Category Archives: Science Fiction and Fantasy

A Review of The Parched Lands

Book cover for The Parched Lands by N.A. Ratnayake. Image on cover is a black and white photo of several people sitting in an airport waiting room. There is not enough light in the room to make out their individual features, just to see the silhouette of their tired, slumped-over bodies against the massive windows behind them. Title: The Parched Lands 

Author: N.A. Ratnayake

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 14, 2018

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: About 18 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Amanthi is a teenage student in a not-so-distant future school system of hyper-testing and top-down control. In this world, creativity is a liability — but Amanthi is not deterred from dreaming. THE PARCHED LANDS delves into the tangled issues of race, tracking, high-stakes testing, and creativity starvation that run through America’s public school systems. This short story was published as a part of Crossed Genres Magazine 2.0, Issue 7: Expectations.

Review:

Knowledge is power.

Amanthi was a brave and likeable protagonist who I wish I could have spent more time with. It takes courage to stand up against a system that one has never lived outside of, especially for a teenager who also wishes to fit in with her peers and reach her academic goals. Some of my favourite scenes involving her were the ones that showed what she was like when she wasn’t trying to remain at the top of her class. While academics are important, they are only one piece of the puzzle that can be used to describe what someone is like, and they cannot be used to explain someone’s heart and soul.

I found myself wishing for more levels of meaning in this short story. The premise was straightforward, and its criticisms of modern educational culture, while completely justified in my opinion, followed that same path. This could have easily been a five-star read for me if the author had dug more deeply into the themes to reach the centre of what is wrong with things like large language models and the incessant focus on testing  at the expense of creativity and lifelong learning in many schools.

Despite this, I did enjoy the world building in this piece. The educational system in this vision of the future was so focused on pushing up grade point averages and test results that it was overlooking the many other ways someone can find success not only in life but also in their personal development. I nodded along as I read the descriptions of the body modifications that students underwent in order to get as much out of them as possible in the classroom. While it was obviously an exaggeration of what actually happens in the classroom, the emotions connected to the commodification of learning were eerily similar in real life and in fiction.

The Parched Lands made me wish for a sequel.

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A Review of Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025

Book cover for Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025 (Hearth Stories Book 4) by J.C. Pillard, Erin Keating, Amanda Fetters, Alicia Adams, T.R. Steele, Kendra Recht, T.S. Weaver, and Christian Emecheta. Image on cover is a drawing of green leaves still sprouting from the tiny branch they grew on. The leaves are long and thin with rough edges and curl slightly at their ends. They are set against a black background. Title: Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025 (Hearth Stories Book 4) 

Author: J.C. Pillard, Erin Keating, Amanda Fetters, Alicia Adams, T.R. Steele, Kendra Recht, T.S. Weaver, and Christian Emecheta

Publisher: Heart Stories

Publication Date: June 18, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ+, Romance, Historical

Length: About 110 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the publisher.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Hearth Stories is a speculative fiction magazine focused on cozy fantasy stories. Each issue features a letter from the editor, author bios and interviews, and wonderful stories focused on family, home life, connection, and the natural world.

This issue features the following stories:

A Different Kind of Worship by J.C. Pillard

The Washing Witch by Erin Keating

The Braided Lintel by Amanda Fetters

To the Scribe Who Reads This by Alicia Adams

No More Walls by T.S. Weaver

An Ordinary Love Story by Christian Emecheta

Content Warning: A terminal illness, aging, grief, and death.

Review:

Anything is possible when the forests are filled with the energy and life that summer brings.

In “A Different Kind of Worship,” a minor god named Salix sat at the bedside of his last worshipper, Ruldi. When Ruldi died, so would Salix, but for now they shared the same peaceful existence in a small home together. I adored Salix’s gentle and kind personality and was curious to discover how he would spend his final days. While I can’t discuss the plot twists in this story without sharing spoilers, I can say they were just as beautiful and meaningful as the protagonist was and I finished the final paragraph with a tear gleaming in my eye and a smile on my lips. This would have made an incredible short film!

