked this idea of what could artificial life turn into,a and who holds the responsibility. I do wish there had been a bit more to the ending. I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t dislike it. 2.5/5

3. The Taste of Yellow- I really enjoyed this short story. Featuring twins who live within a cult that partakes in hallucinogenic honey this story tackled predatory sects and how they use these religious values to prey on the vulnerable, like children.The MC is a child who decides to make a terribly choice to protect those younger. 4/5

4. OVA- So this confused me a bit. It had good bones for a great storyline but the end was too ambiguous for my liking. A girl’s terrible boyfriend disappears and that same day she finds a painful growth. It moves around and instead of getting a doctor she gives birth to it? I’m confused what happened after and I guess it’s meant to be left to interpretation, but there’s more analysis needed for me to enjoy. 2/5

5. My Head is a Chestnut and Other Tales from the Crypt- One of my biggest fears is something to happening to me while under anesthesia/sedatives in a medical environment so this story of medical malpractice and psuedoscience had me worried from the start. The need to have an answer when there is none ends up leading the MC to try seeing a doctor of phrenology, which leads to another tragic ending. 5/5

6. Sonata in God Minor- Love, love, loved this one. A musician who can’t lose herself in her music anymore joins a Blues class to appease her boyfriend who just wants her to find her glow again. She does find her spark but at what cost? 5/5

7. In the Shadow of the Abyss- This story was so sad. Karenna’s on vacation. She can be better for him. She will be better for him. That’s what she tells herself before the inevitable is going to happen. She knew he was dangerous, if only she could be good enough for him to be happy. If only there was a good enough for abusive men. This one was a bit confusing at first but once it clicked, it clicked. 4/5

8. Stories I Told My Dead Lover- This story was a personification of fighting addiction. It was beautifully written and compared addiction to a bad relationship. 4/5

I keep wanting to like and try short stories. Every time I try a new one, I'm reminded why I don't like them.

The stories were well written and eerie, but short stories just aren't for me.

Okay, the one positive - I liked the second story, Confidence Game. The instruction manual passages interspersed with what was going down in the house was clever and amusing. There was a lot of "uh oh, she wasn't supposed to do that" going on.

Now, for the rest of it. I feel bad, but I didn't enjoy this book of short stories. I was going to write up a review of each story, but by the third one, I realized my complaints were going to be the same for all of them. The writing style did not work for me at all. It was clunky and kind of flowery in a weird way. Like, in the first story, this is a quote: "But no dice. Now I was bone dry and only moonlight on tumbleweeds to tell the tale." I think all of the ideas were really creative, but I didn't enjoy the execution.

Also, this doesn't factor into my rating, but there was an issue with the kindle delivery. Entire paragraphs were missing. I had to read it in the NetGalley app on my phone, which wasn't ideal.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this horror anthology, especially after reading the first story. This ended up being really good, though! Below, my ratings for each story:

Left Turn At The Lost Soul: This was an odd story about a young man running out of gas, seeing a tree and meeting a woman. There was a creepy tone, but this wasn’t for me. 2.5/5

Confidence Game: The story of a woman and her Neep, a robot with living cells that claims to help people talk through their problems. It has an odd instruction manual with rules like a Mogwai, which was fun to read, as was this whole creepy story! 5/5

The Taste of Yellow: Young twins live in a religious commune that has a ready supply of hallucinogenic honey (aka “mad honey). Add it to some moonshine and you’ll have a Mad Night! I wasn’t sure where this was going, but the ending was fantastic, upping the rating. 4.5/5

Ova: A woman wakes up to find her boyfriend is gone and a lump on her abdomen has arrived. I wish this would have been longer… 4/5

My Head Is A Chestnut, And Other Tales From The Crypt: This was an odd story about phrenology, which always makes me think of “Django Unchained”. A general life rule? Stay away from the Jell-O shots! 3/5

Sonata In God Minor: I wasn’t sure what this strange story of a musician was at first, but the ending was fantastic! 3.5/5

In The Shadow Of The Abyss: A unique story of a couple who head to a dark island, in more ways than one. 3.5/5

Stories I Told My Dead Lover: The most beautifully written story in this anthology. 4/5

One For The Demons: A quick little poem. 3/5

I’d definitely be interested in reading more from this author! Overall, I give this short story cool 3.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Jo Paquette and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on June 11, 2024.)

“Stories I Told My Dead Lover” is a collection of short horror stories written by Jo Paquette. These include:

-LEFT TURN AT THE LOST SOUL
-CONFIDENCE GAME
-THE TASTE OF YELLOW
-OVA
-MY HEAD IS A CHESTNUT, AND OTHER TALES FROM THE CRYPT
-SONATA IN GOD MINOR
-IN THE SHADOW OF THE ABYSS
-STORIES I TOLD MY DEAD LOVER

As someone who is relatively new to the horror genre, the title and cover of this book intrigued me. I adore short stories and applaud any author able to tell a compelling tale in such few words, and Paquette has some true gems in this collection. “The Taste of Yellow” and “My Head Is A Chestnut…”, in particular, told horrifyingly fascinating stories of abuse and misplaced trust, but through the point of views of the victims. As someone in the medical field myself, “Ova” and “…Chestnut…” kept my attention and had me holding my breath as each new paragraph unfolded.

Other stories, particularly “Confidence Game,” had me hooked from the start. Reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode, it followed a lonely woman who seeks companionship in her very own “Neep,” a living(?), breathing(?) buddy she orders in the mail and feeds lettuce while it listens to her closest confidences. This story had so much potential, and I was sad with how early it ended. Same with “Left Turn…,” I was left wanting more.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this collection of short stories. “Sonata…” made me laugh out loud at the end. They’re the perfect length to enjoy during a study or lunch break. If you’re someone who is new to psychological horror or who scares easily like myself, this is a great intro into the genre. The book releases on June 11, 2024.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing & NetGalley for the free eARC!

#StoriesIToldMyDeadLover #JoPaquetteAuthor #JoPaquette #ShortStoryReview #PsychologicalHorror #ARCReview #NetGalley #BlackstonePublishing