A year after her husband’s death, Vashti grows weary of the grief and loneliness that plagues her. Forcing herself to leave the sanctuary of her mansion, she ventures into town. Although Vashti intends to maintain her privacy, she finds herself compelled to take in a recently single college student.
When Absalom’s girlfriend is caught cheating, he ends up with no place to go. Vashti’s offer of … offer of housing in exchange for companionship seems heaven sent, even if it does come with a strangely specific contract.
Things are going well for both Vashti and Absalom until his friend Simeon enters the picture. With his entrance into their lives he brings unwanted drama with him. The privacy Vashti has worked so hard to protect is suddenly endangered, and Absalom sees everything he’s built with Vashti begin to crumble.
When lives are threatened, will Vashti’s solution to the problem alter the course of their lives forever?
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The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkyrie & Rebecca E. McEwen. This is one of my favorite genres so I was super excited to read this and it did not disappoint. This is the story of Vashti who is grieving over the loss of her husband. She feels totally alone so one day she decides to go to town and she meets Absalom a college student. They get friendly and she ends up offering him a room in her house for his companionship. She even draws up a contract. Things are going quite well until Absalom’s friend Simeon comes into play. He brings all kinds of drama and just a ton of baggage. When Vashti starts to feel her perfect little safe life is being threatened she loses it. When Vashti comes up with a solution Absalom is not sure how he feels about the plan but he doesn’t really have a choice at the moment. This is such a good fast paced mystery. Get ready to buckle your seat belt because you are in for a great ride!
The Widow is a novel by Naomi Valkyrie and Rebecca E. McEwen. This is my first novel by these authors.
I haven’t read a dark romance like this where a main character’s spouse passes away and the widow begins a relationship with someone.
Vashti starts a relationship with Absalom but things become complicated when a friend gets into the picture.
I have been on a dark romance kick lately and another this is another one I recommend.
5/5 Stars
The Widow by Rebecca E. McEwen & Naomi Valkyrie
This is the first book I’ve ever read by Mrs. McEwen and Mrs. Valkyrie. They have done an outstanding job writing these characters. This book was hard to put down.
Vashti lost her husband and tried to figure out how to move on with her life. She is tired of sitting in the big house by herself. She ventures out to town and things start looking up. The quote I choose for Vashti is: “I know this is an unusual arrangement, but you will be taken care of in the event you should choose to end it. The only way you leave with nothing is if you violate the rules.”
Absalom, a college student, finds that life isn’t all it seems. He goes to a coffee shop and finds himself enchanted by Vashti. He finds himself in a sticky situation and is offered a good thing. The quote I choose for Absalom is: “You’re inviting a virtual stranger into your home? And you’re okay with that?”
Simeon, also a college student, finds himself in the middle of a situation. He goes to a friend hoping he can help out. When he is given the opportunity to stay with his friend things look up. The quote I choose for Simeon is: “Yeah, honestly, I do. You know, I’m really ashamed to say it, but I was expecting some freaky Night of the Living Dead kinda shit when I walked in the door here. It’s funny how you create judgments about people just because they dress weird or act other than what we would consider normal. I don’t want to know what people think about my family and me. Yeah, yeah, man, I have a good feeling about this.”
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good romance. It has a dark edge to it and it’s fantastic. This is a hard to put down novel and is a real page turner.
I enjoyed reading this book. At first, I was slightly surprised by how dark the book felt, but then it grew on me. The author used this dark feeling well making it easy to develop an empathy for the main character. Each character was well developed with their introduction. I liked how easy this book was to read. I was able to sit down and just get lost in the reading, without thinking. Before I knew it, this book was over. The varied sentence structure really helped me to stay focused. I like how the author changes the tone in this book. It is almost like you see the light and dark, which is a good play on real life with its ups and downs. I recommend checking this book out!
The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkryie & Rebecca E. McEwen is a quick read. I enjoyed the story but found it a little slow in the beginning and by the time it picked up it was almost over. Having said that, the creative way Naomi and Rebecca have written the story you knew something was building but you just could not put your finger on it until it is revealed.
Being a recluse and private person, no one could guess what goes on behind closed doors.
The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkyrie & Rebecca E. McEwen – Review by Angela Montoya
Naomi Valkyrie and Rebecca E. McEwen did such a flawless job of pulling me from reality into the dark, slightly twisted world they created for Vashti and Absalom.
Vashti, alone and vulnerable in her grief, decides to try her hand at moving on, having no idea that Absalom was the man that would change everything for her. Their story was an absolute page-turner! I couldn’t’ put the book down until I was finished and then found myself yearning for more!
The Widow was my first time reading from both Naomi & Rebecca, but I can guarantee I will not be the last! I loved this story!!!!
The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkyrie and Rebecca E McEwan is an intriguing story that had me utterly hooked from the beginning. I was drawn completely into these characters. The relationships between them, the character development were all so amazing to observe.
The story was such a good one. It was well written and the two authors writing style worked so well together. They really knew how to pull out all the emotions and create a vivid and lasting story. It really felt like the pages turned themselves as I was reading this, I could not put it down. This is another amazing story by 2 incredible authors and I cannot wait to see what the produce together in the future.
The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkyrie, Rebecca E. McEwen
4 of 5 Stars
This dark romantic fantasy is a short read at only seventy eight pages but it’s a complete story and is a gripping read. Vashti has grown weary of the grief and loneliness that has plagued her since her husbands death a year before and for the first time she leaves the sanctuary of her mansion to venture into town. Meanwhile Absalom is left homeless having learnt that his girlfriend has cheated on him. When the two meet Vashti feels compelled to offer Absalom a room in her mansion. Vashti is looking for companionship and Absalom is keen to except the offer even if it does come with a strangely specific contract. Things are going well for both Vashti and Absalom until Simeon, Absalom’s friend appears and brings with him unwanted drama. Vashti has always longed for privacy and has worked hard to protect it and suddenly this is endangered. Absalom can see everything that he’s built with Vashti beginning to crumble. When lives are threatened Vashti comes up with a solution but this will change both their lives forever. I found myself hooked from the beginning of this story, Vashti and Absalom are great characters and their emotions really came through in the narrative. The whole story had a dark atmospheric feel to it and I could not put it down.
This book was freaking wonderful, for all intensive purposes and for the lack of more colorful wording, freaking wonderful. If you read this and don’t fall in love with Vashti and Absalom, I vote you come back and read it again. Kudos ladies, I loved this book.
I loved reading the book The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkyrie & Rebecca E. McEwen. It is a story that pulled me in from the beginning and I couldn’t stop until I finished. It is a story that is dark & mysterious. It is well developed and has characters which made the story pop and easy to read. I enjoyed reading about the characters of Vashti and Absalom. Vashti is grieving over the loss of her husband. Absalom is a young man who doesn’t have a place to call home. The way the book is written I could feel the emotions of Vashti and Absalom. Read this book to find out what happens. Don’t miss out on a story that is this entertaining. I would highly recommend reading it.
The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkyrie & Rebecca E. McEwen
5 Stars
This is my 2nd book by this team of authors and I loved it! The beginning of the book had me literally feeling everything that was going through Vashti’s mind..Her emotions jumped off the pages and were written beautifully! Vashti’s character building might just be up there with some of the best. I truly felt like I knew her, and I could actually see everything she was seeing. This was awesome!!
As the story progressed and other players were brought into the mix, I found myself so engrossed in this story that I could not put it down, and truly did not want it to end. I knew there was more to everything than what I was seeing, I just kept waiting for it. The subtle way this story revealed itself was nothing short of perfection.
These two authors are amazing together and the way they reel you in is so much fun and even though you think you know what’s coming, and even though you might be right, it’s still a surprise when all plays out. I dont have the words to explain all of this correctly but just know that this is a must read, I loved it and will be reading it again, and my hope is that these 2 authors keep going…They are fiercely talented!
Highly recommend!
I loved this story, This is not my first book by these authors but it is my favorite yet so far. This is a shorter story that left me wanting more. It is well developed and has characters which made the story pop and easy to read. This is a story about Vashti and the life she built for herself. She lives alone until she takes in Absalom. Things are great with them until a friend enters their lives and throws drama into the situation. Vashti has a solution but how far will she go to keep what she has built safe? It could just alter everyone’s life forever. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it. It pulled me right in, I highly recommend this book.
The Widow is an enticing romantic novel by Naomi Valkyrie and Rebecca E. McEwen. In it, we meet the beautiful and mysterious widow Vashti Paladin and gradually learn her secrets as she befriends students Absalom and Simeon.
In spite of its modern setting, The Widow definitely has a feel of the Gothic to it. Scenes reminded me of Northanger Abbey and Bluebeard’s Castle, but in this case our inquisitive young heroines were men. There’s a locked door which Simeon and the readers are both desperate to open and terrified of what might be behind.
It’s billed as a dark story, but has a warmth and a light to it that I wasn’t expecting. There’s a focus on found family and protectiveness – Vashti is private but kind to those she lets in.
The Widow is an engrossing read and gets five stars from me. I’d recommend it to fans of the Gothic who are eager to see gender roles reversed, and fans of paranormal romance. The twists and secrets will keep you turning the pages – I couldn’t put it down!