This was a very intense and emotional short story. A little slow to get going, but once it picked up speed… it was hard to put it down. Kristoffdoes a great job of world building and bringing you into the intrigue that is to be The Lotus Wars series.
Kristoff’s world building is absolutely phenomenal in this short story. I was expecting good world building, but this was of a totally different calibre. I can’t wait to dive into the rest of this series. I mean, this is a steampunk, dystopia feeling world. Full of politics, conflict and magic.
I absolutely adored this short story, and now I can’t wait to read the first book in The Lotus Wars series. I mean, I kind of expected that from Kristoff, but it was nice to have the confirmation.
Although this is a novella length tale, it’s kind of structured like a short story. I mean, there is one chapter and it’s definitely slightly shorter than the other novellas in the Huntress collection. It was, a lot of fun to read. A good, slightly dark and fun story.
I must admit, Jack is an absolute idiot. I mean, he knows that the woman coming onto him is no good. And yet, he still decides to mess around with her. Which just leads to his entrapment. I mean, honestly mate. It was more than a little ridiculous and see-through of her motivations. Serious fool.
There are two potential romantic interests in this story. And I’m really annoyed that the one who was actually kind and good ended up being consumed. I think it was consumed, I’m not even 100% on that to be honest. Then, the manipulative, horrible woman gets to ride off, happily into the sunset. Not quite the ending that I wanted.
I really enjoyed this, as I’ve enjoyed all of the stories by Kittredge. Fun and dark. Just how I sometimes like my tales of magic and mayhem.
Sadly, I haven’t gotten as far into the Night Huntress series as I want. Mostly because I’m kind of a series slut and tend to jump around a lot. But, it’s definitely one that I continuously enjoy picking up. And every time I read anything set in this world, I’m reminded why I find this series so exciting and interesting. Alright, this novella takes place a bit further down in the series order, but it was still exciting and seriously enjoyable. There were a few spoilers for things that are going to come up. But, with the way I jump around, I’ll probably have forgotten about some of them by then anyway.
I love that this is a story about Cat just trying to have a nice, relaxing girls’ weekend. And that it completely goes off rails and doesn’t go to plan. I mean, it wouldn’t be a story featuring Cat if anything actually went according to plan. Particularly a weekend that is all about relaxing… instead, Cat and her girlfriend get witch cults, horrors and some kind of ocean goddess. Although, surprisingly there are some survivors at the end… left on purpose and I liked the rationale for not just killing everyone.
Drunk Cat is one of the more humorous things I’ve read in a book in a little while. I mean, she is literally trying to fight the floor. And determined to still go out and kill a bunch of people. Typical Cat stubbornness, and seriously funny in that she actually succeeds in her goals. As bloody and violent as they are.
Through all of the drama and violence, Cat is trying so dang hard to figure out how to be a good mum. As a new mum myself, I understand some of this guilt and challenge. The fact that her child is actually a teenager and was trained to kill… a little bit harder than what I’ve had to go through. Her way of being a good parent and the compromise she reaches at the end is brilliant and reminded me why I love this author and series so much.
I seriously love the idea of a pirate taking back what is historically hers. It’s a reminder of the horrors of colonisation and how there is a lot to atone for. The fact that the lead voice in this has lost family not once, but twice to the empire and is constantly fighting to survive… a wonderful, albeit sad, story line.
There is a great meet cute and potential for romance in this story. Although it is subtle and not overt, there is so much potential at the end of this tale. I almost wish that it was a prequel to a greater series. I love the idea of the two characters getting to know one another and also just… stealing back things from the empire.
Two displaced youths fighting to regain their identities and what was taken for them is a good story in and of itself. The humour and banter just adds to the enjoyment of the whole story. As does the open-ended ending – so much potential for the future.
This novella wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but also seriously good. However, there was definitely more of an ick factor than I was anticipating… the lead was definitely more of a grey hero than anything. She had good motivations, but she also didn’t necessarily have innocence on her side. Plus, at the beginning I thought that Irdu would be the romantic interest – they had the set up for it. But, nothing, and I repeat nothing turned out as I anticipated.
Although I don’t necessarily agree with all of the choices made throughout this story, I do love that the lead will do pretty much anything to chase down someone she cares about. I mean, there are constant moments throughout this where she is questioning her decisions, but she is still driven by her loyalty. Honestly, if I end up in a post-apocalyptic world, I would want someone like The Fixer on my side.
I really loved the Crow shapeshifter in this novella. There was a bit of a driving off into the sunset feeling with him, but nothing overt. He is also obviously loyal, although I’m still vague on the motivations if I’m being honest. He was a great alternative romantic entanglement that worked a lot better for my happiness.
