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Lila #0.5/0.6/0.7
Lila Shortcuts
The novels follow the story of Lila, a 17-year-old with the power of telekinesis, and Alex, her brother’s best friend and long-time love interest. When a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila runs away to Southern California, where Alex and her brother are working for a secret organisation called The Unit and searching for the men who killed Lila’s mother five years before. Lila unwittingly becomes embroiled in the hunt and a suspenseful murder mystery ensues.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2011
About the author
Sarah Alderson
27 books2,993 followersHaving spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where they lived for five years.
She finished her first novel, Hunting Lila (winner of the Kingston Book Award), just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they had reached Bali.
A third book, Fated, about a teenage demon slayer, was published in January 2012.
The Sound, a thriller romance set in Nantucket, was published in August 2013 and this was followed by the critically acclaimed Out of Control in May 2014.
Her first non-fiction book - CAN WE LIVE HERE? - based on her blog of the same name, was published in August 2015 by Blink.
She also writes New Adult romance for Pan Macmillan (UK) / Simon & Schuster (US) under the pen name Mila Gray.
You can find Sarah on facebook and at www.sarahalderson.com or follow her blog at www.canwelivhere.com
She finished her first novel, Hunting Lila (winner of the Kingston Book Award), just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they had reached Bali.
A third book, Fated, about a teenage demon slayer, was published in January 2012.
The Sound, a thriller romance set in Nantucket, was published in August 2013 and this was followed by the critically acclaimed Out of Control in May 2014.
Her first non-fiction book - CAN WE LIVE HERE? - based on her blog of the same name, was published in August 2015 by Blink.
She also writes New Adult romance for Pan Macmillan (UK) / Simon & Schuster (US) under the pen name Mila Gray.
You can find Sarah on facebook and at www.sarahalderson.com or follow her blog at www.canwelivhere.com
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 25, 2013
Sarah Alderson is the master at bringing great characters to life, in the last two years I have become quite easily attached to the characters in Alderson’s Lila series, that I could possibly read stories with them again and again. Lila Shortcuts presents five novellas from five great characters from the Lila series; Amber, Demos, Suki, Jack and Alex.
The best thing about these novellas is that they fit in so well together, Alderson just doesn’t give you five different perspectives, but one story flows into the next by the order in which the events occurred. With these novellas we're given great back stories into our favourite characters, we get fresh new scenes that we've previously only be told about, but also scenes which we've already read about before but from the perspective of a totally different character like when Lila tumbled down the stairs, but from Alex’s perspective *sigh*.
If I had a chance to choose a favourite of these stories, I don’t think I’d be able to as each on their own brought so much. But here are couple of my favourite aspects;
Demos. You finally get to be inside this enigmatic characters head and let me just say I was expecting a lot of ego and cockiness, but instead we got an honest and vulnerable side of him and a lot of insight into why he became the man he is today. Such great brotherly love and affection between Jack and Alex, the depths to which these two went to help each other out was amazing. I loved being inside Jack’s head, he was an intelligent guy. But I loved seeing his ruthless side and his snarky sense of humour, but also seeing him stutter around “boyfriends”/guys interested in Lila. Alex there’s nothing about him that could make me love him more, his perspective was just perfect, I just wish I had more to read. I’m going to leave you with this quote.
"And then she looks up at me and holds my gaze and she smiles a smile so full of undisguised happiness that her whole face lights up with it and it makes me catch my breath. And that's when I know for sure that I'm in trouble"
Overall Lila Shortcuts is not a book to be missed out on, it will have you laughing out loud when you least expect to one minute and then rip away at your heart the next. But one thing, it will make you want to never let these characters go.
This review can be found on: The Readers Den
The best thing about these novellas is that they fit in so well together, Alderson just doesn’t give you five different perspectives, but one story flows into the next by the order in which the events occurred. With these novellas we're given great back stories into our favourite characters, we get fresh new scenes that we've previously only be told about, but also scenes which we've already read about before but from the perspective of a totally different character like when Lila tumbled down the stairs, but from Alex’s perspective *sigh*.
