Doomed Romances: Strange Tales of Uncanny Love

by Joanne Ella Parsons (Editor)

'Love will have its sacrifices. No sacrifice without blood. Let us go to sleep now.'

A prophecy threatens a volcanic upheaval for a star-crossed pair. A forbidden rite binds a dark arts dabbler to a phantom bride. A barstool chancer invites a devilish retribution on the dance floor.

Beckoning from this tome are twelve tales of dark romance and undying passions hailing from 1832 to 2022, marrying bewitching classics by Mary Shelley, Wilkie Collins and Angela Carter with twisting modern pieces by Nalo Hopkinson, Tracy Fahey and V. Castro - alongside the classic Gothic novella of sapphic vampire romance, Carmilla. Indulging in the strangest eddies of literary love, this new anthology bids you enter a doom-laden yet irresistibly seductive corner of the Weird.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Romance, Gothic, Fiction, Fantasy, Halloween

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2024

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the Tales of the weird series, this one is about doomed romances. There are stories by Mary Shelley, Wilkie Collins, Ella D’Arcy, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Alice Perrin, Marjorie Bowen, Angela Carter, Nalo Hopkinson, Tracy Fahey, V. Castro, Kalamu Ya Salaam and a novella by Sheridan Le Fanu. All the stories are by women apart from the novella by Le Fanu. The novella is a pre Dracula vampire story: more specifically a lesbian vampire story.
There are a few more modern stories in this collection. Nalo Hopkinson retells the Bluebeard myth mixed with Caribbean folklore. Bowen provides a deal with the devil story and Shelley’s contribution is a slice of pure gothic. The last story, Dancehall Devil is brief and atmospheric and may put you off meeting people at dances!
There are the usual things you associate with romance: obsession, helplessness, death and patriarchy. The doomed part of the title does give it away though! Angela Carter gives a different slant to the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. The Le Fanu novella is responsible for at least three Hammer House of Horror films.
It's an interesting mix and very much not your average Mills and Boon.

[Quirine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story collections somehow always come to a 3 star rating with me because there will always be some stories I love and some that I won’t. In this one most stories didn’t grip me as much as I hoped - also because I have already read Carmilla so I skipped that one, which would have been my favourite one of the collection had I read it here for the first time - but also because almost none of the stories fully connected to the theme of doomed love for me. If anything, they were about fleeting passion. I did appreciate the feminist themes in the modern stories a lot and my absolute favourite story was ‘I’ll be your mirror’ by Tracy Fahey. Beautiful writing and a macabre topic that immediately made me go down a google rabbit hole. Will definitely read more of her work!

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who says that blokes don’t read romance? That is quite a few of you then… Romance is the genre that I deliberately avoid, or more appropriately, run screaming from the boudoir… However, this is one of the fine offerings from the British Library’s Tales of the Weird Series, and the title Doomed Romances brings a whole different connotation to the word…


The Invisible Girl by Mary Shelley
This is the first Mary Shelley story that I have ever read! It is a strange tale of love and loss with whispers of folklore ad fairy tale woven in. But the strongest theme is the gothic melodrama that permeates the prose completely.


Carmilla by J. Sheridan le Fanu
A very gothic melodrama with vampires. I felt it was very overwritten; why use one word when you could use twenty instead? There is a strong lesbian theme between the daughter and the lady who is staying as a guest in the house.


Mr. Captain and the Nymph by Wilkie Collins
Somewhere in the Pacific, a ship encounters an island. The natives that live there seem friendly and welcoming, so the sailors go ashore, and it allows them to restock supplies. Alongside the main island is another, and they are curious as to what or who is on there. The natives strongly recommend that they do not set foot on the island as it is the home of a sorcerer, and it is a taboo for anyone else but him and the nymph to be there. The captain of the ship is told about her, and when he sees her through the telescope, he becomes besotted. So much so that he is brave and foolish enough to venture onto the island…


Little Woman in Black by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Miss Sarah Pawlett was engaged to be married to Lord Bellenden. The relationship was a little unusual as she wasn’t from the aristocracy, as would be expected at the time. But this didn’t deter, Lord Bellenden.

