The Pixie Fix

by R. Parr

The Pixie Fix: an m/m young adult fairy tale short story.

It’s the last day of high school and lonely Goth boy Jonah is still single. However, a chance meeting with Cador: a cheeky pixie, might help Jonah with his love life.

Word count: 4,672 words.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fae, Contemporary

20 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2019

About the author

Hi, I’m R. Parr!

I live in Melbourne, Victoria, on the Eastern coast of Australia. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours in English) and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University.

I enjoy sketching, reading detective fiction and romance, using my slow cooker, listening to rain fall on the roof whilst I’m snuggling under the doona and hanging out with family and friends.

My novel Toy has been nominated Best Debut novel and Best Sex Industry novel by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group Members' Choice Awards Best of 2019.

I can be contacted by email on: r.parr.author@gmail.com

Note: For illustrations, pinch and zoom. My illustrations are in colour, which won't show up on a standard Kindle or Kindle Paperwhite eReader. You can view in colour with the Kindle App on your phone, tablet or desktop, or with a Kindle Fire device.

Reviews

[Ser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a free copy of the book by the author in exchange for an honest review, through the MMRG Don’t Buy My Love Program.

My first take on this short story is that it is humorous, pretty well-written, and sweet. It worked for me because it made me laugh to myself and smile about the happy ending. It checked all my boxes. There was a happy ending. I liked the characters. The writing didn't impede my enjoyment of the story with bad grammar or a writing style that I didn't like. It made me laugh. It had sweet/funny secondary character interactions. (Personal disclaimer, as you can see, I don't have that many boxes.)

But even as I was grinning to myself because of how sweet the story is, it occurred to me that the whole story is almost too easy:

Boy pines for basketball player.
Boy meets pixie.
Pixie intercedes.
Boy discovers basketball player has been pining for him too.
Happily ever after...

I think short stories are really hard to write because it is challenging to fit meaningful problems and well developed solutions into 20 pages. If you are looking for complex plot and lots of character development and growth and surprising twists, this probably isn't for you.

But if you are looking for a short, sweet, fun read that involves a touch of the ridiculous, a pixie-engineered water fight, a pair of secondary characters edging toward their own romance, a best friend who's matter of fact about his friend being gay and positive about his friend finally getting the boy and a cute happy ending, this might be for you.

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm never usually a fan of short stories, as I need a lot of time to explore the world and bond with the characters. So I almost decided to skip this one, but I am so glad I didn't. This story was so light, humorous and fun, it had me smiling. I thought it was very well written. The protagonist is so likeable and also totally relatable, (I also had a habit of forgetting about food and leaving it in different places to rot, eww!) too scared to ask out his crush, who hasn't been there? He also threw a bit of shade at a very popular band, I just so happen to really dislike too. Jonah and I would get along so well! Although, I am not at all a fan of crude humor, so I definitely could have done without the pixie being so horny, all in all I enjoyed this short read. It was full of corn and cheese and I loved it :)

[Taya:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story short but a cute one. I read my first novel by this author few months ago and I've been itching to read more by them. This book really covers a suspension of disbelief moment between two boys near the end of their senior year of high school. Like the last book, I enjoyed my time.

This book was provided for free by the author in exchange for an honest review via the MMRGP Don’t Buy My Love.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, just because there's not much to it. It's sweet and I enjoyed the humor, but it's really just one scene. I read it for free (and it's on K/U) so it was enjoyable, but I would have been upset if I'd paid for it. Nice setup but no real payoff...

[Kats & Koffee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. It was a nice short story but nothing really interesting about it. A boy named Jonah, who is secretly and hopelessly in love with another boy named Peter, meets a pixie named Cador who is set out to do one good deed. Naturally the pixie helps the two boys get together through a series of mishaps and then they go out on a date. There wasn't really anything about this story that grabbed my attention. It was a little humorous but the plot was almost like a terrible Disney Channel storyline. Thankfully it was a short and easy read.

[R. Parr]

(Review by author). This short story is a change of pace from my previous contemporary romances, as it is a young adult fairy tale. I hope you enjoy it! Cheers, R. Parr.