Carpe Glitter

by Cat Rambo

What do you do when someone else's past forces itself on your own life? Sorting through the piles left behind by a grandmother who was both a stage magician and a hoarder, Persephone Aim finds a magical artifact from World War II that has shaped her family history. Faced with her mother's desperate attempt to take the artifact for herself, Persephone must decide whether to hold onto the past — or use it to reshape her future.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Novella, Short Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Audiobook

62 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2019

About the author

F&SF writer Cat Rambo lives and writes in the Midwest. They have been shortlisted for an Endeavour Award, Locus Award, World Fantasy Award and most recently the Nebula Award. Their debut novel, BEASTS OF TABAT, appeared in 2015 from WordFire Press, the same year she co-edited AD ASTRA: THE SFWA 50TH ANNIVERSARY COOKBOOK. Their most recent book is DEVIL'S GUN (novel, Tor Macmillan). They are a former two-term President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and still volunteers with the organization.
They run the popular online writing school focused on fantasy and science fiction, the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. (academy.catrambo.com)

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Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

“We both knew that it was real. We’d both seen her do things that only magic could have done.”

Persephone Aim inherits the house and all the possessions of her deceased grandmother, a former stage magician, a formidable and controlling woman, and a “grubby hoarder”. The giant house is crammed with stuff top to bottom, with junk and creepy doll collection, and what seems to be occasional disembodied pieces of a strange “automaton” and a ghost jar. Persephone’s mother, estranged from the dead grandmother, is written out of the will but clearly is hoping to get something particular out of dead woman’s belongings and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. “Once again, I wondered if I might replace Grandmother as the opponent mother centered her life around.” Plus there are government agents looking for military artifacts.

“What was this house, if not a monument to held regrets? Glitter takes movement. By clutching it so hard, stuffing it into boxes, she’d taken away everything she loved about it.”

Sounds fun? Well, I thought so too, but then the abrupt few pages of resolution came, making me wonder what the hell possessed the author to stop at the novella length.

I’ve said before that novellas are tricky; balancing short length and sufficient story development is exceedingly hard. Cat Rambo’s Nebula-winning novelette Carpe Glitter unfortunately suffers from the size constraints. I am certain it would have worked so much better had it been expanded and developed into a novel - or if it had been cut shorter and transformed into a well-done short story. It would have avoided the awkward pacing and the overall choppy and half-finished feel.

“Imagine all the detritus a person creates during a lifetime. I’m not talking about trash—food wrappers and old boxes—but objects that we interact with, that we make: grocery lists and summer postcards, books we scrawl notes in during school, journals and letters and drawings.
And photographs. God, the photographs!”

In its short 60 pages or so it tackles a story of familial dysfunction, stage and real magic, murder and Nazi secrets, afterlife and ghosts, and years of loss and resentment. Or at least it *mentions* some of those, having not enough room to develop. It starts leisurely and unhurriedly, dipping in and out of family secrets and loss, and then takes a few sharp left turns and careens into the climax so abrupt and sudden that blink and you’ll miss it. The opening belongs to a slow thoughtful novel of family dysfunction aided by a touch of strangeness and magic. The closing belongs to a short story about magic, madness and its dangers. It does not flow well and lacks internal coherence in its choppy pacing.

I sighed. “What do you want, mother?”
“For you to be happy. When have I wanted anything else?”
“Plenty of times.”

To maintain the pace and the expectations of well-laid out opening, this book needed about 60-100 more pages to explore the interesting bits it promised. Or maybe the opening should have been axed to a few brief scenes, keeping it consistent with the way it ended, for a lovely short story with hints at a bigger picture. Either way, it would have worked better.

Also, a minor gripe - this is a case of the cover not fitting the book, and the title not quite fitting the story. Yes, glitter is mentioned a few times - but it almost feels that it has been shoehorned to match the (admittedly great) title. That’s when expanding on glittery past of supposedly stage magician Gloria Aim would have helped. Otherwise it’s a bit silly, except for this line that works:

“Object after object, the beginning of the hoarding; the beginning of her guilt eroding the glitter.”

But hey, it won the Nebula, which shows how little I know. Apparently there was something I failed to see here. And yes, the writing is quite good, no complaints there. But I stick by my assessment that although this is not a bad story, it’s also not as good as it should have been based on the expectations it sets for itself in its first half, and the rushed ending makes it underwhelming.

3 stars.
——————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2020: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5ish stars for this Nebula-nominated SF/fantasy novelette. Persephone Aim is sorting through her dead grandmother's memorabilia and possessions, which is worse than it sounds because Grandmother was a hoarder. There are a few valuables left behind from Grandmother's illustrious career as a stage magician, but most of it is junk or worse. But things get interesting when Persephone finds an odd metal hand, marked with swastikas and lightning bolts, and then a mechanical leg.

Meanwhile some government agents are asking if they can "help" sort all of Grandmother's things, and Persephone's own mother has come into town and is starting to act all aggressive about Grandmother's possessions ...

I started "Carpe Glitter" with high hopes but ended feeling a little let down. The beginning and even the middle were great, but it ended with an underwhelming rush. I think it was supposed to be scarier than it was. It felt like the last part needed more details, more events, just ... MORE.

If you're interested in scary + hoarding relatives, I'd suggest The Twisted Ones over this one.

Mulling it over. Full review to come.

[Danielle's · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative magic. A possibility of discovering more than what meets the eye. One person treasures can be another person secret to unlock.

Persephone is left the responsibility of sorting her late grandmothers house. Her grandmother was a hoarder and the house is full of wonders. There is a reason she was given the task and everyone seems a little too interested in helping.

If you like outside the box mysteries with a touch of magic this book is for you.

3 stars out of 5.

*I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Seb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this family drama cum magic (mostly black) taking place in a late Not-So-Fairy-Grandmother's house. Trying to find some interesting (and probably sellable) stuff in her deceased granny's house, Persephone stumbles on stranger and more dangerous things than she had hoped for. A short, enjoyable and beautifully mastered anti-fairy tale novella, which offers more than its glittery surface indicates. Highly recommended for the readers who like true complexity hidden behind apparent simplicity.

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carpe Glitter in a finalist in the novelette Nebula Award category, and it's easy to see why. This 60-page story is engrossing from page 1 with its deep family drama with a supernatural spin. Persephone is a woman with a terrible task before her: cleaning through the hoard left behind from her late grandmother, a Vegas stage magician with an extra-magical bent. And not just one house to clean through, either, but three, all interconnected and full of rotting papers and weird odds and ends, the kinds of odds that bring government agents to the door--and even worse, Persephone's mother.

I read through in one sitting and greatly enjoyed it. I also related on a personal level, as my grandma--like many in her generation--had the tendency to hoard as well, though fortunately not the kinds of materials in this novelette.

[Iseult Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young woman sorts through her grandmother’s stuff after her death, and discovers there was a lot more to the former stage magician than sequin dresses and hoarded soap.

It is amazing the amount of detail, character development, plot and emotional impact Rambo is able to achieve in so few words. A wonderful story of magic and family, the burden and baggage of feuds, the uncovering of old secrets and of fantasy. Oh, what lovely magic!

I don’t want to say more in case of spoiling this beautiful piece of work, but as it concerns stage magicians, how could you not read it? Carpe Glitter - seize the glitter!

[Jill Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one totally intrigued me upfront - the cover, the blurb, Cat Rambo: what's not to love?? I requested a review copy and was delighted to receive it. I dug in eagerly - the opening grabbed me straightaway - it was full of mysterious intrigue, hints of dark family drama, secrets and hoarded treasures (and not-so-treasures)... It was, in a word, sublime. Until it wasn't...

Weird.

I was loving it, flipping pages and trying to figure out what on earth was coming next, and then all of a sudden things started slowing down and getting a little oblique and then in a rush of motion it hit an oil-slick and ended. Seriously, it felt that herky-jerky - one minute tension was building with the click-clack of a roller coaster dragging you uphill then, in an instant, the bottom fell out. But it wasn't really the bottom, it was the teeny hill they toss in to throw you off-kilter before - BAM! - the big one drops the bottom out of your stomach and you whip around a bit before slamming into the station.