This was a fantastic novella. One that I seriously enjoyed, but also couldn’t quite understand all of. I feel like I could reread this multiple times, and not quite get all of the nuances throughout…
I loved every single one of these three novellas. One of those anthologies that I’m glad I have on the shelves. And one that I look forward to reading again and again. I mean, I kind of figured that would be the case because I’ve read all of these authors before and loved them all. But, it was still nice to be right in that assumption.
It comes as absolutely no surprise that I loved all of the series that these stories feature in. Two of which I’d already started reading, one of which I had in my TBR anyway. Now I just want to dive into these urban fantasy series all over again.
Even though all three novellas have that same summer vibe throughout this collection, they all have a wonderfully unique flavour. I love that there is the chilling with friends, enjoying a vacation feel, which goes completely belly up in every one of the stories. But, the ways that chaos hits the group is completely different for each tale.
A brilliant collection, one that I was completely in love with from the very first moment.
This is a fantastic collection, with the vast majority of the short stories set in the Wicked Lovely world. Although this did give me some spoilers for the series, it was still fun and tantalising to constantly visit that world – one that I’ve always enjoyed, just not quite gotten around to finishing yet. But, having all of these wonderful spoilers has just made me all that much more keen to dive back into the series.
I seriously loved jumping in and out of the Wicked Lovely world. Sometimes it’s just nice to briefly visit a world, without having to commit to a full-length novel. I loved that I could do this with this collection, take a brief pause, but not get too distracted from day-to-day responsibilities.
Even though I really enjoyed reading this, admittedly, I think that I would have been better off reading this collection after finishing the Wicked Lovely series. It was intriguing to get all of these tantalising hints, but it also gave away so many twists and spoilers! It’s made it a little less climatic to jump into the other stories and given away a few things that would have made me completely intrigued to read the actual series.
Every single story in this collection (whether a Wicked Lovely story or one that stands alone) was brilliant. And fun. And had those wonderfully dark twists of the fae. I love that these stories weren’t innocent and covered in cheerful faery dust. But filled with the more traditional ideas of fae.
This is a very sweet and simple short story. Not sweet in a romantic, happily ever after way, but rather, in its simplicity. It does fit within the Wicked Lovely world in that it is based around the Summer King and the fae. But beyond that, it’s a great little standalone. At least, that’s how I read it in my current position within my read of this series.
This is a great story about the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It’s a reminder that each season has it’s own beauty and serves its own purpose. And that the end of one season of our lives is just the beginning of the next.
I think I know what decision I would have chosen at the end of this tale. The choice to be a never-ending youth dancing in summer, or someone who gets to grow old and experience the new in winter. I mean, you’d never truly know… but I definitely know which decision calls to me.
I really need to read more of the Wicked Lovely series… I love these short stories for the enjoyment that they are in and of themselves. But, it’s a bit hard to place them within the context of the greater series. Because I’m not very far into it. That, and I keep getting spoilers about some pretty major developments…
I enjoyed getting to know Seth more in this short story. He’s someone that I fell in love with very quickly in Wicked Lovely, and reading more about not just him, but also his briefly touched upon parents… priceless. That, and you also get to know his fae family a little better.
Seth and Niall have a fantastic friendship, one I want to read more about in the future. It’s definitely a loyalty you don’t see often. In real life or literature.
Although I really enjoyed this short story, as I enjoy all the writings of Melissa Marr that I’ve had the pleasure of reading thus far. I do need to read a bit more of the Wicked Lovely series to gain some context to this one. It was great, I understood it and I enjoyed it. But I also had no idea what had happened between Ink Exchange and this moment. Absolutely no clue. And I feel like not only did I get some spoilers, but I didn’t appreciate some of the more wonderful nuances of this tale.
I did hate how broken Rabbit obviously was in this story though. He’s such a sweet secondary character in the stories that I’ve read, so I want more of him as I delve further into this series. I feel like his backstory is complex and fascinating. One that will be fun to read more of. And I definitely felt for him in this tale. A feeling of loss and emptiness was definitely full throughout this.
One of the things I loved about this was the fact that Rabbit’s “mate” just decided on him. And decided to move in with him. The connection between them is obvious from the beginning, but it is mostly this beautiful, understated one that makes you realise that sometimes partnership comes on slowly. I also really enjoyed how she just decided on him, whether he wanted to dive in or not.
Then there’s the imagery of cotton candy skies. They feel beautiful and picturesque to me. Something that I really enjoyed. And honestly dreamt about at night after finishing this short story.
Earth and Skye 