What do you think?
Rate this book
Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove
Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove is an eclectic collection of short stories and flash fiction.
Whether there’s an incident at the front desk, something not quite right with the room, a bear stopping in for a beer, or a resolute robot revolt, lives change by the minute within the grounds, rooms, and corridors of the legendary Hotel Stormcove. Lovers meet, witches gather, friends connect, and those in need always find shelter.
See you at the reception desk?
296 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2019
About the author
E.D.E. Bell
34 books205 followersE.D.E. Bell (she/her or e/em) loves fantasy fiction, and enjoys blending classic and modern elements. A passionate vegan and earnest progressive, she feels strongly about issues related to equality and compassion. Her works often explore conceptions of identity and community, including themes of friendship, family, and connection. She lives in Ferndale, Michigan, where she writes stories and revels in garlic. You can follow her adventures at edebell.com.
Bell was born in the year of the fire dragon during a Cleveland blizzard. After a youth in the Mitten, an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, three wonderful children, and nearly two decades in Northern Virginia and Southwest Ohio developing technical intelligence strategy, she started the indie press Atthis Arts. Working through mental disorders and an ever-complicated world, she now tries to bring light and love as she can through fantasy fiction, as a proud part of the Detroit arts community.
Bell was born in the year of the fire dragon during a Cleveland blizzard. After a youth in the Mitten, an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, three wonderful children, and nearly two decades in Northern Virginia and Southwest Ohio developing technical intelligence strategy, she started the indie press Atthis Arts. Working through mental disorders and an ever-complicated world, she now tries to bring light and love as she can through fantasy fiction, as a proud part of the Detroit arts community.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 3, 2019
Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove is a short story anthology featuring 61 authors. All genres are represented. Writing styles greatly differ. It's a most unusual and unique collection with a fascinating thought provoking premise, which I'm not going to tell you because it would spoil it. While I didn't connect with every story, some were excellent and resonated with me. One aspect that makes anthologies such as this one successful is the inclusive variety. No matter your taste or preference, there is a story here for you. The bigger picture of this collection spans a massive range of complexity and dynamism that is impressively framed and bursting with vivid creativity. I highly recommend if you simply want something truly different. Don't be deterred by the possible idiosyncrasies found here. They are actually quite entertaining and immersive. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
May 14, 2019
*Possible spoilers ahead*
Thank you to Netgalley and Atthis for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I don't usually read books of short stories, but I thought this was a fantastic one! What made it really special to me was the idea behind gathering the stories, and the criteria for the authors to follow. I was pulled in from the first short story, about robots, which I found whimsical. I just wished there had been more to it!
I enjoyed the following short stories: "You Can't Go Back," by Ellen Meny; "Dragon in the Cove," by L.S. Reinholt and Minerva Cerridwen; "Playing in the Snow," by Karen Black; "Cash, Card, Or My Unholy Offspring," by F E Norley; "Room Special," by Jakob Drud; and "How To Hide A Body," by Ruth Olson.
Extra special to me, were "Stormcove Hotel" by Karen Giery; and "The Opaque Oasis," by Marsalis, for different reasons. Marsalis's story broke my heart in many shattered pieces. Despite the 'five minutes' between the characters, I felt every bit of emotion and was left melted and weeping in the end.
I loved Karen Giery's story because, at eight-years-old, this young lady deserves recognition for a short but very moving contribution to the book.
I appreciated the differing stories, and especially the tidbits of information at the end of the stories, about the authors. I found it helpful, such as in Karen Giery's story, to know a little bit about them and how they related to their story. Without knowing that Karen was eight, for instance, I might have questioned the content. Despite another review in which the reader discredited the importance of an author's age, I found it to be relevant to the book and the stories within.
There were some stories I read that I did not enjoy, which is to be expected when there are multiple genres, content, and voices. But I appreciated the diversity of the stories as well, including the heartbreaking story by Marsalis.
The one and only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because I had difficulty finding the point of some of the stories, and/or didn't appreciate how some of them ended. But that doesn't mean they were written poorly or anything, it's just my personal view.
If you enjoy books of short stories, or have never read one and might be interested, this is a good book to read. You'll love some, you'll dislike some, but overall I think you will have an appreciation for many of the authors in the book, as well as the unique idea behind the stories and, further, the variety of stories that will give you a new world each time with the same Hotel.
Side note: I hope that Karen Giery will be encouraged to continue writing. You did a wonderful job.
Thank you again, EDE Bell, Atthis Arts, and Netgalley, for the fun read. I look forward to placing the physical book in my collection.
This review will also be placed on my Goodreads and Instagram accounts
Thank you to Netgalley and Atthis for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I don't usually read books of short stories, but I thought this was a fantastic one! What made it really special to me was the idea behind gathering the stories, and the criteria for the authors to follow. I was pulled in from the first short story, about robots, which I found whimsical. I just wished there had been more to it!
I enjoyed the following short stories: "You Can't Go Back," by Ellen Meny; "Dragon in the Cove," by L.S. Reinholt and Minerva Cerridwen; "Playing in the Snow," by Karen Black; "Cash, Card, Or My Unholy Offspring," by F E Norley; "Room Special," by Jakob Drud; and "How To Hide A Body," by Ruth Olson.
Extra special to me, were "Stormcove Hotel" by Karen Giery; and "The Opaque Oasis," by Marsalis, for different reasons. Marsalis's story broke my heart in many shattered pieces. Despite the 'five minutes' between the characters, I felt every bit of emotion and was left melted and weeping in the end.
I loved Karen Giery's story because, at eight-years-old, this young lady deserves recognition for a short but very moving contribution to the book.
I appreciated the differing stories, and especially the tidbits of information at the end of the stories, about the authors. I found it helpful, such as in Karen Giery's story, to know a little bit about them and how they related to their story. Without knowing that Karen was eight, for instance, I might have questioned the content. Despite another review in which the reader discredited the importance of an author's age, I found it to be relevant to the book and the stories within.
There were some stories I read that I did not enjoy, which is to be expected when there are multiple genres, content, and voices. But I appreciated the diversity of the stories as well, including the heartbreaking story by Marsalis.
The one and only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because I had difficulty finding the point of some of the stories, and/or didn't appreciate how some of them ended. But that doesn't mean they were written poorly or anything, it's just my personal view.
If you enjoy books of short stories, or have never read one and might be interested, this is a good book to read. You'll love some, you'll dislike some, but overall I think you will have an appreciation for many of the authors in the book, as well as the unique idea behind the stories and, further, the variety of stories that will give you a new world each time with the same Hotel.
Side note: I hope that Karen Giery will be encouraged to continue writing. You did a wonderful job.
Thank you again, EDE Bell, Atthis Arts, and Netgalley, for the fun read. I look forward to placing the physical book in my collection.
This review will also be placed on my Goodreads and Instagram accounts
May 5, 2019
I usually do not read many short story collections of any sort, mostly because I am more accustomed to longer sagas spanning a longer period of time. It gives me time to sink in and familiarize myself with the people. That said, I think that writing a short story must be as difficult as writing an extremely large series because, within the span of a few pages, a lot of impact worthy events and people need to be depicted effectively.
This is a collection which sixty-one people came together in one book! If I had known the number before, I might have been put off from reading it but I did not know and did read it, which in turn turned out to be a whole new reading experience. The basis of each story is a hotel called Stormcove in the US (as of this time period but the status changes as do the years and 'worlds' surrounding the tales). The stories range from pre-historic to extreme futures, authors range from really young to much older. The author's descriptions by themselves were entertaining enough to be just read on their own. I enjoyed most of the stories, although with a collection as large as this there are bound to be a few that did not appeal to me personally. Even if I did not enjoy a story here or there, I did enjoy the intelligence required to put together such tales where the main theme is acceptance and helpfulness and peppered with a subtle sense of humour (for many stories). This entire collection is definitely worth the time invested in reading it.
