The Other Man by Selah Janel

OTHER
The Other Man by Selah Janel
Publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (22 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

All Andrew wanted was the typical American dream: a good career, a nice house, and a loving family. Instead, he has a dead-end job, a cramped apartment, and children who remind him of creatures out of a sci-fi movie. He’s also well aware that he’s not the only man who inhabits his wife’s thoughts and daily life. How can he put up a fight when he’s reminded of the competition every time Bethany turns on the CD player? After one eventful evening meal when expectations, disappointments, and secrets collide, life will never be the same.

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Andrew’s character development was well done. His anger and frustration showed up right away, and his reasons for having those feelings made me sympathize with him even though I didn’t always agree with the choices that he made. What I found most interesting about this character, though, was how much time Ms. Janel gave him to show the audience who he was. Andrew is the kind of person who isn’t easy to figure out at all, so allowing his personality to seep into so many parts of the plot was a smart decision.

I would have liked to see more attention paid to the dialogue. The parents and the little girl in this story all have the same speaking style. This isn’t something I’d expect to find in a business person, a stay-at-home parent, and a five-year-old because their life experiences are so different from one another. It was most surprising to see the girl speak so similarly to her parents. Some of the words she used didn’t sound like things a child that age would say. Had all three of their voices been distinct, I would have given this story a much higher rating.

The descriptions of the small, shabby apartment where Andrew and his family lived made me shudder. The narrator spent so much time showing why this home irritated Andrew that I could imagine its mismatched possessions and sticky furniture perfectly. This is one of those occasions when knowing exactly what the setting looks like is extremely important to understanding why the plot unfolds the way it does. I’m glad that the author spent as much time on these descriptions as she did.

The Other Man kept me guessing until the end. This is a good choice for anyone who likes mysteries that don’t reveal their secrets easily.

Holly and Ivy by Selah Janel

HOLLY
Holly and Ivy by Selah Janel
Publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press, LLC
Genre: Contemporary, Holiday, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (158 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

After losing her job and her boyfriend, Holly returns to her parents’ farm. Embarrassed and hopeless, she doesn’t expect to bump into a forgotten childhood friend that wasn’t supposed to exist. Ivy is not only a dryad, but she lives in the pine trees Holly’s family grows to sell at Christmas. As the old friends reconnect, Ivy not only shares her strong opinions, but gives Holly a charm that will change both their lives. As days melt into weeks and the seasons change, Holly’s life magically turns around. Christmas not only brings surprises, but a choice for the human woman. What’s more important: stability, success, and love, or keeping a promise to an old friend?

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A walk in the fresh air takes her to her favorite place, the Christmas tree plantation her parents run as a sideline. Her troubles disappear when she meets Ivy, her childhood friend who just happens to be a dryad.

Holly is portrayed extremely well as the heart broken woman with no dreams of the future. Ivy is typically a mischievous dryad, but she also has a solemn side to her nature. This lighthearted book brought me the warmth of Christmas and made me think of knitted sweaters, hot chocolate and singing carols. All the old fashioned stuff. Then of course there’s the romance, but if I mentioned that it would bring a spoiler into play.

Well written and the characters became so true to life it was almost as if I was there with them.

I would happily recommend this book to my friends and it’s just the thing to stuff into a Christmas stocking. It would definitely put my friends in the mood for the festive season.

Holly and Ivy by Selah Janel

IVY
Holly and Ivy by Selah Janel
Publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (34 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After losing her job and her boyfriend, Holly returns to her parents’ farm. Embarrassed and hopeless, she doesn’t expect to bump into a forgotten childhood friend that wasn’t supposed to exist. Ivy is not only a dryad, but she lives in the pine trees Holly’s family grows to sell at Christmas. As the old friends reconnect, Ivy not only shares her strong opinions, but gives Holly a charm that will change both their lives. As days melt into weeks and the seasons change, Holly’s life magically turns around. Christmas not only brings surprises, but a choice for the human woman. What’s more important: stability, success, and love, or keeping
a promise to an old friend?

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Holly was such an interesting protagonist. Her reactions to the unfair things that had happened to her recently only made me like this character more because of how realistically those scenes were written. I empathized with her unhappiness in the beginning and really hoped that she’d figure out a way to start her life over again. It was a lot of fun to see what she did with her life after she moved back home with her parents.

There was a plot hole that was only ever partially explained. I would have really liked to read a full explanation of how it worked so that I could understand why the author chose to write it this way. All of the other elements of this tale were irresistible to me. Had I been able to figure out why this one part of it seemed to contradict other details that the narrator had shared earlier on, I would have selected a much higher rating for it.

One of the things I appreciated the most about Ivy was how unusual her thought processes were. Her assumptions about how the world works weren’t the same as the ones Holly made at all, and that is exactly what I would expect to see from a dryad. She was definitely one of the highlights of this story for me!

I’d recommend Holly and Ivy to anyone who enjoys contemporary fantasy.