I was provided an ARC of this collection via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed this collection. I've read and enjoyed a few of Tudor's novels previously and I love horror/thriller short stories. There are some really great stories in here, while I didn't love all of them there isn't a bad one in the bunch. The Block, Runaway Blues, The Completion, I'm Not Ted, Gloria, and Final Course were favorites in the collection. These are perfect for when you only have a few minutes before bed or in between responsibilities but you still want to get some reading in. I loved that the author gave an introduction to each short. I always wonder what inspires an author to write a twisted tale and Tudor gives us some insight into what inspired her to write each of these.
If you are a fan of horror or thrillers or a fan or Tudor's work in genera I'd highly recommend this collection. Nothing was overly gruesome or graphic in my opinion. Each of the stories was interesting and held my interest. I really enjoyed the collection as a whole and look forward to reading more by the author in the future!
I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley. As always all opinions are my own. Thank you to Tor Nightfire for reaching out to me and providing me with an ARC of this book. I loved it!
This is a compilation of a dozen horror stories from some of the great horror writers of today. If you are like me and have not read all of the authors this is a great way to experience them all! Each of the stories took me 30 minutes to an hour to read, and while I didn't find any one of them particularly terrifying, they all had some sort of creep factor of gave me that what did I just read sense of unease that I want from a horror story. I thought all of them were well written and well developed despite them all being short stories. I feel like there is a story for everyone despite the type of horror you gravitate towards. There are varied levels of violence and gore in each story, with some being more psychological and some are mores straight forward.
I don't think I disliked a story in the collection. I really enjoyed the variety of the collection and getting to experience all of the various writers. If nothing else this has inspired me to check out each of the authors and see what horror offerings I've been missing. If you are a horror fan I highly recommend this!
Brother's best friend, enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance... this collection has it all!
Love Stories: A Novella Collection by Samantha Young is now live!
A collection of contemporary romance novellas from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.
This volume includes novellas previously only available exclusively to newsletter subscribers. They have now been collated into this romantic collection of modern love stories.
Includes: The Forbidden Christmas Gift: It's Christmas at Shaw's Department store in Edinburgh! Reid Shaw should feel nothing but gratified by his success. But he's not satisfied because the sexy Scot wants forbidden fruit for Christmas: Evan Munro. Reid's Evan's boss. He's thirteen years older than her. Oh ... and she's his best friend's little sister.
New Year's Eve: After Ryan drunkenly kisses the object of her crush, Joe--her sister's father-in-law-- at his son's birthday party, all she wants to do is avoid Joe for the rest of eternity. But when they find themselves stranded alone together on New Year's Eve, Ryan discovers Joe most definitely doesn't want to avoid Ryan...
Loving Valentine: Micah Green has loved Valentine Fairchild for over ten years; ever since they were kids brought together by Micah's difficult family life. Too many outside factors have gotten in their way, pushing them further apart over the years. But Micah, no matter how hard he tries, can't forget her. When he finds a way to see her again, he realizes he's wasted too much time loving Valentine from afar. Now he just has to convince her to let go of their past so they can move on with their future. Together.
Ember in the Heart: Loosely Inspired by Pride & Prejudice. When Ember Bonet overhears her sister's fiancé's best friend uttering rude remarks about the Bonet sisters at the engagement party, she instantly dismisses him as a pretentious man-child. Then said man-child, Foster Darwin, moves into the house next door along with his five-year-old daughter, making him hard to ignore. Foster can't believe his best friend, Colt, omitted to tell him the spinsterish Bonet sisters live in the house next door to his new home. Problem is, Ember Bonet is anything but spinsterish. From the moment they met, Foster has fought an overwhelming attraction to her. An attraction he has no time for. Not only is he determined to prioritize his daughter Georgie, he can't fail his own father again. And Edward Darwin has made it clear that Foster must settle down with the right woman. Unfortunately, his family's idea of 'right' isn't the sexy massage therapist next door who's eleven years his senior. Determined to keep her distance from Foster, Ember fails when it becomes clear he and Georgie need support in their new life together. But proximity to one another is too great a temptation, and physical chemistry soon turns into so much more. If only Ember could get over their age difference and Foster his family pride...
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Samantha is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over fifty books, several of which have been nominated for Goodreads Choice Awards. She writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction. Her books have been published in 31 countries. She resides in Scotland.
I was provided an ARC via the author, all opinions are my own.
This is a collection of novellas that were previously available in Samantha's newsletter. If you are a subscriber, you may be familiar with these stories. This has a little bit of everything for every romance reader. I really enjoyed all of them, each one of them has a familiar romance trope or two, but they were all very enjoyable and have a good level of heat.
