Marked by Lauren Dane, Vivian Arend, and Kit Rocha

Three stories of passion, possession, and ink.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lauren Dane takes you into a brand new world in ALL THAT REMAINS. Summer Killian falls fast and hard when Charlie arrives in Paradise Village. But the heat turns all the way up when she learns Charlie is also with Hatch -- the man she loved four years before. While she's not sure she's cut out for a triad, neither man is going to give her up. (Metamorphosis Series, #1)

Take a ROCKY RIDE with New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Vivian Arend as she leads you back to the Six Pack Ranch. Anna Coleman might be the law around Rocky Mountain House, but bad boy Mitch Thompson knows that under the stiff RCMP uniform is a woman with a passion for speed and pleasure that matches his own, and he's not giving up until she's his. (Thompson & Sons, #1 -- a Coleman Cowboys spin-off series)

Kit Rocha returns to Sector Four in BEYOND TEMPTATION. A promise to a dying friend backfires when Noah Lennox finds that the girl he was supposed to rescue is all grown up -- and wearing O'Kane ink. He wants to protect her from the secrets of their past, but she wants him. And an O'Kane woman always gets what she wants. (Beyond #3.5, set between Beyond Pain and Beyond Jealousy)
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[Quick note - Marked is on sale at Amazon for $2.99 through the month of February!]

The is one of those rare anthologies where I wasn't only happy with one author's story - each one had something unique to offer and provided a glimpse into how each person writes their own HEA's. 

Originally I was only interested in this collection for Lauren Dane's story. She's been a favorite of mine for years and even though this was going to be a foray into a new series for her, I trust her voice and was confident I would enjoy it. Which I did. I think she does a great job grounding her characters in a new future, creating sympathetic people who made choices they had to live by or atone for. I think my only problem, which I admit to being incredibly personal, was that I couldn't detach enough to really believe in how this future had unfolded. I've read too many dystopians where less women equaled less independence (for "protection" reasons) so to see how this society had evolved to revere women was a bit of a surprise. But like I sad - personal problem, I can't really attribute this to anything Dane did or did not do. 

Vivien Arend's story was great, the kind of contemporary erotic romance that I like so much, but Kit Rocha's entry was the biggest surprise for me. I'd heard a lot of good things about her Beyond series but somehow none of the reviews I'd read had pushed me over the edge into giving her a try. Marked was the perfect entry in her world as it not only included cameos by characters in previous books, it also tantalized me with just enough information about the world itself to leave me wanting more. I'm pretty sure though it was the except from Beyond Shame that finally did me in completely - I gotta know what happens!

Overall Feeling - A

Series - Various

*Title won in a Twitter contest*

Tied With a Bow by Lora Leigh, Virginia Kantra, Eileen Wilks and Kimberly Frost

#1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh headlines an all-new paranormal romance anthology that turns up the holiday heat.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh features the Breeds in her story. New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra brings a haunting tale of a fallen angel. USA Today bestselling author Eileen Wilks returns to the shapeshifing Lupi for another magical tale. National bestselling author Kimberly Frost introduces a new paranormal world of muses and vampires.

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Eventually I want Lora Leigh, just by herself, to release a collection of her Breed short stories. The holiday ones especially are fantastic, and usually focus on the emotional stuff that I've seen people criticize her stories for lacking. 'An Inconvenient Mate' is another great one, Malachi loving Isobel for everything she represents to him as a mate and cherishing her for her skills and how they complement each other.

I haven't read Eileen Wilks's Lupi series but Arjennie and Benedict were so much fun to read about that I really need to get on my game with this. I'm hard to please now-a-days when it comes to paranormal titles but this one had good world building, interesting characters, and obviously a lot of action (since there seems to be a war going on between shapeshifters and 'human first' members).

Where the anthology fell short (for me of course) was with the additions by Kantra and Frost. I could not bring myself to care about Lucian and Aimee and ended up flipping through the story to read the end. Frost's story was a bit better but I still kind of felt like I was missing something, though I'd be interested in picking up some of the later books to learn more about the relationship between  Kate's muse and a mysterious human/vampire hybrid.

 

Overall Feeling - Eh (50/50 success rate here for me)

Series - Various.

Angels of Darkness by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, Sharon Shinn

"Angel's Wolf by Nalini Singh." In the spellbinding universe of the Guild Hunter, a vampire becomes obsessed with the seductive angel who rules the Louisiana territory. But in her court, all is not what it appears to be.

"Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews." A woman is kidnapped into a world divided by a superhuman civil war. As the captive of an irresistibly dangerous male, she has two choices: submit and become a pawn, or take hold of her own destiny.

"Nocturne by Sharon Shinn." Accepting a position in a secluded and whispered-about mansion, a woman soon discovers the source of its mystery: the blind, tormented angel who lives there, and whose secrets could now destroy them both.

"Ascension by Meljean Brook." When vampires disappear from a community he's protecting, a world-weary Guardian doesn't know what evil he's hunting, but he'd rather hunt alone than accept help from his ex-lover and fellow Guardian, Radha. But Radha refuses to leave him, because she's determined not just to help him save the community...but to save him.

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If I had to pick favorites, in this anthology it would go "Angel's Wolf", "Nocturne", "Alphas: Origins", and finally "Ascension". It's a great anthology overall, one that gives readers a look into each of the authors' series, but as usual some of the stories spoke to me more than others.

"Angel's Wolf" is the second short from Singh's Archangel world that I've come across and I should probably just suck it up and read the rest of the series. Interesting characters with a different take on angels and vampires - seemingly devoid of most religious connotations - and romance to boot. I like.

I've never read anything by Sharon Shinn before but if "Nocturne" is anything to go by then at the very least she knows how to write smart heroines who aren't afraid to stand up for themselves. Combine that with a sense of humor and what seems like good world building and I'm definitely going to be picking up more titles from her backlist.

I think "Alpha: Origins" was very much not what I was expecting but all in all it wasn't a bad story. It's very quick, with a lot of violence and unexpected relationships between all of the characters, yet I'm intrigued. They've created a very different take on 'angels' and 'monsters' and I hope more comes out in this series because even though I'm not completely hooked yet I can see how I could be.

The Meljean Brook addition, "Ascension", was fine but I don't consider it spectacular. It seemed to go by the fastest so I didn't feel quite as attached to the world and its characters.  I consider it another unique concept and take on angels, but I think a final verdict will have to wait until after I've read more.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs Up (though I wish this was a mass market and not trade - boo $15!)

Series - Various

Mini Me: Primal by Lora Leigh, Michelle Rowen, Jory Strong, Ava Gray

#1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh returns to her sensual world of the Breeds...in an all-new Breed novella that explores just how savage, how far, and how deep a man is willing to go in the name of desire.

Set in the same dark, seductive corners as Michell Rowen's Nightshade universe...an innocent young woman is drawn into the dangerous world of a dhampyr whose love could be the death of her.

Jory Strong's "worldbuilding is nothing short of stunning" (Genre Reviews)...and now, in a novella of the Djinn, comes the story of an angel who crosses the boundaries of desire after committing the ultimate sin- falling in love with a mortal female.

Ava Gray, known for her "riveting romantic suspense" (Publishers Weekly)...now tells a tantalizing tale of an ordinary man-blessed and cursed with extraordinary powers- who gets a second chance at life and love. 

~~

This one is gonna be a 'Mini Me' review mostly because the anthology wasn't that great and I don't want to devote a lot of time to it - though I think my opinions might be helpful in this case. Why? Because I'm a virtual newbie to all of the series besides Leigh's, so it allows me to better comment on the how each novella appears to the wider audience.

And how do they appear? Not so great I hate to say. Almost every one is so engrossed in the mythology created by the long standing series that they're virtually impossible to enjoy on their own. I don't have the backstory, I don't know why I should care about these particular couples, and I often found myself annoyed to be reading the novellas at all. 

Dammit - I hate when I waste money. 

If I had to pick favorites it would have to be Leigh's and Gray's. Leigh's because I do read her Breeds series and it was a decent addition to the story line, with just enough new material and plot development to make it worth it. Gray's because not only did she make me care about her two characters in a teeny amount of time, I didn't feel shut out because I hadn't read the rest of her books. 

The other two were pretty bad. And by pretty bad I mean REALLY bad and now I don't even want to read the series they're taken from.

Mean Streets by Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green and More

The best paranormal private investigators have been brought together in a single volume—and cases don’t come any harder than this.

New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher delivers a hard-boiled tale in which Harry Dresden’s latest case may be his last.

Nightside dweller John Taylor is hired by a woman to find something she lost—her memory—in a thrilling noir tale from New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green.

National bestselling author Kat Richardson’s Greywalker finds herself in too deep when a “simple job” goes bad and Harper Blaine is enmeshed in a tangle of dark secrets and revenge from beyond the grave.

For centuries, the being that we know as Noah lived among us. Now he is dead, and fallen-angel-turned-detective Remy Chandler has been hired to find out who killed him in a whodunit by national bestselling author Thomas E. Sniegoski.

I originally read this anthology about a year ago when it came out as a trade paper (~$14). I'm a huge fan of Butcher and Green, but the other two authors were new to me and I don't like putting down that kind of money for something I couldn't be positive of. I haven't gone back and read through all of the stories again, so I can't speak to them at the moment, but I can say that for the mass market paperback price this book is worth it just for the first 2 stories. Butcher does an almost unmatched job of creating a complete story, start to finish, in the smallest of formats. I've written before how short stories can be hit or miss depending on an author's ability to handle the size limit, but for Butcher there's no problem. Harry returns to readers in this story trying to protect his friend Michael, no longer a holy knight, from a threat that's not at all the usual paranormal beastie. Getting the deeper glimpse into Michael's life and Harry's efforts to protect his friend make this a really great read that I'll come back to forever.

Green's story focuses on John Taylor working to help his latest client - a women who has no memory of the last day and wants to know why. Like all things in the Nightside, there is a rarely an innocuous reason for any weird thing that happens, so he's forced to push through various obstacles to find the truth. Even if the client doesn't want to know the truth anymore. Sufficiently creepy for anyone and a great combination with his noir detective act, this short story is a welcome addition to the series.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. I love Butcher's and Green's additions to the anthology, and their work alone makes this book worth the price.

Series - Various. Please see the author's individual websites for more information.

Never After by Laurell K. Hamilton, Yasmine Galenorn, Marjorie M. Liu, and Sharon Shinn

#1 New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton spins a story of a princess who decides to take her own destiny in hand and rescue a pampered Prince Charming from an evil sorceress in 'Can He Bake a Cherry Pie?'

A selkie on the run from a century-old broken marriage arrangement has finally found true love- only to have the darkness from her past return to threaten both her and her dearly beloved in New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn's 'The Shadow of Mist.'

New York Times bestselling author Marjorie M. Liu tells the tale of a young princess who escapes bethrothal to a warlord by entering a magical forest. But when an evil queen sends her on a quest to 'The Tangleroot Palace', she faces dangers more perilous than marriage.

When a princess refuses her boring betrothed, the king holds a competition to see who will win his daughter's hand. But in matters of the heart, is a winner truly worthy- or can a loser offer even more in national bestselling author Sharon Shinn's 'The Wrong Bridegroom'.

This was actually a really disappointing anthology. I'm a big fan of Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Galenorn, and Ms. Liu but the stories were just unsatisfying. They all just felt short and unfinished, kind of like these authors were asked at the last minute to throw something together and this is what was given to the audience. OR I could see this as being a kind of publicity vehicle for the last author, Sharon Shinn. Even as a relative new comer to me, her story offered a kind of depth and character development that the others lacked (though this could also be attributed to her story being twice as long as almost everyone elses). I could see readers picking up this anthology because of the bigger names and being introduced to Shinn in a very flattering light.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs down. It's just not that great and 1 enjoyable story out of 4 does not a good anthology make. Either get it from the library or don't even bother - especially for the too high price of $9.99.

Series - None

Hot for the Holidays by Lora Leigh, Angela Knight, Anya Bast, and Allyson James

Featuring four all-new novellas of sensual surprises and seasonal spirits, this collection includes a new tale of the Breeds from Lora Leigh and a return to the world of the Mageverse from Angela Knight.

Well that crappy description is on the back of the book too, so I'll do a quick recap of the four stories. Allyson Jame's contribution to this anthology is a decent shape-shifter love story, with a bit of Native American mythology that includes a Skin Walker. Anya Bast has written a story where the world of the Fae takes the forefront, with the main characters belonging to the Seelie or Unseelie courts. And as the description says, Knight includes another story from her Mageverse series and Leigh another short tale from her Breeds books.

I really wasn't totally impressed with any of the stories besides Leigh's. Even Knight didn't pull out a brand new addition, but instead seemed to be cycling things from her other short stories - find an unawakened witch (Majae), pair her with a hot knight (Vampire) and let the story take care of itself. Bast and James made ok showings, but again I didn't feel like they were really worth my time or money, though James' story made me at least a little excited about the possibility of a sequal. After looking at the other stories, what makes Leigh's really stand out is the fact that it was an independent, unique story that has a beginning, middle, and end that gets the reader involved. The elements of the 'mating heat' are still there, so the instantaneous connection between the Jessica and Hawke exists, but the back story of her 'betrayal' and the way the two of them interact is what makes the story worth it.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up, but only because Leigh's story is included her. The rest of the anthology gets more of an ambivalent vote, and it might be more worth your time to check it out from the library.

Series - Knight and Leigh are adding to their own popular series in this anthology, which I won't list here, but Bast and James seem to have written stand alones.

Belong to the Night by Shelly Laurenston, Cynthia Eden, and Sherrill Quinn

The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe" by Shelly Laurenston:

Jamie Meacham has enough trouble controlling her supernatural abilities. There's no time for lust, or for Tully Smith, even with his smoldering amber eyes. But Tully's grappling with his own animal instincts as a powerful shifter-wolf, trying to protect all his territory-including a certain sassy witch-from vicious rivals.

"In the Dark" by Cynthia Eden:

FBI agent and leopard shifter Sadie James' undead ex, Liam, still arouses her deepest desires, distracting her from tracking the brutal rogue shifter who is terrorizing Miami. By teaming up with Liam, Sadie has a better chance of solving the case, but as passion consumes them, she stands to lose more than just her heart.

"City of the Dead" by Sherrill Quinn:

Dori Falcon is a witch with a plan: get to New Orleans, locate her missing brother, and recover the Eye of Bastet, a mysterious and powerful amulet. Her plan never included falling for sexy Cajun copy Jake Boudreau; but without his help, she may never find the demon who has her brother, and the key to her family's survival.

If you've read any of my other reviews you won't be surprised to know that I bought this anthology solely for the Shelly Laurenston story. She's probably my #1 favorite for funny, kick-ass erotic or romance. I mean, how can you not appreciate a woman who uses a phrase like 'molesting' someone's insides? That is as cool as all get out and you know it. The other two stories weren't bad either, but I would have preferred that the whole book was devoted to Laurenston - though I did feel like I was missing some back story just because of some of the couples that already existed in her story felt familiar. Sorry for the short review, but I'm already on to the next novel and I'm too distracted to say more about this one!

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. A fun read, with the characteristic violence and humor that make a Laurenston story great.

Series - None (I think....)

Out of the Light, Into the Shadows by Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy

The darkest hour is before the dawn... headlines a sinful new anthology where the dark and light sides of desire collide...

Embrace the darkness and experience the light in this all-new anthology filled with touching stories of happily ever after alongside smoldering tales of irresistibly dangerous, otherworldly passion. From bewitching emotions and untamed desire to dazzling romance and tantalizing sensuality, these novellas explore the complex facets of the human heart—both the light side and the dark.

I personally find that back cover explanation the most useless piece of information ever so I'm going to do a quick recap before we do the review. This anthology has four stories written by two authors (L.L. Foster is Lori Foster's paranormal genre pseudonym) and each authors' set of stories are connected to each other. Meaning the characters are all know each other and in the second story you see men and women from the first. Here are the stories in this particular anthology:

1) Lori Foster - "Have Mercy" - Mercedes didn't need another 6 months to know that she was in love with Wyatt and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. But how was he going to handle an over protective brother and the possibility of a baby on the way?

2) Erin McCarthy - "Deal or No Deal" - Katie is a vampire. One that's over a hundred years old and managed to survive the end of Tsar era in Russia. Michael is another vampire - one that will do anything to get back the love of both his life and undeath even if it means fighting against a 90 year old misunderstanding?

3) L.L. Foster- "Total Control" - Brax will no longer deny his desire. Cameo is his and it is fine time that she realizes that her only future will be with him! (Mercedes' Brother)

4) Erin McCarthy - "Undead Man's Hand" - With Katie all settled in with Michael, it's finally time for Nick to get his chance at a little eternal love. Jordan might be determined to do the best job she can, but being a murder cop in Vegas has it's ups and downs - and it's definitely a down moment when a new serial case is dumped in her lap. But maybe things can't be too bad if there are hot Russian body guards like Nick around to help take your mind off it all?

All in all I thought this was a good anthology. Unsurprisingly to me Lori Foster's stories outshone both of Erin McCarthy's by a big margin, but that's just kind of the way things are with Foster - she usually writes a damn good short story and it's hard to compete with that. Both as 'Lori' and 'L.L.' the stories were sizzling yet emotionally satisfiying, though in her 'L.L.' story you can definitely feel the hint of darkness that permeates more in her paranormal works. I just felt like McCarthy's stories were pretty average, with the endings in both (though Nick and Jordan's was a bit better) very predictable and without any of the challenge or connection that makes such a short story worth while.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. While McCarthy's stories aren't the greatest, Foster makes this an anthology I'm happy to have on my shelf.

Series - None.

Strange Brew by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, and more

Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!

In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher’s “Last Call,” wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.

For anyone who’s ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who’s imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

This collection was pretty decent - though I decided in the end it wasn't decent enough for me to keep. There were just so many authors that the worst happened: even the best authors didn't have enough room to create a great story. Most came out just a good one, and the rest were mediocre at the best. The 3 big authors, Harris, Butcher, and Briggs, each brought their own considerable skill to this anthology with me calling a tie between Butcher and Briggs for the best story. Butcher always writes a good short story (though I liked the one in Mean Streets better) and Harry is a character beloved by many a reader (and Murphy plays a heavy role in this story too - yay!). Briggs writes an interesting one in this anthology, mostly unexpected because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with her hit Mercy Thompson series. Despite of that she writes a quickie, entertaining and interesting, though it really just leaves me wanting to read what happens next.

Overall Feeling - This one gets an eh. Pretty decent, but would check it out from the library and save yourself the price of trade paperback.

Series - The anthology collects stories from a few different series, so read at your own risk!

Real Men Last All Night by Lora Leigh, Lori Foster, Cheyenne McCray, Heidi Betts

Today’s top erotic romance writers come together for a steamy read of four sexy stories about women who discover that real men last all night...

Luring Lucy by Lori Foster

All Lucy was looking for when she went to her vacation home was in innocent fling to quell the yearning she had felt since her husband died four years ago. She never expected her longtime friend Bram to lure her into a love affair so hot.

Cooper’s Fall by Lora Leigh

Former ranger turned bar owner Ethan Cooper never expected to get an eyeful of prim Miss Sarah Fox from his attic window one hot summer afternoon. But now his blood is on fire for the delicious little minx.

The Edge of Sin by Cheyenne McCray

Zane Steele lives a life of extraordinary danger as a government agent and has never let anyone get too close. Then he sees the one woman who changes his life forever.

Wanted: A Real Man by Heidi Betts

Claire left her high school sweetheart Linc, in search of a better life. Ten years later she needs his help as a U.S. Marshal to find her missing daughter…Linc's daughter. Reeling with the knowledge of a daughter he’s never known, Linc sets out to claim what’s his.

I was a little worried when I bought this anthology, just because while I love Lora Leigh and Lori Foster, the other two authors are not ones I really go out of my way to read. Luckily things worked out! Lora Leigh's story is just what you would expect from her, filled with sex and fun, and it was great to read. A little bit of mystery (that might have been slightly unnecessary) but recommended all the same. Foster's story is actually an older one (published originally in 2001) and while typical for her, still not bad. I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed McCray's story because I've been disappointed by her in the past. I always like how her books sound, then am never quite as happy with how they turn out. This story is definitely a keeper though, again with a somewhat uncomplicated happy ending built in for the hero and heroine - but I'm not complaining because that's often all I want. Betts' story is the only disappointing one, but it has to a do a lot with the fact that I'm kind of done with the whole 'I had a baby but didn't tell the father, who is actually the love of my life' story. The guys always start off by being a d-bag and then works to redeem himself in the eyes of the reader by the end, but it doesn't always work for me.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. Definitely a lot of fun, filled with hot sex and not something to miss if you know the genre and what to expect.

Series - None