"Lily" by E.G. Creel is a peculiar and fast-paced short dark fantasy story featuring a unique crossover from "The Immortal." The narrative, imagined with Sir David Attenborough's voice, presents an episodic structure, with each chapter concluding in a cliffhanger, creating a sense of urgency and anticipation. The title character, Lily, is notably born with a shadow, a concept explored throughout the story.

The tale's brevity and pace contribute to a somewhat rushed feeling, potentially leaving the reader longing for a more extensive exploration and fleshing out of the themes and characters. The occasional direct addresses to the reader by the author introduce an unexpected and jarring element, disrupting the immersive experience.

Despite these aspects, the story offers a distinctive blend of fantasy and narrative techniques, making it a noteworthy addition to the indie author landscape. The author's creative approach and distinct narrative style can be appreciated by those seeking unconventional fantasy tales.

This is a beautifully written book and lovely story. The wink and nudge to the reader is delightful and the premise and flow had me engaged. I loved the idea that a character may be cast out over and over, but is ultimately found and taken care of in the moments that need it.

Beautiful in text and imagery.

A short story with dark fairytale vibes full of mythical creatures which introduces us to Lily, a baby born and passed around many homes before she even grows into girlhood.

This story is written in a fairytale style with the odd appearance of the narrator speaking to the audience. If this is the type of writing that you prefer, then you may find it much more enjoyable than I did as this is not my preference.

We are given so many snippets of information about the many characters and places we come across in super speed, not really allowing any time or detail to truly understand what’s going on. It wasn’t even enough to sit in the atmosphere of the story, merely being a vibe. If this story was recreated with a focus on details and character development I could see it having a huge audience of readers who adore atmospheric reads of the dark twisty fairytale style.

I imagine someone who enjoys a dark and quirky bedtime fairy tale experience which is quick and easy to read, might really like this story.

This is a magical and unique little tale that I ate up in one cosy little sitting. While it stormed outside, I cosied up with this whimsical tale of creatures born with either twins or evil shadows; parallel realms connected by doors; creatures of all varieties and a character reminiscent of Santa Claus. I really enjoyed the writing style, the short episodic nature of the story and the flow in general. I certainly need to check out more from this author! Many thanks to E.G Creel and Netgalley for this delightful little story.

This is a delightful short story about a girl called Lily who is born in a village where everyone has a twin but Lily does not.

The book has a whimsical fairy tale feel and is a great advert for the author and the world it's set in.

I did find a typo on page 19. I think "insight" should be "in sight"

<i>I would like to thank E.G. Creel and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Right from the first sentence this little book hooked me.
"Lily was born with a shadow!"

Dubans are being born alongside a twin, but in Lily's case it didn't happen. She was born with a shadow, which was considered a bad omen.
However, her loving father tried stealing a twin so that people won't sentence their daughter to death.

Unfortunately, he instead steal a baby rolldarc creature. This creates a tragedy when the rolldarc's mom appears.
This is how Lily's adventure starts and she meets a key character in the story, a white-bearded man who takes care of her.

There was an unexpected ending, but I liked it and I want to read the first book as well, alongside with the last one in this trilogy.

4.5 stars.

I loved the setting & atmosphere of this read - very spooky & eerie. The perfect read for the colder months. The story is definitely darker than most, which added to the creepy vibes. It felt like a folklore tale, that you'd tell over a campfire at night.

I was given the opportunity to review this book via NetGalley. Lily caught my attention quickly and held it as I continued to read. By the time I finished the story, I decided to check out further stories by E.G. Creel specifically The Immortal and Gena. E.G. Creel built and interesting world and this story is an interesting way to step into that world. I really want to learn more about Lily and her shadow. White Beard is an intriguing character that I was glad to find there is an additional story. I am curious about Dubans and why they always are born with a twin. I have read several stories about shadow sisters and this was an interesting take on it.

Lily by E.G. Creel is a middle grade fantasy short story that is quite cute. It’s about a girl that instead of being born with a twin, she’s born with a shadow. She bops around from caregiver to caregiver as a small child and we learn about the experiences around her. It’s short, but I loved the characters and the story. The author’s voice is almost melodic at times and that made it enjoyable to read.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Recommendation: I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was a fun, quick read. Based on the author’s note at the end, this is related to two other of the author’s works - a fantasy novella titled The Immortal and a YA fantasy novella, Gena. I enjoyed this short story such that I’ve added those two novellas to my #tbr. If you are looking for a small bite of cute fantasy that’s enjoyable to read, I think you would like this story.

This book is very short, yet very good! Being a Norse Pagan, I can't help but think that White Beard is Odin. There is just enough intrigue to make me want to read the other 2 books that the author says is connected to this book.

The pace was just fast enough that you wanted to keep going so you could find out what was happening. Not a lot of world building which is good for a novella this length. To me this whole book was a set up to explain why Lily is the way she is when she is older. I can't wait to read the other books to find out more!

Thanks for letting me read this! I think I found a new author to love!

I enjoyed it. I feel like it could have been better and I wish it were longer. I am very curious about the world(s) and species and i very much want more

"Lily was born with a shadow. Now, you might be thinking, what's the big deal?"

I loved this short story! It was very original and had a good fantasy vibe. During reading it, and knowing it was a short story, I hoped there would maybe me more. And there is, because at the end of the book you get teased about The Immortal (a story about White Beard) and about Gena (about Lily's future).

So, Lily is about a girl, but she's not human. She's a Duban and Dubans are mostly born as twins. If they are not, they will have a shadow and that's a very bad omen. Children with shadows will be banished or even murdered. In her young life, Lily has to go through some very sad moments but eventually ends up with the loving character of White Beard. He cares for her as much as he's able to, until two angry men come to kidnap Lily and fulfill the promise of making sure Lily doesn't live to see another day. White Beard gathers everything he needs and seeks the help of a friend, but he's an old man and not sure if he can fulfill this quest.

An enchanting story in a magical world. I really enjoyed reading it and am excited to read the other two books!

A nice short novella for a quick read before going to bed. Lily was born with a shadow instead of a twin and quickly was branded a bad Omen.

Eventho the novella itself is great, the writing is a bit too simple for YA in my taste. But it's great for people who learn English and need something less aimed at children.

This story had an interesting concept; unfortunately, it needed to be developed further. It felt really disjointed and needed further explanation. I was left with many questions and quite confused. It felt like I was missing a much bigger story. I did read the author’s note that this was the origin story of a character in another one of her books, but I thought it could be read as a standalone short story. However, that was not the case. Also, the narrator breaking the fourth wall and talking to the reader was not necessary and felt cheesy. It took me out of the story.

But I did like the characters, fantasy elements, and overall tone and atmosphere. It was a bit creepy and eerie. It felt like a classic fairytale, which I enjoyed, but I wish we got more backstories of the characters and more details of this fantasy world. I also liked the different fantasy creatures and the lore of this realm. The few illustrations we got in some episodes were cute. I wish it were more consistent, and we saw them with every episode.

The pacing was a little rushed, but this is a novella, so that’s to be expected. I’m intrigued to continue this journey by reading the other books in this series.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and E. G. Creel for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This novella definitely had potential, but unfortunately wasn't nearly fleshed out enough to warrant a higher rating.

I really liked the premise of a girl being born alone in a society that usually only has twin-births, and exploring the consequences of that in a grim, atmospheric setting. The book is also an incredibly easy read, and could definitely be enjoyed by someone looking for a bedtime-esque story. Other than that, I really struggled to enjoy my time reading Lily.

A lot of the scenes could have used a little bit more care. I oftentimes felt like the novella was falling woefully short of the atmosphere it was trying to convey.
There were also a few things that had no real anchor in the novella as it stands. The description of the book says Creel imagined it to be narrated by David Attenborough, but the few lines of narration were sprinkled in with otherwise very sterile/barebones writing. There wasn't enough consistency with these 4th wall breaks to make them humorous or endearing rather than immersion breaking.
Halfway through the book, we're also introduced to some themes of Norse mythology that came seemingly out of nowhere, and 90% of the characters and creatures we meet could have used a lot more fleshing out.

The book sits at less than 40 pages, so there was definitely room for more exposition and scene-setting, and I wish Lily had been allowed to take up the space it could have filled with its very interesting premise.

what a great little short story about a village that only has twins — and then Lily is born with a shadow only — so her father goes looking for a twin to hide the truth — but then disaster comes and the story gets even more interesting with a fairytale and mystical quality we follow Lily from birth through yearly childhood . I would definitely like to read more about these characters and these unique worlds. This short story could be expanded and made into its own novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this ARC , this is my honest review .

I think the story was a bit too ambitious for only being about 30 pages long. The writing style is quite juvenile and some of the fourth wall breaks feel a bit cheesy.
However, I enjoyed the world and the characters, however brief this charming story might have been.

If you like the Brothers Grimm style of fantasy and fairy tales with dark twists this short story is for you! Is was such an interesting and dark little story. I loved the misfit orphan premise, the idea of this "Santa Claus" guardian, and a vibe not dissimilar from a Grimm fairy tale.
I loved the spooky, magical elements and found the narrative voice pleasantly entertaining. With just under 60 pages, the story made me feel like a child again, providing a brief escape from the real world.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Author E. G. Creel and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

A story based on mythology and magic, it’s was a unique tale of a young Duban being born without a twin but with a shadow. Her journey in her young life to stay alive and being raised by different beings.

What a interesting tale, I didn’t know what to expect from this novella before reading, but it caught my eye so I wanted to give it a read. It was very unique and I don’t think there’s any others stories like this.

Within this darker tale we follow baby Lily as she is almost killed multiple times throughout the story all because she has a strong powerful and possibly evil shadow. From a midwife that deems her shadow dangerous instantly, to a thieving father who forces her to be raised by a Rolldarc beast, all before the loving Old White Beard takes her in. Everything in this story was so different and all so dark, but it really worked and weaved together a very interesting tale.

I loved Lily and Old White Beards relationship she really loved him and he loved her, he was in awe of her shadow and all that it can do. I enjoyed learning more of exactly what it was capable of doing as he helped her grow and learn without any fear of it. But we left the story on a new chapter, Lily is now with Emma and the story will take another new turn of events for Lily and her shadow in another book.

If you enjoy mythology or legends or stories of a similar nature then I think you’d really enjoy this one. It’s a very unique story, it’s done in a novella form so the story moves on quickly but I actually found I liked the way it was told. It was dark and twisty and there was something round every corner.

Thank you netgalley and publishers

I found Lily a really intriguing read, I was hooked by the story from the first page and really enjoyed the story.
Lily was written really well, the author had a way with pulling you into the story with the rich descriptions and vivid retelling.
The characters were also interesting which pulled the novel altogether.
I recommend this novel to all.