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Love For Slaughter
This debut collection of poetry from Sara Tantlinger takes a dark look at all the horrors of love, the pleasures of flesh, and the lust for blood. For discerning fans of romance and the macabre, look no further than Love For Slaughter.
104 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2017
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755 people want to read
About the author
Sara Tantlinger
68 books388 followersSara Tantlinger is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes, and the Stoker-nominated works To Be Devoured, Cradleland of Parasites, and Not All Monsters. Along with being a mentor for the HWA Mentorship Program, she is also a co-organizer for the HWA Pittsburgh Chapter. She embraces all things macabre and can be found lurking in graveyards, at saratantlinger.com and on Instagram @inkychaotics
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 11, 2019
“We loved with a love that was more than love.”
― Edgar Allen Poe
"You and me can write a bad romance."
― Lady Gaga
Well, that was fun! On a whim, I decided to sit down a read some dark poetry. It was my intention to only read a few poems and then finish up some chores around the house but these are so delectable, I couldn't stop.
LOVE FOR SLAUGHTER is a provocative, alluring collection of intimate poems about love, lust, and relationships. At first blush, the violent language is new and intense but then as you read more, it becomes evident that all the cutting and killing and bloodletting are used to express the danger and vulnerability we experience in our love.
"...I scream, I love you, kill me.
And you echo, I love you, kill me."
*Butchery, Sara Tantlinger
I enjoyed some of the imagery I noticed was repeated, like a lover's spine as they sleep next to you.
"After he falls asleep, his back towards me, I trace the word killer against his spine with my fingertips, one slow letter at a time dancing across his sleeping skin."
*Letters on Your Spine, Sarah Tantlinger
This resonates with me because I have shared a bed with the same man for 23 years this August and still to this day, I contemplate the absolute trust and comfortability I share with him--night after night.
Some people are in relationships and they share a bed but they don't have that trust.
The vulnerability is so raw.
Sara explores these facets of healthy and unhealthy partnerships.
Romances.
One-Night Stands.
Break-ups.
I very much enjoyed everything about this collection (especially that cover, Nicholas Day!) I will gladly read more dark, bloody things from Sara Tantlinger.
― Edgar Allen Poe
"You and me can write a bad romance."
― Lady Gaga
Well, that was fun! On a whim, I decided to sit down a read some dark poetry. It was my intention to only read a few poems and then finish up some chores around the house but these are so delectable, I couldn't stop.
LOVE FOR SLAUGHTER is a provocative, alluring collection of intimate poems about love, lust, and relationships. At first blush, the violent language is new and intense but then as you read more, it becomes evident that all the cutting and killing and bloodletting are used to express the danger and vulnerability we experience in our love.
"...I scream, I love you, kill me.
And you echo, I love you, kill me."
*Butchery, Sara Tantlinger
I enjoyed some of the imagery I noticed was repeated, like a lover's spine as they sleep next to you.
"After he falls asleep, his back towards me, I trace the word killer against his spine with my fingertips, one slow letter at a time dancing across his sleeping skin."
*Letters on Your Spine, Sarah Tantlinger
This resonates with me because I have shared a bed with the same man for 23 years this August and still to this day, I contemplate the absolute trust and comfortability I share with him--night after night.
Some people are in relationships and they share a bed but they don't have that trust.
The vulnerability is so raw.
Sara explores these facets of healthy and unhealthy partnerships.
Romances.
One-Night Stands.
Break-ups.
I very much enjoyed everything about this collection (especially that cover, Nicholas Day!) I will gladly read more dark, bloody things from Sara Tantlinger.
October 17, 2018
"Someone / who consumed / as much darkness / as I did would either / become a poet / or a murderer."
Holy fuck. I did not think I would say that a book of poetry would be one of my favorite books this year, but I'm pretty sure it is. I adore Love for Slaughter. This was my first time reading anything from Sara Tantlinger, and I am so happy that I found her poetry.
