Tag Archives: Short Stories

And Baby Makes Two by Debra Benson

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Title – And Baby Makes Two (Endless Affair, #2)
Author – Debra Benson
Genre –  Short Stories/Romance
Length –    70 Pages
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis                 

Melvin’s life fell apart as his wife’s rationality seemed to deteriorate. She left him, taking her son with her, but then a phone call out of the blue drew him back into Andrea’s life. The revelation that the child he’d watched grow in her belly was in fact his son pushed the clouds darkening his heart away, letting a small spark of hope for a future began to build. But first he had to win Andrea’s heart.

Review

This is book 2 in the Endless Affair series. You can see my review of the first book here

The story follows on from the last book and we see the strain on Melvin and Andrea increase now that a baby is on the way.

Again I felt the author did well to pack so much into a short story.. it’s 70 pages but in that short space you’ve given the perspective from both sides and it honestly left you feeling that even though the relationship started as an affair that these two need each other

Melvin has to deal with the consequences of his affair also in this book. I won’t spoil it but I think this was handled really well.

This isn’t the nice fairy-tale story , it’s real.. this could happen to anyone but it does give you a more balanced perspective which is hard to do as in these situations blame will always be attributed one way or another.

The other thing I really liked is it showed Andrea coming to terms with having a baby.. it’s not easy.. you never truly know what the baby needs until it arrives.. no amount of preparation helps, trust me, I know 🙂

For me this tale is a true reflection of life, people fall in and out of love and people don’t always start out to hurt people but inevitably someone will have their life torn to bits.. I’m a big believer in love but I also know that you have to work at it and things don’t always go as you’d want or expect.

To find out more head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

I Can I Will – Debra Benson – Review

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Title –  I Can I Will
Author – Debra Benson
Genre –  Short Stories/Romance
Length –    52 Pages
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis

Andrea’s life fell apart when she was laid off from a good paying job, but she found comfort in church, and then in the gentle arms of the Reverend. That would have been the perfect solution if he wasn’t already married to her best friend, one thing led to another and things just happened. What happens when two people in need of love find each other? Can Andrea and Melvin find their way past sin and salvage their personal lives, as well as their standing with God?

Review

At 52 pages this book is short but like me you’ll be surprised how much has been crammed in.

One of the biggest issues you can have is leaving the reader feeling deflated like they haven’t got their monies worth from a short story.. well not this stories.

The author managed to weave what felt to me as a complete story in so few pages and actually had me feeling for the characters.  When each new character is introduced the author gives you a little insight but as the story progresses you get to see things from their point of view and things aren’t as clear cut as they might appear.

I think the story has done well to highlight what can happen in relationships; as much as we love someone everyone has the human need to feel loved. Romance is not a genre I tend to enjoy but this was a real treat

For me the way the author wrote this book was brilliant, with the story moving from one person’s perspective to another. This give the book a great feel and I constantly changed my views on the characters with every turn of a page

If you enjoy a good short story this is perfect, it didn’t feel lacking in anything. The pace of the story was perfect, the writing style made it all flow nicely and my biggest love in any story. Character development was there in abundance.

If you’ve not read a short story before then give this one a go! I doubt you’ll be disappointed

My thanks go to the author for the chance to read and review the book

To find out more head to Goodreads, Smashwords, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Tales of Ancient Rome by S.J.A. Turney – Review

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Title – Tales of Ancient Rome
Author – S.J.A. Turney
Genre –  Historical Fiction/Short Stories
Length –  99 Pages
Publication –  Nov 2011
My Rating –  5/5 Stars

Synopsis

A collection of bite-size stories of varying styles all based in the world of ancient Rome. 12 tales of the ancient world, plus a bonus tale to finish.

