Short Story Sunday: Novella Review: Off Limits by Ember Davis
Off Limits
Series: Stranger Shoot #1
Author: Ember Davis
Published: June 23, 2021
Kindle: 89 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: November 2, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Novella Description:
Are you interested in participating in a stranger photo session? It’s a fun way to meet someone new and take part in a unique experience. If you are single and in the Denver area, please fill out the form below. I will pair people as I see fit. All sessions will be free. I will post pictures from each shoot on social media. Each stranger session is different and will depend on the pair.
Maybe your soul mate is just a look away.
~Post on Ellie Banks’ social media
ASPEN
I signed up to be part of Ellie Banks’ stranger sessions because I was swept up in the romanticism of it all. I didn’t think I’d get picked. When the day comes, I’m nervous as hell. Still, I need to find out what all the fuss is about. It’ll be a nice change to my routine which basically involves working at a bookstore.
I don’t know what I was expecting but turning around and meeting Liam was a surprise. He sweeps me off my feet in an instant. Que the swell of swoon worthy background music. The connection between us is undeniable and unstoppable.
What happens when we find out that we’re more connected than we thought? Is it going to stand in our way? Will he fight for me when it matters the most?
LIAM
My business partner encouraged me to sign up for an internet trend, citing that I haven’t been on a date in five years as enough reason. He’s no better than me, devoting all his time and energy to making our IT business what it is now. The hard work has finally paid off.
Five years is long enough to be holed up only worried about the business. That’s the only reason I agree to go through with the photoshoot. Had I known my Sunshine was out there waiting for me in the innocent form of Aspen, I would have looked for her a long time ago. She’s everything that chases away a rainy day; the clouds part for me with one look.
It turns out she should be off limits, but I’m not going to let anything stand in the way of our forever. I’d risk it all, even my business, to make sure she’s the person I fall asleep next to and wake up holding every day for the rest of our lives.
Jessica’s Review:
**This review will have spoilers**
I love the idea of stranger photo sessions (I would go outside of my comfort box and actually do one!) and when I saw this novella, I decided to give it a go. I didn’t realize it was going to be open door bedroom scenes and bit too smutty for me, but I did finish it.
The reader gets to see both Aspen and Liam’s nerves about doing a stranger photo session. And they have an instant connection during the photo shoot. Thy moved it outside of the photo session to a first date.
This is where the ‘romance’ became too much for me: It was extreme insta-love on both sides; it seemed more so for him. Right away he is calling her “His Sunshine” and also extremely jealous of other men. Aspen and Liam find out they have a known person in common which could affect how their ‘relationship’ will progress.
They go on a first date and it gets hot pretty quickly after they watch a game. Aspen decides to tell Liam after she is in just her underwear how inexperienced she is (IE: She’s a virgin) yet they still go all the way. And the internal speak of both was just not for me: How they both wish he would ‘ride her bareback’ and “I want you big and round with my babies”. OMG: You don’t even know each other, it’s not love, it’s 1000% lust! Again, this is just their first date.
Of course there is a HEA, but this novella was just not for me. I will give this series one more try with the second novella to see if it is any better for me. And that is only because it is the stranger photo sessions.
Update: I tried the read the second novella in the series, (First Look) but ended up DNFing it. The second one was seemingly going the same way with the insta-love on both ends, with a slight drama in there. This is NOT FOR ME. And I hated that because I just love the idea of Stranger Photo Sessions (and going out on a bubble, I would totally do one!) but this series is seemingly the only novellas/books to read out there in that ‘subgenre’. I’m very disappointed….
Book Review: I Bought a Haunted Thanksgiving Table by Sam Whittaker
I Bought a Haunted Thanksgiving Table
Series: Strange Haunted Places #4
Author: Sam Whittaker
Published: October 14, 2025
Kindle: 184 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 1-29, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 1 star
Book Description:
He’ll Be Thankful to Live Through the Holidays. Scott’s bubbly influencer wife aims for the perfect Thanksgiving content. And the centerpiece is their new antique table, which he isn’t crazy about. And who can blame him? It’s big, it’s heavy… and it holds dark secrets.
