Showing posts with label short story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short story. Show all posts

December 11, 2015

Spotlight: Sanctuary by Zainab T. Khan

Sanctuary
Author: Zainab T. Khan 
Genre: YA Short Story 
Release Date: December 22, 2015


Synopsis:


Sanctuary
(n.) the protection that is provided by a safe place.


"And Sanctuary was the right word to describe our small town with its mouth-watering Pakistani fruits, Spain's bullfighting, Italian pizzas, French artists, Indian spices, Korean kimchi, and Turkish delights. Because to every single one of us – a Pakistani, Spanish, Indian, Korean, French, Italian, and Turkish - it was a sanctuary. Our own safe haven. Our home with its different cultural styles yet with a culture of its own."


BOOK LINK: Goodreads



Hello, you beautiful person.

The only thing you need to know about is my favourite book boyfriends (Yes, boyfriend(s), deal with it. We all have them.) Jesse de Silva, Maxon Schreave, and Flynn Rider (he's a fictional character too) and of course Adrian Ivashkov. Oh, how I wish I could resist them. But, David 'Tag' Taggert has my heart. Sorry, you four gorgeous guys.


AUTHOR LINKS:
Website: http://zainabtkhan.weebly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZainabK109 
Instagram: http://instagram.com/zainabtkhan 
Tumblr: http://bibliophileworld.tumblr.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13517690.Zainab_T_Khan





 

December 1, 2015

Review: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

The Grownup
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Suspense/Thriller/Short Story
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Crown

Description:

A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, doesn't help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26025580-the-grownup?ac=1&from_search=1

The Grownup is a chilling short story that will leave the author's fans begging for more. I personally have been a die-hard fan of the author's since reading her first book - Sharp Objects - years ago. Since then, I've stalked followed her every move and freaked out when I learned about a new novel that was going to be released. There never seems to be enough of her work to keep me (and other fans) satisfied, and I'm constantly checking the web for any talk of a new book.

When I heard that Ms. Flynn was going to be releasing a new book - I freaked out and immediately started learning as much as I could. I was really disappointed to find out that it was only going to be a short story though. Any of her fans know that we need a full length novel in order to get as much of the dark and twisted goodness we all are dying to read. I knew I was going to read this one though, purely for the fact that she wrote it (and the description sounded intriguing). Once again, Ms. Flynn messed with my head with loads of twists and turns, characters who may (or may not) be who they seem, and basically no possible way of guessing what was going to happen or how it would end. It's the kind of writing that I expect from the author - and it's also the reason I'm such a huge fan. It's hard to imagine that all of these attributes could be attained in a mere 64 pages - but she manages to do it. There's lots of twists and turns, odd characters, strange happenings, and her trademark dark and twisted writing style. The only negative thing I have to say about the story is that it was way too short! There's a ton of potential and promise in those 64 pages - plenty enough to craft a full novel from. If it had been a full length book, I would've given it 5 stars (my seemingly normal rating for her works) - but she had to go and give us a little taste of something unique - and then leave us hanging; begging for more. I highly recommend this short story to fans of the author's other books, along with those readers who enjoy short stories, thrillers, horror, suspense, and mysteries. If the author happens to read this review, I would like to say one thing: PLEASE write a new book - a real, full length novel - to help keep your rabid avid fans from going completely crazy!

 


* I received a copy of the book from the Blogging for Books Program in exchange for an honest review.





 

October 14, 2014

Release Day Launch + Giveaway: Just Gotta Say by Laura Kaye

JGS RDL Banner  

Today is the Release Day Launch for Laura Kaye's JUST GOTTA SAY! JUST GOTTA SAY is a 17K-word erotic menage short story. JUST GOTTA SAY will be $.99 and available in print!!

  Just Gotta Say

Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Description:

Just Gotta Say is a super sexy friends-to-lovers story and a contemporary ménage a quatres

Callie Davis stumbles upon two of her three male roommates in a surprising, molten-hot midnight tryst and discovers a side of herself she never knew existed. Desire to play with them grips her, and she can’t stop fantasizing about having multiple men, particularly her three long-time best friends.
Callie is thrilled when a guys’ night out gives her the perfect opportunity to recreate her fantasy, with the help of a threesome porn video and a bag of sex toys. That is, until Lucas, Jack and Noah return early and catch her in the act. More than anything, the guys want to make her fantasy come true. But Callie has a secret, and she can’t help wondering if being with all three men will risk the future she’s always wanted with one of them.

As three strong sets of hands caress and undress her, Callie surrenders to desire, because sometimes you just gotta say...yes.


The set-up: Callie’s most secret fantasy was just unexpectedly revealed to her three male roommates…

The invitation he laid out for her—the invitation to be with them, to act out this fantasy for real with them—was completely outside anything she imagined possible.

She sat for a long moment, still mostly curled into herself. Her gaze lit on the rough bobbing of Jack’s Adams apple as he swallowed. His apparent case of nerves eased hers. A little. Soft, sandy-colored strands brushed against her forehead. Her nose filled with the scent of him, all night air and masculinity.

Callie took a deep breath, her body remembering her unfulfilled arousal even as her brain struggled to keep up. “What are you saying, Jack?” she whispered, buying herself time to think and needing him to spell it out.

