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A Bottle of Glass Hearts: A Short Story Collection
From RJ Conte, weaver of deep, emotional fiction, comes a touching collection of short stories about love and unique relationships - including the bestselling Lucent Sylph!
GEM:
When Soleil is hired as caretaker to a young boy born with superhuman powers, it's up to her hope and optimism to help him survive his dangerous destiny - stopping the core earthquake that will destroy the world.
HIS BOTTLES OF TEARS
Her daughter has left the faith, and her heart is dashed in pieces. Then Jesus shows her a room full of bottles in a dream - vessels filled with tears, carrying stories she will never forget.
And one of them is her own.
CURLS FOR RAE
Rae has the most beautiful hair in the world… and the saddest eyes. Every week she returns to Blaine’s hairdressing shop, saying hardly a word. As he transforms her into the beauty of his dreams, she cries in silence. His heart breaks for her secret sorrow, and he longs to discover the mystery behind her tears.
AINE, STARWARRIOR
For centuries, Aine and her magnificent kindred have protected the skies from vast, galaxy-sized threats. But her fiercest battle yet will determine the fate of thousands on the unsuspecting planets below. Will she have the creativity and fortitude to defeat this newest enemy?
LUCENT SYLPH
Lucas Thissel has something he fears: an alien species of palm-sized glass fairies called Lucent Sylphs. They came through a portal from a metaphysical dimension, and they indenture themselves as slaves to human beings. Too much neglect or unkindness, and they will cloud over and disintegrate. Too much love and their hearts are overcome and burst.
And one has attached herself to him.
GEM:
When Soleil is hired as caretaker to a young boy born with superhuman powers, it's up to her hope and optimism to help him survive his dangerous destiny - stopping the core earthquake that will destroy the world.
HIS BOTTLES OF TEARS
Her daughter has left the faith, and her heart is dashed in pieces. Then Jesus shows her a room full of bottles in a dream - vessels filled with tears, carrying stories she will never forget.
And one of them is her own.
CURLS FOR RAE
Rae has the most beautiful hair in the world… and the saddest eyes. Every week she returns to Blaine’s hairdressing shop, saying hardly a word. As he transforms her into the beauty of his dreams, she cries in silence. His heart breaks for her secret sorrow, and he longs to discover the mystery behind her tears.
AINE, STARWARRIOR
For centuries, Aine and her magnificent kindred have protected the skies from vast, galaxy-sized threats. But her fiercest battle yet will determine the fate of thousands on the unsuspecting planets below. Will she have the creativity and fortitude to defeat this newest enemy?
LUCENT SYLPH
Lucas Thissel has something he fears: an alien species of palm-sized glass fairies called Lucent Sylphs. They came through a portal from a metaphysical dimension, and they indenture themselves as slaves to human beings. Too much neglect or unkindness, and they will cloud over and disintegrate. Too much love and their hearts are overcome and burst.
And one has attached herself to him.
186 pages, Paperback
Published January 30, 2018
About the author
R.J. Conte
17 books35 followersRJ Conte has kissed only one boy in her entire life - and she married him - inspiring her to write about sweet or powerful love stories ever since. She writes issue-driven fiction that explores human nature and the depths of the soul while pointing readers to their Creator.
She writes a blog on parenting, publishing, painting, and perorating at http://blonderj.wordpress.com/
She writes a blog on parenting, publishing, painting, and perorating at http://blonderj.wordpress.com/
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 17, 2018
Ahhh I LOVED Gem! Goodness, I was tearing up almost crying by the end of it! I really really liked Gem. He was an interesting character and had a lot of personality. I also really liked his caretaker and her compassion for Gem. A great short story!
I highlighted so many places in His Bottles of Tears. What an encouraging story! No words can describe the feeling I had when reading the final sentence and that the Lord loves me, in times of good and times of pain.
Curls for Rae was such a beautiful story of healing and absolutely loved the dedication. So touching! It was a fun read too in that I greatly loved hearing Blaine's POV as a male hairdresser. He was so thoughtful and loved how he did Rae's hair (the experience I mean). Another fantastic story!
Though Aine, Starwarrior is the shortest it might be one of my favorites. Loved loved loved the story! A beautiful backdrop and kick-butt starwarrior where this line sums her up perfectly: "She spun planets in orbit, and threw stars like knives." Such a good story and definitely wouldn't mind rereading again!
Ahhhh Lucent Sylph was such a touching story! Goodness, I didn't expect to cry, but it was so beautiful. I greatly related to Lucas and loved how his story ended. A powerful reminder to me to keep loving others and not be afraid to show that love. Such a fantastic and tear-jerking story!
I highlighted so many places in His Bottles of Tears. What an encouraging story! No words can describe the feeling I had when reading the final sentence and that the Lord loves me, in times of good and times of pain.
Curls for Rae was such a beautiful story of healing and absolutely loved the dedication. So touching! It was a fun read too in that I greatly loved hearing Blaine's POV as a male hairdresser. He was so thoughtful and loved how he did Rae's hair (the experience I mean). Another fantastic story!
Though Aine, Starwarrior is the shortest it might be one of my favorites. Loved loved loved the story! A beautiful backdrop and kick-butt starwarrior where this line sums her up perfectly: "She spun planets in orbit, and threw stars like knives." Such a good story and definitely wouldn't mind rereading again!
Ahhhh Lucent Sylph was such a touching story! Goodness, I didn't expect to cry, but it was so beautiful. I greatly related to Lucas and loved how his story ended. A powerful reminder to me to keep loving others and not be afraid to show that love. Such a fantastic and tear-jerking story!
January 15, 2019
Conte has excellent and touching story ideas. These stories had a wonderful feel, completely sucking me in, and made it hard to put the book down. Creative, interesting, and *warm.* That kind of quality made the small complaints I had rather insignificant. BUT, I did have some negative thoughts, too, which I should probably mention.
I felt that 3/5 of the stories had characters that were overwhelmed with emotions and feelings of affection/attachment that didn't seem realistic. But, that's me. Maybe it's simply not my way, so it stands out as "odd."
That's one of the difficulties of short stories, I suppose. Fitting a lot into little.
I also felt like religious concepts were shoved in unnaturally. I'm absolutely NOT against religion or Christianity, but sometimes it can feel weird in fiction if it's not integral to the story. It then comes across as gratuitous. :o) But, this is a subjective thing. It can seem integral to one, but not to the other. :o)
I don't remember hardly any typos, but the book could stand to have formatting amended. Smaller line spacing and a look-over of the alignment in the front and back matter would be a good thing, I think, to tighten up the appearance. As it is, those things immediately caught my eye and gave me a negative perception of the book before I even read it.
The cover is gorgeous!!!
Overall, I'd recommend the book. While I list negative thoughts, my feelings about it are very positive. I just thought it paid to note both sides of my thinking.
I felt that 3/5 of the stories had characters that were overwhelmed with emotions and feelings of affection/attachment that didn't seem realistic. But, that's me. Maybe it's simply not my way, so it stands out as "odd."
That's one of the difficulties of short stories, I suppose. Fitting a lot into little.
I also felt like religious concepts were shoved in unnaturally. I'm absolutely NOT against religion or Christianity, but sometimes it can feel weird in fiction if it's not integral to the story. It then comes across as gratuitous. :o) But, this is a subjective thing. It can seem integral to one, but not to the other. :o)
I don't remember hardly any typos, but the book could stand to have formatting amended. Smaller line spacing and a look-over of the alignment in the front and back matter would be a good thing, I think, to tighten up the appearance. As it is, those things immediately caught my eye and gave me a negative perception of the book before I even read it.
The cover is gorgeous!!!
Overall, I'd recommend the book. While I list negative thoughts, my feelings about it are very positive. I just thought it paid to note both sides of my thinking.
January 24, 2019
Glass hearts indeed.
A Bottle of Glass Hearts by RJ Conte, is a collection of sweet and emotionally charged short stories. There are multiple genres represented, sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary. Each of these stories touched me .
My favorite was probably the science fiction story Gem, about a psychic child who has to be the savior of his planet.
A Bottle of Glass Hearts is a short read that will stay with you for a long time.
A Bottle of Glass Hearts by RJ Conte, is a collection of sweet and emotionally charged short stories. There are multiple genres represented, sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary. Each of these stories touched me .
My favorite was probably the science fiction story Gem, about a psychic child who has to be the savior of his planet.
A Bottle of Glass Hearts is a short read that will stay with you for a long time.
February 27, 2020
Beautiful stories on varied topics telling of deep love and sacrifice, all with a note of fantasy or sci-fi transforming even the most mundane of situations. An enchanting read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews