Linger

by Kodilynn Calhoun

When a Taker takes her best friend’s soul, 16-year-old Evee refuses to let Jaeger become just another Void. She wants to help him, but she has no idea how. After an accident gives her a concussion, she starts hearing voices in her head-–well, one voice, loud, clear, and overly peppy and it belongs to Jaeger’s little sister. And Mercy has a plan to get his soul back, once and for all...as long as they can outwit the Taker hunting them first.

Genres: Paranormal, Short Stories, Fantasy, Young Adult, Supernatural, Ebooks, Fairies

15 pages, ebook

First published October 29, 2011

About the author

Kodilynn Calhoun is a 25-year-old gal from Indiana. She’s been writing seriously for over 12 years; her first real novel was a 300-page fantasy monster with little plot and plenty of randomosity. Today, she’s mostly a writer of YA paranormals and is a sucker for a good love story and the fantastic: werewolves, shifters, incubi, and gargoyles? You name it, she probably writes it (and hopes you like it)!

Follow her on Twitter (@kodilynncalhoun) or Facebook :)

https://www.facebook.com/authorkodily...

Reviews

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: Downloaded for free from Smashwords.)
Evelyn lives in a world where ‘takers’ steal people’s ‘Essence’ and leave them for dead. One morning her best friend (Jaeger) turns up at the café where she works, and she can immediately tell – someone has taken his essence.
Knowing that she only has a short time to try to get Jaeger’s essence back before he dies, Evelyn sets about trying to find the taker who took Jaeger’s essence, and get it back.


This was an okay short story, but all the stuff about the takers was a bit overkill for such a short story. This story is literally bam, bam, bam, the end. Very short, and with quite a bit of information and action crammed into one short novella.
I thought the romance felt a little false, and Jaeger’s sister’s reaction to it was a little odd also.
Overall; action packed short story.
6 out of 10.

[~Mindy Lynn~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Linger was much too short for my taste. It left a lot to be desired. The story felt very rushed and was a bit sloppy in it's execution. I think if the concept was better thought out and the story was longer it could have made for an interesting story. In the end the story needed to be better developed.

[Mutated Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following a girl name Evee, she lives in a world where voids have taken over. They're basically zombies, the "takers" have taken everything from them, really everything that makes them human. What's left is a shell of a person, one that will die eventually. And Evee's best friend, Jaeger, has recently become one.

Check out my full review here! Posted 11/17/2025

https://mutatedlibrary.wordpress.com/...

[Heather Brock · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was pretty awful. It felt very contrived and the overall quality (in my opinion) was poor. There were a number of unnecessary details (I have no concern as to what the main character ordered at Taco Bell or how rusted her truck is). I loathe when authors feel the need to include every minute, unimportant detail. One of my favorite lines: "If he was Void, he would die and then who would I hang out with?". The protagonist certainly has her priorities in order and is a strong, independent and empowered girl. I always try to be respectful of the time and emotion an author invests in their work. But this particular piece felt so rushed, almost as if the writer forgot they had an assignment due and cranked this out in 20 minutes and to hell with the consequences.

This short story does have one positive thing going for it and that it should be proud of it: It's not PineLight

[Alook · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
i was concern about reading this since i saw so many bad reviews but here's my run down
-its is 7pages long, i felt that everything should have been developed into a 300 page book
- one review said excessive details e.g: 'didnt care how rusted the car was' in book line says "I find my pickup truck, more rust than red paint, in the parking lot."
The extra details are short but fairly plentiful, but they didnt bother me
-good story plot
-book on fairies/ the fae who r evil and steal souls. this isnt developed either the book basically says 'the takers are faires' and moves on with the plot
I liked it but just as other reviews said it was way rushed and this made it very flat. i couldnt love it because the characters and plot just wasn't developed enough.
I would read this, If your bored and have nothing to do and since its free its very easy to find online

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had me in it since the beginning. I wished that I found out it was a short story because it was too short. It would make for an excellent novel. It depressed me that it was 7 pages. It felt that it ended at a point where it was a climax. The details weren't all there. It was a kind of a guess game to understand the relationships and the void/taker thing. At the very least, this short story should've had more detail to help out a little bit. It feels like the takers should go after Evee now. They should want revenge. Very disappointed. I am hoping that his might lead up to a longer novel eventually.

