How To End A Short Story

 When Do I Write “The End”?

I love short stories. I love reading them. I love writing them. You can experiment more with your writing in a short story. You’re not investing 100,000 words to see if something works. You’re investing 2,500 (or less, maybe more). They can be a peak into the life of a character. 

I’ve read short stories from across genres. From Alice Munro to Stephen King and everything in between. They’re a great way to discover new authors. I often read a short story, then look up the other works of an author (P. Djèlí Clark, N.K. Jemisin, Aliette de Bodard). 

One of my problems with short stories: How do you end them? Sometimes I write a story and the end comes naturally. The arc is complete. The main character learned something. A villain was defeated. Someone says something semi-profound or insightful, then BAM! It’s done. Too often, I find myself staring at a paragraph, at something the main character has said or done and wondered: Is this it? Are they done? The story is over, right? 

So, how can you (I/we) know when a short story is finished? Short stories often end like novels (but with less words). When I’m not sure if I should continue, or if the story is getting out of control, I need to ask myself some questions.

Has the main character reached a “happily ever after” or “happy for now” point in their lives? Has the conflict been addressed and at least partially resolved? If yes, then I think it’s done.

Is there a twist? Is that little girl not so innocent? Was the kindly neighbour the killer the whole time? The twist has to be carefully crafted, but if it’s done right, surprise! Then the story is over.

Is it a “slice of life” story? Are we opening the door to a moment in time? When the character is ready to move on from the scene, the story is likely over.

Have I written too much and gotten lost? I overwrite. I know I do. Many writers do. Write the extra bit. Maybe it’ll help give reason to a character’s earlier actions. Cut it back during edits.

Can the main character or the very important secondary character walk away? If they turn away from the situation, the story can be done.

Is there an emotional explosion? All that’s been happening takes its toll, then boom! That main character blows up. They yell at everyone, or has a breakdown, or declares their love. When the emotion has run out, the story can too.

Does the main character realize the answer to the question that has been plaguing them all along? If the question is answered, the conflict is over. I can write "the end."

Has the story come full circle? If the main character is back where they started, for good or ill, the story can be done.

I have eight questions I can ask myself when writing (and ending) a short story. Am I an expert in ending short stories? Nope. Part of the reason I started the research was because I was struggling with how to end a story. Why not share what I learned, right? Has this helped me with ending the story? Yes!

Does anyone else struggle with ending short stories? How do you like to end yours? When do you know you’re done?

Resources:

https://thewritelife.com/how-to-end-a-story/ 

https://thejohnfox.com/2021/02/100-ways-to-end-a-story/ 

https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/6-tips-for-a-satisfying-short-story-ending 

What Happened In 2022

I got a little upset with social media and the internet this past year. I started avoiding my social media and my blog. I was the victim of hacking/phishing with one of my accounts. It was a personal account too, full of pictures of my children. I wrote a whole big, long, angry rant, but I'm leaving it unpublished. Instead, I'd rather focus on happier things.

I have a novel. Completed. That I've started querying. It's scary, but I'm doing it anyway.

What I really want for my blog is to reflect the creator I am, regardless of whether anyone reads blogs anymore (from what I hear, the answer is, no).

I also got my Goodreads year in books. I read A LOT this year. I can probably get another book or two in this year. The audio book for Michelle Obama's The Light We Carry just came in for me at the library. I'll probably be listening to that this evening.

What's next for me? More reading. More writing. Some more cute animes on Netflix. Marvel shows. More time with my children. What does 2023 have in store for any of us?

Let's Reflect

In my last post, I was reflecting on interracial romances where neither of the main characters are white. I totally forgot about Alyssa Cole's Can't Escape Love, part of her Reluctant Royals series. I haven't read it yet, but since finishing Take a Hint, Dani Brown, I think it might be my next romance. Luckily it's available at my local eLibrary.

I also read The Prince and the Dressmaker. It is sweet, interesting, loving and just tugged at my heartstrings. Frances and Sebastian are so cute. I highly recommend it. I want my children to read it too.

Egyptian Steampunk also might be my new favourite genre. At least one I need to explore more. I read the short story/novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and it was so good. I love, LOVE, Fatma el-Sha'arawi. I checked, and P. Djèli Clark has two more stories set in this world. It seems like the second one doesn't have Agent Fatma as the main character, but I'm fine with that. She's back by the third (yet to be published) story.

I watched some good TV/movies too. After seeing Regé-Jean Page on Saturday Night Live, I decided it was time to watch Bridgerton. Since it's so popular, I didn't expect it to be bad, but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I will admit that I watched is all in one day. Also, I could listen to Julie Andrews' voice all day long.... wait, I practically did that. 

I also decided it was time to watch the things languishing in my Netflix queue. I scrolled with my eyes closed and watched what my finger landed on. The first was Warrior Nun. With a title like that, I knew I had to at least try it out. I thoroughly enjoyed Ada and Mary. I also really want to know what happens and if there will be another season.

Next, I landed on Howl's Moving Castle, an anime movie from 2004. I liked the idea of the girl turning into an old woman and getting to know Howl from that perspective. I don't know how I feel about her befriending the witch who cursed her though. I'm three episodes into Dragon's Dogma, an anime series. I think I'm liking the random choices on Netflix. I know there have been two animes in the last week, but the stories are very different. Howl's Moving Castle has a sweetness to it. Dragon's Dogma is messed up.

This post is definitely not as deep as the last one. Maybe it's less "thinking about books" and more "Netflix queue", but sometimes, that's what you need.

Last Week A Lot Went Down

A lot happened last week. COVID-19 infection rates are increasing more and more. Though, two people I know have already been vaccinated. There was an attempt to overthrow the government at the US Capital. As I may have mentioned before, I'm a fan of the late night talk shows. I think both Stephen Colbert's and Seth Meyers' takes on what happened are worth the watch. So, last week, I watched. I also watched more news than normal, in general. It was announced that children in Ontario will be home until the 25th of January. However, based on all the other information I've come across, I feel like my children will be home for a couple months. 

Last week, I started reading The Stand again. I actually started it in the summer, but it stressed me out, so I stopped. I've been starting and stopping with this book for a while. When I picked it up, I really wanted to read it, and when I am reading it, I am enjoying it. Then I get to a part about how the survivors of the Super Flu are treating each other, and I have to take a break. For the last couple weeks, in between bouts of The Stand, I have been reading Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2016 and The Collected Poems of Maya Angelou. Two vastly different works, but they both speak to me.

Besides political commentary, I re-watched The Matrix and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now that our daughter is a little older, my husband has started taking her on a tour of some of his favourite movies. After a few minutes, he started poking holes in Raiders and I called him "Amy Farrah Fowler" and he laughed. 

I also watched Netflix's Best of Stand-up 2020 and realized I need to watch the specials from Jack Whitehall, Hannah Gadsby, Michelle Buteau, and Bert Kreischer. I'd already watched a few of the 2020 standups, but not these ones. (I like stand up specials.)

That's it for me. Did you watch or read anything good? I'm always adding to my TBR and Watchlists. 

Vacation Reads - Part 1

Summer was busy. There were parties, barbecues, kid-events, family gatherings, and girls and guys nights. It was hot, too rainy, then not rainy enough. Even though summer is technically June 21 to September 23, I always feel like summer doesn't really start until the last weekend in June when school is out. Then something happens, it's like the flick of a switch and suddenly it's fall on September 1 (or August 29 this year).

