Review: Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley

Posted 8 April, 2013 by Pushy in Blog, Bookworms, Featured, Pushy, Pushy Book Review, Uncategorized / 14 Comments

Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M YardleyBeautiful Sorrows

Genre: Fantasy
Publication: 2012 by Shock Totem Publications
eBook gifted by friend
Get your own: Amazon | B&N
synopsis from Goodreads
Rating:

There is a place where sorrows pile up like snow and rest in your hair like cherry blossoms. Boys have wings, monsters fall in love, women fade into nothingness, and the bones of small children snap like twigs. Darkness will surely devour you—but it will be exquisitely lovely while doing so.

Mercedes M. Yardley’s Beautiful Sorrows is an ephemeral collection encompassing twenty-seven short tales full of devastation, death, longing, and the shining ribbon of hope that binds them all together.

Poignant and fantastical vignettes leaving you wondering, “What happens next…”

Beautiful Collection

While I’m a true lover of novels, there’s a part of me that loves a good collection of short stories.  There’s something so liberating about their brevity that allows authors and readers alike to try on new subjects like so many sweaters on a cool winter day.  And it was in just such an environment, a cold winter break up in Michigan, that I read Ms. Yardley’s darkly compelling series of stories.

Ensconced in my winter vacation, I had the chance to travel to so many different worlds via Ms. Yardley’s fantastic, lyrical prose.  Her topics, ranging from the sweetly fantastical The Boy Who Hangs The Stars to the gut-wrenchingly dark, Black Mary, we woven together seamlessly in a beautiful skein of images.  I still find myself pondering the stories, like Luna e Volk (a sad and lovely take on werewolves) and wondering what they would evolve into if they had been coaxed into full length novels.  But in the end, I find that I’m happy with the way Ms. Yardley tied up all her stories, even those secured loosely.  They’re lovely, like poetry, and they’re true gems just as they are.

Bewitched Rating

 

Bottom Line

The aptly named Beautiful Sorrows is a gorgeous read from beginning to end.  Darkly chilling and then macabrely funny in just the right places, more fantastical than truly horror, it’s quite a quick read.  This collection is guaranteed to having you turning the pages swiftly and leave you wondering about what happened next for days.

 

 

Now go and get lost…in a book!
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Pushy

Lover of words and authors; absolute fan girl of books! Give me a good story, with characters I can love (and hate) and I'll follow you anywhere. Sing me a song of worlds I can dream of, and I'll listen forever.

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14 Responses to “Review: Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes M. Yardley”

  2. hrose2931

    It does sound poetic and lyrical. So does your review. I’m not a fan of horror so I’m not sure this would be my type of book but I do love short stories. Maybe I’ll see if the library has it and read one or two and see if it’s for me. The cover is stunning.

    Heather
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    Pushy 4/8/2013

    You should check it out, Heather! It’s not intense horror, more creepy ideas. Thanks for stopping by!!!
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  4. Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

    I tend to have a hard time with short stories…not enough time for true characeter development or growth…but this one has me intrigued.
    Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf recently posted..Added to the Bookshelf – 4-7-13My Profile

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    Pushy 4/8/2013

    I agree, that’s a risk, but in this book I found the characters were pretty full, with hints of depths we just didn’t get to see. You should definitely check it out! 🙂
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  6. Kim @ YA Asylum

    This book sounds so amazing. I don’t know why I haven’t heard of it before … but I’m really going to have to pick up now. Ever since I read The Curiosities collection I’ve been really into short story collections. Great review 🙂
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    Pushy 4/8/2013

    Thanks, Kim! I’d love to hear what you think of it!!
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