Short Story Saturday: Reindeer Games

Title: Games #4.5: Reindeer Games

Author: Jessica Clare

Date of Publication: August 26, 2014

Formats Available: E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Number of Pages: 70

Synopsis: When mouthy Luna is voted off of Endurance Island: Alaska first, she's a little bitter about it. The only thing that assuages her pride is knowing that Owen(the sexy-but-douchey guy that ousted her) was out next. This means, unfortunately, that they're spending a lot of time at the Loser Lodge together. But will their fiercely competitive natures bring them together for the sexiest Christmas of all?

My Review:

From the get go I knew I was really going to enjoy this novel, the other book I've read by Clare (Wicked Games) was amazing and I had high hopes that this one would be just as good, and it was. Even though Reindeer Games is a short story Clare managed to pack quite a punch into what little time she had and create a developed world full of unique and fleshed out characters.

The thing I love about the Games series is the whole game show aspect. Maybe I'm missing out on a whole genre over here but these are the only books I've read that take place on the set of a game show and I absolutely love it! Watching the characters be put through such unusual challenges never gets old and I love the game show drama that goes along with it. I also really loved the Alaska setting in this one and even though not much of the book was spent in the elements I loved how cozy and warm the Loser Lodge sounded in comparison!

The animosity between Luna and Owen in the beginning of the story was great. I love books where characters go from hating each other to falling in love and Reindeer Games was a perfect example. Clare did an amazing job fleshing out both of their personalities in a limited amount of time and by the end I felt as connected to the two of them as I would have felt reading a full length novel. Even though Owen started off as a jerk Clare did an amazing job giving him some lovable characteristics and he and Luna made an adorable couple. With a sexy romance and the perfect winter setting to boot, I found myself not wanting this short story to end!

A super fun winter read Reindeer Games was a fantastic prequel to the Games series and readers looking for a sample of Clare's work should definitely check this one out. Funny and full of romance this is the perfect short story for a cold winters night. I highly recommend!

4/5