This was an average fairytale/Grimm retelling novella which I honestly would’ve rated so much higher if we had a little bit more, maybe 100/150 page novella would’ve been perfect just to get some more gruesome details!
Definitely an interesting little filler to add to your reading goal though!

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for an eARC of this short story. Moreno-Garcia continues to be an auto-read author and this short story proves no different. She manages to create a great atmospheric short story in under 50 pages. This was fun though semi-predictable - definitely worth a read.

5 stars

Wow! This short tiny story really packed a punch. I had no clue what genre I was getting into when I decided to read this, and I still can’t really answer that.
What I can say for sure is that this was such a beautiful and lyrically written story. I loved every sentence.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Silvia’s writing so much! This short story delivered in so many ways. It was fun and dark with Judith finding her actual lover. This had lots of great big bad wolf vibes throughout the story and I loved it.

this was my first silvia moreno-garcia work and i kind of want to shake myself for not picking up one of her books earlier. this was very short but intense, it managed to make me care about judith and the story in such short time that i was sad to read the last sentence.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC!

'The Lover' is an incredibly quick read that evokes memories of the Amanda Seyfried Red Riding Hood movie, specifically the village. Moreno-Garcia embraces the darkness in her short story. The overlying emotion is one of suppressed longing and guilt despite the fact that the overarching plot line is around partaking in these sinful pleasures.

An eerie, atmospheric, short story. Clocking in at a little over 40 pages, this was an enjoyable dark morsel of a fairytale, perfect for a cozy fall or winter night!

Thank you netgalley for a review ebook.

This story accomplished so much while managing to be less than 50 pages, and I'm amazed. I've never read anything else by the author, but I will now! This reminded me of a Grimm's fairy tale—dark, sensual, and incredibly well told.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy.

A delightfully dark and evil short story to be told around a fire on a winter’s night.

Judith is a young woman living in a small village at the edge of the story. Her older, prettier sister Alice has always had everything laid at her feet, all her mother’s love, a husband and now the family guest house and shop while Judith has to work for her sister, who is mean and selfish. Now a widow, Alice is turning on the charm to captivate Nathaniel, the hunter who has come to the village, who Judith was sure is meant to be with her. However, in the wintery forest lurks another shadowy man who befriends Judith. An excellently told fairy tale with a perfectly grisly ending!

Silvia Garcia-Moreno is a must read author for me. This story, like her others, has a compelling female protagonist who is equally challenging the norms of her station and vulnerable. She is a master at creating these characters who you care about deeply in a few pages and yet, spend the whole story cringing at their every move. Poor sweet Judith is certainly little red riding hood in this one, but we're not quite sure who is the wolf, and yet know from page one that there is one. I loved the atmosphere and the suspense equally. Generally my criticism of short stories is that I wanted more. But in this case, I was quite satisfied with the story as is.

Thanks to the Amazon Original Stories via Netgalley for gifted access. All opinions above are my own.

"The Lover" is a short story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a renowned author known for works such as "Mexican Gothic." Set against the backdrop of a brutal winter, the narrative follows Judith, a young woman yearning for love, and her sister Alice, considered the more conventionally attractive of the two.

When a handsome and refined hunter arrives in their village seeking shelter from the cold, Judith believes her long-awaited lover has finally come. However, her hopes are dashed when the hunter chooses Alice as his wife. The story takes an unexpected turn when another stranger, appearing disheveled and mysterious, emerges from the woods. Against societal norms, Judith welcomes both men into her life, each fulfilling different desires and needs.

As the characters navigate forbidden longings, a relentless winter storm and a lurking wolf add an element of tension to the narrative. The story explores themes of love, desire, and the consequences of yielding to forbidden impulses. By the thaw of spring, the characters must confront the consequences of their actions and whether their hungers have been truly satisfied.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia weaves a sensuous and wicked tale in "The Lover," blending elements of desire, fantasy, and the harsh realities of winter. The short story promises a captivating exploration of human nature and the complexities of relationships in the face of temptation.

The Lover was a quick, enjoyable, interesting, entertaining and unexpected read. I don't want to say anything else because I don't want to risk spoiling it for others.

I always enjoy reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work. She tends to write about women with no agency taking control of their lives in very dramatic and satisfying ways!

This short story is no different. It's about a woman named Judith who has long lived in the shadow of her beautiful and vain sister, Alice. Alice marries Nathaniel, a man with whom Judith had fallen in love. Around the same time, a mysterious stranger appears from the woods, seemingly to give Judith everything she's ever wanted.

I both loved and hated that this was a quick read. I could get my Moreno-Garcia fix over my lunch break at work, but also was sad to see it end. I think ultimately the length of the story was what it needed to be. Any additional scenes depicting injustices against poor Judith would likely only serve to frustrate readers.

One of Moreno-Garcia's most popular works is "Mexican Gothic," which I loved. This past year, I read "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau," and I'm really looking forward to checking out her newest, "Silver Nitrate." I also have "Velvet Was The Night" on audiobook, but haven't listened yet. I always feel like her work flies under my radar until months after it's been published, and then I'm pleasantly surprised to have a new Moreno-Garcia to read! Her work is always such a treat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is always an auto read/buy for me. She never disappoints and continually releases great books and this is no exception. The Lover is a short story about a young woman who’s lover was foretold to come from beyond the forest. This book was equal parts haunting and inviting and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of the those authors whom I can trust to always write a spectacular tale. While this is more of a quick read since it's on the shorter end, I was fully invested in the story. Each word was laced with such a divine poetic feel. Moreno-Garcia's writing just has that kind of magic to it.

Gorgeous cover!
A long-time fan of the author's so when I saw this new novella as Read Now I grabbed it.
So enjoy her storytelling voice and the fanciful storyline, but did not enjoy some of the story elements as some previous works.

With thanks to NetGalley for this e-ARC.

Absolutely wonderful. I enjoyed the fact it was a quick read, but at the same time, I wish it were a whole book. Haunting and timely. The perfect crisp and cold weekend read.

I’ve been in a romance fix lately, so seeing this story pop up was immediately enticing.
This is actually my first read by this author, and I am very impressed with her style. I’ve got some books on the back log that have now moved up based on how much I enjoyed this.
It’s very short and sweet, but the emotions are as intense as a novel.

A fantastic short story, very quintessentially Silvia Moreno-Garcia, beautifully circular. There is both an unreliable narrator, and a fairy-tale like quality to the story itself.

I adore Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing and this short story was no exception; I wish I had an entire book of her short stories, or even a longer version of this one. If you're a short-story person and/or a fan of wolves, I'd absolutely recommend this- this was the perfect balance of short and sweet.