This is an odd collection of stories. Some of them I didn't understand what I was reading, but I enjoyed the story anyway... which tells me Scheidemantel can weave a story! From weirdly odd to unusually weird, there is a story for everyone, but not everyone for these stories.

#NetGalley #SuckSuckSuck

A story collection branded as psychological horror that I was hoping would read like Maeve Fly but instead delivers this perverted view that does not align with the description. This collection was rough to get through because each one felt like it was ending nowhere. The details felt like they were written for a young adult audience and could not quite grasp me into the reality of the stories. Also some of the content borders on some weird relationships that were not entirely comfortable. I love stories that are chilling, eerie, and even go to dark places – but this collection was aiming for shock value with no real purpose. I want stories that have purpose even if there is going to be some shock permeating throughout the story.
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Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op (Goldenhart Press) for providing me with an eARC.

I love short story collections but this one just didn't work for me. The cover art is what drew me in initially. I was expecting horror stories but these weren't exactly what I wanted. Some of the stories went on and on about some mundane details and then suddenly ended out of nowhere with a possibly horror element. I did like the plumbing story though. I suppose that this is intended to be more of a satire on real things/situations rather than a horror story but I couldn't resonate with it.

Although the initial story was weirdly enjoyable, I don't feel like I was the target audience for this book. I had hoped for more horror or more humour but both felt lacking.
There's also a strange aura of sexuality throughout the stories and it doesn't really fit?
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did.

I have no idea how I'm supposed to respond to this book because a lot of the stories were just deeply "weird". I liked most of them, loved only one of them, and was puzzled by a couple of them. The story I most enjoyed is the one where a man does indeed walk into a bank, and ends up somewhere very far away, but the journey to that somewhere else is the strangest thing I have ever read, (and yes, there was an octopus involved!) I kept laughing at it, but I can't say it was funny. (It was just very ticklish to me.)

I won't even call these Horror stories, although I suppose some of the stories are kind of terrifying, when you think about them.

Like any anthology, the stories are a mixed bag, and your mileage may vary with each one.