The first sentence of “Fully Formed” in which the narrator explained that nobody wanted to let Rowan bury his golden apple beetle pupae in their gardens immediately piqued my curiosity. It seemed like such a minor favour to give that I couldn’t imagine saying no to it, but I wanted to learn more. This was an excellent example of how to include world building into a short story that entices the reader to keep going. While I can’t go into much detail about it without sharing spoilers, I can say that the folklore surrounding beetles and apple trees was particularly lovely.

The relationship between Linden and Marna in “An Ordinary Love Story” was sweet and gentle, but what drew me into this chapter of their lives even more deeply was the time they spent learning how to be healers. It was an apprenticeship that lasted about a year and included both herbal and magical remedies. This was the perfect combination of themes in my opinion, especially as their friendship began to evolve into something more than that and they needed to figure out how to break the news to their mentor.

Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2025 was a well-written anthology that made me yearn for summer to begin. 

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A Review of Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2024

Book cover for Hearth Stories, Summer Solstice 2024 by Gwendolyn Maia Hicks, River West, Margaret Treanor Frey, Alicia Adams, A. Emery Watkins, Morgan Welch, A. Katherine Black, Nancy J. Hayden, H. A. Titus & Erin Keating. Image on cover is a painting of a woman wearing a bright red dress, a cloak that was a darker shade of red, and a white bonnet. She is standing in the woods and looking down as she pours something into the mossy ground below her. There is a pond or other still body of water right in front of her. Title: Hearth Stories Book Two, Summer Solstice 2024

Authors: Gwendolyn Maia Hicks, River West, Margaret Treanor Frey, Alicia Adams, A. Emery Watkins, Morgan Welch, A. Katherine Black, Nancy J. Hayden, H. A. Titus & Erin Keating

Publisher:Hearth Stories

Publication Date: June 20, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+, Historical

Length: about 124 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the publisher.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Hearth Stories is a speculative fiction magazine focused on cozy fantasy stories. Each issue features a letter from the editor, author bios and interviews, and wonderful stories focused on family, home life, connection, and the natural world.

This issue features the following stories:

The Heart That Beats Behind the Bones by Gwendolyn Maia Hicks

The Woman with the Bird in Her Skirts by River West

Tome for Tea by Margaret Treanor Frey

You’re Always Welcome Hereby Alicia Adams

Bitter Tea by A. Emery Watkins

Marginalia by Morgan Welch

Outside of Wonderful by A. Katherine

Black Skogul by Nancy J. Hayden

Past Lives and Loaves by H. A. Titus

Green Water, Blue Water by Erin Keating

Content Warning: Brief references to dementia, terminal illness, and death. I will not discuss them in my review.

Review:

The past may be a foreign country in some respects, but that’s not all that it is.

“Bitter Tea” focused on a short conversation about human nature between a frog witch and Pilpa, the local sorcerer. I appreciated the perspectives it shared on what makes someone a good or bad person and how much one should extend themselves to help others who may or may not actually feel gratitude for the assistance. There aren’t always clear cut answers to such questions, but puzzling out various answers to them is a great way to pass the time while drinking a cup of tea. I would have happily read more about these characters!

Figuring how to to recreate a type of bread that nobody had made in generations lead Mara on a short quest in “Past Lives and Loves.” I loved the cozy fantasy elements of this tale, especially since the individual she needed to talk to was part of a species that is not typically treated so warmly in the mainstream fantasy genre. The focus on maintaining longterm friendships was another reason this was so meaningful to me. I’m always on the lookout for more stories that do precisely that, and this was a lovely example of how friendship can enrich a character’s life.

Skogul was a raven attempting to understand human customs in “Black Skogul.” Mingus was the human who had raised Skogul from a chick to a full-fledged adult, but now Mingus was beginning to show signs of mental and physical decline as he aged. It’s difficult to say too much about this story without giving away spoilers, but I loved the way the non-human perspective was written. Skogul described certain scenes quite differently than any human would, so it took a little thought to understand what was happening in them. This was a good thing, though, given who the protagonist was and how important their relationship with Mingus had become to both characters over the years.

I wish I could have talked about all of the stories in this anthology in my review. Every one of them was beautifully written and enriched my imagination.

Hearth Stories Book Two, Summer Solstice 2024 was sweet, gentle, and heartwarming. I can’t recommend it highly enough as Summer Solstice approaches.

