Little Girl Lost

The Valley of Ten Crescents #0.5

by Tristan J. Tarwater

Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition

Tavera is a child passed from hand to hand as a source of cheap labor in the underworld of the Valley. When she finds herself at the mercy of the vicious sausage maker, the elderly Madame Greswin, she discovers secrets from the woman's past and the consequences leave Tavera fighting for her life.

"Little Girl Lost" is a short story and prequel to "Thieves at Heart", the first novel in the series "The Valley of Ten Crescents".

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Adult

15 pages, ebook

First published April 15, 2012

About the author

Tristan J. Tarwater is a writer of fantasy, comics and RPG bits. Their titles include The Valley of Ten Crescents series, Shamsee: A Fistful of Lunars,Hen & Chick and Reality Makes the Best Fantasy. They have also worked for both Pelgrane Press and Onyx Path. Born and raised in NYC, they now consider Portland, OR their home. When they're not making stuff up, they are usually reading a comic book, cooking delicious meals for their Spouse and Small Boss or playing a video game. Their next RPG character will most definitely be an elf.

Reviews

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short prequel story [seriously I read it in like 15 minutes when I didn't want to get out of bed the other day] to the main series [which I haven't read yet]. And interesting little snippet about a half-elf orphan girl in a fantasy city who is forced to work for a seriously nasty lady. It was very short but it definitely got my interest and I can't wait to get on to the main series. I had previously read another short story by this author and I think she does a good job of packing a lot of story into a few pages.

[MIRANDA · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel, whose main character is a young half-elf girl, had decent writing (with the exception of the occasional misspelling--the author needs a better editor), but there was no real plot (what was the point, exactly?) and no direction (except that the girl is sold to work for an old woman who makes sausages). It was really short, so it seemed more of an introduction to a novel than an entire novel in itself (not to say that short stories have no value--they have value when there is actually a point and they don't serve to introduce characters that will have a more well-defined role and purpose in a future novel). Regardless, I decided to try out the next volume in this series in the hopes that there would be character and plot development that novels require, and I was similarly disappointed.

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* As I was confused. There is so much going on in the world and I feel as if I only understand a small portion of what is happening. Tavera seems a very sweet young girl and hard working in many ways but as children are inquisitive. Chaos, unfortunate circumstances and escape. There are many unanswered questions that I really hope get cleared up in the next book but this was an interesting start.

[Shirin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was short, which means easy to read and finish. It’s a prequel to Valley of Ten Crescents, and oh, poor, poor little Tav. Poor thing. Madame is a little shit. I like Prisca and Gia- are they together? They’re so cute.

[Jeffrey A. Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing

Where will the storyline lead? Starting with slavery, sold into servitude, maimed for something she did not do and now recovering in a brothel?

[Maya Lantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a prequel to Thieves at Heart but can definitely work as a standalone story as well. I began reading Thieves at Heart but decided I wanted to know more about Tavera to start so I settled down to read Little Girl Lost and I was not disappointed at all. This story has wonderful flow and divulges just the right amount of background to keep the story compact yet hold your interest and make you gain a lot of compassion for Tavera.

Tavera a small half-elf child has had an extremely tough life already and is determined to do what she needs to make things easier for herself and keep a roof over her head and food in her belly. She is a very easy to connect to character and I was rooting for her and hoping her story would have a happy ending. Things seem to start off well for Tavera when she is bought by a creepy old lady to do work around her shop only to go horribly wrong just a short time later, due in part to Tavera’s childlike curiosity. Yet, the author allows this story to end in a happy place for Tavera before picking up again in Thieves at Heart.

I really enjoyed the author’s writing style. It was extremely descriptive and gave you the ability to imagine the sights, sounds and smells taking place in the story. I would highly recommend this to anyone and can’t wait to finish reading what happens to Tavera next.