The only problem, though, was that Sarah was head over heels in love with another actor called Ned Langley. Plus, there was a sense that she was being watched continually, and there was a small lady dressed entirely in black who sat in the same seat for every performance each night.

Who this lady was, though, would soon be revealed…


White Magic by Ella D’Arcy
I wasn’t overly enamoured with this story. It is a conversation between the narrator and their friend, but having read it twice, I wasn’t completely sure what was going on or what were the subtleties of the plot.


The Tiger Charm by Alice Perrin
This is a story set in the time of the British Raj in India. A blustering colonel sets out on a tiger hunt, dragging his wife with him. They are separated after an incident and she ends up switching to another elephant and then they are separated. When she returns, he accuses her of all sorts of transgressions that might have taken place with her new companion in his drunken rant. He still wants to shoot a tiger, though, so he sets out with her companion, with a darker motive in mind…


One Remained Behind by Marjorie Bowen
A student called Rudolph is desperate to acquire a grimoire, a book full of magic and ancient rituals and ends up arguing with an antique bookseller whose shop it is in. With a trick and some emotional blackmail, he manages to make the book his.

He wastes no time in using the book to gain fame and fortune. However, he had not ever thought through the consequences of his actions, and it all starts to unravel.
I really liked this story a lot. There is something quite satisfying about Karma…


The Lady of the House of Love by Angela Carter
I thought that this was the story that best suited the title of the book, Doomed Romances. The young lady is in a decrepit mansion with a crone as a servant. There is an innocent young soldier who stops for the night. There is a building tension as I, the reader, can second-guess his possible fate.

That said, I didn’t find it that scary. But it does have a brooding intensity that made it my top story in the collection.


The Glass Bottle Trick by Nalo Hopkinson
This is a really dark story about a man who has been widowed twice before and is now married to his third wife. They had married fairly quickly after meeting and courting, and were soon to learn that his moods were dark and his temper short.

Passing on her news was going to be a challenge that she wasn’t sure she could do…
I thought this was an incredibly intense and fast-paced story.


Could You Wear My Eyes? by Kalumu Ya Salaam
I thought that this was a well-crafted story about a man who thought that having his late wife’s eyes implanted to replace his.
What he didn’t realise was what the effect of seeing everything from her perspective would be like…


I’ll Be Your Mirror by Tracy Fahey
A story of love, anatomy and discovery by a woman who becomes obsessed by an anatomical Venus, a life-sized wax model. Very much more macabre than romantic, and has a very dark plotline.


Dancehall Devil by V. Castro
I thought that this was probably the closest story in the book to horror. A woman has just entered a club and she is approached by a man who has absolutely no idea what her has just let himself in for…

[Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carmilla

The Victorian vampiric romance between two girls that needs no introduction.

Mr. Captain and the Nymph

It's an interesting short story and the plot kind of unintentionally addresses the issue of colonialism and romances between a white man and an islander girl of that time.

However, the islander girl is more of a victim of fate and her own innocence than a seductive nymph of any sort. 3.5 stars.

The Tiger-Charm

Surprisingly the story takes place in the colonized India and domestic violence is addressed directly, and female anatomy and awareness is vaguely hinted at. 3.5 stars.

One Remained Behind

Hahaha! This is a tricky little story about greed, black magic, and a ghost bride, with Lucifer in the background. 5 stars.

The Lady of the House of Love

I had read this before, it plays homage (?) to the vampire genre with tons of purple prose and colorful writing, I don't love it but it is a delightful enough story.

The Glass Bottle Trick

It's a retelling of The Bluebeard. I like how the truth is slowly revealed to the heroine, a brown-skinned beauty. I don't like Brown Girl in the Ring by the same author all that much but this one is lovely. I also like the irony that the couple in the story could have lived happily together if not for the husband's self-hatred and distaste of darker skin tones. 5 stars.

I’ll Be Your Mirror

I feel the madness spread inside me, leaking poison from my unwanted womb, curdling the blood in my veins.

The story has a creative theme of the Anatomical Venus interwoven with a troubled woman's doomed romance, I like it a lot! The ending is not surprising but refreshing too. 5 stars.

Dancehall Devil

Another tricky little story, nothing too original but it is at least fun. 4 stars.

