Annette's Book Spot: short stories

Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Book Review: Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories (that didn't grab my attention)

Summer Days and Summer Nights is a compilation edited by Stephanie Perkins. I quit reading after five stories. Maybe I'm just not in the mood, but none of these stories really grabbed me.

It's not that they were bad, but they just didn't stand out. They didn't make my heart pound. I didn't connect with the characters. I often have difficulty with short stories because it's hard to connect, but I wanted to give these a chance because I really enjoyed (gave it 5 hats!) My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, also edited by Perkins and written by some of the same authors.

So, like I said, maybe I'm not in the mood. I have too many books I'm looking forward to so I decided to quit on this one.

If you've read this and there is one particular story you think I shouldn't miss, please let me know.

Published by St. Martin's Griffin, May 17, 2016
eARC obtained from NetGalley
156/400 pages

Rating: DNF

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Book Review: My True Love Gave to Me - Twelve Holiday Stories

Twelve heartwarming holiday stories by some of today's best YA authors. What's not to like? My True Love Gave to Me really hit the spot.

All twelve stories have some romance, and some have a paranormal or dystopian element. There wasn't one story I didn't like. And, after all, they are short stories, so even if you don't like it, it's SHORT.

Sometimes short stories don't have enough for me. (I'm not usually a fan.) But each of these stories has enough character, setting, and plot elements to feel complete.

I'm not going to tell you about each story, but here are my three favorites:

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown, by Stephanie Perkins (she also edited the book.)
What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman
Star of Bethlehem, by Ally Carter

I probably chose those because they are the most heartwarming, and after all that's what I wanted in a holiday story. But I wouldn't recommend skipping any of the stories.

If you look at the list of authors for these stories, you can imagine the amount of creativity and beautiful writing contained in these pages. If (or when) you are in the mood for some holiday reading, put My True Love Gave to Me at the top of your list.

Published by St. Martin's Griffin, October 14, 2014
Copy obtained from the library
321 pages

Rating: 5/5

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Book Review: Insanity, by Susan Vaught

I don't usually read book descriptions. As I was reading Insanity, I kept thinking, "this is almost like three separate stories." Well, here's what the amazon.com description says:

"In three connected stories all set in the same mental institution in rural Kentucky, ghosts of a very spooky sort make appearances in dark tunnels, abandoned bell towers and forgotten corners of the basements. Based on real local lore and the actual institution headed by Vaught herself."

Well, now that I know that's what it was supposed to be, I guess I have to reevaluate my opinion.

All of the stories take place in the same, very creepy mental institution. The stories have the same characters, but each is narrated by a different one. And each character has different magical powers. In each story, the danger builds to a crescendo, and then there's a big showdown among the evil spirits and our good guy characters, and there's a victory. Then we start all over from another perspective to battle a different demon.

If you like creepy, scary, disturbing ghost stories, Insanity is for you. Vaught can write scary scenes with some really nasty demons. Each situation is unique, and a different magical trick is pulled out of the hat to prevail.

As far as characters, well, we get to know them, but they aren't normal. I felt some sympathy for them and cared about their well-being. There's a little romance that helps too.

I just wasn't prepared for this type of story. I kept thinking, "well, this is the end right? But, I'm only 25% through the book!" I don't know what to do about this book dilemma. I wish there had been a blurb on the cover or something in the contents to indicate it was SUPPOSED to be three separate stories. Because, I really like to stay away from book descriptions. They often give way too much away. How do you feel about reading book blurbs? Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Recommend Insanity to your teens who like to feel the creeps!

Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens, February 18, 2014
eBook obtained from NetGalley
384 pages

Rating: 3/5

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Book Review: The Assassin and the Underworld, by Sarah J. Maas

It's more suspense and danger for Celaena in The Assassin and the Underworld, the third novella prequel to Throne of Glass.

She's back at the Assassin's Keep and ready to tell Arobynn that she's free - she's brought the gold that was given to her by the Master of the Silent Assassins that will pay for her freedom. But Arobynn has a new mission for her--one that will help end slavery, a mission that Celaena feels very strongly about.

So she waits to tell Arobynn and begins planning how she will accomplish the necessary assassination of a very heavily guarded target. Sam is back in The Assassin and the Underworld, and after some tension between them, he agrees to help Celaena.

There's plenty of fancy parties to go along with the spying and danger--and Celaena finds herself in a serious deadly situation this time. My heart was pounding right along with hers.

After reading three of these novellas, I see a definite pattern. Celaena gets an assignment and ends up almost failing because she is so gullible -- she is duped by people in each of these stories, and ends up in danger every time because of her stupidity.

But...I don't care. I love the sense of adventure. I love watching her relationships develop and change -- with Arobynn and Sam.

I have one more novella to go -- The Assassin and the Empire -- and since I know where Celaena is at the beginning of Throne of Glass, I'm kind of afraid to read it!

These are short, edge-of-your-seat tales that I find entertaining and exciting. It just makes me all the more anxious for book 2 in the Throne of Glass series!

Published by Bloomsbury, May 1, 2012
eBook purchased by me

Rating: 3.5/5

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Book Review: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, by Sarah J. Maas @SJMaas

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord is the first novella prequel to Throne of Glass.

We get to learn about Celaena's past. Sam is a character in The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, but surprisingly, he and Celaena don't get along. (Even though he isn't in Throne of Glass, it appears that Sam and Celaena had at one time at least a friendly relationship, if not a romance.) They are sent on a mission together, to the kingdom of the Pirate Lord. Surprisingly, she and Sam decide to change the mission when they find out they are to bring back a ship full of slaves. In total defiance of their leader, Arobynn, they decide to attempt to free the slaves.

I'm always leery of short stories or novellas. I think I enjoyed The Assassin and the Pirate Lord for a couple of reasons. First, I already knew a bit about the characters and the world, and in particular, Celaena (even if she is a bit older in Throne of Glass.) Second, it is a complete story. There's no huge cliff hanger. Celaena and Sam go on a mission and complete it -- in their own thrilling way, of course.

I'm looking forward to the other three novellas in this series. I can't wait for the sequel to Throne of Glass, but these novellas are the next best thing, and I highly recommend them if you've read Throne of Glass.

Published by Bloomsbury, January 13, 2012
eBook purchased from Amazon
?? pages (1777 kb)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Book Review: Cuentos, by Edwin Stark

Cuentos is a surprisingly good collection of short stories of the horror variety. I say surprising because I’m usually not much of a short story fan, but many of the stories in this collection were “complete” enough to entertain me.

The ebook is devided in sections, the first is stories about vampires, then there are a few apocalyptic/zombie stories, and then the last part contains several science fiction stories involving artificial intelligence.

My favorite was probably one of the vampire stories, "The Recycling Kid," where a 15-year-old kid gets stuck in a sewer with a vampire. I liked how the story unfolded and was resolved.

I find that too many short stories are just an event or just describe a situation. I like any story, whether short or novel length, to have a beginning, a plot, a build up of tension, and an ending. And like I said, most of Stark’s stories had this. The writing is very good. The vocabulary was rich and the descriptions were vivid. The plots are imaginative, believable, and scary. One story is a bit gruesome, and I found myself doing some skimming. There are some grammar and typographical errors which some good editing could easily take care of.

Edwin Stark speaks to the reader between most of the stories, and I think this helps set the stage and added to my enjoyment of the stories. It took me a while to get through these stories. I enjoyed just picking this one up and reading a story or two in between other full-length works. It was a nice change of pace.

If you are a horror fan and are interested in some intriguing short stories, this book is definitely worth your time.

Kindle edition self-published.

217 KB

Copy obtained from the author for review

Rating: 3/5