83:100 Urban Enemies Anthology by Various Authors

We finally get to hear from stories from the Villains point of view in this new anthology.  17 of them in fact.  These are all from existing series with established worlds, most of which I didn't know previously or only in passing.  I bought it primarily for the stories from Kelley Armstrong and Seanan McGuire with interest in the ones from Jim Butcher,Kevin Hearne, Carrie Vaughn, and Faith Hunter and because I will usually get introduced to at least one or two new authors that look interesting.

To that end, I really enjoyed the two stories that I bought it for.  I felt that they did a great job of giving stories that enriched the worlds but at the same time served well as stand-alone introductions to them.  Butcher's didn't fare so well as even though I have read all the Dresden files books, I could barely remember this villain and didn't care about him or this story that much.  Kevin Hearne's from the Iron Druid is with characters that are later in the series than I have read but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the tale.  I enjoy the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn and maybe this serves a nice intro to newbies of the series but it just fell flat for me but really enjoyed Leo's story from Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series.  However, I do feel that one might be harder for readers not familiar with the world to get into.

The new author that stood out to me from this anthology was Diana Pharoh Franics with a tale from her Horngate Witches series.  Never heard of the author or the series before but definitely want to check it out based on this story. 

Other than these, none of the other stories really stood out for me.  Many of them were simply meh and just didn't interest me at all, some were total slogs to finish, and a few were ok but not interesting enough to me for me to go out and read more by that author.  So in all, 5 of the 17 were worth the price of the book, a few more were fun, but I'd say that at least half of the book was just not my cup of tea which was definitely disappointing.

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 4th Quarter 2019

My usual disclaimer:

Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

Well, adding school to my already hectic life has definitely been challenging.  I'm still trying to figure out how to balance work, homeschooling, college, housework, all the kid activities (bowling, archery, soccer, and gymnastics currently), family life, social life, and down time for things like reading.  Not gonna lie, it's been hard but there are always books to look forward to that I will some day find the time to read.

Starting this list off with what looks to be an amazing anthology of women writers spinning tales of witches and witchcraft, both the good and the evil with Hex Life.  It caught my attention since it has Kelley Armstrong and Rachel Caine whom I enjoy and of course, opens me up to several new writers as well.  Can't wait!

Release date - October 1

Next up is Sharpest Sting by Jennifer Estep, the 18th book in the Elemental Assassin series.  Gin is still trying to figure out what the heck is up with the Circle and dear old Uncle Mason but as she digs deeper, she will uncover secrets that may have been better left off buried.

Release date - October 8

October is just filled with fun stuff coming out as Kelley Armstrong releases Wolf's Bane which is the first of a YA duology featuring Kate and Logan Danvers.  The twins are now 16 and have been sent off to a supernatural teen leadership conference but of course, something is terribly amiss and the twins are going to get to the bottom of it.  I'm excited to return to this universe.

Release date - October 15

I'm so far behind on the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter but I'm still looking forward to Shattered Bonds because it lets me know that Jane is still going strong and waiting for me to find time to read her adventures.  The synposis doesn't look good with her going off to the mountains to grieve the loss of friends (please not Molly!) and sick from a disease brought about by her magic though.

Release date - October 29

And the month wraps up with the biggest present ever from Seanan McGuire with Laughter at the Academy.  A collection of tons of her short pieces from all different genres spanning more than a decade. I love her patreon stuff (even if some of it scares the crap out of me) and I'm super excited to read what she has put together.

Release date - October 31

This list ends with the release of Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer.  This book looks incredibly bizarre with a messianic fox, a huge fish, band of rebels, a homeless woman, and many more unlikely characters trying to save Earth but I'm very intrigued.

Release date - December 3

53:100 Were- edited by Patricia Bray & Joshua Palmatier

Werewolves seem to get all the press when it comes to were-creatures so the editors thought it was time to show some love to the others.  In comes several talented authors, ready to tell the tales of lesser known were-creatures.  We have stories about werecats, weredogs, wereowls, werehorses, werepossums, werewasps, werezombies, and many more by such names as Seanan McGuire, Faith Hunter, and Katherine Kerr to name just a few.  It was a delightful anthology and while there were a couple of stories that I felt were just good, many of them were true treats to read.


Page count: 230p/9,112p ytd/301,129p lifetime

107:120 Shadowed Souls by Various Authors

A short story anthology.  I bought it because it had new works by Seanan McGuire and a new Dresden Files story and things by other authors that had been recommended to me.  The Dresden File story was about Molly now that she is the Winter Lady and her discovering more about her powers and makes me wish that Mr. Butcher would continue exploring that path.  The Seanan McGuire story was set in the Incryptid universe but focused on Ellie, the cousin of the Price family from the books, who is kidnapped in an effort to save a little girl from a group of ghouls. Both stories were very enjoyable and made the purchase worthwhile.  As with any anthology, there were stories in there that I really enjoyed and some that were ok but overall, I think it was well balanced with good stories and I will definitely be checking out some of these authors' other works.


