Review of 'Harper's Wish' by Krista Ames

I received an e-copy of this novella from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It is hard to write an elaborate opinion when the story is a little over 40 pages in length. To start with, the author barely has any time to develop the characters, and, in truth, it is the hardest job to make them believable in such a short amount of writing. So I can only praise Krista Ames for achieving just that.

Harper Donaldson, a twenty four year old postmistress in a small Montana town, has never known a happy Christmas in the midst of a happy family, as she was orphaned at a young age. So all she wants for Christmas this year is to have a family. Yet she does not believe in Santa, nor in the mystery Santa’s  mailbox that has appeared in the lobby of the post office. Given the fact that the novella is so short, any further details would be spoilers, so I will stop here.

What I will add though, is that this short story, although not strongly written, is a sweet, touching read that will make you smile. As you keep reading, you will have the certainty that there will be a perfectly happy ending, like in every Santa book, and you will turn the last page brimming with satisfaction, and wishing for that Santa’s mailbox to appear at your local post office.

Krista's novella can be purchased on Amazon in Kindle format. Click HERE for the purchase link.

 

COMING SOON

REVIEW OF 'The Katydid Effect' by Edward R Hackemer

 

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Review of 'Old Flame' by Annabelle Blume

A review copy was provided by the author in return for an honest review.

 

Hannah has been obsessed with James ever since they broke up. She just cannot let go. So she secretly spies on him, alters her own schedule hoping to meet him face to face once again. She doesn’t. Instead, she meets gorgeous waiter Marc while dining with her friend Annie at Pecorino’s. Marc feels an instant attraction towards Hannah and asks for her phone number. She gives it to him, thinking that he might hook him up with Annie later on. But that’s not how things will work out in the end.

Annabelle Blume has written a very short novella. It is so short, indeed, there was no time to develop the characters at all, hence the concept of love seems to be misplaced. While real love comes from long companionship and persevering courtship, it can also be born in a moment, and it will be just as strong and lost lasting as the former if certain criteria are met. But that’s not the point that Annabelle failed to make in her story. I felt all along that she rushed the characters’ relationship, and maneuvered them towards a premature ending.  She painted a canvas in front of the reader’s eyes, pointing at her every stroke, explaining her technique, instead of showing the magic of the final product and letting the reader discover its secrets.

I also found that by the end of the story I couldn’t figure out what Hannah really wanted, or if she really knew what she wanted, even though the author listed the heroine’s inner thoughts about her past life as opposed to her new existence.

What also distracted me was the repeated occurrence of typos and syntax errors. Where on earth were the editor and proof reader?

Having said all that, Annabelle’s novella does deserve your attention. It is well written, sweet, and it depicts feelings that are so familiar to many of us. We have all been through deception, suffering, we all had a broken heart, and most of us found it hard to let go. Annabelle has a gift at capturing all these feelings, and the female behavioral response to an emotional loss. I commend her for that.

‘Old flame’ is a pleasant read that I would not hesitate to recommend.  

 

Annabelle's novella can be purchased on Amazon in Kindle format. Click HERE for the purchase link.

 

COMING SOON

REVIEW OF Harper's Wish by Krista Ames

 

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