🌲 Book Review: The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Kindle Edition)
A dark, sensuous fairy tale steeped in longing, jealousy, and the dangerous allure of strangers—Silvia Moreno-Garcia delivers a short, atmospheric read that blends gothic romance with folkloric menace.
🧠 Overview
First published on November 1, 2023 as part of Amazon Original Stories, The Lover is a 43-page standalone short set in a remote, wintry village.
It follows Judith, the plainer of two sisters, who has always lived in the shadow of her beautiful, pampered sibling Alice. When a handsome hunter named Nathaniel arrives seeking shelter from the brutal winter, Judith dares to hope her wish for love has been answered—only to watch him choose Alice as his wife.
But Judith’s life takes a stranger turn when another man emerges from the woods: a ragged, magnetic vagrant who offers her something mysterious and unsettling. As a relentless snowstorm closes in and a wolf prowls the outskirts, Judith finds herself entangled with both men in ways that blur the line between desire and danger.
🌒 Key Themes & Highlights
- 🐺 Dark fairy tale roots: Echoes of Little Red Riding Hood and other wolf lore
- 💔 Unrequited longing: Judith’s yearning for love drives her into risky entanglements
- 🌲 Gothic atmosphere: Snowbound isolation, shadowy forests, and a sense of creeping dread
- 🧠 Moral ambiguity: Neither man is what he seems, and Judith’s choices are far from innocent
- ✍️ Lyrical prose: Moreno-Garcia’s writing is lush yet sharp, evoking both sensuality and menace
“An unrelenting winter storm and an evasive wolf on the prowl have everyone on edge… and ravenous”.
💬 Reader Reception
- ⭐ Goodreads rating: 3.79/5 from over 14,000 ratings
- 📖 Many praise its sensual tension, claustrophobic setting, and fairy-tale-meets-horror vibe
- 💬 “A delicious little snack of a story—predictable in its arc, but rich in mood and atmosphere”
- 🧾 Some readers wished Judith’s arc subverted the “waiting for a man” trope more strongly, but most agree the prose and mood carry the piece
⚠️ Considerations
- 📄 Short format: At under 50 pages, it’s a mood piece rather than a fully fleshed-out novel
- 🧠 Ambiguous supernatural element: The “wolf” may be literal, metaphorical, or both
- 📚 Standalone: No prior reading required, but fans of Moreno-Garcia’s gothic style will feel at home
🏁 Final Verdict
The Lover is a quick, atmospheric gothic short that delivers on mood, sensuality, and folkloric tension. Perfect for readers who enjoy dark fairy tales, morally complex characters, and endings that leave a trace of frostbite.
