Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Olivia’s Table
Author: Alyssa Wong
In: A Thousand Beginnings and Endings (Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Chinese mythology, Ghosts, Mythology
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Short story
Year: 2018

Thoughts

I love that this short story not only encompassed a part of Chinese culture and mythology, but also the immigration experience and some of the difficulties in combining the two realities. As someone who has no experience (and never will) with either reality, I really liked the insight that Wong was able to provide whilst also just writing a phenomenal short story that I didn’t want to end.

The idea of feeding the ghosts to help them move on is absolutely beautiful and I really enjoyed learning about how they are able to progress to the next part of their afterlife. It also made ghosts less scary, and far more sympathetic. I would’ve though a story about exorcising ghosts was going to be scary. But, instead, I found it incredibly peaceful.

Death and afterlife understandings and rituals are always something that have fascinated me. How do people move on and process loss? I like that Olivia’s Table is all about mourning the lost, and letting people move on, both the living and the dead. Wonderfully enjoyable and definitely a short story that I look forward to reading again in the future!

<- Forbidden FruitSteel Skin ->

Image source: Amazon

Need You Now: A Shattered Promises Series Prelude by Lisa Renee Jones

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Need You Now: A Shattered Promises Series Prelude
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
In: 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Two (Lexi Blake, Larissa Ione, Lisa Renee Jones & Cherise Sinclair)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novella
Year: 2015

Thoughts

There was something that kept pulling me back into this story. It was one that I kept going to DNF, but then a moment would pull me right back in, so I couldn’t quite put it down. I’m glad that I read it. But there were definitely way too many unanswered questions at the end of this. And I probably wouldn’t read it again, but it was still a good story that kept pulling me in.

I found Jenson a little too aggressive for my tastes. I like my men to be a little alpha. But he was a little bit too intense. I get that sometimes people like bodice rippers, but they’re definitely not to my taste. And Jenson is the perfect lead for that genre of story.

Danny was a really fun and enjoyable lead though. She had so many layers and was really easy to follow. Probably the main reason that everytime I felt unsure about this story, I dived straight back in. I did want a bit of a better happily ever after for her though…

<- AzagothShow Me, Baby ->

Image source: Amazon

The Night Calling by Juliana Haygert

Book Review
Overview

Title: The Night Calling
Author: Juliana Haygert
Rating Out of 5: 2 (Managed to read it… just)
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2022

Thoughts

I really liked the idea of this story and novel. But, something about the style of this writing just kept throwing me completely out of the storyline. Every time I started to sink into the writing, I was unceremoniously thrust back into reality. Which isn’t why I like to read books.

Even with the disjoint in the experience, I did find that there were enough mysteries to this story to keep me wanting to read more. But, ultimately, even the great plot line couldn’t keep me engaged enough to want to finish this tale.

Image source: Amazon

The Monster Game by Isobelle Carmody

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for green monkey dreams isobelle carmody book cover

Title: The Monster Game
Author: Isobelle Carmody
In: Green Monkey Dreams (Isobelle Carmody)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Family, Historical fiction
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Year: 1996

Thoughts

Family is always a tricky thing to experience, describe and write about. Often, it is the thing that most destroys us, but also holds us together. This short story was a reminder of all of that darkness, a family trying to survive throughout war. But falling apart as they try to stay together. It honestly hurt my heart to read this tale. But also reminded me to cherish the family I have and the good memories.

There was a dark foreshadowing in the tone of this story from the very beginning. It was pretty obvious from the beginning that there wasn’t going to be a happy ending for these siblings. Plus, that kind of follows the tone of most of the stories in Green Monkey Dreams… there’s a layer of darkness that I haven’t focused in on in a while.

We all play games as children, and sometimes we remember the most random aspects of these games. Yet, sometimes these games and moments of perceived joy hid a greater, and much darker truth. In this case, the ways in which we hide from the truth and try to protect each other…

<- The Lemming FactorCorfu ->

Image source: Allen & Unwin

The Missing Ingredient by Rebecca Roanhorse

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: The Missing Ingredient
Author: Rebecca Roanhorse
In: Hungry Hearts (Caroline Tung Richmond & Elsie Chapman)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Family, Food, Horror
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Year: 2019

Thoughts

I knew from fairly on that the missing ingredient in the mother’s food was going to be heart. I mean, good food always comes from the heart. But, what I really, really didn’t expect was how this story was going to end. That was just disturbed and uncomfortable.

This short story was a whole lot darker than any of the stories in the Hungry Hearts collection so far. And it actually broke my heart a little. I mean, there was dealing with death and the loss of a father. But then the mother-daughter relationship was so completely broken too. And by the end, it was even more disturbingly broken.

The Missing Ingredient was such an amazing story – I honestly need a whole lot more Roanhorse in my life. There is something really intense and wonderful about her words, and I look forward to reading more of her stories in the future.

