A Cold One

Revival of the Fall #0.5

by Stella Hope

Has Esme’s moral compass finally broken?Esme Turner navigates a double life in Seattle’s magical community, tending to the needs of svartálfar and human mages as a bartender by day, and enforcing the Assembly of Mages’ iron will by night.

When she’s sent on a mission to confront a master of illusion who has taken the privileges of his power too far, their violent confrontation forces her to reckon with the darkness rising within herself while shedding light on the voids her secrets have created in her private life. Unfortunately for Esme, she won’t leave her fights with clean hands (or hair, or clothes, or… anything).

As the line between right and wrong blurs, Esme’s moral compass is on the fritz. If she can’t find her footing, the real danger might not be the battles she faces—but what she risks becoming in the process.

56 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2024

About the author

Urban Fantasy author Stella Hope blends myth, romance, and non-stop action in each of her novels. Her favorite stories feature strong female protagonists, their loyal companions, and a generous sprinkle of humor.

Before embracing her passion for writing, Stella embarked on a wandering academic journey that led her to work as a scientist for a few years. Stella’s love for books eventually led her out of the forest and into the world of libraries, where she had the pleasure of running public school libraries.

She lives in the PNW with her family, where she occasionally has to leave her writing cave to thwart the neighborhood bear’s attempts at pilfering food from her bird feeder. When she’s not writing, she’s doing her best to stay away from bears, bobcats, deer, and sometimes coyotes during her trail runs and hikes. Her efforts at this are frequently less successful than one might suppose.

Reviews

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A COLD ONE introduces conjuration mage, Esme, who works as a bartender and moonlights as an enforcer for the Assembly, who are basically the magic police. Between the two Esme has her hands full balancing her friends, dating life, her secrets, and her efforts to only use her magic for good. We also very briefly meet Miles who manages to catch Esme's eye even though they haven't interacted yet. This was just a quick set up for the REVIVAL OF THE FALL series but I'm curious to see what happens next for Esme.

[Jasmine Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute introduction to Esme! Recommended novella for sure!

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

2.5*


First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: I'll definitely try the first full novel.

Would you recommend?: Probably


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book.

[Char ღ Denae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cold One, is a novella length introduction to the Revival of the Fall series. We get to know the main character, Esme, a little better before getting immersed in the story.

[Brish · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review: a cute Novella to introduce premise of the book! Excited to read the book!