Salute Your Shorts: Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: Magic Mourns in Must Love Hellhounds [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Ilona Andrews [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Magic Mourns is a Kate Daniels novella between books 3 and 4.  This anthology also includes 3 other novellas which are part of the Guild Hunter, Sookie Stackhouse, and The Guardians series.  As I have not read these other series, I did not read the other 3 novellas.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published: September 1st, 2009 by Berkley Trade
Format:  Paperback; 361 pages. Magic Mourns alone is around 90 pages. 
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Alternative Source: Magic Mourns is also available to purchase as an e-book single here.
Spoilers!: This review contains very minor spoilers for Magic Bites (reviewed here), Magic Burns (reviewed here), and Magic Strikes (reviewed here).  One could, theoretically, read this story without having read other Kate Daniels novels.

The phone rang again.  “Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea—“
”Can I speak to Kate?”  An older male voice tinted with country accent.
”I’m filling in for her.  What do you need?”
”Can you take a message for her?  Tell ‘er this is Teddy Jo callin’ down from Joshua Junkyards.  She knows me.  Tell her I was drivin’ on through Buzzard, and I saw one of them fellers she hangs out with, the shapeshifters, run like hell through the Scratches.  Right below me.  There was a big dog chasin’ him.”
“How big was the dog?”
Teddy Jo mulled it over.  “I’d say as big as a house.  A one-story.  Maybe a bit bigger.  Not as big as one of them colonials, you understand.  A regular-person house.”
”Would you say the shapeshifter was in distress?”
”Hell yeah, he was in distress.  His tail was on fire.”
”He ran like his tail was on fire?”
”No, his tail was on fire.  Like a big, furry candle on his ass.
Bing.  Green five, shapeshifter in dire distress.  “Got it.”

When I picked up Magic Mourns, I was expecting Kate.  What I got was Andrea.  The shift in narrators was a surprise for me, but not an unwelcome one.  I love me some Kate, but I’ve really enjoyed Andrea’s character in the past two books, and knowing that Gunmetal Magic is coming out this summer with her PoV, I was pumped for the preview.  And friends, Magic Mourns did not disappoint! 

Often, when you pick up new narration by the same author, it’s incredibly similar.  However, Ilona Andrews really took me by surprise with Andrea.  She doesn’t write the same for this character at all.  Sure, it’s still written very well, but Andrea’s thought process is different to Kate’s.  We see that not only in her mental dialog, but because it is written in first person, we see it in every word.  Andrea’s narration isn’t full of well-known phrases and clichés, it’s not as clipped, moody, or sharp; it is another strong butt-kicking chick with a wry sense of humor, and I am now more than ever a fan of Andrea’s.

I’m going to say after the past three books, Ilona Andrews kind of owed us this one.  Magic Mourns tells the story of Andrea dealing with duty without Kate.  When she receives word of the (supposedly) giant dog chasing a shapeshifter outside of the city, she heads out to check the scene.  There she finds, much to her dismay, Rafael.  Rafael running from what is, indeed, a three headed dog the size of a house.  Andrea doesn’t particularly want to work with Rafael, but she doesn’t want to leave the guy either.  She wants to create a better bond between herself and the Pack, hoping that she can earn a position of trust similar to Kate’s, making relations easier for everyone. 

As always, we get a fun and unique play on mythology (Greek this time), but with it comes the gratification of Andrea and Rafael, and how their relationship differs from Kate and Curran’s.  Andrea and Rafael, unlike the other couple mentioned, actually acknowledge and talk about the issues between them.  For better or worse, at least they have some form of communication going.  Magic Mourns also gives us better insight into Andrea’s past.  We’ve known she is beastkin, but other than the stigma involved, we’ve been a little blind to what that really meant for her growing up.  I was incredibly interested to have her past laid bare, appalling as aspects of it may be.  Where Ilona Andrews has been giving us snippets of Kate’s past and relationship with Curran slowly over 3 novels, it was really quite satisfying to learn so much about another character in such a short period of time.  Not that I’m complaining about Kate’s pacing, quite the opposite, I love it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to be thrown a bone every once in a while.  Andrea’s story was well paced, informative, and the perfect balance between action and romance.

Overall, Magic Mourns is a must read for Kate Daniels fans, particularly those preparing to enjoy Gunmetal Magic!

Get a second opinion:
Janicu’s Book Blog (review of entire Must Love Hellhounds anthology)
Literary Escapism (review of entire Must Love Hellhounds anthology)
All Things Urban Fantasy (review of Magic Mourns)

Salute Your Shorts: Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr–the Wicked Lovely Edition

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: Faery Tales and Nightmares [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Melissa Marr [Website|Twitter]
Standing: This week I’m talking the Wicked Lovely stories.
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Published: February 21st, 2012 by HarperCollins
Format:  Hardcover; 418 pages 
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge
Spoilers!: This review contains all sorts of spoilers for the Wicked Lovely series, which I’ve reviewed as a whole here.  Half of the stories take place after that series ends.  So seriously.  Go read that first.  But remember, you can read half of this anthology spoiler free, and I’ve reviewed those stories here.

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear.

Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it.

Welcome to the Wicked Lovely edition of Salute Your Shorts for Faery Tales and Nightmares!  Today I’ll be talking the other six stories in the anthology, the ones that are either in, or somehow related to the Wicked Lovely universe.  What can you read?  First off, The Sleeping Girl and the Summer King is not technically Wicked Lovely, so go to town.  Old Habbits and Stopping Time take place after Ink Exchange, so you are free to read those if you’ve only read up to that point in the series.  Cotton Candy Skies shouldn’t be read until after Darkest Mercy, Unexpected Family and Merely Mortal should not be touched until you’ve finished the series.

The Sleeping girl and the summer king

I knew that this story was described as Wicked Lovely-ish, but before reading it I didn’t really understand why.  This was the short story that Melissa Marr wrote that later turned into the series, however, The Sleeping Girl and the Summer King is quite different than the series itself.  You can see that the structure is there (and a character named Aisling!), but it is still very much its own story.

Each winter, a girl falls asleep, and spring only returns when she dreams of it.  Throughout the summer, she spends her days basking in the sun with the summer king, until finally she comes of age where she is too old to sleep again.  At this time, she is presented with a choice: stay young forever as one of the many girls of summer, or age as winter.  Only if she chooses winter will its previous barer be free, but the allure of both sides is strong.

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Cotton Candy Skies

This was the WL story I was most excited to read when I picked up Faery Tales and Nightmares.  I probably would have been more excited about Old Habits and Stopping Time, but I’d already read them, and I knew Cotton Candy Skies featured my other WL favorite—The Shadow Court.  I love Devlin and Ani, and was super excited at the chance to see them again, so I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t a little disappointed that they were barely in this story.  However, when I thought about it, it made sense.  They’d already had their happy ending, and there were others that still needed some tying up.  That’s where this story, and Rabbit came in.

Cotton Candy Skies features Rabbit, Ani and Tish’s older brother and father figure, who has found himself sealed in Faerie.  He feels at a loss, unsure of what to do with himself that will make him feel worthwhile in the same way that he felt needed and worthwhile in the outside world.  It was fun to have a story about Rabbit, a minor character that I always liked, but we never heard much from.  It was the perfect choice for a Shadow Court tale, and in the end it may not be my favorite in the collection, but I was happy nonetheless.

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Unexpected Family

Unexpected Family takes place about a week after the events of Darkest Mercy conclude, and it’s a Seth story (yay!).  Seth receives a letter from his mortal parents insisting that he visit them, indicating some urgency.  He hasn’t seen his parents in several years, and while they have an amicable relationship, he’s certainly not in the mood to leave Huntsdale after all of the upheaval.  For his family, however, he will.  Seth bids goodbye to Aisling, and requests that Niall accompany him to California, knowing that he and Niall have to work out their differences.  Seth doesn’t want to lose Niall as a brother, but he knows there will be friction as his opposite.

I enjoyed this story a fair amount, particularly because Seth is one of the most interesting characters in the Wicked Lovely series.  With three courts heavily invested in his welfare as son, lover, and brother, is it any surprise that he’s generally a good guy?  Unexpected Family was probably my favorite WL story in this collection, though it would honestly be behind Old Habbits and Stopping Time which I read previously.

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Merely Mortal

Unfortunately, Merely Mortal ended up placing as my least favorite story in this anthology.  It’s a shame, being as it was also that last story in this collection, and therefore left me feeling a little down on it (even though the bulk of stories were wonderful). 

Merely Mortal is a story of Keenan and Donia, attempting to cope as a real couple for the first time in over a century.  They have loved each other for a very long time, but have never been able to surmount the obstacles standing in their way.  Now, finally, Keenan has given up his regency and is free to love Donia, however, he has also given up his immortality.  After 900 years, Keenan is mortal, delicate, and easily broken.  He wants to attempt to become fae again, but Donia is so afraid of him being hurt.  Merely Mortal tells a light tale of this couple vacationing—something rare and unusual for any fae reagents.

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Old Habits and Stopping Time

I’m honestly going to kind of gloss over these two stories because I read them as e-book singles while I was reading the Wicked Lovely series last year, and chose not to reread them when they were published in this collection.  They are the two longest stories in the book, each more a novella than a short story, they make up about 1/3 of the text in Faery Tales and Nightmares. 

Let’s just suffice it to say that if you love Niall, Irial, and Leslie (and if you don’t, I really think you’re missing out), you must check out Old Habbits and Stopping Time.  Stopping Time focuses largely on Niall and Leslie, while Old Habbits focuses largely on the relationship between Niall and Irial.  To me, these three characters are the most compelling of the entire series, and getting these extra novellas to explore the relationships between my favorite characters was time well spent!

Salute Your Shorts: Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr–The non Wicked Lovely edition.

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: Faery Tales and Nightmares [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Melissa Marr [Website|Twitter]
Standing: Stand alone anthology, BUT half the stories are in the Wicked Lovely universe (I’ll discuss those stories in a later post).
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Published: February 21st, 2012 by HarperCollins
Format:  Hardcover; 418 pages 
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear.

Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it.

Welcome to the non-Wicked Lovely edition of Salute Your Shorts: Faery Tales and Nightmares!  I’ve decided to split my review of this anthology into two posts so that those of you who haven’t read Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series can know what this book has in store for you, without forcing you to skip the spoilers!  This works out quite well for everyone since of the twelve stories included, six have nothing to do with Wicked Lovely.  That means you can enjoy half this book!  Here’s what we have to offer:

Where Nightmares Walk

This very short story works as somewhat of an introduction into the book, and lets you realize right off the bat that it will indeed be as much about nightmares as about faery tales.  It’s a chilling intro that will make you fear the night.

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Winter’s Kiss

This short story evokes the image of a traditional fairy tale, but one you haven’t heard before.  It tells the tale of a princess who has the curse of icy breath, and the snow bear that would see it as a gift.  Winter’s Kiss is charming, beautiful, and a reminder of perspective.

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Transition

Eliana has been getting weird and uncontrollable headaches.  She loses time—she can’t remember hours of her life.  She’s stopped talking to doctors, they just think she’s crazy, and she’s begun to self medicate with drugs of another sort.  When she ends up in the graveyard with the boy she’s currently seeing, she can’t get her mind off someone something else, and she can’t help feeling as if the statue is watching her.

Transition is a chilling vampire story about the circle of life (or death…or undeath<—see what I did there?) in which Melissa Marr puts her own tale into a fairly traditional (and thus sexy and gory) lore.  This type of story right here is the reason people love vamps, and not the sparkly kind.

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Love Struck

Every once in a while, I feel like I get as much out of a short story as I do out of a full-length book.  This is one of those times.  Love Struck was a beautiful love story and fairy tale, about selchies.  Selchies!  I’ve been enamored with Selchies since The Secret of Roan Inish, and have been craving more.  I mean…who wants mermaids when selchies are about, really?  At least you don’t have to question the logistics of their anatomy quite so much… 

Alana is chosen to be the mate of Murrin, who intends to court her, but instead he accidently traps her as has been done for generations.  She holds his Other Skin, is compelled to hide it, and she cannot return it unless he finds it himself.  Alana doesn’t want to break her own rules, she doesn’t want a relationship, and certainly not one with some guy she barely knows.  She’s convinced that it’s the selchie magic drawing her to Murrin, and is deeply torn between wanting to be with him and wanting freedom for both of them.  Love Struck was a beautifully rendered tale, and I adored it.  It was the non-Wicked Lovely story in this collection that I was looking forward to most, and it did not disappoint!

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The Art of Waiting

This title made me think of the poem One Art by Elizabeth Bishop.  It’s the story of a small hamlet of a town, that is incased in snow and ice each winter that melts to beauty in the spring.  A man and his daughter come to the town, and the townspeople wait to see if they, like so many others, will leave.

This short is perfect for anyone who lives in a quaint little town and loves it.  It’s hard for people to understand this mentality, but those who live there wouldn’t have it any other way. 

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Flesh for Comfort

A disturbing tale about what we are willing to go through for beauty.  A poor girl in a mountain town knows she will never get out.  She is not rich enough, or attractive enough.  But when a mysterious creature offers to make her beautiful, she is tempted, knowing if she were attractive enough she could trade flesh for comfort and escape.

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These six stories range in length from about 3 to 60 pages, and are all very worth reading!  I particularly enjoyed Love Struck, and the most disturbing award goes to Flesh for Comfort.  Enjoy!

Salute Your Shorts: Winter's Passage: An Iron Fey Novella by Julie Kagawa

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: Winter’s Passage [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Julie Kagawa [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: The Iron Fey #1.5
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Published: May 20th, 2010 by Harlequin Teen
Format: Kindle edition; 59 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Spoilers!: This review contains spoilers for The Iron King, reviewed here, so go read that first!

My name is Meghan Chase.  If there are three thing I’ve learned in my time among the fey, they are this: don’t eat anything you’re offered in Faeryland, don’t go swimming in quiet little ponds and never, ever, make a bargain with anyone.

Winter’s Passage picks up right where The Iron King left off, with Meghan leaving with Ash to head to the Unseelie Court.  Meghan successfully pleads with Ash to first visit Puck, who is still recovering and comatose in a tree in New Orleans, and he agrees.  There they meet Grimalken, and are warned of a dangerous pursuer, which continues to hunt them on their journey.

This was a nice little short, but I also found it somewhat annoying.  It’s written as a bridge story between the first and second books for The Iron Fey series, but instead of being written for fans of the series, it is clearly aimed at those who want to do a test-run before reading the full-length novels.  This meant there was a lot of recapping.  I hate recapping.  If I needed that many details about a book I’ve read, I obviously wasn’t paying attention, so why would I then be reading this book?  Seriously, this is one of the reasons I quit reading the Wheel of Time series.

Anyway, this is a quick short, and like most shorts, completely optional and I’m sure it will have little to no bearing on the overall plot of The Iron Fey.  I enjoyed it, but also felt like maybe Julie Kagawa tried to shove too epic of a plot into too short of a page length.  Also, I have to say, I’m a little confused by the Meghan/Ash relationship.  And by confused I mean I don’t like it.  I get the attraction on Ash’s part, Meghan is pretty, clever, brave, and likely the first completely unique chick he’s met in centuries.  He’s warring with his feelings, and that’s fair given she’s all taboo and what not.  I don’t get Meghan’s feelings.  Sure, she acknowledges that Ash is hot, but considering he tried to murder her the first time they met, threatened to murder her the second, tried to murder her best friend and force her into captivity the third, and is clearly ashamed of the way he feels about her, I just don’t get it!  It’s not exactly insta-love, but it does happen way too fast for there to be any depth, and I’m more or less ambivalent about the whole thing (that and I like/pity Puck).

I realize this totally became my platform for discussing romance in The Iron Fey, but what’re you gonna do?  I’m just gonna say, Winter’s Passage was a nice quick read, but I could really take it or leave it as far as the series goes.  Cheers!

Roundup: 
Check out Alyssa’s review of Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr at Books Take You Places
AND Anna's review of The Lepidoctor by Mick Jackson at Pocketful of Books!

Salute Your Shorts: Mouse Koan by Catherynne M. Valente

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

  Title: Mouse Koan [Tor.com]
  Author: Catherynne M. Valente [Website|Twitter]
  Standing: It’s a poem!
  Genre: Poetry, Fantasy
  Published: April 2nd, 2012 on Tor.com (it’s possible it exists in print somewhere else that I’m   unaware of).
  Format: Web post; short and sweet! 
  Source: Featured on Tor.com

Contrary to what you may have heard
it is possible
to sate a trickster.
                              It only takes the whole world.