[Renee Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tristan J Tarwater, Little Girl Lost, B007UIYEAW , Personally, I think it is silly to publish this short tidbit all by itself. Why not use at the first chapter, or keep as prequel and include with the first book of the series? It would be different if this were more than 15 pages. This is not a short story, rather it is more like a chapter. It isn't even long enough to connect with the reader.
Along with the irritation of the size, there are also numerous grammatical/spelling errors. This adds to the frustration. I like the story idea however it is in desperate need of a rewrite. In fact, a good rewrite could easily add to this story as there are numerous details which could and should be added to create a top-notch story. As is stands, there are too many holes in the story as it is too short and does not give the reader time to be drawn in. [{http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BBERPCK}]

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mini novella that introduces us to an intriguing character named Tavera who is a little girl who has only known a difficult and unkind life. She knows what hunger is, what being undressed in the cold feels like, what beatings for not doing tasks correctly or on time feel like. But Tavera isn't without any hope, she's of mixed blood, she is part "Forrester" or elf, I believe and she's also quick on her feet and quite observant. And she soon finds herself in New company with better odds. An intro to this author`s "Thieves at Heart" book.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some spelling mistakes and missing words but nothing horrendous enough that I wasn't able to finish reading. I'm not saying that the mistakes are fine, the author should still go through and fix the errors.
I do agree that most of the time jumps are a bit off putting because you have to try and figure out just how far ahead in time you really jumped.
Liked it enough to go ahead and give the next book, Thieves at Heart, a read.

[Wynona · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's like a little commercial. Preview of the actual novel. I found it interesting. I want to read the next book, and if there's more, I'll read those too. Also, some books have mispelling on purpose, due to the character. For example: a character that says nife, instead of knife. Or a character that doesn't have that much of a vocabulary, and tries to say a word they don't know or just learning. With me, as long I understand it, I'm good. The storyline is a very interesting one to me.

[Alysa H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no trouble reading this dark little story as an effective standalone piece, although it is a prequel to Thieves at Heart which I have not yet read. Tarwater packs an impressive amount of world-building into this, especially considering that we're learning about an "adult" world through the eyes of small child. I'm looking forward to reading the novel.

[Niffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This very short novella is actually a prequel to Thieves At Heart and probably should have simply been the first chapter in that book or not been written at all. I don't think it really stands alone very well and while it does explain a few things not explained in Thieves At Heart, I'm not sure it was really necessary to the overall storyline.

[Anny Borg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Girl Lost is a short story which prequels to Thieves at Heart (the first jook in the series The Valley of Ten Crescents). It's about a girl who is sold to work for a sausage-maker.

It works well as a stand-alone work while giving you some curiosity of the series. It was a short, but good read, with some spelling mistake or other.

[Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little story to spend a few minutes on, although it isn't terribly involved and probably works best purely as an introduction to the series rather than a stand-alone. I can't say I'll be rushing out to buy the other books, but I did enjoy it, particularly finding out who her rescuers are... whoever said whores aren't kindhearted?!

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short story. I read it in it's entirety on my breaks during a normal workday. That said, I really enjoyed it. It is well written and a good story that is told beautifully. I enjoyed it enough that I went ahead and purchased the rest of the books in the series. I'm looking forward to seeing how the author does with a full length novel.

[Debra Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.amazon.com/review/R28VWYHC.... This is the link to my Amazon review. I was given a copy of this series in exchange for an honest review. Worth reading. Nice escape from the ordinary and the author has a wonderful talent for building characters.

[Bill Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a mixed tale, how a street urchin become a helper to an old woman with no heart. Gets blamed for a theft that I have a hard time with it. She ends up with a couple ladies of the night and the author makes you think this is a good thing?

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very short story...5000 words and a lot was gone into..i enjoyed reading this,didnt expect it to end the way it did tho..very good.

[Kynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good short read. I have to read his other stories.

[Christina Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

QUITE GOOD - IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO READ A LONGER VERSION.