Rules ~Books must be read during the selected time period. ~Post the date you finished the book. ~All books read for challenges can be used for more than one challenge. ~Books can be either Fiction or Non Fiction. Your choice. ~At the end of the challenge, it will be closed for commenting and moved to the archives folder ~Use the add book/author tool to tag your book within your challenge.
March was an intense month – I started a new job and went from doing 7 hours a week to full time. I was also trying to keep up my training, my reading and my study. It was a good, solid, busy month. One in which I also became an Aunt twice. 🙂
Title: The Glory Days Author: Isobelle Carmody In: Green Monkey Dreams (Isobelle Carmody) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Dystopia, Fantasy Dates read: 31st March 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Allen & Unwin Year: 1996 5th sentence, 74th page: She touched the pencil with the tip of her finger.
The Glory Days are long gone. But some people still remember them…
I always love the post-apocalyptic feeling of Isobelle Carmody’s writing. There is just something so poignant about it all. And she always points out the things that are horribly wrong with our society. And honestly, this short story was no exception.
Ultimately, I finished this short story with a hurt-heart feeling. It was just… intense. There is something about looking at our society and reflecting that can really and seriously pull on the heart strings.
The key words that jumped out at me with this story – sorrow, anguish, betrayal, pain and love…
Title: (Like a) Virgin of the Spring Author: Susan Sizemore In: The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance (Sonia Florens) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Paranormal romance, Time travel Dates read: 31st March 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: She was looking at him with enough pride in her eyes to set his heart on fire.
She’s a time travelling researcher who is stuck out of her time. But, when this Priestess finds herself rescued, she manages to find a whole lot more.
I really loved all of the unexpected twists and turns throughout this short story. At the beginning, I had no idea that there was a time travel aspect to this story. And when I found out that there was and started putting things together… well, I just continued to fall more and more deeply in love with this story.
There is a whole heap of lust throughout this story as well. It’s a bit intense at times, but, honestly, in the best way possible. I love that you can feel the heat just slipping off the pages… it made it very fun and spine tingling to read. But, I’m coming to expect that from Susan Sizemore.
As with many short stories that I enjoy – I want more. I loved this idea of time travelling and felt like it was executed very, very well. Not something that I can always say about time travel stories. But, alas, I think that this might be a standalone. One that I’ll just have to read again.
Title: Where Nightmares Walk Author: Melissa Marr In: Faery Tales & Nightmares (Melissa Marr) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Paranormal fantasy Dates read: 31st March 2021 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: HarperCollins Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: It doesn’t stop me as I try to heave myself higher.
We all have nightmares, but some of us need to run a little further than others…
This is a ridiculously short, short story. To the point that I wasn’t even sure whether to count it as a story read… but then I really enjoyed it and realised that I wanted to write about it. So I figured that that was fine. I mean, even the collection didn’t number the pages of this short story, but instead, had the roman numerals on all of the pages.
Having said all that, I absolutely adored this short story. It felt like a nightmare somehow. Just as reading nightmares should feel and sound. Or at least, that’s how I would explain it / how it felt to me. There was just a great surreal and abstract feel to this tale. One that perfectly sets up the writing by Melissa Marr that I’m sure is about to follow.
All in all, this short story was very haunting and beautiful. I loved the feeling that reading these few pages inspired in me and it made me want to pick up the Wicked Lovely books all over again and actually get to the end of the series for the first time!
Lazy days… steamy nights… and sweltering guys with rippling muscles doing what they do best…
Lucious by Lori Foster Bethany Churchill just quit her lousy job, dumped her lousy boyfriend and moved into a new apartment. She’s not looking for love, but her hot new landlord is determined to change her mind. SWAT officer Lucius Ryder – known to the women in the building as “Luscious”, much to his chagrin – is one sexy lawman, and before long Bethany is tempted to find out if he’s really as delicious as his nickname…
It’s About Time by Erin McCarthy County prosecutor Trish Jones has had it with smooth-talking, under-performing suits. and though she’s never had a thing for big, brawny guys, one look at Caleb Cancouver’s bulges makes her think she might have been missing out. One Harley ride later they’re back at her place, and she realizes that she has been missing out… on quite a lot…
Wish You Were Here by Amy Garvey Photographer Mackenzie Pruitt knows exactly what she wants her future to look like, and this summer that means renovating a dilapidated shed into a studio. But when hunky carpenter Leo Dawson shows up, she’d much rather have his capable hands on her than on a hammer. He’s not the kind of guy she always thought she’d fall for, but when he touches her, she can’t imagine wanting anyone else…
This collection is filled with three very fun and cute contemporary romance stories. They took me on a great summer journey that left me smiling and believing in true love. It was a wonderful way to spend a few afternoons, filling my time with novellas of cuteness and romance.
I could most definitely imagine reading this collection on the beach somewhere. Enjoying the romances and the adventures of the characters. Sadly, I didn’t get the privilege of reading this on the beach. But everytime I turned a page, I just imagined that I was there anyway.
I already knew that I love Foster and McCarthy. Garvey was an entirely new author for me. One that I found I unexpectedly enjoyed. They took me on some wonderful adventures that I will probably repeat again in the future.
Title: A Universe of Wishes Author: Tara Sim In: A Universe of Wishes (Dhonielle Clayton) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fantasy, LGBTQI, Young adult Dates read: 31st March 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Crown Year: 2020 5th sentence, 74th page: “If you make this wish come true,” the boy said, holding up the figurine, “then yes.”
He’s been storing up his wishes for something big and important. But what he might find on the journey could be everything he ever needed.
This was an absolutely fantastic short story. In fact, I made sure that I added a Tara Sim novel to my wish list the moment I finished this. It was just great, fantastic and fun. The fact that it featured a queer relationship alongside wishes and desires made me ridiculously happy. Particularly when you added in that final splash of magic.
Sage and Thorn are one of the most gorgeous couples. They are just cute and I like how their relationship slowly grew. It wasn’t a love at first sight, sappy story. But just one that I ultimately enjoyed for the sake of enjoying the romance. Plus, the way that their story ended was seriously brilliant. It made me want more stories set in this world!
There is power to wishes and desires. I mean, there’s a pretty strong reason why they feature so strongly in many of the stories that I read. This short story really drove that wonderful idea home and made me think of what I wish for in life.
Title: Hollywood Lanes Author: Megan Abbott In: Murder and Mayhem in Muskego (Jon & Ruth Jordan) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Crime, Thriller Dates read: 31st March 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Down and Out Books Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: She was talking about Sherry.
Hollywood Lanes is a bowling alley filled with a lot of drama and intrigue. But that doesn’t mean that it’s a positive place to be.
I knew from the collection that I found this short story in that there would be a death at some point in this story. What I didn’t predict was the form of death and the victim. Or how the story would get there. It was seriously enjoyable and a fun little ride.
One of the aspects of this story that I thoroughly enjoyed was the flickering point of views. It made this story a little more difficult to follow in some ways and added to the confusion of the tale. All of which works well for a crime and thriller story.
I’m completely intrigued by this short story. It is one that I will probably read again, find some new aspects that I missed in the last read through. It’s a fun adventure, and one that I found I enjoyed far more than expected, particularly since it’s a genre that I don’t normally read much in.
Title: Snow, Glass, Apples Author: Neil Gaiman In: By Blood We Live (John Joseph Adams) & Smoke and Mirrors (Neil Gaiman) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Horror, Retellings, Vampires Dates read: 31st March 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Night Shade Books Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: He rode with a small retinue: large enough to defend him, small enough that another monarch – myself, for instance – would not view him as a potential threat.
This is the true story of Snow White… one that will leave you feeling seriously uncomfortable.
I’ve read quite a few theories that state that Snow White is a vampire. Which seriously makes a deep, dark, twisted kind of sense. Apparently Gaiman feels the same. And this completely supported the theory in the creepiest most disgusting of ways possible. I’m glad that before I started reading this, there was actually a bit of a warning… it definitely helped prepare me for the ick factor that this awesome short story had.
Not only does this short story deal with vampires, and snow white. There is also necrophilia and all sorts of hints of bad things that I don’t necessarily want to think about. Again, seriously glad that there was a disclaimer at the beginning. But it didn’t stop me from being unable to put the story down and stop thinking about it.
This retelling is dark, twisted and truly glorious. I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it. Which is probably one of the many reasons why I loved it so much. That, and, you know, I just tend to love everything I’ve read by Neil Gaiman.
Earth and Skye 