Yeah, I really drew out that metaphor - it actually took longer to type it than the conclusion of the book did to read. Seriously.

I must confess, such sudden shifts in tension and pacing throw me - and generally not in a good way. I really loved the way this one was developing, and the sudden skew to the side wasn't to my taste. It felt clipped and harried. If the whole thing had been written in that style, it probably would have cut 40 pages from this (and made it a short story) and it would have worked. If the denoument and conclusion had been written in the style of the opening it would have added another 50-100 pages (making it a novel, not novelette) and it would have worked. As it was, it felt a little cobbled together, like a short story and novel had a baby and this was the result.

Stylistically, Rambo does a great job setting the scene and her characters were a great hodgepodge of personalities and quirks - I would have liked to see a lot more about why they were who they were, but again, that's about me and long-form storytelling. All in all it was a very cool idea but the execution wasn't as satisfying as I hoped. I strongly suspect my general tendency toward novels and away from short stories is the basis for that - if you are more of an aficionado of shorts, this approach may not jar you as it did me.

Thanks to the publisher, Meerkat Press, for my obligation-free review copy.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story that layers a dusty collection of artifacts with entirely believable family tensions. The descriptions of Persephone's exploration of the house set the scene for gently fantastic discoveries, and the dynamic between her, her mother, and her (now-absent) grandmother is tense and painfully believable.

And then, you know, there's the secret automaton and the ghost.

An adventure through family secrets and collections, with a lovely grace note of optimistic glitter.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had me at magic and magicians. A consistently irresistible lure. I don’t think I’ve ever read the author before, if you just mentioned the name to me, I’d probably have an image of an aggressively militant feline. But at any rate, this novelette proved to be a complete delight. Nowhere near as silly as something with glitter in its title might turn out to be, this was a story of a young woman who comes to sort out her grandmother’s estate and the things she finds there. Ok, it sounds a lot more exciting once I mention the grandmother was a famous magician before she passed away and a protégé of one of the best female magicians of her time, who was also a spy during WWII. Now it sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? And it is, a really enjoyable story that managed to feature an almost conspicuous amount of elements of personal interest to me in such a small volume. In fact, didn’t really want it to end as quickly as it did. And usually I’m all about finishing books, but this one was just, you know, magical. So yeah, an absolutely lovely read and a great introduction to a new author for me. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

[Kyle Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat’s attention to detail pulls you so convincingly into Persephone’s world that you can practically smell the dust and feel the grit wafting off the pages.

We meet Persephone as she’s elbow-deep in the task of sorting through her late grandmother’s cluttered home, in search of something valuable to help her through her financial woes. But Persephone’s grandmother was no ordinary woman—she was an accomplished stage magician, whose talents hovered over that eerie line where illusion and reality blend.

The story twists toward the fantastic when Persephone discovers something unusual among her grandmother’s things—a secret that someone close to her has been trying to hide.

Soon Persephone’s simple task of cleaning house spirals into a web of machinery, enchantment, and deception, with the stakes rising at every turn.

Cat's writing took me by complete surprise here; it lured me in gently, then the rails fell off and everything went bonkers, and I couldn't stop turning the pages. Imaginative and captivating!

[M.H. Thaung]

This intriguing novella starts with Persephone Aim attempting to go through her late grandmother's house. It's full to the brim with junk, but also contains magical artifacts.And Persephone's not the only one interested in what may be found...

I happened to pick this book up just after clearing my mother's house (she was also a serious hoarder, although not a magician, to my knowledge), and the early descriptions of the sorting job really hit home.

The plot wasn't too complex (it's a novella, after all). I like seeing how the complex family relationships played out, between Persephone, her mother and grandmother. The ending felt a bit hurried - I wouldn't have minded a fuller picture of what transpired (and more particularly, how it was explained to the authorities) but overall a very enjoyable read.

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unsure what to expect from this novella. I had seen the author's name before, but I had not yet read any of her work. Reading CARPE GLITTER I was impressed with Cat Rambo's writing.

The story starts off in one direction and there is some foreshadowing of a surprise to come, but I could in no way have predicted the twists and turns this story.

For a novella of only 62 pages, Cat Rambo has skillfully created fully developed and complex characters. The fact that she has been able to do this for multiple characters is extremely impressive.

I loved the way author brought Persephone to life and I identified with her and her desire to live life on her own terms.

I do not want to ruin this book by giving away any of the plot. But I do want to impress upon people who are thinking about buying this book to go ahead and grab a copy for themselves. Potential readers will not be disappointed.

Family dynamics and dysfunction, a WWII mystery, a grandmother who was a famous magician (and a secret hoarder,) a granddaughter who has spent her life loving both her grandmother and her mother who each hated the other, a strange inheritance, government agents, and much more. This book has everything you could ask for as a reader.

I rate CARPE GLITTER as 4.5 out of 5 Stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⚡

*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***

To read my full review and to learn more about this author visit my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com

Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram at

http://www.instagram.com/Amiesbookrev...

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free eBook copy through a Goodreads giveaway.

Rambo manages to pack a lot into this piece of short fiction. At times it is funny, unsettling, mysterious, magical (literally and figuratively), and emotionally charged.

This was an interesting story to read while I'm going through the process of moving, granted the main character is instead going through her late grandmother's belongings, which is a very different situation, and, of course, this goes in a supernatural direction, but there are still many relatable emotions that come up in this story. Some passages hit really close to home, like this one in which the main character talks about why she needed to go into college as soon as possible:

"I’d seen too many other people let a year turn into two, then three. Then never. There’s always something to eat away whatever funds you have. I had to grab the chance while I could. I’d watched the meager wage my mother made as a secretary in the years since my grandmother stopped subsidizing us melt away every month. Always something—a roof to be fixed, my mother’s ulcer operation, a thousand car problems."

I don't want to give too much away, but the characters are relatable and developed very well in a short period of time, and the story is very clever, with an ending that ties up like a well-thought-out mystery story.

[E.D.E. Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This suspenseful little novelette is tiny and fleeting (like glitter!) - perfect if you need a break or a night to escape. It's about a search through Grandmother's mystical items, a complex family dynamic, dark finds, and a symbolic question. It's sensory, interesting, and delightfully weird.

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way Cat Rambo blends dark humor, fantasy and sci-fi elements, and family relations. Death can reveal secrets and the ones we discover in Carpe Glitter are interesting. It's short (60 pages), quick to read, and entertaining.

[Nicole (bookwyrm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one... is a weird story. Enjoyable, but weird. The cover isn't what I would have picked given the contents; it doesn't (to me) go with this story of magic and a dysfunctional mother-daughter-grandmother family.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magical Realism about inheriting junk & Nazi mementos

What worked

+ difficult relationship betweem mother and daughter portrayed very well
+ some poignant reflections on loneliness, ethics, family and artificial intelligence
+ fantasy aspects not overdone: the magic was just right

What didn't work

- carpe glitter is a good title, but not a great turn of phrase that bears repeating more than twice
- the protagonist paled in comparison to the plot: there was only one instance in which I felt she took initiative and actually wielded the story her way
- the side characterd lacked the complexity the author clearly tried to press into them


As a novella, this was an okay read. Because the setting (a hoarder magician's three cluttere houses) and all the shenanigans surrounding it (everyone is lying about the inheritance and some officials are searching for specific items) are good, I regret the fact that in the end, the result was only mediocre. Some punches fell too late and too flat, the protagonist did not jave enough interesting traits to carry the narration, etc.

[Suzy Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.*

Cat Rambo breathes life into a real family dynamic with Carpe Glitter.

While sorting through the piles left behind by her grandmother who was both a stage musician and a hoarder, Persephone finds a magical artifact from World War ll that has shaped her family history. Faced with her mother's desperate attempt to take the artifact for herself, Persephone must decide whether to hold onto the past- or use it to reshape her future.

Carpe Glitter was a unique and fun read! The family dynamics are very well written and the plot was very well developed for such a short novella. A lot was packed into a short amount of space. Also, the character development was on point.

Carpe Glitter by Cat Rambo is a delightfully dark and twisty tale told with beautifully written prose and an amazingly perfect main character.

[Mareike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightfully weird and somewhat creepy story about inheritances, family secrets, and a very particular family feud.
I enjoyed how this story slowly unveiled itself and I admit to a faint shiver down my spine when everything clicked into place.

I think I’ll need to read more by Cat Rambo.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child Persephone had loved being allowed to explore her grandmother Gloria’s labyrinthine home. It was an amalgam of three houses which had acquired various additions and extensions over the years, thus providing a magical fascination for a young child. One of her grandmother’s favourite expressions was carpe glitter and that shiny glitter, so redolent of her stage persona, was one of the things Persephone remembered best about her. However, at home she was a “grubby hoarder”, never throwing anything away, instead piling things up, in an apparently random fashion, to fill every room. It is only when Persephone inherits the house and begins sorting through decades of accumulated possessions, that she realises what a daunting task she has taken on. If she was being honest she was looking for treasure, but what she was finding was mostly worthless, much of it so old that it fell apart as she handled it, and even the things which held sparkling promise were turning out to be of little value.
However, one intriguing object she does find during her first week in the house is a metal hand; fully-articulated and finely engraved with a pattern of swastikas and lightning bolts, it both fascinates and disturbs her. What is it? What is its significance? Why is her mother so desperate to gain possession of it? Little does Persephone realise that it holds the key to the long-held family secrets which have shaped her history, and that what she decides to do with it will affect her future.
When I came to the end of this magical mystery story I was left feeling in awe of Cat Rambo’s ability to create, within just fifty-four pages, such a captivating, powerful and multi-layered tale. From the start I felt as though I was accompanying Persephone on her journey of discovery; as she uncovered the secrets of her family history through the layers of her grandmother’s possessions; as she tried to work out the significance of what she was unearthing and then as she faced making decisions about what to do with them. The increasing tension, ghostly creepiness and magical elements were handled in such an assured way that I found myself totally convinced by the unfolding story.
The writing was so evocative that I could almost see the dust and smell the smells which were released as she started on this overwhelming task. I could feel the ancient magazines crumbling as she touched them, feel her horror at the creatures which scurried away as she disturbed their comfortable habitat (my skin actually felt itchy as I was reading!) and could share her moments of despair, when she felt unable to decide which artefacts were significant (or valuable!) enough to keep and which should be rejected. I felt equally caught up in her yearning for answers, in her need to understand how to piece together what had gone before; what she should hold onto from the past and what she needed to relinquish in order to be free to create her own history and to move towards the future.
I found this story a revelatory joy to read and especially loved the various ways in which the author combined numerous fantasy elements and dark humour with an exploration of complex family relationships. In a psychologically convincing way, and with well-depicted characters, she demonstrated how, following a death, secrets will often emerge which enable survivors to make better sense of their history. The story made me reflect on how most of us accumulate possessions which are of particular significance to us, but which are then left to others to dispose of, offering no clues as to why we kept them in the first place! These thought-provoking themes would certainly provide some interesting points for reading group discussions, as would some reflections on the consummate skill of the author in demonstrating, with beautiful, lyrical prose, just how powerful such a short story can be ... carpe glitter seems to capture my experience of reading this magical piece of work!
With thanks to Meerkat Press for a copy of this wonderfully memorable story in exchange for an honest review.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short story of a extremely dysfunctional family. The main character is trying to sort through the hoarded remnants of her 'glitter' grandmother's life of magic when she encounters the scattered pieces of a WWII automatron and the fantasy is on from there. I admit that I was bewildered but also a bit intrigued through most of this unusual book.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Shae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Publisher’s synopsis: What do you do when someone else’s past forces itself on your own life? Sorting through the piles left behind by a grandmother who was both a stage magician and a hoarder, Persephone Aim finds a magical artefact from World War II that has shaped her family’s history. Faced with her mother’s desperate attempt to take the artefact for herself, Persephone must decide whether to hold onto the past – or use it to reshape her future.

WOW! What an incredible magical mystery! Truly captivating. I read the entire book in one sitting. It was the perfect escape for a couple of hours. From the first two pages I was hooked! And yes I'm going to keep using exclamation marks because that's how enthusiastic I am about this book and this review! It truly was the perfect novelette.

Persephone's mother has many traits and similarities that resemble my own mother. So much so, that I can literally feel the frustration that Persephone has as she describes it. Often, she didn't even have to express her frustration, it didn't have to be written. I knew it was there and I know how she feels. But for those who don't have the (eyeroll) wonderful joy of a mother like that, Cat Rambo's engaging and descriptive writing is enough to make you feel it anyway. Rambo is clearly an intelligent woman, I can tell that just by the way she writes. It was refreshing to be reading such a compelling book that I truly didn't want to put down. Is there a better feeling? Rambo knows her audience and writes perfectly. I had to use the dictionary on at least one word on every page. Completely unheard of for me, but I am not mad about it at all.

What I liked: The description of the plants and succulents. Although (spoilers) they had a hidden meaning I am a plant lover myself with an abundance of agaves and succulents so it was exciting to see one of the things I enjoy outside of reading be included in a book that wasn't specifically for gardening.

What I didn't like: If I had to pick SOMETHING to nit pick, it would be that the agents taking so darn long.
Rated 5/5 Stars
My sincerest thanks to Meerkat Press LLC and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my review.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novelette recently won the Nebula Award, and deservedly so. It's a wonderful confluence of objects both mundane and magical, family secrets, and a masterclass in getting bang for your buck as a writer. Cat demonstrates a mastery of details in this short tale, and I was delighted each time a simple phrase served as worldbuilding brick, character description, and plot mover. Seize the glitter, indeed.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Casually audacious, this novella eases into deep strangeness so persuasively because it’s so rooted in the real — here the edgy bond of mothers and daughters and their power over each other. The writing gently but completely and irresistibly pulls you in... before it shocks you.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when you take a chance on a book because of the title and it blows your mind in so many ways? This happened when I read Cat Rambo’s Carpe Glitter. I knew it was a paranormal/fantasy, and I knew it was a novelette. What I didn’t know is that Cat Rambo’s writing is so intelligent and convincing that I was basically in Persephone’s world.

Persephone is an intriguing main character. What I love most about her is that she feels real. And that is quite an accomplishment for such a short amount of pages.
The story starts calm and then quickly delves into twists and turns. It’s dark themes surrounding magical items and family dynamic are so alluring, I couldn’t set this down and finished it in one sitting.

With beautiful writing, a twisty plot, and a fantastic main character, what’s not to love about Carpe Glitter? Highly recommended and definitely in the running for my favorite read of the year.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Meerkat Press. All opinions are my own.*

[Crystal Zavala · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Carpe Glitter, my grandmother Gloria always said. Seize the glitter."

Carpe Glitter is a short story about Persephone who has to clear out her wealthy Grandmother's estate. Her Grandmother was a hoarder and in the will Persephone was forbidden from selling any of the items until she finished sorting all of the items. Most of the items seem worthless, what does her Grandmother expect her to find? Persephone's grandmother was a famous magician in Las Vegas and believed in true magic. Maybe there are magical artifacts?

Why have Persephone's mother and grandmother fallen out? Why is her mother so desperate to help her clean out the house?

I really enjoyed this short story. It was the perfect pre-Halloween read.

[S.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starts gently and almost slow, but holy cow that was intense.

[Tobyann Aparisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads (Kindle version) for an honest review.

A fun and short read I found myself just wanting more when I was through. Plenty of surprises in this story as I found myself really enjoying the humor and the direction it was going. The characters are very likeable and well thought out. I highly recommend this quick read to anyone.

[Judith Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why quit so soon?

Or is this a teaser, or a beginning, like "Waking Kate" is?
Well written. Intriguing. A woman digs through her grandmother's hoarded stuff. Grandma was a stage magician, and, it turns our, had a piece of real magic. The rest is spoilers, but it's a lot of creepy fun, and dysfunctional family secrets.

[Chrystopher’s Archive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and charmingly weird, my main problems with this story were one, that it felt hyper condensed, even for a novella, and that I was slightly disappointed with the denouement.

But it's a fascinating family character study and the hints of magic and the supernatural were superb and creepy.