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zarasecker23's review against another edition
5.0
This book contains a number of short stories written by a talented author. The book itself is short so for people who have really busy lives and just want to read something short this could be one of those books. The cover of the book is very appealing to the eye and in fact when I first saw the book it was the cover that drew me to it which then encouraged me to read further.
It starts off with a story about a grown woman who behaves like a spoilt brat when her mother ordered the wrong flowers for her baby shower. The flowers that Ermengarde wanted were called stargazer lillies but because the florist didn’t have that particular flower in stock her mother agreed for the florist to provide tiger lillies instead. As a result of this Ermengarde decided the function couldn’t possibly go ahead so she cancelled it in spite of the fact that people were arriving already. This story played with my emotions in that I found myself thinking how childish this soon-to-be-mother was behaving. She came across as a snob and if that was Lomer’s intention he did a very good job. I couldn't stand her!
In Wallflower and Casanova we encounter a story that sounds futuristic in nature and takes the reader on a romantic journey that didn't start out that way. There was a lady who was trying to save a number of people due to injuries incurred as a result of a war that was going on at the time and helping her in this was a helicopter pilot who beamed up each of the injured to the relative safety of the aircraft. You'll need to read the rest of the story yourself as this is a good example of how the author surprises the reader with the ending.
All the stories in this book were all different from one another and lacked a sense that they were at all formulaic. I particularly liked how Lomer led the reader along in such a way that just when you think you’ve worked out what the ending is going to be he pulls a swifty and adds a little twist at the end. Therefore, the reader learns very quickly to not take any of his writing at face value but rather be prepared for the story to change at the last minute.
I enjoyed this author's work so much that I would happily read more of his work.
It starts off with a story about a grown woman who behaves like a spoilt brat when her mother ordered the wrong flowers for her baby shower. The flowers that Ermengarde wanted were called stargazer lillies but because the florist didn’t have that particular flower in stock her mother agreed for the florist to provide tiger lillies instead. As a result of this Ermengarde decided the function couldn’t possibly go ahead so she cancelled it in spite of the fact that people were arriving already. This story played with my emotions in that I found myself thinking how childish this soon-to-be-mother was behaving. She came across as a snob and if that was Lomer’s intention he did a very good job. I couldn't stand her!
In Wallflower and Casanova we encounter a story that sounds futuristic in nature and takes the reader on a romantic journey that didn't start out that way. There was a lady who was trying to save a number of people due to injuries incurred as a result of a war that was going on at the time and helping her in this was a helicopter pilot who beamed up each of the injured to the relative safety of the aircraft. You'll need to read the rest of the story yourself as this is a good example of how the author surprises the reader with the ending.
All the stories in this book were all different from one another and lacked a sense that they were at all formulaic. I particularly liked how Lomer led the reader along in such a way that just when you think you’ve worked out what the ending is going to be he pulls a swifty and adds a little twist at the end. Therefore, the reader learns very quickly to not take any of his writing at face value but rather be prepared for the story to change at the last minute.
I enjoyed this author's work so much that I would happily read more of his work.
novelbloglover's review against another edition
4.0
Book Review
Title: Stargazer Lilies or Nothing at all
Author: Stephen Lomer
Genre: Anthology
Rating: ****
Review: Stargazer Lilies or Nothing at all is a short story collection which isn't something I read a lot of but after some recommendations I spotted a blog tour for this particular book and decided to give it a go. Due to this being a collection of short stories it is going to be slightly shorter than my normal reviews.
The first thing I noticed about this collection in reading the first two stories was that this Anthology doesn't focus on one genre but encompassing a lot of different ones. The first story Stargazer Lilies or nothing at all is a contemporary story about a very extravagant baby shower being ruined and subsequently cancelled due to the wrong type of flowers arriving whereas Wallflower and Casanova is a dystopian story about a robotic takeover where a nurse and a piolet work together to save a group of injured children.
The next couple of stories are Johnny on the spot and Running on Empty which both have a contemporary feel but both deal with theme of determination. Johnny on the stop deals with closure with close links to the past whereas Running on Empty deals with letting go of the past in order to move on. I really liked both of these stories and I would like to see Running on Empty develop further in maybe a novella or a full length novel.
The haunting of Flattop Harris was an amazing story about four friends, 3 of which sign up to fight in the war and one doesn't he goes to college to get an education while working at a toll booth. One night his solider friends drive past but all is not what it seems here and would make a great novella. Lemon drop was a contemporary story but a lot of dark and dry humour that I found extremely funny despite overall not ending on a happy note but the underlying themes here would make a great contemporary novel and would do something different in a very overworked genre.
The final three stories So ten minutes ago, Trouble bruin and Royally screwed consists of a contemporary and strange retelling and hilarious comedy story all of which were amazing and extraordinarily well written.
Overall this was a quick and light read. My favourite stories were Wallflower and Casanova and I can just imagine it as a full length novel which I would completely devour and I have a huge love for all things dystopian. Another story I really enjoyed was royally screwed as it was just a great way of ending the collection in stitches of laughter. It was a light and fun finally note in this collection and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more work from this author.
Title: Stargazer Lilies or Nothing at all
Author: Stephen Lomer
Genre: Anthology
Rating: ****
Review: Stargazer Lilies or Nothing at all is a short story collection which isn't something I read a lot of but after some recommendations I spotted a blog tour for this particular book and decided to give it a go. Due to this being a collection of short stories it is going to be slightly shorter than my normal reviews.
The first thing I noticed about this collection in reading the first two stories was that this Anthology doesn't focus on one genre but encompassing a lot of different ones. The first story Stargazer Lilies or nothing at all is a contemporary story about a very extravagant baby shower being ruined and subsequently cancelled due to the wrong type of flowers arriving whereas Wallflower and Casanova is a dystopian story about a robotic takeover where a nurse and a piolet work together to save a group of injured children.
The next couple of stories are Johnny on the spot and Running on Empty which both have a contemporary feel but both deal with theme of determination. Johnny on the stop deals with closure with close links to the past whereas Running on Empty deals with letting go of the past in order to move on. I really liked both of these stories and I would like to see Running on Empty develop further in maybe a novella or a full length novel.
The haunting of Flattop Harris was an amazing story about four friends, 3 of which sign up to fight in the war and one doesn't he goes to college to get an education while working at a toll booth. One night his solider friends drive past but all is not what it seems here and would make a great novella. Lemon drop was a contemporary story but a lot of dark and dry humour that I found extremely funny despite overall not ending on a happy note but the underlying themes here would make a great contemporary novel and would do something different in a very overworked genre.
The final three stories So ten minutes ago, Trouble bruin and Royally screwed consists of a contemporary and strange retelling and hilarious comedy story all of which were amazing and extraordinarily well written.
Overall this was a quick and light read. My favourite stories were Wallflower and Casanova and I can just imagine it as a full length novel which I would completely devour and I have a huge love for all things dystopian. Another story I really enjoyed was royally screwed as it was just a great way of ending the collection in stitches of laughter. It was a light and fun finally note in this collection and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more work from this author.
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