From start to finish this kept me on my toes.
Rating: 4/5
Some pranks go too far. This one could be deadly.
Harley has the perfect boyfriend. Why can’t her best friend see that? He’s nothing like the others, especially the one who still haunts her memories. She’s finally picked a “keeper” with Aiden.
Sure, he’s a bit eccentric. His wood carving hobby is a little odd. His need for isolation while he carves his life-size female figurines is strange. And maybe his obsession with pranks, or "scares" on Harley goes a little too far. But what do you expect? Aiden’s an artist.
Harley has finally picked the perfect boyfriend. That’s why this year, Harley ignores all her best friend’s warnings. She has the ultimate surprise planned for Aiden’s birthday, one that’s going to help her get even in their battle to out-prank each other.
She hides in his apartment, excitedly waiting to pull off the scare of a lifetime…
But then he comes home, and Harley witnesses a different side of her boyfriend. The side that exists behind closed doors when he doesn’t know anyone’s watching.
Is this just one of his scares? Or is there something more sinister lurking behind his playful nature? Harley’s about to find out.
Content Warning: Sexual Assault
This was a great horror short story! Jeremy Ray is such an imaginative author. This was my third short story from him and he’s yet to disappoint. They’ve all been wildly different from each other, too. And Petrified Women is simply captivating! From start to finish this kept me on my toes.
Petrified Women is simply captivating! From start to finish this kept me on my toes.
The premise follows Harley, whose boyfriend, Aiden is obsessed with pulling scare pranks. And Harley is terrible at them and has yet to truly land a good scare on Aiden. However, this time Harley has a plan. A plan to scare Aiden so well that she’ll finally have the top scare. Harley hides in Aiden’s apartment waiting patiently to pull it off when Aiden comes home. But, he’s not alone. Harley witnesses a whole new side of him. Is this one of his scares or something worse?
This being my third read from Jeremy Ray, I had no idea what to expect. His previous two books were nowhere near the same, so I went in with zero expectations when it was time to read this one. Petrified Women falls under the same genre as his debut story, The Gatherings, that being Horror. However, where The Gatherings was solely Horror, I found Petrified Women to also fall under Suspense Thrillers giving it its own unique feel.
This book flows so well! Being just under 100 pages, this is filled with such a captivating story. It will keep you engaged all the way through. I’ll admit I can’t say I was surprised by the ending, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it any less. Even though, I half expected it, it was still shocking to read. I truly enjoyed every minute of reading this.
It will keep you engaged all the way through.
If you enjoy horror stories filled with suspense and a hint of supernatural, then I highly recommend trying this one!