There are a few stories that do not leave much impression in my mind, but I am okay with it.

[Joanne van der Vlies · Rating 5 out of 5]

• "I am a creature bewitched; I love the demon."
• "I think you have learned to love me, Sarah. That is the only wisdom I ask of you."

[Rav.ingbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contained one of my favourite books Carmilla. Like any anthology there is some that are worse than others BUT there was some great horror romances towards the end of the book. I would highly recommend.
Tragic but also fills the romance hole would be good to read around valentines day.

[David Paul Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it so much!
The Carmilla/Mircalla story takes up the bulk and you can "see" the scenes if you've seen the Hammer Karstein trilogy.
The other stories are very good.

[p. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easily top three of the series for me. Parsons has done an excellent job introducing classic stories to new readership, while also highlighting newer, more contemporary, voices alongside them.

Favourite stories: "Carmilla" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, "The Little Woman in Black" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, "One Remained Behind" by Marjorie Bowen, "The Lady in the House of Love" by Angela Carter, "Could You Wear My Eyes?" by Kalamu Ya Salaam and "I'll Be Your Mirror" by Tracey Fahey

[Naomi Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The books contains some short stories written by women from 1833 to 2022. I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning, and I was entertaining the idea of DNF'ing (I know... shocking) because I wasn't really particularly excited to open up this book again. But that really turned around about halfway through the book when some bomb ass short stories came around the corner, which made me shake my head, smirk, and murmur 'mmhmm' in agreement. Periodt.

*The Invisible Girl* (Mary Shelley, 1833): ☆☆☆
liked it better than Frankenstein, to be honest. For the sole reason that I could follow the plot better. But I think Mary Shelley is just kind of not my thing...

*Carmilla* (J. Sheridan le Fanu, 1872): ☆☆☆
Already buddy read this one with a friend last year. So, the same rating and review for that one. Skipped it in this book.

*Mr. Captain and the Nymph* (Wilkie Collins, 1876):☆☆
I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't like it better. It was just kind of vague and confusing. Very forgettable, in my opinion.

*Little Woman in Black* (Mary Elizabeth Braddon, 1885): ☆☆
I don't remember what this story was about. So I think that kind of speaks for itself.

*White Magic* (Ella D'Arcy, 1894): ☆☆
Same with this one. No active memories.

*The Tiger Charm* (Allice Perrin, 1901): ☆☆☆
It's cute and bloody, but I wasn't really gagged or anything like that. Nothing noteworthy that really stuck with me or got a reaction out of me.

*One remained behind* (Marjorie Bowen, 1936): ☆☆☆☆
Now we're talking! Incredible atmosphere and storytelling. The character is flawed, but you love to hate him. And his arc is satisfying yet infuriating. Yes.

*The Lady of the House of Love* (Angela Carter, 1975): ☆☆☆☆
Tragic. Made me feel some typa way. Very analyzable (is that even a word?) Love turns monster to human, but the same lover has to commit unspeakable acts against humanity. At least, that's approximately how I interpreted it. Also beautifully and poetically written!

*The Glass Bottle Trick* (Nalo Hopkinson, 2000): ☆☆☆☆☆
RAAAAAAAH!!! I knew it!! I knew there was something about this motherfucker from page one!!! This author took the most mundane thing you can imagine and turn it into something so fucking eerie. YUP!

*Could You Wear My Eyes?* (Kalumu Ya Salaam, 2000): ☆☆☆☆☆
I wish we could do this to some men forreeaaallll... This was, in a way, so satisfying to read, yet so so sad to think about.

*I'll Be Your Mirror* (Tracy Fahey, 2021): ☆☆☆
BEAUTIFULLY written, but I have no idea what she's writing about half the time. Love what she did, but don't ask me what it's about. Would love for someone to explain it to me like I'm three.

*Dancehall Devil* (V. Castro, 2022): ☆☆☆☆
One of the stories that makes your go: 'good for her... Good for her...' Very short, but straight to the point. And I can appreciate that.

[Marisse Blom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of short stories, most of them are very fun read.

[Marnie Hageman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first entry into the British Library Tales of the Weird series. The theming of this collection seemed inconsistent since some stories involved doomed romances while others didn't seem to focus on romantic relationships. Unsurprisingly, my favorite stories were the Victorian selections, but I also enjoyed the entries by Nalo Hopkinson, Kalamu ya Salaam, and V. Castro. I'll be looking into other books in the British Library series, as this was an excellent anthology overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and British Library Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Alex Sarll]

I had a certain investment in this one even ahead of publication; at a Tales Of The Weird event a while back, I asked a question from the audience, which I rarely do, and it was: how do the volumes get chosen, such that niche themes like spooky tattoos come out years ahead of what you'd think would be more obvious ones like this? Having read it, though, it's not at all what I would have guessed. Only a handful of the pieces are drawn from the series' regular stomping grounds of eerie stories in the few decades either side of 1900; of those, only one, by Marjorie Bowen, has what you could really call a doomed romance, and that's between two lightly sketched side characters who become victims of the protagonist's vainglorious Faustian schemes. Ella D'Arcy's White Magic is even less menacing than the title suggests; Alice Perrin's Kipling-esque The Tiger Charm has a bad marriage, but that's a very different thing to a doomed romance, especially then. Running earlier, we have nearly a third of the volume taken up with Carmilla, definitely a worthy and relevant inclusion but also one easily had elsewhere; before even that, Mary Shelley's The Invisible Girl is very much Gothic by numbers, with none of the eerie spark that enlivens her hit. Wilkie Collins turns out to at least be pacier than many of his peers, but his haunted sailor and exotic island setting means here he can't help but feel like Conrad lite. And the best that can be said of Mary Elizabeth Braddon is that at least the 19th century's take on the Georgians, while tediously moralistic, isn't quite as narcissistic as the 21st's. Speaking of which, in the other direction, we have a brief pause at Angela Carter's peerless The Lady Of The House Of Love (why can nobody else do overripe this well?) before touching down in our own benighted millennium, where, yes, The Glass Bottle Trick is only my second favourite Nalo Hopkinson Bluebeard riff, but she did set a high bar. Kalaamu Ya Salaam's Could You Wear My Eyes?, on the other hand...look, one of the reasons I love genre fiction is the space it allows for reified metaphors. But it needs to be a delighted realisation, like seeing a conjuring trick come off before it dawns on you how it worked, not this dogged plod through a checklist of things a particularly oblivious man doesn't understand about how women see the world. It might have worked if the narrator were the widower who, in a misguided gesture of devotion, has his dead wife's eyes implanted – but with the story told by her ghost, who tells us exactly why he has each unexpected reaction as soon as he does, it's more exercise than art. Still, Tracy Fahey's I'll Be Your Mirror gets the closing stretch back on track, intimate, creepy, perfectly fitted to the theme. And V Castro's closing Dancehall Devil is a little programmatic, but brief and bloody enough not to pall. Not at all the book I expected it to be, but some good stuff here nonetheless.

(Netgalley ARC)

[David Garrett jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book that I got the chance to read as a critic’s copy thanks to Valerie from Independent Publishers Group. What caught my attention first was seeing that this featured a short story by Mary Shelley that I hadn’t read and having Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, a short that I’ve seen adapted to the screen many times but never read the source material. Knowing that this featured stories about love in different ways intrigued me.

Now if you know me, I’m not always the biggest fan of romance stories. That’s not to say that I’ll completely avoid them. If it is done well, I can get hooked into seeing where things go. These stories are able to do that. Not all are as effective as others, but we do get an interesting cross section here starting back in Victorian England and even having stories that are from more recent times. I do like seeing how these themes and concepts are used in a variety of tales. They’re still relevant today, which is interesting as well.

My plan here isn’t to break down each story, but I did want to bring up a few other concepts that were used to explore these ideas. Shelley’s story is the Invisible Girl. This still works today as this is more of an allegory about the lead character not having a say in her life. Le Fanu’s Carmilla explores sexuality with the titular character being a vampire that feasts on other women. Wilkie Collins has an interesting story here that involves mythology and what happens when you don’t follow what is told. There are also stories here about women, even if the time period it is set doesn’t permit, standing up for themselves. I was quite intrigued to see what each story would bring.