I rated all of the poems in this book between 4 and 5⭐. I thoroughly enjoyed the days that I spent reading this book, and I am so excited for her next collection. My top 5 poems in this book are Funhouse, Or Something, Masterpiece,
Love for Slaughter, Heaven's Ripper. They are gorgeously written, and so damn grim.
I kind of wish that I would have saved this collection for Valentine's Day. If you are someone who likes (to quote Sara) "a little horror in her romance", this is a perfect collection for you. This collection is full of love and passion artfully blended with dark obsession, murder, and body horror. I LOVED IT.
The poems' narrators play many roles - they are villains, victims, regular people who feel too much, and more. I see this as a relatable collection for people who are told that they are too much. I admired the confidence and rage that I found in these poems.
The cover design of this book is stunning, and I adore the meat slab face. I think it's perfectly fitting for the poems inside. The poems are beautiful, yet so bloody and unsettling.
I had so much fun reading this book. Some of the poems, like Or Something, are quite amusing, and reading this was such an enjoyable experience for me. I've heard that Sara's next collection is a book of poems related to HH Holmes, and I can't wait to read it! This book made me a fan & I'll try anything else she does.
Holy fuck. I did not think I would say that a book of poetry would be one of my favorite books this year, but I'm pretty sure it is. I adore Love for Slaughter. This was my first time reading anything from Sara Tantlinger, and I am so happy that I found her poetry.
I rated all of the poems in this book between 4 and 5⭐. I thoroughly enjoyed the days that I spent reading this book, and I am so excited for her next collection. My top 5 poems in this book are Funhouse, Or Something, Masterpiece,
Love for Slaughter, Heaven's Ripper. They are gorgeously written, and so damn grim.
I kind of wish that I would have saved this collection for Valentine's Day. If you are someone who likes (to quote Sara) "a little horror in her romance", this is a perfect collection for you. This collection is full of love and passion artfully blended with dark obsession, murder, and body horror. I LOVED IT.
The poems' narrators play many roles - they are villains, victims, regular people who feel too much, and more. I see this as a relatable collection for people who are told that they are too much. I admired the confidence and rage that I found in these poems.
The cover design of this book is stunning, and I adore the meat slab face. I think it's perfectly fitting for the poems inside. The poems are beautiful, yet so bloody and unsettling.
I had so much fun reading this book. Some of the poems, like Or Something, are quite amusing, and reading this was such an enjoyable experience for me. I've heard that Sara's next collection is a book of poems related to HH Holmes, and I can't wait to read it! This book made me a fan & I'll try anything else she does.
December 10, 2018
Full disclosure, I'm a poetry n00b. Especially contemporary poetry. I read Byron, Keats, and Shelley in college, and let me tell you it is really unsexy to dissect a poem. The words lost all meaning for me, even though we eventually had lectures about the meanings. I don't know if studying the poetry of old white dudes turned me off or if I just never really tried to enjoy it, but when I noticed that my friend Emily was reading a lot of poetry, and not just poetry but horror poetry, I knew I had to give it another chance. Well, that's one reason. The other is all my online friends who keep telling me to give poetry another chance.
Again, in all honesty I started with Tantlinger's collection not just because Emily raved about it or because it was horror poetry (although both of those things helped), but because of that cover! I love everything about it. So I decided to stop being afraid of poetry and jump in. I'm so glad I chose this book first.
There are some dark poems in this collection, and I love them. Most of them are romantic and bloody. Actually there are virtually buckets of blood in this collection. Tantlinger explores themes of love through violence, or the literal consuming of a lover. There are poems about former lovers and the violence that should be inflicted upon them, but there are also poems about violence as a act of love. At any rate all of them cause the reader to reflect on the relationship between love and the violence we inflict on our partners (or that we fantasize about inflicting). It's easy to harm a lover with words or even a small action, but Tantlinger goes for the jugular. There is a raw beauty to every poem in this slim volume. Thank you to Emily and all of my other friends who continued to nudge me toward poetry.
Again, in all honesty I started with Tantlinger's collection not just because Emily raved about it or because it was horror poetry (although both of those things helped), but because of that cover! I love everything about it. So I decided to stop being afraid of poetry and jump in. I'm so glad I chose this book first.
There are some dark poems in this collection, and I love them. Most of them are romantic and bloody. Actually there are virtually buckets of blood in this collection. Tantlinger explores themes of love through violence, or the literal consuming of a lover. There are poems about former lovers and the violence that should be inflicted upon them, but there are also poems about violence as a act of love. At any rate all of them cause the reader to reflect on the relationship between love and the violence we inflict on our partners (or that we fantasize about inflicting). It's easy to harm a lover with words or even a small action, but Tantlinger goes for the jugular. There is a raw beauty to every poem in this slim volume. Thank you to Emily and all of my other friends who continued to nudge me toward poetry.
April 4, 2024
"She kissed me beneath the tree and I knew she'd always be the scream caught in my throat.
My heart ruptured in want for her to bury me.
I ached to have her plant my bones
in the ground, for my purity to create
the beautiful something her song yearned for." Hell's Hallelujah
My heart ruptured in want for her to bury me.
I ached to have her plant my bones
in the ground, for my purity to create
the beautiful something her song yearned for." Hell's Hallelujah
April 6, 2019
It's good. It's like Neruda meets Nekromantik.
November 12, 2020
AH YES, the ultimate hannigram poetry collection. LOVE IT
February 3, 2018
With gorgeous vignettes filled with beauty, love, and death, "Love for Slaughter" is a powerful and absolutely stunning collection of poems! These haunting and beautiful lines still remain with me:
"I bathe demons in sunlight
and create you from their dirt."
"Our names are constellations swallowed by the sun."
"We've become vultures, circling one another to swallow the dying scraps of love."
I loved every minute of it. Highly recommended!
"I bathe demons in sunlight
and create you from their dirt."
"Our names are constellations swallowed by the sun."
"We've become vultures, circling one another to swallow the dying scraps of love."
I loved every minute of it. Highly recommended!
October 4, 2018
Love doesn’t just hurt, it slaughters.
One of the themes of this collection is summed up nicely in the poem “Lawless.” “Love madly or not at all.”
My top picks are “Muse Incarnate,” which addresses the violent agony of creation, two poems that focus on forbidden love: “Peccavi” and “Sympatico,” and “Letters on Your Spine,” which contains my favorite line: “I’m a person sick of cutting my own skin just to show I’m alive.”
Take a walk on the dark side of love with this fantastic collection.
One of the themes of this collection is summed up nicely in the poem “Lawless.” “Love madly or not at all.”
My top picks are “Muse Incarnate,” which addresses the violent agony of creation, two poems that focus on forbidden love: “Peccavi” and “Sympatico,” and “Letters on Your Spine,” which contains my favorite line: “I’m a person sick of cutting my own skin just to show I’m alive.”
Take a walk on the dark side of love with this fantastic collection.
January 2, 2019
Damn. Excellent. Review to come
May 24, 2017
I didn't know it was possible to feel so aroused, repulsed, and deeply moved all at once - until I read 'Love For Slaughter'. Sara Tantlinger writes with scalpel-sharp honesty, shattering notions of taboo and sexual politics. There is such raw truth in these poems - which channel the virile madness of love, lust, and longing - that they eviscerate language. Romantic trysts become murder scenes, hotel rooms double as charnel houses, and pillow talk is a whispered death bed confession. There really is, "Something wrong here, in the way we hold one another." Fall madly in love with this book - it will hurt like hell, and you will enjoy it. You will become deliciously complicit in the author's sublime transgressions with each turn of the page. An astonishing debut from a bright, dark talent.