[Samantha Boyette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent short story that I probably would have liked more if it was a little longer. The writing was good, but it all felt a little too A then B then C for me. Taking a little more time would have made the whole thing more compelling, but the way it was it seemed like everything conveniently fell into place. Making the story an extra 1000 words would've added a lot more excitement. That being said, I'd actually really like to see a full book from this short story! There's also a preview of one of her books, and that seemed interesting so I might have to check it out.

[Lore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked it. Solid 2.5 rating. Short but it told the story well. I think this could be a great start for a fun full-length novel. I thought the story line of faeries who suck the life (essence) out of you was slightly borrowed from True Blood (probably unintentionally). However there's some real possibilities here I hope the author expands on it.

[Shawanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the concept of this book was interesting. Druggie Fae stealing your essence for a quick fix. Now the problem with this story is its a short story and it shouldn't have been. This story needed development and since it was 7 pages it felt rushed and I thinks thats why most people dont like it, its kinda like watching a 2 movie on fast forward. I hope the author will turn it into a full novel.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short story. At 15 pages, it was a breeze to get through. The characters had a lot of attitude. I really enjoyed them, especially Mercy. Although, I would love to learn more about the world they live in. I'm hoping that the author writes a full story based on this. I liked her writing style. I will definitely be buying more of her books.

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was published why?? I hate to be harsh but, this thing lacked editing, a storyline, and was probably not even worth the one star that I gave it. It annoyed the hell out of me and I just read it because it was so short. I was done on page one. Nothing against the author but the book was horrible.

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of interesting idea, the Voids were cool, at least, the image and idea of them, but, it was too rushed and slightly confusing. Not really a successful short story. The intro to another book was OK, but didn't seem like my type of story, either.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a differnt spin on Fairies..in this world they are evil..and they pretty much turn people into "zombies" well they steal peoples souls and this makes the people slowly die because they have no essence...I could see this short story being turned into a series

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I know this is a short story, I think It could have been better if it was longer.I was pretty interested in the book,it just seemed like everything was kind of slapped together and didn't have much depth. However, I think if this was a full length book it would be excellent.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Anyone get the number on that bus? That was WAY to short! It was good. The concept exciting. But no sooner did I start reading than the book was over. That's ok as I am trying to catch up to my reading goal, Last I looked I was four books behind.

But really, is there a sequel out there?

[Kyra Dunst · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good for a short story. You find out a bit about the main character and her best friend/ love interest, and there is a decent plot too. I would love to read more about this world where Fae steal the essence of people.

[Bella Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed. Like extremely. This story isn't complete at all, its too short and just don't worth the time, the little time, to spend reading it. Though the summary totally rocks the book is totally crap.

[Kaitlyn Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was actually good i wanted more towards the end i like when a book could grab me like that

here is my review http://silenttbookblog.blogspot.com/2...

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book even though it was short. I think that it would be even better as a novel. I want the details.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars

I really enjoyed this. It was very short, but I loved the idea. I wish it would become a full novel.

[Erika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

[Cintia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So short, I wanted more!

[Shannon (Ivy Bound Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was too short. I needed more excitement. The idea is brilliant. I just wish the plot line was more extravagant. Maybe a longer novel could do this. Please?

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this. Sure it is written by s younger author and it shows, but I enjoyed it. Felt fresh & I liked the ideas. I would read a series about these characters!

[MsBDiamondDiva1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked this short story it could really be a great series:-)

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The actual concept of the story was good it's just that it ended so fast. I wish that the book could have been longer and more stuff happened but other than that it was good.

[Morgan Asher · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good short story but i felt as if it should be longer and it should of had more details

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm... average read which had lots of potential, but really should have been a longer read...

[Laura Carson]

Nook freebie

[KikiTheKind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short story! This was a snippet of the full story going on in the background. This feels like like a side novella straight out of a full length book. If that existed, I would read it, too!