The second edition contains two new tales not told in the 1st. Laugh, cry and shudder at:

Hold The Wall – Hadrian’s wall in the last days of the western empire
Vigil – A comedic tale of firefighting in Rome
*NEW* Rudis – A champion gladiator fights his last fight
*NEW* The Discovery – A Roman trader makes a surprising find in distant China
The man who bought an Empire – The lowest point of Imperial succession
Trackside seats – A slave helps his blind master at the circus
How to run a latifundium – A cautionary tale of estate management
A Reading – What does the future hold in Judea?
Exploratores – Trajan’s scouts on the trail of Dacian warriors
With a pinch of salt – A comedic tale of food in Claudius’ Rome
The Palmyrene Prince – Rome’s eastern border tells grim tales
Temple Trouble – A tale of the early days of Fronto (of the Marius’ Mules series)
Bonus tale: Aftermath in the Ludus – A fun finish.

Review

Yes I’m late to the party on this one I know…

As a reader I promise myself to go back and read all the books an author has wrote if I enjoy their work. It’s not always easy to fit all these wonderful tales in though..This however was perfect. I’ve been meaning to read more of Simon’s work and this was a easy read to stick in between other reads

It’s a collect of short stories which show off the author’s skills. It’s perfect if like me you want a quick read or this would also suit anyone as a great introduction to the author if you’ve not read his work previously

Some short stories leave me deflated, not bored but sort of wondering what I got out of reading them.. not this one. On numerous occasions I found myself grinning, especially when I read the sentence “oh dear, I think I shat myself” . This really was a selection of well written shorts which at times were very humorous which I think is a hard thing to do in such short tales.

My favourites were Temple Trouble & The Discovery

The book is currently free so why not grab a copy like I did.. you’ve got nothing to lose but lots to gain 🙂

To find out more head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Friar Tuck and the Christmas Devil by Steven A. McKay – Review

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Title – Friar Tuck and the Christmas Devil
Author – Steven A. McKay
Genre –  Historical Fiction/Short Stories
Length –  70 Pages
Publication –  13th November 2015
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis

Holly and ivy decorate the houses while voices are raised in song, but the Christmas cheer is tempered by terror this festive season, as demons haunt a small English village.

Strange thefts; cloven hoof-prints in the snow; a house burned to the ground.

Something evil stalks the icy streets of Brandesburton and former mercenary Tuck must find out what, before it’s too late.

As he sets out to solve the mystery the friar prays his faith will protect him. His faith AND his great quarterstaff, for he knows full well – the Devil makes no deals…

This brand new novella from the best-selling author of the Forest Lord series will delight and entertain historical fiction fans looking to escape the madness of Christmas shopping for a little while. Grab a mince pie, warm some mulled wine, and join Friar Tuck on this snowy adventure!

“…a heart warming tale, wrapping the deep meaning of Christmas in amongst

a clever little mystery…” Parmenion Book Reviews

Includes a foreword by Phil Rose, the legendary Friar Tuck from TV’s Robin of Sherwood.

Review

What a perfectly wonderful Christmas tale. I was very lucky to have the chance to read an advance copy and i can say for certain when this book is released you are in for a treat!

This tale focuses on one of my favourite characters Friar Tuck and some devilish events that have been occurring. As you can imaging the good Friar isn’t go to sit back and let things happen.

I never like to spoil a story by saying too much in my reviews but if you’ve read Steven’s previous books you won’t be disappointed. McKay manages give us a Christmas tale with his own style of writing infused within it so there’s a perfect mix of violence and kindness to warm the heart.

I highly recommend reading this during the festive period as it would fit in perfectly. My advice is grab a bottle of wine or a few beers and sit by the fire and read this from start to finish.

Personally it was good to see Steven writing about the Friar again and i hope we see a few more short tales coming from the author soon. So far both Novella’s McKay has wrote have been great and he’s managed to fit so much into so few pages that you are left wanting more but fulfilled at the same time.

Most certainly i will be reading this again on Christmas Eve once the kids are in bed, it’s a lovely story to get you in the mood for festive period

To pre-order head to Amazon