What do you think?
Rate this book
When Your Heart is a Broken Thing
A lonely man shunned by society and haunted by a beautiful corpse. Sentient toys in a life and death struggle with unspeakable evil. Spectral visitations at midnight and in broad daylight. Fairy and folk tale re-imaginings full of eldritch places and events. Glimpses of the future and reminiscences of times past and times that never were and never will be. This generous selection of short stories encompasses genres from folk horror to dystopian sci fi, animal fantasy to ghost tales.
Enter the imagination of Helen Whistberry and enjoy 19 unforgettable stories with the author's signature mix of horror and hope. Includes 20 original illustrations by the author.
Enter the imagination of Helen Whistberry and enjoy 19 unforgettable stories with the author's signature mix of horror and hope. Includes 20 original illustrations by the author.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2024
4 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Helen Whistberry
31 books69 followersHelen Whistberry (they/she) is the pen name for an indie author and artist who began writing after retiring from a long career working in libraries. They have published numerous books as well as contributing horror and fantasy stories to anthologies. Helen’s writing often explores their own experiences with gender, asexuality, alienation, and autism. Their whimsical digital artwork focuses on the natural world. Helen also loves to read and review books by fellow indie and small press authors. You can find out more by visiting their website at https://www.helenwhistberry.com/ for a complete list of publications and links.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 30, 2024
An absolute delight to read!
All the stories are beautifully written and I have a truly hard time picking favourites.
(Of course I have them, but why not read them and decide for yourself?)
All the stories are beautifully written and I have a truly hard time picking favourites.
(Of course I have them, but why not read them and decide for yourself?)
July 24, 2025
This short story collection is divided in three parts: we have ghost stories, classic fairytale retelling and sci-fi dystopian stories. I loved the first and the third part. It’s a good collection to have and read before bed, with the variety of the stories, the good length and the original premises. The illustrations were a nice touch, very well done 3.5 stars
My individual ratings are:
Loud – 3/5
Vera – 4/5
Knock, knock – 3.5/5
The long hallway – 3.5/5
From the diary of Mrs. Madeline Smith – 5/5
Forgotten – 2.5/5
Take my hand in midnight – DNF
A tail – 4/5
Cotton – 4/5
Owl and fawn – DNF
Kelpie – 3/5
Sisters – 4.5/5
Beanstalk – 3/5
The price – DNF
New life – 4/5
Howl – DNF
The creaking – 4/5
The guard – 5/5
Last thoughts of a door – 4/5
My individual ratings are:
Loud – 3/5
Vera – 4/5
Knock, knock – 3.5/5
The long hallway – 3.5/5
From the diary of Mrs. Madeline Smith – 5/5
Forgotten – 2.5/5
Take my hand in midnight – DNF
A tail – 4/5
Cotton – 4/5
Owl and fawn – DNF
Kelpie – 3/5
Sisters – 4.5/5
Beanstalk – 3/5
The price – DNF
New life – 4/5
Howl – DNF
The creaking – 4/5
The guard – 5/5
Last thoughts of a door – 4/5
July 7, 2024
This is a great book! It's a fantastic short story collection! And it's – that's what I did – an excellent buddy read, to enjoy with and talk about with someone!
I feel uncomfortable with being too technical in explaining why I so strongly recommend it. But I'm not as elegant and subtle a writer as Helen, so I must make compromises and my main goal is to get people to buy and read this.
For me there are two possible qualities of a short story collection that will make me recommend it. The first one is how much I liked the stories I liked the most. If I "this changed my life"-loved one of your 12 stories, I can ignore if I don't particularly care for any of the other 11. The second one is my baseline enjoyment. If I more or less like all your stories, that's wonderful, because I'm a picky bastard.
When Your Heart Is A Broken Thing is the rare short story collection that gets a medal in both categories. I liked all the stories at least a little bit and quite a few I liked worryingly much.
To name a few of the highlights, Vera is a story I'm still talking about to my buddy reader, even though we had to take a one-month break because of real life events somewhere in the middle of the read. In Vera, like in The Creaking and Owl and Fawn the author allows a tension between style and content that for my taste elevates the text, because it is so well done.
A lot of the stories in the book have a strong coherence between the elegance of the sentences and word choices and the lower-upper class, often female narrators. They are great, the smoothness of the coherence is what weaves those stories.
But when the author wrote through the brain of a mentally decompensating grave robber, as a tree, in the voice of fable-inspired animals, I felt the luckiest to have found their work.
In the hand of a lesser writer, with less precision, awareness, and skill, the tension would have broken the story. A slightly lesser writer would have changed the style completely, to not call attention to itself versus the other story elements.
I just get giddy with excitement when I get to read someone who knows exactly what they're doing and stays themselves while doing not more and not less, stylistically, than what the story demands – without losing their own voice.
(disclosure: I'm friendly with the author on social media)
I feel uncomfortable with being too technical in explaining why I so strongly recommend it. But I'm not as elegant and subtle a writer as Helen, so I must make compromises and my main goal is to get people to buy and read this.
For me there are two possible qualities of a short story collection that will make me recommend it. The first one is how much I liked the stories I liked the most. If I "this changed my life"-loved one of your 12 stories, I can ignore if I don't particularly care for any of the other 11. The second one is my baseline enjoyment. If I more or less like all your stories, that's wonderful, because I'm a picky bastard.
