Good Morning Book Addicts and Bibliophiles,

Today I’m trying out something a bit new for me. After finishing The Institute and feeling a tad disappointed, I decided to take a look into my Amazon Kindle downloads and see what I had in there.

It turns out, I have a TON of stuff. I don’t prefer reading a book electronically, I just don’t, so I constantly have a lot of stuff in there I have trouble getting to in a timely manner. So I decided to spend my lunch break reading a short story I’d downloaded a couple months ago.

I don’t typically review or read short stories (I prefer full novels, honestly), so I’ll try to be as fair as possible given how short these stories are. This is a bit of a trial run, so please bear with me!

Anywho, this short story is titled The Ballad of Bonnie Rotten and is by Sean K. Vlk.

Fun fact, I actually heard about this story from Sean K. Vlk himself through a Facebook Group where we’re allowed to self-promote. He is a fellow writer of horror, and the horror junkie in me just couldn’t resist giving this story a shot!

So what did I think? Well, let’s get into it!

Blurb

Follow, if you dare, the exploits of Bonnie Bourdieu– a truckstop prostitute with a questionable future. Another addition to The Untold Horrors collection.

The Review

I gave this short story four gruesome stars!

This story was short and sweet, and quite frankly, refreshing. This is my first read of this author’s work, and I was happy to get to know his style in the brief time it took me to read this (30 minutes on my lunch break).

The main character is a woman named Bonnie. She’s young and has forsaken the traditional path of high school to instead stroll the streets for sex. Lately she has found that truckers are her meal ticket, so she’s hanging out there when she sees an attractive man approach her.

I really can’t say much more, but this is classified as horror for a reason, and something horrific happens.

I enjoyed the author’s writing of this story. While it could lean towards somewhat flowery for my taste in small places, overall it was extremely well-written and descriptive. I could really picture the scenes he was creating.

Bonnie was simple but still an interesting character. I enjoyed her person POV, and I’ve never quite read one like hers before.

Lastly, this story delivered on what it promised, horror. While it wasn’t a core shaker, I didn’t expect it to be given the synopsis, and was happy with my dark experience.

Ultimately, this short story is great for anyone who isn’t squeamish, loves the chills and thrills, and wants a light, fun read.

Definitely going to check out more of his work. Happy reading everyone!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this short story review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this story? Are there other short stories you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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