Title: Tethered By KismetAuthor: Camille Danciu
First Published: February 20, 2025
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 48
Genre: Horror, Psychological, Short Stories
Format: Ebook
Source: Review Request
Rating:
Synopsis:
There’s something achingly familiar about Vinny Amato.
Charming and mysterious, he captures Kamila’s attention from the moment she sees him. Through what seems like a chance encounter, they fall head over heels for each other in a short time. As things progress quickly between them, bouts of dread begin to assault Kamila. She can’t help but feel like she’s lived this before. Has she?
While she’s swept up in an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous, she can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. But what, and to who?
Get the Book: AmazonReview
Tethered By Kismet is a haunting psychological thriller about a young woman that finds herself falling head over heels for an older man. Kamila has only just met Vinny Amato, yet she feels like she’s loved and lost him in the past. The novella accurately captures that feeling of déjà vu that happens sometimes with relationships. This is something I’ve experienced in my own romantic life with a partner that felt like we’d known each other our entire lives, even though we’d only known each other a few months.
There’s commentary here as well about the uneven power balance with age gap relationships. I appreciated that Kamila’s insecurity, thanks to her youth and inexperience, was explored with sympathy and I found it to be true to life. The narrative spirals into a dizzying stream of consciousness as the binds that tie Kamila to her lover begin to fray. The horror of this story is saved for the very end, and while good I would have liked for there to be more tension.
I’m not sure if the version of the story I read was edited or not but I felt that it could have used one more round to clean up some of the awkwardly phrased sentences or condense some of the repetition (i.e. two side by side sentences that say the same thing or repeating metaphors). Knowing how the story ends, some repetition is necessary and makes sense for the plot, but there was a point where it dragged down the pace. Despite the rough parts, Danciu expertly crafts beautiful passages throughout the story, and I look forward to reading more of her work as she develops her craft over time.
Quote
“It was like he took a little piece of me every time we departed. Or maybe the piece had always been his. Returning it to its rightful owner every time we met again.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Camille Danciu
Camille, originally from upstate New York, is now enjoying the inspiring coastal beauty of Virginia.
When she isn’t writing, she is binge reading, making others laugh with her odd sense of humor, spending time with her family, and enjoying nature.
Camille hopes to spread unique and collection worthy books for not only her own family, but others as well.
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