I have lately begun to rediscover my love of the short
story, whiling my Sunday afternoons away on my back porch, reading the many
wonderful anthologies that are beginning to grace the digital shelves at Amazon.
Reading short stories allows me to sample an author’s work without investing in
a longer book by an author whose work is unknown to me. Also, it allows me to read
work written by authors whose work I know and love. This week, I am talking
about SNOW, Stories of Forbidden Love, an anthology of tales written by Wattpad Stars. These
authors have some of the highest rated works on Wattpad, with millions of fans
all over the world.
But first THE BLURB:
One cabin. Sixteen stories of forbidden love.
With an online audience of over ONE MILLION combined followers, and hundreds of millions of reads on
their stories, the SNOW ANTHOLOGY showcases talented Wattpad authors from
around the globe.
Journey into the woods where you will discover a cabin
surrounded by snow, filled with secrets…
The SNOW ANTHOLOGY features sixteen original novellas and
novelettes in multiple genres, including Young Adult, New Adult, Contemporary
Romance, Historical Romance, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural and Paranormal.
Brought to you by USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR KELLY ANNE
BLOUNT and available for a LIMITED TIME ONLY! Don't wait for the snow to melt
before you uncover these stories of love, loss, and self-discovery.
MY REVIEW:
All the stories in this volume are excellent, well-written,
and in some cases, deeply thought provoking.
At no time did I feel compelled to skip forward. Several stories, however,
stood out above the others, in my opinion.
The first that struck a chord in me was Red Snow, by Debra Goelz. This is a true fairy tale, harsh,
violent, magical, and mysterious. Children are disappearing in the forest, for
reasons both frightening and sinister. I wanted to know more about Daphne, and
why she was tied to the forest as she was. Eugene, the man who’d been changed
to a snake, was really intriguing also. Goelz presents the situation, doling
out information in just the right bits so that when the final denouement comes, it is both in keeping with the tone of
the tale and satisfying.
The second story that resonated and left me thinking was Faun, by Gavin Hetherington. Faun is another fairy tale, this one
featuring a boy of sixteen, who is on a Christmas vacation in a cabin the woods with his family. Freddie
is at odds with them over something that fundamental to him but which deeply
offends his father and has been ostracized. After a quarrel at dinner, he runs away into a blizzard, finding
his way to a nearby village. What he finds in the village is both moving and
heartwarming.
The third story that I want to talk about is by one of my
favorite authors, Shaun Allan. The fact that his work was featured in this
anthology was why I purchased it in the first place. Wings is a journey into despair and the need to be loved. Megan has
been given a second chance, and opportunity to bring love into people’s lives
and change the world. But her own emotional pain is too much, and she begins to find satisfaction in bringing misery to the
world. Shaun Allan has a knack for getting deep into the dark corners of the
human psyche, which is why this tale resonates with me and why I seek out his
work. What begins as a quest for personal revenge soon takes a form Megan is
completely unprepared for, threatening the world she knows, and deep inside still loves. Allan illustrates the
growing darkness of Megan’s soul and a rising sense of doom with a deft hand,
illuminating the darker places in our own souls, the places we would prefer not
to look.
I enjoyed this anthology from start to finish and highly recommend
it. SNOW,
Stories of Forbidden Love, is available from Amazon for your Kindle.