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A Review of Chasing June

 

Book cover for Chasing June by Holly Schindler. Image on cover shows a straw hat with a red ribbon on it. The hat is lying on top of a little bouquet of white wild flowers that is itself lying on an old leather book.

Title: Chasing June

Author: Holly Schindler

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 30, 2016

Genres: Romance, Paranormal

Length: 29 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Forever Finley Episode / Short Story #7: What do we discover when we dig deep into our past?

Annie Ames returns to her childhood hometown to begin a project with her lifelong friend, Justin: a book documenting the romantic folklore surrounding the legend of Amos Hargrove, the town founder. But no one likes the fact that she’s rifling through old memories and a more than century-old legend. When Annie visits Mary, the town’s oldest resident, she opens an old trunk—and along with a treasured antique wedding shawl, discovers life-altering truths about her feelings for her closest friend…and about the legend of Amos Hargrove and his sweetheart, Finley.

Chasing June is part of Forever Finley, a series of stand-alone episodes or short stories that released once a month throughout 2016. Previous releases include: Come December, January Thaw, Forget February, Dearest March…, April’s Promise, and Mayday Mayday Mayday. Subsequent releases include: A Hundred Julys, Under the August Moon, Song for September, October Omen, and the Forever Finley Finale (Pale November / December Bells). Stories can be purchased individually, or readers can purchase all installments in Forever Finley: An Episodic Novel.

Content Warning: Reference to a death from pleurisy.

Review:

Folklore is for everyone.

Some of the most memorable scenes in my opinion were the ones that explored how differently people in a small town behave when they’re around folks they’ve known for their entire lives versus a relative newcomer to the community. Even the main characters exhibited this change of emotions which I thought was interesting as they were otherwise pretty warm and friendly folks. As someone who moved to a rural community that was not particularly kind and accepting to outsiders when I was a kid, I always appreciate seeing this topic broached in fiction and wonder whether this will be of equal interest to people who have lived in small towns for their entire lives and have maybe never experienced this phenomenon.

I would have liked to see more time spent exploring who Finley was as a person. There were some tantalizing details mentioned, including a shawl she created, but given how important this character is to the Finding Finley series as a whole I was a little disappointed by how the instalment that was meant to dive more deeply into her life was written. While I expected something romantic and whimsical as usual, I was also hoping for at least a few anecdotes about what she was like when she was alive. Was her personality playful or serious? What was her favourite subject in school? How did she spend her free time as a child and young woman?  There was so much more they could have done with her, and I would have happily gone for a much higher rating if they did.

With that being said, this short story felt like the month of June in some lovely ways. Certain characters have just finished their studies and so have the summer before them to relax and shrug off the stress of writing papers and cramming for exams. The weather during this month of the year is beautiful in many places as well, including the town of Finley, and so everyone can spend plenty of time outside enjoying the flowers before the heat and humidity of the rest of the summer arrives. I haven’t read many authors who pay this much attention to how the seasons can affect the way their characters feel, so kudos to Ms. Schindler for including it.

Chasing June was lighthearted.

 

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A Review of Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors

Book cover for Afterglow - Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors by Grist. Image on cover is a drawing of an alien with a small, curled snout who is holding a shovel and standing on a pink, blue, and yellow surface that seems to have vegetation of those colours, too. Title: Afterglow – Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors

Author: Grist (Editor)

Publisher: The New Press

Publication Date: February 7, 2023

Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, LGBTQ+

Length: 169 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Afterglow is a stunning collection of original short stories in which writers from many different backgrounds envision a radically different climate future. Published in collaboration with Grist, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions, these stirring tales expand our ability to imagine a better world. Inspired by cutting-edge literary movements, such as Afrofuturism, hopepunk, and solarpunk, Afterglow imagines intersectional worlds in which no one is left behind—where humanity prioritizes equitable climate solutions and continued service to one’s community. Whether through abundance or adaptation, reform, or a new understanding of survival, these stories offer flickers of hope, even joy, as they provide a springboard for exploring how fiction can help create a better reality. Afterglow welcomes a diverse range of new voices into the climate conversation to envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress. A creative work rooted in the realities of our present crisis, Afterglow presents a new way to think about the climate emergency—one that blazes a path to a clean, green, and more just future.

