Love is hard. That's one of the first thing we all get to understand throughout life and it's also one of the very first lessons we get taught in books. Nothing in this world is cheap or free or easy to gain and keep, and when it comes to feelings everything gets even more complicated - and sometimes expensive.
This is pretty much what Beverley explores in her new short story, following our main character who really wants to show his mother how much he loves her. Words are not enough, gestures are overrated and another gift, the final one, seems like a good choice to give his heart some piece. But what gift could be the actual representation of his love for his mother, who already has got everything thanks to his older brothers?
The Queen - because that's a tale about a peaceful land, a queen and seven princes - finally names the prize, knowing it would be impossible for her son August to get it and sure that he won't dare to risk his safety to bring her what he obviously cannot bring.
But someone had said once that on the night a seventh son is born to a seventh son, a blood moon will rise, and August will discover that love can destroy, trust is a very thin thread and there's always something hiding away and waiting for the perfect chance to break the purity of such a powerful feeling.
So.
Let's keep this short because the story itself is short and there's no point in writing a full ten books series to discuss it.
We shall start with the flaws that aren't really flaws, but just my personal preferences and they're actually just a couple so it's going to be quick fast chop chop.
First of all: names. All starting with letter A and sounding very similar one to the other. My brain was screaming and crying because, in case you didn't know already, I struggle a lot to remember and then associate a name to a face, even in real life (it took me three months to learn the name of my newest co-worker, so). This was beyond acceptable for my mind, so I basically ended up remembering the queen's name and the main character's one, even though every now and then it was blurring with the others - who I started to name simply "A" followed by a number (1 to 6 according to their order of birth, does it make sense? No? I thought so).
Struggle also became more consistent because of the nature of the story itself: short. And this leads us to the second point of this "flaw" kind of category.
It was TOO SHORT omg. I don't know if it's because I love Beverley's writing style so much or because I'm just a greedy reader or what, but when I got to the end I was crying with my brain because I wanted more and not because it was poorly executed, far from that! It was marvelously written and it fit the main traits of a tale, but I wanted more of that story as I was thirsty, I needed more words from her because she's got that spark that makes everything so real and magical at the same time you can never get enough of what she writes.
I finished reading and I wanted to grab something else by her but there was nothing and I didn't know what to do with my life anymore, so I ended up staying up all night thinking about what would've I done if I had been in August's shoes - believe me when I say that for as much as I love Beverley's works, I regretted it the next day at work ahah!
Besides me being greedy, tho, the fact that it was a short story with a lot of different characters, didn't really give my brain the time to associate physical appearance to names, so I found myself re-reading a few paragraphs just to set straight who was doing what and that slowed me down a little. But again, it's not a flaw of the story itself or of Beverley's writing style; it's just my brain that doesn't work properly every now and again. It actually refuses to learn new names unless it has to but that's okay. I felt like saying it because it took a little bit of the pleasure away while I was reading, no matter how much I actually enjoyed it.
Now, pros.
It was engaging as hell. From the moment I received the e-mail, from the very first instant I saw the cover I was drawn to it and I couldn't stop until I didn't get to the end.
As I pointed out already, her writing style can do magics; it takes the reader in another dimension, it makes the reader feel and think and act like her characters, it makes the reader be the characters and it makes people think through. As Beverley herself told me, all her stories have a moral and it's true. It doesn't take a critic to see how much she believes in the power of words and how easily she can explore a topic giving clues and points from where people can start their own train of thoughts. It's crystal clear; Beverley is a natural.
The whole story it was just right for the kind of plotline she decided to develop. She didn't overdo, but she didn't miss out on important stuff either. All the information we needed were there, characters were fairly characterized despite their number and the glimpses here and there of the secondary ones, and the world building was complete. For being a short story, I couldn't find any lack of any sort.
As a reader that is not a fan of short stories, I found myself in need to know what August was about to do pretty much from line one until the very end. I needed to know what was going to happen and if he would've been successful in his quest. I kind of saw myself in August, in the way he genuinely felt like he's one step behind because he couldn't give anything precious to his mother yet and also when he decided at all cost that he wasn't a child anymore and that he could be just as brave as his older brothers when it came to show how endless the love for Allegra actually was. It amazed me that he wanted to prove at all costs that he mattered as well even though he's the seventh of the sons.
Another relatable trait was his determination in succeeding; it can also be seen as a flaw, because it led August to misjudge who to put his trust in to, causing a chain reaction that led to the end of the short story, but can we really blame him for what he's done?
I hoped for the best from the very beginning. Page after page after page I was praying for August to find his happy ending and his justice, even if a bit of my heart and mind already knew what to expect and what I would've found at the end. I was dying to see August's redraft over himself and his feelings more than anything else, but as I said already nothing comes free or cheap, in this world. Let alone in Beverley's ones ahah!
Still, it was a final part that suited the plot and the events perfectly; despite me hoping for something else, entirely different, I have to say that I couldn't think of anything that was not that ending she chose. I am a fan of stories that make sense in the end, that follow a chain of events in the correct order and in the way that better reflects reality; I love when a story is realistic and its characters are relatable, so even though my heart hurt a little bit for August and Allegra, I didn't mind nor hated the choice Beverley made. It couldn't have been anything different, believe me.
And surprisingly this review is over, and it feels weird because I usually write more than barely 1.5K words, but that's okay. I still loved Beverley's new story and characters and writing style and it made me realize how badly I need to read another novel by her - and if she would bless us reader with more than a standalone, believe me when I say that mine would be tears of pure joy and nothing less.
But I'll be patient, I'll behave and I will go read and write a little more. You stay tuned, because there's more waiting for you on this blog and not only, so make yourself comfortable and get ready to read more and more. In the meantime you can check out my other articles about Beverley starting from this one, and you can go and see her on her website or on Instagram.
All the love, folks.
Sam.
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