"Once upon a Hallow’s Eve, there was a witch. She had long red hair, a pretty face, and a propensity for utterly failing at witchery. Her name was Laluna."
This tongue-in-cheek original fairy tale follows the adventures of Laluna, a young witch who inherits her grandmother's potion shop. It's Halloween, the most bewitching night of the year, but even the most well intentioned spells have a habit of going badly for Laluna. When a charm for true love unearths a zombie, she must make amends with the help of her vampire best (almost more than) friend and cupcakes no ghoul can resist. "Hallow's Eve" is a short, lively, light-hearted romp across a most unusual Halloween night.
I write about heroic, magical girls who love girls. YA author of Golden Crown Award-winning THE DARK WIFE (the lesbian, YA retelling of the Persephone myth) and TWIXT and co-author, with my amazing wife, author Jennifer Diemer, of Project Unicorn: A Lesbian YA Extravaganza. http://www.MuseRising.com
Hallow's Eve is a short and sweet little story, in which a young witch called Laluna makes a big mistake, and puts it right with the help of cupcakes and her friends. It's a very quick read -- ten minutes, max -- and simple, but worth a little smile.
It made me crave cupcakes, honestly. And whoever thought of bribing Charon and Cerberus with cupcakes...?
Simple, beautiful and witty. Sarah Diemer's "Hallow's Eve: A Halloween Fairy Tale" is all of these things. Following a spritely red headed witch named LaLuna through Hallow's Eve, we meet a cast of engaging yet solid characters, and wind our way through a 'modern' Hallow's Eve that ends with its roots entrenched in the ancient.
I bought this story without a second thought and savored each moment of enchantment. Sarah Diemer will not disappoint!
Very cute. Almost too cute, but Sarah Diemer is an entertaining writer, and she pulls it off successfully.
The inept witch who just happens to be a fabulous cupcake baker?
Cute.
Her vampire-stereotype almost boyfriend?
Well, he might be a little cliche, but their almost romance is just adorable. I would actually read another book about those characters, just to find out if they hooked up.
The plot is vehicle for the romance, but that's fine. The dialogue is fun and snappy, the halloween-fairy tale vibe is consistent and well-done, and amusing concepts scattered through out keep the story from bogging down. Particularly enjoyed Death-as-a-Tree. A winning concept, there.
Now, I have to admit Diemer's work was recommend to me as good yuri (sapphic-lesbian whatever you wanna call it) fiction, but she wasn't specific about which book I should get. This was cute and fun, but a bit lacking in lesbians - but that was my bad on the selection. Turns out, had I picked any other book Diemer has written, more or less, and it would have been more in line with my expectations.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. If the idea of a cute, cupcake baking witch in a world resembling Nightmare Before Christmas sounds appealing - and you have a serious sweet tooth for your fiction - then I would recommend Hallow' Eve.
Laluna, our heroine, is a pretty witch with bright red hair who has no family after the recent death of her grandmother. Laluna is not a typical witch, in fact “she was a HORRIBLE witch and a FANTASTIC baker,” but when an old school friend asks for a potion, Laluna can’t say no, even though it is a love potion. Of course, it all backfires, and Laluna ends up missing the Witch’s Ball on Halloween night to deal with a zombie in love.
It’s such a sweet little story, for being full of witches, ghosts, a vampire, a werewolf, a zombie, even Death himself. What’s funny is the scariest person is actually the human, the woman who caused the mess in the first place and leaves Laluna to clean it up. All the “monsters” are kind-hearted, and there’s a touch of a sweet romance between Laluna and one of her friends. And Laluna is certainly a marvelous baker, no one, dead or alive, can resist her cupcakes. I have to admit they sounded delicious.
If you’re looking for a short, sweet, light Halloween read pick this one up.
(From my Wordpress blog, Word Vagabond: Reviews of Independent and Small Press Books.)
Laluna is a reluctant witch. Her dream is to open a cupcakery, but her beloved grandmother has just willed her the family magic shop, and she’s determined to do her proud. On her very first day in charge, the young witch’s generous nature leads her to make a big mistake, and setting it right may cost her everything.
This holiday short story by Sarah Diemer is a gem! It was so much fun to read. The main character is adorable, and I pictured the town as a sort of cross between Scooby Doo and Tim Burton’s Halloween Town. Joining Laluna on her quest to return lovelorn zombie Leon to the grave is her childhood friend Blackthorn, a vampire. Their interaction is the icing on this cupcake of a story, sweet without being overpowering.
If you need something to warm your heart this chilly October, curl up with a mug of cider and this book!
A short, enjoyable read, with tongue in cheek humour. The idea of a girl who is a terrible witch but great at making cupcakes is cute and fun. I love the bit where she wonders if the vampire likes her or just hangs out with her for cupcakes. The imagery is nice, with shades of Bradbury's October people, and so many of things I want, like the whole magic shop, and the bat-embroidered handkerchief. While the vampire, werewolf, witch thing could come off cheesy, the gently mocking way the story is written allows you to enjoy it. I liked the fairytale style quest of seeking out the oldest thing in the town. I wish I had read this at Halloween.
Short little tale with a cast of characters that we've seen before and others that don't usually make an appearance in popular fiction. This has the zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and witches, that we all read (a lot about), but it also has a gargoyle, a statued angel that talks, and a very different depiction of death.
A clever lovely romp through a mistake, which makes you think about love and friendship and following your heart/dreams. I loved this piece when I got to read it from her a few years ago and I loved it amazingly yesterday when I got to sit down and read it on my Kindle for the first time. Bravo.