Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love

by Evans Light, Edward Lorn, Gregor Xane

Love can rip your heart out.From the creators of the BAD HALLOWEEN HORROR series. "...well-written across the board...provides a glimpse into the singular imaginations of five of today’s most talented writers of horror." - Horror Novel ReviewsNovellas and short stories by Jason Parent When Father Stuart McKenzie finds a disfigured girl abandoned on the steps of his church, he decides the child is a blessing from God and raises her as his own. But the special needs of Eleanor demand more from Stuart than a father can give. LOVE LIES IN EYES, by Evans Light When Nathan falls for a beautiful girl from across a crowded room, she disappears before he can muster his courage. Obsessed with getting a second chance, he’s about to learn that true love isn’t only hard to find...it can be hard to lose. PANACEA, by Adam Light Decades of marriage haven’t tarnished Rob’s affection towards his dear wife Molly one bit, and he’s not about to let cancer snatch her away, no matter the cost. But every medication has its side effects, some more than others. CINDER BLOCK, by Edward Lorn Toby’s dad may have hit the road long ago, but his mother still loves him - along with every other man in town, that is. But after the beautiful Lauren shines a light into his dreary world, he realizes just how crazy love can get. LOVING THE GOAT, by Gregor Xane Embattled comic book artist and notorious animal lover Bill Capra is willing to do anything (literally) to get his dirty paws on the fabled object of his desire, even if it means his own destruction.

Buy the paperback and get special FREE matchbook pricing on the eBook from Amazon. (This book contains adult content and is suitable for mature readers only.)

About Corpus Press is a publisher of horror and weird fiction, specializing in modern pulp that emphasizes plot over gore. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the press has garnered praise from SCREAM Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Horror Novel Reviews, Hellnotes and others for its Bad Slices of Halloween Horror series, the anthology Dead Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love, and for its short story collections and novellas.Horror anthologies and collections from Corpus Tales of TerrorToes Horror to Die ForDead Five Dark Tales of Twisted LoveHalloween horror books from Corpus at Halloween StoriesBad Five Slices of Halloween HorrorBad Apples 2: Six Slices of Hallowee

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 16, 2015

About the author

Evans Light is author of Screamscapes: Tales of Terror, the upcoming I Am Halloween, and more. He is editor of Doorbells at Dusk and the ongoing In Darkness, Delight horror anthology series, and is co-creator of Bad Apples: Halloween Horrors and Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love.



Evans lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, surrounded by thousands of vintage horror paperbacks.

Author links:

Amazon Author Page: https://tinyurl.com/EvansLight-AmazonUS

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheEvansLight

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvansLightAu...

Corpus Press: https://www.corpuspress.com/authors/e...

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

DEAD ROSES is a collection of dark tales from the authors that brought us BAD APPLES. As with its predecessor, we have five distinct tales--this time dealing with the theme of "twisted love" in various guises.

The first story, "Eleanor", by Jason Parent, was my personal favorite in this collection. It's an emotionally charged story about a love that should never be--and yet, profoundly "understandable" at the same time. How desperate are we all to be loved and accepted? To what lengths would a misguided individual go to achieve this?

Next up we have "Love Lies in the Eyes", by Evans Light. I loved the concept behind this story! Do you think the idea of "eternal love" is a myth? You may reconsider after reading this tale of obsession and the consequences of promising oneself to another....forever.

"Panacea", by Adam Light, was another five-star story, in my personal opinion. A man deeply in love with his wife finds a "miracle" cure for her that works so much better than anticipated.....

"Cinder Block" by Edward Lorn is the tale of a teenager whose warped view of love isn't exactly compatible with that of the society around him.

Completing the collection is Gregor Xane's "Loving the Goat". I am honestly at a loss to adequately summarize this tale! An incredibly "unique" storyline that will have your jaw dropping throughout the entire reading. You'll never look at a goat the same way again!

An overall very strong collection with some incredibly memorable stories. I'm hoping for more themed anthologies from these authors in the near future!

Highly recommended!

[Gregor Xane]

Released March 16, 2015!

Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love is available in paperback and eBook.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia

Also, if you're so inclined, you may Order a Signed Limited Edition hardcover or paperback.