If I had a chance to choose a favourite of these stories, I don’t think I’d be able to as each on their own brought so much. But here are couple of my favourite aspects;
Demos. You finally get to be inside this enigmatic characters head and let me just say I was expecting a lot of ego and cockiness, but instead we got an honest and vulnerable side of him and a lot of insight into why he became the man he is today. Such great brotherly love and affection between Jack and Alex, the depths to which these two went to help each other out was amazing. I loved being inside Jack’s head, he was an intelligent guy. But I loved seeing his ruthless side and his snarky sense of humour, but also seeing him stutter around “boyfriends”/guys interested in Lila. Alex there’s nothing about him that could make me love him more, his perspective was just perfect, I just wish I had more to read. I’m going to leave you with this quote.
"And then she looks up at me and holds my gaze and she smiles a smile so full of undisguised happiness that her whole face lights up with it and it makes me catch my breath. And that's when I know for sure that I'm in trouble"
Overall Lila Shortcuts is not a book to be missed out on, it will have you laughing out loud when you least expect to one minute and then rip away at your heart the next. But one thing, it will make you want to never let these characters go.
This review can be found on: The Readers Den
November 5, 2013
I like that Ms. Alderson is stringing us along, keeping us alive with these novellas until the third installment comes out.
Out of the five short stories in this novella, only two of them are new. Ms. Alderson, that's cheating.
Demos' Story
I wasn't expecting his viewpoint. I was happy to see Ryder alive in this story. I liked that Demos is quite protective and considerate of Amber. Well, at least he thinks considerate thoughts. He doesn't actually spare her any pain. Demos is good at what he does and what started as a man motivated by revenge has slowly changed. He now enjoys the rush that he gets from his illicit activities.
Jack's Story
I thought Jack's story would be lame but I found myself choking up at the intense brotherly love he feels towards Lila. Agh! So sweet. Of course, he's her brother and can definitely be annoying too.
I don’t think I could handle my sister crushing on my best friend now that she has boobs.
I also really loved seeing Alex through Jack's eyes. I kind of miss the bromance between them now that it's Alex and Lila over Alex and Jack.
Alex is naturally suspicious – but that’s just his personality. He’d be suspicious of a piece of cheese. Though the cheese would never know it because Alex’s poker face is the reason I never play poker against him.
Even though Jack never says it, it's obvious that compared to Jack, Alex is smarter, smoother and basically so much cooler. I loved the way Alex has Jack's back and the way they're such a team.
On a side note, Lila apparently talks with a strange English/American accent. I like that, because for some unexplainable reason, I have one of those weird mixed accents too.
Out of the five short stories in this novella, only two of them are new. Ms. Alderson, that's cheating.
Demos' Story
I wasn't expecting his viewpoint. I was happy to see Ryder alive in this story. I liked that Demos is quite protective and considerate of Amber. Well, at least he thinks considerate thoughts. He doesn't actually spare her any pain. Demos is good at what he does and what started as a man motivated by revenge has slowly changed. He now enjoys the rush that he gets from his illicit activities.
Jack's Story
I thought Jack's story would be lame but I found myself choking up at the intense brotherly love he feels towards Lila. Agh! So sweet. Of course, he's her brother and can definitely be annoying too.
I don’t think I could handle my sister crushing on my best friend now that she has boobs.
I also really loved seeing Alex through Jack's eyes. I kind of miss the bromance between them now that it's Alex and Lila over Alex and Jack.
Alex is naturally suspicious – but that’s just his personality. He’d be suspicious of a piece of cheese. Though the cheese would never know it because Alex’s poker face is the reason I never play poker against him.
Even though Jack never says it, it's obvious that compared to Jack, Alex is smarter, smoother and basically so much cooler. I loved the way Alex has Jack's back and the way they're such a team.
On a side note, Lila apparently talks with a strange English/American accent. I like that, because for some unexplainable reason, I have one of those weird mixed accents too.
October 11, 2013
Amber's Story 1 Star Yup, it was that bad.
Demos's story 3 Stars Nice, but felt a bit inadequate.
Catching Suki 5 Stars I love Suki. I love her spunk.
Jack's story 3 Stars Again, nice but felt like it was missing chunks.
Alex's story 4.5 Stars The Moment part was so sweet - the events from his PoV leading up to it felt a bit redundant though.
All in all - a good collection to reminisce the series over but not mindblowingly awesome. Kinda like meh feelings.
Demos's story 3 Stars Nice, but felt a bit inadequate.
Catching Suki 5 Stars I love Suki. I love her spunk.
Jack's story 3 Stars Again, nice but felt like it was missing chunks.
Alex's story 4.5 Stars The Moment part was so sweet - the events from his PoV leading up to it felt a bit redundant though.
All in all - a good collection to reminisce the series over but not mindblowingly awesome. Kinda like meh feelings.
August 3, 2014
Fue muy entretenido leer parte de la historia desde el punto de vista de Jack, aunque reconozco que esta lectura fue un poco decepcionante, no porque sea mala, sino porque pensaba que continuaria narrando la historia de Lila y Alex, no que narraria lo que ya sabiamos pero desde otro punto de vista.
Aun asi fue una historia corta, ligera y muy interesante.
3 Estrellas!
December 6, 2017
Of Lila Shortcuts as a whole, I did enjoy reading five short stories from different characters' perspectives, none of whom were Lila. I do have a bone to pick with the editing, though, and the grammatical errors it left behind.
Turning Amber: 5 stars
Redeeming Demos: 3 stars
Catching Suki: 2 stars
Recruiting Jack: 4 stars
The Moment: 2 stars
Turning Amber was really fun and enjoyable. I loved reading more about Amber's abilities from her perspective. Particularly the chandelier imagery, that was beautiful.
Redeeming Demos: eh, there's not much to say. It's there. It's cool enough seeing the team in their early stages. That's pretty much it.
Catching Suki, I did not like at all. Suki and Nate were two of my favourite characters in the Lila books, but here they fell into weird stereotypes and caricatures, which I did not enjoy.
Recruiting Jack. I did actually like this one. As opposed to the some of the scenes in Catching Suki, I did enjoy reading these scenes from Jack's perspective. Particularly his observances of Alex and Lila.
The Moment. This one just sucked. I skimmed more or less the whole thing because it just regurgitated information from the Lila books without anything new to add from Alex's perspective, and the titular moment was such a small part.
Turning Amber: 5 stars
Redeeming Demos: 3 stars
Catching Suki: 2 stars
Recruiting Jack: 4 stars
The Moment: 2 stars
Turning Amber was really fun and enjoyable. I loved reading more about Amber's abilities from her perspective. Particularly the chandelier imagery, that was beautiful.
Redeeming Demos: eh, there's not much to say. It's there. It's cool enough seeing the team in their early stages. That's pretty much it.
Catching Suki, I did not like at all. Suki and Nate were two of my favourite characters in the Lila books, but here they fell into weird stereotypes and caricatures, which I did not enjoy.
Recruiting Jack. I did actually like this one. As opposed to the some of the scenes in Catching Suki, I did enjoy reading these scenes from Jack's perspective. Particularly his observances of Alex and Lila.
The Moment. This one just sucked. I skimmed more or less the whole thing because it just regurgitated information from the Lila books without anything new to add from Alex's perspective, and the titular moment was such a small part.
May 29, 2018
Redeeming Demos - 3.5*
Recruiting Jack - 3*
Recruiting Jack - 3*
November 27, 2023
3 Stars
December 29, 2023
I wish the stories in each POV were much longer! I love reading in Alex's and Jack's POV next to Lila's
June 22, 2026
Very unnecessary and repetitive. Do I need the same story from multiple POV? No.
November 25, 2014
A fun collection of short stories set in the Lila series.
It was good to read these five short stories that showed some insights into Jack, Demos, Amber, Suki and Alex’s characters. Since the main books were told from Lila’s perspective, most of the characterisation was focused on her, Jake, and Alex. It was interesting to see things from some ofther supporting character’s perspectives. Suki was highly entertaining as always. Demos was interesting – I liked the way the story was narrated as a letter he was writing to Jack. Amber’s story was probably the most insightful. I didn’t really get a lot of what her power was or how it worked in the main series so understanding a bit more about that was good. It was also great to see Ryder’s character again. I felt like he departed the series too quickly – before anyone even got the chance to know him – so it was good to see a bit more of what he was like.
Overall this was an entertaining and insightful set of short stories. I’d recommend reading them only if you’ve read the first two books in the Lila series and only if you’re curious about the characters – otherwise they’re not that crucial.
It was good to read these five short stories that showed some insights into Jack, Demos, Amber, Suki and Alex’s characters. Since the main books were told from Lila’s perspective, most of the characterisation was focused on her, Jake, and Alex. It was interesting to see things from some ofther supporting character’s perspectives. Suki was highly entertaining as always. Demos was interesting – I liked the way the story was narrated as a letter he was writing to Jack. Amber’s story was probably the most insightful. I didn’t really get a lot of what her power was or how it worked in the main series so understanding a bit more about that was good. It was also great to see Ryder’s character again. I felt like he departed the series too quickly – before anyone even got the chance to know him – so it was good to see a bit more of what he was like.
Overall this was an entertaining and insightful set of short stories. I’d recommend reading them only if you’ve read the first two books in the Lila series and only if you’re curious about the characters – otherwise they’re not that crucial.
November 26, 2013
An interesting view into the heads of the supporting characters. Much of Alex's story, Suki's story and Jack's story were a bit redundant as they described the same situation. We don't get anything extra except from Demos, Amber and Ryder's stories but each character had distinct voices and traits which could be inferred from their thoughts.
It's funny how Demos appears to everyone at first sight as a one dimensional cold-hearted baddie but his story revealed how complex of a character he was.
I would be on board reading a spinoff/alternate world (with their powers intact) story with Amber and Ryder! I didn't care for them in Hunting Lila or Losing Lila but their stories here were great. We got a look into a bit of their lives before and how they were recruited (using the term very loosely XD) by Demos.
It's funny how Demos appears to everyone at first sight as a one dimensional cold-hearted baddie but his story revealed how complex of a character he was.
I would be on board reading a spinoff/alternate world (with their powers intact) story with Amber and Ryder! I didn't care for them in Hunting Lila or Losing Lila but their stories here were great. We got a look into a bit of their lives before and how they were recruited (using the term very loosely XD) by Demos.
August 27, 2013
Ahhh another glimpse into the Lila world! I love how Sarah keeps adding to the Lila universe, giving us little snippets around the core story that help flesh it out even more. This collection of stories shows the perspective of some of the most intriguing characters in the the Lila world who perhaps don't get as much air time as our mains. I particularly liked hearing Amber's story as it gave so much more insight into why she was the way she was in the main Lila stories. What Sarah does so well is interweave all these characters and their stories pre-Hunting Lila so that all the loose ends are neatly tied up. It's a skill JK Rowling showed so perfectly in the Harry Potter novels, and Sarah excels at it meaning the Lila Shorcuts make the Lila story even richer.
June 28, 2015
No me gustó mucho, obviamente no agrega nada que no supiera o no muchas cosas. El punto de Jack bueno me hubiera gustado otro enfoque, quizás su relación con su hermana pero la historia es la misma.
Supongo que está bien para los que les gustaron los libros como a mi pero me aburrió un poco.
Http://ClaryWayland.blogspot.com
Supongo que está bien para los que les gustaron los libros como a mi pero me aburrió un poco.
Http://ClaryWayland.blogspot.com
October 15, 2015
Cute mini stories that don't really add too much to the main story- I did get spoiled tho- so don't read demos if you've only read the first book- Hunting Lila. Not sure when the "spoiler" comes out but I'm guessing in book two. But it wasn't that big a spoiler to me because I already suspected this, so I was like - oh ok. So I was right.
September 7, 2013
I really enjoyed these shorts from other perspectives. I especially enjoyed getting to read some from Alex's point of view and would really enjoy reading more from his perspective. I recommend this book to any fans of the Lila series.
September 28, 2014
This was an interesting look into the events that happened before Hunting Lila, and set the background quite nicely.
6 out of 10
6 out of 10
October 14, 2013
Really cool collection of short stories for some of my favourite misunderstood side characters.
October 31, 2013
An interesting view into the heads of the supporting characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2013
Nothing much to say. Not much in the book. Kind ve disappointed there wasnt a little bit more!
January 13, 2014
I want more. I adore this series!! There needs to be like 30 other novels!
May 22, 2015
Saber que Demos tiene corazón fue interesante! Y Jack oh chico, quieor más! :/
October 11, 2016
Just several short stories, not bad, not extremely good. Definitely better read after reading Lila thought. Ehm.
October 10, 2013
I love all these little short stories. They give the characters so much more depth.
July 9, 2014
I absolutely adored this selection of novellas. Seriously love this series :)
August 17, 2015
Amor por esta serie♡
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews