Someone to Share My Nightmares, a collection of short stories by Sonora Taylor, was my first foray into horrortica and…
Whoa.
Can that be my whole review? No?
Okay, let’s do this…
Continuing my incurable habit of selecting books based solely on their covers, Taylor’s Someone to Share My Nightmares came up on my Twitter feed and I instantly fell in love with the artwork. I saw it and just had to have it. Once again, my “bad” habit landed me a winner. The artwork for Someone to Share My Nightmares matches the tone of the collection perfectly, both seductive and exquisitely dreadful.
The eight short tales (and one poem) that make up Someone to Share My Nightmares bring Taylor’s horrors to life with beautifully evocative imagery. They offer different points-of-view and varied definitions of love/attraction while maintaining a sense of humour throughout. While there are plenty of vicious turns and nasty twists to be had, Someone to Share My Nightmares doesn’t shy away from the odd happily-ever-after.
Independence and the reclaiming of feminine power are major themes in Taylor’s collection, from “Someone to Share My Nightmares” which features a forest with a taste for male flesh to “The Parrot,” in which an abused wife turns the tables on her husband in the most satisfying way imaginable. There’s even a heartbreakingly sad but infinitely relatable story about a vampire couple wondering if forever is really worth it in “You Promised Me Forever” and a claustrophobic story of isolation that calls out corporate irresponsibility in “The Sharps.”
Although “The Parrot” is my favourite story for the diabolical way Melinda takes revenge on her husband (who is just truly horrid,) the wickedly fun Krampus-like Christmas story, “’Tis Better to Want” is a close second. (And awfully sexy too!)
I think it’s safe to say that my horrortica cherry has officially been claimed by Sonora Taylor’s Someone to Share My Nightmares and I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience. It’s given me a craving for the darker side of erotica that I’ll definitely be looking to sate – hopefully with more delightfully morbid stories just like these.
