Book Review: Shiver

 I love winter. I love cold weather, snow, getting cozy by the fireplace, all of that winter stuff. And I really love a good winter-set horror story. So when I saw that Nico Bell had edited a collection of 30 winter horror stories, I was excited. I snatched this book up the day it came out. As with any collection, Shiver is a mixed bag. Not every story is going to be for every person. However, overall I really enjoyed this one.

My favorites:

"Waiting for Winter" by Nicole M. Wolverton: I love a good slasher, so this tale a group of daughters of former final girls banding together to fight off a mysterious killer sucked me in. My only complaint is that it could have been longer; I could have used more information about our main characters and their mothers' histories. I think more backstory would have been fascinating and would also have given the twists more impact.

"The Snow Woman" by Sarah Jane Huntington: A couple vacationing at an isolated cabin in Japan is bewildered when a woman shows up at their door one night to ask for sugar. There are no other cabins for miles, and, despite the snowy weather, the woman is barefoot and seemingly unbothered by the cold. Each night they stay the woman shows up again, her requests becoming more unreasonable. But do they dare defy her? Fast paced and spooky.

"The Partisan" by Michael Tichy: A resistance fighter in WWII Hungary returns to her small village for the first time in years. War has hardened her, and she desperately seeks a reminder of who she used to be. Unfortunately, there are more monsters than the Nazi's loose in the woods. Tichy's story is incredibly well written and genuinely heart wrenching.

"A Discovery" by Steve Stred: This story of a group of men trapped in a cave system with something terrifying is brief but packed a mighty punch. I sped through this one wanting to know what had our main characters so terrified.

"The Nightmare Man" by Jessica Guess might be my favorite in the whole collection. It's definitely the creepiest. I loved Guess's Cirque Berserk when I read it last summer and was thrilled when I saw her name on one of Shiver's stories. Dru is walking alone one night when she sees a frightening figure staring out from a window of her college's library. What's even more unnerving than the figure itself is that she's seen him before, in horrible nightmares she had as a child.

"Addison House" by Tiffany Michelle Brown: A solid story of a creepy old house and an urban legend. Brown's story doesn't hit any unexpected notes, but that doesn't mean it's not effective. The titular house's urban legend is definitely spooky, and I feel like the whole story would be excellent for relating over a campfire.

"A Shine In the Woods" by Brennan LaFaro: The final story ratchets up the tension as a family is threatened by something (or things) deadly lurking outside their winter vacation home. This one definitely ends the collection on a high note.

Other highlights include: "On the Frozen Waters of Lake Namara" by Mason McDonald, "The Lady and the Tall Man" by Lillah Lawson, "The Two Bio Lab Skeletons" by Ziaul Moid Khan, "For Sale: One Nightmare" by Stephanie Rabig, "Thaw" by Sara Mullins, and "A Cold Day in Hell" by Red Lagoe.

There were only a couple of stories that really didn't work, and there's definitely something here to please every horror fan. I definitely recommend this one; it's perfect for a cold winter's night.