Soon, strange events surround his wife at all hours of the day and night. And who does she whisper to in the dark? If he can’t help his wife, they will have to worry about more than a dry bird or burnt pies. For a murderous ghost has awakened in their midst, bent on filling his plate with agony and bloodshed.
Can Scott find a way to stop the bloodthirsty specter before it claims his wife and their holiday dinner guests as the final course?
I Bought a Haunted Thanksgiving Table is an “advent-calendar” style read-along with 27 chapters for 27 days of the holiday season.
Dig into this feast of horror now before your plate gets cold.
Jessica’s Review:
I hate to do this, I really do…. I enjoyed previous Advent books I had read (I gave 25 Days by Per Jacobsen 5 stars and The 31st Trick or Treater by Ben Farthing 3.5 stars) and was looking forward to another enjoyable experience, but did not get that. Whittaker even references both of those books as his inspiration for Haunted Thanksgiving Table.
As Thanksgiving is not a set date, if you choose to read I Bought a Haunted Thanksgiving Table Advent style, you will have to count back the days to see when you should start it. This shorter book at 184 pages takes place over 27 days.
The chapters were short and the beginning had promise, but the novel fell flat after the first couple of chapters. For me, for an Advent book to deliver, once the chapter for the day has been read, you should be highly anticipating the next chapter to read the next day. This did not happen. I was not intrigued enough to pull this novel out each day, despite the short chapters. Even on days when I ran behind and tried to catch up by reading multiple chapters I was still not satisfied. I did not finish this book on Thanksgiving, but two days afterwards. And when I finished it, I was glad I did not finish it on Thanksgiving.
The book did pick up at around 76% in as I wrote a note to myself that it was starting to get good. But it was just missing something for me. And then the last couple of chapters came out of left field: All of a sudden everything was happening… and it got very gory.
Haunted Thanksgiving Table is part of a series, but there is no need to read the whole series. The idea of the fifth book in the series sounds intriguing: I Bought a Haunted Christmas Tree Farm, but after reading Haunted Thanksgiving Table, I very highly doubt I will read this one. And this one is also written Advent style.
I Bought a Haunted Thanksgiving Table was not for me; it was sadly a big disappointment.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Blog Tour: Alcatraz For The Rich by Abi Harvey: A Guest Post
Today I am taking part in the blog tour for Alcatraz for the Rich by Abi Harvey. This is the first book in The Allure of the Morally Grey Hero.
Book Description:
Maisey Green needs an escape. Strapped for cash and running from her past, she stumbles into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a week aboard billionaire Otto Ravenesky’s exclusive superyacht in the South of France.
It’s a world of dazzling luxury and simmering tension, in forced proximity with a man she despises yet can’t ignore, Maisey fights to resist the pull between them. But the chemistry is undeniable, and every charged moment pushes her closer to the edge of temptation—and the guilt that comes with it.
But in this seductive game of power and passion, Maisey must ask herself: how far is she willing to go for freedom—and what will it cost her?
Perfect for fans of Mills & Boon, Sylvia Day and Jackie Collins, Alcatraz For The Rich is a sizzling romance filled with power, lust, and the battle for control in a world where no one plays fair.
Buy Your Copy Here:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
The Allure of the Morally Grey Hero
By Abi Harvey
Heathcliff. Christian Grey. Rhett Butler. Damon Salvatore.
The morally grey hero is one of the most enduring and alluring archetypes in romance — the man readers know they shouldn’t want, yet absolutely cannot resist. But why? What is it about a man who refuses to fit neatly into good or evil that makes him one of the most captivating figures in fiction? The truth is that morally grey heroes live in a seductive Bermuda triangle where danger, charm, and vulnerability collide. They are unpredictable, intoxicating, and emotionally charged. But more importantly, they feel real. In a world full of polished, perfect heroes, the morally grey man feels human — flawed, layered, shaped by experience, and far more interesting for it. A traditional hero is admirable. A morally grey hero is believable.
These men often come from dark, complex backstories — trauma, loss, power, or responsibility that has forced them to harden in order to survive. They’ve built walls instead of boundaries, and armour instead of affection. Their coping mechanisms might be questionable, but their humanity is undeniable. Take Christian Grey: a man defined by obsession with control, yet shaped due to the chaos of his childhood. Or Heathcliff, whose rage and obsession are as much a product of abuse as they are of passion. Their darkness isn’t random; it’s rooted in something recognisably human. Readers aren’t drawn to the darkness itself — they’re drawn to why the darkness exists.
There is a deep, almost instinctual attraction to a man who can be both dangerous to the world and fiercely protective of one person — the heroine. It’s the primal promise of romance novels and the juxtaposition is the heart of the allure. A morally grey man can be intimidating, powerful, even ruthless — but only to those who threaten what he loves. With the heroine, he is loyal, vulnerable, attentive, and utterly devoted. That shift in behaviour is intoxicating because it feels earned, not given. He doesn’t offer his heart lightly. He offers it because she reached a part of him that no one else could touch.
However, in reality, would you want to date Heathcliff? Probably not. But in fiction, his devotion and depth offer something reality rarely does: a man capable of immense passion and loyalty precisely because of his flaws. Real-world men often lack the intensity, single-minded devotion, and emotional revelation we find in morally grey heroes. Fiction lets us explore the thrill of loving someone powerful enough to destroy — but gentle enough to choose tenderness. The most compelling moment in any morally grey hero’s arc is the moment the mask slips. The moment the controlled, intimidating exterior fractures, revealing fear, longing, or love underneath.
That vulnerability is pure emotional payoff. It validates every spark, every argument, every moment of tension. Readers don’t want a perfect man. They want a powerful man who becomes soft only for the heroine. One of the most important elements of a morally grey hero is that the heroine does not try to “fix” him. Instead, he chooses to change. His arc is not about being saved by a woman, but about seeing himself through her eyes and realising he can be more than his past. Love doesn’t rescue him — it reveals him.
This dynamic sits at the centre of my own morally grey hero, Otto Ravenesky, in my debut novel Alcatraz for the Rich. Ravenesky embodies the modern archetype: devastatingly wealthy, guarded, magnetic, and feared within his world. His dealings with others are cold, calculated, and often manipulative — a man who trusts no one and owes nothing.
But with Maisey, the heroine, his cracks begin to show. He reveals a vulnerability he’s never allowed himself to express, an almost painful desire to protect her, even from himself. His loyalty, once earned, is absolute — but he is not an easy man to earn. That friction, that danger laced with devotion, raises the stakes of Maisey’s emotional journey and makes their romance deliciously combustible.
Ultimately, the allure of the morally grey hero lies in contradiction. He is danger and devotion. Control and vulnerability. Flaw and redemption. He is a man who shouldn’t be loved — and that is precisely why it feels so powerful when he loves. In a world that demands perfection, the morally grey hero reminds us that the most compelling characters — and the most intoxicating loves — live in the grey shadows between.
About the Author:
Abi Harvey, born and raised in the picturesque seaside county of Devon, England, discovered her love for storytelling early on. After earning a degree in English Literature from the University of Exeter, she honed her craft by studying screenwriting, mastering the art of weaving gripping stories. “I always write what I want to read,” says Abi, whose talent for spinning captivating tales began in childhood, entertaining family and classmates with her vivid imagination. After moving to London, she built a successful career in luxury fashion, but her passion for writing never faded. A true creative force, Abi writes every day and is always working on a new novel or script. Now, she splits her time between South Devon and London, where she enjoys painting, staying active, and traveling for inspiration. You can follow Abi on Instagram (@abiharvey21) to stay up to date with her latest releases.
Contact Abi:
Instagram: @abiharvey21
The Entire Blog Tour:
Accidentally I ended up on the poster for two days, but am only on the tour for today:
