The Fairy Light Collection: Short Stories From McK-Universe

by Milena McKay

Twelve short stories from the universe of Magdalene Nox, Neve Blackthorne, Vivian DeVor and all their friends...

Neve & Audrey
Vivian & Jamie
Juliette & Katarina
Chiara & Vi
Hera & Nemesis
Dr. Helena Moore & Neve (Not That Way)
Magdalene & Sam & Neve (Again, Not That Way)
Magdalene & Sam
Arabella & Renate
Magdalene & Sam
Candace & Willoughby
Audrey, Jamie & Vi (Neve's Birthday Party)

Genres: Contemporary

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2025

About the author

Milena McKay is a Lambda Literary and Golden Crown Literary Society award-winning sapphic fiction author.

She is a cat whisperer who wears four-inch heels for work while secretly dreaming of her extensive Converse collection. Would live on blueberries and lattes if she could.

Milena can recite certain episodes of The West Wing by heart and quote “Pride and Prejudice” in her sleep. Her love for Cate Blanchett's Carol Aird knows no bounds.

www.milenamckay.com

Reviews

[Lauren W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going into this, I wasn't aware that it pulls different characters from the author's previous novels to revisit their lives and relationships—none of which I have read. Whoops! Because of that, I definitely missed the boat and found myself frequently confused. The format structure follows a different couple each month, and the stories are short and VERY spicy. I really do like the concept, however. If you are already a fan of her books, this collection will be a treat for you!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible Version 6/21/2026
A second pass, this time through Abby Craden’s narration feels less like revisiting and more like descending deeper. Deeper into the chemistry, the fire, the intimacy, and the knowing history McKay's words transcend once met with Abby's voice. If you've waited patiently to experience your first time with collection's through abby's voice you will not be disappointed. If you’ve already read the collection, her voice carries you beyond the finish line into an entirely new experience.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ALC of this title!

Original Paperback Review
McKay! For the love of Goddess. You have achieved the torment in your readers reality as you so perfectly do when we live in the world of your characters. Dr. Helena Moore; frankly, she’s been waiting in the wings for far too long. It’s time she had her moment in the spotlight. Specifically, a moment involving her very own, much-deserved sapphic Happily Ever After. She’s earned it. There I said it….you know you want to.

The book was fabulous. 5 stars.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved revisiting these characters. These strong, passionate women are showing their vulnerability and how spicy they can be 🔥🔥🔥🔥 in this not safe for work collection.
Strongly suggest reading Milena’s previous books before reading this so you are familiar with the characters and their stories.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a clever concept visiting the couples in the Mck-verse. Instantly brought back to life tho tbh I did not recognise a couple of them. There are tears shed by them as they navigate struggles felt in their life. Content Political? Yes. Spicy? err very. 
I think you do need to be a fan of McKay or it may be confusing.

[BookishKB]

✨🧚 The Fairy Light Collection 🧚✨

Full ARC Review to come!

💜 What to Expect
• Sapphic Romance
• Short Story Collection
• Connected Characters
• Slice of Life
• Established Couples
_ _ _

📅 Pub Date: June 30, 2026
Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy.

[Menestrella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda ironic reading this and then hanging our own fairy lights in the back garden with wife... Although, her comments were more like: "They are not straight, I like them straight".

Well, I guess our fairy lights are so not straight... just like us... They have the "je ne sais quoi" and I like them.

McKay revisits characters from all her novels to tackle some contemporary fears among the queer community and show us the strength of true love and friendship.

Let the light shine through all the darkness.

And... cats. Cats are always welcome.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the author Milena McKay a few years back via looking for books narrated by my favourite Abby Craden. So of course, I would not like to miss a chance to also listen to this collection of short stories with characters from many of the author’s published books.

The audiobook is what to be expected, Abby Craden is amazing as always and if you love the MC’s from the books, it is a treat to get extra depth to their stories, both literally and figuratively (IYKYK). My favourite parts were the Willoughby chapter (of course) and the ones with my other favourite MC Sam.

Overall if you have read or listened to Milena McKay’s books and loved them, this is a treat for you.

