Hi all:
I don’t know if you’ll remember that a while back (it was July) I participated in tour of a cover reveal of the short-story Her by Danielle Rose. Well, today I have the review of the story, and in case you didn’t remember the original post, here it is:
Danielle Rose holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine. Currently residing in the Midwest, where she spends her days dreaming of warmer temperatures, when she’s not writing, she enjoys pretending she lives in California, spending an embarrassing amount of time at Hobby Lobby, and binge-watching Netflix. Visit Danielle on the Web: www.Danielle-Rose.com.
My review:
It is a bit difficult to write this review without sharing any spoilers, as the story is very short indeed. Blink and you’ve missed it. Despite that, it is atmospheric, intriguing, and fairly dark (although there’s no gore involved at all, so don’t worry if you’re squeamish).
The author uses many of the tropes of horror novels and films (an old gothic-looking property, a ghost story, night, cold, a daring young girl who refuses to show others she is scared) and puts them to good use.
The story is not long enough for us to get a great insight into the characters, although we easily identify with Avlynn, as we see all that happens from her point of view, we hear the screams, we realise our roommate is not there, we wonder which way we should go and we face… (No, I’m not telling you what). The twist at the end is perhaps not totally unexpected but it works very well and makes the story all the more chilling. Yes, we should remember that we ignore some warnings at our peril.
A solid short-story, scary and chilling, and a great introduction to the author’s writing. Recommended to anybody who enjoys ghost stories, especially to those who like short reads and don’t want to get bogged down in too much backstory.
I was given an e-copy of the story as part of a blog tour organised by Lady Amber’s Reviews & PR and I freely chose to review it.
Thanks to Lady Amber and the author, thanks to all of you for reading and remember to like, share, comment, click and REVIEW!
As you know, I enjoy a good short story, as well as writing them myself. This sounds like a good one, and I wish Danielle every success.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. Indeed, I love your stories. I hope you had a good break. Have a great week.
Good morning, Olga.
I’m intrigued — on the whole. Maybe it shows that I still don’t know that much about “indie” but I’m rather mystified that there would be so much going on for a short story. I don’t mean that in a negative way at all though. The cover is gorgeous, and the trailer is great for horror. The story itself sounds wonderful.
It’s just having all that for a story that is too short to get to know the characters… Maybe I just need a second cup of coffee.
It does tell me that the author is proud of her work, and that is sincerely a good thing.
Good luck to Danielle.
Have a wonderful new week.
Off to Mordor now. Hugs!
Yes, I guess it depends on how much expectation you want to create and on the following you can count on.It’s true that if one doesn’t make a fuss, nobody is going to do it for us. I hope Mordor behaves. Take care.
That sounds like a book made for me: short and good!
Very, very short, Erika. It’s a short story. Have a great week!
How many pages does it have? I was looking for it.
No idea. I read it in e-book format. 14 pages, according to Amazon.
Oh, that really sounds like a book for me…. haha!
Well, thinking about it, it’s probably shorter than that, as I imagine they count the pages with the links and information about the author. Have a lovely Tuesday!
Haha… that’s really funny. It already sounds like a longer post… lol! Have a nice evening, Olga!
You too!
This sounds like a very interesting and chilling book, Olga. Great review.
Thanks, Robbie. It’s really a short-short-story so if you fancy a very brief read… Have a great weekend!