Violent Vixens: An Homage to Grindhouse Horror by Aric Sundquist

Violent Vixens: An Homage to Grindhouse Horror Reviews

• 
  Justin Lewis

  After reading Dark Peninsula's last collection NEGATIVE SPACE and really enjoying it, I jumped at the chance to check out their newest offering, VIOLENT VIXENS. The stories in NS were all based on survival horror and this time the focus is grindhouse. While I may have enjoyed NS just a tad more, this was definitely what the doctor ordered; strong women fighting their way out of messed up situations (or putting others in those situations in some instances).
  
  Apparently I'm a formatting nerd because I love when books or stories are split up in interesting ways. Here we get six double features and one triple feature where the stories are paired with another similarly-themed tale or tales: revenge, transgressive, exploitation, splatterpunk, midnight movie, crime/thriller, and supernatural. Some of the features were less what I consider to be "grindhouse" than others, but I ended up loving some of those stories the most.
  
  Just a few of my favorites:
  
  Bloody Bon Secour by Sarah Read - Kinda got THE HANDMAID'S TALE vibes from this one, but this story includes one of the best lines I've read this year. If this got made into a movie, that line had better be on the poster. It's the last sentence in the story, but I won't spoil it here.
  
  Animate Objects by Adrian Ludens - Sometimes things have a mind of their own.
  
  Finger Lickin' Bad by Nik Patrick - Craziest story I've ever read based on chickens.
  
  Sister Glitter Blood by Gwendolyn Kiste - The story is formatted as board game instructions. Very cool idea.
  
  The Course of One's Life on Fire by Paul Magnan - Words can be a weapon.
  
  The fact that I can list a third of the book as favorites (and it was hard) pushes this to a four star read for me. I had a (shotgun) blast reading this collection and I'll be keeping my sights trained on whatever Dark Peninsula Press puts out next!
  
  *Thanks to Dark Peninsula Press for the ARC for review and Ben Long for putting together another rad group read!
  
• 
  Escapereality4now

  2.5 stars
  
  
  When I think of grindhouse horror, a low budget splatter extreme horror comes to mind. I love a good grindhouse story.
  
  “Violent Vixens” has a stunning cover. I was so pumped to read these stories after I read the books introduction about grindhouse horror and the vision for this specific book.
  
  But being an avid lover of this sub genre, I did not feel these stories really satisfied me because they did not feel like grindhouse horror. Nevertheless, the stories are all different and there is something for everyone in this book. This anthology is a great way to discover new authors.
  
  “Violent Vixens” is broken up into sections, with each section containing stories that range from violence, paranormal, revenge and gore. The women in this book are tough, ruthless and do whatever is necessary to survive.
  
  
  My favorite stories were:
  “Sister Glitter”, by Gwendolyn Kriste and “Finger Lickin Bad”, by Nik Patrick
• 
  Sadie Hartmann

  DNF
  I offered to send advanced reading copies of this antho to my bookstagram friends and Ben (Reading Vicariously) organized a read-along.
  This anthology was not for me and I didn't finish it. A few strong stories were told by seasoned writers and then the wheels fell off, unfortunately.
  Here's the round-up of reviews on the Night Worms blog:
  
  https://nightworms.com/blogs/news/boo...
  
• 
  Paul Preston

  When the shit has hit the fan, you can only hope that you have one of the women from this collection by your side. Unless, of course, you were the one that caused the problem, then you better hope you have a good hiding spot.
  Fifteen tales of survival and revenge. Some of my favorites are:
  •What The Bone Says by Rob E. Boley
  •The Parts That Hurt Me The Most by Matt Neil Hill
  •The Saw House by Shannon Brady
  •Animate Objects by Adrian Ludens
  •Finger Lickin’ Bad by Nik Patrick
  •Sister Glitter Blood by Gwendolyn Kiste
  Of course there were some that I was not a fan of but I read this in a group read and we were able to discuss each story. It gave me appreciation for some of those that didn’t grab me.
  Over all I give this ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
  •
  While reading this collection I kept singing a song over and over. The song is called FALL by Seven Storey Mountain. The lines are:
  “I don’t fit your mold, and I often disappoint you.
  Crack me open, but you’ll never see what lies inside.”
  “Now my loves estranged. Non-existent.
  I will become the one to watch you fall.”
• 
  Bianca Rose (Belladonnabooks)

  Scorned women looking for blood and vengeance. The women in these tales will do whatever they need to survive, regardless of who they have to sacrifice along the way. It’s only collateral damage right? These women know that good girls come last and are prepared to be vicious.
  
  These fifteen stories share common threads but are also diverse in their own right. Some are bloody, others are downright weird (I’m looking at you Finger Lickin’ Bad).
  
  Expect splatter punk, vampires, gore, bionic women, a murderous rampage and more.
  This was a fun anthology and a great way to sample stories from a variety of authors.
  
  Thank you to Dark Peninsula Press and @reading.vicariously for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Violent Vixens is ready to be purchased now!
• 
  Rebecca

  With lines like “The chainsaw felt more right in her hands than food or water” (“The Saw House” by Shannon Brady), grindhouse-themed Violent Vixens promises its readers a rollicking fun ride, and sure enough, it is. In this newest release from editor Aric Sundquist, fifteen authors point their sniper scopes directly at the feminist exploitation horror wave and inject it with new life in high octane stories that range from paranormal to science fiction...
  FULL REVIEW ON GINGER NUTS OF HORROR
• 
  Sean Sanford

  Remember double features? So sweet. I used to honor my own double, or triple, features at a certain theater in San Francisco that only checked your tickets at the bottom of the escalator. I feel there’s nothing better than a day spent at the movies. Nothing that is, besides a day reading awesome Grindhouse horror Double Features!
  
  Like those featured in Violent Vixens an Homage to Grindhouse Horror.
  
  The short stories in this collection are sectioned off into double features such as Houses of the Unholy, Women in Cages, and Haunted Horrors (which is a finale triple feature).
  
  Each double feature has a common denominator: badass women taking on completely effed situations, and kicking much ass in the meanwhile.
  
  So many great stories in this collection, some of my favorites were:
  
  Sister Glitter Blood by Gwendolyn Kiste
  
  Finger Lickin’ Bad by Nik Patrick
  
  The Saw Horse by Shannon Brady
  
  Hail Hell’s Whipping Fury by Jaap Boekestein
  
  And
  
  What the Bone Says by Rob E. Boley
  
  These stories range from sci-fi style horror to board game instructions to man-sized killer chickens, and you never know what you’ll get with every story. I loved it. Such a fun group read with a bunch of awesome people, and put on by Ben Long I really enjoyed Violent Vixens.
• 
  Alex | | findingmontauk1

  A fun antho! Full review to come
• 
  Elizabeth Gonzalez-Collazo IG - Shereadswithcoffee

  Thank you @reading.vicariously for the opportunity to engage in this read with some awesome folks and to Dark Peninsula Press for the free digital copy.  
  
  So, the title is just that; scorned, violent, and vengeful women out to show off their badassery to those who have done them wrong!!! This anthology of 15 stories shows the different lengths women will go through to survive as well as getting their vengeance on those who have crossed them. I was super excited that we were getting a chance to read another anthology especially since I simply loved Negative Space, a survival horror anthology. The editor described this as grindhouse horror which piqued my interest and was setting up the stories as “Double Features”.  I was sold!  Sometimes, I say anthologies are my favorite because time and time again, they prove that a story can be good without being so lengthy.  And while I wanted to love this anthology, it fell a little flat for me.  I think, in part, because I was going in with my last read expectation and the idea of grindhouse taking center stage.  I was expecting more of the camp-blood trope, the guts and gore of a corny budget horror movie, and grueling imagery. But, there were a few stories that were quite enjoyable and entertaining.   
  Among my favorites: 
  
  Sister Glitter Blood by Gwendolyn Kiste  -  Haunted horror through a boardgame 
  
  Killer of Hogs – Mark Wheaton – A woman on a rampage against a family who wronged her 
  
  The Court of one’s Life on Fire – Paul Magnan – A woman’s tempter that instantaneously combusts  
  
  The Parts that Hurt Me most – Matt Neil Hill – Revenge on an ex-partner 
  
  For all those wanting a quick and entertaining read, pick up this copy.  Some will be to your liking, others will make you laugh and scratch your head all at the same time. But I must warn you if you are looking for full-fledged Grindhouse-esque read, you may be disappointed.  But read this with an open mind and enjoy.  
• 
  Janelle Janson

  I love the concept of this anthology! And I had a blast reading it! My favorite stories were by Gwendolyn Kiste, Rob Boley, and Matt Neil Hill. Full review to come.
• 
  Julia Lewis

  Enough is enough is what I imagine most of the women protagonists in this collection would say, and their stories surely echo that sentiment.
  
  Filled with violent tales of revenge and full out rage, Violent Vixens brings you good old horror tales from all sorts of talented authors.
  
  This being a short story collection, there is something for everyone in it. I didn’t care for some of the stories, but others made up for that. You just can’t please everyone, but PLEASE don’t mention that to the vixens within this book.
  
  Some of my favorites include:
  
  Sister Glitter by Gwendolyn Kiste
  The Parts that Hurt me the Most by Matt Neil Hill
  Bloody Bon Secour by Sarah Read
  Rose Pink and Roadhouse Blue by S.R. Miller
  
  This was my first ever group read, and it was fun discussing all the stories.
  
• 
  Brittany (hauntedbycandlelight)

  When you think of 𝗚𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘, what comes to mind?
  
  For me it’s two things: Movies like 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗥 and 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗙, as well as a strong urge for revenge.
  
  So in my mind, 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗫𝗘𝗡𝗦 was going to be a mixture of all of those elements, but with some badass women.
  
  The stories I enjoyed:
  
  𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗬𝗦
  𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗕𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢����𝗥
  𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗕𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦
  
  I honestly don’t know what to make of this collection. I didn’t enjoy it. I feel like it missed the mark entirely and that’s really disappointing. After reading the first few stories, I had pretty high hopes because it started out strong but just….deteriorated.
  
  1⭐️
  
  Thank you to Dark Peninsula Press for the ARC copy.
• 
  Sally

  The women are ready to fight back and it's going to get messy. If Violent Vixens had a fight song, it would be 'We're Not Going to Take It' by Twisted Sister.
  
  "We're not gonna take it
  Oh no, we ain't gonna take it
  We're not gonna take it anymore
  
  We've got the right to choose it
  There ain't no way we'll lose it
  This is our life, this is our song"
  
  There are 15 short stories of grindhouse horror in Violent Vixens. The stories are an eclectic mix of violence, revenge, gore, paranormal & SciFi horror with a feminist twist.
  
  I was excited to read this collection because
  I've enjoyed watching grindhouse horror movies like Death Proof & Planet Terror.
  
  I liked most of the stories, but some stories didn't click with me.There were a couple of stories that I would not classify as grindhouse, but still fun to read. I think reading this collection was a great way to find new authors.
  
  My favorites include:
  ▪️The Whole Price of Blood: Saline from Underworld vibes
  ▪️Bloody Bon Secour: Offred in The Handmaids Tale vibes
  ▪️Killer of Hogs: You're Next & Kill Bill vibes
  ▪️The Saw House: Imagine a female version of Tom Hanks character from Cast Away in The Walking Dead and instead of Wilson the volleyball, Wilson is a chainsaw
  ▪️Finger Lickin Bad: Bizarro Funky Chicken Caper
  
  I read Violent Vixens as a group read and I enjoyed being able to discuss each of the stories on Discord.
  
  Overall, I give this short story collection 4 out of 5 stars.
• 
  John Lynch

  Violent Vixens is the next anthology published by Dark Peninsula press, preceded by Negative Space. I love the theme of this one, almost as much as I loved the survival horror theme of negative space. Anthologies are always a risk, in my opinion. Not every person enjoys the same things, what you like, I may not, and vice versa. To me, it's a double edged sword. You discover new authors, and you either like their story or you don't. Glad to say, for me there isn't much risk associated with this one, there were many more hit's than misses in this anthology. Some of my favorite stories include
  
  What the bone says: Rob Boley
  Animate Objects: Adrian Ludens
  Sister Glitter: Gwendolyn Kiste
  The parts that hurt me the most: Matt Neil Hill
  
  Highly recommend this one, it's violent, it's brutal and there are parts that are going to be tough to read for some people, but it is a very good anthology, and I think readers will enjoy it.
• 
  Cass (only the darkest reads)

  When I found out Dark Peninsula was putting out a Grindhouse themed short story collection, featuring badass babes I was so pumped. I'm sure many of us who love to read horror also love to watch horror. I'm a sucker for a movie that's so bad it's good.
  
  The introduction by Aric is a highlight, and you can tell that he's a big fan of the subject matter. It's written from a true love of the genre and going to the movies, and I do appreciate how diverse the stories he selected were.
  
  Unfortunately, for me, I don't think this collection met the target. Only a couple stories in here felt like they captured the essence of Grindhouse.
  
  While Grindhouse is a huge umbrella of films, and can cover a ton of genres, at its heart it's about extremes. So much of the action in these stories happens off the page. Behind closed eyes, in the other room, before the story begins. I just wanted more of the visceral violence that Grindhouse is beloved for.
  
  My favourite stories were: What the Bone Says (shocksploitation), Bloody Bon Secour (nunsploitation), and Killer of Hogs (vigilante/revenge.)
  
  Thank you so much to Aric and Dark Peninsula for my review copy, and to the crew for a fun read along, and animated discussion of one particularly polarizing story. Cluck. Cluck.
• 
  Suz Jay

  This anthology has a wonderful variety of stories which are sure to appeal to a wide range of readers. The anthology is arranged in pairs of pieces and concludes with a triple feature of haunted house themed stories.
  
  The stand out stories for me are as follows:
  
  The protagonist of “The Whole Price of Blood” by Scotty Milder chooses rapists for her victims.
  
  “The Parts That Hurt Me the Most” by Matt Neil Hill is a noir tale of the aftermath of robbery and a betrayal.
  
  “Bloody Bon Secours” by Sarah Read, which involves a group of baby snatching nuns.
  
  “The Saw House” by Shannon Brady, an apocalyptic tale, hooked me with “Young, single female seeks housemates. Must love chainsaws.”
  
  “Sister Glitter Blood” by Gwendolyn Kiste features a sparkly and sinister board game which is “…thrilled to guide you through our sparkly little corner of hell.”
• 
  Norman Miller

  A really fun anthology with some excellent stories. I mean, there's a kinky angel, a very odd chicken, a demon, a lot of revenge and a lot of violence. How can you go wrong? The best part of anthologies like this is being introduced to new writers to check out.
• 
  Lucian Miner

  Some of the stories are fantastic and others are just mediocre. Much like grindhouse films the cover makes you expect great thrills but just doesn’t fully deliver.