Hearts & Other Dead Things by
by Angelika Rust  (Author), Charlotte Stirling (Illustrator), Catherine Lenderi (Editor)

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Synopsis:
Jeremy wants Maggie back. Rosa hates Simon. Adam can't get laid. Graham hates cats. Maisie brings her new boyfriend home to meet Mom and Dad. Yuki wants revenge. Jake really should get over his dead girlfriend. Bradley gets offered a donkey. Doris should know better. And Peter calls a number, hoping for a good time. 

Reader review submitted to Book Club via Rukia Publishing

4****
Varied stories which kept me reading
By Rukia the Reader on March 4, 2016

This was not my usual preferred genre; as an anthology the book is made up of diversified short stories, romance, horror, sci-fi, inter mingled with poetry, and in general, is well written.
I began reading the first short story about a self help group and slowly became interested as to where this particular story was leading. The conversations varied from irrelevant to interesting and yes, the ending did leave me thinking that there was a lesson to be learnt. Then came a short piece of prose which I thought at the time to be out of place. This was followed by another short story, more prose, and I suddenly realized I was actually beginning to enjoy most of the stories in this book.
Each story had its own meaning, from unrequited love and robotic chairs to zombie dating. The various pieces of prose served to refresh the palette ready for the next change of short story genre.
Although at first I had pre-conceived ideas as to what reader satisfaction I would get from this book, I found that I did enjoy the change of topics, underlying meanings and even refreshing poems.
The only negative was that the cover does not portray the variation of reading enjoyment inside

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Gifts from the Dark: A Miscellany of Dread by 
Angelika Rust (Author),
Catherine Lenderi (Editor)
Charlotte Stirling (Designer)

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Synopsis:
A stalker, leaving a trail of paper roses. A recurring nightmare, suddenly real. A young mother, fleeing those who want to take her child. An old lady, left alone in a strange land. A man, driving to see his girlfriend, on a road where a serial killer roams. A woman, striking a deal with the king of hell to save her soul. A collection of stories & poems, each a small gift from the dark place where fear and dread dwell. Cake & Quill - Writing for the Greater Good since 2015 http://cakeandquill.wordpress.com Authors are: Charlotte Stirling, S.A. Shields, Chloe Hammond, J.R. Biery, James Warren McAllister, W.D. Frank, Tina Rath, Rubianne Wood, Angelika Rust, Russell Cruse, T.M. Hogan, J. Cassidy, Donald B. Stephens, Tom Greenwood, Adam Oster, Bradley Darewood

Reader Review submitted by Book Club representative John Lock

4****
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The foreword informs the reader that a group of writers got together, picked a theme (Dread) and then collated their individual contributions to form an anthology of short stories and poems. Whilst a couple of these contributions did appear to be hastily compiled, the majority were well thought out and effectively written.
 
From the opening story depicting the dread of an unknown stalker, to the final contribution of a serial killer on the 10 Freeway, the stories, in the main, are as portrayed, dark and anxiety-inducing. The poems are thought-provoking, from the threat of Mr. Bark to the poignant Wrath Of A Limbless God.
 
Whilst maybe not everybody's genre, the stories are written with a trait of fear and dread, sometimes punctuated with subtle humour, but always interesting.
 
Gifts From The Dark is a balanced collection of stories and prose which enhance the dark side of our minds. The proceeds of this book are going to a well deserved charity and is therefore, well worth a read.