Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Short Stack 2

AUTHOR: Lily Morton

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 3931 KB

RELEASE DATE: October 11, 2022

BLURB: 

What happens after the happy ending?

Drawn together for the first time, this is a collection of Lily’s short stories about some of the much-loved men from her books. Follow them through wet and windy marriage proposals, surprise workplace visits, and a very entertaining ghost tour.

It includes stories previously written for her website, newsletter, and readers’ group, along with four brand new and exclusive short stories—Gertie and the Glitch, A Red Ribbon, When Will Met Jem, and Sun Cove.

REVIEW:

Short Stack 2 features a collection of extra scenes and short stories that Lily Morton has created to give her readers more of the beloved couples from her full-length stories. This is the second set of such stories, Short Stack being the first. Short Stack 2 gives us extra glimpses of the men from Morton’s Close Proximity series (Best Man, Charlie Sunshine, and After Felix), her standalone titles, The Summer of Us, Merry Measure, Beautifully Unexpected, The Cuckoo’s Call, On a Midnight Clear, two of her short stories, Spring Strings and The Stopping Place, and even visits with Will and Jem from her Black & Blue/Arcana series.

Most of these stories have been previously released, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable. The treat here is that we get four completely new stories, the most substantial of which is Sun Cove, which gives Simeon (the gorgeous cover model) and Ziggy from The Stopping Place what is essentially an extended epilogue. I personally think The Stopping Place is one of Morton’s loveliest and most unsung stories, short as it may be. Sun Cove is as deliciously sweet and sexy as you’d expect, and extremely welcome as Morton closes the loop on Simeon and Ziggy’s relationship, although there’s still plenty of room for more from this unique couple. 

Gertie and the Glitch is another new story featuring Mateo and Wren from The Cuckoo’s Call.  It’s an adorable, heartwarming, humorous romp especially knowing Mateo as we do.  I particularly enjoyed this story not only because I’m a sucker for puppies with personality, but because it shows us a lighter, happier, well-balanced life for Wren and Mateo after an oftentimes somber, emotional journey to their HEA.

I could wax on about all of these beautiful stories, but I think what’s more important to understand is how meaningful this collection of stories is.  These aren’t throw-away scenes or frivolous stories.  This is content Morton has specifically selected and written to address loose threads from her stories and things her readers had questions about or specifically asked for.  Morton listened. We get to see what happens after the HEA for these couples, but Morton has picked up those seeds from the previous books and stories and has allowed them to fully bloom in this collection. We can fully appreciate the dynamics of these couples that we fell in love with the first time through, and we even get a second HEA for some of these couples too. 

If you’ve read Morton’s books and short stories, grab this collection asap – you will love these gems.  If you haven’t, I suggest reading her books with Short Stack 2 on the side, inserting the stories chronologically where they’d fit or when you’re done with each book. Each and every story Morton has penned here is a little drop of sunshine.  You can read them all at once or just pick and choose, but they all are light, quick reads that hit just the right notes of snark, romance and love. 

And if you need any more incentive to get Short Stack 2, the included story The Lion Tamers should seal the deal.  Caden and Mal.  Mal and Dean.  And Mal.  Need I say more??  😉

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon