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Tales of the Otherworld
A very short story around Lucas Cortez and Eve Levine.
A very short story around Lucas Cortez and Eve Levine.
17 pages, ebook
First published August 1, 2005
5 people are currently reading
1320 people want to read
About the author
Kelley Armstrong
291 books33.5k followersKelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 12, 2022
First read: June 2010
Re-read: October 2022
Rating: 4/5 stars
Story #11 in my chronological re-read of the Women of the Otherworld series
Expectations is set from the POV of Lucas Cortez, heir of the Cortez Cabal (last mentioned very briefly mentioned in the Bewitched short story). Here, we learn that the Cortez Cabal is the most powerful one in America and that Lucas has cut ties with it, despite being the heir to the family business. Now studying law, he bumps into Eve Levine as he attempts to track down a dangerous magical grimoire. This is a very short story, which sets up Lucas’ character well, and it was nice to see that Eve hasn’t lost her edge now that she’s a mother.
General trivia
- Lucas is the youngest of four sons
- His father, Benicio, is the CEO of Cortez Cabal
- Lucas rides a motorbike and wears prescription glasses. He is twenty years old and describes himself as looking like ‘a clean-cut Latino.’
- Eve’s child from Bewitched is now identified as her daughter Savannah, who is described as ‘preadolescent’ – setting this story roughly ten to twelve years afterwards.
- Eve is described as slender with waist-length dark hair and she is still working as magical teacher.
- Ivy League schools have Cabal fraternities.
-
In terms of the timeline, it seems as though this story is set immediately after The Case of the Half-Demon Spy which was set in 1992. Savannah is now somewhere between 10-12 years old, and as Bewitched was set in the early 1980s, that fits in well with the timeline.
Re-read: October 2022
Rating: 4/5 stars
Story #11 in my chronological re-read of the Women of the Otherworld series
Expectations is set from the POV of Lucas Cortez, heir of the Cortez Cabal (last mentioned very briefly mentioned in the Bewitched short story). Here, we learn that the Cortez Cabal is the most powerful one in America and that Lucas has cut ties with it, despite being the heir to the family business. Now studying law, he bumps into Eve Levine as he attempts to track down a dangerous magical grimoire. This is a very short story, which sets up Lucas’ character well, and it was nice to see that Eve hasn’t lost her edge now that she’s a mother.
General trivia
- Lucas is the youngest of four sons
- His father, Benicio, is the CEO of Cortez Cabal
- Lucas rides a motorbike and wears prescription glasses. He is twenty years old and describes himself as looking like ‘a clean-cut Latino.’
- Eve’s child from Bewitched is now identified as her daughter Savannah, who is described as ‘preadolescent’ – setting this story roughly ten to twelve years afterwards.
- Eve is described as slender with waist-length dark hair and she is still working as magical teacher.
- Ivy League schools have Cabal fraternities.
-
In terms of the timeline, it seems as though this story is set immediately after The Case of the Half-Demon Spy which was set in 1992. Savannah is now somewhere between 10-12 years old, and as Bewitched was set in the early 1980s, that fits in well with the timeline.
August 2, 2018
I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but Lucas is probably my favourite of the Women of the Otherworld men. I have so much fun with him whenever he appears, and I’m always willing to get more of his story. Thus, I was more than happy to dive into Expectations when I realised it was a story giving us some details of his past.
Although Expectations is an extremely short read, it offers the fans of the series that wee bit more that Kelley Armstrong loves to please us with. It gives us more of the past, allows us to see more connections, and guarantees we receive plenty of the characters we love.
Expectations may not be my favourite of the Women of the Otherworld short stories, but it was nice to see a bit more of my favourite male.
Although Expectations is an extremely short read, it offers the fans of the series that wee bit more that Kelley Armstrong loves to please us with. It gives us more of the past, allows us to see more connections, and guarantees we receive plenty of the characters we love.
Expectations may not be my favourite of the Women of the Otherworld short stories, but it was nice to see a bit more of my favourite male.
April 2, 2022
From Lucas's POV, about a run-in he had with Eve in an attempt to steal one of her grimoires.
January 24, 2019
Expectations – Lucas and Eve and though these two don’t have a love relationship this story just shows you their dynamic and how it started.
Read
August 1, 2017A backstory for Lucas (a new character for me), a brief appearance by Eve (who I've met earlier in these prequel short stories), and a glimpse of her daughter, and the machinations of a rival Cabal I've seen mentioned before too. Lots of tiny pieces that I can't wait to see how they all fit together.
November 30, 2017
Otherworld series 0.11. Very short story involving an illegal interaction between Lucas Cortez, the young heir to the Cortez Corporation and Eve Levine.
I was glad to see a brief moment in Eve’s life.
Footnote: 1) This story is in the ‘Tales of the Otherworld’ collection originally found on the author’s website. You can either read the main books first then go back and pick up the short bits and pieces or, like me, do them all in order and try to figure out who/what everybody is.
Fave scene: Eve’s arrival home.
I was glad to see a brief moment in Eve’s life.
Footnote: 1) This story is in the ‘Tales of the Otherworld’ collection originally found on the author’s website. You can either read the main books first then go back and pick up the short bits and pieces or, like me, do them all in order and try to figure out who/what everybody is.
Fave scene: Eve’s arrival home.
October 31, 2023
I can't say I loved lucas POV but it does go to show how well Armstrong can tailor her writing to the character she's focused on. I did love a quick view of Eve, especially since I need to get to her book eventually. I've loved to see her appear in the different short stories i've read, she does seem on par with Elena in terms of badass supernatural woman!
January 27, 2018
An intro to Lucas Cortez and his interaction with his Cabal and Eve Lavine.
February 3, 2018
I don't know Eve or Lucas but the idea of sorcerers hating witches sounds interesting. I'm always interested in discrimination within supernatural communities and this seems to show a lot of promise.
June 27, 2020
From this short story, I already like Lucas a lot! I hope to learn more about him.
January 4, 2021
Cute
October 18, 2021
A very short story around Lucas Cortez and Eve Levine.
Heather's Notes
Interesting. I liked how Lucas still managed to get one over on Eve.
Heather's Notes
Interesting. I liked how Lucas still managed to get one over on Eve.
April 20, 2023
I don't feel bad for Lucas. It's cool to see how much of a badass Eve has become though!
June 19, 2023
Fun, exciting short story about the first time Lucas met Eve. 10-15 minute read but very well done.
June 28, 2023
I love Lucas 🥹
Read
January 9, 2021published in "tales of the otherworld" anthology
August 30, 2012
I read Expectations as part of the anthology Tales of the Otherworld.
This story was more of a slice of life and it shows us how Lucas met with (and got his ass handed to him by) Eve. Lucas might not be the most flashy character in UF-land, with his nerdy looks and lawyer speech, but I can't help but love his understated ways. There are things he says that would sound acerbic or self deprecating, but with Lucas it's no nonsense and that just makes him all the more endearing - especially in his younger years, where this story is set. Here is a bit that sums him up nicely:
"The safety gear necessary for proper use of a motor - a full helmet with a tinted visor, bulky leather jacket, gloves and boots- renders one's features and physique invisible, and even the most unlikely male suddenly becomes attractive: a mysterious figure astride a vehicle that symbolizes rebellion and freedom from cultural mores. To destroy that image, I merely needed to remove the helmet and endure the looks of surprise, disappointment, and even, occasionally, anger - as if I'd committed the unforgivable sin of false advertising.
This story was more of a slice of life and it shows us how Lucas met with (and got his ass handed to him by) Eve. Lucas might not be the most flashy character in UF-land, with his nerdy looks and lawyer speech, but I can't help but love his understated ways. There are things he says that would sound acerbic or self deprecating, but with Lucas it's no nonsense and that just makes him all the more endearing - especially in his younger years, where this story is set. Here is a bit that sums him up nicely:
"The safety gear necessary for proper use of a motor - a full helmet with a tinted visor, bulky leather jacket, gloves and boots- renders one's features and physique invisible, and even the most unlikely male suddenly becomes attractive: a mysterious figure astride a vehicle that symbolizes rebellion and freedom from cultural mores. To destroy that image, I merely needed to remove the helmet and endure the looks of surprise, disappointment, and even, occasionally, anger - as if I'd committed the unforgivable sin of false advertising.
July 29, 2013
This story is fairly well rounded for such a short read, which I like. It has a beginning a middle and an end. This story introduces us to Lucas Cortez, the fourth son of the CEO of the Cortez Cabal, a powerful group of sorcerers. A man, hoping to gain more credit with the CEO, comes to Lucas and tells him about a grimoire, dark magic spell book, that is in the possession of a witch. This witch soon is revealed to be none other than Eve several years after we first met her in Bewitched. We also are (re)introduced to her child, Savannah, who is now in her adolescence. She doesn't feature heavily in this story though.
Lucas attempts takes the job on himself, instead of relaying it onto his father, and soon finds that it wasn't going to be quite as easy a task as he thought.
Lucas attempts takes the job on himself, instead of relaying it onto his father, and soon finds that it wasn't going to be quite as easy a task as he thought.
August 4, 2013
Expectations is book 0.11, a short prequel to the Women of the Otherworld Series, found in Tale of the Otherworld Stories by Kelley Armstrong. This story is about Lucas and Eve.
May 7, 2013
Oh Lucas, every word that comes out of his mouth makes me smile and this was a lovely short story from KA. She has such a strong grasp on her characters (and gosh, there are so many!!), that they act like themselves in each situation so it has been a serious joy to read all of these short stories that have characters that haven't interacted as much in the main book series. Eve was a treat! Probably my two favorite characters here, so I definitely enjoyed this one.
December 26, 2014
This story showed the younger Lucas trying to show how big and bad he can be. When confronted with the opportunity to get out in the field, he jumps at the chance, trying to stand up to the big bad - Eve Levine. He has a rather humbling experience, that he mentions further in the series. A very quick read to fill in some backstory gaps for Lucas.
September 12, 2018
included in
Tales of the Otherworld
re-read 4/6/2014
re-read 4/6/2014
April 26, 2011
Narrator: Lucas
December 10, 2013
Great short story of where Lucas and Eve met, and is mentioned in Dime Store Magic, and yeah, a great part of why and how Lucas does what he does!
August 11, 2011
Haha. Liked this one. Again, Eve and something that's been mentioned in the novels. :)
August 24, 2012
The youngest Cortez excepts a job t o steal some Grimwar from Eve. We get a glimpse at Savannah and a reminder that Eve kicks major ass. This story was another really short one but it was worth it.
Want to read
August 16, 2012just downloaded it for free from her site ~to read yet
February 6, 2013
Love seeing things progress with all the characters, almost caught up on the
October 14, 2013
Eve has referenced a couple times how Lucas got the better of her. Here is the actual story. Read as part of Tales of the Otherworld.
October 15, 2014
I would like to see Eve place Mr. Cortex over her knee sometime in the immediate future and spank some of the presumptiousness out of him :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews