Hello everyone, welcome back to Book Review! Last time, we talked about Slice of Paradise, a new anthology from DarkLit Press. As of right now, you can check it out on Amazon for Free to celebrate its release. It's definitely worth checking out.
Today, I am happy to return with a look at DarkLit Press' second release, Beach Bodies. Beach Bodies is another anthology in the Beach Vacation Horror genre. Much like its sister book, Slice of Paradise, it's a tour de force as well.
After checking out the first book, I thought I had more of an idea of what to expect from this go around. However, I am pleased to say that I was wrong. Ben Long and Andrew Robert once again have brought together a fantastic set of stories. The interesting thing was that it felt like Slice of Paradise was more focused on providing glimpses of horror with their stories. Almost as if you could pick it up for a brief read when the reading bug catches you. In this installment, the stories have more room for them to breathe. I wasn't sure if the length of the stories would leave me feeling a bit overwhelmed. That is something that could happen as I have experienced with other anthologies in the past. But I am happy to say that is not the case. No, this time around it felt like the stories are allowed the room to leave more of an impact on the reader.
Like I did in my Slice of Paradise review, I will highlight a few of the stories that I felt strongly impacted my experience with Beach Bodies. Once again, it's safe to say that there are many great entries as well.
The first story that I'd like to talk about is The Flesh of The Golden Dune Hotel from Fox Claret Hill. This is actually the first installment in this anthology. It struck a chord with me that I was unprepared for. Tom and Levi, a couple arrives at The Golden Dune Hotel for an unforgettable belated Honeymoon. It is a beauty to behold as everything seems perfect. Maybe too perfect though as there's something off about the employees, who are always smiling.
This was something else. It pulled me in as I was able to relate to Levi and Tom. My partner and I share a similar story - been married going on 2 years now, together for 6 years and we had a small honeymoon. So it was relatively easy putting me in their shoes. However, the point the story turns - it turns. It completely falls off the deep end in a very memorable way. And before I knew it, it left me terrified of going to a hotel to stay. I'm definitely going to be checking out more from Fox Claret Hill in the future.
Our second story is Babe from Wendy Dairymple. Layla and Danny are on their honeymoon. It's supposed to be a time of love and something special. After one dip in the water, Danny begins to notice an itch in his ear. It's something that is far worse than they could have imagined.
This is another simple yet brutally effective story. It has the feeling of being a nice counterpoint to The Golden Dune. While Levi and Tom were likeable, Layla and Danny felt like the opposite. Layla reminded me of what I imagine a Bridezilla on their honeymoon would be like. Have to have everything perfect. Except they have to share it all on their Instagram. The relationship between the two felt very shallow. I get that they just got married and all, but feels like each of them went into the marriage not on the same page. As if both of them came from privileged families. Did they actually care for each other? Tough to say. It's honestly something that I feel like can be left up to the readers. However the direction the story went was very unexpected. It left me wanting to know more of what was going on. And that's something I strongly feel is what good stories can do.
In the end, Beach Bodies is a wonderful companion piece to Slice of Paradise. I can only imagine what Long and Robert had to do to pull together both of these anthologies. I highly recommend you check this out.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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