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Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

Recent Posts

A Bleak Remedy by D.S. LaLonde | Book Review

Book cover of Ushers by Joe Hill - featuring a brightly colored winged beings silhouette

Ushers by Joe Hill | Short Story Review

Interview with Stephen Kozeniewski

[Novella Review] You Only Get One Shot by Kevin J. Kennedy & J.C. Michael

January 15, 2018      Erica Robyn      13 Comments

Novella Review of You Only Get One Shot by Kevin J. Kennedy & J.C. Michael

You Only Get One Shot by Kevin J. Kennedy & J.C. Michael is a fast-paced horror novella filled with violence and suspense, sprinkled with the paranormal and other bizarre elements. Of course, I really enjoyed it!! And phew, what an interesting plot!

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on You Only Get One Shot by Kevin J. Kennedy & J.C. Michael

WOW! What an intense beginning! I knew right from chapter one that this was going to be a novella with a great plot!

The next few chapters of the book were broken up to focus on each of the four authors and the stories that they wrote. To avoid spoiling too much, I will be breaking down each character and rating their stories from a personal preference standpoint.

*SLIGHT SPOILERS BELOW*
Fiona– Her story “The Wrong Girl” was interesting! The beginning was a little rough, but the overall plot of the short story was interesting! I definitely wanted to learn more about the demonic characters, but the lack of information made it that much more intriguing. I would give her story 3/5.

Diane– Her story “Rezerection” was pretty bizarre but full of violence! I loved the zombie trope she used here. 3.5/5

Drexl– I hated this character from the first sentence from his chapter; what a gross character. His story was titled “Feral.”  I’m pretty sure I read this whole story with my eyebrows raised as far up on my face as they could go. Wow. What a crazy story! This is one that will be difficult to forget. 3.5/5

Simon– His story was titled “The Summoned.” I really enjoyed this one! It was dark and violent, and I loved how it ended! I would happily read a whole book based on this one! 5/5
*END OF SPOILERS*

After each of these stories, we dive into the aftermath… I couldn’t wait to see how this situation turned out. Not going to lie, I was pretty bummed my favorite character didn’t make the cut. But I LOVED the ending! Bravo!!

My Favorite Passages from You Only Get One Shot

“You’ll regret taking me, you know. Do you know who my mum and dad are?”
“I don’t give a fuck if your dad’s Liam Neeson, kid. We’ve heard it all before. Now shut up.”

Hopkins Lane was a single-track road running out of the southeast corner of town. Think hedgerows lined the tops of steep verges, and occasional pairs of trees reached for each other over the road like drowning lovers. A reaper-black Mercedes was parked in one of the sporadic passing places carved into the verge. The occupant had murder in mind.

She knew what she should really be doing was running for the door and screaming for help, but her legs felt like they were going to give way and something in her brain told her that the soles of her feet were glued to the spot.

My Final Thoughts on You Only Get One Shot

This novella had such a great plot! And it was everything a horror novella should be; it was suspenseful, bizarre, gritty, uncomfortable, and thrilling! I would definitely recommend this to any horror lover!


Snag a copy through Bookshop to help support local indie bookshops:

Related Reading:

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  • 100 Word Horrors Part 2
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  • Collected Christmas Horror Shorts 2
  • Collected Easter Horror Shorts
  • Collected Halloween Horror Shorts: Trick ‘r Treat
  • Dark Thoughts
  • The Gatekeeper
  • Screechers by Kevin J. Kennedy and Christina Bergling

Here are a few more recent posts you might like:

  • A Bleak Remedy by D.S. LaLonde | Book Review
  • Ushers by Joe Hill | Short Story Review
  • Interview with Stephen Kozeniewski

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Welcome to Erica Robyn Reads!

Erica Robyn of Erica Robyn Reads
Hello! I’m Erica, a Mainer living in New Hampshire who runs on hot tea, good books, and loud music. Join me as I seek out amazing horror tales and help support the indie horror community!
 

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