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Ari Augustine (10 KP) rated His Hideous Heart in Books

May 4, 2020

His Hideous Heart

Dahlia Adler | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Young Adult (YA)

8.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

His Hideous Heart is an anthology collection of 13 re-imagined tales inspired by works of Edgar Allan Poe. The book is split into two sections: The Tales Retold and The Original Tales. What I liked about the layout of this collection is that its easy for those of us whove read the originals to revisit them before or after reading the retold stories and its also convenient for readers whove never been introduced to Poe before. When it comes to retellings in any form, catching on to the fact that a story was inspired by another can be a challenge, especially if the inspiration is rather loose. But thats another reason why I love the layout of this collection: Its clear as to which original story inspired a retelling, and I loved reading along, connecting the dots and yet, being surprised by all the new twists and turns.

In a perfect world, Id love to review each and every retelling in this collection, because many of them were downright gorgeous and grotesque. However, my absolute favorites were:

1. Its Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson
2. Lygia by Dahlia Adler (inspired by Ligeia)
3. Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn
4. The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig

Check out my full review to find out WHY I adored these stories: https://bookishvalhalla.com/his-hideous-heart-by-dahlia-adler-a-poe-etic-review-of-genre-bending-tales/