Like many summers before, there were a lot of long drives, including our family vacation. We visited beautiful Prince Edward Island for the third time. I highly recommend going. PEI is amazing. The people are beyond nice. Everything about the island makes me happy. I plan on continually going. We road-tripped it to PEI from Ontario and it was the beginning of my "summer reading". That involved a lot of Romance of one kind or another. Everything I read this summer was "fun", (except for Faefever's ending and a bunch of Stephen King short stories), and they left me with a smile on my face. I guess I just wanted happy reads in between all the busy days and nights. I picked out a few of the books to share.

Faefever

The ending. Just, whoa. What is going to happen to Mac? I'm very worried about her. I was really hoping that there was going to be a last minute something, but nope. This is probably one of the most major cliffhanger endings I have ever read. It's definitely an ending that comes from a book in the middle of a series. After Mac as the main character, I was left wondering if that would change. I think it's the kind of ending that keeps readers invested in the series.

Bridal Boot Camp

A short story from Meg Cabot. Bridal Boot Camp is essentially a prequel to her upcoming release, No Judgments. It was a cute, fun story, but more than anything, I want to know what happens when the storm hits. It came up in the "Just Added" section of my library's ebooks. An author I like, a readily available short story, a good, fun read, it was an easy selection. 

The Kiss Quotient

Even though I have been reading a lot of love-centred stories, I still like finding stories that are out of the ordinary. That brought me to The Kiss Quotient. Helen Hoang's debut novel is about a single woman finding love, like so many romances. What makes it different is who Stella is. Stella Lane has high-functioning autism/Asperger's. The story follows Stella as she navigates love and life with all her unique qualities. I couldn't put it down. I was a bit surprised at the "steam" level (as I've seen  romance writers/readers call it). The cover and synopsis did not fully describe how hot the book is. Stella and her "love-interest", Michael, were full, complete, complex characters. Michael had his own issues and journey to go on and was just as interesting. I think it's the best Romance I've read this year. It might be one of the best ever.

That's just three of the books I read. Part 2 will be here in [hopefully] a couple days.

My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

With a great selection of authors, I was excited to read My True Love Gave to Me over the holidays. The stories promised to put me in that happy, holiday mood. I thought I write a sentence or two about each.

Midnights, by Rainbow Rowell - The cutest story. I love Mags! Rainbow Rowell is amazing.

The Lady and the Fox, by Kelly Link - Magical. Odd. I'm not sure if I am on board with the ending, but the story has an artistry about it.

Angels in the Snow, by Matt de la Peña - I want to know so much more about Shy and Haley. I could read a whole novel about them.

Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me, by Jenny Han - This story broke my heart a little. It was magical and beautiful and it feels like a prelude to something amazing or amazingly sad.

It’s A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown, by Stephanie Perkins - This is one of the sweetest, most romantic stories I’ve read I ages. It just made me so happy.

Your Temporary Santa, by David Levithan - Sweet, but confused. Santa is so unsure of himself.

Krampuslauf, by Holly Black - Magic and inner strength. What more could you want?

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?, by Gayle Forman - Another romantic, slice of coming-of-age story. You might not get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you need.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus, by Myra McEntire - A bad-boy using his powers for good? So sweet and emotional. I could read a whole novel about Gracie and Vaughn.

Welcome to Christmas, CA, by Kiersten White - This one almost had me crying. Maria learning about her mom and Rick’s real motivations was so heartwarming.

Star of Bethlehem, by Ally Carter - Another sweet story, but with a twist I didn’t expect.

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor - This story was magic. Not that I expected anything else from the author of the Smoke and Bone series. I loved Neve and the Dreamer. The reverend more than gave me the creeps and I think he got what he deserved.

My True Love Gave to Me was a great collection to read over the holidays. The stories allowed a peak into the lives of the characters at a time when magic seemed possible. I enjoyed every story, they were full of amazing characters. Stephanie Perkins' It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown was my favourite of all the stories and it was the first thing I've ever read by Perkins. I'm going to have to read more of her work. My True Love Gave to Me also reminded me how much I love short story collections.

Fracture Me

I raced through Fracture Me. It was almost all action. The story is told from Adam’s perspective and follows him from the the final battle in Unravel Me, to the events right after. We find out what happened to some of the people from Omega Point, and we also learn more about what is going on inside Adam’s head. I think I like Adam better now. It’s his devotion to his brother James that pulls me. Their relationship can be very much parent-child instead of older and younger sibling. He would do anything for James, even leaving Juliette to take care of herself. Also, James, what power does he have? After everything we've learned in the series so far, he has to have a power. Will it be devastating or sweet like him?

Again, I find myself falling for Kenji. He's amazing. In his own way, he also loves Juliette. I don't know if Adam understands that. I feel like Kenji sees something in Juliette, connects with something that he has yet to express to anyone. Kenji is brave, strong, intelligent and full of hope. His natural charisma and leadership draw people to him. The other characters want to do what Kenji says. Even though he was a big part of Fracture Me I still don't feel like I know enough about him. I hope Ignite Me and Restore Me will teach us more about Kenji....in addition to how everything will play out, whether people like those living at Omega Point will find freedom, and if The Reestablishment will get taken down.

Stopping for Strangers

Stopping for Strangers is a well-crafted collection of depressing stories. Someone always seemed to be dying or getting their heartbroken in the end. People were constantly losing something. I just wanted Daniel Griffin to give us some kind of hope. They were engaging, involving, rounded, full stories. I just wish there was a happy-ending occasionally or some kind of positive feeling mixed in with the rest of the story, even if the end isn't happy.

I won this slim volume of short stories from the 49th Shelf ages ago. (There was a mix-up too, where I didn't received the book for months.) I'm sorry I didn't read is sooner. As I often do, I'm going to comment on the stories that really stood out to me.

Promise
That ending blew me away. One sentence and it darkened the entire story. It was brilliantly placed. The timing was perfect. The story was just long enough for that sentence to have impact, for it to slap you across the face.

The Leap

The Leap is painful, heart wrenching. Depressing. I wanted to be done, but I also wanted to know how Marv was going to turn his life around. The story was so full of pain. 

Stopping for Strangers

Stopping for Strangers was weird. I was scared for a bit, the story had a horror element to it. But there was something else underlying everything too. So much was left unknown. 

Mercedes Buyer’s Guide

A stand out for me, Mercedes Buyer’s Guide was interesting and probably least depressing of all the stories. There was still something missing from the lives of the characters. The husband was missing some kind of life satisfaction. The wife was working towards a better education. The children were missing time with their mother. Barbara was missing maybe the things she wanted. Something about the end though, left the story with a different tone than the others. The tone said to me that maybe this family would stay together and maybe they would all be alright. 

I liked Stopping For Strangers. Though dark, it was interesting. I'm happy that I won it and glad I finally read it.

Outta The Bag

Outta The Bag is the prequel short story to MaryJanice Davidson's Cadence Jones series. It was free when I downloaded it and I believe it still is. It stars not Cadence, but a plumber, Clive Better, who tells his story to a surprising group of people, a story where he encountered the Jones "sisters". He doesn't know what to think. At first he's attracted to the sweet, bumbling sister, but then the others start to show up, and it becomes a crazy girl chasing her friend's runaway cat. He wants to help at first, but soon realizes he has to get out of there. 

It's a fun story for fans of Davidson and of the series. If you haven't read the first book, you might not fully understand what's going on, even though when it was first published, it was advertised as a "free preview". It's a fun, quick read. Even in this very short story, Davidson is able to showcase the distinct voices of the sisters, so as a reader, you can tell when there's been a transition. It was definitely a fun story and it's got me in the mood to read the rest of the Cadence Jones books, but I don't think it's a short story just anyone is going to pick up. A good read though for a Davidson fan.

The Wizard Returns

I'm not sure how I feel about the Wizard now. At first I thought he was one thing, but then he was something else. I thought the end was going to be predictable, but that last little bit, it made the story something different. The Wizard Returns, though not the longest, I think it is the most complex of Danielle Paige's Dorothy Must Die stories so far. Those "people" at the end, it's their fault, they messed up the Wizard's journey; things would have been different if they seemed more.... compassionate? Kindness goes a long way.

The Wizard Returns is another well thought out, interesting companion story. It teaches us about the Wizard and what happened to him between the time he supposedly left Oz and returns. However, I think it also raises more questions than answers and it definitely makes me more suspicious about the future. What is the Wizard really up to? Can the Order trust him? Can Amy? Can he even trust himself? I wonder if there are going to be more monkeys in the future books, monkeys the Wizard knows. I really don't want to give anything away; it's a story worth reading.

I read The Wizard Returns, No Place Like Oz, and The Witch Must Burn as part of Dorothy Must Die, Stories Volume 1. There are two published volumes right now, each with three stories. There are more stories being written, so I expect one more volume of stories will be published before The End of Oz. I actually thought for a while that Yellow Brick War was the end and I owned all the Dorothy Must Die books, but nope. There are more coming and I'm interested to see how this story ends.

Polaroids from the Dead

Last summer, I acquired a bunch of books. Sale books, plus books for charity, plus a friend's book purge. Seriously, I can't stop myself sometimes. Either from the friend's purge or from the charity sale, I received a copy of Douglas Coupland's Polaroids from the Dead. I wasn't really looking for this book, I just saw "Douglas Coupland" and picked it up. I've read several books by him, including his iconic Generation X (though I prefer The Gum Thief). I didn't know what I was getting until I was looking through all my newly acquired books. Polaroids from the Dead is full of pictures. The Dead? The Grateful Dead. The pictures are from a Grateful Dead concert that took place in 1991. The first section of this book containg (fictional?) stories all taking place at this concert, inspired by the pictures. It was an interesting snapshot of time.

This books if full of 90's snapshots. Places, peoples, things. Coupland addresses parts of his life in the first half of the 90's too. What he did, where he went, a German reporter he dragged around Vancouver. I think that man got more than he bargained for. There were a lot of moments that hit me, that took me back into the past.

One thing that hit me strongly, was the letter to Kurt Cobain. Coupland had started writing it while Cobain was in Europe and finished it after his death. That really took me back in time and out of everything that the second section of the book contained, it really stood out to me. I wasn't a big fan of Grunge back then. Instead I was listening to some Bad Boy and R&B, with reggae and boy band pop thrown in. But I knew the big songs from Nirvana (and Pearl Jam), I liked their songs. I understood the music, saw it everywhere. When Kurt Cobain died, it was a big deal. Coupland certainly seemed to feel it like so many people did back then.

Before starting Polaroids from the Dead, I had been hearing about the anniversary of the OJ Simpson trail. I was young when that happened. It was all the adults could talk about. It dominated television. I remember watching Simpson try on the glove. I remember hearing about Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman, watching their grieving families on television. It didn't really hit me though, I think because of my age. But it hit the adults. The anger, the disbelief. I remember being brought together into one of the larger classrooms with other students so we could all watch the verdict together. It was actually one of the first times I realised how different the American and Canadian justice systems could be, and that's when the tragedy of it finally sank in for me. Polaroids from the Dead was written shortly after. Coupland talks about Brentwood and OJ Simpson, how it all can be forgotten, but I don't think it has been. Partly because of the impact that trial had on other "celebrity" trials and crimes since. But also because Simpson still got into trouble and didn't stay out of the spotlight. Everything that Coupland wrote about Brentwood was deep and interesting. I wonder if it still applies to the area now. One of the oddest things about it was how close Nicole Brown Simpson and Marilyn Munroe lived to each other. But is it odd considering the people who have lived in that area? The entire third section, The Brentwood Notebook was an interesting study of the area.

In the book, Coupland mentions Princess Diana. As I'm reading his brief comparison of the Princess of Wales to Marilyn Monroe, it made me sad. I checked the year the book was published and the year of her death and I confirmed it, she was still alive when the book was written. His comparison of her to these Brentwood women seems like it was timely and unfairly accurate.

Things have changed since Polaroids of the Dead was written. It's almost a history book. It's a time capsule. If you're interested in the 1990's, though this book doesn't have everything (it was published in 1996), the first half of the 90's is very present. It's the perspective you can't get from someone looking back, it's from somone in it, living it in the moment.

Steel Scars

I love Farley. I really enjoyed Steel Scars and everything we learned about the Scarlet Guard, the Lakelanders, Farley, her team, and Shade. There was just so much going on. At every moment, we learned something new about the world Victoria Aveyard created in Red Queen. There's so much going on, not just in Norta, but everywhere. Steel Scars opens up the world, the possibilities for where this series can go; it's not just a Nortan problem, I think we're going to deal with Silvers and Reds on a global scale.

I enjoyed the different perspective too. What was happening with Farley when things were happening with Mare? What really sparked Farley's interest? There's so much depth to the character, more than just the leader of the Scarlet Guard in Norta. She's a friend, a soldier, a daughter. Farley is someone we can root for, someone we can connect with. She has lost and sacrificed. Steel Scars gave so much, it was exactly the story I needed to read.

Queen Song

There will definitely be some spoilers if you haven't read Red Queen. If you have read Red Queen, while you don't need to read Queen Song, it certainly makes the background of the villain more interesting and more diabolical. She was planning for a long time. She's seriously evil. She has no saving grace, just a desire for power. If she ever has a redemptive moment in a future story, I will be shocked.

Queen Song is the first of two companion stories written for the Red Queen series. Victoria Aveyard flushes out Cal's mother, the first wife of the King. Coriane is a kind girl, not made for life at court. We learn that Cal is a lot like his mother. She loves machines, building things, figuring out how they work. She finds her talents wasting away, except for when her father needs something repaired. Coriane and Julian's father is terrible. At best he ignores Coriane, at worst, he trades on her position, to the downfall the of the whole house. He uses her skills, but then scolds her for her dirty hands. Coriane is never allowed to be happy, even once she becomes queen. I also think Coriane would have like Mare.

With everything that happened, I'm left wondering what King Tiberias IV actually died from. Did Robert actually die of a broken heart? If he did, it's so sad. I wonder if he had been around, if Coriane might have lived, or at least might have figured out what was going on. Plus, her guard was definitely helping Elara, right? Basically, this story made me even more suspicious of anything that happens around Elara.

My only problem with the story is that I found the ending a bit abrupt. I knew what was going to happen, but I feel like there could have been a longer descent into madness. A confession of something between Coriane and Sara? I just felt like stuff happened right at the end, then the story was over.

Queen Song was a good story. While the focus was Coriane, I feel like we learned a lot about Elara too. She's in it for the long game. Since I picked up Cruel Crown, I'll be able to read Steel Scar soon and maybe learn what the Reds were doing while this was happening to the Silver Royals.

On The Extra Stories In A Series

I read my fair share of Young Adult Fantasy and Science-Fiction series. They're fun, entertaining and some full of interesting ideas. I ready Adult Science-Fiction and Fantasy too, but I'm going to stick to YA right now. I'm thinking about all these series that have companion short stories. Some are prequels, some are re-tellings of scenes from another character's point of view, some are about what has happened in between novels. Not all series have them, The Hunger Games, for example. It's three novels, that's it, the end. Then there is a series like Delirium with so many extra tales, that though originally published as ebooks (as all these extra tales first are), they published a paperback edition too, though most leave their companion tales as ebooks, like the Grisha trilogy.

Though there are other series that leave out the extra bits (like Uglies from Scott Westerfeld), I feel like there are more who have at least one ebook tale (like Legend, by Marie Lu) and an increasing amount of others who are publishing their multiple ebook shorts in paperback form (Shatter Me, by Taherah Mafi). Why am I thinking about this?  Recently I read Red Queen. It was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm itching to read Glass Sword. I own both novels. I picked them up recently (at a very good price). However, Cruel Crown was not available to purchase. If it was there, would I have purchased it? Probably, yes. While I have skipped companion ebook short stories in the past, when there is more than one, I feel more of a pull to get them. What might they reveal about the characters I love, the ones I hate, the history of the world? With Red Queen a recent read, I'm left wondering if I should buy the paperback, the two ebooks separately (a cheaper deal) or just skip the stories.

As I type this, read what I've written, I think I might be feeling companion story burn-out. Why do the majority of series (at least the ones I've read lately) have these extra bits floating around? Some of the short stories I've read have been brilliant, like Leigh Bardugo's The Witch of Duva and Little Knife. Others I've been less fond of, like alternate perspectives, where I know what's going to happen (I like a little tension or mystery in my stories), especially if they don't tell me anything I didn't already know. I have a similar problem with prequels, a story is nice, but I want to learn something. The Assassin's Blade was a collection of prequel stories done right. They had their own plots and we learned a lot about the main character and even had hints about what could happen in future novels. I guess I am just wondering, why can't their be more series like The Hunger Games? A bunch of novels I loved. I'm not saying just trilogies either. Uglies is a series of 4 books. I just... I don't know... There are just so many... I want to be able to pick up the books and read them, without having to search online to see if any other stories exist. (I have to say, I do appreciate the ones that are free.) But why can't it be bam, bam, bam, done? If I hadn't joined Goodreads, I probably would have missed most of these stories (Thanks, Goodreads, for links on where to read them too.) It's just burn-out, that's all it is. Right? Bah! Whatever.

Hard To Get, by Anna Banks

I’ve been feeling the urge to read Of Triton, the second book in Anna Banks’ Syrena Legacy, when I realized I hadn’t yet read Hard To Get. Hard to Get is one of the several short stories Anna Banks has written as companion pieces to her Syrena novels.  I’ve read Legacy Lost, which is tragic and the reason I started with the series. Hard To Get tells the story of what happened between Toraf and Rayna, after Toraf used a kiss with the series’ protagonist, Emma, to make Rayna jealous.

When I read Of Poseidon back in September, I was not sold on this storyline. Though I liked Toraf, I could not reconcile what he did. He was forcing Rayna to be with him.  Then he hurt her for rejecting him. The two sides of him weren’t sitting well with me.  Reading this story makes me understand his actions, though they were impulsive.  It also makes me like Grom a little less, even though I was sympathetic with him previously.  Maybe he is actually an ass and it makes perfect sense why his mate did what she did.  I’m sure to read about it soon in Of Triton. Hard To Get was a quick, fun story, with insight into some of the Syrena characters.

The Assassin's Blade

I needed some quick, entertaining stories and The Assassin’s Blade delivered, but also gave me some emotional, tense moments. The Assassin’s Blade is the collection of prequel novellas to Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series. They were originally sold independently, so there's a bit about each story as I read them, then I am sure I will have something to say after.

The Assassin and The Pirate

I really like that the first story in The Assassins’ Blade collection doesn’t have Celaena and Sam all happy and together, as Celaena mentions her feelings for a young man named Sam in Throne of Glass. Maas gives depth to their relationship.  I like that they start out seeming to hate each other. The Assassin and The Pirate is such a fun story, but we also get to see into Celaena and Sam’s moral compass.

Why does Celaena have to be so arrogant all the time? She’s like those kids that grow up with parents telling them they’re perfect all the time. Though it’s not untrue. Arobynn, King of the Assassin’s Guild, has poured a lot of money into hers (and Sam’s) development and has been training them since they were children.  They better be the best for all he has invested in them.

The Assassin and The Healer

I think this was the story I'd been wanting to read about Celaena. In The Assassin and The Healer, we get a chance to really see Celaena in action. Though she displays her assassin’s skill, she continues to have the conscious we saw in The Assassin and The Pirate. She helps in a small way, small to her, but everything to the one she helps. 

I really liked Yvette.  I liked that she wasn't another pretty blond, but also not another character from a land we've already addressed. Yvette was from somewhere different, another one of the lands conquered by the King of Adarlan. She's also a type of person we haven't gotten to see much of before, she's a healer. I like that even though she's fallen, as many of the conquered have, she still has a dream and wants to heal. I also wonder if we will see her again.

The Assassin and The Desert

I knew she was doing something bad…

The Assassin and The Desert might be my favourite of the stories so far. I feel like Celaena grew and learned so much during her time with the Silent Assassins.  Not just what they taught her in terms of fighting, that wouldn’t make as good a story, but who she ws as a person, and who she wants to be. I wonder how this will change her relationship with Arobynn. I also wonder if she’ll ever return to the Red Desert.

I wish we knew what happened to Sam. Her wondering has me wondering too.

I also wonder if we’ll see Ansel again. Will Celaena ever journey to the Flatlands? Ansel seems too good a character to just let go, riding off into the desert.

The spider silk merchant…. We’re seeing him again in the future too, right?

Ilias and the Silent Master?

The Assassin and The Underworld

The Assassin and The Underworld is another story I was waiting for. It was dark. It had Sam. It showed how much Celaena had really changed. There was excitement, intrigue and moments were we saw just how young Adarlan’s Assassin really is. Choices were made, debts were paid and the world was full of betrayal.

I like that we got to see Celaena interact with Arobynn. He’s a bastard. He makes Celaena think one thing, but then does another. He makes her do things she would not choose to do. He lies to her, I think he wants to break her. I wonder if he’s really training her to take his place or if that is just something he tells everyone. What is going to happen during their next encounter? Is he the reason she ends up in the Salt Mines?

I kind of adore Sam. I’ve read Throne of Glass though. I know what happens. The next story in The Assassin’s Blade is the last one and I’m kind of dreading it. I want it to be one of those things were we learn it actually isn’t true. I know I really liked Captain Westfall while reading Throne of Glass, but it’s almost as if Sam is made for Celaena. I’m not putting anything past the King of Assassins. Celaena should take Sam to the Red Desert and the Silent Assassins, but I know that’s not going to happen.

Also, was those men in the masks Dorian and Choal?

The Assassin and The Empire

I knew he was a bastard.

I knew it was going to happen too, but it was still sad.  I was hoping that it would be left more open, with possibility. But nope. It’s certain. The end.

There’s a lot more set up/revelation in The Assassin and The Empire. Probably because this is what happens right before Celaena is thrown into the Salt Mines. For those who have read Throne of Glass we learn what happened to Sam, the job that got Celaena finally caught and why it all happened.  For those who haven’t read Throne of Glass, it’s like a giant teaser for the book. What happens in the Mines? How does she get out? Does she learn who did this to her?

I’m eager for Arobynn to show up again, for Celaena to learn what happened. I wonder if she’ll ever seek out Wesley, if she’ll ever have the opportunity. I wonder if Maas will work revenge for Sam into other books.  There’s so much hope in this story at the beginning, but it got resolutely crushed.

In Conclusion…

I think these stories stand well on their own, but they are peppered with so many different characters, I can see Sarah J. Maas bringing them back into the novels. I don’t think you need to read these stories to enjoy the main books (though I’ve only read the first one), but they’re fun and entertaining; they give just that little bit more insight into who Celaena is and who the people around her are/were. They also give a larger view of Erilea and the empire the King is trying to create. There’s destruction across the continent, with victims littered everywhere. I think The Assassin’s Blade has solidified Throne of Glass as a series I must read.