It was sometimes surprising to see how people from different backgrounds and parts of the world could draw similar inspiration when provided with a framework to work within. This is a fact even with genres that do not remotely resemble each other.
I highly recommend this book (releasing on May7th 2019) to those who like anthologies of any form or like the idea of reading multiple genres (almost) simultaneously.
I received an advance copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but that did not influence my review in any way.
This is a collection which sixty-one people came together in one book! If I had known the number before, I might have been put off from reading it but I did not know and did read it, which in turn turned out to be a whole new reading experience. The basis of each story is a hotel called Stormcove in the US (as of this time period but the status changes as do the years and 'worlds' surrounding the tales). The stories range from pre-historic to extreme futures, authors range from really young to much older. The author's descriptions by themselves were entertaining enough to be just read on their own. I enjoyed most of the stories, although with a collection as large as this there are bound to be a few that did not appeal to me personally. Even if I did not enjoy a story here or there, I did enjoy the intelligence required to put together such tales where the main theme is acceptance and helpfulness and peppered with a subtle sense of humour (for many stories). This entire collection is definitely worth the time invested in reading it.
It was sometimes surprising to see how people from different backgrounds and parts of the world could draw similar inspiration when provided with a framework to work within. This is a fact even with genres that do not remotely resemble each other.
I highly recommend this book (releasing on May7th 2019) to those who like anthologies of any form or like the idea of reading multiple genres (almost) simultaneously.
I received an advance copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but that did not influence my review in any way.
June 7, 2019
I love the concept of Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove - any time period, any genre, any room or space, but each story needs to take place within five minutes. The variety of interpretations of those instructions for stories selected for the anthology was staggering. As with any multi-genre short story collection, one may like certain stories more than others, but I read them all (even genres I would usually shy away from). Particular favorites were: Robot Revolt, The Janitor's Closet, Showing Hew Claws, The Peacemaker, Independence Day, Tapestry of Tradition, Dragon in the Cove, Cerebral Maintenance (maybe my favorite!), Sigrun is Not Here, Room Special (so creative!), and A Ghost for Stormcove (perhaps a close #2).
Full disclosure - my husband and I both have short stories in the collection, which I purposely have not considered / included in my review above.
Full disclosure - my husband and I both have short stories in the collection, which I purposely have not considered / included in my review above.
December 28, 2019
Lovely collection of short stories. I really liked the concept that they were all taking place in the same hotel, while still being very diverse. All of them have a positive, hopeful outlook though, which made me appreciate the book all the more.
April 3, 2019
I edited this collection, and I'm so very excited to share all these wonderful stories with the world. I hope you'll join us at the hotel. : )
December 29, 2019
I co-wrote one of the 59 stories in this anthology, but I would have loved Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove either way.
There wasn't a single story in this that I didn't like to some extent, and there were many that I really loved. There were laughs, magic, melancholy, suspense. The stories are diverse in every sense of the word: genre, characters, and background of the authors. There was an experience unlike anything I'd read before in "Beings", a story translated from a native language with a very different structure than what I'm used to. So among all those stories it also offers something new for many readers.
What makes this anthology even more special is that with 61 different authors, the book still feels coherent. Hotel Stormcove becomes a very particular place that, when you can't continue reading for a long while because life is being busy, you really find yourself longing to return to. Even for the reader, it becomes the place of refuge it is described to be in the stories.
There wasn't a single story in this that I didn't like to some extent, and there were many that I really loved. There were laughs, magic, melancholy, suspense. The stories are diverse in every sense of the word: genre, characters, and background of the authors. There was an experience unlike anything I'd read before in "Beings", a story translated from a native language with a very different structure than what I'm used to. So among all those stories it also offers something new for many readers.
What makes this anthology even more special is that with 61 different authors, the book still feels coherent. Hotel Stormcove becomes a very particular place that, when you can't continue reading for a long while because life is being busy, you really find yourself longing to return to. Even for the reader, it becomes the place of refuge it is described to be in the stories.
May 9, 2019
A fun-filled and unique read. I loved so many of the stories, but especially 'Cash, Card or my Unholy Offspring' by F E Norley. Something about the universal experience of a stressed out mum and chaotic kids made me laugh out loud! Would definitely recommend!
July 19, 2019
I love this collection! The theme is so fun and it was great to see all different genres and styles come together in different interpretations of a single hotel. Beautifully done!
February 18, 2020
You'll want to spend more than just five minutes at Hotel Stormcove. This anthology is a collaborative work of many diverse writers where each story occurs over five minutes throughout the history of the hotel from ancient times to the far off future. You'll fall in love with this book and wish this perfect hotel was real. Disclaimer- I have a story in this collection, but I honestly really liked all of these stories and appreciated the bigger picture they painted. The short stories spanning the years weave into a saga of a what might be the coziest hotel in the universe. Time and lightyears are of little consequence to the immortal Hotel Stormcove. This multigenre book is full of surprises! I really did cherish all of the stories and the grand Hotel Stormcove they built, but my favorites were Tilting by Michael Noble, The Inconvenienced Guest by M. Lopes da Silva, Tapestry of Tradition by Andrew K Hoe, An Unexpected Contract by Elizabeth Shaffer, Dragon in the Cove by L.S. Reinholt and Minerva Cerridwen, Cash, Card, or My Unholy Offspring by F E Norley (Might be my #1 favorite of the book), A Ghost for Stormcove by Tom Jolly, and Diffidence in White and Gray by Holly Schofield. Again, all these stories are great! When you are done reading them all you'll find yourself missing Hotel Stormcove, but there's always a room available in your imagination.
July 13, 2019
I'll be honest, this review is extremely biased. My short story is in this book. However, I'll won't discuss my story in this review, and instead concentrate on the 60 other wonderful stories in this book.
This short story anthology features 61 creative short stories, varying from horror to romance to humor to noir mystery- and all of them take place in the fictional Hotel Stormcove. And they all happen over the span of 5 minutes. Now that's a premise.
Half of the fun is seeing how people interpreted Hotel Stormcove. Stories take place in a variety of timelines, dimensions and years- from the beginning of time to many years in the distant future- so it's always a surprise how Hotel Stormcove will show up in a story. One minute it's the setting of an intergalactic New Year's party, the next it's a creepy burned down hotel with a ghost problem. You get snippets of so many stories and lives in five minute snapshots.
The stories themselves are touching and extremely fun to read. Each one is quite short, so you can read a bunch in one go, or read the book in bite-sized pieces. Each writer has their own unique voice, and so you get to experience a multitude of beautiful characters and settings. Some had me laughing out loud, others made me almost cry. The diversity of authors in this book really enriches the stories.
Again, I'm biased, but I truly believe this is a special anthology. I guarantee by the end of it, you'll fall in love with Hotel Stormcove.
This short story anthology features 61 creative short stories, varying from horror to romance to humor to noir mystery- and all of them take place in the fictional Hotel Stormcove. And they all happen over the span of 5 minutes. Now that's a premise.
Half of the fun is seeing how people interpreted Hotel Stormcove. Stories take place in a variety of timelines, dimensions and years- from the beginning of time to many years in the distant future- so it's always a surprise how Hotel Stormcove will show up in a story. One minute it's the setting of an intergalactic New Year's party, the next it's a creepy burned down hotel with a ghost problem. You get snippets of so many stories and lives in five minute snapshots.
The stories themselves are touching and extremely fun to read. Each one is quite short, so you can read a bunch in one go, or read the book in bite-sized pieces. Each writer has their own unique voice, and so you get to experience a multitude of beautiful characters and settings. Some had me laughing out loud, others made me almost cry. The diversity of authors in this book really enriches the stories.
Again, I'm biased, but I truly believe this is a special anthology. I guarantee by the end of it, you'll fall in love with Hotel Stormcove.
April 16, 2019
This is a diverse group of short stories and flash fiction using the fictional Hotel Stormcove as its cohesive element. The multi-genre aspect works! I liked that I didn’t know what kind of story I would read next, as well as the variety of time periods represented. Restricting the stories to five minutes meant that nothing dragged, even genres I don’t typically care for. What’s great about _Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove_ is that it’s unique, it’s thoroughly enjoyable to read, there’s something for everyone, and you just might expand your horizons. I also appreciate that the collection doesn’t rely on excessive sex, violence, objectionable language, or dark themes to be taken seriously.
April 16, 2019
One of the main criteria for stories in this book is that the action in the story takes five minutes or less. Naturally, this led to a lot of very short stories, most of which can be read in five minutes. This also means there’s a very diverse and eclectic mix of stories, humorous and serious, down-to-Earth and speculative, a little SF and fantasy, with a few ghost stories in the mix. The creative mix in this book is pretty amazing, and I really enjoyed reading the stories here. Disclaimer: I also have a story in this volume (a ghost story).
April 16, 2019
Highly recommend!
July 18, 2020
Thanks, Atthis Arts, for giving me a free copy of Five Minutes At Hotel Stormcove in exchange for an honest review! Anthologies aren't usually my thing because I hate that just-getting-into-a-story feeling and then it ends, but this one was pretty good. Some stories, I have to admit, I skimmed (romance isn't my thing; nor are LGBT characters; nor, logically, is LGBT romance). Other stories made me laugh. Still others intrigued me, kept me glued to the page, and disappointed me because they were over.
Overall, I give this book three and a half stars.
Now for the breakdown...
The Good
x The lack of errors was welcome after the last anthology I read (from a different publisher) ended up riddled with them. I think I only spotted two typos here in total, and they were super minor.
x The mix of stories was great. The character of the hotel itself really came through, even with genres and time periods all over the place (Really. All. Over.) and even in the stories that could have done with more refinement. It almost makes me wish Hotel Stormcove really did exist.
x With 60+ stories (sixty! plus! that's a lot of stories!), I can't possibly review them all, so I'll settle for giving shoutouts to the ones I particularly liked. In no order except maybe the order they were in the book:
x Let The Sunrise Take Me, by Irene Puntí
x Tapestry of Tradition, by Andrew K Hoe
x An Unexpected Contract, by Elizabeth Shaffer
x Cerebral Maintenance, by T.J. Lockwood
x Room Special, by Jakob Drud
x and the cat one, which I can't remember the title of but yay, cats.
(edit: it's called The Cat, by Rita Beth Ebert. There you go.)
The Not So Good
I try not to be too critical in my reviews because I know it makes authors feel stink, not to mention art is subjective (duh), so I'll keep the notes here general.
x Several stories had no arc. There was no intro and no real conclusion. No conflict. Nothing happened. People talked, that was about it.
x The ordering of the stories didn't quite do it for me. The first and last stories in any anthology have to be uber-strong because they're bearing the load of the entire arc of the book. It takes a skilled editing team to decide on that order. The opening story worked great as an introduction to Stormcove. The ending story didn't work at all as a conclusion.
x The age of an author doesn't matter. A reader doesn't care if the author is 8 or 80, they care that it's a good story. Novelty doesn't sell books; good writing does.
x In general, I'm not in favour of the editor of an anthology sticking one of their own stories in the mix. It smacks of bias. Especially when the author/editor is also part of the publishing press.
And one last note:
The Gorgeous
That cover looks simple at first glance, but it really is superb.
Overall, I give this book three and a half stars.
Now for the breakdown...
The Good
x The lack of errors was welcome after the last anthology I read (from a different publisher) ended up riddled with them. I think I only spotted two typos here in total, and they were super minor.
x The mix of stories was great. The character of the hotel itself really came through, even with genres and time periods all over the place (Really. All. Over.) and even in the stories that could have done with more refinement. It almost makes me wish Hotel Stormcove really did exist.
x With 60+ stories (sixty! plus! that's a lot of stories!), I can't possibly review them all, so I'll settle for giving shoutouts to the ones I particularly liked. In no order except maybe the order they were in the book:
x Let The Sunrise Take Me, by Irene Puntí
x Tapestry of Tradition, by Andrew K Hoe
x An Unexpected Contract, by Elizabeth Shaffer
x Cerebral Maintenance, by T.J. Lockwood
x Room Special, by Jakob Drud
x and the cat one, which I can't remember the title of but yay, cats.
(edit: it's called The Cat, by Rita Beth Ebert. There you go.)
The Not So Good
I try not to be too critical in my reviews because I know it makes authors feel stink, not to mention art is subjective (duh), so I'll keep the notes here general.
x Several stories had no arc. There was no intro and no real conclusion. No conflict. Nothing happened. People talked, that was about it.
x The ordering of the stories didn't quite do it for me. The first and last stories in any anthology have to be uber-strong because they're bearing the load of the entire arc of the book. It takes a skilled editing team to decide on that order. The opening story worked great as an introduction to Stormcove. The ending story didn't work at all as a conclusion.
x The age of an author doesn't matter. A reader doesn't care if the author is 8 or 80, they care that it's a good story. Novelty doesn't sell books; good writing does.
x In general, I'm not in favour of the editor of an anthology sticking one of their own stories in the mix. It smacks of bias. Especially when the author/editor is also part of the publishing press.
And one last note:
The Gorgeous
That cover looks simple at first glance, but it really is superb.
April 28, 2020
Full disclosure, this is an anthology that I have a story featured in. However, I am evulating here the book as a whole.
Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove was an interesting project to write for and more interesting project to read. It is a collection of flash fiction and shorter short stories all taking place in the shared setting of Hotel Stormcove and its grounds some point during its history, whether past, present, or way in the future. Each story is a snapshot, just five minutes, and while all those parameters might make it sound limiting, it was amazing to read the variety and imagination of over 50 authors spin that in so many different directions, genres, themes, and tones. But at the same time, I agree with the editors in her opening remarks, that through these stories the Hotel Stormcove became a character in of itself, like many a great setting can become, like Hogwarts or the Tardis.
With fantasy, history, ghost stories, scifiction, twilight zone weirdness, romance, coming of age, humor and so much more all up against each other, Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove is a place where life has happened and where anything can happen. As the stories are so short, it is easy to pick this book up in little clunks and longer reads, and if one story is not to your taste, another is just a page away.
Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove was an interesting project to write for and more interesting project to read. It is a collection of flash fiction and shorter short stories all taking place in the shared setting of Hotel Stormcove and its grounds some point during its history, whether past, present, or way in the future. Each story is a snapshot, just five minutes, and while all those parameters might make it sound limiting, it was amazing to read the variety and imagination of over 50 authors spin that in so many different directions, genres, themes, and tones. But at the same time, I agree with the editors in her opening remarks, that through these stories the Hotel Stormcove became a character in of itself, like many a great setting can become, like Hogwarts or the Tardis.
With fantasy, history, ghost stories, scifiction, twilight zone weirdness, romance, coming of age, humor and so much more all up against each other, Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove is a place where life has happened and where anything can happen. As the stories are so short, it is easy to pick this book up in little clunks and longer reads, and if one story is not to your taste, another is just a page away.
February 14, 2020
Too many stories, any decent yarns spread too thin amongst general ordinariness. Took an awful long time to trudge through this collection, a few moments remain in the memory - good: heroines climbing down bedsheet ropes, bad: some savannah-set irrelevance - but it’s mainly meh from me.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews