Title: Break & The Gift
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Pages: -
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: June 2017
From Goodreads: "These are just two short stories from the world of Heart of Mist and unfortunately, neither story has a description on Goodreads. I will link the Heart of Mist page, however, and I encourage everyone to take a look and add it to your TBR!"
Thank you to Helen Scheuerer for providing me with copies of these books! All opinions are my own.
I cannot remember how I came across Heart of Mist, but I did somehow and also discovered that the author was offering two prequel novellas that went along with the story. Me being me, I of course jumped at the chance to read the short stories and I am so happy I did! While these are, in fact, very short stories, they do a fantastic job at introducing the main character of the story and giving readers a taste of what's to come in the full book, Heart of Mist.
Plot:
There's not much of a detailed plot for either Break or The Gift but rather just a quick look into Bleak and her world. We learn that Bleak is am Ashai, and that there aren't many of her kind left. Her odd colored eyes tend to give her away and seem to make people wary of her, as you discover during one encounter in The Gift. Bleak is what they call a Mind Whisperer, meaning she can hear the thoughts of others around her and it also seems like her powers get amplified if she touches a person. She's searching for a "cure" because she doesn't want her magic anymore for some reason that will hopefully be explained more in Heart of Mist. I really loved these two quick stories because while they weren't incredibly long, they were just enough to give me a taste of the world and what the full book will likely be about. In just a few pages, Helen Scheuerer was able to capture my attention and make me excited for the release of the full story!
Characters:
Bleak was such an interesting character for there not being much about her. All readers learn is that she's an Ashai and that she doesn't want to have her powers anymore. You also learn that something happened to her mother when she was six years old and she was eventually taken in by her current guardian, Senior. Bleak reminds me so much of Vin from the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. I really fell in love with her sassy attitude almost instantly and I just couldn't get away from how much she felt like Vin, who I absolutely adore. I am so interested to learn just what an Ashai is, what happened to her mother, and just who Casimir is. Seriously, these two stories did such a good job at getting me hooked and interested in this world and I can't wait for the full book to (hopefully) answer all of my questions.
Writing:
This was without a doubt my favorite part of these stories. There was just something about how the author wrote that drew me in instantly. One of my favorite lines from both stories was:
"The moon's reflection shimmered across the top of the black water, and the thousands of stars winked down at them."I just thought that that one line was so beautiful and really gave me a clear picture of being on the water and seeing the reflection of the moon and the stars twinkling in the sky. The way everything is described, from the setting to the characters, is just so enchanting and magical and really makes you feel like you've just stepped into this fantasy world. If I had to choose the thing I was most excited about for Heart of Mist, it's getting to read more of Helen Scheuerer's writing. It's some of the most beautiful and alluring writing I've encountered in a long time.
Whether you've heard of Heart of Mist or not, I highly encourage everyone to take a chance on both Break and The Gift. They're both very quick reads that will definitely peak your interest in the full book with fantastical writing and instantly lovable and unforgettable main character. Be sure to visit helenscheuerer.com to grab these two novellas and get ready for Heart of Mist on 31 August 2017!