[Andi Rawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love is from the same awesome guys who brought us Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror; an awesome anthology if you haven't already read it.

Eleanor, by Jason Parent: When a disfigured baby is dropped at his door, Father Stuart McKenzie doesn't know what to do other than take it in. Figuring it is a sign from God, he raises Eleanor as his daughter but unbeknownst to the rest of his congregation for the fear of the repercussions that would come with anyone seeing her. As much as he loved her, even he couldn't bear to look at her and made her wear a mask to cover her deformities. As Eleanor grows older she starts wanting the only thing that he can't... shouldn't... give her.

Love Lies in Eyes, by Evans Light: When Nathan meets the girl of his dreams not once but twice, he decides then and there to never let her go. Fortunately for Nathan, Eve wants the same thing and makes him promise to be hers forever. Life is good until Eve starts suffocating him and he has to let her go. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be one of his options...

Panacea, by Adam Light: Rob and Molly have been together since they were young. Still very much in love, Rob is left to face the possibility of life without her as Molly is dying from cancer. But what if there was a cure? A Panacea? Would you not give anything for the one that you loved and would it not be worth it if you could have them for just a little bit longer?

Cinder Block, by Edward Lorn: Toby's dad is gone and his mother is a whore. When Toby finally finds someone he loves he will do anything to make sure that no one gets between them, no matter what. Love may not last forever but Cinder Blocks do.

Loving the Goat, by Gregor Xane: Gregor loves his goats and so does Bill Capra, a graphic artist who can't get enough of them. Literally. When Bill finally tracks down the thing he wants most in life, he goes after it with reckless abandon. He will be ridiculed and shunned for his love no more! Right?

Great stories. Great authors. Buy it. Read it. Love it. Just don't let Gregor catch you loving the goats--those are his.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent anthology from Evans Light, Edward Lorn, Adam Light, Jason Parent, and Gregor Xane. In this volume, they each provide their own take on twisted love (and it should be noted that it really is TWISTED!).

If you liked their previous anthology, Bad Apples, this one is even better. Looking forward to what they come up with next!

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what it is about these guys, but they gel very well together. After reading Bad Apples last year, I was super excited to hear about this one from Light, Parent, Light, Lorn and Xane. People in the know, just call them LPLLX...Ok fine, nobody calls them that.

The title says Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love and man they were not kidding. Each one of these short stories are very well written and each had its own distinct voice. Bring on more from these guys - maybe a Christmas terror anthology, St. Patrick's Day or Groundhog Day. How about Easter, although I am a bit scared to see what Gregor would do with that one. Doesn't matter with this bunch, the talent level here is very high and I will read whatever they put out - separately or together these authors are "must read" for any horror fan.

Solid 4.5 Stars and Highly Recommended!

[Evans Light]

THIS IS NOT A REVIEW. THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO PURCHASE FROM AMAZON.

[Kaisersoze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following hot on the heels of last year's Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror, Parent, Lorn, Xane and the Brothers Light have again come together with five short stories this time thematically linked by the idea of love. All bring something compelling to the table, and each is unique insofar as offering at least one thing you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Better still, all are exceptionally well-written and the pages genuinely fly by. I could scarcely believe how quickly I devoured this collection, such was the strength of the prose and the eagerness I felt to read "just one page more".

ELEANOR by Jason Parent kicks things off in style, with a special spin on the idea of forbidden love between a priest in the Catholic church and his disfigured adopted daughter. It's explicit and unsettling and all the more powerful for both of these qualities. It also sets up the rest of the collection perfectly.

The fantastically titled LOVE LIES IN EYES by Evans Light is probably the most accessible of the five stories, telling a very simple tale that emphasises the fickle nature of love with a supernatural twist. The set up means there are few surprises in this one, but it does come to a very satisfying conclusion that adds further evidence to that old saying about a woman scorned ...

Adam Light's PANACEA is the most horrific of the five tales and for that reason it readily appealed to this reader. You know without a shadow of a doubt that the miracle cure Rob offers to his cancer-riddled wife is going to end badly, but I doubt many people will see exactly where Light is heading with this until he gets there. Basically, this was a top notch, nasty story.

I have to admit to being surprised that a tale from the word processor of Edward Lorn would be so short, but CINDER BLOCK manages to be both sharp and to the point while leaving much for the reader to ponder about how we learn what love is.

And finally, there is Gregor Xane's LOVING THE GOAT. Let's just start with an acknowledgement that this one is way, way out there. It's by far the longest (actually being more of a novella than short story) and would be more accurately labelled bizarro than horror. But it is decidedly dark, and if you can get past the difficulties I had liking the protagonist (given what he does), then there is quite the strange and oddly compelling journey to be had.

All in all, I probably did not enjoy this one quite as much as I did Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror, but I still got a hell of a kick out of it. Given Dead Roses was out almost in time for Valentine's Day, I'm going to go right ahead and assume we can expect more holiday-themed collections from the authors in the very near future. The mind boggles wondering what they could do with a Thanksgiving collection, or one based around Independence Day ...

4 Parents Modelling Very Bad Examples for Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love.

This review is based on a free copy provided by Jason Parent, who did not even want an honest review in exchange for it. Well, he got one anyway!

[Scot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid 4 stars

Dead Roses is a great anthology collecting short stories from five great authors. Each story is about twisted love and each story is a bizarre love story, some of which are a bit taboo. These authors have once again combined their "powers" to create a very memorable book. Although each story is really good and allows the reader a glimpse into an odd relationship, the standout story in the his collection for me was the story by Evans Light. That story is very easily going to be in my top three for the year and is absolutely worth the cost of the book alone.
It is rare that an anthology contains all killer, no filler but Dead Roses has broken that barrier. If you are a fan of bizarro, horror, or great writing, make sure you click that buy button. You won't regret it.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was first introduce to these author's in their ground breaking anthology Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror. They are back again with Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales Of Twisted Love. Each story is well written and has a unique style of it's own. These five tales from the dark side definitely proves that love hurts. Dead Roses is a one of a kind horror anthology that is a must read. I would highly recommend this book!

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed experience for me, I think I may be in a horror short story slump. The first story, Eleanor , was all right, but with a quite expected and not very effective ‘chilling’ ending. Love Lies In Eyes I enjoyed quite a lot, that held a good piece of claustrophobic stalker horror. Panacea was back to same old, same old again with no explanations, no logic and nothing new. Cinder Block is a good, melancholy, Bay’s End story that I really liked as much as the first time I read it (available in Others & Oddities, which I recommend over this any day if you haven’t read it). The last story... just let me say that when I discovered that there was a “Part 2” I promptly stopped (so, yes, this is technically a DNF).

[Nev Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This copy of Dead Roses was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer as part of a special article on the site for the books launch and in return for an honest review. This is that review.

I have been looking forward to this one for a long long time after hearing such good stories about this group’s previous collaboration, Bad Apples: 5 Slices of Halloween Horror. I have read all but one of these authors previously and already know they can produce some very powerful short stories.





ELEANOR BY JASON PARENT

Stuart is a priest in a small West Sussex church. Someone abandons a child on the steps of the church. The little girl was extremely disfigured. Stuart took her in and kept her from harm. Fifteen years later Eleanor is growing up. She is becoming sexually aware but surely Stuart can do nothing about this? He is a priest. Eleanor just wants to be beautiful. But how can she when she always must wear a mask? She can fix this. She can make herself beautiful.

Beautifully twisted. That’s about the only way I can describe this tale. On one hand you have a priest trying to do his level best for an abandoned, disfigured young girl. God will help him with this. But why keep her hidden away for fifteen years and tell no one?

On the other hand a simple blind girl, going through puberty that knows no better than the man before her. She can’t see him or even possibly know what he is or what he is supposed to do and not do.

There are so many possibilities for deeper meaning within this story that I have absolutely no idea which one is for real. One minute I feel sympathy for one character and loathing for the other then five minutes later, it all switches and I’m back to square one trying to figure out which way it should be. Maybe I’m reading too much into this one. I’m not sure, but it has totally mashed my head up.

A twist at the end that was nowhere near where I thought it was going proved to me that it’s going to be a long time before I figure this one out.

Smooth writing using an almost olde English narrative gives you the impression this is set in Victorian times when in fact it doesn’t state when it is set.

To summarise: Yeah, smooth and beautifully twisted. That’s how I would best describe it.

★★★★


LOVE LIES IN EYES BY EVANS LIGHT

Nathan falls in love very easily. Ever since Eve. Eve was the first love. She was the best. Then it went wrong and he fell in love with someone else. He never forgot Eve though. It was almost like she wouldn’t let him. It’s all in the eyes.
If Fatal Attraction were a horror film it would be called Love Lies in Eyes. Forget boiling bunnies though. This shit’s real!

This is creepiness to beat all creepiness. I don’t want to review it. I just want to say, “Buy it!”

Nathan finds his first love then breaks her heart. She curses him and the girl she finds him with. Everyone has a psycho ex. In fact we all may be the psycho ex? But there are no psycho ex’s like Eve. She has powers by the looks of things that will haunt you. Forever. That’s all you’re getting.

This is no normal love story by any stretch of the imagination. It may leave you thinking about some of your own ex’s and you may even find yourself staring into the eyes of your current loved one. Just to see if you see the signs.

I know I’m just rambling with this review. I honestly don’t know what to write without giving the story away and that would be criminal.

To summarise: I’m stumped. It’s creepy. It will give you goose bumps. It’s creepy some more. If you have read a lot of Evans Light you will know he adds loads of humour, but, if there is no humour then it’s dark, creepy, mess with your head stuff. There is no humour in this story. The ending is rather ironic and I did scream “Nooooooooooooo!” at the Kindle on the last page. Not good when you’re on a bus. This is, just, brilliant.

★★★★★


PANACEA BY ADAM LIGHT

Rob Arnold is an old man. His wife Molly is dying. All Rob does is look after her 24/7 and has a little smoke and a whiskey, watching the baseball when he can.
He sees an infomercial about a potion called Panacea. The advert claims it can cure everything. It’s destroying Rob watching Molly so ill so he decides what the hell, and orders some. He slips it to Molly one night. What happens next was beyond his wildest dreams. It soon becomes his wildest nightmare.

Wow. This, my friends, is what short stories are all about. Sucking you in, giving you a nicely paced story that slowly builds a picture and has you feeling nice and secure in your chair as you read it and then BAM!! You’re punched squarely in the face and just when you’re picking yourself up from that someone kicks you in the nuts! All you can do is give in and go with the flow right to the end, never knowing where it will stop.

What Adam Light has written for us here is the opening episode of The Twilight Zone if they ever make a new (creditable) series. It’s everything a horror book / film / TV series should be.

A man, rightly, deeply in love with his wife, who would do anything for her to prevent her from suffering any more. A magic potion that seems to work. Until it works too well. That’s when the gates to hell open up and things can only go downhill from there.

Absolutely loved this story. Didn’t want it to end. Perfectly paced. Perfectly written. Perfectly creepy. A perfectly horrifically twisted tale of love and how love can come back and bite you in the ass.

To summarise: Perfect.

★★★★★ Big fat ones.


CINDER BLOCK BY EDWARD LORN

Toby is troubled. His dad has left without a word. His mom only leaves long enough to pick up someone new and bring them home to bed. He has just hooked up with Lauren but he thinks Adam might have eyes for her.
Through a combination of a hard life and deep rooted hatred, Toby explodes when he discovers he was right about Adam.

This is fantastic. Edward Lorn has you feeling for Toby from the very first minute. You know he is warped. You know he is going to do something bad. When he does, in some ways, it’s much more understated than I think most authors would have done it, but hugely effective.

What we have here is, sadly a portrayal of life all over the world. When it is put as blatantly as Mr Lorn has here, it shows just how sad we are as a society. It also shows just how some innocent people can be manipulated in ways they don’t even realise by the events that shape their life. It also shows we never truly know the sort of person we are sitting beside on the bus and what goes on inside their head. How they are made up.

This story is an example of how to draw your audience in with very few words, very little dialogue, but with the words joined together in such a way that they grab you by the squidgies and squeeze and squeeze and refuse to let you go until the story ends. It’s an old plot. Boy finds girl he likes – girl is nasty – boy goes mad. The difference is I don’t think I have ever read this plot in a short story that is so effective in its execution.

To summarise: Perfect character building. Perfect pace. Perfect lack of amount of detail making this visually brilliant in the understated execution of “the crime”.

So good I read it three times.

★★★★★


LOVING THE GOAT BY GREGOR XANE

Bill Capra is on a plane. He hates flying. He’s on his way to a Comic Con. He was big in the comic world once. That was until the “incident”. The same “incidents” that have cost him a few wives and some jail time.

The Comic Con is not his final destination. He’s on the last leg of a search that has taken over his life. He’s looking for someone he thinks he will find in a secret compound in the middle of nowhere, his journey is nearly over. Is his life nearly over as well?

It’s taken me nearly three days to write this little review. I still honestly do not know what to say about it. When I saw the title I thought “Nah it can’t be”. Yup it is.

Loving, (important comma there) the goat, is a comic superhero developed by Bill. That’s not his only love of goats though, hence the “incidents”.

In true Gregor Xane fashion the start of this story is brilliantly funny. The humour is very cutting. The dialogue between Bill and a reporter, Jake, sitting in the next seat on the plane is fantastic. There is also an incident when Bill (6’6” – 300lbs) goes to the small toilet on the plane. This is possibly the funniest and most cringe worthy scene I have ever read in a story.

The rest, I’m afraid, was not really my cup of tea at all. It’s certainly horror. It’s certainly twisted. In fact it’s twisted beyond belief in some points and deals with a subject matter that, quite frankly, sickened me sometimes. I know I won't be alone in that feeling. I think Mr Xane will take that as a huge successful tick. Job done. Isn’t that what horror is all about I hear you ask? I suppose it is and the beauty of it is that there is so much variety out there.

But, I’m still trying to work out whether this was serious or the biggest piece of tongue in cheek writing I’ve ever read. I honestly think that is a question that will remain unanswered with me for a long time.

To summarise: It’s hilariously funny at times. It’s extremely twisted and dark. It deals with a subject matter I think a lot of people will struggle with, but, this is the first thing I have read by Mr Xane so if this is the norm for him, I think his fans will absolutely love it. I have to go slap bang in the middle for this one because I still can’t make my mind up.

★★★.5


So there you have it. Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love. Loved this book. It’s not really horror in the true sense of the word. In its title it says it has “twisted tales” inside. They certainly are twisted but, twisted in so many different ways.

There is something for everyone in here if they like the dark stuff. It all flows very well together. This is a book for a dark, windy, rainy night sitting by a window with the rain beating off it and the shadows playing across the pages. It has that sort of atmosphere about it.


4.5 stars.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Apples, the first anthology by these five indie horror heavyweights, was an auspicious one with strong potential to become a Halloween classic, and one of my favorite reads of 2014. Dead Roses has a looser theme, dealing as it does with “twisted love” in various forms and degrees, but rest assured it's just as strong as its predecessor. Each story is unique, yet fits alongside the others perfectly well (except for the last, but it sure as hell fits the theme.)

Jason Parent gets the ball rolling this time around with “Eleanor”, a tale of covetous love and a parent's protective nature gone horribly askew. Its subdued and poignant approach to the genre does well to get under the reader's skin, so to speak, and it's a good choice to start the book with.

“Love Lies in Eyes”, Evans Light's contribution, is peppered with his brand of black humor but is dead serious and moving in parts. In search of “The One”, its ordinary college dude protagonist becomes entangled with a decidedly extraordinary lover, marking the beginning of a vicious cycle with more than its fair share of heartache, heartbreak, and murder.

Adam Light's “Panacea” deals with terminal illness and the lengths we'd go to heal a loved one. Sometimes, unfortunately, those lengths just happen to be forced upon us and rife with unspeakable horror. This is by far the most visceral story up to this point, and will appease the bloody cravings of all you gorehounds out there.

Edward Lorn is up next with “Cinder Block”, a story in which the mentally unstable (to put it kindly) and spurned narrator conflates love, lust, possession, and violence with extreme abandon. It's a short, nasty little piece with a fitting title.