Content Warning: Drug use. Pregnancy. Grief. I will briefly mention the last two items in my review.

Review:

There are many different ways to imagine a better future for humanity.

Augusta decided to begin a worm swap with other communities to improve everyone’s soil in “A Worm to the Wise.” This angle surprised me a little, and I was curious to discover what life was like in her version of the future where fuel costs had grown so high that most people could no longer travel long distances. There were layers of conflict and meaning in this tale that made me wish it had been expanded to something full-length. It had so much information to share with the audience, and I was eager to learn more about her world.

Some of these twelve tales felt uneven to me, and I struggled to connect to them due to the limited information they shared about what the future might be like. “The Tree in the Back Yard” was one such example of it, especially given Mariska’s response to her first visit to her father’s grave. It was completely understandable to see how difficult this experience was for her, but I found myself wishing for more information about why she didn’t keep trying to visit him and pay her respects given how important those things were to her and how much effort she put into selecting the right resting place for him. Having more details would have made this a more satisfactory read, and this was repeated often enough in this collection that I did feel the obligation to mention it in my review.

“El, The Plastotrophs, and And Me” followed a family who had just been approved to conceive their second child. The society they lived in limited births for ecological reasons, so they were thrilled to have the chance to become co-parents again. I was fascinated by how the protagonist explained the difference between wanting a romantic partner and wanting a child as these two concepts were not necessarily linked in this universe.  There were some plot twists that only made the protagonist’s life plans more complicated as well, and I wished I could have followed them for a longer period of time.

Afterglow – Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors was thought provoking. 

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A Review of This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are

Book cover for This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are by Stephen Howard. Image on cover is a drawing of a house that was built just over the side of a hill. It’s shortly past dusk and the yellow lights in the house’s windows resemble yellow animal eyes due to how the house is partially hidden by the hill and the shadows of evening. Title: This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are

Author: Stephen Howard

Publisher: Wild Hunt Books

Publication Date: April 3, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Mystery, Contemporary

Length: 106 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A couple mourning the loss of their young daughter take up an opportunity to renovate a rural cottage on the remote North Yorkshire Moors. However, they can’t process their grief as increasingly eerie events unfold. Is it their daughter haunting them or something else?

Content Warning: the death a child that occurred before this novella began. I will be discussing it briefly in my review.

Review:

Moving forward rarely happens on a set schedule.

I adored the house’s motivation for attempting to communicate with Priya and Simon, the couple who just moved in. While I can’t go into detail about this without sharing spoilers, it was a fresh perspective on the haunted house genre that made me eagerly want to learn more. Mr. Howard is a creative storyteller, and these scenes in particular were well done and made me want to check out more of his work.

This would have been a much stronger work if more time had been spent fleshing it out, especially when it came to the character development. While the minimalistic descriptions worked better for the storyline given how straightforward it was for the most part, I found myself wishing I knew more about who Simon and Priya were as individuals. There simply wasn’t enough space in this novella to explore their personalities, histories, and what their marriage had been like before little Lily passed away.

The ending was as unexpected as it was thought provoking. I was intrigued by what it had to say about the process of grief and how easy it is to get stuck in certain phases of it for some people. It takes courage to pull oneself out of those spirals and move forward when what one really wants to do is wallow in the past. While I would have liked to see another chapter added at the end to explain what was really going on in the house, I also understand why the author decided to leave those questions unanswered. Grief in real life is often accompanied by questions that can’t possibly be answered, too, so it made sense to reflect that in fiction as well.

If anyone reading this review would like a recommendation for a similar read, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters explores similar themes surrounding grief, the loss of a child, and the physical and emotional decay of a home and may be of interest to you.

This House Isn’t Haunted, But We Are made me want to read more haunted house tales.

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A Review of Beach House on the Moon

Book cover for Beach House on the Moon by Leigh Kimmel. Image on cover shows a young white woman with long, straight blonde hair sitting on a rock at the beach while wearing a black jacket. She’s watching the waves crash against the shore. Title: Beach House on the Moon

Author: Leigh Kimmel

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 16, 2023

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 13 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

The Moon is a dead world, airless and desolate. Emmaline Waite has known this fact since childhood, when she watched the Apollo landings. But here she sits on the shores of the Sea of Tranquillity, looking up at the gibbous Earth as the waves roll in. What madness can this be? She gets no time to contemplate that question, for she is not alone. She is about to enter a realm of love and fear, of mindbending secrets that change her understanding of human history, and of self-sacrifice. Her life will never be the same.

Review:

A little science goes a long way.

The dreamlike themes made me wonder what would happen next. Ms. Kimmel did a good job of capturing what it feels like to not be sure if you’re dreaming or if something incredible has just happened. This was particularly true as one scene would drift slowly into the next one without always explaining what had happened in the intervening moments. That’s not an easy mental state to portray with the written word, so kudos to her for accomplishing it so nicely. Truly, I could not have predicted the ending.

I struggled with the plot holes, especially as they pertained to Emmaline’s relationship with someone she met on the moon. Sometimes it felt like those scenes were an outline of something that hadn’t been fully written yet instead of the finished product due to how quickly everything happened and how some key details were glossed over. As much as I wanted to give this a higher rating, my confusion about what was going on there prevented me from doing that.

There aren’t enough science fiction or other types out tales set on the moon these days. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever read one that included an ocean there, so exploring how that came to be was of high interest to me. While I don’t want to give away any spoilers in this review, I can say that these descriptions were nicely written and made me want to learn more about what was going on there.

Beach House on the Moon piqued my curiosity.

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A Review of Mayday Mayday Mayday

Book cover for Mayday Mayday Mayday by Holly Schindler. Image on cover is a black and white photo of one of the engines of an antique two-engine plane. Title: Mayday Mayday Mayday

Author: Holly Schindler

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 7, 2022

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: About 21 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Forever Finley Episode / Short Story #6: A tale that explores how holiday magic can carry forward into the rest of the year, featuring Natalie and the mysterious George from “Come December.”

Engagement should be a happy time in a young woman’s life, but for Natalie, it’s plagued with doubts. She’d only known Damien four months when she accepted his proposal, and now, when the two are together, she hears a distinct Mayday distress call. Where is the voice coming from? Does it have anything to do with the enigmatic figure she encountered in the cemetery last winter? Or is Natalie finding a way to tell herself she thinks she’s about to go down in flames?

Mayday Mayday Mayday is part of Forever Finley, a series of stand-alone episodes or short stories that released once a month throughout 2016. Previous releases include Come December, January Thaw, Forget February, Dearest March…, and April’s Promise. Stories following Mayday Mayday Mayday include Chasing June, A Hundred Julys, Under the August Moon, Song for September, October Omen, and the Forever Finley Finale (Pale November / December Bells). Stories can be purchased individually, or readers can purchase all installments in Forever Finley: An Episodic Novel.

Content Warning:  World War I, a plane crash, and a dangerous accident on a balcony. I will be briefly referencing the first two topics in my review.

Review:

This is one of those rare series that only gets better over time.

There was the perfect amount of conflict in this short story, and I’m saying that as a reviewer who previously had constructive criticism about this topic when I was first introduced to this universe in Under the August Moon. It’s important to acknowledge growth when it happens, and I loved the direction Ms. Schindler took her tale for the May instalment of it. Yes, the core of it remained whimsical and romantic, just as I’d expect from this setting, but the inclusion of higher-stakes moments as well kept my interest levels high.

As someone who doesn’t read much romance, I appreciated how that genre was woven into Natalie’s life as she adjusted to living in a new community and dealt with a mysterious figure she’d recently met in the local cemetery. The themes fit together naturally which is always something I enjoy discovering in books that dip their toes into more than one genre. This was an excellent example of how to do just that while satisfying both readers who may not be well-versed in romance or paranormal fiction as well as those who already know they like those types of stories. I love it when authors create these seamless pathways to discovering new genres!

