Friends, Lovers, and Other Gaslighters (by B.A. Ries)
I received a complimentary Audible audiobook of Friends, Lovers, and Other Gaslighters: 25 Tales of Terror and the Bizarre by B.A. Ries from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was intrigued with spooky reading season right around the corner.
The collection of 25 short stories certainly delivers an appropriate amount of extraordinary horror, paranormal, and macabre elements. It’s an ideal read for my favorite Halloween season, which is fast approaching. Each story is well-written and brims with creativity and creepiness. I particularly enjoyed how characters reappear in different stories, creating a nice connection between them.
However, I must admit that I didn’t connect with the stories as much as I would have liked. The characters seemed much younger than myself, which made it difficult for me to relate to a 10-year high school reunion or a teenage swim competition. A few stories also revolve around teleworking due to the pandemic and vaccines, which I’ve been burned out on for a while now. I don’t particularly enjoy reading stories that take me back to that era.
While this collection may not be my cup of tea, I’m certain that it’s the perfect read for many others who can connect with the characters and plots.
The audiobook is narrated by Rayne Botello, and I found the narration to be good and enjoyable. I increased the speed to find a pace that suited my ears. However, at times, I got confused and couldn’t remember the gender of the protagonist because the narrator’s voice had very little fluctuation for the different characters. It would have been helpful if the voice had changed enough to differentiate between the characters, especially since we see a return of the characters in other stories. Alternatively, it could have been helpful to have a male narrator for the stories in which the protagonist is a man.
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