Hey bookworms, I’ve been meaning to share my thoughts on The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow on my blog. Since I’m feeling under the weather, today is the perfect day to post a mini-review thus keeping it short and sweet. I’ll also be joining in on The Purple Booker‘s Teaser Tuesday Meme with the hopes that it’ll inspire someone to try this short story; it needs more eyeballs on it!
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Genre(s): Fantasy
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Format Read In: E-Book
Year Published: 2022
Part of Into Shadow Short Story Collection
Cover Design: Will Staehle
Synopsis
A young girl on the brink of death gets saved by a prince who trains her as his ‘devil’ aka his fiercest warrior. She commits her life to him and in doing so gains him untold power and wealth but then she begins to wonder… “Was it worth it?”
Mini-Review:
Pace: Fast, Character Driven
Tone: Dark, Emotional
I don’t typically love short stories and I always find myself wanting more from them — by the time I get into it, it’s finishing. This one though, was recommended to me for my “12 friend recommendations” challenge and I am so glad that it was because I really enjoyed it.
It’s about 30 pages long so you have to experience it all for yourself but I can say that I was impressed I liked a short story this much! The plot and reveals were formatted in such a satisfying way and the fact that it managed to make me ✨FEEL THINGS✨ in such a short time is a feat unto itself! Please read it if you can!
Final Thoughts & Rating
I’ve read one other book by the author (The Ten Thousand Doors of January) and I love her style and desperately need to explore her backlist!
| Rating Categories | Rating (1-5 ⭐) |
|---|---|
| Characters | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Plot | ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 |
| Writing Style | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| World-Building | ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 |
| Enjoyment | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Content Warnings
War, Violence
Death
Gore, Injury
Emotional Abuse
Colonization
Tuesday Teaser for The Six Deaths of the Saint
And now, It’s teaser time but since this book is so short I’ll only show you the first line 😜 Don’t forget to go check out Ambrosia’s post on The Purple Booker and feel free to participate!
1: Grab your current read 2: Open to a random page
3: Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page (Be careful not to include spoilers!)
“You were a child the first time the Saint of War came to you.”
The Six Deaths of the Saint, Alix E. Harrow
Let’s chat in the comments!
Have you read this one? Or come and tell me some of your favourite short stories! This short story has encouraged me to be more open-minded about the format.
This sounds like a fantastic short story I have to read! Going to add it to my bedtime reading list. I love short stories and anthology books before bed so I have a definitive end for my nightly reading, and so my reflections on the story can guide me into more adventures in my dreams!
That’s brilliant, well this one might not exactly give you sweet dreams but it will give you lots to think about. Sadly it’s just on Amazon but if you don’t mind it’s worth it as the story itself is amazing! Thanks, love <3