Tag Archives: Short Story

A Review of Under the August Moon

Book cover for Under the August Moon by Holly Schindler. Image on cover shows a large, full moon glowing brightly in the sky just after dusk. The land below is so dark you can’t tell if there are trees or rocks down there. There is still a faint yellow and orange streak of light at the horizon, but even it is quickly disappearing. Title: Under the August Moon

Author: Holly Schindler

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 7, 2022. Originally published in 2016.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Length: 34 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Forever Finley Episode / Short Story #9: It has been said that seeds of love planted beneath an August moon will bind two meant to be together—forever.

Two different couples—one currently hoping to find common ground in their relationship, the other a legendary pair wandering the town in their relentless attempt to reunite—find their paths have suddenly intertwined like wild Midwestern vines under the red August Heart Moon. Will Mark and Jo decide their late-in-life romance can find new direction? And how will the fabled Finley’s search for her beloved Amos be impacted by the planting of her enchanted moon seeds?

Under the August Moon 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, Mayday Mayday Mayday, Chasing June, and A Hundred Julys. Stories following Under the August Moon include 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.

Review:

The hot, humid days of summer won’t last forever, but maybe romance will.

This was my first introduction to the Forever Finley series, and I was impressed by how I understood everything I needed to in order to get into this story.  It’s not easy to write a series that can be read as standalone works and in any order, so I must tip my cap to Ms. Schindler for pulling this off.  While there were definitely some scenes that I think will be more meaningful to fans who have met these characters before, I never felt out of my depth as I was reading. The mystery of the jar filled with invisible magic seeds was more than enough to keep my interest levels high.

I found myself wishing for more conflict as I was reading this. It was such a cozy little community that I certainly wouldn’t expect anything high stakes, but there were times when the plot felt a little slow due to how long it took the characters to figure out problems like finding a missing pair of overalls or encouraging neighbourhood children who snuck onto one character’s property and ate the blueberries that she had been planning to sell in order to afford Christmas presents and some festive food for that occasion to stop stealing fruit. Even a little more effort in this area would have been enough for me to choose a higher rating as I loved this world in general.

The romance was handled nicely, and I’m saying that as someone who only visits this genre occasionally. I understood why one of the characters involved in this relationship was having second thoughts, but I also thought they made a good match and hoped they’d be able to work this problem out. It was also interesting to take note of the paranormal elements of the storyline that were related to romance as that isn’t something I typically read about. They were handled nicely and have encouraged me to visit this world again soon.

Under the August Moon made me smile.

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Gardening Woes: A Review of Tomato Dreams

Book cover for Tomato Dreams by P.B. Cannon. Image on cover is a rustic painting of tomatoes growing on a row of tomato plants in a garden. Oddly enough, there are several colourful fish swimming between the plants. Maybe they’re underwater? Title: Tomato Dreams

Author: P.B.Cannon

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: March 10, 2019

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Humour

Length: 34 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Red has planted her very first vegetable garden. She is tending it when she makes a surprising discovery: fish are growing on her tomatoes. With the help of friends that are… let’s just say they are as unusual as Red, she sets out to learn why this has happened – and why flocks of birds are trying to steal the fish.

(Set in the universe of Cady and Sam, a short story series about werewolves and other paranormals.)

Content Warning: Pregnancy

Review:

Even paranormal creatures need downtime.

Imagine finding fish swimming around your tomato plants! I chuckled at that image in the first scene and couldn’t wait to learn more about why this happened and how the characters were going to react to it. Gardening can be unpredictable for sure, but generally one doesn’t find such bizarre changes to their crops from one day to the next.  I don’t want to give away spoilers by going into too much detail about what was actually going on here, but I thought it was a great way to draw new readers in and help us care about these characters and the silly things they sometimes experience.

As much as I enjoyed the leisurely pace of Red’s life, I did find myself wishing for more conflict to keep my interest levels high. It could have been something as simple as a thunderstorm or a brief argument with a grumpy neighbour. High stakes are not necessary here, but I would have happily gone with a much higher rating if Red had faced a few more challenges as she tried to figure out where all of those fish came from.

Some of my favourite scenes were the ones that explore what magic is and isn’t capable of doing in this universe. This is something that can shift dramatically from one story to the next one in the fantasy genre, so I always approach these explanations with an open mind and with as few assumptions about what should be happening as possible. It was interesting to see how this author described the benefits and limitations of magic in her world, and I wouldn’t mind learning more about it in the future.

This was a standalone tale in a series.

Tomato Dreams made me smile.

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A Review of The Kingdom in the Middle

Book cover for Kingdom in the Middle (Stories of Lives in Crisis) by Nadi Abdi. Image on cover shows a computer-generated drawing of five mansions that are of equal distances to each other. Each mansion has a road that leads to a smaller house in the centre of this image. Title: The Kingdom in the Middle (Stories of Live in Crisis)

Author: Nadi Abdi

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 13, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Historical

Length: 20 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

The wish that killed five kingdoms. From wishes gone wrong to dreams turned to nightmares, these short stories reflect the desperation that comes with being a human in almost inhumane situations. A drained and exploited kingdom wishing to be free. A loved one who no longer loves you but won’t admit it. A child looking for one moment’s peace in a cruel and chaotic home. A spouse and an immigrant who only wish that promises be kept. They find reprieve in the unlikeliest of places, including in the arms of death itself.

Content Warning: Death. I will not discuss it in my review.

Review:

Be careful what you wish.

Fans of W.W. Jacob’s The Monkey’s Paw might have already guessed what this tale is about as the two share certain similarities. Knowing the plot twists wasn’t as important as following the king as he attempted to make the lives of his subjects easier. It was a noble goal that I wholeheartedly supported and hoped he’d accomplish.

The ending was a bit of a letdown given how abrupt it was. I was okay with the fact that it wasn’t as happy as I hoped it would be, but I also wished the author had spent more time explaining why the king had developed his special power that kicked the storyline into motion and what would happen to his kingdom after the final scene. There was so much more that could have been done with this premise, and I would have happily gone with a higher rating if it had been given additional time to develop and explain why this world worked the way that it did.

I liked the way this story nudged readers to consider every possible outcome of the decisions we make in life, from the ordinary to the unlikely. These scenes when this truly felt like a fairy tale because of how indirectly it made its point and how much it trusted the reader to connect what I thought were fairly obvious causes and effects. Yes, I know that might sound like a little of a contradiction, but it makes sense within the context of something that wants readers to think a little but also doesn’t make it too difficult to understand what’s going on.

The Kingdom in the Middle was thought provoking.

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A Review of The Core Directive

Book cover for The Core Directive by Lyam Lockwood & Steven Nimocks. Image on cover shows a side profile of a human-like face looking to the right. it’s grey and looks computer generated. The back of the head and part of the cheek and neck is dissolving into computer code. Title: The Core Directive

Author: Lyam Lockwood & Steven Nimocks

Publisher: Three Notch Publishing

Publication Date: January 11, 2025

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 37 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

In a world where every action is monitored and every decision is calculated, compliance is the measure of success. His task is straightforward: ensure that the system’s core directive—absolute stability—is upheld. But when discrepancies in the data begin to surface and compliance ratings fluctuate unpredictably, he finds himself drawn into a deeper mystery. What is the true nature of the system he’s sworn to protect? And why does it feel like something—or someone—is watching him more closely than ever?

Content Warning:

Review:

Perfection is possible.

Writing this in the form of journal entries was a creative flourish that isn’t used as often as I think it should be these days, so kudos to the authors for approaching storytelling from this perspective. I was drawn into the question about what was really going on immediately and couldn’t wait to see which clues might be shared next. This wasn’t quite a traditional mystery, but it had elements of that genre that worked beautifully with a narrator who didn’t always know which pieces of information were going to be important in the future or that a human might interpret slightly – or even wildly – differently than they would

Additional world building would have made this an easier read for me. I struggled to understand some of the things the narrator was saying about how this society was set up due to how many euphemisms were used for what happened to people and computers when they were discovered to be flawed in unacceptable ways. While I do think I eventually figured it out, the confusion I felt in the beginning and middle interfered with my ability to enjoy the storyline because I wasn’t quite sure what was going on or which characters I should trust.

With that being said, I was intrigued by the narrator’s methodical approach to its tasks. The way it thought about the world – if, indeed, thoughts are the correct term to use for an intelligent computer – was so wildly different than how the average human would generally describe those same events that it was easy to forget this was fiction. I had glimpses of an intelligence that was nothing at all like my own, and I wanted to learn more.

The Core Directive was interesting.

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A Review of Space Snot

Book cover for Space Snot by Jonathan Antony Strickland. Image on cover shows a photo of a shirtless white man standing in a living room in front of a couch and large mirror. Grossly enough, his body is splattered with an overwhelming amount of green snot. Title: Space Snot

Author: Jonathan Antony Strickland

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 1, 2019

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror

Length: 12 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A man gets hit in the head by a meteorite. Then things get a little weird! Friday was the day when a meteorite was shot through my head… Yet here I am! Why? Why did I not die? You may say that I shouldn’t question, say I should consider myself lucky! But the fact is, I don’t!

