All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology

Title: All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology

Authors: Kalynn Bayron; Ashia Monet; Liselle Sambury; Sami Ellis; Joel Rochester; Joelle Wellington; Brent C. Lambert; Donyae Coles; Ryan Douglass

Publisher: Amberjack

Expected publication date: October 17, 2023

Goodreads synopsis 

Welcome to the Dark.

We are all familiar with tropes of the horror genre: slasher and victims, demon and the possessed. Bloody screams, haunted visions, and the peddler of wares we aren’t sure we can trust. In this young adult horror anthology, fans of Jordan Peele, Lovecraft Country, and Horror Noire will get a little bit of everything they love—and a lot of what they fear—through a twisted blend of horror lenses, from the thoughtful to the terrifying.

From haunted, hungry Victorian mansions, temporal monster–infested asylums, and ravaging zombie apocalypses, to southern gothic hoodoo practitioners and cursed patriarchs in search of Black Excellence, All These Sunken Souls features the chilling creations of acclaimed bestsellers and hot new talents, with stories from Kalynn Bayron, Donyae Coles, Ryan Douglass, Sami Ellis, Brent Lambert, Ashia Monet, Circe Moskowitz, Joel Rochester, Liselle Sambury, and Joelle Wellington.

My thoughts

This was a great anthology. The wide range of themes covered means that there is something for everyone. Are you into haunted mansions? Bloody Mary-esque legends? Zombies? Insidious lovers? You'll find it in here. The wide range of themes here makes it perfect for new and old horror fans alike, and as someone who has consumed her fair share of horror media, I really enjoyed all of the stories, they were unsettling in exactly the way that I hope horror stories will be. 

If you were a fan of the horror anthology Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror Delight, and would like to keep delving into the world of horror anthologies especially while we approach the Halloween season, I think this book would be a perfect one for you.

Teaser Tuesday (23): All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology

 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:• Grab your read

• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

For this week's Teaser Tuesday, I'm sharing teasers from All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology

Goodreads synopsis

The stories in All These Sunken Souls explore horror through a blend of genres—from the thoughtful to the terrifying—as the reader wanders farther and farther from reality. By delivering a multitude of profound nightmares, this YA horror anthology by established and debut authors contains something for every horror fan—and for anyone who dares to open these pages.

From haunted Victorian mansions, temporal monster-infested asylums, ravaging zombie apocalypses, to southern gothic hoodoo practitioners, the anthology features stories from Kalynn Bayron, Donyae Coles, Ryan Douglass, Sami Ellis, Brent Lambert, Ashia Monet, Circe Moskowitz, Joel Rochester, Liselle Sambury, and Joelle Wellington.

All These Sunken Souls tackles a genre that historically has tokenized and exploited Black characters and opens discussion on how horror translates into the current time we live in.

My teasers

    Her hug tightens. "This house isn't good for you."

    "What do you mean?" Vienna whispers.

    "It rubs you raw. You'll start peeling, and I do not think you'll like the new skin."

    I think I was haunted as a child, Vienna thinks. There was a monster when I was a child.

Page 147.

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All These Sunken Souls is expected to be released on October 17, 2023, and you can add it to your Goodreads TBR here! 

First Line Friday (16): Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror Delight by Ryan Douglass, Kalynn Bayron, Sara Farizan, Kosoko Jackson, Tara Sim, Rebecca Kim Wells, Trang Thanh Tran, Vanessa Montalban, Em X. Liu, Maya Gittelman ,Ayida Shonibar

 First Line Friday is a bookish tag hosted over at Abstract Books that is used to showcase your favourite first lines of books.

There really is something to be said about a good first line, and I'm going to be using this tag from now on to showcase my current read's first lines.

This week for First Line Friday I'm bringing you the first line of  Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror Delight by Ryan Douglass, Kalynn Bayron, Sara Farizan, Kosoko Jackson, Tara Sim, Rebecca Kim Wells, Trang Thanh Tran, Vanessa Montalban, Em X. Liu,  Maya Gittelman, and Ayida Shonibar. 

Her grandmother told her once that the sea gets what it wants. If you go against it, it’ll show you who rules.

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Goodreads synopsis

Night of the Living Queers is a YA horror anthology that explores a night when anything is possible exclusively featuring queer authors of color putting fresh spins on classic horror tropes and tales.

No matter its name or occasion, Halloween is more than a Hallmark holiday, it’s a symbol of transformation. NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS is a YA horror anthology that explores how Halloween can be more than just candies and frights, but a night where anything is possible. Each short story will be told through the lens of a different BIPOC teen and the Halloween night that changes their lives forever. Creative, creepy, and queer, this collection will bring fresh terror, heart, and humor to young adult literature.

Contributors include editors Alex Brown and Shelly Page, Kalynn Bayron, Ryan Douglass, Sara Farizan, Maya Gittelman, Kosoko Jackson, Em Liu, Vanessa Montalban, Ayida Shonibar, Tara Sim, Trang Thanh Tran, and Rebecca Kim Wells.

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Add Night of the Living Queers to your Goodreads TBR and look out for its release on August 29, 2023!

Mini-Review: Everyone Dies Famous In A Small Town by Bonnie Sue Hitchcock

Title: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town

Author: Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Publication Date: April 20, 2021

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 208

Goodreads Synopsis

A lyrical and heartfelt collection by an award-winning writer that connects the lives of young people from small towns in Alaska and the American west. Each story is unique, yet universal.

In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance ricochet across communities, threading through stories. Here, ordinary actions such as ice skating or going to church reveal hidden truths. One choice threatens a lifelong friendship. Siblings save each other. Rescue and second chances are possible, and so is revenge.

On the surface, it seems that nothing ever happens in these towns. But Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock shows that underneath that surface, teenagers' lives blaze with fury, with secrets, and with love so strong it burns a path to the future.

Quick Thoughts

I loved this book. If you're looking for a book to get you out of a reading slump, I think this book might be the one to go to. Being a collection of short stories, I think there's something for everybody in here. I love how the author intertwined the stories in the end while still keeping them largely independent of each other. The writing was beautiful and I feel that the author was very successful in creating different plots and atmospheres to immerse the reader into. 

Link by Link: An Anthology of Haunted Holidays Book Blitz + Giveaway!

Link by Link: An Anthology of Haunted Holidays
Publication date: December 2nd 2020
Genres: Holiday, Paranormal, Supernatural, Young Adult

“‘I wear the chain I forged in life,’ replied the Ghost. ‘I made it link by link…’”-Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Link by Link is a collection of 9 stories of ghosts, spirits, and creatures unnamed, all come to teach lessons we won’t soon forget. From sweet Christmas tales to terrifying holiday hauntings, these stories take a dive into the past in the hopes of creating a better—or at least different—future.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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