Description
Literature professor Louise Richards has a secret. She isn’t human. Her evergreen body harbors a weathered soul, jaded and no longer thriving. That is, until fascinating student Nicole Stark walks into her classroom and awakens something within.
Nicole is different and alluring in ways Louise can’t quite put her finger on. Who is this mysterious, enticing woman? What is she hiding? Louise would love to lose herself in those knowing eyes and that teasing smile, and find out everything.
A supernatural lesbian romance about embracing secrets and being true to ourselves.
Additional information
| Publication Date | October 2018 |
|---|---|
| Formats | epub (for Kindle Reader/Kindle Apps, for iBooks, Nook etc.), mobi, and pdf |
| Length | approx. 4,000 words |
| Language | English |
| ISBNs | 978-3-96324-098-0 (mobi), 978-3-96324-099-7 (epub), 978-3-96324-100-0 (pdf) |
| Publisher | Ylva Publishing |
Download Instructions
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Karola – :
***free ARC
From the beginning you know there‘s something more about Louise, but what? The tension is growing between her and student Nicole and one thing is sure: this book is much too short! I hope KL Hughes is planning the long version of this story.. please!
Patricia Iserman – :
I liked what I read.If there is more coming I would be happy to read it.
Carol Hutchinson – :
This short story was amazing!
It captured me as a reader and drew me in to it with the wonder of the words that formed it. With a poetic feel, and a dark, deeply beautiful story I was entranced and swept up in this story that isn’t all as it might seem at first. Fascinating with haunting beauty!
The perfect read for a long, relaxing coffee break with some biscuits (or maybe on an Autumn evening with a nice glass of wine and the lights down low!)
Loved this so much that I wish there were more, but it is perfect just as it is!
Betty Harmon – :
“The Sea” by K.L. Hughes is a paranormal short story with two very interesting characters. The reader sees the story through the eyes of Professor Louise Richards who we discover is not human but an old soul who has become tired of the life she has had to live. Then she meets Nicole Stark, one of her students who is an intriguing mystery to Louise.
I picked up this short story mainly because of the author. I generally don’t choose paranormal tales, but I knew Ms. Hughes is an excellent author so I gave it a try. I’m very glad I did. The story is told in the first person narrative through the eyes of Louise. First person narrative is hard to do well, but the “The Sea” is a perfect example of how to write in this narrative.
As I read the story, I was able to put myself inside Louise. I saw what she saw, felt what she felt, smelled what she smelled and tasted what she did. The descriptions were so sharp and vivid it was easy to do that. Excellent writing.
I would love to see this story turned into a novel and I do hope the author is planning to do so. I would gladly choose to read this paranormal story as a book.
I received this story as an ARC in exchange for an honest review, but you can also get the story free at the publisher’s website.
Ana Leamaro – :
Free ARC
I didn’t noticed this was a short story, so when it was over I thought the rest of the book was missing. I was captured from the beginning with the characters, and I was thinking “wow this is great” and then it was finished! Could you please write the rest of the book? :)) Loved It and would like more!
cheekybugger13 (verified owner) – :
I normally don’t comment on shorts but KL Hughes’ “The Sea” is a rare exception for me because…WOW! What a SPELLBINDING supernatural lesfic short, indeed! As usual, Hughes’ beautiful, poetic, lyrical words simply mesmerised!
Ohhh…Louise and Nicole… Seductive!
First off, I didn’t know anything about the story except that there was a professor, Louise, and a mysterious student of hers, Nicole. But because it was Hughes’ lesfic work, and being that I’ve always enjoyed her lyrically poetic writing style and storytelling (“Popcorn Love” and “The Art of Us”), I just had to check out this mysteriously-sounding story. Plus, hey, didn’t hurt that Ylva offered it for FREE, did it?
From the first words in the story describing Louise and her disposition, particularly in regard to the ever-mysterious student of hers who just showed up one day in her classroom, Nicole, I was completely hooked. Addicted. Anyway, for reasons Louise couldn’t fathom, every sense of her being seemed to be bewitched by the mere appearance of Nicole which Hughes described in every colourful, seductively mesmerising detail so vividly that I could literally feel the magnetic pull that Louise was feeling for Nicole! Therein lied the dilemma…..Louise’s dilemma. There was no chance in hell she was going to let herself be tempted because of a vitally crucial life-changing reason. Yes, she carried a long-held, very dark secret that she’d hidden about herself and did not want it to ruin or taint Nicole in any way. In essence, Louise really didn’t have any choice.
But the more Louise tried to make herself scarce, the more she found her seemingly unavoidable student to be always lurking in her orbit, not to mention her ever-hypnotic aroma and energy that would literally rendered Louise useless! And that could never be as far as struggling Louise was concerned! Poor soul! So, desperate times called for desperate measures. She blatantly avoided Nicole who was just behaving innocently with her, either asking her about the course or seeking guidance like any other student of hers, really.
Then, the final act happened and what a shocking twist, indeed! Left me desperately yearning for more because the words, the expressions of the final scene were so sublimely lyrical with utterly stunning visuals lulling my consciousness into complete satiation. So crushingly intoxicating were the effects! What a superb ending! One word: Poetic.
I would most definitely read anything related to this brilliantly created, deliciously sizzling, original story if Hughes were to explore it further. But this short ticks every box in the storytelling narrative, though. In only 4K words, Hughes managed to convey a beautifully crafted story, complete with solidly described characters, situations, the plot and the mystery that gnawed at me senses from the start that kept me guessing until the very end! So, bloody well done, Hughes! I’m gobsmacked!
An enthusiastic MUST-READ! In only 10 minutes of reading, you’ll get to experience one of the most creative, original, not to mention, breathtakingly rousing tales of mystery and the supernatural!
Czarina (verified owner) – :
If only I could give this another five stars. You ever wanted a short story to have a sequel? Come to think of it, I wouldn’t even mind a prequel. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying this was absolute perfection.
From start to finish, you could create a melody with the writing. The tension between the characters is palpable and the reveal at the end is beautifully surprising to say the least.
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the supernatural twist and turns a good story can offer. Maybe read with a glass of wine on a rainy night.
With a talented author like Hughes, I am not surprised that this short story is spellbinding.
pharridge – :
A fun short story. I’m not usually a paranormal book person but I have loved KL Hughes previous novels so I thought I would give it a go. Surprisingly I enjoyed reading it. There characters were interesting and well developed.
If only this story was extended into a novella…what happens further down the track?
stephasselin – :
To be honest, I had not read the details of the offer before getting this book to review, so I was more than surprised to find that the full length ‘’book’’ I was expecting to read turned out to be a less than 35 pages short story waiting for me to read and review.
There isn’t much to say about it, it is a good short story that could probably have been more than what it was, given more pages to the story, but it was still good.
It ended way too fast, right when the story was beginning to get my full attention. It’s a great short to read; it is mysterious and captivating. The universe really could be explored more.
RainbowMoose’s Reviews
@RainbowMReviews
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
killerwit68 – :
I really liked this first person short paranormal tale. While low word count is often an invitation to do quick little fluffy romance pieces, The Sea was a little deeper and more introspective than other fictions of like genre and length. Hughes didn’t just tell us Louise’s age, she made us feel it by putting the weight solidly on the reader’s shoulders with each detail and observation we experience through Lou’s eyes.
Louise and Nicole’s characters were intriguing enough that I’m hoping that this short story is a precursor to a book about them down the road. I would love to see what Hughes takes us next. The Sea is a quick read but definitely worth it, and worth watching what Hughes puts out next.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
@LesbianReviews
@WORDNRD68
Anna Gramlich – :
My only complaint? It’s way too short. I’ve been a fan of Hughes’ writing, so I’m not surprised she’s able to pack a good punch in such a quick, yet sexy, read. The characters are so mystical and even when I thought I had figured out one, I was guessing until the end on the other. I’m hoping this is just a nice intro to a great paranormal story? Please?! Let that be the case?!
Such a fantastic read. I want more!
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
@LesbianReviews
Cristina (verified owner) – :
I know that I’m dealing with a good writer when the first sentence of her short story grabs me and then every sentence thereafter tightens that grip until the last moments seep under my skin. A 5-star rating means that, without question, the short story “The Sea”, by KL Hughes, accomplished that feat. The story’s first sentence established a captivating tone (dread in the form of preoccupation), proposed a question that demands an answer (why does Louise feel that way about Nicole), and setup anticipation for conflict between Louise and Nicole that could have true and lasting consequences (and, whoa, did it!). “The Sea” did not disappoint; I greatly enjoyed reading it, even though the ending was perhaps a bit abrupt-ish, more on that later. (But, to quickly note, the ending was immensely cathartic in the best kind of way yet devilishly teasing like an ‘almost’ cliffhanger.)
I expect short stories to be, well, good, lol, but also to captivate and challenge me. That could include: making me care about an anti-hero; impressing me with lyrical prose that I can’t help but highlight or quote; masterfully manipulating my feels; making me question certain aspects about the story’s world or even about real life; presenting me with a you-must-solve-it mystery; and so on. For me, a short story must be impactful in some way, and it has very little time and words in which to be as such. KL Hughes nails that requirement in “The Sea” by toying with the expectations of what would usually be presented in a supernatural lesbian story. Hughes gives the reader a narrator, Louise, whose recounting of her own tale might be unreliable at certain moments due to her preoccupation with her life choices, her struggle to reconcile her true non-human self with her current in-the-human world self, and her inability to fully parse what she’s experiencing with Nicole. And it’s utterly captivating. With Louise’s intense introspection of her feelings and thoughts, and her puzzling yet highly seductive moments encountering Nicole, Hughes builds suspenseful narrative tension that manages to be both hypnotically lyrical and achingly sensual. There’s a longing inherent in “The Sea” that is beautiful and haunting. I can’t help but root for Louise whilst suspecting that her efforts to control several aspects of her life are futile, especially in light of what Nicole symbolizes for her. And, it kills me that I can’t discuss the specific ways in which “The Sea” subverts assumptions about lesbian supernatural stories and manipulates perceptions of what is actually taking place in the cat-and-mouse interplay between Louise and Nicole—because to do so would spoil a big reveal.
And that big reveal comes in the form of a twist near the end. One that is definitely worth the build up!
The ending that follows has a sort of abruptness to it that might catch some readers off guard. But, I’m of the opinion that one likely reason the ending was written that way is, revelations or epiphanies sometimes happen in one quick yet cathartic moment, and sometimes a short story can diminish in its returns—in the way it rewards a reader’s attention—if the story lingers too long after a major twist without warranting the extra words. The ending works in “The Sea” because the twist catapults so much of the story into a greater, clarified perspective. And, like all good short stories that contain mystery elements, KL Hughes plays fair with the reader: the twist can be extrapolated from what has come before it and the twist so definitively answers the story’s main mystery that nothing more needs to be explained for the story to make sense or work. (Yes, more could definitely be explored, because Louise and Nicole are good characters, and so readers will naturally want to spend more time with them. I certainly would welcome more short stories, novellas or novels about Louise and Nicole. However, this short story’s main mystery is solved in the twist reveal.) Some readers will be able to make correct assumptions about the story’s twist, because clues abound, and others will be genuinely surprised by the twist, because the clues are deftly buried. For me, the story’s main question, and thus the main reason to keep telling its tale, was always: What is happening between Louise and Nicole? And, the twist answered that question with a bang!
“The Sea” definitely earned my 5-stars. It’s free, so, if you love lesbian stories, especially ones that step outside the box and do so with skill, then there’s no excuse for not reading KL Hughes’s tale. Pick it up today!