Vacations from Hell (book review)

Vacations from Hell is a story anthology with contributions by Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Mlynowski.

In the first story, "Cruisin'," Kristin finds herself on a cruise ship rumored to be plagued by a mysterious vampire. But no one will ever suspect the truth...

"I Don't Like Your Girlfriend," is the story of two enemies who are forced to bunk with each other for a week in a tiny, claustrophobic cabin. The only catch? They're both witches!

In "The Law of Suspects," sisters Marylou and Charlotte are enjoying a peaceful, if strange, vacation in the French countryside...that is, until Charlotte meets two mysterious young men and uncovers an ancient curse...

"The Mirror House," takes place in sunny Jamaica. Violet is on a vacation with her mother, stepfather, and stepbrother on an island paradise, but she's not having any fun. She's mostly bored, and concerned about her stepfather abusing her mother...that is, until she questions a servant and discovers that the beautiful woman living next door is really a witch--and she's preying on Violet's stepbrother's soul!

The final story in the book, "Nowhere is Safe," is by far the scariest of them all. It is the story of four young backpackers journeying deep into a European forest. Little do they know that one of them will soon become the subject of an unpleasant prophecy, and that they will soon participate in a gruesome ritual and witness an uprising of the dead to get revenge for their unfair murder.


Overall, this anthology was very good. There was a nice mix of funny and scary stories in it. However, the last one was kind of disturbing, but still very good writing. I would definitely recommend these stories to fans of horror!

This book is for the RIP IV Challenge.