World War I isn’t as common referenced as World War II  is in a lot of modern fiction, so my ears perk up when a blurb mentions references to the First World War. There were no graphic descriptions of war included, but there were a few scenes that mentioned a plane crash from that era. I found them tastefully written yet also heartbreaking given the subject matter involved. These moments also added layers of depth not only to the storyline itself but also to Natalie’s personality as she figured out who was calling for May Day and why.

Mayday Mayday Mayday made me yearn for more.

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A Review of Technosphere

Book cover for Technosphere by George Saoulidis. Image on cover shows a planet covered in impossibly large skyscrapers. It has a ring around it that is light blue and glowing, perhaps to signify some sort of ship that is orbiting it? That planet I just described is hovering over - and looks like it’s going to crash into - the planet at the bottom of this cover that is also covered in cities, albeit not ones that are quite so tall. Title: Technosphere

Author: George Saoulidis

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: November 6, 2019

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 5 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

A hoarder planet is not feeling so well. Must have been something it collected. Will the AI tasked to repair the technosphere manage to find what’s causing the quakes?

Content Warning: Hoarding, but portrayed in a funny way.

Review:

A little spring cleaning goes a long way.

I loved the humour in this short story. So much of the science fiction I’ve read these past few years has contained dark themes that I really needed to switch things up a bit and be reminded of the lighthearted possibilities in this genre. While I can’t go into much detail about what, exactly, was funny about a planet that was hoarding resources without giving away spoilers, it was important to keep a playful approach to the characters as they revealed what they’d been up to.

There were a few fantastic references to other science fiction universes here that made me smile as well. The storyline did still make sense without them, but readers who know what the author is talking about will have some wonderful Easter Eggs to look forward to. That is exactly how these things should be written in my opinion as it leaves room for everyone to enjoy what is happening instead of closing certain passages off to those who might have not read certain older works yet.

The last page or two was what convinced me to give this a full five-star rating due to how Mr. Saoulidis struck the right balance between answering some of the reader’s questions while leaving other ones up to our imaginations. Would I have loved to have even more closure? Yes, of of course, but I was left with enough information to imagine what would probably happen next as well as having a decent understanding of how this planet ended up in such a predicament in the first place. 

Technosphere was a refreshing break from the serious matters in life.

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A Review of Interruptions

Book cover for Interruptions by P.B. Cannon. Image on cover is a mostly black and white sketch of the side of a dirty stone building. The door on the building is teal as is the hand that is reaching across the scene and almost past the door. Title: Interruptions

Author: P.B. Cannon

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: February 16, 2013

Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary

Length: 20 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Cady and Sam don’t like excitement. So, they have good reason to love their lifestyle in the small town of Matthews, N.C. They’ve got a cute kid, good jobs, great neighbors, and their home beats the wheels off their last address. Unfortunately, interruption rears its head when it’s least expected, leading to that unwanted unrest they’ve been avoiding. What’s a couple of homebody werewolves to do?

Content Warning: Brief references to sexual harassment and humans being attacked by fantasy creatures.

Review:

Werewolves need to rest, too.

Cady’s character development was quite well done. Her relationships with her husband and child were explored in depth as well as her feelings on a variety of topics ranging from race to European beauty standards to why she so desperately wanted her neighbourhood to remain a quiet and peaceful place to live. She was the sort of protagonist I’d love to invite out for a cup of coffee so I could get to know her better as what I learned about her from this piece only made me more curious about who she was as a person.

The ending felt abrupt to me. I should note that this is part of a serial, a type of tale that is well known for ending on cliffhangers, so do keep those facts in mind while reading. Even when including them, though, I wished more attention would have been paid to developing that final scene. The way it was written felt more like the end of a chapter in a book than a short story. In my opinion, serials work better when each instalment in them stands alone as a fully formed tale, and I did not feel like this quite met that standard even though I deeply enjoyed reading it otherwise.

This was a good example of how to write an exciting fantasy story in a suburban setting. Most modern fantasy that I’ve read has either been set in rural or urban areas, so it was refreshing to see a different sort of setting being utilized. I especially liked the brief moments where Cady talked about simple aspects of living in the suburbs like finding a good parking spot or maintaining positive relationships with the neighbours. Yes, both of these topics were relevant to her adventures on this particular night, but I’ll leave it up to other readers to discover why.

Interruptions was exciting.

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