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Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers' Favorite
From Spark to Story: Vol. 1 is an eclectic collection of short stories by Tina Harden. It took just one night for the legend of a queen of a parlor house in Dakota Territory to be erased from people's memories. A young musician finds stardom in Nashville, but her grandfather's unexpected death brings her back to her roots once again. With a broken heart, a young woman in Paris succumbs to her death, only for her to be immortalized by a mask that inspires others to save lives. A bunch of vampires grooms each other before a feast that will grant them freedom from eternity. Santa's agoraphobic reindeer hosts a podcast to connect with children. A worn-out employee at a gas station unexpectedly ends up helping a stranger survive a kidnapping.
The tales in From Spark to Story: Vol. 1 cover different timelines, genres, and narrative tones. You really don't know what to expect from the next one. I absolutely loved this anthology. Tina Harden is a master of crafting immersive settings and characters you find yourself invested in from the get-go. What impressed me the most about this collection was the tonal shifts from each narrative to the next. If one story makes you ponder the human condition, the other might make you laugh at the very absurdity of life itself. I also enjoyed how all these tales had some wild twists and turns that made me even more engaged with the narratives. For someone who loves short stories in general, this was a brilliant collection. I highly recommend it.
