Hello everyone! There's just a few days before the end of the year, and thus, just a few days left to meet your Goodreads / reading goal for the year. If you're like me, sometimes you need a few books on the shorter side to help you meet that goal.
So, if you're looking for a list of such short books, this is the blog post for you. All of these are short stories that I've personally read and enjoyed, and they are all on Goodreads so you can count them towards your challenge. Some of them you can get for free by subscribing to the authors newsletter!
(Apologies if the cover images are a little blurry, there's not a lot I can do about that. Obviously none of these covers except the one at the bottom belong to me.)
John is like any other teenage boy, except for the fact he was born invisible. Thanks to his father’s freak experiment, he’s a ghost hovering in the midst of a visible world.
Right at the height of the war, two mechanical soldiers show up on the home front looking for the boy no one has seen—and use him in a battle he doesn’t want to fight.
After John flees to a world where no one knows he exists, one young girl discovers who he is and convinces him to stay. But when his father and the mechanical men catch up to him, he must decide between the visibility he’s always longed for and the friendship of the one person who’s ever truly seen him.
Genre: Christian Fantasy / Steampunk
This was such a unique novella, and I devoured it all in one day. There were so many quotable lines, amazing themes, and suspense. You ache for John <3 This is the longest short story on this list, but I highly recommend reading it as a story to finish out the year. And look at that gorgeous cover! The story inside is just as beautiful. This is a story you can get for free by subscribing to the author's newsletter, but it is a story I would pay money for, this is no last minute newsletter short story.
Twenty-year-old Fi'eren Smith is eager to deliver his first real commission to the Looms at the Plonthian abbey — a set of charmed silverware that bears his magic! He has grand dreams of gaining a good reputation and becoming a successful silversmith just like his Emph Hesh before him. But when he runs into a beautiful half-human girl and scatters his precious silverware across the kitchen floor, have his dreams shattered before they began? Or is a whole new adventure about to start?
Genre: Christian Romantasy
I first met Laura Cheever on Instagram and she writes Christian romance between already married couples. This short story is how her two main characters in her Fralsingdor Chronicles met! It's short, cute, and sweet. So if you this unique style of romance appeals to you, you'll definitely want to check this author out. (Even if you think it doesn't appeal to you. You might be surprised...) You can also get this short story for free by subscribing to her newsletter.
EYE OF THE STORM is an allegorical, fantasy short story that follows a broken girl trapped in a storm of fiery ash. She's driven by one mission, to find the eye of the storm and the relief it promises. A battle between hope and darkness is waged as she must choose between fighting to survive or succumbing to the storm that continues to tear her apart.
Genre: Christian Allegorical Fantasy
I don't have a review up on Goodreads yet for this one, but it's really good. It might be the shortest short story here, at 18 pages, but it packs its own punch, sucking you into a world made of swirling ash and a girl desperate to escape it, who won't stop fighting, but maybe it's only when she stops fighting... It's like Beneath the Willow Tree in its allegorical nature and with its gorgeous cover.
A limp. A scuff. A cowardly heart.
Jane is a doll struggling with all these things. She and her friend Isabel, a blind stuffed kitten, spend their days in the corner of their shelf, watching the other toys in the shop play – and wishing they could be like them.
Why did the Toymaker create them flawed? Surely it was an accident. One day, Jane sets off to find his workshop, eager to be fixed, and to bring him back for Isabel.
But the journey is hard and the road long. How can such a weak doll ever reach the Toymaker? And how will he respond if she does? What Jane learns will change her life forever.
A touching tale of perseverance, love, and purpose.
Genre: Christian Allegorical Fantasy
Another Christian allegorical fantasy story! (Anyone noticing a theme?) This one was literally so sweet and yet so encouraging. It uplifted my heart. You will endeared to both Jane and Isabel <3 <3 It's kinda like a fairy tale in the way it reads and feels. You can get this one for free by subscribing to the author's newsletter, or you can buy it on Amazon for 0.99c.
A short story within the world of Rhentarri and set in pre-war Tufaltha, a town on the edge of the Varjaw. This tale, at once heartwarming and heartbreaking, guides the reader through profound considerations about life, suffering, death, and eternal bliss -- all from the point of view of sweet Maj, a simple Tufalthan girl who happens upon the mysterious creature named Piloncilus.
Genre: Christian Fantasy
This short story <3 is filled with wisdom, a little humor, and a bittersweet ending that still satisfies. It is as the blurb says: this story contains the deep themes of life, suffering, pain, death, and eternity, contained in the simple form of a story about a girl who finds a creature who's fallen through the stars and takes care of him. It sounds strange, and it is in a way, but it is also achingly beautiful.
(Also, I've known this Catholic author and his work for awhile, and I was so happy to hear he'd finally published a short story from the world of his Eagle and Ceder Trilogy. I'll be trying to wait patiently until the first book in that series comes out 😉 )
What he says he can do should be as impossible as the trust he's asking her to give.
In a world ruled by the Mark of Disace, Nova has learned to never trust anyone. Betrayal and pain are etched in her memory as the Mark is on her skin. Her one solace is the sheltering arms of a willow tree at dusk, after the long, hard days she lives.
But when she discovers a Mark-less man, everything she thought she knew is upended. The freedom he offers her should be impossible, but then again, a Mark-less man shouldn't exist either. Her past stands as reminder of what trust has cost her, and to break fear's bonds on her seems just as impossible as what he says he can do.
As things become harder, she'll have to decide whether a chance at freedom is worth risking betrayal another time. This Mark-less Man may cost her the trust she never wanted to give anyone again.
But He may also give her something no one ever has.
Genre: Christian Allegorical Fantasy
cough What? Did you think I could make a post like this and not mention my own short story?
Beneath the Willow Tree is a story all about pain, trust, and redemption. It's similar to Eye of the Storm and The Toymaker's Doll. So, I'd appreciate it if you'd check it out along with the rest of these short stories 😉 You can read the first half for free by subscribing to my newsletter!
dusts hands off Well, there you have it, six short stories to help you meet your Goodreads challenge or reading goal! I wish you all the best as you try to achieve it!
Until the next post, may you be blessed,
Abby 💜