Howdy bookworms and bibliophiles,

Thanks for stopping by again. I’m on a serious roll this week with reads, and it’s only Tuesday! I love it when you’re on that sweet reading roll, don’t you?

Anywho, I finished a short story yesterday called A Kiss with Teeth by Max Gladstone.

Fun fact, this is another freebie, yay!

Tor seriously has quite the sweet hookup for free reads, and I just keep coming back for more.

If you’d like to read this book for free, simply click here.

I didn’t know anything about the author, so I just dove in. Huzzah!

Blurb

Vlad has grown distant from his wife. His son has trouble at school. And he has to keep his sharp teeth hidden.

GoodReads

The Review

I give this short story four and a half fangtastic stars!

This was a great short story.

In a nutshell, a vampire struggles with his marriage while trying to make sure his son succeeds at school, all while resisting the urge to feed. What a nightmare!

The characters were great. We got a lot of great information about Vlad our MC, and none of the backstory felt like an info dump. He’s been so used to his 9 to 5 life that when his hunger and restlessness comes back with a vengeance it’s really hard for him to control. It was great seeing that struggle as well as the strained interactions with his family and others.

The concept and plot was simple. Dysfunctional family with a vampire dad? Sign me up! Vlad’s feeling a bit estranged and is going through the motions of figuring out what he needs and why he’s feeling so off. While this wasn’t too action-packed, we get little displays of Vlad’s power, and I seriously enjoyed every bit of that. The story had depth, which is hard to pull off for a short story.

I really enjoyed the writing style, which felt poetic at times, but didn’t have much purple prose if any.

If I had to pick at anything, there were bits in the beginning that tripped me up with the writing, but it wasn’t anything too serious.

In the end, this was a great short story that blew me out of the water. Can’t recommend more!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this short story review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this story? Are there other short stories you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

***

Can’t get enough of Jaunts & Haunts?

Subscribe to my newsletter for in-depth updates on my writing, reading, and watching experiences, special deals, and important announcements regarding upcoming publications.

Also, feel free to check me out at the social media links below!

***

Facebook | GoodReads | Tumblr | Instagram