Conventional Shadows

Simply Crafty #2.5

by Lissa Kasey

They can’t escape the supernatural even on holiday.

Alex and Micah’s trip to a nearby anime convention is meant to be cosplay fun and time away from their busy lives in New Orleans. But the ghosts seem to be drawn to them, as a fellow con attendee asks them about a doll he suspects is haunted.

Alex was hoping to leave his curse at home, but when confronting shadows in a hotel room filled with dolls, he wonders if maybe he shouldn’t have left home at all. Will the spirits from the convention find their rest, or will they follow Micah and Alex home?

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Ghosts, Fantasy, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Gay

82 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 2, 2022

About the author

Lissa Kasey is Ace/Aro and ENBY. Lissa's storytelling specializes in in-depth characters, detailed world building, sweet and spicy romance, and twisting plots to keep you clinging to the page.

Reviews

[A.R. Moler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute, and very true to the "convention" vibe. I've been going to them for decades.

[Tj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex and Micah attend an anime convention and adopt a son of sorts. Some LittleFee dolls are creepy. Theirs sounds cute and well dressed.

The soulless demon child that haunted Alex in the first two books is back and cryptic as ever. I so want Alex and Micah to have a demon/ghost free future and much earned HEA.

[T.A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Convention and Hauntings

I love this series. This time Micah and Alex got to a cosplay convention. Adopt a doll, call him Noel, which is cute! And met a man who had a haunted doll, his manna is doing the haunting and wanting him to have a doll of stitch she made him that’s been misplaced. It all ends well.

Loved this book!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute short story.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

TLDR: Definitely not a stand-alone, but fun.

https://klishis.com/reading/archives/...

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting! I’ve never been to a cosplay con but think I’d like to now! Creepy dolls are creepy though… even when not haunted

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A snack of a book. Not much here but still fun to read.

[David Wickham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these characters. Not a big novella fan, but I'd read nearly anything written in this universe.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this novella as much as the other ones but it was ok

[Ilona Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review

[Leigh Ann Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun with this. Good story!

[Lena Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

To have some time to relax and get away from the day-to-day craziness of their lives, Micah and Alex go to an anime convention. In reality, these two never seem to escape the supernatural events in their lives. The programs and workshops are intriguing and exciting, the displays are impressive, and the costumes are brilliant! Being new to the anime scene, Alex is still learning, and Micah is a patient and informed teacher. At one display, Alex finds a doll that catches his eye. Micah buys it for him, and Alex names the doll Noel. They have a great time picking out clothes for him along with attachable faces that change his expression along with the doll’s mood.

While strolling around the venue, one of Micah’s blog followers comes up to them to ask a favor. He thinks something is haunting his room and asks if they will check it out. Unable to resist helping the young man, they go with him. When he opens the door, it surprises them to see that he is a Stitch paraphernalia collector, and the items fills up his entire room. That alone is spooky. They focus on one Stitch, in particular, the boy’s grandmother made for him. Because the doll seems to be the source of the activity, Alex and Micah take it back to their room to investigate, but when Alex’s doll ends up in different places from where they left it, they take the Stitch doll back.


This was a fun interlude in the often heavy, scary series. It amused me that a former Army Ranger would want and enjoy a doll so much, but it was a testament to his growing acceptance of himself. Thanks, Lissa, I love Micah and Alex! I wish I could see pictures of them in their costumes!

[Ashton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize when I initially picked this up for free off Amazon that it was quite the short story, but it made me pretty invested in these two characters. I might end up looking into the whole series and starting from the beginning, since there were some details shared in this novel that definitely piqued my interest. It felt like a cozy read.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these guys and this is such a fun novella with a little spooky!