𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝚃𝚘 𝙱𝚎 𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝟻𝚝𝚑 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛!
𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟑⭐️

4 Dark Short Stories.
I’ve seen Rachel Harrison’s books floating all over Booksta and when I saw this one on Netgalley I had to request. I will definitely be reading more of her books.

Each story was an easy read and I was sucked in immediately with each one.

My absolute favourite one was ‘Bad Dolls’ it was creepy and heartbreaking, I would have read a whole book just on this story and the haunting doll.

I really enjoyed ‘Bachelorette’ too. The story was raw about friendships and how the distance grows between friendships when you grow older and get different friends. I enjoyed the suspense of what was about to happen.

The other two stories were good but weird 🤣! I felt the other two stories mentioned above were stronger but definitely a great little book to get a taste of Harrison’s work and feel her books will be great for spooky season.

Thanks to @Netgalley and @titanbooks for this Arc!

𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

#bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer #booktok #baddolls #rachelharrison #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyuk #review #bookreview #booklover #bookworm #bibliophile

I loved every story in this collection. Magical 8 balls, a bachelorette party, goblins and ofcourse creepy dolls. My only issue was I wanted more!

Bad Dolls is a collection of four horror short stories that combine modern life, the trials of being a woman, and what happens when everyday objects aren't as they seem. The stories include one about a Magic 8 Ball influencing a woman looking for change, one about a bachelorette party that doesn't go as expected, another about an unusually dark dieting app, and finally, the titular story about a strange doll that appears to a woman after the death of her sister.

These are longer short stories which felt very fleshed out, which I enjoyed. You get to really delve into the mind of the protagonist in each story, rather than feeling too fleeting and not really getting to know them. I particularly liked the first story, 'Reply Hazy, Try Again', as the Magic 8 Ball horror combined with a woman needing a push to throw away her apparently neat life worked well, building a sense of 'what have you done' combined with 'good for you' that made it feel quite complex by the end. 'Bachelorette' felt quite similar to a recent novel I've read in terms of the plotline, which let it down a bit, though it had a good vibe. 'Goblin' was unusual, exploring dieting and disordered eating through a horrific goblin, which was interesting. And 'Bad Dolls' was dark and intriguing, with a flawed protagonist, but I did feel like I wanted to know more so maybe it should've been a slightly longer novella at least to delve a bit deeper.

These tales are a great kind of horror, bringing horror elements into what are otherwise quite everyday yet sometimes horrific situations. The extended length of the stories meant that they were narratively satisfying and quite character-focused. I don't read a huge amount of short stories (though horror can be an exception), but I'm glad that Harrison's Such Sharp Teeth made me want to read Bad Dolls, as it was a fun horror collection.

I am so glad I got tonread this. I recently really enjoyed Sharp Teeth but this was completely different
Four short horror stories, although I wouldn't say they were strictly horror. I only really found the last story a horror.
I enjoyed all 4 stories and I really enjoy the writing and the down to earth natural characters. It makes the stories really engaging.
The ending of Goblin really shocked me which I liked and the ending of Bad Dolls I found really creepy.
Most enjoyable reading and I think this maybe my new favourite author

Four dark stories exploring four women and their decisions. It has themes of female friendships, stagnant relationships, body image, hauntings, heartbreak and acceptance. Part horror part social commentary part fantasy, these are such a fun bite size look into the weirdness of life.

Reply Hazy, Try Again - a magic 8 ball 🎱 helps to steer a woman’s choices but soon she becomes obsessed with knowing what is to come as her indecisiveness starts to take over her life and decisions.

Bachelorette - bridesmaids gather for a bachelorette weekend, Natalie loves her childhood friend Hailey but feels uncomfortable around the group of, mainly, her college friends but is unsure why until the night takes a weird turn.

Goblin - a friendly pact to lose weight before a wedding by using the newest weight loss app takes one woman down a dark path. The past is an easy road to travel back on even when you know it’s wrong.

Bad Dolls - a grief stricken sister returns to her home town and finds a doll in the closet of the room she rents. A powerfully creepy story of the weight of grief.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

This is a super interesting collection of four short stories which are what I would call soft-horror. Most of these tales are on the lighter side of dark, with horror-esque subject material but a much more comedic or optimistic execution. Since there are only four stories, I'll review each of them.

Reply Hazy: A woman picks up a magic 8 ball which starts to make all of her decisions for her. This was probably the weakest story for me. It ends a little abruptly and the horror never really takes off. I wouldn't mind if the story was a bit more complete, but it falls a little flat overall.

Bachelorette: A woman attends her childhood best friend's bachelorette party and things take an ominous turn. This was a much stronger story, maybe my favourite of the bunch. The horror element ties really well thematically to the idea of outgrowing your friends and holding on desperately to old times whilst dealing with female jealousy. All the elements worked really well together.