I received a fee ALC via NetGalley and voluntarily leave an honest review.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully Lit Up

The string of Fairy Lights that wind their way through the 12 months of stories is delightfully lit up. With heart, and sex, and comraderie, and sex, and heartfelt love, these stories will light up any dreary scared corner of your heart.

[Jess Bullock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read most of the these on Milena's Patreon, I was really excited to listen to Abby narrate them. This is a short, spicy, and sweet collection of 12 stories from the Mckay universe and I always love revisiting past characters. Abby did a phenomenal job, as usual.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC

[Chelles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fairy Light Collection

Yes! I love that we get to catch up with everyone from all books - super cute and spicy! It's so awesome how they're all intertwined. A great, quick read, but I hope we get more from the McK-Unuverse!

[Solely Sapphic Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiple 3rd Person POV. 5🌟 4🌶️. 158 pages
7 Spicy Scenes

This was another reread but so totally worth it! Milena McKay has this uncanny ability to make you cry at the beginning of a chapter and have to fan yourself by the end, and I am 100% here for it!

The Fairy Light collection is a beautiful collection of short stories from the McKay Universe that follows characters we’ve all come to know and love.

It’s spicy, it’s heartfelt and honestly it’s a little companion book that will not only have you falling in love with these characters all over again, but it’ll have you craving more of them.

I’d highly recommend giving The Fair Light Collection a read, but first go back and read Milena’s entire catalog of work and introduce yourself to these characters.

Things to LOVE:
📚Contemporary Romance
📖Connected Short Stories
💡Fairy Light Memories
💕Age Gap Couples
🌶️So much SPICE!
🐱Willoughby POV 😭

[Michelle Schuler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update

Not only is having fairy lights lined with memories a wonderful idea, so is reading this book. I loved the update on our favorite couples. We get to see what they are up too and see the chemistry that is strong as ever. We even got to see what our favorite feline has been up to. I hope we see more of all of them again.

[Sonja Charters · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very rare, but this is one of those times I wish I'd read the blurb before starting this book!

 

I was instantly drawn to it because I love Christmas and I adore fairy lights and what would be better than reading a Christmas themed book in the middle of June!?

 

Well, this was not really a Christmas read at all and it certainly came as a bit of a shock - especially as the first story really holds nothing back.

 

So, this is basically a collection of 12 short stories that follow a group of ladies over a year, but who it seems have featured in other books by this author - and as you might have guessed, I've not read any of these other books.

 

As we dive into the stories, it quickly becomes obvious that I maybe should already know these characters - and as such, I did take a little longer to settle into this read than usual.

 

However, some of the characters do appear throughout the stories, even though technically they follow different couples.

I really loved those little connecting stories and seeing how all the ladies interacted together.

 

Now, this gets spicy and pretty straight away - hence my initial shock - not that I'm not used to reading spicy books at all, I just hadn't been expecting it at all.

 

I loved meeting all the couples and seeing how their lives intertwined as well as seeing the couples work through their own plans and issues.

This is packed with strong female characters and I thought it was a great representation of sapphic relationships.

 

I loved the idea of the fairy lights bulbs - making each bulb hold a special time, eventually or meaning so that every time the bulbs are lit, you can relive the memories of those times.

 

A great little quick read - but make sure you grab those headphones if reading outside 🫣🤭

 

 

 

[Theresa C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here’s the thing…this was a short, wonderful, spicy read. However, immediately after, it will make you want to do a deep dive into the re-reads of all of Milena McKay’s books - which is not so short, but still soooo good! Also - no joke, if you haven’t listened to her books, do yourself a favor and handle that first - this is one point that should be required for this read.

Either way, you’ll need to clear your calendar and TBR so you can devour her previous work!

This was like nothing else. She basically did a remarkably brilliant, hot🔥, epilogue that seamlessly incorporated all the characters and storylines of her previous books…cue my fairy lights! I got nothing else. ☺️

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ALC of this title!

And of course this was all performed by the lovely Abby Craden. She knows the characters, brings them to life off the page, and she is truly an industry leader in her craft.

