Bitter Chills: Holiday Edition by Jay Alexander

Bitter Chills: Holiday Edition Reviews

• 
  Roxie Voorhees

  Contains my story The Wild Hunt and poem Yuletidetime
• 
  David's Book Reviews

  This collection is exactly why I read small and unknown authors. I feel that this short story collection will fly under the radar for most people and that's a shame because this is a gem. Even though I enjoyed most of the stories, I found it to be very entertaining. This collection features stories that are very suitable to read during the cold season. There is only a small handful of stories which focus around Christmas, but not all of them. Don't go into thinking that all the stories are going to be Christmas themed. Think of this as a book you can read late at night while it's snowing, your sitting by the fire all wrapped up with a hot drink. This expanded edition features new illustrations, author notes on most of the stories, author biographies on all the writers, and a intro and a afterword. This book has stories about, a supernatural burning boy, a killer snowman, a man grieving the death of his son who appears to be riding on the back of a giant fish, a twisted Santa and many more. This does has a bunch of trigger warnings for most of the stories, so be warned.
  
  MISS THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!
• 
  Alice

  Bitter chills holiday edition is a treat of an anthology. This had me thinking about survival, sins and the darkest moments humans can have. It gave me chills all over my body. As it is a holiday edition, there are lots of stories with snow and set around Christmas time.
  
  We often delight over snow, but forget that if it comes down thickly, it impedes movement, creates isolation and brings danger. A fantastic atmospheric read featuring indie authors who for sure afterwards you'll need to go follow.
• 
  Becky McDonald

  Loved this book, lots of different authors and different writing styles, brilliant way to get introduced to new authors.
• 
  charm_city_sinner

  About a year and a half ago was when I finally started reading fiction for fun again. But my view of horror and fiction was very limited.
  
  That's why the Bitter Chills Holiday Edition published by Blood Rites Horror was THE perfect book for me to read coming up on xmas last year. As a fan, I think it's a perfect snapshot of how vibrant the indie horror community really is. The stories inside are stylistically diverse, and there's not a mediocre tale to be found.
  
  The book really is an embarrassment of riches, and there are many other authors I have no doubt could have doubled this book in size.
  
  This is also a rare gem because many multi-author anthologies end up being hit or miss as a whole. But not this one. Not only is it my favorite anthology now, it was also in my top five books of last year.
• 
  Lee Allen

  A delightfully devilish collection of short fiction from the pens of indie horror writers.
  
  Each Bonfire Night, a group of teenagers are haunted by a boy whom they left to burn...
  Driving home, a man is stranded by a relentless snowstorm...
  A bedtime story of the culmination of the Wild Hunt on the night of the Winter Solstice...
  A grieving father is determined to keep a promise to his dead son which he failed to while he lived...
  The mystery behind the disappearance of a teenage girl begins to unravel...
  The tale of a killer snowman...
  Christmas dinner takes an unexpected turn...
  A lonely woman grants shelter to her ex and his new partner one snowy Christmas Eve...
  A man is hunted by a mythological monster...
  A fight for survival in a collapsed and frozen world...
  A fossilised larynx unleashes the stuff of nightmares...
  
  'Bitter Chills' is the first of several anthologies from indie publisher Blood Rites Horror, curated and edited by author Jay Alexander. Featuring tales of psychological horror, supernatural horror, environmental and natural horror, dystopia and a touch of black comedy, the collection covers a breadth of horror tropes and sub-genres with something to appeal to all tastes; these quality tales representing the indie horror community at large.
  
  The Holiday Edition also includes a raft of bonus material, including artwork, poems and new stories, some being sequels to previous stories, making this volume a luxury celebration of the work of the featured authors.
  
  My personal favourites were:
  'The Burning Boy' by Denver Grenell - feeling like a nostalgic throwback to young adult horror, the sort of tale that introduces you to the genre, with karma reaching out its hand from beyond the grave;
  'My White Star' by Carla Eliot - a mystery and ghost story combined into a tale of retribution, the main character haunted by the presence of his missing friend, a horrifying truth unraveling before his eyes;
  'The Christmas Eve' by Carmilla Yugov - a sublime tale of psychological horror, with its premise of revisiting an emotional trauma, building to bloodshed and terror; a thrilling story of horror and suspense;
  'The Violent Snow' by Patrick Whitehurst - with its archaeological theme, claustrophobic suspense, but nevertheless the fun of adventure, this natural horror story evolving into full-blown creature-feature has a cinematic feel and a neat conclusion, as well as an equally satisfying sequel. Would love to read a part three!
  
  A feast of horrors from the depths of winter, 'Bitter Chills: The Holiday Edition' is perfect for filling the Hallowe'en-sized hole in your reading list long after the jack o'lantern has ceased to flicker.
• 
  Rachel M

  Great collection of Christmas and winter shorts! This collection has introduced me to many authors, some I had heard of but I’ve never read any of their work, but will certainly be on the look out for other works by these authors! Perfect winter read!
• 
  Emily

  Bitter Chills: Holiday Edition - 5/5
  Edited and illustrated by Jay Alexander
  
  I received this book in a book box and sadly just never got around to it at Christmas! I picked it up after finishing WELCOME TO THE FUNHOUSE - and just couldn’t put it down!
  
  This edition is beautifully illustrated, features the original eleven stories from the first edition of Bitter Chills as well as new content from the authors, including authors notes and profiles.
  
  You can read about the boy who accidentally burnt to death in THE BURNING BOY, who wants to seek revenge. There is a terrible accident in SNOWBLIND, which has a rather strange ending. THE WILD HUNT is a gorgeous tale of Norwegian folklore. The heartbreaking tale of a man and his son in THE COLD, THE GRIEF. The mystery in MY WHITE STAR. You can read about THE KILLER SNOWMAN - the title is self explanatory! EVERYONE TO THE TABLE is a gruesome tale of a little boy at Christmas, followed by a revengeful sleeping ex girlfriend in THE CHRISTMAS EVE. A tale of death in REALMER, REDEEMER. The post apocalyptic tale of a world gone cold in EVERY HUNT IS A COLD ONE. A snow monster driven made in THE VIOLENT SNOW.
  
  The bonus material was brilliant as well - featuring a limerick to accompany THE BURNING BOY and a poem to accompany THE WILD HUNT. A whole new story which made EVERYONE TO THE TABLE LOOK tame - LITTLE BILLY’S NAUGHTY CHRISTMAS, this was an absolutely wild ride, followed by the terribly sad story of a lost solider in I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. A sad poem entitled AND END IT DOES NOT. An illustration to accompany EVERY HUNT IS A COLD ONE. And lastly the brilliant sequel to A VIOLENT SNOW - THE CRUEL HEAT, you will wish these were a full length novel!!
• 
  Samuel (Still Reading Sam) M.

  4.5/5
  A whole host of wonderful winter, snow and cold climate horror stories for you to enjoy!
  The Holiday Edition expands upon the original stories and adds new stories, including sequels, poems and original tales!
  Well recommend it! Will drop a full and proper review soon for both HE and original
• 
  Kathy K

  This was surprisingly good! Some stories were perfection in my opinion. I will definitely be looking into more from these writers.
• 
  Christina B.

  Since I reviewed the original edition of Bitter Chills, I won’t repeat myself here. I will say I’m happy I bought this holiday edition, mainly because of Spencer Hamilton’s bonus story Little Billy’s Naughty Christmas. That delightfully dark tale is a new favorite, along with the 4 I mentioned in my prior review.
• 
  Jayanne Rahal

  Not a bad anthology to get into the mood for the holiday season. My favourite story was by far The Cold, The Grief and the art and bonus material was a really nice touch. Nice to see some authors I recognised and then some lesser known ones added to the mix as well as the mini introductions for each one.
• 
  Nikki in Niagara

  An anthology of Christmas- or winter-themed short stories by indie authors. A mediocre collection. None of the stories was great nor were they terrible. They all more or less left me with the "meh" feeling. I'd not recommend it as I'm sure better books are available.
• 
  Jess

  Stopped at 33%. I’ll probably pick this back up next holiday season, but for now it’s not working for me.
• 
  BakaRena

  A beautiful edition and wonderful stories (some of them still haunt me) by new interesting authors. I'm very eager to read more by them.
• 
  Tim

  An interesting mix of tales. Some were good, some felt like bad creepypasta, a lot were just straight up depressing :/
• 
  Tim Baruffi

  Meh. A couple good ones but overall a bit on the YA side
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  Karie

  Anthologies are impossible to rate unless every story is a banger, so a solid three stars.