I have mentioned Kindle Vella before when I started my first serial story, 90s Girl Cult. I’m also really enjoying reading stories on the platform, as you may have noticed how many I’ve read in my monthly reading wrap-ups. Today, I want to highlight some of my favorite stories. Every one of these is polished, professional, and updated on a regular basis.
Note: Kindle Vella is only available in the U.S. right now, although we hope that it will open up to more countries in the future. But if you are in the U.S. and you haven’t tried it out now, it’s a great time to check it out because you can get free tokens to unlock episodes. There are new stories being added every day!
Potion: A Witchy Fairy Tale
You know how much I love witches! This is a fun young adult urban fantasy with a fairy tale twist on witches and witch hunters. At first, it seems like just a standard case of the outcast teen girl who wants to be part of the popular crowd, but there were many surprises along the way. And a certain famous gingerbread house makes an appearance.
Every episode is named after a potion ingredient. And there were some unique ideas about how witchcraft works and the different types of powers. But I was even more surprised about how the witch hunters were involved in the story. They have their own supernatural abilities to help them against the witches’ magic. All is not what it seems and the ending was a big surprise.
This is also a completed story, so you can read the whole thing without having to wait! The second book, Spell, just started so there is an ongoing story, but the first book is a finished arc.
The Island
This is a slasher story where another character is killed in every episode. A group of former friends is invited to a remote island where they went to summer camp twenty years ago–but a girl died the last time they were at this camp. Now, someone is picking them off one by one.
The killer might be looking for revenge for the first dead girl, who appears to have committed suicide after she was bullied. But so much as happened that now I’m not sure who the killer is or what they’re really after. Some people that I suspected have already died! And each death is different, so it’s a very creative serial killer.
This is an ongoing story which is updated every Friday. The weekly format reminds me of the TV series, Harper’s Island, which also had a premise of friends reunited on a remote island and then killed one by one. But it’s an original story so I’m waiting to see where it’s going.
Ashe and Dez: Girls with Grit
I don’t read a lot of Westerns, but this lesbian romance turns the normal Western format on its head. There is a lot going on with the mysterious cult in the desert. Ashe is a guide through the desert who doesn’t care much about getting paid for a job, but her latest client makes her think twice. Because there is a cult in the desert that claims to need a chosen bride for its powerful leader: Dez. If Ashe delivers her to the cult like she’s been hired to do, she doesn’t know what fate awaits Dez inside the locked compound. But if she helps the other girl run away, she won’t get paid–and they’ll both have a very angry cult coming after them.
This is an ongoing story, but it’s divided into seasons. Season 1 is finished and then it continues into Season 2.
Dark: A Survival Creature Horror
Don’t read this story without at least one light on!
This is a post-apocalyptic horror story like The Walking Dead. Some characters are teens and children, but it’s definitely an 18+ story because of the violence.
Instead of zombies or another known monster, all we know about the creatures here is that they survive in the dark. And they wiped out almost the entire human population in a single night. Now, the remaining survivors are desperately banding together to find supplies and safety from the creatures. In flashbacks, we find out how each person was lucky enough to survive the first attack, but no one is guaranteed to live beyond that.
This is an original story that doesn’t follow the normal post-apoc formula. I never know what’s going to happen next. It would be great as a movie or TV series. Season 1 is almost finished but it will continue in Season 2.