Every reader should be able to find a story they enjoy. I liked every single one of them. I love collections like this. You can read them one story at a time or read them straight through. Each of the stories gives you the sense of completion where some novellas leave you wanting more and wondering what happened with the characters. These don't feel like a prequel to a longer story. I felt like each one of the stories was well developed and had the feel of a novel even if it wasn't quite as long.
If you are a fan of Samantha's work, I highly recommend this collection. It is a great way to get to know her work as well.
I was provided an audio ARC via Netgalley, all opinions expressed are my own.
This was a really great complation of stories. I really enjoyed some of them and while all of them are well written, I don't think I am the target audience for this particular set of stories. Sometimes I had a hard time connecting with the characters and I think that is because my high school days are long past. I do wish I had books like this 20+ years ago, and I know this will be a smash hit with today's young readers.
I highly recommend this for young readers (older middle grade, teens, and young adults), especially those who are still figuring out who they are. As a music lover myself, I really loved how the battle of the bands connected all of the stories together in some way and some of them had overlapping characters. I also appreciated that this had a really diverse cast of characters, which is why I think this is really suited for a younger audience.
Each story is written by a different author and narrated by a different narrator. I liked that after each story there was a rock jingle to signal the start of the next story in the collection. Each narrator did a wonderful job narrating the stories and giving them life. I really enjoyed this compilation and highly recommend it!
This was cute overall, I loved some of the stories and some were just OK. Some were really sweet, while some felt incomplete. There were a broad range of types of short stories in this bind up and I was exposed to some new authors. I've put really brief descriptions below with my rating of each short story below.
Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno - 2 Stars
This didn't feel complete to me. It was really about the meeting of the couple, but I didn't like the characters. It has that hate to love feel while the characters are at a party. I didn't really enjoy this one.
Print Shop by Nina Lacour - 3 Stars
This one was cute. It centers around an intern at an old school print shop. She attempts to bring them into the current century by creating social media accounts for them. She has to deal with an upset customer, which leads to their meet cute. This is a female female romance.
Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi - 3 Stars
The meet cute is basically the last thing that happens in this story, but the story itself is fine. The main character has to deal with self-acceptance, racism, high school drama, and family drama.
Click by Katherine McGee - 4 stars
This felt like a complete story, which was impressive give it was only about 20 pages. The two main characters are on what they think is their perfect "click" date set up by a dating app. They end up spending the evening chasing after her phone and have a great time.
The Intern by Sara Shepard - 2 stars
The intern has to show the celebrity around the city. They hit it off. It wasn't anything extraordinary. She is sad, he is lonely. They have a nice time on their date.
Somewhere That's Green by Meredith Russo - 3 stars
This one was pretty good. It has a transgender main character who is dealing with some very relevant high school issues like which bathroom and locker room to use. The other main character who is also very religious and a closet lesbian is part of the petition to keep gender norms as they are. I like how the reveals and conversations were handled.
The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton - 3 stars
This was one of my favorites. It has a sci-fi feel to it. The people on the island have love bands on their ring fingers to signify that they've found their soulmate. The main characters randomly find each other and end up trying to see the future.
Oomph by Emery Lord - 4 Stars
This was another possible female female meet cute. Two girls meet at an airport and strike up a conversation in the security line. They find each other at the gate and continue to talk. The conversation is completely natural and I really liked their story.
The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifery L. Armentrout - 3 Stars
I love JLA, and I really liked the premise of this book. A young librarian is dillegently tring to get a patron to return a long overdue dictionary by calling and talking to the patron. Instead of a quick reminder, they have conversations and have gotten to know each other. She eventually figures out who the patron and the story progresses from there.
The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davies - 3 Stars
THis was another good one, it really appealed to my inner math nerd. The main character is working on a statistics project and she is trying to figure out the likelyhood of seeing a handsome boy on the passing train on her way to school. It was witty and funny, and I liked that they actually got to meet at the end.
259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan - 2 stars
I didn't really care for this one. The main character thinks he is being interviewed for a chance to go to Mars, but he is mislead. He's only helping the girl in the story get there. Atleast she helps him get over his insecurities. The couple was actually decent, they complemented each other nicely, but in the end it was kind of sad.
Something Real by Julie Murphy - 3 stars
This unexpectedly turned out to be a female female meet cute. This is about a reality TV show where the two competitors are trying to win a date with a celebrity. The two girls end up getting to know each other while getting ready for the show and
Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick- 2 Stars
This one was kind of strange. The characters don't really play off one another nicely. She is a waitress and he's popular. He asks her out, but we find out he has an ulterior motive and he's trying to make up for something. The reveal is awkward as are their interactions.
The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon - 3 Stars
This was a unique story, probably the most unique of the bunch. Each type of love has its own office, and the main character goes to the Department of Dead Love for a do-over. He wants to find out why his love failed and wants a chance to repeat it and get it right, what he finds isn't what he was expecting. This one was pretty good.
A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor
