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Beginner's Luck: Part 1 of the Mythical Menagerie Series 1

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What if all the stories were true and creatures from myth really do exist?

Ambrose Davids has had the worst luck lately. A mistake at work cost him his career and his girlfriend. Then his favourite pair of shoes got ruined, and now there's a dead girl floating in the lake. It had just been one of those weeks.

With his landlord breathing down his neck and his debts piling up, is it any wonder he's desperate enough to consider taking on an impossible job, even if it turns out to be a scam?

But who is this mysterious Council? And do they seriously expect him to find and capture creatures from myth?

Ambrose's luck is about to change, but will it be for better or for worse?

*** Please note this is the standalone first installment of a novelized short story series. Myth Hunter, the complete novel, is now available! ***

READ NOW if you love urban fantasy inspired by myth set in European cities!

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 24, 2017

12 people are currently reading
29 people want to read

About the author

Suneé le Roux

13 books14 followers

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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Gareth Jones.
2 reviews
November 30, 2017
This intriguing book is the beginning of a series, and I cannot wait to read the next installment. If you enjoyed Harry Potter, you will enjoy this book.
Profile Image for Jessica (Read book. Repeat).
809 reviews23 followers
May 4, 2019
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com

Ambrose is down on his luck, he's completely broke, he can't get a job after a colossal mistake at his last one, and his girlfriend and him recently separated. So when he stumbles upon $50 and a flyer advertising vacant positions, he counts himself on the way up. After racing through the city to reach the meeting, he finds himself in a room being tasked with finding mythological creatures who are in need of collecting in order to save them. Everyone else walks out, spouting "what bullshit this is" everyone, but Ambrose. He finds himself back on the street with a whistle and a thought that maybe he really is losing his marbles. Until he discovers that everything he thought was just a fairy tale is in fact real.

I was super surprised by this story!! I enjoyed it so freaking much. The world was written amazingly, I would put this as an Urban Fantasy for sure. It's England as we know it, but the girl in the water isn't just a girl, and the boy under the bridge, he isn't just a boy. Everything is so much more than what it seems. I found the author's voice to be magical and enthralling, it had me hanging on every sentence.

The characters we met, such as Ambrose, and the shoe cobler, were so well written for such a short story. I found myself completely enamoured with them and needing to know what was to come. I absolutely loved the interactions between Ambrose and the creatures he finds. It really added another level to the story. This reminded me slightly of Fantastic Beasts, but told from the perspective of the clueless human who has been thrown straight into a fantasy world with no idea what's going on. Yes there's the whole thing about his Dad, but still, Ambrose is just trying to make his way the best he can, and not get evicted.

As I said, I was so pleasantly surprised by this story, I will be checking out the rest of the series for sure.
Profile Image for Saundra Wright.
2,903 reviews13 followers
September 20, 2018
This is a delightful new serial series written as short story installments. Mythical creatures collide with our everyday world. They must be protected as any other endangered species! What a fabulous concept in a place filled with magic and wonderful characters you will love.

Ambrose Davids was in the middle of a bad luck streak. Due to an error at work he had lost a good job and them his fickle girlfriend as a result. He has been unable to get another job in his field despite interviews. Now he was in desperate financial straights.

Coming from yet another failed interview, the sole of his best shoe separates, sending him flat on his face to the pavement. David ends with a fifty pound note in one hand and some flyer in the other. Shoving the papers into his pockets, getting his bearings, he spots a shoe repair shop at the end of a lovely rainbow. For once maybe his luck has improved.

Leaving his shoes for repair, and purchasing an unusual pair of sneakers from the shoe shop owner, white with a geen four-leaf clover on the sides, hardly business attire, but beggars and all.

Outside Ambrose noticed the flyer he picked up, actually an advert for an information session for job seekers. It isn't too far. If he hurries, he can just make it. However this stuff is like no job he has ever heard of, to find and help protect mythical creatures! Soon Ambose Davids is the only one left. He is desperate enought to try any job, and the pay sound great.

Thus starts the adventure of Ambrose's lifetime! Unfortunately the job can be filled with danger he never anticipated!

Join the search to save these endangered beasts.

Kindle Unlimited edition

Profile Image for Bonnie Dale Keck.
4,677 reviews58 followers
June 2, 2018
kindle unlimited, the stories really need to be a bit longer; I'm used to certain writers doing serialized stories, but these are more like long chapters, and it makes it disjointed etc {even shorter is the prequel listed below, got that one free for signing up for newsletter if remember correctly}

What if all the stories were true and creatures from myth really do exist?

Ambrose Davids has had the worst luck lately. A mistake at work cost him his career and his girlfriend. Then his favourite pair of shoes got ruined, and now there's a dead girl floating in the lake. It had just been one of those weeks.

With his landlord breathing down his neck and his debts piling up, is it any wonder he's desperate enough to consider taking on an impossible job, even if it turns out to be a scam? But who is this mysterious Council? And do they seriously expect him to find and capture creatures from myth? Ambrose's luck is about to change, but will it be for better or for worse?

*** Please note this is the first installment of a short story series ***


KEEPER OF EXOTIC ANIMALS: A MYTHICAL MENAGERIE SERIES PREQUEL
Beginner's Luck (Mythical Menagerie Book 1)
Banshee's Wail (Mythical Menagerie Book 2)
Profile Image for Choyang.
537 reviews3 followers
September 7, 2024
'Beginner's Luck': (Part 1 of the Mythical Menagerie' series) by Suneé le Roux

I really liked this book (read courtesy of Prolific Works, thank you)! This is a really fun & interesting mix of mythological beings and humans (and others), a contemporary mystical & magical tale involving beings tasked with finding and keeping safe these legendary beings! Loved it and wanna read more!

I didn't want the tale to end, lol, so for sure I will be reading more! Not sure if what I read was just a "taste" or the whole first book, as it's open-ended...although since it's a series, I guess that's to be expected.

Now I gotta go buy the book and re-read, and save for when they all come out in paperback (hopefully).

I like to donate the books I buy to LGBTQ+ friendly libraries to support the Rainbow we're a part of, plus give people of all ages a chance to access some wonderful books that they might not have easy access to (or any), especially younger ones. Cheers!

Two thumbs up! 👍👍
Profile Image for OldBird.
1,850 reviews
February 3, 2019
An odd sort of story starter rather than a novella, setting the scene of the down-and-out Ambrose who rather urgently needs a new job. So urgently he doesn't seem to mind the well-spoken woman tasking him with locating mythical creatures around London...

I didn't get a strong feel for that setup though, perhaps because it's such a short piece trying to fit quite a bit in. The way the writing hopped between past and present tense half way through paragraphs which could be weird, and while I don't mind either way about swear words being used I dislike when it's the first word of the book. Other than that, the writing style is easy enough to make this a quick read and enjoyable enough for something light.
Profile Image for Ms. Cyn.
1,544 reviews
July 7, 2019
A very interesting tease. I like the idea of a hunter for fey so they will be safe. Ambrose seems like an interesting character. Down on his luck and desperate, he takes a job that he doesn't believe in only to find the truth. I like that there is a mystery as well that connects his dad to all of this. Great beginning.
Profile Image for Lynne.
869 reviews13 followers
December 6, 2017
What a delightful story. I found the main character of Ambrose quite intriguing, and enjoyed this fantasy tale. I look forward to reading more of the series.
Profile Image for Mimi Davis Hopkins.
676 reviews4 followers
June 30, 2018
The Creatures Among a us

This is a very good enjoyable short story. Great flow, enjoyable characters with an ending which wraps the story up nicely.
416 reviews1 follower
October 10, 2018
Great fantasy adventure!

This is the first of Ambrose Davids mythological adventures and a quick, easy read. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Profile Image for Jenny.
2 reviews
May 22, 2019
Loved this book, can't wait for the second one.
Profile Image for Nils Ödlund.
Author 15 books55 followers
February 10, 2019
It's all real.

The dragons, the gryphons, the gargoyles. Even the unicorn.
There's danger though, and the mystical beasts no one believes in are fading out of reality. If they can't be found and kept safe, the powers they represent in the world will be forever lost.

Sounds like an interesting concept? It is.

More than that though, it's a good read.
Ambrose is a great character. I've followed him through the first three books, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how he'll get out of the pickle he's currently in – because, mind you, I think it's going to take more than just magic to fix that.

Sure, these books are short, but to me, that's a good thing. It means I'm able to get through the story in one sitting and I can enjoy each of them as unit – kind of like watching an episode in a TV series.

I just wish the next one would be out already.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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