January 22, 2019
The most disgusting selection of poetry I have ever read in my entire life (and that's a great thing!). And while the entire selection is my favorite, I do have personal favorites (which I'll get to in a minute). Totally had mind blown at reading poetry under a different light and what a remarkably, grotesque and genuine light it is. A lot were read over and over again because the words were just so appealing, my eyes were bleeding reading them. Sara has a beautiful gift of writing this kind of poetry, I can't wait to read more like this. It inspired me to restart my own collection of dark poetry that I had shelved a few years back, so Thank you Sara for allowing me revive that heartbeat. Now, for my favorites, here they are: Nyctophilia, Heart for a Corpse, Obeyed, Serenades for Dead Lovers, Apocalypse Girl, Muse Incarnate, Letters on your Spine, Shards in your Eyes, Mirror Me, Eye Candy, Crawl to Me, Countdown, Death for my Darling, Vampire Violets, Hell's Hallelujah, To Be Strange, Of Sunlight, Match Mouth, Love For Slaughter (without a doubt), Vices, Cardiac, Fateful Unfaithful, Riven, The Lies He Loved Me With, Pink Caterpillars, Sonata of the Slain, When the Hero Bleeds, Simpatico, The Wrong side of Midnight, Lawless, Heaven's Ripper, Charades of the Vodka Affair, Predator Haunt, Knifed, Masterpiece, The Sin in Saint and Your Last Bullet.
April 21, 2022
This review was originally shared over on the Night Worms Blog! Make sure to check it & all the other awesome blog posts there by my fellow Worms.
“We are sinking into the chasm of cruel affection.” – Funhouse, pg 32
Poetry in horror is one of those things that I discovered only recently, and feel like I’d been missing for my entire life. I’ve read poetry for as long as I can remember, and have also read horror for just as long, but never knew there was an entire genre devoted to the intersection of the two. For the many things I owe to bookstagram to be thankful for, discovering dark poetry and Sara Tantlinger’s work are among those I’ll give the highest of praises to.
“Love madly or not at all.” – Lawless, pg 81
These are poems about love, yes, but not only the good parts – Sara focuses on darker themes, like revenge following infidelity, and the mutually assured destruction of toxic relationships. There is a sexiness to the slaughter and pain she writes about, each word and line chosen to convey a dark sensuality that seems to ooze off the pages, soaking everything in a deliciously morbid atmosphere of haunting passion and violence.
“I pretend for a moment, imagine we are not designed to fail” – Incurable, pg 52
Sara’s writing is melodic and lulling, her tone gentle but the words chaotic in their brutality. In these poems, you are transported from frozen landscapes to hellish infernos, cut open and sewn shut, the hunter and the prey. None of the poems in this collection ever got anything less than 4 stars from me, and I was surprised to hear that this was her debut collection – her poetry has a polished finish that can take some other writers several collections to develop.
“I crawl to no one.” – Crawl to Me, pg 33
In addition to the writing, can we also just take a moment to appreciate the cover here? I love everything about the cover design, from the typewriter-esque font to the blood splatter placement and meatface. If I knew nothing about this collection or writer, I’d have picked this up on cover alone.
Overall, love is weird, and painful, and scary. Sara takes all of that, and steps it up to a decadently disturbing level with her first poetry collection, and I enjoyed every second of it. Highly recommended, and I’ll definitely be checking out her second poetry collection, THE DEVIL’S DREAMLAND, as soon as possible!
“We are sinking into the chasm of cruel affection.” – Funhouse, pg 32
Poetry in horror is one of those things that I discovered only recently, and feel like I’d been missing for my entire life. I’ve read poetry for as long as I can remember, and have also read horror for just as long, but never knew there was an entire genre devoted to the intersection of the two. For the many things I owe to bookstagram to be thankful for, discovering dark poetry and Sara Tantlinger’s work are among those I’ll give the highest of praises to.
“Love madly or not at all.” – Lawless, pg 81
These are poems about love, yes, but not only the good parts – Sara focuses on darker themes, like revenge following infidelity, and the mutually assured destruction of toxic relationships. There is a sexiness to the slaughter and pain she writes about, each word and line chosen to convey a dark sensuality that seems to ooze off the pages, soaking everything in a deliciously morbid atmosphere of haunting passion and violence.
“I pretend for a moment, imagine we are not designed to fail” – Incurable, pg 52
Sara’s writing is melodic and lulling, her tone gentle but the words chaotic in their brutality. In these poems, you are transported from frozen landscapes to hellish infernos, cut open and sewn shut, the hunter and the prey. None of the poems in this collection ever got anything less than 4 stars from me, and I was surprised to hear that this was her debut collection – her poetry has a polished finish that can take some other writers several collections to develop.
“I crawl to no one.” – Crawl to Me, pg 33
In addition to the writing, can we also just take a moment to appreciate the cover here? I love everything about the cover design, from the typewriter-esque font to the blood splatter placement and meatface. If I knew nothing about this collection or writer, I’d have picked this up on cover alone.
Overall, love is weird, and painful, and scary. Sara takes all of that, and steps it up to a decadently disturbing level with her first poetry collection, and I enjoyed every second of it. Highly recommended, and I’ll definitely be checking out her second poetry collection, THE DEVIL’S DREAMLAND, as soon as possible!
July 27, 2022
I've got some admittedly mixed feelings about this collection. On one hand, there are some gorgeous dark poems that made me glad to have picked up the collection, and when I first started reading the collection, I couldn't put it down, I enjoyed the work so much. As the collection kept unfolding, however, a few things became clear. First, there are definitely some poems here which don't hold their own weight, and while you could argue they belong in the collection thematically, it also doesn't feel as if they contribute anything not already offered by plenty of other poems in the collection, so losing those more dead-weight poems would have made for a stronger collection. Second, this is such a tightly themed collection, the images and ideas get repetitive, and I fear there's no other way to say it. If this had been a chapbook-length collection featuring perhaps a third of the poems here, chosen from among the best, I'd be in love with this work and shouting its praise to anyone who'd listen. As is, though...even though I could recognize the power in some of the images and language when it came to poems from around the mid-point on, a lot of the power was lost because they were striking the exact same notes and meanings as earlier poems.
I'm not sure I've ever appreciated poems by an author in a way that left me not so keen to check out their future full collections, but more interested in seeing what they'd have pop up in batches of 1-3 poems in journals, but that's how I feel here. I wish this collection had been pared down so that the whole would have had more impact, without the repetition that does get monotonous, or that some of these poems had been changed out for others which might have offered more breadth to the collection.
There are some gems here, but in terms of the collection as a whole, things felt a bit repetitive and unfinished, with a lot of the weaker poems being so simple and repetitive in meaning that they might as well have been a stanza taken from others.
I'm not sure I've ever appreciated poems by an author in a way that left me not so keen to check out their future full collections, but more interested in seeing what they'd have pop up in batches of 1-3 poems in journals, but that's how I feel here. I wish this collection had been pared down so that the whole would have had more impact, without the repetition that does get monotonous, or that some of these poems had been changed out for others which might have offered more breadth to the collection.
There are some gems here, but in terms of the collection as a whole, things felt a bit repetitive and unfinished, with a lot of the weaker poems being so simple and repetitive in meaning that they might as well have been a stanza taken from others.
August 26, 2023
I felt a bit bored by this at times just because of the lack of variance in content, but I also felt very inspired to write myself because of the language. There were lots of great lines peppered throughout and several thought provoking metaphors. It just was a bit dense for it to mostly be surrounding a singular theme.
February 19, 2021
Sara never fails to amaze me with her use of words. If you're looking for a new poetry book that's filled with beauty & seduction & then tossed in a bowl of bleakness, make sure to check out Love for Slaughter!
January 16, 2021
The first poetry work from Sara Tantlinger. If you're looking for dark poetry, she's your huckleberry. I love all of her work, but I think this is my favorite.
March 16, 2025
i don’t know what i expected but i wish i hadn’t spent $4.99 on this
August 1, 2021
This was an interesting collection of poetry. This is my second collection with the horror themed poetry. I enjoyed this one.
Written with wit and quite a bit of gore and vivid, morbid metaphors, it was an entertaining collection on the depths and pain of love.
I would recommend this collection to fans of metaphorical poetry and the horror genre.
Written with wit and quite a bit of gore and vivid, morbid metaphors, it was an entertaining collection on the depths and pain of love.
I would recommend this collection to fans of metaphorical poetry and the horror genre.
November 7, 2025
I really enjoyed Love For Slaughter. As someone who is drawn to darker explorations of love and lust, this book immediately caught my attention. And within the first new poems, I knew that it was going to be something special. I made a ton of annotations as I was reading. Tantlinger's writing was visceral and captivating, and so many of her poems were a treat to read.
The only reason I'm docking this a star is because I did feel that it dragged on for a bit. Toward the end of the book, the writing started to feel just a little less sharp. Some trims around the edges might have helped. With that being said, I still highly recommend it.
The only reason I'm docking this a star is because I did feel that it dragged on for a bit. Toward the end of the book, the writing started to feel just a little less sharp. Some trims around the edges might have helped. With that being said, I still highly recommend it.
May 14, 2022
poems about sex and violence and love and hate and viciousness and devouring and enemies and lovers and rot and decay; also these things are all one thing. this was so fucking delicious and satisfying, literally exactly what I've been looking for. (this is what all the bits of ghastly sexiness I've been sharing to my stories & Twitter the past few days have been from) jesus this was so good. it made wanna kiss a boy and rip his throat out with my teeth.. moreso than i generally always want to do that. goddamn. 5/5.
June 19, 2024
Not being a romantic, I usually find romance poetry pithy, mushy, and annoying. I had hoped that the "dark" horror-romance poetry of this collection would be more to my tastes but alas. They all sounded the same to me; repeating the same sentiments over and over again. I love you so I want to kill you. Okay?? Tantlinger definitely has a lyrical way with words, I'll give her that. However the repetition of themes felt forced - a way to fill up the pages - and ultimately this wasn't for me.
July 4, 2021
Likes:
- Some of the poems were really great and left me awestruck.
- Creative in general themes and content.
- Vivid imagery and loads of descriptions.
Dislikes:
- Sometimes the poems did not have a very consistent rhythm or flow.
- Some poems could be a little hard to understand.
- It was creative, but some of these poems reminded me of others I have read.
- This just isn't my preferred style of poetry.
- Some of the poems were really great and left me awestruck.
- Creative in general themes and content.
- Vivid imagery and loads of descriptions.
Dislikes:
- Sometimes the poems did not have a very consistent rhythm or flow.
- Some poems could be a little hard to understand.
- It was creative, but some of these poems reminded me of others I have read.
- This just isn't my preferred style of poetry.
October 14, 2022
4.5 stars , If you want your heart splayed out on a platter, this is the book for you. There is a poem called unsaid and I think I’m going to think about it for the rest of my life, she somehow took my feelings and wrote them so perfectly. Sara has such a way with words and the only reason it’s not 5 stars was just that it felt like there was some repetition.
July 8, 2019
holy shit this was amazing. recommended for those who believe love and lust to be a dark, macabre thing or for lovers of horror who are looking to dip their toes into poetry but don't know where to start!
August 14, 2022
I enjoyed reading this macabre collection of poems and will reread several of the poems. The best ones are beautiful and dark, tightly composed and original.
Overall, I did find the collection lacked variety in theme and form, so 3.5 stars.
Overall, I did find the collection lacked variety in theme and form, so 3.5 stars.
June 9, 2023
This read to me like the author just picked out a bunch of obscene macabre lines and mashed them together.
Granted, I know poetry is subjective but I’d like to think I’m pretty open but this just felt flat to me.
Granted, I know poetry is subjective but I’d like to think I’m pretty open but this just felt flat to me.
March 17, 2021
Romantic horror poetry was a perfect accompaniment to my February. Tantlinger delivers obsession wrapped in blood and viscera - a truly gifted wordsmith.
February 18, 2022
One word. Gorgeous!
April 26, 2023
i did enjoy some of these but as a whole this collection felt extremely repetitive
December 12, 2023
abundance of blood
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