This is a collection of short stories that I’d recommend checking out. The theme of romance is something that I would say to not deter you. If anything, if you struggle to read older English stories, that was a bigger issue for me. For whatever reason, I enjoy them but it can be difficult to focus if the time doesn’t necessarily permit. These are all good stories, even if they aren’t necessarily to my taste. I love the commentary that you can pull from each one or just read them for entertainment. There could be one or two that are more in your face with what they’re conveying. I know that can deter people as well. Regardless, credit here to Joanne Ella Parsons for curating this collection, I couldn’t imagine reading as much as she did to compile this. Would recommend it.



My Rating: 7 out of 10

[Hollow kiwi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collection is a jumble, which sort of make effort at being diverse, though they're predominantly set in England. I definitely think the collection would have benefitted from either: sticking to authors from one location and examining how attitudes toward romance changed over time (since the stories ARE ordered by publication date), OR embracing diversity fully, using stories from a broader variety of locations. It also doesn’t help that ‘Carmilla’ is maybe 50% of the text body, yet the other stories are significantly shorter- the last few take up just a handful of pages each. ‘Cohesive’ and ‘balanced’ are not words that apply to this, as a whole.

I enjoyed the little snippets of context and introductions to each story- they don’t drag, as some intros do, and provide useful context and genuinely insightful analysis without huge spoilers.

My individual story ratings:

The invisible girl - 3/10, dreary and dull. A rough start.

Carmilla - 10/10. I knew of this story, but had no idea about the strong lesbian subtext and sapphic relationship it involved. The descriptions of infatuation were so breathtakingly beautiful, I would go back and reread paragraphs so often, just to enjoy how gorgeous they are. The atmosphere is heavy and enrapturing, really capturing the feeling of being under a spell.

Mr. Captain and the Nymph - 8/10. This luscious, tropical story of pirates totally drew me in. Similar plot/messaging as ‘Carmilla’ regarding forbidden desire being a person’s undoing.

The Little Woman in Black - 8/10. Considering this was written over a century ago, it's striking how relevant it is to celebrity culture today. I really enjoyed the drama and intrigue.

White Magic - 4/10. Generic, forgettable.

The Tiger Charm - 5/10. Predictable, just okay. Signifies the turn of the stories from women being passive objects of desire, to enacting out revenge.

One Remained Behind - 10/10. Really fun, sarcastic and almost satirical of historical ghost stories, despite containing genuinely creepy imagery.

The Lady of the House of Love - 10/10. I am a HUGE Angela Carter fan and had already experienced this story before, but loved reading it again.

The Glass Bottle Trick - 5/10. It’s a ‘Bluebeard’ variation. The discussions about racial prejudice and internalised racism were really interesting to read, though I can’t help but feel disappointed it ended on a cliffhanger. I also can’t help but compare it to Angela Carter’s ‘Bluebeard’ take ‘The Bloody Chamber’ which involved rich, headier prose and a satisfying resolution.

Could You Wear My Eyes - 7/10. Succinct and gets it's point across well.

I'll Be Your Mirror - 9/10. Marvellous body horror and gore. I adored how this relates gore to love, describing how love affects each organ, with added subtext about eating disorders.

Dancehall Devil - 5/10. Compared with the others, it's crude, fleeting and doesn't stand up. The body horror is great, and the imagery is fantastic- but it's less a story, more a scene. Something pertaining to hook ups and party culture felt like a fitting end for the collection.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doomed Romances: Strange Tales of Uncanny Love (2024).
A fantastic addition to the Tales of the Weird series.

Introduction, by Joanne Ella Parsons - "Romance has a problem. It loves stereotypes.."

Invisible Girl, by Mary Shelley (1833) - "Beneath this picture was inscribed in golden letters, ‘The Invisible Girl.’" Original and heart-felt gothic tale by Mary Shelley.

Carmilla, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1872) - better than expected; darker and gothic, clearly an influential story. "Thus fortified I might take my rest in peace. But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths."

Mr Captain and the Nymph, by Wilkie Collins (1876) - cool story of attraction but at cost. "Some few liked him; everybody respected him; nobody understood him."

The Little Woman in Black, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1885) - the dread of blackmail lingers intensively in this story. Very good.

White Magic, by Ella D'Arcy (1894)- "Many men have a love of poetry, but I'm inclined to think that a hundred women out of ninety-nine positively dislike it."

The Tiger-Charm, by Alice Perrin (1901) - 'colonial and marital revenge,' as the editor states it.

One Remained Behind, by Marjorie Bowen (1936) - a monkey-paw tale, "I shall be the greatest poet in the world and I shall have more money then any man ever had before."

The Lady of the House of Love, by Angela Carter (1975) - Excellent and surprisingly redemptive story.
“Wearing an antique bridal gown, the beautiful queen of the vampires sits all alone in her dark, high house under the eyes of the portraits of her demented and atrocious ancestors …”
“.... her claws and teeth have been sharpened on centuries of corpses; she is the last bud of the poison tree that sprang from the loins of Vlad the Impaler who picnicked on corpses in the forests of Transylvania.”

These last four are visceral!!
The Glass Bottle Trick, by Nalo Hopkinson (2000) - ghastly!
Could You Wear My Eyes?, by Kalamu Ya Salaam (2000) - gruesome!
I'll Be Your Mirror, by Tracey Fahey (2021) - ghostly!
Dancehall Devil, by V. Castro (2022) - ghoulish!

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars!

This was another mixed bag for me, which is a great shame considering that I'm really drawn to the theme of doomed romances or uncanny love. Ultimately, I wish that another person had edited this collection because this is probably the least cohesive of the Tales of the Weird I've read so far. I feel that Parsons was trying so hard to include tales that subverted romance tropes that she ended up including stories that didn't even properly fit the theme. Ex. 'The Tiger Charm', 'One Remained Behind', and 'Dancehall Devil'. There was no romance, doomed or not, present in these stories so why were they even included? I've read Parsons's explanation in the introductions but they just came off as flimsy to me.
There were some gems such as 'Carmilla', 'Mr. Captain and the Nymph', and 'Lady of the House of Love'. I even enjoyed 'The Little Woman in Black'. I didn't outright dislike any of these stories. At worst one was trite; I just wish there was a better sense of cohesion, especially for a theme I enjoy so much.

Favorite Stories
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Mr. Captain and the Nymph by Wilkie Collins
The Little Woman in Black by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Lady of the House of Love by Angela Carter


"I experienced a strange tumultuous excitement that was pleasurable, ever and anon, mingled with a vague sense of fear and disgust. I had no distinct thoughts about her while such scenes lasted, but I was conscious of a love growing into adoration, and also of abhorrence."

[Karina Rattray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve recently come across these British Library’s Tales of the Weird collection and this was my first read of one. There are around 40 books in Tales of the Weird books where short stories are collated that fit under a theme.

This one being love - not a cutesy kind of love, but a more dark and twisty kind of love. Doomed Romances is an anthology of 12 tales ranging from the 1800s to 2022 and each tale has a brief introduction to the author and the significance of the selected tale beforehand which I really appreciated. I loved being able to discover writings from authors I know and discover completely new authors. I bought this from an independent bookshop @seahorse_bookstore and didn’t even look at the contents page so I was over the moon when I realised Carmilla is one of the tales! I’ve been wanting to read it ever since I found out that it was written before Dracula and possibly influenced Bram Stoker. Not only that, the first tale being by Mary Shelley 🫶🏽

I really enjoyed this collection with personal highlights being Carmilla, The Invisible Girl, Could You Wear My Eyes, One Remained Behind and The Lady of the House of Love. If you love Gothic fiction then you’ll love these.

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

A lovely compilation of stories and authors both familiar and new to me.

It was absolutely fascinating to see how they all tie together thematically, each story building upon the last, until you are left with a fascinating introspection on love and ill-fated romances. It is hard to critique anthologies such as this, when it really ought to be a critique of each story on its own. Nevertheless, over all, the collection holds its weight and does what it sets out to do.

I really appreciated the introduction to each author, the explanation of their history and the time period in which their story was written. I felt that it really added to the experience of reading, and isn't something you really see in modern short story collections. It added depth to the reading, and also served as a good way to bridge one story to the next without feeling as if you've been jarred from one world to the next, as I often feel reading anthologies.

I enjoyed reading it, and felt like I had a broader appreciation for the horror-romance genre as a whole, as well as a reinvigorated love for those precious familiar favourites (looking at you Carmilla).

[Krystelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Anthologies can be really hit or miss, and it's hard when the subject is a topic that's not easy to find in older literature. I found that this collection of short stories definitely showcased a broad range of topics and styles, and even eras, but they didn't really fit the brief in terms of the actual title of the book itself. 'Carmilla' was, of course, massive, and took up a huge amount of the book - while I understand the inclusion, it definitely took up a lot of real estate that made the other stories feel more ancillary.

I will give credit where credit is due to the author themselves, who came up with lovely introductions for each and every one of the stories, giving them all the space to be showcased really well. Each story was justified, even if some of them didn't fit very well, and I found them more enjoyable than some of the stories at times. There definitely could have been a bit more of a focus on fitting the theme, but it is a weird one, and I found the author did a reasonable job with all that considered!

[Lyssa Medana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a collection of short stories edited by Joanne Ella Parsons who has dug out some wonderful gems. It starts with the eerie tale The Invisible Girl written by Mary Shelley and published in 1833. I associated Mary Shelley with Frankenstein but this is a dark tale of forbidden love and the heartbreak of an innocent maiden cast out into the cold by a tyrannical father - thoroughly enjoyable. It ends with Dancehall Devil by V Castro, a current writer with some well deserved awards for horror. Dancehall Devil is one of those uncanny, sweltering, steamy horror stories with passion and violence and a shiver of harsh, deserved justice. There are plenty of goodies in between.

I read it during a normal evening, but I feel that it ought to be read in strange, out of the way places during thunderstorms while drinking dark wine. I may have been in my usual jeans and slippers, but I almost felt that I was wearing velvet and lace.

[Renee Sevinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is absolutely perfect for anyone who just went to see Nosferatu and is looking for something to give them the same feelings of “eternal torment, aching loneliness, and unsettling discomfort.”

Although I cannot say I loved every story within Doomed Romances, as is the nature of anthologies, what I can say is that I absolutely loved Parsons’s intention behind her choices for each romantically gruesome story she picked to include. Parsons’s introduction to Doomed Romances was very interesting, particularly when discussing how the use of supernatural elements in gothic romance allow for authors to play with the concept of “female rebellion” and “transgressive sexuality.”

Overall, I enjoyed the read and would recommend this to anyone who likes gothic tales that serve as a critique to conventional romance and gender expectations.

[Ella Droste · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is like a rollercoaster of eerie love stories that make you want to hide under a blanket, but also can't stop reading. Some of the tales are super weird, but in that "can't look away" kind of way, you know?

I loved a few of the stories for sure, and even though some didn't quite hit the mark for me, the ones that did were so good! A lot of them had, like, that perfect mix of mystery and suspense, with characters who get tangled in some pretty intense situations. Totally gripping. But, yeah, a couple of them didn’t quite fit the whole "doomed love" thing, which was a little...meh.

Overall though, totally fun read if you're into a spooky vibe with just enough romance to keep you hooked. Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! 😘

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection of gothic romances, from Mary Shelley, through Angela Carter, to contemporary authors. Themes explored included desire, love, power and control, sex, sexuality, body dysmorphia, pregnancy, colonialism, racism, the supernatural and the monstrous. The collection asks pertinent questions about what we frame as romance, and how easily it can slip into something uncanny and disturbing.

I particularly enjoyed the tales by Mary Shelley, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Alice Perrin, Marjorie Bowen, Nalo Hopkinson, Kalamu Ya Salaam and Tracy Fahey. Some of these writers I have encountered before and others were new to me, and I look forward to exploring their other work.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this deeply gothic jewel box of a collection of doomed love stories. It was the perfect balance of macabre and lush, horror and romance. It was such a treat to see Carmilla and Angela Carter's The Lady of the House of Love collected together, along with others that were new to me.

The anthology begins with a 1833 short story by Mary Shelley and ends with one written in 2022. Given that it spans nearly two centuries, it's impressive and well curated the collection felt. Jo Ella Parsons has done a wonderful job of choosing stories that complement and contrast each other.

Thank you to British Library Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

[ThymeOperator · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read Carmilla before but appreciated it more this time. Due to its length, it took up a large part of this collection.

Of the other stories, there were several I found dull. I'm afraid I will never understand the appeal of Angela Carter. Her story in this collection was 100% tell and zero show, and it kept switching tenses, sometimes mid-page.

'The Tiger-Charm', 'One Remained Behind' and 'Dancehall Devil' were okay.

'The Glass Bottle Trick', 'Could You Wear My Eyes?' and 'I'll Be Your Mirror' were PHENOMENAL. I'm going to have to look up the authors and read more.

[Kit]

Slightly disjointed in places - I sometimes felt as though I would have enjoyed some of the stories more in an anthology with a different theme. I also struggled with some of the stories written in an earlier period - with apologies to Mary Shelley. But overall, I liked this anthology.

The stand-out was The Lady of the House of Love by Angela Carter, but I also really enjoyed the stories by Nalo Hopkinson and Kalamu Ya Salaam. Carmilla is also great, but I've read that before so I don't feel the thrill of new discovery in the same way.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was about halfway into this book I thought I would only give it three stars, because the only really memorable story was "Carmilla" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. However, as I got further inti it, the stories picked up considerably, with "One Remained Behind" by Marjorie Bowen, "The Lady of the House of Love" by Angela Carter, "The Glass Bottle Trick" by Nalo Hopkinson (this one really creeped me out), "Could You Wear My Eyes?" by Kalamu Ya Salaam, "I'll Be Your Mirror" by Tracy Fahey, and the wickedly clever "Dancehall Devil" by V. Castro. So, in general, it is a worthwhile book.

[Michael John Paul McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another excellent edition of short stories from the British Library of the Weird. There was only one tale within its covers that I had read before, and that was Carmilla. Each story deals with doomed and strange romances. Some of them very quirky indeed. A great read. Next up for me to read from this wonderful new collection by the British Library of the Weird is The Undying Monster. Looking forward to it indeed.

[Nadia Batista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doomed Romances é uma coletânea de contos que explora o lado sombrio e trágico do amor, reunindo histórias de autores clássicos do século XIX e de escritores contemporâneos. A premissa é envolvente, especialmente para quem gosta de mergulhar em narrativas curtas com temas de amores impossíveis, mas a execução acabou sendo inconsistente, resultando numa leitura que teve momentos altos e baixos.

A coletânea começa bem, com um conto fascinante de Mary Shelley que captura perfeitamente o tom melancólico e reflexivo que esperamos de histórias assim. Revisitar Carmilla também foi bom, mas a partir daí… os contos mais clássicos que se seguiram acabaram por me cansar. Talvez isso se deva ao momento em que li o livro – não estava com paciência para o ritmo denso e o estilo mais rebuscado que muitas dessas histórias trazem.

Por outro lado, à medida que os contos passaram a ter um tom mais moderno, o meu interesse voltou a crescer. Foi um alívio chegar à história de V. Castro, que é, sem dúvida, um dos pontos altos da coletânea. A sua escrita é visceral, emocional e poderosa, destacando-se como uma das melhores narrativas do livro.
Joanne Ella Parsons, enquanto curadora da coletânea, merece elogios pela forma como conseguiu selecionar histórias que capturam diferentes tons e interpretações do conceito de romances fadados ao fracasso. No entanto, o desequilíbrio entre os estilos e o ritmo dos contos torna Doomed Romances uma experiência irregular.

No geral, é um livro que brilha em partes, mas não se sustenta como um todo. Ainda assim, recomendo para fãs de histórias curtas que gostem de explorar o lado mais sombrio do amor – especialmente se estiverem dispostos a navegar entre o clássico e o contemporâneo.

Quero também deixar o meu agradecimento à NetGalley pela oferta do ARC, em troca de uma opinião honesta.

[Grace Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of stories from all walks of literature. Perfect for a lover of all things literary, as well as all things macabre.
A personal favorite was the excerpt from Carmilla. I love seeing all types of works compiled like this. It had a perfect amount of variety.