Official Review: The Gift of Stories by H.D. Michaels

Ria710 · Post by **Ria710** » 27 Dec 2020, 16:20

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Gift of Stories" by H.D. Michaels.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The Gift of Stories by H.D. Michaels is a collection of short stories. There’s romance, mystery, horror, and more. So, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. In total, there are 28 stories. The idea is to read one story a day for a month. The purpose of this book is to get people to start reading again. The first set of stories are less than 100 words, and then gradually, this goes up to 1500+ words. One of the stories is called ‘Food for Thought’. It’s about a young woman on a train. She notices that a handsome man keeps staring at her. She believes he is interested in her. This takes a funny turn when she realises that she has cheese stuck on her upper lip. Mortified, all she wants to do is get off the train. What will happen when she gets off?

The cover of this book is what initially grabbed my attention. Using bright colours for the book cover was a good idea. I like the concept of this book; it’s definitely something I’ve never seen done before. Reading is very important and even just reading for 10 minutes a day can be beneficial. I like that the stories slowly get longer because if it started off with long stories, then it would feel overwhelming. Another thing I liked was the encouraging notes at the end of each week from the author because it motivated me to continue reading the book.

I really liked the structure of this book; it’s nice and simple. There was no complicated language used, so it is easy to read and understand. I think it’s great that the author put the day number above the title of the story because you can easily keep track of where you are in the book. In addition to that, I like that the stories are short because it leaves room for the reader to interpret the story the way they want.

The author did an amazing job of writing the stories. All the stories were enjoyable to read. Some will have you laughing, whilst others will have you scared. The story I liked the most is called ‘Extraordinary’ because it portrays messages of love and support and not giving up on the person you love.

There was nothing that I disliked about the book; everything about it is amazing. This is an excellent book for people who want to start reading again, but they are unable to pick up a book. This is the perfect book to start your day off with or even end your day. At only 118 pages long, it doesn’t take long to read.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because this is what it truly deserves. I found myself reading the whole thing in one sitting because that’s how good it was. I’m excited to see what the author puts out next. I only found two mistakes, so it is professionally edited. I highly recommend it to young adults who enjoy reading short stories. If you get scared easily then, this might not be the book for you, only because some of the stories are creepy.

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The Gift of Stories
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Brejef16 · Post by **Brejef16** » 03 Jan 2021, 01:11

This sounds really interesting! Just added this one to my TBR pile

s_weet_c · Post by **s_weet_c** » 03 Jan 2021, 04:27

I love these types of reads. It's like having multiple books all in one go! Thanks for your review.

Drianie · Post by **Drianie** » 03 Jan 2021, 06:02

This seems like a good idea to motivate those who want to read but who gets put off by the idea of trying to get through an entire novel. I can't wait to give it a read myself. Your review was well-written and interesting! Thanks for the recommendation!

sharon titus · Post by **sharon titus** » 03 Jan 2021, 06:23

The book is a great opportunity for those who want to start reading as it contains many interesting and versatile short stories. Nicely reviewed.

Post by **Atieno Magero** » 03 Jan 2021, 10:46

I really appreciate the concept of encouraging people to read more. It's nice that each day is supposed to have its own story. This seems like a wonderfully written book in general. Great review!

Zaeda Amrin · Post by **Zaeda Amrin** » 03 Jan 2021, 13:00

The beautiful book cover caught my attention too! It’s so pretty I think it would easily attract readers before they even know the premise. The idea is great too, sounds like it’ll be really effective at getting people to read more regularly. Thanks for your review!

bardhaselmani · Post by **bardhaselmani** » 03 Jan 2021, 14:00

This sounds amazing
I would really like to read it. because of your review actually haha.

Yvonne Monique · Post by **Yvonne Monique** » 03 Jan 2021, 15:39

Sounds like a great concept to get back into reading again!

Chizioboli · Post by **Chizioboli** » 04 Jan 2021, 07:10

I love collection of stories and I am sure this book would surely interest me. Great review and I love your style of review writing. Its very descriptive and engaging.

Judith Lloy · Post by **Judith Lloy** » 04 Jan 2021, 10:19

What a creative and thoughtful approach to encourage reading! I love the whole concept, from starting with short pieces and gradually adding length, to having a large variety of genres in one collection. This author sounds amazing. Thanks for your insightful review!