The Seeds of Wither is an eBook sampler I recently discovered and bought to tide me over until Fever is available. It includes the first few chapters of Wither (which I skipped since I have already read it), an exclusive, never-before-published short story titled The First Bride, and the first chapter of Fever.

The real pull of this sampler for me was the short story and the sneak peek of Fever. The First Bride was a lovely short story told from Rose’s (Linden’s first wife) point-of-view. Lauren DeStefano’s writing flows beautifully in the same tone she used for Wither. Despite the horror of the reality of this world, the language and description of simple things is beautiful. Rose is an interesting character with a beauty, poise, and calm that resonated through the few pages she had to tell us her story. I enjoyed learning more about her past with Linden as well as her grief and her selflessness. And, of course, the orange grove.

The first chapter of Fever was really good as well. It does pick up where Wither leaves off. I think that is important. The outside feels both safe and scary to Gabriel and Rhine. The chapter also comes off as surreal, especially towards the end. That is what I enjoyed about Wither - the surreal quality.

For fans of Wither!