The Engagement Party

by Kimberley Freeman

Flora Honeychurch-Black awakens on the day of her engagement party excited yet somehow unsettled. Throughout the day, despite the well-meaning attention of her friend Liberty and the distraction of the household's many preparations for the night's celebration, Flora's unease grows. Her much-loved, erratic brother Sam unwittingly adds to the tension, behaving oddly and drawing mirth from her suave fiance Tony and derision from some of his sophisticated coterie of friends.

As the storm clouds gather outside and the engagement party begins, Flora realises that something is amiss. Where is Sam? What secret is he hiding? The answers may be more than Flora - and her new relationships and loyalties - can bear.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Historical, Fiction, Australia, Ebooks, Romance

36 pages, ebook

First published August 21, 2014

About the author

Pen name of Kim Wilkins.


Kimberley was born in London and her family moved back to Australia when she was three years old. She grew up in Queensland where she currently lives.

Kimberley has written for as long as she can remember and she is proud to write in many genres. She is an award-winning writer in children’s, historical and speculative fiction under her birth name Kim Wilkins. She adopted the pen name Kimberley Freeman for her commercial women’s fiction novels Duet and Gold Dust to honour her maternal grandmother and to try and capture the spirit of the page-turning novels she has always loved to read. Kim has an Honours degree, a Masters degree and a PhD from The University of Queensland where she is also a lecturer. She lives in Brisbane with her young family.

Reviews

[Josue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am perplexed. The writing was very evocative and I was very much enjoying the story. And then it just ended. I love short stories, read them all the time, so it's not that I had an issue with its length. But even apart from having no resolution - it seemed to end mid scene. So much so that I flipped to end of the chapter sample and back to see if maybe it was improperly formatted and had gotten split or truncated. It didn't even feel like a prologue, it felt more like a kindle sample. I like the writing and characters, and truthfully if these characters/story continue into a full length novel, I'll read it. But this doesn't function as a short story; it's more like an excised scene.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like this author so I was really excited to see this freebie going around on my feed today and read it asap. Yes, I knew it was a short story. I actually like those. I believe there's an artform to the short story. It's harder to put a beginning, middle, end, and throw in a plot too!, in less than 50 pages. It's hard and takes a real talent.

To call this a short story though should be a crime. It has no plot or ending. I guess we have to read the novel that comes later to "get" this piece. However, by the time I acquire the novel I won't remember this. A girl is nervous at her engagement party, a storm comes, her brother is apparently into something she finds shocking and then...the end. That's it.

Then it leads to a peek at the novel and though some of the characters were the in the prologue, the short "story" wasn't concluded.

I'll read her next novel, because I like her writing and enjoyed her previous books, but not because I read this.

[Jenny Q]

A freebie novella from the awesome Kimberley Freeman!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to read the rest of Flora's story...

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Lyn Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather a quick read but still enjoyable

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

not really a story, more of a snippet of time.

[Vanessa Mozayani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this author and love a short story. I thoroughly enjoyed this and then it ended. I was wanting more. Luckily I have Evergreen Falls sitting on my TBR pile. I can’t get enough of this author.

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flora Honeychurch-Black awakens on the day of her engagement party excited yet somehow unsettled. Throughout the day, despite the well-meaning attention of her friend Liberty and the distraction of the household's many preparations for the night's celebration, Flora's unease grows. Her much-loved, erratic brother Sam unwittingly adds to the tension, behaving oddly and drawing mirth from her suave fiance Tony and derision from some of his sophisticated coterie of friends.
As the storm clouds gather outside and the engagement party begins, Flora realises that something is amiss. Where is Sam? What secret is he hiding? The answers may be more than Flora - and her new relationships and loyalties - can bear.

This was a good enough short story...but it certainly couldn't gain more than three stars as it felt like just a primer for the for the novel, Evergreen Falls, which isn't such a bad idea - it just didn't really allow this short story any space to be a full story.

The unfortunate thing about this is that the writing is very good - I really enjoyed the sense of place that was evoked in this story - it is just a shame that it seemed more of a promotional tool than a true short story.


Paul
ARH

[Melissa Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Rating.

1920’s Australia: Readers are introduced to Flora, a young woman on the day of her engagement party. However she is uneasy and fights with the thought that she might be making the wrong decision to marry her fiancé Tony. As the party is in progress, Flora realizes that her beloved brother Sam is missing from the festivities.

I thought this short story was a good introduction to Kimberly Freeman’s writing. I’m unsure how necessary this was but I did enjoy it and the characters we were briefly introduced to. However it left me wanting more.

This eBook also included a sample of another book by Kimberly Freeman, called Evergreen Falls. This is a dual time period historical fiction that follows Flora and Tony. So that would make The Engagement Party a prequal to this novel. I’m curious to know why that isn’t mentioned in this book title? To be honest. I found this to be annoying.

Would I recommend Kimberly Freeman’s The Engagement Party? Yes, but only to those who plan to continue on to read Evergreen Falls.

[A.M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hachette has been doing this lately… trying to cash in on free ebook sales by producing ‘short stories’ for download. And they aren’t. They’re samples of longer works.
Now, if you want to read a sample, it’s pretty easy to download one from amazon but to package it like this is too confusing. They give it a different ISBN number and make it look like a standalone product and as a result, they have too many annoyed readers who give it one star reviews.
I didn’t like the writing style anyway, so I don’t think I’ll be buying any more of Kimberley Freeman’s work.

[Marina Maidou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book is a prologue of the Evergreen Falls, and it's talking about the engagement party of Flora and Tony, but in fact, it gives the view of her brother's problem, which it will change Flora's life forever... Everything seems natural, even the bride's anxiety, that maybe she couldn't be just another bride. As a symbol, the storm which is raging on the horizon is the threat that quickly will destroy this wealthy couple. Nice pick!

[Kristina Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just because it's a short story doesn't mean it should end so abruptly. The entire book intimates that there would be a conflict between Tony, his friends and Sam. The ending fell flat. Also, for a story entitled "the Engagement Party'', you would expect more character development of the bride and groom and their relationship. Ultimately, I was disappointed but I believe, with more time, the author would have brought it all together.

[Heather Berkowitz · Rating 1 out of 5]

this sounded good and was free, so I decided to check it out. I knew it was a short story. my nook said it was 44 pages - perfect for lunch break! alas, it was really only about 20 pages, with the remainder being a preview to a book. this didnt really seem to have any direction, and the little character development was vapid and vague. oh well.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this short story and it was free on kindle. It sounds like it might be a prelude to Evergreen Falls. Perhaps Flora and Tony go there for their honeymoon. It also includes the first chapter of that novel.

[Jolene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Upon finishing this short story, I thought I had accidentally skipped over the all important conclusion. I had not. That being said, I recently read a book by this author, which I greatly enjoyed and will definitely read her writing again.

[Angela Maher · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting short story, although half the 'book' is actually a preview of another, full length book. Taken on its own it's a nice little bite of someone's life, showing how things can suddenly veer off in an unpredictable direction. Worth having a look at.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

very short story...... absolutely one of my favorite authors.... unsure of this story.... left me hanging

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction into evergreen falls however I read that before I found this >.< fantastic work again as usual, it was nice having a look into Flora :)

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short story and seems to be a promotional piece more than anything. I liked the writing but it ends suddenly and right smack in the middle....

[Cherie Bush · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this author. Quick read- short story. Prequel to Evergreen Falls.