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!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from one of the authors in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Let's dive in!
You Only Get One Shot by Kevin J. Kennedy & J.C. Michael
Synopsis:What would you do if someone demanded you write the best story of your life, to be judged online? That your life depended on it.
Four well-known authors receive an email telling them they are responsible for a suicide. Their antagonist makes it clear she is out for revenge and they have no option but to comply. Their task is to post the best story they can imagine online and await judgement. Filled with guilt, anxiety, and even a few murderous tendencies, each writer weaves their tale and hopes for the best. It’ll be the competition of their lives. Who’s story will win? Will anyone survive?
My thoughts:
WOW! What an intense beginning! I knew right from chapter one that this was going to be a novella with a great plot! However, I do have to say that I have very strong feelings over the whole, blaming others for someone committing suicide, but I won’t get into that here. If you pick up this book, just be aware of that.
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:
"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:
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!
Thanks for reading!
What horror novellas have you read? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below!
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