One hand stroked her back while the other combed her hair off the side of her face. “I’m saying”—he nibbled at her ear, but this time his lips lingered, his warm exhalation caressing her skin—“that the three of us want to bring that fantasy to life for you. If you want.”

Every nerve ending tingled with the promise of what he offered. Her heart rose from where it had plummeted into her gut and now hammered against her chest. Images of the three of them kissing her, fucking her, swamped her brain. Blood roared through her ears. “Are you teasing me?”

“Look at me,” he said, sliding his large hand under her cheek.

The commanding press of his skin on hers skittered electrical charges down her neck to her breasts. Her nipples hardened. She acquiesced and sat up just enough to face one of her three dearest friends.

“We want to do this for you.” He quirked the sexiest of crooked smiles and shrugged with one shoulder. “You know we’d be good together.”

She didn’t know whether his “we” meant her and him or the four of them. An encouraging voice in her mind said both interpretations were true.

He cupped her neck, his grasp comforting and reassuring, and brushed his lips against her right cheekbone. Her right eye. Her forehead. Tilting his head to the other side, he repeated the action against her left eye, the apple of her left cheek. She gasped when his last kiss fell on that tender, hollow spot just below her ear.

“What do you want, Callie? Whatever you want, we want. Always.”


Author Photo Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.      

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June 30, 2013

Review: Raven Girl by Audrey Niffenegger

Raven Girl
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Fairy Tale
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Abrams

Description:

Once there was a Postman who fell in love with a Raven.

So begins the tale of a postman who encounters a fledgling raven while on the edge of his route and decides to bring her home. The unlikely couple falls in love and conceives a child — an extraordinary raven girl trapped in a human body. The raven girl feels imprisoned by her arms and legs and covets wings and the ability to fly. Betwixt and between, she reluctantly grows into a young woman, until one day she meets an unorthodox doctor who is willing to change her.

One of the world’s most beloved storytellers has crafted a dark fairy tale full of wonderment and longing. Complete with Audrey Niffenegger’s bewitching etchings and paintings, Raven Girl explores the bounds of transformation and possibility.
 



Raven Girl is a strange short story that feels like a fairy tale. The story tells the tale of a Postman who finds a baby raven one day on his route. He proceeds to take her home with him, cares for her, and they eventually fall in love. Soon after they are married (enter weirdness), the raven lays an egg that continues to grow and grow. When it's time for the egg to hatch, a human girl emerges from the shell. (More weirdness.) The girl grows up and although she is human in appearance, she speaks in caws like a raven. She also feels like she has been born into the wrong body and she really is meant to have the body of a raven. The girl, who is known only as Raven Girl, grows up and attends university, where she finds a doctor who agrees to give her surgery to turn her arms into wings. (Even more weirdness.) In true fairy tale form, the story ends with a happily ever after.
 

This was a really odd and kind of creepy fairy tale that definitely reaches the edge of one's imagination. Parts of it had me wondering what the heck was going on - like the part where the man and the raven have an egg/baby together. Weird. The story itself was well written and I was fascinated enough to keep reading to see what would happen to the Raven Girl. Luckily there's a happy ending and I honestly didn't know if there would be one. Among the pages of the short story are dark and strange illustrations. They are mostly of the Raven Girl, although they follow along with the story. All of the drawings are dark with little to no color in them and only a couple show happy scenes from the story. This was definitely a book that I wasn't expecting from the description, but I'm glad I got to experience it. It's not for everyone, but those who do find that type of fiction appealing will love it's gothic feel and strange fairy tale telling.


February 14, 2013

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Thundering Luv by L.M. Preston



 

Thundering Luv
Author: L.M. Preston
Genre: YA Romance - Short Story
Expected Release Date: June 1, 2013
Format: eBook only, but will be included in a 2014 print copy anthology that includes 3 short YA Summer Romances by LM Preston to include (Flutter Of Luv, Thundering Luv, and Double Trouble Luv) 


   
Description:

Jewel has always been able to get the guy she wanted. The starting jock on the football team, the team captain on the basketball team, and the lead swimmer on the swim team. Problem is, she didn't find them the least bit exciting. Was she cold or a she-wolf for guys? Colin thought so, and he'd do anything to bring her down a peg or two. When these two collide on the sandy beach during their mixed up summer vacation, sparks fly, making this a summer neither will forget.


Details: Book 2 in 'Luv' series. It is a stand alone. The first book in the series is Flutter Of Luv. If you want a taste of this series before you get your copy of Thundering Luv, just pick up a copy for $0.99 at all ebook retailers!













Invitation to Facebook Release Party! May, 18th, 2013 combined party with LM Preston's 2013 releases. To RSVP, go here: https://www.facebook.com/#%21/events/371743026256005/








 The author has very generously offered an ebook copy of Fluttering Luv (Book #1 in the series) to every person who leaves a comment within 2 days of this cover reveal! Just be sure to leave your name and an email to contact you with.

In order to get your free copy of Fluttering Luv, just do at least one of these simple steps:

1. Add "Thundering Luv" to your Goodreads To-Read Shelf. (use the button above)

~or~  2. "Like" Flutter of Love on Amazon and leave the number your like was in the comment.


Don't forget to enter the grand prize - a $20 Amazon gift card! Enter in the Rafflecopter below!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway