Location: United States
Member Since:
Aug. 15, 2012
Ashley Ferguson
Ashley Ferguson's favorite authors on Smashwords
Smashwords book reviews by Ashley Ferguson
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Dangerous Voices
on Aug. 13, 2013
This story was short, sweet, and to the point. The concept is really interesting - voices are dangerous and the prisoners cannot be heard using them or they will be killed. This leaves room for so many questions though, and we don't get them all answered. Actually, we get very few answered. Why are the voices so dangerous? Where did the muses come from? How do Errik and all of the others get caught in the first place? Who is keeping them in the prison? I was left wanting so much more at the end of this story! I really enjoyed how Carson builds her world and her characters in just a few pages though. We don't know much, but we do learn things from subtle hints and flashbacks. It made me want a full sized novel based on this story - I feel like there's a whole world just screaming to get out. I didn't want to leave Errik behind. I can totally understand why we're left hanging though - Errik has been locked up for so long that I think we learn and know just about as much as he does anymore. I also feel like, as much as there is a novel that wants to come out of this, it just wouldn't have been as effective as a short story. Dangerous Voices is beautiful and haunting, albeit short. I love Carson's other works, and this story just made me want to read all of the Girl of Fire and Thorns novellas even more now. I hope she continues to write more short stories like this one, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys her writing. It's free, you have nothing to lose! A 4/5 on this story from me.
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Sugar Plum
on March 07, 2014
I really enjoyed Damselfly, so imagine my excitement when I stumbled across a novelette set at the same time in the same world with the same types of little people. I'll give you a hint: I was totally stoked. I was so excited to meet another six-inch tall girl and learn more about Lina's world. In Damselfly, we see little to none of the USA. A few glimpses of Hawaii and that's about it. So I thought it was really interesting that, while Lina thinks she's the only girl of her type, the US has created these little fairies to use as spies. It kind of gives a whole new depth to fairies and makes the traditional ornaments seen around Christmas totally creepy, but (apart from shrinking people down to six inches and giving them wings), actually sounds like something that isn't too far-fetched. It's kind of scary to think about, but it's not like we're not all being watched all the time anyway. Just... not by fairies. Sugar is a really interesting character, and I'm really excited that this is just her introduction. I felt like this story kind of just ended and didn't resolve much of anything, but I'm honestly ok with that because I found out there's going to be a sequel to Damselfly and Sugar will be reintroduced in it. So hooray! I enjoyed that this story was set in the same world, but in a totally different location and focused on a completely different character. I can't wait to see how Sugar and Lina meet, and what adventures they will have. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who read Damselfly, since it expands upon the world created there. I would also recommend the series to anyone who loves sci fi and fairy tale retellings. It's a great series, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here. 3/5.