REVIEWED BY:
SCORE:
Authors: Various
Publisher: Freya’s Bower
REVIEW:
Regrets – C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp
Cathy’s car overheats, forcing her to find a garage—fast! With little money to spend on broken vehicles, Cathy takes her small son to wait in a restaurant while her car gets fixed. She meets a friendly fellow, who shows her a picture—one that shows a woman who looks just like Cathy.
Regrets is a tale that allowed me to see that fate is indeed a wondrous thing. And very much at play in our lives.
The Best Day – Jenna Bayley-Burke
Sometime during her marriage and having two children, Gail has lost her purpose, her identity. When did that happen? And how come she has only just noticed that she seems surplus to requirements? I felt for Gail as she comes to terms with how things have panned out, and her determination to re-establish herself is something I identified with. The last two lines of dialogue sum up the whole tale—the whole meaning of what Gail has experienced. Brilliant.
Dancing Cheek to Cheek – Amanda Brice
Kelley has always wanted to be a dancer. Life and its winding turns manage to veer her away from her dream until, later in her adult life, she opens a dance class. People seem intent on helping her find the elusive man in her life and, although she wants a stable relationship, those aiding her search for a man aren’t quite getting it right.
With a great voice, Ms. Brice has penned a smile-inducing read that most women will identify with, I’m sure.
Under the Tupelo – Shannon Canard
Rowan is searching for an inherited treasure on her family’s land. With shovel in hand, she digs, unearthing more than she bargained for. So I don’t give away the plot, I’ll refrain from saying what she finds, but rest assured, this is one tale you don’t want to miss.
With rich wording, great imagery, and a riveting plot, Ms. Canard has penned a tale that I won’t forget in a hurry. I loved the concept, the ‘time’ theme, and, well, the whole story. A really good tale, in my opinion. One of my favourites.
Let’s Dance – Sela Carson
Lori wanted to try dancing. However, upon entering a dance class, her confidence deserts her. What had given her the insane idea that she could flounce around in a glittery dress and master the art of dance? Hastily, she leaves the class. However, Duncan, a kind man, speaks with Lori. Does he make her see that she can, indeed, learn to dance?
A tale that I related to with the self-confidence theme, one that inspired me to try something new myself.
To Kill a Thief – Rachelle Chase
Crissy has landed her dream acting role. Her mind isn’t on her part, though, and she envisages getting intimate with the leading man—one who has fuelled her fantasies for quite some time. Fate lends a hand and, after the director yells “Cut!”, Crissy explains how the scene could fare better. Cringing at her own audacity, she’s more than surprised when the director agrees with her. New scene set, Crissy gets her heart’s desire.
Well written and well enjoyed by this reader, To Kill a Thief is entertaining, cheeky, and smile-inducing.
Epiphany – M.E Ellis
Millie Proust works as a TV show make-up artist. Her dream of being a star is unsuccessful, and her current job is as close to the stars as she can get. She knows their secrets and as long as she keeps her job, vows to keep those secrets safe. One female star asks Millie out for the night and, after the star doesn’t show up, Millie gains entrance into a posh restaurant with a male star—Gerald—who bores her senseless.
She views the stars in a different light while alcohol-riddled. How had she got it all so wrong?
Epiphany is a quirky tale that made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. I cringe at actually identifying with Millie in some ways—and if you read this tale, you’ll understand why I used the word ‘cringe’. Millie isn’t the nicest woman you could meet…
There’s No Place Like Home – Jenny Gardiner
Julia finds herself at yet another family gathering—one she wishes she wasn’t at. Poor Julia is ridiculed by her family with below-the-belt barbs that would make any female upset. However, Julia is made of strong stuff and bounces the underhand comments away from her like a tennis pro. I immersed myself in this great tale, enjoying Julia’s personality and quick wit.
A fab story that made me laugh out loud. With a great voice—one that endeared me to Julia immediately—There’s No Place Like Home is a must read for anyone who despises spiteful women; there is one in this tale that needs taking down a peg or two… Join Julia while she does just that! Great reading, folks!
Mark of a Bond Girl – Gemma Halliday
Maya has been sent to set up a client’s husband. However, the ‘mark’ isn’t who she thought he would be. She didn’t realise she would already know him so intimately. How can Maya go through with the set up now?
As I don’t want to spoil the plot of this one, rest assured that Mark of a Bond Girl will not disappoint. With an eye-opening twist that made me, well, widen my eyes, Ms. Halliday has penned an enjoyable tale. Great!
The First Date – Candace Havens
After the death of her husband, Dee is left to bring up their children alone. She has worked hard by going back to school so she can get a good job to provide for the children. She’s surprised and nervous when Kevin, a neighbour, asks her out on a date.
Can Dee combat her nerves and go on the date? How will it feel to go out with a man again? Dee’s emotions are palpable throughout The First Date, and I felt like I knew this woman—that she was a friend of mine. An enjoyable story that made me smile. Well recommended.
Entertaining Murderous Thoughts – Zinnia Hope
Alec has trouble attracting the opposite sex. He’s a little tired of being overlooked, and to top it all, he owns a flatulent dog and loses his job as a comic book artist. How much more can a man take? With a day that starts out like it can only get worse, Alec’s fortunes take a surprising change for the better when he stops by a café and doodles on a napkin.
At times an amusing tale, Entertaining Murderous Thoughts shows that just when you think you’ve hit the bottom of the crappy day well, someone comes along and offers you a ladder.
Ashes to Ashes – Babe King
Grant works for a company that has no regard for how chopping down trees affects the environment. Intent on doing his job and doing it well, Grant has somehow lost sight of the important things in life. Well, according to his sister, Kate, anyway, who is hell bent on saving the environment her brother is so flippantly helping to destroy.
Kate orchestrates a cunning plan, one designed to show her brother how wrong he has been of late. Will she be successful? Or will her brother continue to help his employers unnecessarily chop down trees?
Though the theme of our declining environment is prevalent in Ashes to Ashes, it didn’t seem forced or shoved in my face. The tale itself is fun, well written, and made me think.
Evening in Paris – Susan Lyons
Leslie has had a voice in her head ever since the owner of that voice—her mother—passed away. While out to dinner with the man she hopes is ‘The One’, Leslie tells him about the voice. After all, if he really cares for her, he won’t laugh at what she has to say or run away with fright in his eyes, will he?
Thankfully, Antonio listens to what Leslie has to say and helps her come to terms with certain things. Antonio is a true gentleman, one many a female will wish they were going to marry.
An enjoyable tale, Evening in Paris shows that just because we are adults, it doesn’t mean that childhood insecurities miraculously vanish with age. I really liked the theme in this one.
The Danger Inside – Sarah Salway
At night, ‘She’ receives regular visits from a wolf. However, the visits cease, so She immerses herself in her job—a cab driver—and ponders. Ponders on life and things in general. Missing the wolf’s visits, She takes herself off to the local zoo. And bumps into a cab customer, a man she has taken from A to B a couple of times. Things don’t turn out quite like I had imagined they would, for She is a charmingly odd character, and her actions are somewhat strange to say the least.
The voice is the key in this one. At first, it didn’t ‘sound’ right to my ears. But—upon reading further, I realised that The Danger Inside is a finely crafted tale. As a reader I was disassociated with ‘She’ from the off, but at the same time I wanted to get under her skin, learn more about her purely because of the disassociation. The fact that the voice is so…distant is what made this tale for me. You’ll see what I mean when you read it. Weird, a little ‘off’, and a tad creepy, Ms. Salway has penned an intriguing tale, in my opinion. One I won’t forget.
Greek God – Rhonda Stapleton
Karen wakes to find herself in a man’s bed—with no recollection of how she got there. And to top it off, he isn’t just an ordinary man. He’s a Greek god. This kind of thing just doesn’t happen—especially to Karen, who leads a mundane life of working, eating microwave meals, and going out for runs.
As things reveal themselves to Karen, I found myself totally believing that this kind of event occurs all the time. I enjoyed the voice, the concept, and especially loved the use of the words ‘man parts’—the first chuckle of many in this crazy, quirky tale. Well recommended.
Free – Bebe Thomas
Parts of Verna’s life have been appalling. Though very short, Free expertly shows the concept of liberty from an abusive man. With a couple of wonderfully well-placed sentences, Bebe Thomas brings Verna’s sufferings to the page with intense clarity.
I loved this tale. LOVED IT.
Maze Bright – Emily Veinglory
Jerome’s rat experiment isn’t going to plan. After painstakingly trying to teach the rats the difference between left and right, one of them bites him. Though he enjoys his job in the lab, the need for a break is obvious.
Jerome wants a stable relationship, and working with a man who he desires and who doesn’t appear to feel the same way is wearing Jerome down. However, things aren’t always what they seem, and his workmate, Ben, appears when Jerome least expects it…
An interesting tale, one that had me rooting for Jerome.
Portrait of Love – Lois Winston
Amelia’s husband acted fraudulently without her knowledge, and, after his death, she was left paying his massive debts. She uses her remaining available funds on a last ditch attempt at getting people to notice her talent and earn herself some money. She paints of portrait of a rock star and sends it to him in the hopes that he’ll use it on his next CD cover.
Things don’t quite happen as she had planned, though…
I enjoyed Portrait of Love and related to Amelia and her dilemma in more ways than one.
When Only Memories Remain – Shaunna Wolf
Anna and Sam look back on their time together as a couple. Though time has flown, their relationship has strengthened with every passing year. I related very strongly to how quickly time disappears; how, as we plod through our lives bringing up the kids, paying the mortgage, keeping heads above water, our ages creep into the higher numbers almost without our knowledge.
I really did enjoy this tale. It made me want to enjoy my life now, so I don’t look back and ponder on the things I didn’t do and wish I had.
Lovely. Just lovely.
