Copy by David Wailing

This is the fifth in the Auto series of short stories.  In saying they are short stories, they are all a decent length.  I really liked this one.  

The tech in this story is electronic books and yet again David Wailing seems to have nailed a future that sounds oh so true.

As with the other stories in this series, the story starts off gentle, introducing us to eeBooks (enhanced electronic books) before ramping the tension up.

I loved the autos in the car and also some of the book names.

Again, a wonderful if scary version of the future.  

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B0I15EG/?tag=jookuf-21

Teatime Twists by Jennifer Hanning

Teatime Twists is a collection of 5 short stories.  But with a twist at the end.

It is a competent collection, very readable and if you don't think about them too much, then the twists come out of nowhere.  If you pick them to pieces before the reveals, then I'm sure you can do a 180 and predict them.

I enjoyed all of the stories, usually in a collection, there's one or two you don't like, but not in this one.  This book is very different to Jennifer Hanning's "What Happened to Polly" which I thought was superb, but is a good indication of Jennifer's writing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007STGRK8/?tag=jookuf-21

Five Short Stories by Cecilia Peartree

As it says on the tin, this is a book of five short stories.  Three of them are based in Pitkirtly, two of the stories I'd read before.  I love the inhabitants of Pitkirtly and am always eager to read more about them.

Apocalypse Ready:  This is the perfect story of how ready some of the inhabitants of Pitkirtly are for The End Of The World.  As I finished it, I felt I knew that was how it would be as the story suits the characters.

Recycled:  Amarylis (from Pitkirtly) shows just how mean she can be with her darker side.

A Romantic Quest:  I enjoyed this when I read it in a kuforum anthology and am pleased to find out the characters will get their own novel.  As I read it again, I knew I wanted to find out more about them.

Special:  Some of the Pitkirtly gang go on a Mystery Tour.  Of course things don't go to plan.  I wouldn't want them to.

Apocalypse Decoded:  Where Him upstairs tells him downstairs he has 4 days to plan the Apocalypse.  I really enjoyed this one.  Middle management will never seem the same.

In summary, this is quite a short book, but I liked every single story.  I don't often like all the stories in an anthology.  If you've read any Pitkirtly books, these are great extras.  If you haven't, then these are great tasters.  It's also proof that Cecilia Peartree is not a one story author.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AKYD35U/?tag=jookuf-21

Summer Shorts by KUF

This anthology from kuforum authors is a collection of summer stories.

As with any group of authors / short stories, some will be favoured more than others.

Since most of these authors are in my top 10 favourite indie authors I rate this book very highly.

Even the story themes I didn't like so much were very well written.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008NPJNOS?tag=kuffbl-21

Shades of Grey by Michael Cargill

This is an anthology of three short stories.  In saying short stories, they are a decent length, not too short.
They are three stories about survival.  The stories are completely unrelated but with the same underlying theme.

For me the first one was OK.  But definitely good enough for me to want more.
The second one, John in WWII, was so vividly written, I could picture it so well.  I felt I was there with him.
The third story was my favourite.  It was so creepy as the story progressed.

I found the flow of writing to be superb.  There was nothing to pull you up short or stop you to wonder what was meant.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007BFJ45E/?tag=kuffbl-21

On The Rocks by Rosen Trevithick

This story is a surprisingly easy read as is all of Rosen's stories.  Even though the subject matter is something that most people don't think about, it's dealt with in a compasionate way.

Meg is about to jump of a cliff as her undiagnosed mental illness makes her not want to live any more.  Poppy comes across her and befriends her and helps her to understand her illness.  It sounds depressing but isn't.  It does pull at your heart at times.

Before discovering Rosen, I'd not thought about mental illness, but I feel Rosen helps you to understand it.

I'd read this as part of Seesaw which has to be one of my Books of the Year.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0067A8KP4/?tag=kuffbl-21

Timeline by David Wailing

Timeline is another short story set in the same world as Relationship Status.

I suppose it is similarish to Relationship Status in that the autos are taking over a human's life choices.  I felt this one had more tension  I read it in one sitting (well one lying as I read it in bed lol) and I was on the edge of my proverbial seat as Joanna was racing across London.

It was a decent length for a short story.  Just short of 1k locations translates to about ten thousand words.  The length was perfectly suited to this story, but I want more from Mr Wailing.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0083RL0VA/?tag=kuffbl-21

Burden of Proof by Linda Gruchy

This is a short tale of some characters from Linda’s books Death in Spigg’s Wood and Death in Flitbury Marsh.  If you have read these books it gives a bit of history of why the two characters dislike each other.  If you haven’t then it’s a nice little taster of Linda’s writing and the world of Elversford.

The other two shorts with this book are interesting tales with twists.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007Y6DR3A/

The Other Daughter by Rosen Trevithick

The Other Daughter by Rosen Trevithick tells the tale of a young girl who’s sister has been abducted.

In the news we hear all about the missing child and the parents, but what about the siblings left behind?  The ones that are too young to remember the missing sibling?  The ones that don’t have a “normal” life?

Whilst you’d think this would be a harrowing tale it’s not really.  And if you liked this story, you absolutely must get Seesaw to read more of Rosen’s short tales.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006R5LUHO/

Roulette by David Wailing

Roulette and Players are short stories in the life of Scott Rowley, Relationship Assassin (as seen in Bang)

Some people like Scott, some people think he is someone to cross the road from.  Either way, his antics are interesting to read about.

Roulette has Scott in full on RA mode at a speed dating event, whilst Players seems to show what Scott does on a night off.  Except he never really has a night off.

I like the way David’s stories flow whether they are a full length novel or a shorter adventure.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007UQ8K4K/

Relationship Status by David Wailing

This is a short story that was originally published in the KUF anthology Hearts and Arrows.  It's a decent length for a short, definitely not flash fiction.

Even though the theme was Valentine, it could easily have been in the Halloween edition.  It's about how social media could be in the near future and is very scary indeed.  You could really see it happening as portrayed and hope to goodness it doesn't.

The tenseness was ramped up and I felt myself reading quicker and quicker as the story built up to it's climax.


www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007RGCX5A/

Seesaw by Rosen Trevithick

I've mentioned in reviews before about Rosen being able to write across genres and this collection of short stories and flash fiction reinforces that belief.

Some of these stories have been published on their own and are readable in their own right, but unlike another reviewer, I thought this collection went well together.  Just like the title says, this is a seesaw ride.  The ups are oh so funny, the downs are quite heartbreaking.  I am not ashamed to say I was in tears more than once.  The last story (not flash fiction) just blew me away when I got to it.

This is definitely the best collection of stories I've read in a long while and I'm sure I will read them again.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES READ THIS IN PUBLIC (you will cry, I guarantee it)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007GC5J9M/

Wargeld and Other Stories by Linda Gruchy

I came to this having just read Death in Spigg's Wood - a full length novel by this author.

My only complaint would be that the book is a bit short, but only because all the stories were really enjoyable and I could have kept reading them.

Linda is an extremely competant writer, making her stories very readable and very enjoyable.

I think I liked "Mollie Coddled" the best

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006V3YM2C

Hearts and Arrows by KUF Authors

I have just finished reading this and am wondering which story was my favourite and it's hard to pick one. They are all different, yet good in their own way.

I have read novels by four of these authors and have rated them all at least 4 stars.

The other authors are on my radar even more now.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00764VOT4/