Review: Eternal Summer - A Collection of Short Stories

Eternal Summer - A Collection of Short Stories by Olivia Hardin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not good at doing one massive review for a short story anthology, so I'll hit each story one by one!

One Bite Paradise: 3 stars
This one really worried me. I hadn't read anything by this author before (which is usually a great way for me to get exposed to new authors!) but I really really struggled to figure the story out. I'm sure for someone who has read the Bend-Bite-Shift trilogy it might have made sense right away, but for me it was difficult enough to make me want to skip ahead. I didn't, because I'm insane and have to finish any book I start. It wasn't a bad story, but really didn't grab me. The overall story I got from my reading was that some vampire girl wanted her boyfriend back, and then they went to something akin to the Olympics in an alternate world.


Cat Napped: 3 stars
This story was super short and cute. The backstory didn't seem completely necessary to enjoy this short little bite. There was enough information in the introduction to get me through the story. Cute and silly.

Eternally Yours: 4 stars
This one was some sort of guardian angel/fallen angel/fate involved story that I really didn't fully grasp the backstory on, but got sucked into none the less. It was a serious and sad installment about a horrible twist of fate. It made me interested enough to check out what series the story was from.

Dark Remnants: 5 stars
The writing style and story of this one hooked me from the first paragraph. I realized I've got 2 of the author's books sitting on my kindle unread, so I'll be remedying that soon. After searching for more "Ella Reynolds" books, I'm confused about if they are an actual series or not, but I want more. This story involves Ella and her boyfriend on a vacation (as is a premise for most of these stories). Ella gets them wrapped up in solving an old mystery and putting some ghosts to rest. Great story!

Bound by Fate: 4 stars
This was another really good one. We follow Ben, who has been traumatized by some girl drama at some point, but now plays Cupid for other people in the hopes that he will end up with his own love. Vampires and Greek gods abound, and it was done in a really good way. I'll be hunting down some more Lola James after this.

Stardust on the Sea: 5 stars
I admit, this is why I read this book. I am in love with the King series and was desperate for more. Since I knew the backstory for Cathryn, it was easy to pick this one up. I guess I should have been more hesitant, because I really really hated Cathryn in the books. In this story, though, she is great. I loved seeing her let her hair down and get some action (that wasn't Michael). I can't wait for more King series! This story made my day.

Cursed Cove: 4 stars
This author's writing style was really great, too. I love a gritty and sexy paranormal story, and this little installment gave me the indication that the Gwen Sparks series might be right up my alley. I'm adding that to my "to-read" shelf right now. The setting for this one is also the beach (yes, the theme), but involves Death and ghosts and mystery and sexy men. Yum.

Daylight Come: 3 stars
This was another story that I think I needed to have read the series to understand. I understood the story as such that a vampire (named Wolf, confusingly for me) and a, uh, light/power manipulator(?) (named Loti) end up at a hotel for a vacation. The hotel sucks and ends up throwing them into an alternate dimension where they solve some mysteries. There was mention of some steampunky technology, too, if that's your thing.

Overall, the anthology was great for a weekend at the beach (where I read it) -- especially if you're already familiar with the authors.



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