[Liz Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As a longtime fan of Milena McKay’s work, I always love getting a chance to revisit her characters. I’d recommend reading her previous books before picking this one up to fully appreciate the connections and relationships.

I listened to the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Abby Craden, who once again delivered an emotional and engaging performance. This short story offers a heartwarming look at the continued growth of beloved couples, along with the steamy chemistry readers have come to expect. I’m still hoping Helena gets a story of her own someday! Her being a mature lesbian and being in a couple of books now the background is there for another book.

More than anything, this was a comforting and uplifting read that encourages hope and resilience within the LGBTQIA+ community during these trying times.

Thank you to NetGalley⁠ and Tantor Audio⁠ for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

[Ailsa n’ha Winifreyda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Milena McKay does it again.

I downloaded The Fairy Light collection at 9am and finished it about 12 hours later. I loved it. I was particularly impressed with the central uplifting theme and how it wove the characters in all of the chapters together. Similarly I was intrigued with how Milena braided all of the disparate characters from her various books together around a surprising but very deserving central character. Spice was very nice as well. Do yourself a favour and read these twelve chapters for Christmas.

[Jen Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Caveat, I wasn't fully aware what I was getting into with this e-ARC. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is basically 12 bonus epilogues for previous couples in novels written by Milena McKay. The premise is super cute, and for those who read and loved the books, I am sure they would love these character updates.

Even without knowing the background, I could mostly follow along to each couple and the meaning behind the fairy lights. Unfortunately, the stories weren't exactly for me, but this one is on me and not the author.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this anthology. The stories are interconnected but stand alone as well. People often shy away from sapphic sexuality, in an effort to keep it "good and pure", so this was a lot of fun. It's sexy and graphic and full of raw character, which is often associated with MM romance. Short stories often leave characters feeling incomplete, but I think these stories did a good job of rounding them out as much as possible. Absolute gem.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me the audio ARC

[Jamie R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read about this book as McKay shared the process on her Patreon and now have enjoyed listening to Abby Craden beautifully create the world and bring these characters to life! I enjoyed listening and catching up with the characters in the McKay Universe. I especially loved Neve’s prominence throughout the stories as she is the absolute Queen of all the McKay ice queens and my favorite.
The stories are filled with sweetness, romance and 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️! I highly recommend letting your ears be filled with this yumminess.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the arc.

[Katie Cleek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well. Wow. I…had…no idea what I was getting into with this audiobook. #1 Abby Craden narrating is perfection. #2 I wish I had read all the prior books written by Milena McKay because I didn’t know these characters or any of the context. That being said, holy geez the spice. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ I was unprepared. I am thankful for earbuds because geeeez……I was blushing AT HOME while listening. Thank you NetGalley for the ALC. I have a feeling I’ll be revisiting this audiobook after I finish this author’s other books.

[Jennifer Wycech · Rating 3 out of 5]

3rd person POV
Sapphic romance

Solo narration - Abby Craden
She can do solo narration so well. She has a fantastic voice.

A fast paced cute revisit to characters. This collection gives you more from previous characters the Milena McKay had written.

Overall, this is a great companion to the other books. Well written and enjoyable.

[JDC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of delightful epilogues

I enjoyed reading all the “what’s happened since” the end of the novels. I love all the characters and their unique personalities.

I do feel that a person would want to read the novels prior to reading this collection for maximum enjoyment

[Jacqui Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gives you a good aspect of strong willed women and touches of spice in short story form. The narrator fits the story of this book perfectly. You do need to pay attention to when each chapter ends or you may become confused. I had to restart sections to become not confused.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

Hot and spicy short stories with all our favorite McK-Universe characters. Though I will say More Hera is needed and I can't wait for that story.

[Fifi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich, decadent, and glorious.

[Domi · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF…

I tried.

[Donna Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Friends

Who had the most fun with Fairy Lights? The reader or the author? This was like a gathering of old friends over 3ach short story. So clever

[T.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories had you non stop listening and was a good listen to change it up and enjoy the author of each!

[Andietrue · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fantastic to reconnect with all my favourite couples and their spicy goings on. ❤️

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was so good to revisit various characters, but I think you should read all the novels prior to reading! My fault!