Soooooo…I’m not much for poetry.  In fact, you’ll hear me complain when guys in books are into things like poetry because I think it’s lame.  BUT.  But.  There are exceptions to every rule.  I’ve read a lot of Neil Gaiman’s poetry in his short story collections, and I even like some classics like Lady of Shallot, and poems that have inspired some great books like Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.  If it’s a story, I’m much more likely to read and enjoy it.  Since it’s National Poetry Month, I figured that I should suck it up and read a poem.  Luckily, Tor is celebrating by posting poems by Sci Fi and Fantasy authors, so when I saw Cat Valente’s name pop up, I had to read it and share it with those of you who may have missed it!

Mouse Koan is a quick read that’s worth the time for an ever-mystifying view into Cat Valente’s mind.  I love the way this woman puts words together and paints the world.  The poem is told in two parts.  Part one is somewhat of a creation story, telling of the birth of multitudes of gods, including one particular trickster god—a nameless mouse.  The second part is spoken by the mouse god himself, telling of his triumph and downfall as a trickster, worming his way into all of our lives as the face of Disney.  The trickster wins by being everywhere, but realizes that the commonplace existence has made him invisible.

I’m sure there’s a lot to be read into this poem about Disney, Mickey Mouse, corporations, and consumption, but I chose to just enjoy it.  Cat Valente has a way with words that is entirely magical, and entirely her own, and I certainly recommend you take 5-10 minutes to check out Mouse Koan.

Salute Your Shorts: A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) meme hosted here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: A Questionable Client in Dark and Stormy Knights [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Ilona Andrews [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Short story, prequel to Magic Burns.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published: July 14th, 2010 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Format: Paperback; 45 pages (complete book 357 pages).  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Other Resources: Also available in a Kindle e-book, Magic Graves. [Amazon|GoodReads]

I went up to 158 and knocked.
The door shot open.  Gina Castor’s dark eyes glared at me.  An AK-47 hung off her shoulder.  She held a black duffel in one hand and her sword in the other.  “What took you so long?”
“Hello to you, too.”
She pushed past me, the thin, slightly stooped Rodriguez following her.  “He’s all yours.”
I caught the door before it clicked shut.  “Where is the client?”
“Chained to the bed.” They headed to the elevator.
“Why?”
Castor flashed her teeth at me.  “You’ll figure it out.”

Hey Kate Daniels fans, did you ever want to know what went on between Kate and Saiman that gave him a soft spot (and a hard one) for her?  Heck, did you ever want to know if Saiman was really even technically a guy?  If so, you need to track down either Dark and Stormy Knights or Magic Graves to get your hands on the short story, A Questionable Client.  Chronologically, A Questionable Client was published after Magic Bleeds, the fourth Kate Daniels novel, but the story takes place prior to Magic Burns.  This means not only does it answer some questions for existing Kate Daniels fans, it’s a good gateway read for those interested in checking out the series.

A Questionable Client tells the story of Kate Daniels, the ever-struggling-for-money mercenary who is unable to refuse one night of bodyguard duty for a whopping three grand.  She figures something’s up.  Nobody pays that much money for one night, and yet she still gets more than she bargained for when she shows up to find Saiman chained to a bed, refusing to talk about why he’s restrained or why she’s on the job.  She’s quick enough to realize, he went and pissed off the Russians, and it’s going to be a long night.

Personally, I really enjoyed reading this story and filling in this bit of Kate’s background after reading the first two books and seeing her future relationship with this character.  I love that Ilona Andrews doesn’t feel the need to fill us in on every detail of Kate’s relationships in her books, and yet it’s like getting a little present to read the formation of one of them!  I also love how Ilona takes the opportunity in this series to focus on so many rich folklores and mythologies that don’t always get the limelight.  In this case, it’s Russian folklore, and despite the brief length, I felt the story was very rich and interesting in this regard.

In the end, this story clearly isn’t necessary to the overall enjoyment of the series, but if you do enjoy the series, I think A Questionable Client is certainly worth the read.

Salute Your Shorts: The Ties That Bind by Rachel Hawkins

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) meme hosted here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any point, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: The Ties That Bind
Author: Rachel Hawkins [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone short set in the Hex Hall universe.
Genre: Historical, Paranormal
Published: October 28th, 2010
Format: Blog post = free and easy!
Source: These Dark Things

So...as YA readers, I'm guessing that you've probably heard of a couple of authors named Myra McEntire and Victoria Schwab that debuted in 2011 with a couple of books called Hourglass and The Near Witch.  But did you know that these two lovely ladies hosted a short story blog together?  It's called These Dark Things and was used by Myra and Victoria to challenge one another to write short stories adhering to a monthly theme.  Now, the blog's been hearing crickets since late 2010 when these ladies got busy gearing up for their debuts, but that just means it's easy to read through all of their stories!  Today, in honor of Spell Bound, the third and final Hex Hall book by Rachel Hawkins releasing, I'd like to highlight her guest post story on this blog.

The Ties That Bind is historical fiction, where Rachel Hawkins put her own twist on the Bloody Bender Family that ran The Devil's Inn from 1871-1873.  Basically, this was a family from Germany who just showed up in Kansas and started killing people, complete with creepy symbols and spiritualism.  By the time people figured out what was going on and went after them, the Benders were gone, and were never caught or seen again.  You can read the history behind this story here, and Rachel talks about it on her own blog here.

The Ties That Bind takes place in a world with the same rules as the Hex Hall universe, so it's a great place to start if you're debating whether or not that series is for you!  Of course, I feel it's my duty to point out that Hex Hall is funny and there is kissing, despite the fact that there is none of either in this short.  The Ties That Bind is totally creepy, and wonderful because it's based on a true story!  It's probably the longest 'short' on These Dark Things, but it's only about 2,000 words, which is shorter than some book reviews.  Check it out!  

Salute Your Shorts: Tomorrow is Today by Julie Cross

Hi friends!  I've decided that since I love to talk about short stories and novellas, I'm going to make it my own little feature, complete with this awesome banner my bf made me (with a nod to the show of my childhood of course).  If you'd like to participate when talking about shorts you've come across, you're more than welcome!  Just grab the pic above, and shoot me a link in the comments and I'll do a round-up.  I plan to do at least two Salute Your Shorts posts a month, but you're welcome to post as often or on whatever day you'd like.

Title: Tomorrow is Today [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Julie Cross  [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Tempest #.5
Genre: Young Adult, Sci Fi
Published: December 6th, 2011 by St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Kindle edition.  
Source: Tomorrow is Today is available free for Kindle.

Sometimes I love shorts because they give me that extra little peek into the lives of characters I adore.  And then there’s those times when I love short stories because they save me from committing to a full-length novel I won’t enjoy.  That, for me, was Tomorrow is Today.

Jackson and his recent friends Adam and Holly are training to be camp counsellors for the summer.  He’s just finished his freshman year at NYU, while Adam and Holly have just graduated from high school in Jersey.  Adam is helping Jackson document and perform scientific experiments to explore his time travel abilities, while Jackson is busy lusting after Holly.  Jackson and Adam are hoping to find out more information about why he has the abilities he does, and also what the limits are.  

When I heard of Tempest, I was super excited.  I’m a massive time travel geek and absolutely could not wait to check it out in YA form.  But given the preview I was provided through the short story, Tomorrow is Today, I’ve determined it’s not going to be the story I was hoping for.  I was looking for it to have a good male point of view, be action packed, and a cool take on time travel.  I wanted more sci fi, and less romance.  It seems like it’s going to be fairly romance-centric, I didn’t like Julie Cross’s writing of Jackson (yes, some authors can write wonderfully from the perspective of the opposite sex, I do not feel like this was happening here), and the time travel aspect seemed iffy.  I found myself peeved by the dialog, and Jackson seemed like a bit of a douche. So I’m sorry to say I will not be joining the crowds of people who have adored Tempest as I had to force myself through the 60 or so pages of this short.  I do think that a lot of people will really enjoy this book, many of you have, but it’s just not going to do it for me.

Shorts: Glitches by Marissa Meyer

Glitches by Marissa Meyer is available for FREE here.

