Glitch by Hugh Howey

Glitch 
by Hugh Howey

Kindle Edition, 15 pages

Published June 16th 2014 by Broad Reach Publishing

When a robot defies his programming, is he broken? Or is he something else? 

A short story of 5,000 words.

Glitch by Hugh Howey was a short story I had seen on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited. At the time, I was pretty busy and had little time to read, so I had been looking for something short and fun that I could read in one sitting. Glitch was just that.

As the story was only about 15 pages, this will obviously be a rather short review. 

It is quite amazing how an author is able to create such a captivating story in only 5,000 words, but Howey manages to do just that. While the concept does sound reminiscient of things such as I-Robot, Glitch is something unique all on its own. The writing is perhaps what sets this story apart from others of its kind. I felt completely immersed in the story, as well as wishing there was more once I reached the end.

I would highly recommend this. Especially for those out there who enjoy a good science fiction story, and of course, robots. At only 15 pages, even if you decide that it is not for you, at most, you have only wasted a few minutes. Check it out!

4 out of 5 

The Curse of the Bruel Coven by Sabrina Ramoth

The Curse of the Bruel Coven 
by Sabrina Ramoth

Paperback, 184 pages

Published June 3rd 2016 by Exit 80 Publishing

When secrets from the past collide with the present, the consequences may be deadly.

Vivienne Davenport is an ordinary teenager—at least, she thinks she is. Then the untimely death of her mother reveals a family secret. She's adopted . . . and her real mom is a witch.

The truth only complicates Vivienne's life further. Buried deep within her family’s history of magic is a deadly curse that has plagued them for generations.

When her birth mom disappears, Vivienne must tap into her suppressed powers to save her long-lost mother—and herself. 

Can Vivienne become the witch she needs to be? Or will her newfound powers prove too much for her to handle? Only one thing is certain: She will soon learn that all magic comes at a price.

**I was provided an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

When I first read the synopsis of The Curse of the Bruel Coven, I was immediately intrigued. It has been quite a while since I read a good witch novel, and while the plot did sound a lot like other novels I have read previously, I decided to give the book a try.

Unfortunately, it was very much like previous novels I have read. Beautiful Creatures was a series that came to mind a lot while reading this. However, that is not to say that the book was not enjoyable, because it was. But I felt it was lacking in certain areas.

One of the things that bothered me the most was how easy everything seemed to be; by that I mostly mean how quickly conflicts were resolved. Vivienne's mother dies and it really does not take too long for her to discover she was adopted. She also was able to find her biological mother fairly quickly as well. Then once she finds her biological mother, Claire, she disappears.

When Vivienne learns of her true heritage, how her family is part of a coven of witches, she dismisses the idea believing them to be crazy. However, the dismissal is shortly lived as she quickly accepts that her family is not in fact crazy and she is indeed a witch. Once she accepts who she really is, it really does not take too long for her to master her powers. And that always really irks me in novels. I feel as though to master magical powers, or special skills, it should take some time. There was also one point in the novel where she was truly afraid of a certain character (who shall remain nameless to avoid spoilers) and then a few pages later, she immediately gets over that and trusts said character even though they had been considered an enemy for years.

After Claire vanishes, I honestly felt as though nothing really happened until the end of the book. You learn a lot about Vivienne's family history and such, but action wise, there was really nothing.

Overall, the book was enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who likes witchy stories and quick reads.

3 out of 5