#Bookreview – Dark Divinations, a paranormal anthology

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What Amazon says

It’s the height of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fog swirls in the gas-lit streets, while in the parlor, hands are linked. Pale and expectant faces gaze upon a woman, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. The medium speaks, her tone hollow and inhuman. The s�ance has begun. Join us as we explore fourteen frightening tales of Victorian horror, each centered around a method of divination. Can the reading of tea leaves influence the future? Can dreams keep a soldier from death in the Crimea? Can a pocket watch foretell a deadly family curse? From entrail reading and fortune-telling machines to prophetic spiders and voodoo spells, sometimes the future is better left unknown. Choose your fate.Choose your DARK DIVINATION.With stories by: Hannah Hulbert, Ash Hartwell, Joe L. Murr, Emerian Rich, Naching T. Kassa, Michael Fassbender, Jon O’Bergh, Stephanie Ellis, H.R.R. Gorman, R.L. Merrill, Rie Sheridan Rose, Daphne Strasert, Alan Fisher, and Jeremy Megargee.

My review

I am a fan of anthologies as they are a great way to find new writing talent, but I usually find there are one or two stories I don’t enjoy. That was not the case for this anthology which included fourteen short stories that were all of a very good quality and all of which had a unique and interesting storyline.

The common theme for this anthology is the inclusion of a method of divinations and there were some fairly different ones such as fortune-telling machines and a pocket watch. Every story was dark and creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat.

My three favourite stories in this anthology are as follows:

The Pocket Watch by Emerian Rich – Gretchen, a beautiful red-head and the daughter of a wealthy family from Manhatten, has married the young and handsome, Lord Windemere and relocated to his family estate in England to start her married life. Soon after their arrival, her new husband gives her the gift of a pocket watch from his deceased mother. Gretchen soon discovers that the pocket watch contains a dark secret and the key to her survival;

Miss Mae’s Prayers by H.R.R. Gorman – A young preacher and his heavily pregnant wife are woken up in the early hours of the morning by a member of his rural congregation who desperately wants the preacher to read him a couple of verses from the Bible. The anxious man is even more disturbed when the reading is over and vows to go back to the elderly woman who gave him the Bible references with an indication that they related to his future. The preacher, who has heard other stories about the old woman, known as Miss Mae, decides to seek her out and speak to her about her witchery. His mission has most unintended consequences;

Broken Crystal by Rie Sheridan Rose – Young Molly has a gift, she has The Sight, and her mother is determined to use it to make their fortune. Molly changes her name to Madame Rose and starts to give consultations for which she charges. Molly is a kindly girl and feels conflicted about taking money from very poor and needy people. One day a rough and angry man comes to her from a consultation following the elopement of his son. The consultation follows a different path with a unique outcome for both the father and Madame Rose.

Purchase Dark Divinations

Dark Divinations by [Naching Kassa, Hannah Hulbert, Ash Hartwell, Joe Murr, Rie Rose, Michael Fassbender, Jon O'Bergh, Stephanie Ellis, H.R.R. Gorman, R.L. Merrill]

Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086YD6DR9

Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

48 thoughts on “#Bookreview – Dark Divinations, a paranormal anthology”

        1. Oh yay! And yes, Miss Mae was my neighbor. I don’t think she was really a witch, but she was atheist and so my cray-cray community treated her like a witch (atheism was and is very, very rare back home). Nice lady, though, and full of old-time remedies.

          Liked by 1 person

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    2. As H.R.R. Gorman, knowing people are reading my stuff makes me nervous – but I hope you like it! This was definitely one of my best – if not my absolute best – stories from 2019 (which was when I submitted it – it was published 2020).

      Liked by 2 people

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