If you’re debating whether or not the extremely hyped, Cinder, is for you, I suggest checking out Glitches!  Glitches is a short story that takes place approximately 5 years before Cinder.  It tells the tale of Cinder, and 11 year old orphan traveling to New Beijing to meet the family that has agreed to take her in.  Cinder’s parents have recently perished in a hover crash, and she herself is lucky to be alive.  After substantive surgeries, Cinder now exists as a cyborg, her most notable features being a new metal hand and leg.  Cinder must learn to adjust to her new ‘features’, like what does that orange light indicate, why can she no longer seem to cry, and what use might she be to the world?  Are the physical traits that alter her humanity glitches?  Knowing she is unwelcome, particularly by her new stepmother, Cinder works to find her place of belonging so far away from everything she has known.

You don’t need to read Glitches to enjoy Cinder, but it will give you a bit more information about Cinder’s backstory, and understanding of how she came to end up where we find her at the beginning of the novel.  Cinder definitely grows up a lot in five years!  My only complaint about Glitches is that while the art is awesomely beautiful (is that a cybornetic cherry tree?!), Cinder’s lost her left limbs, not her right.  But that’s just me being OCD.

Shorts: Groundhog Day Special - The Tobolowsky Files

Groundhog Day - Columbia Pictures

Let's put it out there: Groundhog Day is my absolute favorite movie of all time.  I watch it every year on February 2nd, and usually at least once or twice in between.  It has such incredible depth, I'm constantly marveling.  And you know what I love almost as much as Groundhog Day?  Mr. Stephen Tobolowsky!

Who the heck is Stephen Tobolowsky?  He's that dude, up there, shaking his fist at Bill Murray.  You may know him as Ned Riarson, or one of the other many many roles he's played as one of the best-known character actors in Hollywood.  But I am here to tell you that Tobo (yes, I lovingly call him the nickname used by his nearest and dearest) is so much more than an actor!  He is one of the greatest story tellers out there.

Stephen Tobolowsky tells his tales via The Tobolowsky Files, which are hosted by /Film and produced by Dave Chensky. This is my absolute favorite podcast, and I am here to shake you awake and make you listen.  Tobo's stories will make you laugh, they will make you cry, and they will give you some interesting insight into life and the movie business.  I've never been a huge fan of memoirs, but when Tobo presents his own over the air, you feel like you're hearing a story from a friend or family member.

There's a fantastic backlog, but in the spirit of the holiday, I recommend starting with the Memories of Groundhog Day Special which was put together for PRX by Dave Chensky.  Let me know what you think of the podcast, or of Groundhog Day itself!  

Shorts: Thief! by Megan Whalen Turner

This week Chachic, over at Chachic’s Book Nook, is having a Queen’s Thief week!  Now I’m sad to admit I was oblivious to this series until last year, but since surfacing on my radar I feel like it’s being recommended constantly.  There are currently four books in the series (with covers so gorgeous I may swoon): 

What better way to get my feet wet than with a short story?

Theif! by Megan Whalen Turner available here.

This short story (we’re talking a couple of pages people--now you have no excuse to not read it) tells the tale of a 10 year old Eugenides.  Gen, as he is called, was named after the God of Thieves, and is the grandson of the King’s Thief.  In the days of yore, the King’s Thief would gain the title by stealing a stone called Hamiathes Gift.  Long ago, however, the stone was lost, and the title became hereditary, passed down through generations.  Now, the title is considered largely honorary, but Gen is determined not only to gain the title, but to live up to it.  So I guess he ought to practice...

I am so intrigued in this story and its world after only such a short passage, I cannot wait to dive into the series!  A world in which a thief can be revered?  I mean, come on parents, why would you name your kid after the God of Thieves if you wanted him to grow up as anything else?  Even at 10, Gen has captured my heart as a good natured scallywag.  His brother, Stenides seems like the type you’d like to have around, and his cousins?  Potential future trouble with Phaedrus and Breia?  I hope so.

I'm currently digging further into this series myself, but if you'd like to learn more, or want to gush and enjoy the festivities (including some awesome readalike suggestions and a giveaway), make sure to check out Chachic's The Queen's Thief Week!