Goblin: Desperate to lose weight before an ex's wedding, a woman downloads an app where a goblin will help her control her diet. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did but it's a solid execution of a fundamentally wacky premise. It ended quite abruptly again but with a bit more of a satisfying conclusion than the first one.

Bad Dolls: After the death of her sister, a woman becomes overly attached to a doll in her house. This is probably the closest to 'true horror' and again the horror analogy works well for the situation, even if it is a little bit obvious. This one has a good atmosphere but I think the lack of originality holds it back, even though the character and emotions within it are solid.

Overall, I really liked this story collection. It felt like 'feminist horror' and there were strong themes of womanhood and women's issues tying all four stories together. It has an interesting core concept and enough going on that I am happy to overlook the minor flaws. I would definitely recommend this if you're intrigued by any of these stories or would like to read some horror that is a little outside the box

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

3 stars!

oooo I was quite surprised by this. Not all stories in my opinion are horror, but creepy, yes.

I actually loved the first story Reply Hazy, Try Again - out of 5 I’d give it a 4. I liked how the story was, I liked the mystery of the magic 8 ball, I liked how it started to reply, I was drawn in and could have read a longer story based on this.

The next story was Bachelorette. More ‘horror’ than the last but still not exactly scary. I liked this one too but the ending didn’t pay off that well for me. So this one was a 3 out of 5 .

Goblin - warning - eating disorders - I liked this one too and thought the ending was perfect, I even laughed. Maybe a 3.5???

Bad Dolls - this was fell more flat for more but I did like the ending paragraph, it added more creepiness to the story which I liked, but again was a 3 out of 5

If you want to read some short stories that deal with different themes like sexuality, life, toxic friendships, diets and eating, loss of a loved one, etc then give this a go for sure, a quick, pleasant read.

This is a stunning collection of short horror stories highlighting societal views on body image, friendships, heartbreaks and hauntings.
Each of the 4 short stories are different and highly a horror that can affect people which I enjoyed reading. I think that when horror is written to highlight possible real world horrors that creates a sense of dread and Rachel Harrison delivers on that message.
A perfect collection of stories in Bad Dolls which is worth the read.

This is a fantastic collection. Four short stories that cover themes from friendship to body image to grief, all fleshed out with fully realised characters. I've been burnt in the past by short story collections that are whatever the writer's equivalent of a bunch of doodles on the back of a used napkin is, and this is not that, Each story is tightly and satisfyingly written. Highly recommend!

4.5

This is a really good collection of short stories from the author of Cackle - my personal favourite. Rachel Harrison explores various themes including body image, friendship and heartache/heartbreak. The first in the group is the one I like the most which is ‘Reply Hazy, Try Again’. Jordan is browsing a flea market with Maggie and finds a Magic 8 ball in a random bin and she has to have it. Fifteen dollars later, it’s hers and she gets more than she bartered for especially in relation to boyfriend Kenny. I think this one is so clever, I love the concept of it and the lesson learned!

The second is ‘Bachelorette’ in which Natalie reluctantly attends Hailey’s hen party with good reason as organiser Brianna is, well, I’ll leave you to discover the joy of Brianna. Tension builds and how, on one occasion I could scarcely breathe! Horror personified and then, phew, a sigh of relief. The characterisation is excellent which sure is a skill in a short story and the author cleverly shows how friendship changes over time, in this case very dramatically.

Number three is ‘Goblin’ - download the Goblin app to help to lose weight but at your own risk. So clever, vivid and I don’t know what’s wrong with me but the outcome makes me laugh! I’m going into therapy shortly.

The story I find the creepiest is ‘Bad Dolls’ but that’s probably because vintage dolls freak me out. Mackenzie moves back home after a death in the family but decides to rent an attic in an old Victorian house. She finds a porcelain doll concealed in a hatbox inside a cabinet and thus begins some very strange happenings. The story examines the varied impact of grief and guilt in a dark, creepy and haunting way.

This is a good collection and one I can recommend to fans of short stories and of Rachel Harrison. She doesn’t leave you feeling short changed as some short stories do. They aren’t too horrifying, old dolls aside, but they’re probably cleverer than sock you between the eyes horror as they’re more memorable. This would be a perfect October read for Halloween season.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Titan Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Post to Goodreads and Twitter on 1/9 and Amazon and Waterstones on 5/9.

I absolutely LOVED these stories. 1-3 were all equally relatable and perfect to me. The 4th was a little less personally relatable but I still enjoyed it and could understand and empathize with the themes. They are all horror stories with some triggers. You’ll wanna do research, but I don’t have triggers, so I didn’t have any problems with themes. The writing was beautiful, so many quotable lines. I could see myself in many of the character situations saying the things they did. Most of the stories have all female casts, so I really related on that level as well. I just highly recommend this story collection. Thank you so much Titan Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this and leave an honest review. Cannot wait to pick this up in print!