Lorn laid claim to the wildest story in Bad Apples, but in Dead Roses Gregor Xane goes way beyond what-the-hell-did-i-just read territory with “Loving the Goat”. It's another story with a fitting title, but one that gives only an inkling of what you're getting into. Covering a wide swath of genres, from gross-out horror to comedy to sci-fi to detective fiction, this one closes out the anthology on a bat-shit crazy note and a bang in more than one sense of the word.

As with any anthology, not all of the stories in Dead Roses will be to everyone's taste, but I urge all horror fans to pick this one up. It's well-written across the board, and provides a glimpse into the singular imaginations of five of today's most talented writers of horror. Here's hoping they keep going with this whole shared anthology thing, because this is the kind of stuff the genre needs more of.

[Amber G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this through a Goodread First Reads contest and thought I would review it. I loved the first three stories, but could have done without the last two. Very...weird. The stories are scary, funny, descriptive, imaginative, creative, and at times, kind of relatable. There were also some parts that i found a little too messed up (disturbing) for my taste. It did have me on the edge of my seat the entire time though, couldn't put it down =] I give it 4 stars because it was a great book, but the amount of graphic sexuality was unneeded. Can't wait to read Bad apples next =]

Just a heads up, for those who may want to read, there is some bestiality in this book.

[Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. These authors are great together. I don't think the stories could have complimented each other any better. I should have read this sooner and will say that Bad Apples, their other anthology, has certainly moved up in my seemingly infinite TBR pile. My favorites here were Love Lies in the Eyes by Evans Light, Panacea by Adam Light, and Loving the Goat by Gregor Xane. I hope this bunch continues to do what they have done here, as I really enjoyed this.

[Pam Mooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories that go well together yet the voices are original. I love the dark twist in each tale. Very compelling - each author makes you want to read the next. New to these authors but will be looking for and watching their work from now on. A good read!

[Keith A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of horror love stories. My favorite was "Loving the Goat". A true heart felt love story that brought tears to my eyes. Reminds me of the line, "two way petting zoo" from the Office. I mean everyone loves their pets, right?

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead Roses was another fine horror anthology. A brief commentary on each:

Eleanor by Jason Parent - This one made me sad more than anything. Very well done and empathetic characters.

Love Lies in Eyes by Evans Light - My favorite of the collection. This could easily be the basis for a movie or at least a horror TV short if we only had some vehicles for that still.

Panacea by Adam Light - This one caught me by surprise. A sad story which really took I turn I didn't see. Very freaky but enjoyable!

Cinder Block by Edward Lorn - Pretty brutal

Loving the Goat by Gregor Xame - This one was the most out there of any of the stories, as his piece was in their last anthology. Really makes you squirm more than the rest.

Keep up the good work guys!

[Soraya Bowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are five stories in this collection and I enjoyed the first four, however I did find number five to be a bit too much. It was a story that involved beastially, so if you are not comfortable reading about that then avoid the last story.

That aside I really enjoyed this collection, it really is twisted to say the least. My favorite story is definitely the second one. If you loved messed up love stories with lots of horror then this is the book for you.

[John Gibbons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well these guys would sure fuck up any Valentines Day, and it's much needed. Love is a messy thing. A dark thing. Unfortunately, most of the notions we have about love come from really crappy movies. You know the kind. Guy or gal falls in love at first sight with someone and they live happily ever after, blah blah blah. If you know that that relationship is bullshit than this is the book for you. In this collection you'll find stories of obsession, possession and goat love. All of the stories were excellent and I really look forward to exploring more of these authors works. My favorite was Loving the Goat. It was hilarious. All of these authors are very impressive and a couple of them have influenced my writing style. I really look forward to any collaboration they put out together.

[Joel Kleehammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror, I knew I had to read this book. Evans Light, Adam Light, Gregor Xane, Jason Parent, and Edward Lorn returned for another trip down creepy lane. Just like Bad Apples, I got this book because Gregor Xane is in it. Having Adam and Evans Light in it just makes it that much better. I enjoyed every page of every story in this book.

ELEANOR, by Jason Parent: Sick and twisted, and not completely unlike the story of "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles, this story is sad...until it becomes depraved. Well written and emotional, it is disturbing in a good way.

