I’ve never been one for tales of the circus or carnivals. There’s never been anything about them that has beckoned to me and sucked me in – until this anthology. With Carniepunk I finally got it. That immersive and magical feel of the carnival. I not only fell in love with the atmosphere created in these pages, I fell in love with the stories and the authors. I ended up with a whole bunch of new authors and books added to my TBR after this one (you’ve been warned! :P).

What impressed me most about this anthology was the breadth of topic, tone and frivolity. There are some dark stories in this one, some adorable ones, and some downright hilarious ones. You hear people say that there’s “something for everyone” and I’d say that applies to Carniepunk. ( )

I actually only read Kevin Hearn's story from this collection. Maybe more, but I'm not sure. I liked it. I'm not a big fan of short stories in general, actually in this case I would have liked a full novel. More of my favorite characters.
( )

My library was offering several short stories as audio books so I gave it a try.

I read a lot of Seanan’s McGuire’s stuff and I wasn’t disappointed in this at all. It is a standalone story and give a good sense of what makes a great writer. The story covers a teen girl whose mother is a real mermaid with the carnival she travels with. As the story unfolds you find out that this is the only life she has ever known and everyone is family. But they have returned to a town they haven’t been to in 17 years and some people have a long memory. A good buildup and a bittersweet ending to this story. ( )

Well, this was not at all what I expected. This title came up in my search for carnival or circus horror. With a name like Carniepunk, I was thinking carnival splatterpunk. The big top tent and blood splatter on the cover also contributed to this assumption. Instead, this is anthology is loaded with mythical creatures, romance, YA, and magic. Nothing wrong with any of those things, but not what I was looking for. The audiobook even starts off with some creepy music, but the book isn't the least bit dark. There is absolutely nothing "punk" about this anthology. And though every story does take place at least partially at a carnival, in half of them it just seems to be an arbitrary setting so the story could fit the theme. It's not really integral to the plot - the same story could have happened anywhere.

Honestly, these stories are just downright boring. I've never cared less about so many characters in the same volume. The tales are filled with cool creatures that barely do anything. Everything from demons to djinn, vampires and werewolves, fae, even a fucking manticore! But all they do is talk about powers and abilities that they never use. The authors seem to think that stuffing as many creatures into a modern setting as possible will make the story interesting, but it doesn't.

Another annoying thing is that many of these stories are just advertisements for the authors' books. And most don't bother to explain how their fantasy worlds or magic systems work, so if you are not already familiar with each author's work (and I was familiar with none of them) then you don't know why things are the way they are. Maybe there's a good reason these creatures don't use their powers and have to resort to talking about sex for twenty pages, but how would I know?!?

I don't usually post such bad reviews because, as an author and editor, I understand what it takes to write and publish books. I generally believe that all books and authors, even bad ones, deserve respect for what they do. But this book is a liar, a deceiver, and needs to be exposed. Besides, some people love boring YA urban fantasy, so they'd love this book. But they'd never know what it was by the name and cover. I'm here to help. I give it two stars, one for each story I didn't completely hate. ( )

Too dark for me, but I read most of them and quite enjoyed the Kevin Hearne, Rachel Caine and Seanan McGuire stories. ( )