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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth in Books
Oct 7, 2020
4.5/5 stars! There's nothing more satisfying than a really well written short story, and you'll find lots of these in this collection, which actually has two that are more novella length. Take a look at my #bookreview of this on my blog now. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/02/14/ironic-wit-of-william/
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The 12 Brides of Christmas Collection in Books
Jan 2, 2019
In this collection you will find 12 short stories that are set during the 1800s in the frontier of our expanding country. As the name of the collection proclaims each story highlights a bride's journey to love and romance. This collection has a wide variety of stories and characters. While I thoroughly enjoyed each story, a couple of my favorites were: The Festive Bride by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, The Nutcracker Bride by Margaret Brownley and The Christmas Tree Bride by Susan Page Davis.
What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than 12 novellas written by some of my favorite authors? Each author did a wonderful job of capturing the Spirit of Christmas in just 50 short pages. Every story drew me into the heart of the season. The blessing that God gave us in Jesus' birth is demonstrated beautifully. Love, forgiveness and redemption are the main focus of this collection. If you are looking for a good Christmas read, I recommend this collection. You can read one here and there or burn through the whole collection in a week like I did. Either way, you are sure to enjoy the festivity between the pages.
I received a free digital copy of The 12 Brides of Christmas from Barbour Publishing Inc. through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than 12 novellas written by some of my favorite authors? Each author did a wonderful job of capturing the Spirit of Christmas in just 50 short pages. Every story drew me into the heart of the season. The blessing that God gave us in Jesus' birth is demonstrated beautifully. Love, forgiveness and redemption are the main focus of this collection. If you are looking for a good Christmas read, I recommend this collection. You can read one here and there or burn through the whole collection in a week like I did. Either way, you are sure to enjoy the festivity between the pages.
I received a free digital copy of The 12 Brides of Christmas from Barbour Publishing Inc. through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
An atmosphere that draws you in (2 more)
Beautiful prose
Interconnected short stories
Fairy tales for grown ups
This collection of short stories is set on the island of Neverness. All of the stories are interconnected and characters reoccur as adults after they were in a story as children. We see how an experience in one story then becomes a cautionary tale or a fairytale in another. I loved the atmosphere in this book: menacing, dreamlike, happy, sad - like a fairytale really.
The language used was really very poetic. If you're attracted to this as a Fantasy reader, the language is weighted more on the 'Literary Fiction' side. I like both, and this didn't even occur to me until I read another review on Goodreads! There are plenty of Fantasy writers out there whose prose can be lyrical!
I also liked how the beginning and the end of the book were connected. Very clever, original writing, this is a short story collection that didn't feel to me as though they were short stories. Well worth a read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this gorgeous book!
The language used was really very poetic. If you're attracted to this as a Fantasy reader, the language is weighted more on the 'Literary Fiction' side. I like both, and this didn't even occur to me until I read another review on Goodreads! There are plenty of Fantasy writers out there whose prose can be lyrical!
I also liked how the beginning and the end of the book were connected. Very clever, original writing, this is a short story collection that didn't feel to me as though they were short stories. Well worth a read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this gorgeous book!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2061 KP) rated Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible in Books
Jun 11, 2019
Delicious Short Story Collection
This is a collection of 36 short stories originally available at the Malice Domestic conference in 2019. As the title suggests, each story revolves around food in some way. Whether it’s a poisoned tea party or death by airline food, you’ll find plenty of murder and mayhem here. Some of the authors use this to tell a story with their series sleuths. That’s the case with Parnell Hall, who opens the collection with his puzzle lady, Cora Felton. Some authors take you back in time, like Victoria Thompson. Others weave a great tale with characters created for their story here, like Nancy Cole Silverman.
As if often the case with short story collections, a few weren’t to my taste, particularly those stories where the villain managed to get out of the hot water he or she should have been in. Most, however, are purely delectable, with a fun twist or two along the way to the climax and characters that draw you in. Whether the author included their series characters or not, each story can be read on its own. There might be a wink and a nod that series fans will get, but nothing that will distract you as you sample that author’s world. There aren’t any recipes, but with a book that is almost 400 pages long, it’s hard to imagine how large it would have been if they had included some.