LOVE LIES IN EYES, by Evans Light: Love is complicated. Magic makes it worse. Maybe murder can make it better. Remember to be faithful...or else. This guy won't forget his first love - guaranteed.

PANACEA, by Adam Light: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you think you can make cancer disappear, you probably can't. But the first few days might make it all worthwhile...maybe.

CINDER BLOCK, by Edward Lorn: Sometimes love hurts. Sometimes it hurts a lot. Sometimes it makes you do crazy things.

LOVING THE GOAT, by Gregor Xane: Goat. Goat, goat, goat, goat, and more goat. Did I mention there are goats in this story? Sick and twisted, just like you expect from Gregor.

[lee_readsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of the Bad Apples books so I was so excited to read this and get some more short stories from a bunch of extremely talented writers.

Evens Light and Adam Light wrote entertaining, slightly chilling, and beyond creepy romantic tales that I really enjoyed reading. I'm yet to find something either of them have written that I haven't liked.

Awesome Awesome Awesome story from Edward Lorn, I know how much he dislikes romance so the twist he puts on his tale is great I think this story is also in Others & Oddities.

Unfortunately Jason Parent really let this book down. I found his story to be offensive towards all women. Just because a woman's face is horribly disfigured but her body is beautiful the man makes her wear a mask so he doesn't have to see her face?! I don't care who he is or his reasons, all men and women are beautiful on the inside. You can't just chuck a paper bag over someone's head to make you feel more comfortable!

Of course Gregor Xane was left till last, to make sure the reader would read this entire book. Well it is a MUST that you follow this book through to the very last word. A story of a man with a love for goats. If only it was all as good as Xane's it would be a five star.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

These five guys ...

... Rock together! Another perverted antho from some sick authors that put together deviant tales. Sound up your alley? Mine too. Of course, I always have a fave story or two in any collection. Pick up a copy and decide which of these love stories turns you on the most.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die fünf Stories halten, was der Buchtitel verspricht. Jede Geschichte ist auf ihre Weise verstörend und originell, teilweise mutig, was den tabuisiierten Inhalt angeht. Der Fokus liegt häufig klar auf den Charakteren, wobei es an manchen Stellen auch sehr schöne Plottwists gibt.


Es geht insgesamt mehr darum, die Leser dazu zu bringen, sich leicht (bis sehr) unwohl in ihrer Haut zu fühlen, als darum sich zu gruseln oder zu ängstigen. Bei mir hat das sehr gut funktioniert und ich habe es durchgehend sehr genossen!

[J. Peter W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of five stories that are dark and weird and delightful. The two that really stood out to me were 'Eleanor' and 'Loving the Goat'. Gregor Xane continues to impress me.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great short stories, I think the one by Adam Light was set in Jacksonville Florida, I recognized the landmarks, Orange Park and Blanding.



great job guys

Cherie

[Jen Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've only read one of the stories from this book so far, Panacea By Adam Light. I have to say that I really enjoyed the story. I've been wanting to read the story since it came out but the author just happens to be my husband...and let's just say that I have to sleep next to him and I do not always want to know what is going on in that head of his...so I'm slowy getting the courage up to read his stories :) I'm easily creeped out but I'm coming around..lol. My only complaint is that you wrote about our sex life...I thought that what happened in our bedroom..stayed in the bedroom ;) Anyways, keep the writing up and keep pumping out new stories! Now with all that being said..I will be moving into the spare room ;)

[Rose 'I Have Too Many Books To Read And No More Room' Barrientos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection...every story was better than the last and was so creepy!

*Eleanor-was a very creepy story, with an ending I didn't see coming. Felt very AHS: Asylum to me and was a great opener to this collection.

*LOVE LIES IN EYES- This trope has been done before, but it doesn't scare me any less. Body snatching is always a scary tale and this one is no different. Another fantastic twist ending!

*PANACEA-What would you do to save a loved one? Hits the right amount of touching and gore.

*CINDER BLOCK-I have yet to read an Edward Lorn tale I didn't automatically love. Great tale about a crime of passion.

*LOVING THE GOAT- The closing tale is the nastiest and most twisted...but was a fitting end to a wonderful horror anthology.

Loved it all!