*3.5 star rating*
18 short, gory, dark and twisted stories
from an old man getting revenge, to a quick weight loss trick, to a child that just wants christmas cookies, there is something for everyone to be terrified of
i judged my overall rating by each short story, most were 3-4 star for horror, gore and overall storyline but a couple fell flat leading to 3.5 star rating

"All's Well That Ends Well" by Vivian Kasley is dark, unsettling, fast-paced, and grotesque short story collection!

My favorite stories included "Canned Tuna," "Heart Shaped Box," and "Squid's Ink."

"Canned Tuna" is about a man capturing a mermaid and forcing her to perform at children's birthday parties.

"Heart-Shaped Box" is about a girl who makes a deal with Death to save her father and faces the consequences of breaking the deal years later.

"Squid's Ink" is about a journalist who goes to a tattoo parlor to interview a famous, local tattoo artist. The interview starts out normal but leads to the journalist remembering one of the darkest nights of her life.

I enjoyed this short story collection a lot. I think it is a strong and intriguing collection. I can't wait to read more from Vivian Kasley.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Brigids Gate Press, LLC, for sending me a copy of this short story collection. It comes out 10/31/2025!🎃

Yessssss. This book had all the Halloween vibes. This was giving old school goosebumps. I devoured every story. I love the short story format.

Old school movie monsters terrorize within. Vampires, werewolves, and extraterrestrials are frightening, but the real monsters…are human after all.
These tales are definitely worth your spooky season!

#ThxNetGalley #VivianKasley #AllsWellThatEndsWell

This book has some really cool and unique stories. It’s perfect if you’re in the mood for quick and cozy horror tales. The writing is solid all the way through. Definitely give it a try!

18 tales that bring back the vibes of Tales of the Crypt. This book reads like the old EC comics and it's creepiness keeps you on the edge of your seat. Vivian does a great job in the different types of stories, so there is something for everyone. The characters have depth, and you will occasionally feel for them before the horror hits. Such a great, intense read. The cover alone is enough to make you want to read the book and see what's inside.

This was so fun! Definitely a great read for spooky season! Don’t forget to add it to your TBR!! If you like short story collections and a great spooky
Time, this is for you!

All’s Well That Ends Well is everything you could want from a short story collection. Vivian Kasley really covered a lot of territory in this novel making it a well rounded set of stories. From creature features to body horror this set has it all. I feel like the stories were also complete and felt finished. I’m excited to add this this author to my “must read” list

This collection of 20 short horror stories was such a treat. each tale is only around fifteen pages, but manages to keep the tension high from start to finish. The styles vary from body horror to psychological and supernatural, with an old-school vibe that feels like Goosebumps for adults.

What I loved most was how unpredictable the endings were. You think you can guess where the story is heading, but it always turns out differently ; often darker, sometimes surprisingly funny. The writing is sharp and engaging, and the variety makes it a perfect Halloween read.

Some stories resonated with me more than others: Out of Her Gourd, which touches on infertility, struck me personally, while Christmas Cookies, with aliens, a theme I don’t usually enjoy, was a surprising favorite. The touch of humor in some of the stories balanced the horror nicely, making the whole collection even more enjoyable.

A well-crafted, atmospheric, and entertaining anthology. Highly recommended for fans of short, chilling, and twisty horror tales.

All’s Well That Ends Well by Vivian Kasley, from the first story with Hal, to the very last this book is packed full of interesting vastly different and compulsively readable short stories. They ranged from sci-fi to horror mystery and they’re all top notch. In the first story a man gets tired of being woken up by loud music from the car that goes down his street at two in the morning, and another story a woman cannot get rid of the skin tags that keep growing all over her body, my favorite story is with Pearl a mermaid that a man finds and forces her to work for him and this is besides wanting pearl to marry him because he loves her something pearl doesn’t want to do but what can a mermaid do when she’s landlocked, these stories are brilliantly done there’s way more than the three I’ve mentioned and they’re all so good I wish I had another book of short stories by the author because they were that awesome. I absolutely loved it and definitely recommend it. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview,#VivianKasey, #AllsWellThatEndsWell,

This short story collection felt a bit like Tales from the Crypt meets vintage Goosebumps—creepy, fun, and a little nostalgic. The stories definitely delivered on atmosphere and weird setups, but when it came to actual scares… not so much. Think eerie build-up that sometimes fizzles instead of full-on nightmare fuel—light on the gore, monsters, and real terror. Still, I had a great time reading it; the vibes were entertaining and kept me hooked. I just wish a few of the endings packed more of a punch (or at least a little more bite to sink into). In the end, it was more of a spooky snack when I was craving a full-course horror meal.

Very nostalgic and reminded me of my teenage years when I used to read a lot of goosebumps and point horror. Very good read for spooky season

Let me preface this review by saying that horror is more than gore, slashers, and jump scares. Vivian Kasley created old-school horror stories reminiscent of Eerie comics and Tales from the Crypt. The stories are pulpy, intense and fun. The cover awakened my 80s heart. I could not wait to dive into the world of stories. The collection includes a variety of 18 weird tales that range from deceiving death to revenge. It is filled with scarecrows, mermaids, werewolves and blood-thirsty appliances. Skin Tags was a terrifying body horror story that made me search my body several times. There is something for everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The variety in this anthology is amazing and there is a story for pretty much every horror reader in here. Aliens, mermaids, haunted houses and videos, and body horror, just to name a few.

Like many short story collections, there were some that I liked more than others. I felt like some of the stories were not fair in their presentation of women or just plain mean in representation. Hence why this is a 3 star from me.

All's Well That Ends Well is a collection of disturbing and terrifying short stories from Vivian Kasley that are sure to make the reader lose some sleep. With over 15 different scary tales, you are sure to find at least one that will leave you feeling a bit more scared than before you read it.

Overall, this was a good collection of stories for going into the spooky season. However, I don't see myself revisiting them any time soon, or seeking out more of this author. Most of the stories are entertaining, with a few of my favorites including Dead Deception, Heart-Shaped Box, Maternal Drive, Squid's Ink, and Christmas Cookies. There were some that almost made me quit reading the book all together though, specifically Ragamuffin. This one was hard to get through for me personally.

I would recommend this collection of stories to my most die-hard of horror fans, especially ones who enjoy sub-genres like body horror. However, I won't be recommending it to a casual horror reader. I recommend this collection if you enjoyed Terrifier, The Substance, and Barbarian.

3.5/5 stars. Thank you to Brigids Gate Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a fun book! This will be a perfect read for anyone looking to get spooked during the Halloween season. I’ll never look at skin tags the same way again!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Brigids Gate Press, LLC, and Vivian Kasley for the gifted copy of the book.

Ghosts? Goblins? Aliens? And a being made of someone’s skin tags? This horror short story collection has it all! One thing that I found while reading All’s Well that Ends Well is that between the short stories there is SO much variety, which is something I think a horror short story collection needs.

However, with multiple stories also comes the challenge of rating the book as a whole. Some of the short stories I *really* loved (Canned Tuna, Squid Ink, and Wild, Wild, West) to name a couple! And there were some that weren’t particularly my cup of tea (Dead deception, heart shaped box, and Porch Pirates.)

So this book sits at a solid 3.25 stars for me, if you’re looking for a book that covers everything from Mermaids to a tattoo artist that reads your soul, I highly recommend All’s Well that Ends Well! Variety is certainly the spice of life in this book, and with the stories being anywhere from 10-20 pages long it is a very fun read!

I definitely suggest picking this book up when it releases on October 31st if you need some scary stories to delve into the end of spooky season with that is targeted towards adults!

I’ve always loved shows such as Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow. You know the ones —30 minutes of campy dark humor, buckets of gore, and plenty of cosmic comeuppance. I was drawn to All’s Well That Ends Well, a new collection by Vivian Kasley, because the cover reminded me of those venerable anthology shows, and I was not disappointed!

I could see many of these tales adapted for those old favorite shows. In fact, in my head I’ve already cast my 50-year girl crush Adrienne Barbeau as the murderous gold digger who gets her otherworldly due in “Dead Deception.”

Other guest appearances include vengeful ghosts, a macho creep scarecrow, bloodthirsty appliances, the obligatory little gray men, Death himself, and skin tags from space so gnarly they almost (but not quite) put me off my feed!

Coming this Halloween from Brigids Gate Press, All’s Well That Ends Well is sure to put a spark in your spooky season!

A good debut of collected stories sure to get you involved and to gross you out at the same time.
Easy to read and easy to get lost in the story.
Overall pretty fun.

Growing up I strictly only read goosebumps and eventually fear street and this reminded me of that - just with some vulgarity thrown in. A lot of this seemed too juvenile for me and got repetitive over time. Every story contained either some kind of weird creature, a dead spouse/parent, or a woman that was referred to as a “bitch” or “whore”. After a few stories it felt like it was copy and paste plot with different character names and lead to a burnout of interest. By the last two stories I found myself skimming just to get the book over with.

It did have some redeeming qualities that I enjoyed. That love of campy/cheesy/80s horror never goes away despite your age, and although it wasn’t for me, I can still appreciate it for what it is - just meant for fun!