The Lover

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

During a brutal winter, a young woman longing for love finds more than she expected in the woods, in this wickedly sensuous short story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.

Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty one—but that doesn’t stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stay—but as Alice’s husband, not her own. When another stranger comes out of the woods, looking every bit a vagrant, he offers Judith something mysterious and enticingly strange. Against reason and decency, she welcomes both men into her life, in different ways. As forbidden longings ensnare each of them, an unrelenting winter storm and an evasive wolf on the prowl have everyone on edge…and ravenous. By spring thaw, will any of their hungers be satisfied?

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Horror, Romance, Fiction, Gothic, Historical Fiction

42 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2023

About the author

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of several novels, including Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. She has also edited a number of anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (a.k.a. Cthulhu's Daughters). Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘It’s only a story…’

A howling darkness blows through this sensual and sinister fairy tale of illicit affairs and beasts that stalk the night. Drawing from tales like Little Red Riding Hood and lit ablaze in an American Gothic agonizing over lust and sin, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s brief tale, The Lover, is a delicious little snack. Her succinct prose works like sharpened teeth biting into the tale to feast on the visceral emotions of desire and shame that drip like blood from the wound, and each page portends dread in a claustrophobic atmosphere of wicked wilderness and mysterious strangers. While its embodiment of dark fairy tales and doomed, forbidden love follows a rather predictable course of events, there is a certain dreary thrill in the familiarity of it all making us feel fated into the oncoming destruction and still makes for a chillingly fun read.

‘I have no silks or gold, but I’d promise to eat your enemy’s heart and tear their lungs out with my claws in exchange for your kiss, dear Judith, which is more than a prince could say.’

Shamefully, I’ve not read Silvia Moreno-Garcia before despite all the accolades and recommendations so I felt like The Lover would be an excellent entryway into her dark worlds that are always infused with folklore and other fantastical elements. Consider me impressed as I can’t wait to dive into one of her novels after this. Moreno-Garcia does an excellent job at gathering familiar elements from various literary traditions and making them feel both a loving homage and a story all of her own. Here we have Judith, the younger sister of Alice who has been raised to see Judith as second class to herself, who finds herself despondent when the handsome hunter she thought fated to take her hand in marriage weds her sister instead. But after a book of ‘bawdy little volumes for men’ awakens a sexual appetite in both her and the hunter, the embers of passion begin to consume Judith while the anxieties of damnation throw her into a maelstrom of emotion.

‘From the first moment he’d spoken to her, she’d loved him, then had to endure the agony of his loss. Now she knew a new agony, both the pleasure of his embrace and the weight of sin.’

Yet, who is the vagabond stranger who sold her the book for the price of the kiss, and what of the rumors of a giant wolf slinking towards the village at night?

‘Go, chase the moon, tell it your lies.’

Moreno-Garcia imbues each turn of the page with dread as both sensual and sinister symbolism appear in Judith’s life (the stranger offering the red apple, a common trope of fairy tales and Biblical lore, for instance) as well as tales of monsters that seduce women to their destruction. But what is more menacing, to face the flames of damnation from her forbidden passions or a literal beast that would also tear her to pieces? Both ‘a curse of hunger, where one can never be satisfied.’ The imagery and overall vibes really carry this story and while it is rather predictable it almost feels more disquieting because we can see the dark path to doom but cannot help but head towards it anyways.

The Lover is a quick but exciting dark story that had me under its spell from the very start. It isn’t anything particularly astonishing, but it is well constructed and hits all the right thrills and chills. I can’t wait to read more from her.

3.5/5

‘Heed the warning and let this song ward you away from evil and wrongdoing.’

[Esta · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to short tales, in the past I have found it can be a challenge in making a connection with the characters, given the constraints of brevity. However, this wasn’t an issue connecting with FMC Judith in “The Lover" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, in a mere 40 pages or so. SMG has a knack for writing 3D MCs coupled with beautiful prose.

This strange, dark adult fairytale is perfect if you’re seeking an atmospheric read in the midst of the spooky season. Forbidden romances, foreboding forests, abandoned huts and a touch of the supernatural are all part of the charm. Available on Amazon First Reads for October 2023. 🎃

[Silvia Moreno-Garcia]

Short story, not a novel. Just putting it out there to avoid confusion.

Description: During a brutal winter, a young woman longing for love finds more than she expected in the woods, in this wickedly sensuous short story.

[Jaidee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 "interesting variations with ho hum prose" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, Amazon Original Stories and the author for an ecopy. This was released today Nov 1, 2023. I am providing an honest review.

So I needed a small break from the four long books I am currently reading and behold this short story appeared this morning on Netgalley. I was excited to have Mexican Gothic on my shortlist and thought that this might be a delicious little appetizer for that experience.

This is a dark romantic adult fairy tale complete with a horny young maiden, mean sister, a handsome charmer and a werewolf. I enjoyed what the author did here and it was somewhat original and quite interesting. The prose is rather ho hum, a bit repetitive but acceptably unremarkable. Overall enjoyed this and was a good enough diversion.

I have now lowered my expectations for Mexican Gothic.

[Jayme · Rating 3 out of 5]

“She’d always known her lover would come from beyond the forest. It was foretold when she cast a divination spell”

Alice was the “pretty” sister, and her family has always treated her younger sister Judith like Cinderella. But, that doesn’t stop Judith from wishing for love.

But, will she recognize it when it finally arrives from the woods?

A Grimm’s Fairytale like short story (43 pages) which gave me a taste of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing which I have been wanting to try-perfect for October reading!

One of my two AMAZON FIRST READ selections for this month-free for Amazon Prime members.

[Dez the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wicked little fairytale.

This story immediately reminded me of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. If you like that sort of vibe, you'll mostly enjoy this!

This is a short story to be read in one sitting and the moral is twisted. The writing is decent but I felt it was a little stiff and a few things in the story were off for me, which is why I took off a star.

Follow a young maiden as she tries to understand her destiny and how she fits into her own world. She's supposed to find her lover according to an omen of sorts but what she finds is more than she expected.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: An interesting short story focussing on a protagonist who waits for her lover. Not a light romance. More of a dark fairy tale. Well-written. Good for dark short fiction lovers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Story Synopsis:

Judith’s elder sister Alice has always been the pretty and pampered one, so Judith has always been the one to do the hard labour at their guesthouse. Though luck has never been on her side, Judith can’t stop wishing for love, especially as she knows that her lover will someday come from the forest, thanks to a prophecy.
Soon, two men make an appearance in Judith’s life, both coming from the forest. She wants the first but he ends up marrying Alice. She doesn’t want the second, but he is always around her. As a strange wolf also begins his prowl at the same time, the hunger in Judith’s heart explodes. What will the consequences be?
The story is written in Judith’s third person perspective.

I enjoyed this short story from beginning to end. It has all the hallmarks of Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing – a compelling central protagonist, excellent descriptions and lyrical prose.

It also has all the essentials that make a short story work – a proper story development, interesting characters, the right amount of intrigue, and the perfect ending. At just 43 pages, this story won’t take you too long to read. The pacing is quick, but the proceedings aren’t rushed.

Judith is a great character. I loved the hidden rebellious streak in her, though she has never been encouraged to follow her heart by her family members. It is very easy to root for her, even when she takes some questionable decisions.

I must add that I loved her name! In this era where most stories contain either over-simplified names (Elle, Emma, and the likes) or overly cartoonish names (Ryder, Coriander!?!?), it was great to see a character with a good old traditional yet uncommon name.

I almost didn’t read this story because of the words “wickedly sensuous” in the blurb. The cheesy title also doesn’t help. But the “sensuous” content isn’t overdone. The author keeps the passions more classy than crude.

At its core, this is a story not about love but about hunger. Hunger for affection, hunger for attention, hunger for financial and social security, and of course, hunger for food.

The reasons my rating is slightly lower are mostly trivial. It is easy to see the secrets and guess the direction taken by the story. The characters, other than Judith, are mostly cookie-cutter in style. The cover is also a buzzkill, as it reveals something well in advance. (Though this part isn’t hard to guess even early in the story.) However, I was still entertained and that is what ultimately counts.

Definitely recommended, not as a path-breaking piece of short fiction, but as an entertaining dark tale to be read on a cold winter night by the embers of a fire. (or if you are in India, just read it any time you want. 😄)

4 stars.


This standalone story is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark and sensual fairy tale, reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm. Silvia Moreno-Garcia always writes such bewitching, atmospheric prose, and The Lover is no exception.

Judith knows that her lover will arrive from beyond the forest, and when the handsome Nathaniel shows up in her village, she's sure that they're meant to be together. But what if her lover is meant to be someone else after all?

This is a short tale and I finished it in under half an hour. I often struggle with short stories and their lack of depth, but I was completely satisfied with how this one unfolded. Moreno-Garcia is a master of descriptive writing, and you almost feel as if you're there in the chilly forest with Judith, or in the cozy abandoned hut with the fire blazing.

Most of the characters are multifaceted (except perhaps Alice, who is simply unpleasant), which is pretty impressive for such a short story. I especially loved the dark and mysterious stranger and the sense of foreboding that he brought into the tale.

And that ending? Perfection. Moral ambiguity abounds in The Lover, and the ending certainly reflects that. It's not exactly the happy fairy tale ending of Disney films, but it is an extremely satisfying one nonetheless.

My only complaint is that I would have loved for this one to be a little longer. I want to know how things turned out for Judith after the events of this story. Did she get to live happily ever after? And is the mysterious stranger really all he claimed to be?

Final rating: 4.25 stars, rounded down. If you like dark but enchanting fairy tales, you'll likely enjoy this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing me with a copy of this story to review.

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this five stars because I felt it contained everything a good short story should and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Judith is a young woman living with her widowed sister. This is a fairytale, so the sister is beautiful but nasty, her new husband is just plain lecherous, and then there is the unnamed man who comes from the forest. Like all good fairytales the ending is deliciously evil. I loved it!

I have not read anything by this author before but I will remedy that as soon as possible.

My thanks to Netgalley for this Amazon Original short story.

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3★
“She lay awake most of the night, and at one point she had a curious sensation that something soft brushed by her side in the dark, though it was only the blanket, which had fallen to the floor.”

Sisters Alice and Judith, like most village girls, want to know where they will find love when they grow up.

When I was a girl, we used to twist the stem of an apple and with each twist we said a letter, going through the alphabet. Whichever letter was the one said when the stem broke or was pulled out was the initial of our future boyfriend/lover/husband’s first name.

Next, we poked at the side of the apple with the top of the stem, saying letters the same way, and the letter that broke the skin was the initial of the last name. Mind you, we moderated our twists and pokes to try to land on the letters we wanted. For Alice and Judith, it’s different.

“It was a game she played with the other village girls—quaint superstitions passed from one generation to the next. The spell required a maiden to take off her shift and place it under her pillow during the night of the full moon. The girl would dream of a man’s face, and in the morning, she would find an object by her doorstep that would offer a clue about her future husband’s identity.”

Judith didn’t remember the face in her dream, but the twig she found on the doorstep meant that surely he would come from the forest, the place that she loved. As the publisher’s blurb says, a handsome hunter, Nathaniel, does come from the forest, but he falls for the prettier sister, and Judith becomes pretty much a servant in their household.

She often wanders in the woods, collecting mushrooms and taking some time to herself. As the season is changing, Nathaniel speaks to her.

“ ‘It’ll be a bad winter,’ Nathaniel told her, coming down to stand next to her.

‘How do you know’ she asked.

‘I can tell. The skies warn us’” he said.

But she’d lost her taste for omens, so she shrugged, indifferent to his prediction.

‘Yes, it’ll be a bitter winter. You should stop with your mushroom gathering. The wolves, they’ll be eager for a morsel, and it’s growing too cold now, anyway,’ he said.

Then, for a moment, a prickle of something spread across her body, the faint stirring of dread. She shook her head dismissively.

‘Wolves never wander this close to us,’ she said. ‘I’ve lived here longer than you have.’”

I enjoyed the writing, which has a kind of old-fashioned feel about it, as if this really is a fairy tale from long ago. I hope you can tell that from the quotes I chose. I found it predictable instead of surprising, but I can see many other readers were entertained.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for a copy of #TheLover for review.

[EveStar91 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing - a lot of depth conveyed in a short story! On the whole, the book has a fairytale feel to it with glimpses of dark magic.
This isn't one of those books where the lead suddenly gets her simple happy forever after at the end with the moral explained on the last page (as snidely referred to in the story).

[One star for the premise and the whole story; One star for the characters; Half a star for the story; Half a star for the world-building; One star for the writing - Four stars in total.]

[Alexis Hall]

Source of book: KU
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.

*******************************************

Silvia Moreno-Garcia you say?

Free with KU you say?



Anyway, this is a short story; and I’m not sure how to talk about short stories in general without wrecking them for potential readers. But I’ll do my best.

I guess I’d describe this as a dark fairytale. It’s about a young woman called Judith who lives with her more beautiful sister and pines after a handsome hunter. As you might expect from anything written by SMG the writing is absolutely exquisite:

The kisses he’d planted on her mouth lingered, deep as cuts upon her flesh, and their memory made her ache.

But, ultimately, for me, the story felt a little … meagre? Not because of anything it lacked exactly but because fairytale characters resonate as archetypes (the cruel sister, the downtrodden heroine, the handsome stranger, the evil witch) and the cast of The Lover feel very specific. Judith, in particular, both reflects and repudiates fairytale tropes (she is good but not virtuous, she is mistreated but doesn’t require rescue); there’s something flawed and real about her that, ultimately, left me wanting to know her better—and spend more time with her—than the format of the story (both its length and its framing as a fairytale) could allow.

For example there’s moments in the text like this:

[Judith’s sister] spoke to her like a lady speaks to a lowly maid. But then they’d been estranged for a long time, long before Judith loved Nathaniel. Grandmother had taught Alice the place she must occupy in life, always two steps above Judith.

And, by the end, I couldn’t tell if I was more fascinated or frustrated by this sort of thing. I loved the way it challenges the idea of unloving relative of traditional fairy tales. Like, Alice isn’t jealous of Judith’s beauty or virtue, she isn’t just inherently spiteful or abusive, she’s been taught her cruelty by someone else—someone no longer in the picture whose motivations remain somewhat abstract. I mean, we know Alice is beautiful and that is currency in a world that is shown to be patriarchal at best, misogynistic at worst, so it makes a cold sense that grandma would “preserve” Alice’s beauty at the expense of Judith. And while Alice makes Judith do all the work, Alice did essentially sacrifice herself in matrimony to a man we’re told was old and unpleasant to a secure a future for both of them. It’s even suggested that she doesn’t share marital intimacy with her next husband—a man she chooses for herself, at least partially based on his attractiveness. Given she’s already borne two children for someone she would have no choice but to give her body to it’s hard not to … read a bunch of complicated, painful things into Alice and her history, even if she’s also vain and thoughtless and a pretty crap sister. I mean, I think in Alice’s place I’d probably be all those things too and worse.

Except none of these hints and implications—while I’m glad they were there, complicating Alice’s role as the nasty sister—cohered into anything more than hints and implications. And I ended up feeling the same way about all of the central characters—like they’d been partially peeled away from the archetypes but just kind of left there.

I also think that it’s quite difficult in general for dark fairtytales with these themes to shake the shadow of The Bloody Chamber. I enjoy fairytale retellings in general, especially those with a gothic twist, and I enjoyed this because it was SMG and I can’t imagine her creating anything I didn’t admire the fuck out of, but I also don’t think it did anything that Angela Carter hasn’t already done, and done way harder. I mean the reality is, with any story carrying Red Riding Hood DNA, the options are kill the wolf, fuck the wolf or become the wolf, depending on what you think the wolf represents. Something I’m not sure The Lover had fully figured out by the time it was finished.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god. I loved this story more than anything! Wow! A Grimm's Fairytale from a modern storyteller. This was perfection from start to finish. I wish this was a movie...
That ending!

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange but good.

Amazon Prime First Read October 2023

[Emma Griffioen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Go chase the moon, tell it your lies." Pg. 36

The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a whimsical and haunting short story that is very reminiscent of a Grimm's fairy tale. Based on The Little Red Riding Hood, it follows Judith, a young maiden, living with her beautiful older sister. She ends up falling head over heels for her sister Alice's charming husband Nathaniel, however, soon after an unnamed man crosses her path as well. Launched into an affair with Nathaniel and an interesting relationship with the unnamed man, Judith's story unfolds in a twisted and page-turning way. The writing was stunning and left me wanting to read more from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This is the perfect cozy, yet chilling short story to read by the fire this winter!

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The name doesn’t matter. You know me. I have no silks or gold, but I’d promise to eat your enemy’s heart and tear their lungs out with my claws in exchange for your kiss, dear Judith, which is more than a prince could say.”

you know, the “monster” will always be better than the man. Judith pulled a legendary move at the end there, as she should. this was so good for a short story!

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lover.

First, this isn’t a romance story that so often bores me. I found this interesting and was anxious to see what would happen next. The ending was a surprise and not in a bad way.

[Vicki Herbert - Vacation until Jan 2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Curse of Insatiable Hunger...

THE LOVER by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

No spoilers. 4 stars. Judith always knew her lover would come from beyond the woods...

She had cast a spell...

Taking off her dress and sleeping with it beneath her pillow when the moon was full...

Next morning...

She found a twig on her doorstep. A clue to her future husband's identity. It came from the forest, and so would her husband...

Judith's sister Alice...

Married well and was beautiful. Her husband died, leaving her wealthy and with twins...

One day...

A huntsman came to town from the woods, but he married Alice instead of Judith, so Judith lost her taste for omens...

Judith had a secret place...

... an abandoned hut in the woods where she would go to be alone...

Just before winter...

Judith attended the local farmer's market, where she met a vagabond that bought her a forbidden bawdy book...

In exchange for a kiss...

Judith took the book to her secret hut in the woods to read but was seduced by Alice's new husband who had followed her...

As the snow set in, they continued their secret trysts...

One morning...

Judith went to the hut, but instead of Alice's husband, Judith met up with the vagabond...

Needing shelter from the snow...

... He asked Judith's permission to lodge in the hut in exchange for another book... this one about monsters and ghosts...

He confessed...

He was not a vagabond, but a nobleman outrunning a curse. A curse of insatiable hunger...

This was book 1 of 2 of my Amazon First Reads selections for the month of October 2023.

If you like adult fairytales, you will probably like this story. Although it was very easy to figure out where the story was going, it was still very well-written and just the right size for a bedtime read.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

trying to clear out some of my Audible backlog and came upon this short story and listened to it on a walk. It's a folklore type tale of a woman who falls for her sister's husband and begins an affair. She is obsessed with this man and desire but all does not end well. Hints about shape shifting wolves in the area. Is a stranger in town a wolf? Does the wolf actually living among them but only changes at night?
Great ending and I was totally drawn in. I knew Moreno-Garcia had a twist ending coming but I had to shake my head at this one. Made my afternoon walk a special treat. If you can get the audio through Audible or Prime I recommend it. Its narrated by Nina Yndis who does an interesting job with this short tale. She seemed a little understated at first, not much fluctuation in her voice but I saw how well this fit the tale as it certainly sent me in wrong directions and kept the suspense quietly building.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spicy short story from one of my faves! A young woman wanting love has a thing for the young man who ends up marrying her sister. Then another man appears from the woods and the brother-in-law gets jealous. She ends up in a complicated relationship with both of them...

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lover is a short dark fairytale with Little Red Riding Hood vibes, which I devoured. We follow a young woman who finds a sign that her lover will come from the woods surrounding the home she shares with her sister and her children. The girl has had to work hard all her life, cooking, cleaning, running the shop whilst her older sister has had a life of luxury due to being the more beautiful one. When a handsome stranger comes from the woods in search of a place to stay, the girl believes he is the one for her....
This was such a quick, dark, predictable story, but I really enjoyed it, especially with it having dark vibes of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf.

[Mary-Lisa Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clocking in at a little over 40 pages, this is book is best described as beautifully crafted storytelling that stimulates the imagination. The descriptions are vivid, and the pace is quick as it is a short read, yet we are given an abundace of information within the story as it unfolds that ensures we suffer no choppy disconnect between the characters and plot.

The gothic vibe and twist at the end of the story intrigued me, and I am glad I read this in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Silvia Moreno-Garcia for a copy.

[Jan Agaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did but wow the writing is impeccable & it was the perfect pacing & sequence of events. not to mention the stunning cover!

[SVETLANA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Judith wishes for love and she is sure that her love will come from the forest. When a hunter comes to their village, she is sure that this is HE, only to see how he marries her older and wealthier sister. Soon in the village appears a new stranger who looks like a vagrant and tells an unbelievable story.
Who is the real love?

Not my type of book. It is dark and ends frightening.

[Dana Cristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to thank Amazon Original Stories, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Judith knows one thing: The day she finds a branch in front of her door, she certaintly knows that her Lover will arrive from the forest. So when the mysterious newcomer arrives in town, she knows for sure it must be him.
But things take a weird turn when her bigger (and toxic) sister Alice marries him. So she escapes at the cabin in the woods.

The hunter, Nathaniel plays a mischievious game juggling between the sisters and Judith doesn't know what to believe anymore. Until another stranger in town starts acting coy and gains her attention.

This is a short story, but it was impactful and nice. The ending was the most satisfying one I had seen in a while. Everyone got what they deserved. The characters weren't the most enjoyable, but they were realistic.

The plot and the setting were great! The depth was somehow there, but this was still too short for me to get invested in. However, because this was my first Garcia story, now I'm even more curious of her other full-lenght novels.

3.75 stars.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lover is a dark fairy tale riddled with forbidden romance, jealously, betrayal, secrets, and love triangles. Short & sweet but it still managed to feel like a complete story. The foreshadowing had me thinking the story was headed in one direction but the twist at the end changed everything and was perfect.

3 stars.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a wonderfully strange yet enjoyable atmospheric experience! It feels like an adult fairytale, transporting readers to a realm where the unusual becomes captivating. Decent for a short story!

[Dead Inside · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Let me see your breasts and I’ll get a second book for you. Twice the fun.”

[Brend · Rating 5 out of 5]

''When I rush through the forest and tear open a stag's throat with a single bit, I'll remember how the red of you ribbon matches the red of its blood''
and they say romance is dead...

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an author who has been on my list for quite some time but I just hadn't gotten around to trying any of her work until now. The short story The Lover was a nice little introduction to this new-to-me author.

The Lover reads a bit like a fairy tale but not the kind for children. This fairy tale has a dark, gothic vibe to it with some mischievous characters. I loved the ending!