Quickie Review: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe anthology

Editor: Charlaine Harris, P.N. Elrod

Title: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

 

My Thoughts:

This is one of the better anthologies out there. I can truly say that no matter my feelings about any one of them, every single story is well-written and mostly entertaining.

My favorite stories were
The Haire of the Beast, by Donna Andrews,
Fresh Meat, by Alan Gordon, and
The Perfect Gift, by Dana Stabenow.

They are all new-to-me authors (well, I've read a mystery from Dan Stabenow before, but still) and their stories were simple, interesting, and fresh perspectives of werewolf/shifter mythologies. Ms. Stabenow's was a bit cluttered and I was confused for a while, but it all clears up into an enjoyable story.

Patricia Briggs' story was also enjoyable, as was Karen Chance's.

My least favorite stories were Rob Thurman's entry - it was quite twisted and my only reaction was wth? and Keri Arthur's entry: I just didn't care about it.

Recommended! A very good anthology, with every single story in it being worth the money.

 

Review: Hexed (Anthology) by Ilona Andrews, etc.

Author: Ilona Andrews, etc.
Title: Hexed
Series: Anthology
Pages: 326
Source: Owned


This anthology was a very mixed bag. I have owned a paper copy for close to a year. I started it and could not even get through the first story. Thanks to a challenge, though, I took the opportunity to make myself read it. I love the cover!

Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars
This was the story I started and couldn't get into. I have no idea why or how because this time around I breezed through it. Jim has a death spell of some kind hovering over his head and Dali must help him figure it out and break it or else Jim, who she secretly loves, is going to die. I loved it. I loved the mythology, and I liked Dali and her family (her mom's hilarious). I really like how the voices are different. Dali's voice is different from Kate's is different from Andrea. It makes the whole series seem more authentic to me. Two things I noticed: JIM IS A BLACK MAN?!!!! However did I miss that? Did everyone else know it? The second thing is that Dali thinks Kate is gorgeous. I smiled because Kate thinks she is not beautiful. Without a doubt this was the best story in the anthology. By far.

Ice Shards by Yasmine Galenorn - 2 stars
I forget if I also tried to read this one or if it was another Yasmine Galenorn, but my experience was the same: flat and uninterested. To compound it, there were so many characters, each with their own backstory. So for someone like me who hasn't read anything by Ms. Galenorn or the series from which this novella comes, it was hella confusing. I didn't enjoy this one.

Double Hexed by Allyson James - 1.5 stars
This story is set in the Stormwalker world, starring Janet Begay and her entourage. I knew I wasn't going to like this one. The two Stormwalker books I read were bad reading experiences for me, and it was no different this time. Every single character in that world is an idiot. Every.single.one. And yes, it's not very complimentary, so I sorta feel bad saying that about an author's work, but really, those characters make me want to shoot them. I was rooting for the demon to do us a big favor and kill them all, but alas, no one cares what I think, so that wish was ignored.

Blood Debt by Jeanne C.Stein - 3 stars
A completely new-to-me-author. I don't even have any idea what series this novella comes from. But I think the author did a good job. I was annoyed sometimes because the heroine seemed a bit too Mary-Sueish, but that could just have been me being peckish. It was a good story and I think I am interested enough to check out the series.

★★★

OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:

 

Review: Home Improvement: The Undead Edition by Charlaine Harris, etc.

Author: Charlaine Harris, etc.
Title: Home Improvement: the undead edition
Series: Anthology

The editors of the New York Times bestselling Death's Excellent Vacation bring home a new collection...with a never-before- published Sookie Stackhouse story!
There's nothing like home renovation for finding skeletons in the closet or otherwordly portals in the attic. Now, for any homeowner who's ever wondered, "What's that creaking sound?" or fans of "how to" television who'd like a little unreality mixed in with their reality shows, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner return with an all-new collection of the paranormal perils of Do-It-Yourself.

Sookie Stackhouse resides in these pages, in a never-before-published story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. And New York Times bestselling authors Patricia Briggs, James Grady, Heather Graham, Melissa Marr, and nine other outstanding writers have constructed more frightening and funny fixer-upper tales guaranteed to shake foundations and rattle readers' pipes.

Usually the anthologies i read have four stories in them. This one had considerably more, and I think it is a good bargain. The good stories far outweigh the bad.

Patricia Briggs - Gray 5 stars: A hauntingly beautiful tale of a vampire and a ghost and their past history.

Victor Gischler - Wizard Home Security 4 stars: A rather funny story about a burgled wizard and the home security he buys

James Grady - The Mansion of Imperatives 2 stars: A hot mess of a story

Heather Graham - Blood on the Wall 4 stars: This entry reads like a throwback to the days when vampires and weres were fixtures of horror instead of romance. Really Good.

Simon R. Green - It's all in the Rendering 3 stars: A good tale

Charlaine Harris - If I Had a Hammer 3 stars: A Sookie Stackhouse novella about a home renovation and a murder weapon. My first Sookie :d

Stacia Kane - Rick the Brave 5 stars: Chess and Terrible's relationship, as observed through Rick the electrician's eyes. A sweet, entertaining story.

E.E Knight - Woolsey's kitchen Nightmare DNF: Terrible. I could not make head or tail of this story.

Rochelle Krich - Squatter's Rights 4 stars: Eerie.

Melissa Marr - The Strength Inside 3.5 stars: Really weird, rather creepy story about a completely different species who move into a neighborhood.

Seanan McGuire - Through this House 3 stars: A novella of the October Daye series (which is a new-to-me series). This one was rather confusing for me, a newbie to this world, but I can imagine how others familiar with it would enjoy it.

Suzanne Mcleod - Full Scale Demolition 3 stars: A good story.

S.J. Rozan - The Path 2 stars: Japanese/Buddhist mysticism. Boring!

Toni Kelner - In Brightest Day 3 stars: A novella about vodun mysticism

★★★½

 

Under Her Skin by Frost, Andrews, and Brook

Under Her Skin by Jeaniene Frost
My rating:★★★★

Pack - 3 stars
This is Jeaniene Frost's novellita, a tale of a girl bitten by a werewolf while on a hike in the park. It was a good story while it lasted, but very forgettable after that.

In Sheep's Clothing - 4 stars
Jill Myles' contribution was a rather sweet story about a werewolf who was abducted by a highway killer *shudders*. It wasn't bad at all, although I did notice that the werewolf acted more like a friendly domestic dog than like a werewolf :) Also a rather forgettable story.

Grace of Small Magics - 5 stars
Ilona Andrews' entry was the rather Stockholm Syndrome-like story about a girl bondservant to a powerful magical family. It was very interesting, packed quite a punch, and...was rather cheesy. It was also quite twisted. Loved it ^_^. 4 stars for the story, 1 more for originality.

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Magic Graves (anthology) by Ilona Andrews and Jeaniene Frost

Magic Graves: One for the Money / A Questionable Client by Jeaniene Frost
My rating: ★★★★★

Magic Graves is an anthology that features an already-published work each from Ilona Andrews and Jeaniene Frost. Both stories are excellent.

A Questionable Client - 5 stars

This features a prequel to the Kate Daniels series; it is the story of how Kate met Saiman. I liked the younger Kate, and I liked the mythology in the novel. Saiman is still Saiman, as amoral as ever. It was a fun treat to look inside their first meeting.


One for the Money - 5 stars

This novella features Cat and Bones on bodyguard/whodunit detail, and it was a good read. Be warned though, this novella is like #3.5 in the Night Huntress series, so for someone like me, who'd read only the first book, there are MAJOR spoilers in there. I was quite sad to be so spoiled. Oh well, serves me right, I guess. But it's also great.



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Angels of Darkness (anthology)

Angels of Darkness by Ilona Andrews
My rating: ★★★★

This is one of my favorite anthologies till date, as it contains 3 of my very favorite authors.


Alphas: Origins, by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars
I loved this one. Skill and versatiity from two authors I adore. The writing is so different from the typical Ilona Andrews voice and I am excited. I am excited for a new series (fingers crossed), hopefully starring Lucas and Karina.


Nocturne, by Sharon Shinn - 5 stars
My favorite. Sharon Shinn writes with elegance and an understated beauty that drags you unawares into her stories. My favorite parts of the story was the legacy Rachel and Gabriel left Samaria, and any mentions of them made me smile.

Angel's Wolf, by Nalini Singh - 4 stars
Enjoyable story.

Ascension, by Meljean Brook - 2 stars
Now I am not familiar with Meljean's Guardians series, so it could be why I had such a problem getting into it. It was my least favorite story, and the one I thought was least well-written. I didn't enjoy either the hero or heroine, and while I felt their lust, i felt nothing else for them.

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