Short Story Saturday: Gray

Title: Gray (from the anthology Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson)

Author: Patricia Briggs

Date of Publication: September 2, 2014

Formats Available: Hardcover, Paperback, E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Number of Pages: 34

Synopsis: "We lived in Chicago (a good long time ago now), and it remains one of my favorite big cities. It, like my hometown, has a colorful past and terrific people. Anyone who has been in Chicago in February, however, knows about those gray days, when everything is wet and cold and nasty, when it feels like it has been cold forever and spring will never come. Like those winter days, our heroine, Elyna, has been feeling cold and gray for a very long time." - Patricia Briggs, Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson

My Review:

Gray introduced a new character into the Mercy world, Elyna, who's another one of the few good vampires. Gray was most definitely one of the best stories in the anthology, I loved Elyna and her bittersweet story; tale of tragedy, determination, hope, and love. I really connected to this story and I honestly wouldn't mind a full length novel about Elyna and her quest to be reunited with her husband.

Even though the story was heartbreaking it offered a little slice of hope, which was what made me love it. The story of what happened to Elyna and the death of her husband broke my heart, it was obvious that she loved him and even though a terrible sequence of events took him from her she refused to give up hope. Elyna was a strong character and I really respected her, especially her determination to get away from those who changed her and finally find peace with herself for what happened so many years ago.

Not only did Briggs write an amazing love story I also adored the friendship Elyna forged with Peter, the contractor she hired to help her restore the apartment. Briggs has a talent not only for romance, but writing some of the most satisfying friendships in the urban fantasy genre. Even though this story was so short I really fell in love with both Elyna and Peter and I loved watching their friendship blossom.

Out of the two stories that introduced whole new sets of characters Gray was, hands down, the best. I loved Elyna and I really hope she makes an appearance in either the Mercy Thompson series or the Alpha & Omega series... Anna is from Chicago so I've got my fingers crossed!

5/5