Cassandra Hamm’s Reviews > The Sun Still Rises > Status Update

“We as humans have this gut instinct that there is a wrongness to suffering and pain because there is a wrongness to it. This was never God’s
Intent for us. That feeling reminds us that we are still longing for the ultimate redemption, that as perfect as our lives may seem in the moment, we cannot escape our desperate longing and need for Christ.”

~ Lani Forbes, Afterword

Miss you, Lani. See you someday <3

“When the rest of the world comes back into focus at last, we’re standing at the center of a galaxy. Our bodies still. Across the vast cavern, more and more lights ignite. The walls are covered in a sea of constellations. The lake is an ocean of stars.”

~ “A Piece of Sky,” Tanager Haemmerle

The Lani-related symbolism in this piece is so beautiful. Love the story of two friends searching for the open sky.

“I shall be glad to be rid of this creature. I shall. With its constant babbling, so endearing in its cheeriness. With its giant dark eyes so brilliant with the spark of light and life and joy and awe. Keeping this creature alive is a trial I shall be happy to leave behind. Yes. The creature has caused me trauma.”

~ “To Share the Sky,” A.C. Williams

Ice Age vibes abound when a dragon rescues a human child.

“‘How do you break your curse?’

‘A man, not of my own blood, must love me.’ Bitterness taints my smile. ‘I was perhaps not very lovable when I looked human, and certainly not now.’”

~ “Falling Scales,” C.M. Banschbach

I cannot express how much this story means to me. A B&tB genderbent retelling with an adoption arc that makes me cry every single time. It’s so understated and beautiful.

“Something niggles at the back of my mind. The fact that I just had MY eighteenth birthday. And how my mom felt the need to bring me to a cursed town when I fit the profile perfectly.”

~ “Beyond the Waves,” Laura L. Zimmerman

A story about a girl’s broken relationship with her mother and the secrets between them, and, maybe, mermaids. ;)

“This must be what it felt like to be a falling star. Bright and effervescent and joyous and out of control.”

~ “After Stars Fall,” Nicole Wheeler

A lovely story about a girl who is trying to learn the art of gathering shards of fallen stars, a gift she believes she inherited from her late mother. Full of grief and romance and hope.

“With a trembling breath, Hope peered into the Well. It was bone dry.”

~ “Dragon Smoke,” Jessica Noelle

An emotional story about a grieving girl whose family guarded the sacred Well of Light, whose water can put out the dragon fires ravaging her land. But her family is gone, and now she struggles with rage and guilt and the knowledge that the Well, their only source of hope, is empty.

“If you knew I was here, did you know what I am?”

“Yes, I knew. That’s why I came.”

~ “Crimson Stain,” Jamie Foley

A beautiful allegory about sin, redemption, and freedom.

“I wish you could view yourself through the eyes of those who do see your worth. Instead of fixating on the ones who don’t.”

~ “Rookie Mistake,” S.D. Grimm

An emotional story about a girl so desperate to prove herself to her father that she goes to hunt a werewolf alone, the likes of which once killed her mother.

“The door slams. It cuts deeper than any word ever could. Tears prick at my eyes, and I sink to the ground, my legs suddenly too weak to hold me up. *Too loud, too emotional, too much.* So much that Adriel had to block me out to keep from exploding.”

~ “The Evenglow,” myself

This story is a piece of my heart on the page—depression and broken sibling bonds and, finally, steps toward reconciliation.