Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Of Shadows and Obsession: A Short Story Prequel to Of Metal and Wishes
    Of Shadows and Obsession: A Short Story Prequel to Of Metal and Wishes
    Of Shadows and Obsession: A Short Story Prequel to Of Metal and Wishes
    Ebook55 pages1 hour

    Of Shadows and Obsession: A Short Story Prequel to Of Metal and Wishes

    By Sarah Fine

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Experience Bo’s world before Wen in this prequel to Of Metal and Wishes, an enovella told from the perspective of the Ghost.

    Since his grisly accident on the killing floor, Bo has “haunted” the Gochan slaughterhouse, and his myth is already powerful. But he still has a thirst to visit the world he left behind all those years ago, so on the eve of First Holiday, he ventures out onto the bustling streets full of revelers—and unseen dangers.

    One night to rejoin the living.
    One girl who touches his heart.
    And one moment that shatters everything.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMargaret K. McElderry Books
    Release dateJun 2, 2015
    ISBN9781481431712
    Of Shadows and Obsession: A Short Story Prequel to Of Metal and Wishes
    Author

    Sarah Fine

    Sarah Fine is the author of several popular series, including The Impostor Queen and the Guards of the Shadowlands. And while she promises she is not psychoanalyzing those around her, she manages to use both her talent as a writer and her experience as a psychologist to great effect. Sarah's stories blur lines, challenge convention, and press boundaries. Her mash-up of seemingly disparate genres yields stories that not only are engaging but will keep readers guessing. Sarah has lived on the West Coast and in the Midwest, but she currently calls the East Coast home. She confesses to having the music tastes of an adolescent boy and an adventurous spirit when it comes to food (especially if it's fried). But if her many books are any indication, writing clearly trumps both her musical and culinary loves.

    Read more from Sarah Fine

    Related to Of Shadows and Obsession

    Related ebooks

    YA Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      “Wicked Fox” Is An Engrossing – If Convoluted – YA Fantasy

      Aug 22, 2019

      Kat Cho’s debut novel “Wicked Fox” is a little complicated, but the poignantly rendered family relationships and fantasy drama are worth the ride.

      3 min read

    • Article

      The City Of Dusk

      Mar 23, 2022

      RELEASED OUT NOW! 576 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook Author Tara Sim Publisher Hodder & Stoughton City Of Dusk is deceptive; it starts off relatively fluffy and ends elbows-deep in blood. It’s told from the perspectives of a number of characters, t

      1 min read

    • Article

      Defy The Night

      Sep 8, 2021

      RELEASED 14 SEPTEMBER 496 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Brigid Kemmerer Publisher Bloomsbury YA The path of true love may not run smoothly, but sometimes it really does run stupidly. In a kingdom riven by disease, young King Harristan and his brothe

      1 min read

    • Article

      Whom He May Devour: Saving her planet would ban her from paradise.

      Jan 7, 2016

      Lydia watched Ahad play the guitar. He leaned against a boulder, eyes shut, his face positioned to catch the last warm rays of the setting sun. His long, slender fingers caressed the strings, producing a slow, haunting melody. The music almost made h

      17 min read

    • Article

      Sistersong

      Mar 24, 2021

      416 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook ▶ Author Lucy Holland ▶ Publisher Macmillan Despite being based on various established sources – Arthurian myth, the writings of the monk Gildas, and the folk ballad “The Twa Sisters” among them – Sistersong feels

      1 min read

    • Article

      Little Thieves

      Oct 6, 2021

      RELEASED 19 OCTOBER 512 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobooks Author Margaret Owen Publisher Hodder & Stoughton A loose adaptation of The Goose Girl – one of the Grimm brothers’ more obscure fairy tales – this book spools out a plot you think you’ve seen

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea

      Feb 23, 2022

      RELEASED OUT NOW! 336 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook Author Axie Oh Publisher Hodder & Stoughton The Korean tradition of telling folk stories goes back thousands of years. One well-known story, “The Tale Of Shim Cheong”, centres on the sacrificial

      1 min read

    • Article

      For The Wolf

      Jun 16, 2021

      ⏵ RELEASED 17 JUNE 480 pages | Paperback/ebook/audiobook ⏵ Author Hannah Whitten ⏵ Publisher Orbit Books Wolves run through fairy tales, flashing a tooth here, a tail there. But if you pick this up expecting to see familiar motifs popping up, you’ll

      1 min read

    • Article

      THE OUTLAWS SCARLETT & BROWNE

      Mar 24, 2021

      400 pages | Paperback/ebook ▶ Author Jonathan Stroud ▶ Publisher Walker Books What a fun little adventure this is – although that’s hardly a surprise, given that it’s penned by the author of the Bartimaeus and Lockwood & Co series (the latter current

      1 min read

    • Article

      Daughter Of The Moon Goddess

      Jan 26, 2022

      RELEASED OUT NOW! 496 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook Author Sue Lynn Tan Publisher HarperVoyager On paper, this story has so many familiar elements (a plucky runaway protagonist trying to help an imprisoned parent, cruel monarchs, a handsome prince

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Witch’s Heart

      May 19, 2021

      RELEASED 4 MAY 400 pages | Paperback/ebook/audiobook Author Genevieve Gornichec Publisher Titan Books Loki was a bit of a player back in the day, fathering children all over the place – he even gave birth to an eight-legged horse himself (try telling

      1 min read

    • Article

      Queen Of Salt

      Feb 6, 2020

      Queen Of Salt
      10 min read

    • Article

      This Poison Heart

      Jul 14, 2021

      ⏵ RELEASED OUT NOW! 400 pages | Paperback/ebook/audiobook ⏵ Author Kalynn Bayron ⏵ Publisher Bloomsbury ➔ Gifted with gorgeous cover art and bursting with evocative worldbuilding, This Poison Heart is a feast – and with its luxurious descriptions of

      1 min read

    • Article

      Yara And The Witch Queen

      Oct 1, 2019

      I knew the dangers of witchcraft. My parents had told me about the time before I was born, when magic plagued our desert kingdom of Bahati. Untrained witch doctors trying to cure warts ended up paralyzing their patients or turning them into crocodile

      10 min read

    • Article

      A Cosmology Of Monsters

      Jun 17, 2020

      RELEASED 30 JUNE 448 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Shaun Hamill Publisher Titan Books Shaun Hamill’s debut arrives with a fierce buzz and a glowing Stephen King cover quote. That feels apt. A Cosmology Of Monsters may riff heavily on HP Lovecraft’s

      1 min read

    • Article

      Something For Nothing

      Mar 1, 2020

      Something For Nothing
      4 min read

    • Article

      Two Sides To A Story: Why Feminist Retellings Are Filling Our Bookshelves

      Mar 24, 2023

      From Circe to Medusa via Persephone, Electra and the women of Troy, it seems there are few characters from Greek mythology left who haven’t been the subject of a feminist retelling in recent years. This year, the world of such reimaginings is expandi

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Book Eaters

      Aug 10, 2022

      The Book Eaters
      1 min read

    • Article

      Paper Princess

      Apr 1, 2023

      Paper Princess
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Of Shadows and Obsession

    3.5/5

    35 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This is the first book in the Of Metal and Wishes duology. I really ended up enjoying this steampunk YA book about a girl who lives in a factory with her father (who is a the factory doctor). This is based on The Phantom of the Opera and it does a great job of paralleling that story while introducing a unique world and characters.The story does start out a bit rough; the writing was a bit stark and simple for me. However, as I progressed through the story I found myself incredibly engaged with this world, the characters, and the story. I would have liked to see more of the broader world and maybe a bit more world-building because we never really leave the factory area. Hopefully the next book will show some of this.Overall this was a good read and I enjoyed it. I would recommend to those who enjoy steampunk mystery reads. This is a lighter read but does combine some interesting themes. I plan on continuing the series.
    • 2/5
      I feel like there's a lot going for this book, but the YA romantic trope was just too same-ol, same-ol, and I couldn't get through it. Possibly it's just me.
    • 3/5
      Nicely written retelling of The Phantom of the Opera. I found the use of the standard YA tropes irritating as this could've been such a lovely standalone novel. But of course, fantasy YA books are never standalone.

      Love triangle was handled relatively deftly. Still gets the stupid love triangle shelf, because it is yet another love triangle. Even if the author is pulling the relationship directly from her source material.
    • 3/5
      I've been wearying of the whole dystopia thing and then this piqued my interest. Superstition, tradition, injustice and sidelong romance combine for a compelling and suspenseful narrative set in an unpecified industrial Asian nation. Looks to be the start of a series...of course.
    • 5/5
      While an easy way to describe this novel is to say "a Chinese Dystopian version of Phantom of the Opera," that does not come close to describing the intricacies of this book. Wen's father is the only doctor for Factory One, where cattle are butchered and the workers are kept in massive debt by the trickiness of overseer Mugo. After her mother passes away, Wen moves to the factory and begins to learn how to translate her seamstress skills into medical skills; however, her fancy clothes make her stand out and not in a good way. The "balance" in the factory is shifting as the wild Noor (think Mongols or Russian, based on the physical descriptions) are brought in to help during the busy season - and Wen finds herself wrapped up in their struggles, falls in love with the unofficial leader Melik, and is on the path to a ruined reputation if she isn't careful. Then there's Bo. Bo = the Phantom. He is known to the factory's residents as the Ghost. He was severely injured in a butchering accident years before the novel begins, but Wen's father patched him up and told him stories of Wen to give him something else to focus on. Bo is a very well developed character as even though his actions are not always nice (some are downright psychopathic), the reader always understands WHY he chose to commit those actions. His fear, his devotion, his obsession, they all come through clearly with each interaction he has with Wen. Fans of romances set in a dystopian world or who are looking for a fantasy with a non-European basis will especially like this book.
    • 5/5
      Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.allthingsuf.comOF METAL AND WISHES hits that perfect blend of interesting world building, real characters, and romantic danger. Reminiscent of The Phantom of the Opera and THE HUNGER GAMES, these familiar components click together to create an altogether different dynamic. I couldn’t get this story out of my head until the very last page, and now I daydream about what comes next.Mixing realism with fantasy, OF METAL AND WISHES contains culture clashes that could be found in our own history with an utterly original bleak, industrialized world. Wen too is a well-written teenager, with elements of drama and misunderstanding leavened by strength, courage, and a willingness to grow. She alternately treads close to Mary Sue and unredeemable, but never tips either extreme to the point where I would lose sympathy for her. Through grief and romance and danger, I was always invested in her next move. Even the romantic elements, tuned to such a dramatic story as The Phantom, take a more nuanced and sympathetic path. Despite the desires and expectations of so many men around her, Wen finds her own way.The downside of realistic dystopias, however, is that even a happy ending doesn’t wash away the political and societal dangers surrounding characters. OF METAL AND WISHESoffers a satisfying, short-term standalone, but true happiness waits behind momentous events in future books. Wen is a well-equipped to face this future, however, and I can’t wait to read along with her.Sexual Content: Attempted rape, references to sex.

    Book preview

    Of Shadows and Obsession - Sarah Fine

    Chapter One

    THE POINT OF THE COMPASS punches through the paper and lets out a tinny squeal as it scrapes against the steel work surface. Unacceptable. My perfect metal fingers lift it straight up, smooth and strong and steady. I slide another sheet of thin rice paper onto my desk and turn the knob at my elbow a fraction to loosen the tension. Sometimes I forget to adjust it when I switch between tasks, when I go from heavy work to intricate calculations. Sometimes I forget how strong I am. Sometimes I destroy things accidentally. Other times, I destroy things on purpose.

    Last night was more the former than the latter, but that doesn’t make the situation any better for the family who waits out in the Ring, wondering when their boy will arrive home for the First Holiday feasting. I am the only one who knows the answer to their question.

    Never.

    He is the reason I need to finish my calculations. Well, not him really, because as I sit here, his bones are slowly turning to ash in the factory’s furnace. This is for others like him. This is to protect them, all of them.

    From me.

    With my grip adjusted, I dive into angles of reflection, curvature, intensity of ambient light. . . . I live for a while within the grid on my paper, between the axes, contained by lines and degrees. There is nothing as soothing as this, nothing that quiets my thoughts so well. I pull the factory blueprints onto my work surface and make sure I have the scale right. I select each mirror from my collection, choosing only the flawless ones that will give me an undistorted view.

    By this time tomorrow, I will be able to peer through one of my pipes and see the entire area around my altar. I can already see all of the cafeteria, including the kitchens. The killing floor from four different angles. Boss Jipu’s office, and Underboss Mugo’s office too. All the entrances to the factory and the compound gates. The furnace room. The roof. The corridors. But there is a blind spot just outside the cafeteria apparently, and that is where the young man was hiding.

    I didn’t see him until it was too late. Strongly built and nearing twenty, maybe. I’d seen him wolfing down steamed buns in the cafeteria, and laughing with his friends after shifts. One who came back with candied dates from his mother and a bottle of rice wine from his father after weekends off. His name was Atanyo, and I knew his habits like I know those of everyone else at Gochan One. He didn’t like hard brown bread but loved barley soup. He visited the whores in the Ring sometimes but never stayed long. He lusted after Mugo’s pretty, young secretary, Lovey, like every other man in the factory, including and especially Mugo himself.

    Atanyo’s sloppily scrawled wishes were all about Lovey, day after day. He left me a few candied dates each time to convince me to turn her head, as if I had that power.

    Perhaps his often-repeated and as-yet-ungranted wish was the reason he was waiting for me. Or maybe he was simply wondering who collects the offerings that crowd that low wooden table every single day, dripping and rolling off its edges, sometimes getting singed by the candles set up in a row over the top. Thirteen candles, for the thirteen years I was alive and whole. Thirteen candles, for the years I was a child, when I believed I would go on and on. Four years have passed since then. I’m not a child anymore. Nor am I alive. Or whole.

    Now I am the Ghost.

    But sometimes I think I’m something . . . more.

    I don’t know what Atanyo thought, though. Perhaps he was only curious. Or greedy. Whatever it was, it made him stealthy. I emerged from the stairwell and walked to the altar to gather the wishes and the gifts, the things that connect me to the people of Gochan One, the things they hope will connect them to the Ghost. I always check outside the cafeteria before I come up here. If there’s anyone there, I wait until they leave. But Atanyo, he must have been snugged

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1