What do you think?
Rate this book
Glow: The New Protectorate Stories: Volume One: Book One
Formerly published in the Fragile Beings collection as #376
Fate can't be contained.
A fey Changeling is rescued from captivity by a reluctant demon on a quest to find his fate. Of course Dom expects trouble, but he is shocked to discover his fate is tied to an imprisoned fey woman. Charlotte's a kicking, spitting, hissing little Changeling — and she’s his.
Instinct and the rush of the impending rut means he already knows who she belongs to, but convincing Charlotte to give him a chance won't be easy. She has no idea just how far a demon will go for their mate, but she's about to find out.
This short standalone novella features a captive fey, her reluctant demon rescuer, a road trip, lots of flannel, and the perils of a mating season. It can be read completely on its own and is a great intro to the world of the New Protectorate!
Fate can't be contained.
A fey Changeling is rescued from captivity by a reluctant demon on a quest to find his fate. Of course Dom expects trouble, but he is shocked to discover his fate is tied to an imprisoned fey woman. Charlotte's a kicking, spitting, hissing little Changeling — and she’s his.
Instinct and the rush of the impending rut means he already knows who she belongs to, but convincing Charlotte to give him a chance won't be easy. She has no idea just how far a demon will go for their mate, but she's about to find out.
This short standalone novella features a captive fey, her reluctant demon rescuer, a road trip, lots of flannel, and the perils of a mating season. It can be read completely on its own and is a great intro to the world of the New Protectorate!
139 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 2, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 6, 2025
I'm so glad that Abigail Kelly is releasing the individual stories from her novella collection Fragile Beings. I loved all three of the stories as my intro to her writing so my plan is to reread each one as it's released individually. First up is Glow, which was originally titled #376. I think the story has remained the same, if anything's changed it's super minor from what I could tell.
Written in third person, dual POV. No ow/om drama and both seemed to be experienced, with no real mentions of their pasts.
Some tropes/themes:
☆ Fated mates
☆ Damsel in distress with a big ole demon to the rescue
☆ Paranormal features - wings, shadows, fangs
☆ Forced proximity
☆ She doesn't trust him, he needs to take care of her
☆ A bit of a road trip
☆ Protective MMC
☆ Feisty FMC
Charlotte (h) is a fey Changeling who's in a magical containment terrarium after having been drugged and kidnapped. She's anticipating that she'll be sold to someone to siphon off her magic. Except she's rescued by a grumpy-ish demon, Dom (H), who immediately recognizes her as his fated mate once he releases her. From there, Dom's trying to win Charlotte's trust. Charlotte is trying to acclimate to being free after a year in captivity. There's attraction and magic and interesting mating habits of the two supernatural kinds. Plus, demons get very protective of their mates which comes to the forefront when the bad guys aren't quite ready to let Charlotte get away. Thankfully they're lower tier bad guys.
It's a quick paced novella that still has some good connection between the mains. There's some steamy times worked in, esp as Dom is facing his rut season closer to the end. The epilogue isn't a far jump ahead in time, but still shows them happily in love. I wish the epilogue had been further out, esp since some of this author's other epilogues are particularly incredible. It's still a great read and I enjoyed revisiting these characters. I do recommend it as a good place to start with this world, which I love.
Written in third person, dual POV. No ow/om drama and both seemed to be experienced, with no real mentions of their pasts.
Some tropes/themes:
☆ Fated mates
☆ Damsel in distress with a big ole demon to the rescue
☆ Paranormal features - wings, shadows, fangs
☆ Forced proximity
☆ She doesn't trust him, he needs to take care of her
☆ A bit of a road trip
☆ Protective MMC
☆ Feisty FMC
Charlotte (h) is a fey Changeling who's in a magical containment terrarium after having been drugged and kidnapped. She's anticipating that she'll be sold to someone to siphon off her magic. Except she's rescued by a grumpy-ish demon, Dom (H), who immediately recognizes her as his fated mate once he releases her. From there, Dom's trying to win Charlotte's trust. Charlotte is trying to acclimate to being free after a year in captivity. There's attraction and magic and interesting mating habits of the two supernatural kinds. Plus, demons get very protective of their mates which comes to the forefront when the bad guys aren't quite ready to let Charlotte get away. Thankfully they're lower tier bad guys.
It's a quick paced novella that still has some good connection between the mains. There's some steamy times worked in, esp as Dom is facing his rut season closer to the end. The epilogue isn't a far jump ahead in time, but still shows them happily in love. I wish the epilogue had been further out, esp since some of this author's other epilogues are particularly incredible. It's still a great read and I enjoyed revisiting these characters. I do recommend it as a good place to start with this world, which I love.
December 11, 2025
4.5 stars
Both Charlotte and Dom were grumpy in this tale and I kinda loved it. Dom was blunt, surly, but protective and caring. Charlotte was traumatized, fiery, and bold. Their road trip had its dangers, but was mostly the two of them falling for each other in their own grouchy ways. Dom was patient and self-sacrificing and Charlotte was very much cautious about him. But let’s be real; if you have a hot demon who is as good to you as Dom, it’s nigh impossible to jump his bones.
Spice: 3/5
Triggers: isolated confinement, Parental abandonment, adoption, gun violence, violence, death, body horror, experiences of war, kidnapping, violence, mating seasons
Both Charlotte and Dom were grumpy in this tale and I kinda loved it. Dom was blunt, surly, but protective and caring. Charlotte was traumatized, fiery, and bold. Their road trip had its dangers, but was mostly the two of them falling for each other in their own grouchy ways. Dom was patient and self-sacrificing and Charlotte was very much cautious about him. But let’s be real; if you have a hot demon who is as good to you as Dom, it’s nigh impossible to jump his bones.
Spice: 3/5
Triggers: isolated confinement, Parental abandonment, adoption, gun violence, violence, death, body horror, experiences of war, kidnapping, violence, mating seasons
April 13, 2026
Read as part of fragile beings
December 4, 2025
I mean it’s fine but it’s a novella so not enough time for too much to happen. Probably would skip unless you just want more time in the world..
Would for sure not start here, the authors reading order says to start with the prequel (which this is a part of) but I’d start with book 1. There’s nothing in here that matters to the story, so book 1 gives you a better world intro
Would for sure not start here, the authors reading order says to start with the prequel (which this is a part of) but I’d start with book 1. There’s nothing in here that matters to the story, so book 1 gives you a better world intro
December 19, 2025
Cute story!
November 8, 2025
What happens when a demon rescues a sparky fae changeling who has been abducted for sale into magical slavery?
I definitely read this one under a different cover or title.
I definitely read this one under a different cover or title.
November 9, 2025
Aaaah So Darned Cute
Let me preface this review with saying I don’t normally care for novellas, because of the lack of time for character development. But this was perfect. I honestly liked it more than her full length novels.
Now, to be fair, this benefited from the world building and story explanation of reading a few of the other books in the series first. It is not a standalone!! Had I read this first, it would be a whole different (rather confused) animal.
The characters were in the Goldilocks zone- just right. They weren’t one note, and were reacting perfectly to a set of extreme circumstances. There were no manufactured drama speed bumps to eke out another hundred pages. It was deeply satisfying in every way that counts. A must read (just, after you read one of her other books first)
Let me preface this review with saying I don’t normally care for novellas, because of the lack of time for character development. But this was perfect. I honestly liked it more than her full length novels.
Now, to be fair, this benefited from the world building and story explanation of reading a few of the other books in the series first. It is not a standalone!! Had I read this first, it would be a whole different (rather confused) animal.
The characters were in the Goldilocks zone- just right. They weren’t one note, and were reacting perfectly to a set of extreme circumstances. There were no manufactured drama speed bumps to eke out another hundred pages. It was deeply satisfying in every way that counts. A must read (just, after you read one of her other books first)
February 6, 2026
Dom and Charlotte are one of my favorite couple types, big broody demon man and tiny feisty fey, she did not take his crap and he was obsessed from the moment she popped out of her little terrarium 😩 I love Charlotte’s power manifestation and how in awe Dom is of her. Fated mates done so so well in a bite size package!
February 1, 2026
Great, heartwarming paranormal romance
I read this story in the Fragile Beings collection. The worldbuilding is amazing, Nelly and Clark are wonderful, and the fated mate trope is believably written. There may have been happy tears.
I read this story in the Fragile Beings collection. The worldbuilding is amazing, Nelly and Clark are wonderful, and the fated mate trope is believably written. There may have been happy tears.
September 29, 2025
I first read this when it was part of a collection, but I just reread. Such a cute novella! I would love more books in this world to be about both demons and fey.
November 12, 2025
This was fun.
January 10, 2026
hmm... yep. hogsign
January 18, 2026
I realized I read this already- it was in the authors anthology book
July 25, 2025
Trigger or content warnings? Yes, included in book.
Details?
FMC’s name is Charlotte. She is 26 years old. MMC’s name is Dom. He is 146 years old. He is just hitting a demon’s prime age. He started fighting in the war at 18 years old. (He is deeply shocked by their age gap, and I was delighted)
Neither are virgins.
Bits-and-bobs?
He calls her glowbug, and I melt every time.
My thoughts?
Originally apart of Fragile Beings, this has now been published as its own novella. Charlotte and Dom have a special place in my heart, this was my first proper taste of the world Abigail Kelly has built and I fell in head first after reading this.
Dom loves Charlotte unwaveringly, tenderly, and reverently. He is sent across the country on a quest from his Matriarch, unknowingly going to rescue his mate.
Charlotte on the other hand is filled with spite, and stubbornness. She’s been trapped in a gosh darn terrarium for the past *year* and is slowly losing her mind. Rightfully so, she’s been trapped again her will to drain her of her own power by a Fey Runner. Fey Runners kidnap Fey and then trap them against their will in small containers- coffee pots, knick knack containers, or..terrariums. Completely disregarding that they are sentient people, and instead turn them into glorified batteries.
Needless to say, if I was Charlotte I would have come out of that prison (terrarium) swinging too.
Details?
FMC’s name is Charlotte. She is 26 years old. MMC’s name is Dom. He is 146 years old. He is just hitting a demon’s prime age. He started fighting in the war at 18 years old. (He is deeply shocked by their age gap, and I was delighted)
Neither are virgins.
Bits-and-bobs?
He calls her glowbug, and I melt every time.
My thoughts?
Originally apart of Fragile Beings, this has now been published as its own novella. Charlotte and Dom have a special place in my heart, this was my first proper taste of the world Abigail Kelly has built and I fell in head first after reading this.
Dom loves Charlotte unwaveringly, tenderly, and reverently. He is sent across the country on a quest from his Matriarch, unknowingly going to rescue his mate.
Charlotte on the other hand is filled with spite, and stubbornness. She’s been trapped in a gosh darn terrarium for the past *year* and is slowly losing her mind. Rightfully so, she’s been trapped again her will to drain her of her own power by a Fey Runner. Fey Runners kidnap Fey and then trap them against their will in small containers- coffee pots, knick knack containers, or..terrariums. Completely disregarding that they are sentient people, and instead turn them into glorified batteries.
Needless to say, if I was Charlotte I would have come out of that prison (terrarium) swinging too.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews