Friday, January 14, 2022

Quick Reviews: Amazon Short Stories

I came across these Amazon original holiday short stories, free for Prime and Kindle Unlimited, and thought they sounded so fun!  And even though the holidays are behind us, I wanted to review them anyway!
 
Model Home by J. Courtney Sullivan (2021)
 
Katie and her husband Damian host a popular home makeover show, but Damian wants to leave the world of reality tv.  Katie, however, is not ready to give up fame and fortune.  Can she convince him to stay?  At only 39 pages, this was definitely a quick read, but also a really fun behind-the-scenes look at the makings of reality tv shows and personas.  While their life appears perfect on the outside, Katie and Damian are struggling.  Katie loves the material things their success has gotten them, while Damian thinks his wife has changed too much.  I liked that Sullivan was able to incorporate a lot of backstory of how Katie and Damian got to this point, but the ending was lacking, at least for me.  It felt so abrupt and I was left wanting more.  3.5 stars
 
Oh. What. Fun. by Chandler Baker (2021)
 
Claire's three adult children are home for the holidays, and she is going above and beyond to make it perfect.  But when Claire disappears during the festivities, the kids are left wondering what's really going on in her mind.  This short story was so relatable.  I loved how the narrator was the collective voice of Claire's kids.  They don't seem to really appreciate or acknowledge all the work that Claire puts into making the holidays special.  They assume she does it because she enjoys it, and so they never offer to help.  Claire, though, has reached her breaking point, and I really felt for her.  I liked that we were able to get a bit of her perspective, too.  The writing is really snappy and fun, and the story moves along at a great pace.  Anyone who has stayed up late to perfectly wrap gifts or cook that special holiday meal, only to watch everything get demolished in 2 minutes flat, will definitely enjoy this story!  4 stars

12 comments:

  1. Oh. What. Fun. sounds like a good one. I mean, who can't relate to sometimes feeling overworked and under-appreciated?

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  2. These stories sound like fun! Although Model Home didn't have an ending as fulfilling as hoped, the setting of a reality show sounds compelling.

    claire @ clairefy

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  3. As a mom, I definitely appreciated Oh What Fun. I laughed a lot when I read that one

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    1. Haha, right? It made me think about my own mom!

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  4. Oh What Fun (cool title) looks excellent

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!