Blog Tour: The Abyss Within

Today is my turn on the blog tour for The Abyss Within, an anthology of horror stories edited by Verity Stuart, Isabelle Panay, Giulia Milazzo, and Natasha Wright.

This is a charity anthology and all proceeds will be donated to Women’s Aid. You can purchase a copy here. Thank you to the publisher for my review copy!

Here’s the synopsis and my review:

Publication Date: 27 October 2020
Page Count: 158 pages
Genre: Horror
Publisher: SmashBear Publishing

Synopsis:

Do you dare confront The Abyss Within? Featuring 13 chilling tales of survival and madness, this anthology is bound to keep you up at night!

Featuring works from: Frederick Pangbourne, Jim Tritten, Jerod S. Smelker, J. T. Lozano, Rebecca Rowland, Tabitha Potts, Jacek Wilkos, Chris Tattersall, Lisa Shea, Kerri Spellar, Jeni Lawes, Cassandra Jones.

This is a charity anthology in support of Women’s Aid, all profits will be donated to Women’s Aid.

Review:

The Abyss Within is a strong collection of horror stories and I had a great time reading this book! These 13 stories feature different kinds of horror ranging from the supernatural to cannibalism to creature feature and more. It was a delight every time I started a new story and stepped into the unknown.

Kerri Speller’s Vermin is a bone-chilling story of a woman meeting a strange person with a disturbing mask. I thought this has some great imageries that linger after I was done. Rebecca Rowland’s The Munchies is a dark comedy about a pregnant woman with a dangerous craving. I loved how funny this story is even with the horrifying subject matter! Frederick Pangbourne’s Tea For Two is a brilliant take on the deal-with-the-devil trope. I liked how the story plays on expectations by relying on the dialogue between two characters. Tabitha Potts’ Masquerade describes a woman’s fight to survive an abusive marriage. The story is arranged in snippets of scenes which made for a cinematic read. Jim Tritten’s The Mask looks at a man who obtains a mask with a particularly bloody history. I enjoyed the story’s focus on Mexican indigenous culture and I thought the character’s arc is done really well.

While the above stories are highlights of the collection for me, the others are entertaining as well! There’s gore, body horror, and some really creepy moments. Considering how dark some of the stories are, I appreciate that content warnings are included which would be helpful for readers.

If you’re looking for fun and spooky bite-sized horror, you don’t want to miss The Abyss Within. And don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour!

CW: animal deaths, cannibalism, mental illness, domestic abuse