When Your Heart Is A Broken Thing is the rare short story collection that gets a medal in both categories. I liked all the stories at least a little bit and quite a few I liked worryingly much.
To name a few of the highlights, Vera is a story I'm still talking about to my buddy reader, even though we had to take a one-month break because of real life events somewhere in the middle of the read. In Vera, like in The Creaking and Owl and Fawn the author allows a tension between style and content that for my taste elevates the text, because it is so well done.
A lot of the stories in the book have a strong coherence between the elegance of the sentences and word choices and the lower-upper class, often female narrators. They are great, the smoothness of the coherence is what weaves those stories.
But when the author wrote through the brain of a mentally decompensating grave robber, as a tree, in the voice of fable-inspired animals, I felt the luckiest to have found their work.
In the hand of a lesser writer, with less precision, awareness, and skill, the tension would have broken the story. A slightly lesser writer would have changed the style completely, to not call attention to itself versus the other story elements.
I just get giddy with excitement when I get to read someone who knows exactly what they're doing and stays themselves while doing not more and not less, stylistically, than what the story demands – without losing their own voice.
(disclosure: I'm friendly with the author on social media)
April 21, 2024
Well, Helen Whistberry has done it again! I had high hopes when I purchased this stunning book, and I was not disappointed.
Helen is a master storyteller, and this is shown again with a collection of short stories across three broad themes - horror/paranormal, fairytale and sci-fi/dystopian - with each one being executed brilliantly. Very few authors are so versatile in their repertoire, but Helen masters each genre like a pro, and although each section is very different, they all have their signature mixture of eeriness and optimism.
I must admit, it was the sci-fi section that I enjoyed the most (being a dystopia nut myself), with New Life, The Creaking and The Guard being my absolute favourite stories in the collection. Beyond the terrific writing, Helen has also paired each tale with a fantastic illustration containing a quote from the story, which sets each one up very well, and gives a little peek into what's coming up.
I could read Helen's work all day every day, and I'm sure this is a collection I'll come back to again. Truly outstanding work.
Helen is a master storyteller, and this is shown again with a collection of short stories across three broad themes - horror/paranormal, fairytale and sci-fi/dystopian - with each one being executed brilliantly. Very few authors are so versatile in their repertoire, but Helen masters each genre like a pro, and although each section is very different, they all have their signature mixture of eeriness and optimism.
I must admit, it was the sci-fi section that I enjoyed the most (being a dystopia nut myself), with New Life, The Creaking and The Guard being my absolute favourite stories in the collection. Beyond the terrific writing, Helen has also paired each tale with a fantastic illustration containing a quote from the story, which sets each one up very well, and gives a little peek into what's coming up.
I could read Helen's work all day every day, and I'm sure this is a collection I'll come back to again. Truly outstanding work.
April 7, 2024
Whistberry consistently brings A+ storytelling to everything they publish, and this collection is no different.
They're arranged into 3 categories--ghost stories, fairy tales, and future/scifi--that are individually captivating in plot, character, and tone. Some are eerie, some disturbing, some even adding a little funny to the mix. They are especially good at capturing that slightly old-fashioned language that gives the story the Atmosphere of a creaky old mansion or haunted wood.
Taken together, the stories in this collection are charming and effortlessly enjoyable. I had to pace myself not to devour the whole thing in one go.
They're arranged into 3 categories--ghost stories, fairy tales, and future/scifi--that are individually captivating in plot, character, and tone. Some are eerie, some disturbing, some even adding a little funny to the mix. They are especially good at capturing that slightly old-fashioned language that gives the story the Atmosphere of a creaky old mansion or haunted wood.
Taken together, the stories in this collection are charming and effortlessly enjoyable. I had to pace myself not to devour the whole thing in one go.
September 11, 2024
I absolutely adored this book! This collection is perfect for anyone who needs to spend time in a liminal literary space. Whistberry's prose is both haunting and comforting. The combination of ghost stories, fairytale retellings, and dystopian scifi is perfect for readers who need a true escape. I continue to be a fan of this very talented author!
November 4, 2024
This was thoroughly enjoyable. Anthologies aren’t usually my go-to. I usually end up disliking more stories than I like but it here. I enjoyed every tale. The author had three sections, horror, fairy tale retelling, and science fiction. Not a dud in the bunch. Each story was unique and captivating. Highly recommend.
May 5, 2024
An enchanting collection of short stories ranging from the ghostly macabre to dystopian futures, with fairy tale retellings in between. Great for a binge read, or to be spread out as nightly pallet cleansers. I highly recommend it.
July 14, 2024
I have enjoyed this short story collection tremendously. Even the stories that didn't quite resonate that much with me are well written. Stand-outs for me are "Vera", "Forgotten" and "Howl".
The author is really good in writing that creepy atmosphere that gives you goose-bumps even if you are in a safe room and the sun is shining outside. They also understand it very well to give well-known stories and tropes their own twist. A wonderful reading experience!
The author is really good in writing that creepy atmosphere that gives you goose-bumps even if you are in a safe room and the sun is shining outside. They also understand it very well to give well-known stories and tropes their own twist. A wonderful reading experience!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews