Review: The Best Is Yet to Come

The Best Is Yet to Come by John F. Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a collection of short stories. Therefore, I feel like it would be best if I give my thoughts on each story individually. I will then give my final thoughts on the book overall. This review will be a tad longer than my normal reviews. My normal reviews focus on stating what the story is about, my thoughts on it and the characters, my thoughts on the narration when possible, and my overall thoughts of all.

The Chocolate Malt: This one was very tragic and sad. Even though I'm saying this, I still wish some details would have been clarified and explained a little better. Other than that, I really did enjoy the story. It covers some real issues.

The Sweetest Autumn: Couldn't relate to the main character at all. She was full of herself. If she didn't understand it, then it was horrible. She was full of prejudices about almost everything. The message behind the story was pretty amazing.

Lazarus: This was a pretty interesting story. If it ever turns into a series of novels, I'd definitely read it. I kind of wanted more to the story than was given quite frankly. It definitely could have been a lot longer.

The African Princess: This one was a very tragic story. I believe it could cause a bit of triggering due to some sensitive issues that get brought up in this book. It is definitely not a story to read aloud to your children. Then again, I don't think any of the stories in here really are.

Forest Of Shadows: This story disturbed me a bit. It also contains a few adult scenes in it. This is also another story that I felt could have been drawn out to add a bit more context to it. Maybe that's just my opinion.

Hoodratz: This story definitely needs a trigger warning. There are also a few things that I didn't really care for in the book that I don't want to discuss publicly. It is a nice little PSA of the dangers we can get ourselves into, but I'll leave it at that.

The Ivory Christmas: I really enjoyed this story. It was like a fairy tale does adult crime show. It was a refreshing little mix. There was a part that talked about an old tale but gave it a new spin that I thought was nice. The original is super cringy.

The Legend Of MatcheMonedo: This story was completely creepy. I feel like it would be the perfect kind of campfire spooky story. It wouldn't be appropriate for young children, but for older teens and young adults, it would be great. It kind of reads like a mini horror movie honestly.

The Adventures Of Star Blazer: This was a pretty impressive read. I think this is one of my favorite of the stories, to be honest. In my honest opinion, I believe this would be better suited for a novel or novella at the very least. There's a lot more of the story that I would have liked to read. I'd of loved to have been able to connect with the characters more and get to know them.

Witch Way Is Up?: This was my favorite one. It had some Buffy vibes. It also had some True Blood Vibes. I also felt a little Night Myst vibes. I'm not sure if anybody is familiar with that book. I absolutely loved it. I need to go back and read the book again and the rest of the series honestly. I need more! That's all I can say.

I really enjoyed all these stories. I don't think that any of them are completed by any means. I feel like I was basically reading pitches about novels or movies. I feel like a lot could have been added to all of the stories. I also feel like most of the stories could use a bit of a rewrite. They all have amazing potential. I can't wait to see what else this author comes up with!

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