<- Gimme Some SugarHearts a la Carte ->

Image source: Goodreads

Misbegotten by Kat Parrish

Book Review
Overview

Title: Misbegotten
Author: Kat Parrish
Rating Out of 5: 1 (Couldn’t get past the first page)
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novella

Thoughts

This is the second time that I’ve tried a Kat Parrish novel. Anand it’s the second time that I’ve wanted to love her work, and just didn’t quite get there. I just didn’t have any attachment to the storyline, and characters. I wanted to kind of know what was going to happen, but I really wasn’t all that bothered either.

Image source: Goodreads

Hearts a la Carte by Karuna Riazi

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Hearts a la Carte
Author: Karuna Riazi
In: Hungry Hearts (Caroline Tung Richmond & Elsie Chapman)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Food, Superheroes
Pace: Slow, Medium, Fast
Format: Short story
Year: 2019

Thoughts

Trying to figure out who you are is difficult at the best of times, but trying to do that whilst surrounded by a overbearingly supportive family. And a family business. I love that Minara is trying to sort this out herself, whilst also taking into consideration the feelings of her family and those she cares about. There’s also the beautiful potential romance angle throughout that made this an even cuter coming of age tale.

Hassan / the Comet is a really cute superhero, and I love the randomness of how he and Minara meet. Although the love potential between Hassan and Minara doesn’t exactly bear fruit, I love that even at the end of this short story, there is so much potential for it. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to end on a friendship with potential, rather than the romance to end all romances.

Although this is a bit of a coming of age short story. And a bit of a superhero short story, I love that a whole lot of this tale is fixated on food. I mean, I tend to fixate a little bit too much on food at times, so it makes sense that I would enjoy a story that does the same. It made me want to try a whole new cuisine that I’ve just never had access to…

<- The Missing IngredientBloom ->

Image source: Goodreads

Innocence Lost by Patty Jansen

Book Review
Overview

Title: Innocence Lost
Author: Patty Jansen
Rating Out of 5: 2.5 (Readable, but not worth reading again)
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2014

Thoughts

I really wanted to like this, and I even like the whole idea of this story line. But something about the writing kept flicking me out of the tale. I found it a little clunky and the flow just wasn’t quite right. The premise of this was amazing, but the execution wasn’t quite to my taste.

Image source: Amazon

The Forest by Laird Barron

Book Review, ,
Overview

Title: The Forest
Author: Laird Barron
In: Inferno (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Horror
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Short story
Year: 2007

Thoughts

Something about this short story felt incredibly creepy and goosebump-raising. The entire time I was reading this, I was seriously wigged and uncomfortable. But the kicker? I don’t actually know why this story made me feel that way… which somehow just made it worse. And creepier. Which, of course is kind of why I read horror short stories – for the uncomfortable, creepy feelings.

There were a lot of layers of horror to this story. There were plenty of horrors in the present, but a whole heap in the past as well. And secrets. Which, I swear, sometimes it’s the secrets and realism that make things that little bit more creepy. The scary of the unknown and the knowledge that everyone has secrets helped to add to the layers of this short story – and makes me want to read it again so I pick up on more nuances.

The forest in this story kind of made me think of the Japanese Suicide Forest – in that the forest takes the lives of those who are willing. But, I’m not entirely sure why. It had that eerie feeling of inevitable death throughout. Which kind of made the ending feel a little sad to me – saying goodbye to the future and potential for someone.

<- MisadventureThe Monsters of Heaven ->

Image source: Goodreads

Desperate Choices by Anna Windsor

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of hot romance book cover

Title: Desperate Choices
Author: Anna Windsor
In: The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance (Sonia Florens)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Romantic suspense, Small town romance
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2011

Thoughts

I actually really enjoyed this romantic suspense story – I wasn’t entirely sure how it was even a romance when I first started it, but I was very quickly pulled in. Enjoying it way more than expected. Particularly because it featured a child being kidnapped – something that particularly leaves a horrifyingly sick feeling in my stomach when I read about it.

I love that Leah will stop at nothing to find her nephew, including risking her own life and career. She also talks about crime in her small town like a slow moving rot – one that needs to be dug out by the roots and destroyed. It’s a reminder of how easy it is to become corrupt when those in power are corrupt, or let the evil slide – I kind of want more butt kicking in this world to find that Leah and her beau managed to start making an impact on all of the crime.

There was so much violence and mayhem throughout this story, which seems to be something I seriously enjoy lately. Plus, there was also some yummy lust to keep your toes curling and lighten some of the chaos. I love that this had a happy ending, but with the ability to have so much more chaos and violence in the future.

<- Crimean Fairy TaleSorcery ->

Image source: London Borough of Bexley