Scenes from Quarantine

The Tarot Sequence #2.5

by K.D. Edwards

The events in Scenes from Quarantine take place after The Hanged Man and prior to The Hourglass Throne. The story was released serially during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, from March 27th to July 13th.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, LGBT, Magic, Queer, M M Romance, Fiction

42 pages, ebook

Published July 13, 2020

About the author

Author of the Tarot Sequence and the Tales from New Atlantis. Published by Pyr. Reader of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA, Mystery, Graphic Novels, and LGBT+.

Reviews

[Lisazj1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear God, are they not through moving these damn things around? This is my I-don't-know-how-many-times review 🙄, so short and sweet.

KD Edwards started this as short twitter fics to entertain fans of this most amazing series during the early days of the Covid pandemic. He is a genuinely nice guy and a pleasure to interact with. These little bits were lol funny, heartwarming, kickass and any other superlative you might want to apply, as well as a super generous gift from the author. 💕

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread review 2022:

After all this buildup, this secret of Rune's better be good. (As in, it's going to be awful, right?)

I forgot how funny this was. Brought back some early pandemic memories, lol.

Thanks to Rosa and Ele for the BR!

Original review 2020:

This is an odd one to review. It started as a blog thing so the author could entertain his Twitter fans at the start of the Covid-19 quarantine, and it is funny and hilarious and filled with all the things we expect from these characters: snark, loving insults and banter, teasing and jokes, and a few weepy moments too.

But then for some reason, the author decided to make this canon, so now we can't even get away from Covid in this universe either when the third book comes out. Also, he put a very big plot moment in this, and the vast majority of readers aren't going to see it. I'm curious how he's planning to incorporate it into the third book and make any of it make sense. I think it worked much better as just a fun distraction from RL events, but I also love everything it gives us about these characters and this world. So I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see and trust the author has a Vision. :D

I'm also getting worried about Brand/Rune becoming a thing. They are brilliant as best friends/brothers-in-arms and I see no need to mess with that dynamic. They're perfect just the way they are. But again, I guess I'll have to wait and see where it goes.

(4th time posting this darn review. *sigh*)

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the lockdown scenes, especially the results of Rune’s grocery shopping and it was good to see how they moved from Half House and settled into the Sun Estate.
It was just a little bit too kid-oriented for my taste, though, especially the second part. The kids are great—although Anna seems to be getting a little bit closer to becoming a serial killer every day—the scenes with them and regarding them are just as funny and witty as everything else, but there’s a limit to what I can take when it comes to reading about kids and parenting kids, and this almost went over that limit. Just a personal preference.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the deleting this book has suffered I don't have my original review anymore and I can't recapture the impressions I got when I first read this. I didn't even remember exactly when I read it, so I'm going with the date it was published... I'm truly mad at this crusade some fellow librarians has been carrying. If GR doesn't allow me to keep track of what I read, I don't see the point of being here anymore... I remember I gave this 4 stars but as you can see I've just given 5 right now because maybe a 5 stars rating helps more people find and read about this awesome characters and world, and can make up in a way for the lost reviews and the time this has been out of the site, well... I just find it fair.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for K.D. Edwards Scenes from Quarantine

This is much more substantial than I was expecting. Sure there's no big fights or the sort plot development that we got in the first two novels, but there is some really nice character work here. You really shouldn't skip it.

[BevS · Rating 5 out of 5]

PLEASE STOP DELETING THESE REVIEWS GOODREADS!! 🤬🤬🤬

[Meagan (FranticVampireReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread May 2022:
This reread made me unexpectedly emotional. The first part of this book really hit on a lot of things I was feeling at the start of the pandemic and it brought a lot of those memories to the surface. But in a way it was really cathartic. I loved this and it’s still a solid five stars.


Original Review Jan 2021:
I loved these little scenes. They were so fucking relatable and hit home in ways I didn’t really expect. Also, I loved that we got to see the whole gang together at Sun Estate! Not gonna lie, I almost cried right along with Rune when they got to go home. There was just so much to love and this is getting a solid five stars.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big thank you to the author for this free novella. It’s a testament to their writing that these shorter stories with more intimate character moments can resonate as well as the novels with the full blown action sequences.

[Janine Ballard · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

If you read this series, I highly recommend skipping the freebie short stories and novellas. They make the books worse, not better. I got sick of reading about the kids and quit this one in the middle, and when I read book three afterward, all the non-action in this short story collection made me impatient for the action to get off the ground in that book. There was only one good thing here and that was the short with Lord Tower and Rune looking at the tower that belonged to Lord Sun. No kids in that one! Thankfully.

Skip this! The Hanged Man and The Hourglass Throne were wonderful, and as for these freebies, I wish I hadn’t read them.

[metempsicoso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute but. Io non approvo questa cosa dei mille extra di poche facciate che DEVONO essere letti perché contengono informazioni fondamentali e fondanti sullo sviluppo dell* personaggi*. Per quelle si deve trovare spazio, in qualche modo, nella narrazione principale.
Vuoi regalare altri contenuti a chi ti legge? Fallo pure, ma che siano superflui.
A me 'sta dose di filler mediocre mi ammazza sempre l'entusiasmo nei confronti del volume successivo.
Probabilmente è la vecchiaia, lo so.

[Kaylee]

Leave this book alone, geez! I don't remember what I rated it or what my review said and this was before I started saving my reviews. I know at least one thing, but I'm just leaving this alone. I'm not going to rate this one because of that either. *sigh*

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads took down this novella after I first reviewed it (Feb 2021) so this is my review from Storygraph.

(4.5 stars) This was a wonderful little story about how the family deals with quarantine that evolves into some actual progression of the overall plot. This story bridges the gap and answers some of the "what will we do next?" questions that I had. For me, I love these stories because the family is the most important to me and these focus of that element. I loved getting a little more from Layne, but the parts with Max were also great. I can't wait for book 3!

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick and easy read full of short stories that the author began to put out during the first few months of the Covid 19 pandemic. It was a nice peak back into the unique world of Arcana that I was excited to read.

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

https://aspeccharactersoftheday.tumbl...

[Rozarka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I feel about coronavirus being incorporated into the main plotline. I don't like it much, I'd prefer if it stayed as an AU type of story. But I liked Layne's involvement in it a lot. So I'm torn about it.

Other than that, it was a nice side story. Wholesome. I need more.

[Perfektionaise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is cute and emotional.
Over the course of a long time Rune and his extended family have to deal with the Corona pandemic. In that time they move back into Sun Estate and slowly grow together. In a series of short snapshots of time we learn about different developments.
I smiled, I had tears in my eyes. I love these characters so much! ♡

[☾⋆⁺ Nurse After Dark · Rating 4 out of 5]

My phone beeped at me. I answered it. Quinn said: “So something really sweet happens soon, and it’ll make you feel better, but I love it so much more when you don’t know what it is ahead of time, but I also love it when you don’t know what it is, but you know it’s coming, because then you’ll be a little less scared until it happens. Bye.”

Another fun short from author Edwards! I'm going to wish I'd spaced these shorts out better since I'm current waiting for any news on book 4. The best part of this one was seeing the actual 'move in' to Sun Estate, something we briefed over between main books.

“I do not snore!” Quinn protested. “It’s just a sigh. Addam’s heard it before. He used to tell me it sounds adorable.”
Max spun around and poked Quinn in the chest. “Addam spends his day coming up with reasons to stick gold stars on your stupid forehead. You. Snore.”

I love seeing all of the secondary characters interact in their brief time dealing with the virus. And Brand and Rune's 'wishlist' at the end made me wish I caught this release before I read The Hourglass Throne - Well done with the hints there!

[M Gregs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 20,000th month of COVID was not ready for this book to hit so hard.

*update: March 2022*

Oh, hey, hello, it’s me. I just celebrated my daughters’ third quarantine birthdays and I’m super over it and would just like to go live in the Sun Estate and sleep on the floor with The Family Saint John thank you and goodnight.

[Meghan Reads MM · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are snapshots of everyday life for the gang. And with this gang, there will be shenanigans, strangeness, and family bonding.

[Alpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

fuuny often insightful scenes of life together for the tarot characters. nice character development.

also, a little plot development, bridging the end of book 2 and the start of book 3.

[Kristel (hungryandhappy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart!!

[nicoleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

this felt like a hug from a good friend... . it filled me with a lot of joy!!!!!!! brand and rune's journey to parenthood is heartwarming sbdbdjdjd. (the bingo card the kids made for when brand says dad-like things 😭💗)

CIARAN HELPING ANNA AND LAYNE W/ SCHOOL!!!!! and corby with flynns party 🥺 (the mental image of Lord Tower n Mayan acting as babysitters had me in stitches btw). ALSO “Can you make Flynn dream about all his old friends? He misses them. There’s no one like him anymore.”
Ciaran stared at the boy for a few seconds, lips parted in surprise. Finally he said, “I suppose I can, little sun. What a lovely idea.” I teared up my gosh..

I'm so glad that these children (and Max and Quinn) are surrounded by so many people who love them 😭💖💖💖

I hope we get to see more of Kellum in future books!! I find him very very interesting.

[Sharni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t have quarantine lockdown era story that made me laugh on my bingo card AND YET that’s exactly what happened.

I do love slice of life stories - and this one was exactly that - it fills in lots of detail (I’m assuming, I haven’t read the third book yet) about the refurbishment of Sun Estate and their move back in - and how this little family is adjusting to living together - and how drastically their lives have changed. I also loved the couple of tidbits of information we got on the late Lord Sun - his personality and the fact that his personal living quarters have remained shielded and undisturbed since his death.

I’m also curious about that corduroy button, so I’m glad it got a shout out!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something surreal about media that acknowledges the COVID-19 pandemic. I don't know why that throws me off--timey-wimey eldritch fae shenanigans is a premise I can easily accept; the actual real-world virus that swept the globe is somehow still too strange to read about? Maybe that's a hold over from my own anxieties during what was (and still is) a very nerve-wracking time. Maybe it's also, a little bit, the fact that this is canon and involves some story relevant scenes about the Sun Court moving house and the expansion of their household, which followers of the series will want to read, and as an aside also has a recurring thread about how difficult it was to find toilet paper there for a while. Just absolutely bizarre. 10/10, would read more about Brand's plan to stab anyone who coughs while standing too close and/or without properly covering their mouth.

[jedbird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand this was Twitter fic of some sort to entertain fans during the pandemic, and it was nice of the author to do that, but he really should have had them edited for publication - like, even just having a literate friend read them over. This was rife with errors.

It was cute though, albeit with a lot more of the smaller kids than I'm eager for. I have so many issues with this series, yet the relationship between Rune and Brand keeps me coming back.

[Felix Hommy Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s oficial. I’m obsessed with the world and characters from The Tarot Sequence series. This is my third book from this series, and the three of them have been five stars. Yay!

[Leann J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine- I don't regret reading it, but I can't really say you're missing anything huge if you don't reading it. I would recommend if you're interested in reading about the main character and their found family interacting with each other without life-and-death stakes.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super duper sweet. I wish we had more AddamxRune scenes and fewer with the kids, but I still enjoyed reading them all ^_^

[Lazuli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I JUST LOVE THIS SERIE AND NEED THE NEXT BOOK PLEASE!

[Lee]

just some gay dads and their gay kids 😌😌