The Lover

By now, Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an author I fully trust, no matter the genre or subject matter. Her latest release is a short story called The Lover, part of the Amazon Original Stories collection. It comes out on November 1st, but I was able to get it as part of the Amazon First Reads program this month. 

Summary

Judith is a young woman who longs for love, and according to a simple ritual she did, she believes that her soulmate with come from beyond the woods. Thus, when a hunter arrives looking for a place to stay, Judith is sure he must be her lover. Instead, he marries her older sister, Alice. Judith is disappointed and unsure what to think. This is when another stranger arrives in town, a thin man who must be a vagrant or a thief. Over time, Judith forms a strange relationship with both the hunter and the vagrant, each illicit in their own way. Meanwhile, winter is pressing on and a wolf lurks in the forest. Who will make it to spring? 

Review

With a name like The Lover, you may go into this story expecting a romance. It could be argued that this is a bit of a dark or paranormal romance, but it might be better described as fantasy and horror. Indeed, this book plays out like a sort of Brothers Grimm fable, the kind of fairy tale that comes with a lesson… or simply scares readers into good behavior. 

Judith isn’t the most likable protagonist, certainly coming across as morally gray at best when she starts sleeping with a married man. And the way she treats the apparent vagrant isn’t always the nicest, but perhaps she’s more generous with him than anyone else. She keeps both men away from each other, but what is her ultimate goal in that division? 

I love the sense of mystery surrounding the vagrant. He claims to be a wolf by night, but surely that can’t be true… right? Everything about him is off, but Judith never takes him at his word or fears him. More questions only emerge as the story progresses until its shocking end.

Despite being only 43 pages, The Lover feels like a complete story. It’s compelling and its small cast of characters are fully realized. Even though it goes by fast, the story packs a punch the same way that Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s full-length novels do.

Final Thoughts

The Lover is a strange and captivating read, perfect for this time of year. Like a good fable, it will get under your skin and ignite your imagination even after the last page. 

Get the Book

You can buy The Lover here – it’s available as an ebook.

The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Format	Short Story
Audience	Adult
Genre	Fantasy; Horror
Number of Pages	43
Format I Read	Ebook (Amazon First Reads)
Original Publication Date	November 1, 2023

Official Summary

During a brutal winter, a young woman longing for love finds more than she expected in the woods, in this wickedly sensuous short story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.

Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty one—but that doesn’t stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stay—but as Alice’s husband, not her own. When another stranger comes out of the woods, looking every bit a vagrant, he offers Judith something mysterious and enticingly strange. Against reason and decency, she welcomes both men into her life, in different ways. As forbidden longings ensnare each of them, an unrelenting winter storm and an evasive wolf on the prowl have everyone on edge…and ravenous. By spring thaw, will any of their hungers be satisfied?