Book Review: Being Fitz by J.D. Walker

Being Fitz by J.D. Walker is a novella. Lysander "Fitz" Fitzgibbon used to teach at a university, but quit when his father grew ill and needed someone to take care of him. Years later, after his dad's death, Fitz has given up on his dreams, drives a bus route, and endures twice monthly visits from Jerry, who can't really be called a friend, and barely a benefit. Fitz is lonely, overweight, and figures life won't be getting any better. Then Jerry falls for Fitz's neighbor, Henry, and Fitz stumbles over a dead body in the park. As if life couldn't get any worse, he has a run-in with Detective Holland Simms, whose infuriating arrogance and brash behavior provokes Fitz to punch him. But strangely enough, Fitz feels more alive around Simms than he has in a long time, though Fitz finds it hard to believe that the confident Simms would want anything to do with him.

Being Fitz is a short romance. It was a quick. enjoyable read with some serious feels. My biggest issue is that I wanted more. Fitz has plenty of angst in the beginning, and the initial courtship between Simms and Fitz was pretty great. However, then we just kind of cut ahead to Fitz getting his life together, and it felt like the heart of the matter was glossed over. I loved seeing Fitz find happiness, but I feel like This could have easily been fleshed out to a full length novel, with more relationship development, and more of Fitz finding his value in tangible ways rather than because Simms and his coworker telling him that his is more than he thinks. I liked the read, but really wanted more, I wanted to see Fitz grow not just have it glossed over and be told that things work out. I wanted to see him move towards it and grab his future with both hands rather than just reacting to things that come his way.

Book Review: Choice by Andrea Loredo

Choice by Andrea Loredo is a novella length fantasy. It feels like the second book in a series, but I can find no information on previous, or later, books. 

Ser Mirele Heine is a Guardian, sworn to protect the royal family. One night, after being oddly called away to slay a dragon in another province, Mirele and hir companions are ambushed. They rush back to the castle to find a coup is underway. Mirele manages to escape with hir charge, Princess Shahira de Granius. As the two go into hiding and move from town to town, Shahira grapples with her conflicting feelings over the slaughter of her family, and Mirele struggles with the dark secret ze harbors and hir own affections for the princess. 

Choice is a story that I enjoyed, but was also a little disappointed with at the same time. I was glad that I got a good deal of the backstory I wanted in the beginning towards the end of the book. I liked the characters, but felt like I could have gotten a little more development even in the short book. I will admit that I was distracted by the alternate pronouns, although once I figured out it was because Mirele was non binary rather than it being a part of the fantasy setting it made more sense to me. I liked the story, but think it would be better served as part of a larger work- because I felt like there as so much more that could be done with the characters, setting, and conflicts that ran as the backdrop.

Book Review: Bonnie and the Beast by Alexa Black

Bonnie and the Beast by Alexa Black is very short, I would call it a short story rather than even a novella. The Beast's castle has been lonely since an angry sorceress cursed her years ago, and resigned herself to it a long time ago. But now a woman has promised to brave the curse, and for the first time in too many years the Beast has someone to talk to—and perhaps even break the curse. But tricking people into visiting your castle isn't how you find a soulmate. And looking stranger than a werewolf doesn't help.

Bonnie and the Beast is at a bit of short erotica. The Beast is waiting for a promised girl to come to her castle and make the attempt to break a curse. I still have no idea what the beast looks like and could not even hazard a guess because five eyes and some serious claws and teeth? I felt like there was room for a bit of character growth, or at least some insight into them. There was a little bit of information on each through the story, but not enough to let me care about either. It seemed like it was an excuse to write a sex scene between a curvy girl and a female something rather than a story. I was annoyed at the length, and at the lack of character depth. A bit more story would have been appreciated but this might just be what someone else is looking for. 

Book Review:Grim a Young Adult Short Story Anthology

Grim is a collection of 17 short stories based off fairy tales collected by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. Some of the tales are better known such as Beauty and the Beast and The Snow Queen, and some are lesser known, such as The Shroud and The Robber Bridegroom. The authors in the anthology are: Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Julie Kagawa, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Kimberly Derting, Myra McEntire, Malinda Lo, Sarah Rees-Brennan, Jackson Pearce, Christine Johnson, Jeri Smith Ready, Shaun David Hutchinson, Saundra Mitchell, Sonia Gensler, Tessa Gratton, and Jon Skrovon.

I do not want to go to much into each of the stories, because reading a full summary of a short story might give away to much and destroy some of the fun. So, I will highlight some of my favorites. The Key by Rachel Hawkins is about a girl with a special gift, and has an open ending. The Raven Princess by Jon Skovron offers a fun twist to a lesser known story. Thinner Than Water by Saundra Mitchell is a retelling of Donkeyskin, with a vengeful flavor. The tale is tough to read, but so worth it. Beast/Beast by Tessa Gratton, a retelling of a tale you can figure out by the title, featured characters that break the preconceptions you might have of them.

The stories were generally very well done, and left me with only a couple moments of wishing I skipped a story. However, for the most part I enjoyed the reading. I take great pleasure in reading new twists on classic tales, and even more pleasure in having a lesser know story or even one I do not recognize introduced. This is a definite young adult and adult selection, and one worth exploring.

I would recommend Grim to young adults, new adults and adults. The stories are a bit grim, as the title suggests, and sometimes a little gritty. In this regard I think the short story format is perfect. If you like new and unusual takes of folklore and learning new stories from the past then you will enjoy this collection.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU Cover Reveal

All I Want for Christmas Is You (Short Story)

By Molly O'Keefe

Loveswept | 978-0-345-54244-1

On Sale November 4, 2013

Book Blurb: 

In this touching eBook novella, a prequel to Molly O’Keefe’s Crazy Thing Called Love, a young woman swept up by first love is ready to say “I do”—until challenges arise during the holiday season.

Maddy Baumgarten and Billy Wilkins are spontaneous, in love, and prepared to elope the day after Christmas—that is, if Maddy’s family doesn't throw a wrench in their plans. Her parents are more than a little reluctant to give their blessing to the impending nuptials. After all, Maddy’s barely out of high school and Billy’s a notorious bad boy. Maddy doesn't care about Billy’s rough past—all she cares about is living in the here and now. But after Maddy’s mother stops speaking to her in protest, and a Christmas Eve heart-to-heart with her father leaves her with butterflies, Maddy starts to get cold feet. She loves Billy, but is she taking this big step too soon?

About the Author

Molly O’Keefe published her first Harlequin romance at age twenty-five and hasn't looked back. She loves exploring each character’s road toward happily ever after. She’s won two Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice awards and the RITA for Best Novella in 2010. Originally from a small town outside of Chicago, she now lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband, two kids, and the largest heap of dirty laundry in North America.

Pre-order ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU

Connect with Molly: Facebook | Twitter | Website

Book Review: Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores

Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores is a collection of short stories edited by Greg Ketter. They are all well written, and all have a bookstore as a major componant of the story. You might even call the bookstore the main character in the tales. Genres of the story range from science fiction, fantasy, horror, and historical or speculative fiction. The collection is a joy to explore for everyone that loves books, libraries, or bookstores. A treasure for every bibliophile.

The contributing authors are David Bischoff, P.D. Cacek, Ramsey Campbell, Charles de Lint, Marianne de Pierres, Harlan Ellison, Rick Hautala, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Gerard Houarner, John J. Miller, A.R. Morlan, Lisa Morton, Melanie Tem, Patrick Weekes, Jack Williamson, Gene Wolfe. The introduction is written by Neil Gaiman, and the cover art is done by John Picacio.

Shelf Life is a compilation of short stories that exceeded my expectations. Typically, with any anthology, there is at lest one short story that stands out as less interesting or a lower quality than the rest. It is not always that the one story is bad, sometimes it just does not fit into the theme or mood of the collection as well as the rest. There was no such story in this group, while there were still some that stood out as absolutely fantastic. Every story brought a bookstore to life and had me roaming its floors. I really enjoyed the book, and found myself moving slowly through it so that I would be able to savor each story to the fullest.

Shelf Life is a book that I highly recommend to everyone that finds themselves getting lost in books, wandering through library stacks, and exploring the shelves of any bookstore they can find. It would be a thoughtful holiday or birthday gift for any bibliophile on your list.

Short Story Review: Pigsong by Frank Delaney

Pigsong is part of a series of short stories titled Storytellers by Frank Delaney. These short stories might have started as an introducing to Delaney's latest novel The Last Storyteller, but Pigsong is a great story in its own right. Like the other short stories in the collection, Pigsong echos the cadence and feel of the traveling storyteller entertaining in exchange for food and shelter. In Pigsong the storyteller gives readers a story about the magic of hope and justice. An evil couple provides labor for their farm by stealing unsuspecting individuals and keeping them as slaves. One such slave is put to work watching over the pigs. However, pigs are not the dirty, ignoble creatures they are often labeled to be. The pigs can hum, and one can even sing. The rhyming words of the pig led to freedom and one young man's journey to help those in despair. 

Pigsong is a charming story, with a unique feel that honors the oral tradition of storytelling. While the story itself is short, the reach is grand. Could a singing pig, one that sings in charmingly simple rhymes, inspire one frightened young man to free an army of slaves? Could imagination have truly inspired an oppressed community or culture to listen for the hidden songs that could guide them to independence? Would you be able to hear the song, and would you heed it?  

Pigsong, and the rest of the short story series, is available in e-book format. Delaney plans to continue releasing one story a month through the end of 2012. Each is accessible, entertaining, and thought-provoking for readers of all ages. In fact, I think I am keeping Pigsong on my iPod touch a little long to use for some bedtime reading with my children. I think my daughter would love the cadence, but it might give her too many ideas about raising up against the oppression of bedtime. 

I recommend Pigsong to readers that enjoy short stories, mythology, legends, and the oral tradition. I am ready to go back and read the other short stories in the Storyteller series that have already been released, and to keep on reading the series.

Nano Tech Vignette

Bradley Morgan walked down East Main Street and wondered what he would do for dinner tonight. He saw one of the many nano-food machines out of the corner of his eye and involuntarily shuddered. He'd practically grown up on nano-burgers but now, at twenty-five, he craved some fresh, home cooked food. There was no real difference in taste, not really, but he just wanted something that did not come from one of those ugly machines. The thought of a grilled steak, or a nice tossed salad had him practically drooling right here on the busiest street in the city. He mentally shook himself and pointedly tried to change his train of thought. All he needed was to be drooling and run into someone he knew.

Money, that's something he could always think about. Ever since nano technology became widespread money has completely lost it's value. No one needed it anymore, it was totally useless to him. Food cheap from nano-machines, cars flooding the market, and jobs down to nothing. The only way to get a job was if you wanted to clean something or teach. No one needs workers to make anything, that's why we have nano technology. Bradley sighed heavily and decided that this wasn't exactly a safe topic to dwell on either. Somehow he needed to get his mind off his messed up life, and his messed up world.

Then he saw the perfect diversion to his depressing thoughts. Molly Brannagin was walking his way. She would get his heart out of the gutter, but hopefully not his mind. He changed his angle of travel so that they could not possibly miss each other when he saw what he deemed slime approach Molly. It was Erik Henderson, the dirtiest man alive. Erik sold alcohol, that was actually brewed instead of made through nano technology, to the masses. Although Bradley has on occasion dealt with that scum it didn't make it any easier to watch him approach Molly.

"Hey Erik, what are you sellin' now? More beer and vodka to the young and restless?" Asked Bradley. He had come to stand directly behind Molly while Erik had been speaking to her. Erik raised his hands in an innocent gesture and stuttered that he was only supplying his customers with what they wanted. With that he completed his sale with Molly and scuttled back to the alley which he came from.

"And the slime crawls back to it's restin' place" sneered Bradley as he turned Molly around to face him. Her pain filled eyes met his own as they both wondered what was next. After what seemed to be an unending silence Bradley finally asked Molly about the alcohol. She sighed and shook her head telling him that was not his concern. She quickly walked away from his seeing eyes and continued down the street as if nothing had happened.

When Bradley recovered from the shock of what had just happened he slowly sat on the concrete pavement. He wondered if life had been better or worse before nano technology. The lost of jobs, loss of value for money, and the forgotten home-cooked meals sat heavy in his heart. The stories he had read as a child told of wonderful, and horrible, things that could not have possible have been true. What if those stories were true? Could life have ever been that strange, or wonderful? Life would then defiantly be much stranger than fiction. Shaken out of his musings by a girl running down the sidewalk her realized that he still had no idea what he would do for dinner.

Chains of Love- Short Story

Gaya held in her hands a bright whirling ball of energy. She stared at this thing she had created through the waves of energy that surrounded it. In this ball she could see the potential for good and evil, for love and hate, and for all those things that lay in-between. She focused her energy on the surface of the ball and on finishing her creation. She visualized earth, forming mountains, deserts and valleys. She pictured water, forming lakes, rivers and oceans. As she visualized these forms they came to be in her hands.

She visualized her creation being lit up by a life sustaining sun, and the calming moon and stars that appeared nearby as she imagined them. She thought of creatures of all kinds, animals to roam the land she had created, birds to fill the skies, and various creatures to live in the waters. She created vegetation to provide food and beauty. She focused more of her life force on her creation, trying to create everything that it would need to thrive. She willed the winds and tides into existence, creating the weather to provide this young world with rain for water and winds to carry seeds and help lift birds into the sky.

Gaya began to weaken, but had one more kind of creature that she wanted to bring about on this small world. She focused all her remaining energy and pictured a being, like her own father and brothers in form. Strong and capable, able to protect and use the resources of the world she had created, or to abuse and destroy it.
She created it's mate, formed like herself and her mother, able to nurture and love the world, and all its creatures or ignore them and focus on her own vanities. She gave these beings the free will to choose their own paths, but desperately hoped that they would try to protect and love the world and each other.

She watched her creation develop and let a tear fall. Then she slowly crumpled to the floor, completely drained. Her creation remained safe in her hands; even through her collapse she had protected her new world from harm as best she could. She had spent most of her life force in creating something from a speck of dust that had caught the light, and now she was close to death.

Above her the sorrowful eye of Myra watched this happen in her own hands. She remembered how spent she was after she had endowed a dust mote with life. She shed tears as she watched one of her own creations; her own children create a new world. She hoped that Gaya would soon awake, as she had after creating her world.

She sighed and focused her will, giving some of her life force to the young creator. She smiled, relieved, as Gaya awoke and stared amazed at the world that she held. Myra thought for a moment and then glanced up. Was someone watching over her just as she watched over the whirling ball in her hands?