As if often the case with short story collections, a few weren’t to my taste, particularly those stories where the villain managed to get out of the hot water he or she should have been in. Most, however, are purely delectable, with a fun twist or two along the way to the climax and characters that draw you in. Whether the author included their series characters or not, each story can be read on its own. There might be a wink and a nod that series fans will get, but nothing that will distract you as you sample that author’s world. There aren’t any recipes, but with a book that is almost 400 pages long, it’s hard to imagine how large it would have been if they had included some.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2061 KP) rated Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder in Books
Oct 7, 2020
Accept this Invitation to Seventeen Murders
In the seventh short story anthology from the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, each story revolves around an invitation. Some are the obvious invitations for events, but others are a more casual invitation. Either way, they lead to danger of some kind. There’s a mother whose young son is writing a hard-boiled mystery, an escape room that ends in death, a guest who overstays her welcome, bedbugs and murder in London, and a debutant ball in early 1900’s South Carolina. The stories are as varied as their locations, and many are fun. As with every short story collection, not every story will be for every taste. Personally, I found a couple of them too dark to be enjoyable. But the majority of the seventeen stories were a delight. If you are searching for bite sized stories, you’ll be glad you picked up this collection.
Very enjoyable short stories!
This collection of short stories really surprised me. I'm not usually a fan of this type of story (short!), but I seem to be reading more and more of them lately, and I'm beginning to change my mind. Some of these stories are set in Florida, where the natural world seems to be a central theme: uncontrollable, untameable. Two stories are set in France, and another in Brazil. Again, the central characters appear to be in situations where they have no control.
I really enjoyed the stories 'Dogs Go Wolf' where two young girls are abandoned on an island and left to fend for themselves; 'Eyewall', where a woman decides to stay in her home during a hurricane (which I hope never to experience!); 'Above and Below' which tells the story of a young woman who fails her course at university, leaves and becomes homeless. This last story was frankly frightening, as it portrayed how easy it is to become homeless, how little support there is, and how people can become estranged from their families.
A really good collection.
I really enjoyed the stories 'Dogs Go Wolf' where two young girls are abandoned on an island and left to fend for themselves; 'Eyewall', where a woman decides to stay in her home during a hurricane (which I hope never to experience!); 'Above and Below' which tells the story of a young woman who fails her course at university, leaves and becomes homeless. This last story was frankly frightening, as it portrayed how easy it is to become homeless, how little support there is, and how people can become estranged from their families.
A really good collection.
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Spanksgiving: A Collection of Erotic Spanking Stories in Books
Jan 18, 2018
Exactly what it says, nothing more nothing less. Wanting some spicy holiday theme spanking? This is the perfect collection for you. Expect steamy short reads that are perfect if you dont have a lot of time. Even if you dont like one story, move onto the next. There is a story for everyone (barring those who arent into this type of thing, in which case, why are you looking?)
Jodie Barker (70 KP) rated The Last Wish in Books
Nov 19, 2018
This is first book I have read in the Witcher world as I thought it would be best to start with a short story collection since I have only played the third game. I enjoyed the stories and the monsters and I can't wait to read more within this world. I think that it is an interesting world with brilliant characters
The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated The Shipping News in Books
Oct 5, 2020
For those of you who enjoyed my recent review of Annie Proulx’s short story collection that includes the story “Brokeback Mountain,” you might also be interested in seeing my older review of her National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winning novel “The Shipping News.” In that review here, you can read why I thought this book not only deserved that prize, but also why I believe she truly earned the Library of Congress 2018 award for American Literature. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2014/08/09/get-roped-into-this-story/
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories in Books
Jun 24, 2019
It's getting a bit late to post these festive reviews so I'll keep it short. It's only a short book, anyway.
This book contains four short stories, all crime/detective tales, starting with The Mistltoe Murder. My personal favourite was the final story, The Twelve Clues of Christmas. Every story was great, though, and A Very Commonplace Murder was particularly surprising.
James manages to include a fantastic little hint/twist at the end of the stories, changing your whole perception on what you've just read. This made the crimes so much more interesting and real. They were relatively simple crimes - stabbings, poisoning - but there's always a lot more going on under the surface than you'd expect.
A fantastic little collection, with a foreword by Val McDermid too. 4 stars.
This book contains four short stories, all crime/detective tales, starting with The Mistltoe Murder. My personal favourite was the final story, The Twelve Clues of Christmas. Every story was great, though, and A Very Commonplace Murder was particularly surprising.
James manages to include a fantastic little hint/twist at the end of the stories, changing your whole perception on what you've just read. This made the crimes so much more interesting and real. They were relatively simple crimes - stabbings, poisoning - but there's always a lot more going on under the surface than you'd expect.
A fantastic little collection, with a foreword by Val McDermid too. 4 stars.