One Of Many Lives Books 15: A Collection by A. Carys

One Of Many Lives Books 15: A Collection Reviews

• 
  B. Williams

  Seeing as there are five different novellas included I chose to write singular reviews after each one. Overall I found that this author was creative and had a unique approach in every story that she told. She shone in her descriptions but sometimes lacked in world building that made me wish these were full novels. She’s certainly earned a new fan, however, and I will continue to follow her work.
  
  1
  
  The story is short, action packed, and moves along quickly the pacing not allowing for any sort of real pause. Which keeps things interesting. It does lack some description throughout in order to provide more world building and scene setting but it’s not noticeable unless one’s really looking for that. But the opening is absolutely beautiful and draws you in to the point you have to see what happens to give that result. Overall it’s a fun little sci-fi romp that left me satisfied and looking for more from this author. The twist at the end sent me reeling and the writing is beautifully done. I was sad there wasn’t more.
  
  2
  
  Built around a sapphic romance between a princess and a thief (who had a high ranking father once) you get to see the short growth of their relationship within the novel. It does lack length as a novella and I wished that we could see some more world building. One thing that was truly unclear was what time period we were in or what technology was truly available. Some things were highly advanced and yet there was still a monarchy which seemed slightly more archaic. Dialogue was believable and the writing in this one was done well but simply not up to par with the first book in the series. I am still interested and will be moving on to book three which I hope will be more of a match to the first.
  
  3
  
  This novella is an exploration of ‘gifted’ individuals, specifically one in general. Throughout we follow Nesryn as she struggles to adjust to a world of new realities as she’s ripped from everything she knows. The progression is too quick and lacks a bit of world building as far as seeing other gifted but the writing is not repetitive. The ‘escape’ scene is well done in exploring how and where the characters go. The ending to me made me a bit unsure as it wraps up in a way that doesn’t allow for a lot more exploration with this specific character but I’m sure it could be done easily. This could easily be expanded into a full novel and I really felt it needed it to show everything that was happening.
  
  But there were points of delicious tension, quick pacing and excitement, and I was intently curious throughout. I would recommend this one to anyone who likes dystopian novels.
  
  4
  
  The twist is one I should have seen coming in this novel and yet when I read it I found my jaw dropping as I realized just where the author was going with this one. I found the premise for this novella to be interesting in its approach to magic and the capabilities of the FMC. I wish it had been longer in order to expand upon those ideas as well as what happens next. It was a bit exposition heavy up front and it isn’t always clear on the world building but it’s a fun read that picks up pace just as it’s about to end leaving room for so much more.
  
  5
  
  Throughout the novella we get to see into the inside of the circus. These little snippets of the shows provide the reader something to really latch onto. They are creative and it’s really easy to see what’s happening inside your mind while witnessing these scenes.
  
  The premise of the circus with its magic involvement could’ve been explored a little bit more in depth. With that being said, it is a novella so you don’t see a lot of lag in it as you move through the time periods.
  
  Having read quite a bit from this author, I can say that she really does shine when it comes to exploring the descriptions of the inner worlds she creates. So this piece offering that strength highlights the reasons that I began to read her work. Being the fifth in a series of completely different premises I found this one to be one of the strongest and most enjoyable. It makes me excited to see what comes next.