Today for your Weekend Reads, I thought I’d bring back Saturday Shorts. When I first started the blog, I was reading a lot of short stories in between my longer reads and I thought “How cool would it be to have a feature devoted just to those?” Well it was cool but after all of 4 months I ran out of novellas for review which is why it changed to what you now know as Weekend Reads. This feature is really anything I want it to be 😉 So today I have some fun short stories and one novella to share with you from authors Petra March, Hanna Peach, and Echo Shea.
I received this book via . This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Light a Candle for the Beast by Echo Shea Published by Roane Publishing on 2014-11-26
Length: 24 pages
Reviewing eARC Rating:
If you’ve ever been caught in a riptide, pulled down into the water, then you know me. Or, more accurately, what I’m like when I’m angry.
Delia was beautiful, smart, and kind. He wasn’t. He said he loved her, but he didn’t know what love was. He was manipulative and cruel—more than a thief. A beast.
All she wanted was a rose…
These are the words on my sister’s grave. Her sadness, her obsession, forever a reminder I didn’t--couldn’t save her.
I’m not vindictive or cruel. I’m simply as the river--my memory is winding and my reach is long. I watched him steal her beauty, her essence. Watched him become a beast. He thought he'd get away with it, thought he'd go free.
I lay a rose upon my sister's grave.
Light a candle for the beast.
Light a Candle for the Beast by Echo Shea is the shortest book I read in 2015, clocking in at 24 pages. But within those 24 pages is a short, horrific retelling of Beauty and the Beast that should not be missed.
Eden is not quite human, she’s of the water, a trait she inherited from her grandmother. She watches as those she loves moves on with their lives and she has the power to grant wishes or curses. When her beautiful sister Delia wishes for a child, thinking that would cure her abuse husband, Eden grants it but at a high price.
Andrew, Delia’s husband, was a cruel man who did cruel things to Delia and she dies waiting on him to return to her. Eden in her own grief, blames Andrew and curses him to the purgatory where she keeps him for 200 years and he becomes the monster he was on earth. Delia begins haunting Eden, asking for Andrew’s release. Only someone as kind as Delia would wish that and Eden has the power to grant it, but will she?
Beautifully written with haunting detail, the characters come to life within the pages as Delia’s sad story unfolds. I enjoyed this short tale, finding the characters have stuck with me far longer than I thought they would. If you are looking for a quick read or a fan of the classic, I highly recommend you read this book.
Final Conclusion:
Drake/Keir: Girl Wife Prisoner retold by Hanna Peach Series: ,
Published by Gypsy Publishing on 2015-11-17
Length: 162 pages
Reviewing eARC Rating:
Please finish reading Girl Wife Prisoner before starting this book as it contains spoilers
Drake
I am Drake Blackwell. Some call me a monster, a wicked husband, a terrible son. It’s so easy to vilify me, isn’t it?
But I’m not the cheater. I’m not the wife stealer.
Noriko was mine. She was my wife. I could have made her happy if it just wasn’t for him. That gardener boy will have his chance to tell you his side of the story.
Here’s the truth.
Keir
Noriko and I.
You already know our story. So you know how it ends. I’m sorry. Some things are irreversible.
But others things, things like dreams for example, are not. Dreams are fluid as water, as changeable as the memory of the dreamer. Perhaps, then, I may be given license to re-tell our story the way I dreamed it. The way it should have been…
What if…
Please note that this review is only of Drake’s portion and not the entire novella.
OMG!!! This was fantastic!! I really enjoyed Hanna Peach’s newest book Girl Wife Prisoner, which is a tragic story about love and redemption. If you’ve not read it yet, STOP READING NOW!!! This novella is meant to be read after the novel as there are some major spoilers within the book.
Drake is Noriko’s husband and in his novella we see the story unfold from his POV. I immediately was drawn to Drake in the novel so I was really excited to read his story! The novella begins a few months before the Girl Wife Prisoner. Drake has just discovered that he has a bad heart and is dying when he founds out about the Good Wife program. He immediately finds a picture of Noriko and falls for her, his ideal wife, at least in his imagination.
Drake is a character that you love to hate and when seeing things from his own perspective, I found myself actually disliking his new wife a bit. Drake was nervous to meet her, shy, and utterly taken with his wife. The problem with his thinking is that he sees her as a possession. Yet she awakens things within him that have been long buried, like what happened with his parents for instance. He has some serious anger issues but the number one thing wrong with his relationship with Noriko from the beginning is that they do not communicate and so assumptions ruin their fledgling relationship before it really has the chance to begin.
Overall this was an excellent addition to Girl Wife Prisoner especially if you wanted more insight in the crazy husband as I did. Drake is a character I won’t forget. He was perfect and would have made a great husband for Noriko if given the opportunity AND if he had set aside his need for control. If you enjoyed the book, like new adult romantic suspense, I highly recommend you check this one out!
Final Conclusion:
About Hanna Peach
Hanna is the bestselling author of the Bound romantic suspense series and the Dark Angel fantasy series. Although she writes in more than one genre she can’t write a book without weaving together a complicated plot and filling it with twists. She writes what she believes: good people can do bad things, ordinary people can do great things, and choose love above everything.
Eternally restless, Hanna has lived in Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Scotland, England, Croatia and Ireland – everything she owns fits into one suitcase. She’s planning her next move with her gorgeous (and understanding) partner right now. If not writing, she can be found wandering a dusty market in Marrakesh or trekking a mountain in Peru, often using her travels as settings in her novels.
To WIN a copy of her next release go to www.hannapeach.com/subscribe.
All the Skies I Will Not See by Petra March Series: ,
Published by Self Publish on 2015-06-09
Length: 37 pages
Reviewing eARC Rating:
It takes 7 seconds to crash.
It takes 3 seconds to fall in love.
It takes an infinite moment to let go.
David Medwin's life is fading away, and all he can think about is what it means to be alive.
An intense story about life, death and, most of all, love.
All the Skies I Will Not See by Petra March is side story from her book A Veil of Glass and Rain which I have not read. That being said it did not affect my opinion one way or the other having read the story. This short story begins and ends with tragedy. David, Eagan’s best friend, lies dying on the road after a car accident and begins recounting the high moments of his life.
Told in past and present POV as David drifts in and out of consciousness, he recounts his road to self-discovery and his biggest regret. I was torn with the character as he relived some of his most intimate memories and biggest secrets. My heart-broke for him and having not read the original story I was really hoping for a different ending, one that saw David moving on with his life. But the tragedy of David’s story is also one of inspiration, a reminder to live life to the fullest.
Overall, David’s story is moving and touching. It left me sad and wishing for different things for this young man’s life. If you enjoyed the original book or you are looking for a quick read, this is the book for you….just be sure to have to tissues on hand!
Final Conclusion:
Squee!!! <3 I'm doing a happy dance and now I've got some new authors to check out as well. 🙂