Book Review: WE’RE NOT OURSELVES TODAY

by | Oct 3, 2024 | Book Reviews, Reviews, The Horror Review News | 0 comments

We’re Not Ourselves Today: 13 Tales of Pulp Horror
Jill Girardi and Lydia Prime
Kandisha Press (March 16, 2024)
Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy

Hold on to your devil horns and tails, my delicious fiends, because you’re in for a hellish treat from two talented women. Jill Girardi founded Kandisha Press, the press from which this wonderful gift comes wrapped up in a bow of blood. She is the award-nominated author of Hantu Macabre, optioned for film by Siung Films with director Aaron Cowan. (Cowan was part of the special effects team winning four Oscars for Avatar and the Lord of the Rings series.) Her partner in crime, Lydia Prime had her short story “Sadie,” in Under Her Black Wings: 2020 Women in Horror Anthology, published by Kandisha Press and her short story won the 23rd Critters Annual Readers Poll for Best Horror Short Story in 2020. These two pulp goddesses delivered a demonic delight with We’re Not Ourselves Today. I can’t think of one short I didn’t enjoy.

Alternating between Girardi and Prime, readers will find enchanted hungry wallets, hungry mirrored twins, one encased in ice, aliens seeking human blood from drug addicts, and much, much more. This book has more pulp than an orange and more bite than a ghost pepper. My only complaint is that it wasn’t long! That’s the mark of two great authors, when they leave the reader enthralled and craving more. I’d love to see a sequel and I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that Girardi and Prime are considering this option because I’d hop on that collection faster than a hungry frog. If you have an hour or two to pick up this tome of terror, I suggest it as an excellent beach vacation reading, airport layover entertainment, or a rainy day treat.

About Nora B. Peevy

Nora B. Peevy is a cat trapped in a human’s body. Please send help or tuna. She toils away for JournalStone and Trepidatio Publishing as a submissions reader, is a co-editor for Alien Sun Press, the newest reviewer for Hellnotes, and has been published by Eighth Tower Press, Weird Fiction Quarterly, and other places. Usually, you can find her on Facebook asking for help escaping from her human body or to get tuna. Tuna is nice. Cats like tuna.

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