Reviewed by Morgan
Title: Gift of the Goddess
Author: Kaje Harper
Heroes: Garvin/Nyle
Genre: MM Historical
Length: 50 Pages
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Release Date: September 20, 2013
Available at: Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Garvin’s lover Nyle has been kidnapped by a band of soldiers in need of a smith. In the king’s army, that means he’ll serve until he’s dead, and Garvin will be damned if he’ll let that happen. But Garvin’s a small, slight man without the skills to follow and take on trained soldiers. For the first time in his life, Garvin prays to the Goddess for help, for enough guidance to get him to Nyle, so he can do whatever it takes to rescue the man he loves. And the Goddess answers him.
Content warning – contains a brief on-page episode of dubious to non-consensual sex.
Review: Wow.
This was an INTENSE short story.
Because it is so short, I don’t really want to give too much away. You get a great idea what’s coming in the blurb and the warning – but this story is so much more…
To me, the ability to write a short story is the true test of a writer. Not that those Epic Tomes aren’t amazing, but to convey the depth of emotion and tell a story with a brevity of words… that takes not only a great writer, but great editing, as well.
Due to it’s short story nature, we are thrust into the story without a lot of background information and that forces a writer to show rather than tell us about the scene and the characters. This is done tremendously well here.
Right away we get the sense of how important Nyle is to Garvin and just what he’s willing to do to keep him. As we progress, we see their origin story and that, too, is well done and very sweet and touching. But the piece I liked the best is the “rescue”.
What a tremendous metaphor that was. Using your resources to the best of your ability and not standing to the side quailing for a lack of being something you’re not. It was magnificent.
I’m a big fan of Kaje Harper and this cements for me just why that’s true.
I highly recommend this short story and give it 6 of 5 stars.
Overall Impression: It was amazing!
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
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