Love is a Crematorium and Other Tales

Love Is a Crematorium starts with a strong introduction from Gabino Iglesias, and his promise of what you will find in Mercedes Yardley's stories is fulfilled in the most perfectly gut-wrenching way. 

This is first time I've read Yardley, and if her other works are even half as successful in cutting to the core of what it means to be human and to love, I'll be a lifelong fan.

 
Yardley's language drew me in immediately. Much like Iglesias in his introduction, I was captivated from the very first sentence, "Silva's lover was built of bones she scavenged from the Killing Fields."

To spoil it slightly, the second paragraph begins with the newly-constructed skeleton saying, "Thank you," and I was hooked.

At first glance, the variety of stories in this collection seem to have little in common - a war-torn, even post-apocalyptic dark fantasy,  a fairy tale of New York, modern settings, references from Shakespeare to Stephen King  - but what they have in common is Yardley's language - her turn of phrase and word choice reach from the page (or screen) to bring you into her world so you see what her characters see and feel what they feel.

I read this book too fast. I couldn't stop reading, and I knew I wanted to tell you all about it. The next thing I'm going to do is reread it slowly, savoring the language and taking my time between stories. I encourage you to do the same.

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