Content Warning:

Review:

Silliness is underrated.

This is one of those cases where having two narrators in a short story is not only a great idea but makes the execution of a humorous plot line a thousand times better than it would have been if readers had only gotten to know what happened from one point of view instead. Seriously, go read this and see how Mr. Strickland developed both voices and gave them unique speaking patterns and habits that made it so effortless to switch from one of them to the other, sometimes as often as a single sentence at a time. Kudos for pulling this off! It isn’t easy, but it’s so rewarding for a reader when it does happen.

The ending left something to be desired in my opinion. While the most important conflicts were resolved, there weren’t a lot of details about how they were wrapped up or what might happen to the characters next. I’m the sort of reader who likes to imagine what happens next, so even in cases where a sequel isn’t warranted I still like to have a few clues to work with there. It wasn’t quite a cliffhanger ending, but it was vague enough that I felt a bit dissatisfied.

Don’t let the horror genre tag scare you off if you’re not generally a fan of such things. The occasionally gross moments didn’t involve any blood, and they were greatly overshadowed by how playful and wacky this tale was. Sometimes it felt like something written for a middle grade audience instead of an adult one as far as the themes and execution of plot twists played out, although I do believe this was actually intended for adults.

Space Snot made me  shudder, laugh, cringe, and shake my head almost simultaneously. This is a fun read for people who want something zany. 

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A Review of The Occurrence at Boyd Boone’s House

Book cover for The Occurrence at Boyd Boone’s House by Nadi Abdi. Image on cover shows several illuminated skyscrapers glowing at night. These buildings are casting beautiful reflections in the calm lake water next to the downtown of this city. Title:  The Occurrence at Boyd Boone’s House (The Demon Cleanser, #0.5)

Author: Nadi Abdi

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: June 11, 2025

Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary

Length: 38 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

The magician may go to prison, but beefing with a superpower is forever!!! Set months before the events in Power of the People and a couple years after the arrest and conviction of Demon Commander Boyd Boone, Lillas and her demon-hunting Triumvirate are called to Boone’s house to investigate tales of strange noises and sightings of people inside. Police have also called in help from the local magician family, the Drays. Whatever Boone was into may have been unbelievable, but it wasn’t impossible.

Demon hunters, demon knights, vampires, and vampire-hunting magicians have gathered here today to make sure nothing goes wrong. But with a mix like that, how could anything go right? This is the tale of how Lillas was banned from Boyd’s house after going off on her own, then turning on her own with a power no one knew she had. In her defense, she didn’t know what she was doing. Also in her defense, Boyd was doing a lot of things he had no business doing. Note, the conviction. They may have found where (some of) the bodies were buried, but murder wasn’t the only thing going on in here.

Lillas is a powerful human, made to hunt demons and those to consort with them. Boyd was one of her most powerful opps, and one of those who consorts with demons. He wasn’t home, but the monster still was. Like his ghost was hanging around. Note: he was still very much alive. (Not her idea.) They did tell her not to snoop. But she was the daughter of a detective. What were her other options? All of that to say, what happened that day may not have been foreseen, but could have been avoided had they listened when she said, “I don’t wanna go to that man’s house!” but slightly more explicitly. Peer pressure. Not even once!

Review:

Normal is a relative term.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that focused on how interpersonal politics affected everything from how magic was used to how information was collected. That is to say, who one knew in this world and how strong their relationships were with each other was often just as or even more important than what anyone’s special powers were. This is something that can range from helpful to frustrating in real life, but no matter how it affected the characters it added a layer of reality to their struggles that I don’t see enough of in the fantasy genre. It struck me as much closer to the truth of what our world would be like if we really did have magical beings running around.

I had trouble keeping track of all of the characters because of how quickly they were introduced. As interested as I was in the storyline itself, this did make reading it more challenging it than I wished it could have been. If the plot had focused on fewer people and saved the rest of them to be introduced in book one of the series, I would have happily given it a higher rating as there were so many other things I enjoyed about these adventures.

The world building was complex and fascinating. Sometimes only a sentence or two was used to describe something, but those brief moments gave me the impression that they were barely skimming the surface of what this series had to offer. I had enough information to understand what was going on while still knowing there was plenty of ground to cover if I were to dive deeper in this universe. It’s hard to strike that balance in a short story, so kudos to the author for pulling it off!

The Occurrence at Boyd Boone’s House was action-packed. 

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A Review of A Fool’s Revenge

Book cover for A Fool’s Revenge by Jonathan Antony Strickland. Image on cover shows a tyrannosaurs Rex opening its mouth and looking at the audience. The dinosaur is light purple and, I assume, is meant to represent a toy or a museum exhibit that has coloured lights pointed at it. Title: A Fool’s Revenge 

Author: Jonathan Antony Strickland

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: February 22, 2013

Genres: Fantasy, Historical

Length: 12 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A bitter hate filled wizard seeks revenge against one who has cheated him of his rightful place to rule the city of Lardenmuk. But the question is how was he cheated? His only clue lies within one unknown word. Maferentuss!

Content Warning: Jealousy and death.

Review:

Revenge is a dish best served when others least expect it.

I liked the descriptions of how wizards are assigned to towns, villages and cities and why so many of them have a strong preference for the latter. This isn’t something that I’ve seen covered in the fantasy genre before, but I have sometimes wondered about how people with magical abilities decide who is going to look after which community.  Obviously, it would do little good to have ten wizards in one city while the outlying villages remain unprotected from anything that might try to attack them.

This short story would have benefitted from more world building. I struggled to understand the gaps in Zarkon’s knowledge when it came to what wizards were and weren’t capable of doing, especially since he was described as someone who was well-read and who had studied his craft in detail. While I wouldn’t expect him to know everything about his profession, especially anything esoteric,  it struck me as odd that he didn’t seem to be aware of what appeared to be knowledge that was fairly easy to obtain.

The twist ending made me chuckle. It fit the themes and mood of this tale nicely, and it also provided a little comic relief in what had otherwise been a pretty tense scene. There’s something to be said for being surprised by a humorous moment just when one least expects it! As much as I wish I could go into greater detail here, this really is something that other readers should get to experience for themselves without any additional hints about what is to come.

A Fool’s Revenge was creative. 

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A Review of Anatomy of a Violin

Title: Anatomy of a Violin Book cover for Anatomy of a Violin by J.M. Taylor. Image on cover shows a drawing of someone - possibly the Statue of Liberty? - wearing a blindfold and a long, loose garment. They are standing in front of a yellow background and leaning back as they play the violin. The person looks like they are made of metal and painted with a shimmery metallic paint that looks blue, green, purple, and red depending on which portion of the body you’re looking at.

Author: J.M. Taylor

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 8, 2025

Genres: Horror, LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 37 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

A musician finds the ultimate prize in Prague – an instrument that can make anyone sound like a virtuoso. But his obsession with the violin threatens not only his relationship but his sanity.

Content Warning: Murder.

Review:

Everything  can be fixed with a little elbow grease and patience.

The unnamed protagonist was a complex and fascinating man. I liked the fact that his flaws weren’t superficial but instead had real effects on both his life and the plot. That was exactly the right choice for this piece, and I commend the author for being willing to take the risk that readers might not like this character. This is something I wish happened more often in fiction as it really adds depth to a character, especially in cases like this one when the reader is supposed to be weirded out by what is happening.

I would have liked to see a little more world building in this piece. Specifically, I’m thinking about the origins of the violin and how it was passed around among various owners over the centuries. The explanation for how this all happened made sense, but having more details would have helped those scene come alive in my imagination as I read. There was so much more that could have been done with them to accelerate the horror elements of the plot, and I would have gone for a full five star rating if that had happened. This is something I’m saying as someone who otherwise loved this tale.

Honestly, it was easy to see where the plot was headed early on, but this wasn’t the sort of tale that needs to surprise a reader in order to entertain them. What made it so interesting was taking note of what the protagonist had and hadn’t figured out about his incredible new violin. He was so enamoured with the workmanship and beauty of it that nothing else could grab his attention. I’ll leave it up to other readers to discover what he was missing in those moments as they ponder whether they, too, might have made the same choices he did.

Anatomy of a Violin was delightfully scary.

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A Review of Their Other Selves

Book cover for Their Other Selves by Benjamin Parsons. Image on cover is a black and white drawing of a river running through a city. The city is so dense that you can’t see any trees in it, just skyscraper after skyscraper right next to each other. Oddly enough, the water in the river is bright yellow. Title: Their Other Selves

Author: Benjamin Parsons

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 28, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Historical

Length: 24 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 stars

Blurb:

Caletha isn’t ready to settle down until she meets someone who loves her as much as she loves herself. It’s a joke, but she half-believes it. Then one evening she and her father take a walk along the riverbank and meet themselves— their exact doubles coming towards them. Sudden tragedies follow this ominous encounter, which drive Caletha to doubt everything she used to believe. Are the misfortunes merely coincidental, or caused by the supernatural? And who was the mysterious figure lurking in the shadows behind the uncanny doppelgängers? Evenking, or Their Other Selves is a short folktale-inspired story, part of the collection Blaquoby: Country Town Tales.

Content Warning: Grief and death.

Review:

The mind is a powerful weapon.

Some of my favourite scenes were the ones that explored Caletha’s guilt and grief. She was an ordinarily bubbly and cheerful young woman who didn’t always put deep thought into how other people saw the world. While it was never done out of malice, she did have a blind spot when it came to how her actions affected others, and I believe she would have happily tried to change those interactions if given a second chance. I appreciate it when authors create characters who are likeable but whose flaws are issues that genuinely make life more difficult for them sometimes. In this particular case, that was precisely what the plot needed to move forward.

I found the doppelgänger storyline confusing, especially given the folklore surrounding why someone might have this experience and what they may have done to bring it on. Caletha was not a perfect person by any means, and she had made a hurtful decision early on in the storyline that I agree should not have happened. Still, the explanation of why she saw her double didn’t quite match up with what I learned about her as a person. If the decisions she made earlier were enough to trigger it, I’d argue that everyone deserves that same fate because none of us get through life without occasionally doing things, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that we later come to regret.

With that being said, I did enjoy the fairy tale qualities of this piece. It felt like the sort of story people might have told to their children generations ago in order to explain why it’s important to keep promises and what sad fates might await those who break them too easily. There was nothing at all gory or gross here, but there were themes that included stricter rules for etiquette and interpersonal relationships than many modern people are held to today. This gave the plot a timeless feeling in the sense that it could have occurred 80 years ago or 800 years ago with few if any changes to the fates of the characters.

This is the fifth book in a series that does not need to be read in any particular order.

Their Other Selves was thought provoking.

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A Review of More Money Than Brains

Book cover for More Money than Brains
by Rudolph Kohn. Image on cover shows a lifelike drawing of the inside of a spaceship. Thick undles of wires have been tied together against the wall next to some large metal pipes. At first I thought they were some sort of bug-like alien crawling the wall because of how many wires were sticking out of the bundle in various directions. 

This is an unsettling image that makes me wonder if the electrician knew what he or she was doing as it doesn’t appear to be all that neatly arranged. 

Title: More Money Than Brains

Author: Rudolph Kohn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: August 11, 2024

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 13 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Aric and the Misevelin Salvage crew find themselves in a dangerous situation when they try to rescue a captain with way too much money and not enough brains or common sense. The ship’s abysmal condition is almost entirely due to the captain’s neglect, and his bad habits get everyone into a much more dangerous situation!

A short, free introduction to the Derelict Project universe, a far-future hard science fiction setting that focuses on derelict ships and the people who find and investigate them. “More Money than Brains” is a humorous short story that provides a taste of one of the Derelict Project’s main groups of characters: Aric Misevelin, Verene “Bill” Resteford, and Lewes Otracht.

Content Warning:

Review:

Nothing can be neglected forever.

There’s nothing like walking into a disaster at work that could have been easily prevented if small issues had been taken note of and looked after immediately. No matter what type of job you may have, the frustration of people who must deal with the repercussions of others who refused to pay attention to detail and keep up with basic maintenance and cleanliness is universal. I nodded along as this crew realized the long lists of problems they needed to solve to prevent this ship from destroying itself and tried to prioritize the most urgent needs first while continuing to find even more issues along the way. It made me wish I had their specialized knowledge and could help them get things sorted out faster!

This was a fast-paced, plot-centred work that didn’t require much introspection from the characters in order to get its point across. Still, I did enjoy the little moments that showed how Aric, Bill, and Lewes reacted to the nonsense they were dealing with. The combination of their obvious breadth of knowledge on the topic of ship repair and their humorous responses to everything going to hell in a hand basket was delightful and rang true to the repair people in my own life who have had similar reactions to things they wish had been done properly and maintained steadfastly the first time around.

I also loved the ending of this piece which brought the hard science fiction elements of the storyline even further into the spotlight and made me wonder what might happen next. This is something other readers should discover in detail for themselves, but I liked the way it explored both the technical nature of the work as well as all-too human responses to machines as well as other humans that don’t always do what the experts wish they’d do. Bravo for a job well done, Mr. Kohn!

This is a standalone tale from a series.

More Money Than Brains was perfect.

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