Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked by Christa Carmen

Book Review by Emily Reed

“The final girl may live, but she’s stripped of so much by the time the credits roll.”

Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked is Christa Carmen’s debut collection of 13 stories, and I really enjoyed reading it!

First off, I want to say that this book has one of my favorite covers from this year. It’s spooky and haunting, and this book will stick in your head. I feel like it’s perfect for letting readers know that they’re about to get into some crazy content inside.

My top 5 stories in this book are Red Room, All Souls of Eve, Liquid Handcuffs, Lady of the Flies, and The Girl Who Loved Bruce Campbell. I think that Red Room is probably the creepiest story in the collection, and I could have read an entire novel based on that story. I liked reading about all the different women in each story.

A few of the stories are linked, and it’s fun to see the connections. I enjoyed seeing characters from early stories mentioned in other ones later in the collection. Common themes in Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked are addiction and recovery. Christa Carmen does a great job of tapping into the horror of this situation. She shares some of her own story in the afterword of the collection, and I truly admire the boldness and honesty of her writing.

This collection is not perfect, but it is enjoyable. I rated all of the stories between 3 and 5⭐, which means that I liked everything overall. The stories were creative, and I had fun reading everything. Whatever Christa Carmen does next will be great, and I’m excited to read more from her! Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked was an entertaining collection.

Thank you so much to Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi and Unnerving for sending me Something Borrowed Something Blood-Soaked!

PURCHASE SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLOOD-SOAKED BY CHRISTA CARMEN