Tag Archives: novella

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Super Short Novella Clear-Out

I’m making a real effort this year to clear out any book clutter. I’m focusing on quantity, which means knocking out some of the shorter books on my shelves in order to reduce the actual number of books I scroll through, etc. So, here I’m focusing on short novellas, books that are over 100 pages, but not by much. Technically, by my own blog rules, I could give them their own post. (100 pages is my unofficial minimum page count for a blog post.) However, for the sake of expediency, I’m combining several into one post, and I may return later to add to the list.

So, here we go. I read:


novella covers


Reviews:

Black Briar, by Sophie Avett

Honestly, just florid and confusing. Half the time, I didn’t know if whatever was happening (if I could figure out what was happening at all) was happening in real life or some dream realm. I’m generally pretty tolerant of purple prose, so long as it doesn’t get in the way of the story. But the prose here isn’t just purple, it’s luridly so. To say I was confused is an understatement.

There is no character development or worldbuilding to speak of. Plus, there isn’t much of a plot, which would be fine if this were erotica, where the sex was the point. But despite starting the story with a sex swing, there is one singular sex scene in the book. And it’s overly long and full of purple descriptions of a whole lot of not-sex. Somewhere in the middle of it, the FMC had a personality shift that made all of the resistance and fight of the previous pages pointless.

Essentially, the reader is dropped into the middle of a scene with no context. The story continues from there, before the FMC undergoes a personality transformation, and we’re told they lived happily ever after. (I still know nothing about the MMC, least of all why he was so interested in the FMC.)I may be being too generous in giving this two stars.

Leather and Lace, by Rebel Carter

Very sweet. It’s clearly part of a series, all but instalove, the town is so accepting as to be fantastical, and the narcissistically cruel mother is pretty cliched. But Minnie and Alex are sweet characters who make an endearing pair. If you’re looking for a light and fluffy quick read, you could do a lot worse than this one.

To Run with the Wild Hunt, by Mallory Dunlin

Meh. I’ve read several of the Monsters of Faery books, and I can confidently say that this was my least favorite. Which is a shame because I liked Lexi, and Key is just adorable. Their fem-dommy relationship was wonderful and sweet. I wish we had gotten an equivalent for Hunt. Obviously, there’d be little sweetness there, but there could have been a little something of relationship growth before the sex. And don’t get me wrong. I picked up a spicy book for the sex. But by the time we got to it here, I just didn’t particularly care. I’ll continue the series. I liked the other books a lot more. I suppose this was just a dud for me.

Shared Veins, by Emily Elder

Not horrible, but pretty mediocre. The FMC is a doormat, though she does have a pretty drastic attitude shift at some point and grows the beginning of a spine. The men are not given equal attention, and I don’t feel I really know them as anything more than caricatures (the sunny one, the brooding one, the brainy one, the leader, etc). Also, it is heavily in need of further editing. There are several super obvious errors that a basic spellcheck should have caught.

The Good Body, by Eve Ensler (V)

This was an interesting read. I think a lot of women will find something to relate to in it. However, I also think that others will find it fails to say anything new or noteworthy on an old and well-trodden path. I suppose both can be true.

Entangled with an Elf Prince, by Amanda Ferreira

This was really sweet. Honestly, I often didn’t know exactly what was happening outside of the very tight focus on the two characters (and there are only the two characters). But watching them discover one another was lovely.

Treasure, by Marleigh Kassidy

Meh, I mean, it is what it is, right? It’s an erotic short; sex pretty much is the point. The sex is fine; a little rushed in the v to dp journey, but ok, whatever. I mean, it’s not great, but again, it is what it is. My only real complaint is that it’s lopsided. Too much time passes as she tries to escape, and what remains after she is finished being scared isn’t enough to balance it out. Oh, and it ends on a cliffhanger, FYI.

A Monster In The Dark, by R.K. Pierce

Erotic horror(ish) that isn’t particularly spicy. There’s a whole lot more talk of what he wants to do to her than them actually doing anything. He is appropriately obsessive for a demon (though he has a relatively sudden personality shift toward the end). She is understandably panicked and scared, although she got over it remarkably quickly. All in all, it’s an amusing enough read for what it is.

Finding Her Minotaur, by Evangeline Priest

Meh. This was an entertaining enough read for the evening. But I read it last night before bed, and this morning, writing a review, it’s already fading from memory. Nothing of note stood out as worth remembering. Despite its cover and Minotaur MMC, it’s not particularly spicy. And while I realize, of course, that it is a novella, it’s exceptionally shallow. (Plus, it could use an editing pass to shore up the past/present tenses.)

It feels very, very much like it is part of something bigger. People are given titles, honorifics, or social standing, while world and galactic politics are referenced, and a mystery surrounding the FMC’s origins is hinted at; however, none of these elements are explained or contextualized.

The MMC seems sweet, noble, and loyal, but you don’t get to know him at all. You get even less of a read on the FFC. Priest gives you her circumstances, but basically nothing of her as a person.

All in all, I don’t regret reading it. But I honestly won’t remember I did by tomorrow. So, it’s not a winner either.

Thrum, by Meg Smitherman

Perhaps I misunderstood the brief, or the marketing of this book is off the mark. But I expected a monstery romance involving a deep space edlrich horror. This has a light sex scene or two, but sex scenes do not a romance make. This is horror, maybe gothic horror if you’re willing to stretch it far enough to encompass space. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. It’s atmospheric, and the reader truly feels the main character’s crumbling reality and fear. But it’s not what I was led to believe it would be. I was left with questions, and the sudden reveal and wrap-up at the end felt rushed. But generally, I enjoyed this.

Matched to the Mafia, by Jenika Snow

I’ve tried several of Snow’s books now. (I bought several all at one time, at some point.) And I think she just isn’t for me. I thought this was pretty trash. We get ‘he’s a bad guy and wants her’ in 15 variations, and that’s honestly about it. I know it’s a novella. But it’s not a very good one, IMO.

Starbinder, by Mark Timmony

Very clearly just a small taste of something larger, Starbinder is an intriguing teaser to the series as a whole. The writing is clear, and the world seems interesting. But I do think it was a bit too big to squeeze into a novella.

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Book Review: System Collapse, by Martha Wells

I purchased a signed copy of Martha WellsSystem Collapse through The Broken Binding.

system collapse

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast.

Yeah, this plan is… not going to work.

my review

Oh man, I missed SecUnit and crew. I really did. Unfortunately, it had been a hot minute since I read the last book, and this one picks up right where Network Effect ended. So, I was a little hazy on the remembered details. So, it might be worth a reread before you jump into System Collapse if it’s been a little while for you, too.

This book is predominantly internal to SecUnit’s thoughts and banter between SecUnit and ART, and I was 100% there for it. I love them both to pieces. We also get to see a lot of growth in SecUnit as they come to recognize and accept their own past trauma, try to do the right thing in difficult situations, and keep their humans alive (preferably all the humans, but definitely their humans).

All in all, I will be on pins and needles, hoping there is another book in this series at some point.

system collapse photo


Other Reviews:

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Book Review: Second Chances, by Kiska Gray

I picked up a freebie copy of Kiska Gray‘s Second Chances in November of 2018. I imagine I intended to read it for Christmas that year, but apparently didn’t get around to it. That means I had it available to read for my Christmas reading challenge this year.
second Chances Kiska Gray

Fear took him away, but longing brought him back…

Six years ago, Nikolas Steele’s heart was broken when his best friend—the man who he thought was his forever—walked out on him without an explanation. Now, Ky Kendall is back in town, just in time for the holidays. When he shows up at Nikolas’s Santa Shop with a little girl who looks like him, Nik has questions.

In a time of need, Ky steps up to play the part of Santa’s Helper to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, but neither of them expect those old sparks to fly. Despite their renewed passion, Ky’s still running scared and Nikolas knows that at any moment, their fragile relationship could be shattered once more.

And this time, he isn’t sure if he’s strong enough to survive it.

my review

I suppose there was nothing wrong with this other than personal preferences. I’m just not into the whole God thing, be it the glories of God’s grace or the vagaries and damages godly people do in God’s name. So, the whole plot of this novella—at least the frictious aspect of it—did nothing for me. And outside of that, the rest of the plot is in the blurb. So, there wasn’t a lot left.

Well, I do actually think I need to complain about the, frankly, miraculous change of heart Ky’s fire-and-brimstone parents had and how rushed the happily ever after was, at the end. But It’s a Christmas novella, I don’t really expect much else.

Having said all of that, Nikolas was a paragon of forgiveness and I appreciated that about him. And Ky’s internal struggles were well represented. I liked both characters. So, I won’t say this wasn’t a good read. Just not for me, I think.

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Come back tomorrow. I’ll be reviewing Sleigh Spells, by Bella Falls.