Page count: 338p/26,165p ytd/275,322p lifetime

New Releases I'm Looking Forward To: 4th Quarter 2016

My usual disclaimer:
Let me state, this is really based on authors or series that I'm already reading since those are the things I follow.  I'm not paid to write this blog nor do I have any affiliations with any publishers so I don't receive free books or advance notice of things except what I glean off Facebook from people who do have those contacts or what I research on my own (which again, leads back to authors that I'm already reading).  Maybe someday I'll be one of those who has the contacts and gets ARCs but it's not today.

So I'm not entirely sure where the heck July and August went but they certainly did not contain much in the way of reading and so I'm staring down the fourth quarter of the year over 10 books behind pace to make my goal, 5 books behind my new author goal, and about 10,000 pages behind that goal.  So yeah, I seriously need to get reading done in the next few months.  At least I shouldn't be seeing my To Read pile growing crazily as there are only a few books coming out this quarter that I will definitely be picking up.

The first is Otherworld Chills by Kelley Armstrong.  This is the last of the promised trilogy of short stories and novellas that was promised in her Otherworld series.  Apparently this one wraps up several of the story lines that were not fully resolved.  I can only hope she will continue to play in this world moving forward as while I enjoy her other work, I really really enjoy this universe and the characters in it.

Release Date: October 4

Shadowed Souls is an anthology of stories where things are not always as black and white as they appear.  It contains stories from Seanan McGuire, Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Tanya Huff, and several others I'm not as familiar with but looks to be a fun read.

Release Date: November 1

Also being released that day is Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter.  This is the second of the Soulwood books that are set in the Jane Yellowrock series but follow Nell and the PsyLED team.  This takes place after Nell has completed her training.  She returns home only to find that the land itself is sick and evil is spreading.  I am a book behind in the Jane Yellowrock series and haven't gotten to the first book in this series but considering how much I like her work in this universe, I will definitely be picking it up.

Release Date: November 1

I haven't fully made up my mind about The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.  The first book was ok but not spectacular and had many issues.  My book club read it (my pick) and several people had more issues with it than I did but several others seemed to enjoy it but also expressed issues with the writing and such that I did.  Two people went on to read the second book, one was enjoying it and the other actually gave up half way through.  Based on this, I think I'm going to read the second book before deciding whether or not to buy this one.  It does sound from the description that things will get wrapped up which is not surprising since it's a planned trilogy which is one good thing and I do like to see things finished but it really depends on if the writing gets better in the second.

Release Date: November 29

So just four books and one of those is a maybe.  Hopefully this means I can get some of the other reading caught up but the way the school reading is going this year, that may just be a pretty dream.  We shall see.

11:120 Otherworld Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

An anthology of Otherworld short stories, most of which have been previously published but in limited runs.  I've read half of these before so while I was hoping for more new material, it is still a treat returning to this universe.

Life After Theft - Hope and Karl have settled down. With one child already and another on the way, Karl has given up his thieving ways and gotten a job with Hope's brother in security so his children can be proud of his job and he doesn't have to hide it. However, other people have different ideas about his retirement and are willing to do whatever it takes to bring him out of it to steal for them.  It was great seeing how Hope and Karl's relationship has grown and seriously, watching him as devoted father is touching.  Fabulous story.

Forbidden - Read in 2013. Previous review found on this blog:
      A new story set in her Otherworld series featuring Elena and Clay.  Morgan has decided to take Elena and Clay up on the offer they made when they were in Alaska and come down to check out the Pack.  Unfortunately, when he makes a pit stop in a small town, he gets more than just dinner.  When he is found naked out in the woods and picked up by the local police, they search his things and find Elena's name and number.  When she gets the call, she and Clay go out there to assess the situation and bring Morgan back to the Pack.  Unfortunately, after they spring him from the jail they find their tires have been slashed as have Morgan's.  From there, things only get stranger and stranger as they are pushed into staying and since they are here, they start poking their noses into everything and uncover more than they bargained for.

I so miss this series and especially Elena and Clay as they were my favorites. This was a wonderful story with them, especially watching them work on their new roles as Alpha and Enforcer while not losing their relationship as husband and wife.  I'm glad that while the main story has been told, Ms. Armstrong continues to bring out these other side stories through a small publisher and hope there will be many more to come.

Angelic - Read in 2011. Previous review found on Shelfari and my personal blog:
     More of a novella than a full novel at just over 100 pages, this is a filler story of Eve and her afterlife as an Angel and servant of The Fates. Basically, The Fates have pushed back Eve's "vacation" time again for yet another job and she's fed up with it and decides to do what they have expressly forbid her to do to solve the case she's on in order to get it done faster. She's hoping that this will cause them to fire her so she can be done with the whole deal but she ends up finding out more about herself and her own motivations while solving this one.

The Ungrateful Dead - While Eve is off on a mission for the Fates, Jamie is being hounded by a particularly annoying ghost.  This ghost died with his cousin and they annoyed another necromancer to be brought back to life but didn't listen when he explained that the only way to do that was to make them zombies. Now the ghost wants his cousin fixed and is pestering Jamie to do it.  Together with Savannah, she's hoping they can find a way to get these guys off her back.

Zen and the Art of Vampirism - Zoe is a pretty basic vampire who is happy to just hang around in unclaimed turf and do her thing but when a new group of vampires come along wanting her out, they find that while she appears meek and mild, she's made some interesting friends.

Counterfeit Magic - Read in 2011. Previous review found on Shelfari and my personal blog:
    Another story that is more of a novella than a full-fledged novel. Not a lot of depth going on. We follow Paige as she and Lucas take a case that threatens to divide and conquer, in more ways than one. It was cute, quick read but nothing fantastic and not one that you need to read to add depth to the rest of the series.

Page count: 405p/3,441p ytd/253,736p lifetime

85:120 Carniepunk by Various Authors

An anthology of 14 strange stories that take place around carnivals.  As with any anthology, some stand out more than others.  Here's a quick break down of the stories with my thoughts:

Painted Love by Rob Thurman - We follow some sort of entity that has hitched a ride with a carnie back to the traveling carnival but the carnie is a predator and murderer and has his sites on someone the entity has come to care about.  Not a safe place to be.  A bit slow but with a nice twist at the end that I hadn't seen coming.

The Three Lives of Lydia by Delilah S. Dawson - A young woman wakes up in a carnival with no memory of exactly who or where she is.  A vampire comes along and takes care of her but it turns around as she ends up bouncing to her other life and then back again.  No big surprises with this one but it seems to be set in an established world that I'm not familiar with so it may be that these characters have more going on that I am not aware of but this wasn't enough to make me want to go search it out either.

The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne - Atticus has brought his apprentice back to her home town for a quick visit on the condition that they don't run into anyone she knows.  While they are there, they end up at the carnival where they notice that something is very strange about the Haunted House.  It turns out there is much more going on there than anyone realized and they will be getting a lot more attention than they counted on.  This is an Iron Druid short story and while I have the books on my bookcase, I haven't read any of them yet but this story laid out the world nicely and quickly so I was able to get a decent sense of what was going on even without all the back story.  I found it engaging and the characters interesting and the series has now moved up on my to-read list.

The Sweeter the Juice by Mark Henry  - A story about a pre-trans in a world after the zombie uprising who is trying to get the operation but has run out of goods to barter with so is sent off to find an elusive new drug to act as full payment.  What she finds is much different than what she could have possibly expected.  This one was more forgettable.  The characters didn't stand out to me and weren't particularly likable, the writing style was bland, and the ending predictable.

The Werewife by Jaye Wells - A husband and wife went to the carnival a year ago and a month afterward the wife is a werewolf.  Now that the carnival is back in town, the husband has convinced her to go back with him to see about getting the curse lifted.  Instead, they find out that she was specifically chosen for that curse and she isn't the only one.  Interesting take on several levels and quite enjoyable.  I finished it in one sitting as I didn't want to put it down.

The Cold Girl by Rachel Cain - A girl who has fallen for the worst type of guy goes with him to the carnival and when she gets her fortune told, it's nothing that she wanted to hear.  She is going to die and it's going to hurt and she will be visited by the Cold Girl and will have choices to make.  What happens to her after that will depend on those choices.  What will she choose?  This one was disturbing on several levels but so very well done that again, it was hard to put down.

A Duet with Darkness by Allison Pang - An Abby Sinclair Short Story.  An extremely accomplished violinist is rebeling against expectations and traveling with a small band of Otherworlders playing various venues when they happen upon a faire of their own kind.  She finds another violinist and feels the need to prove that she is better than him and enters into a dual for more than just a new instrument.  Honestly, I felt like there was a lot more subtext going on that if I had read other pieces in that universe I would understand but instead I spent my time reading this confused as to how things worked in the universe and why I should care.

Recession of the Divine by Hillary Jacques - A goddess has decided to forsake her duties and take on human form.  In her current life, she is an insurance adjuster who is checking out a carnival and finding things that don't add up.  Will these mysteries be what finally push her away from her human life and back into the fold of her brethren?  I found this one okay but slow.

Parlor Tricks by Jennifer Estep - An Elemental Assassin Short Story.  Gin has agreed to accompany her sister, Bria, to the carnival to help in a missing child case.  She is generally unimpressed until they get to the knife throwing act but what is more impressive is the amount of elemental magic she is feeling from the ring.  They know when they are getting too close when Bria is kidnapped and Gin is caged.  Admittedly, I enjoy this series so I'm familiar with all the characters and universe and this story did not disappoint.

Freak House by Kelly Meding - A Strays Short Story.  A djinn has gone missing and his half-human child is searching for him.  She has finally gotten a lead but it's one that requires funds that a starving college student can't possibly come up with when she stumbles upon an unlikely group of other supernaturals also looking for missing people who seem to have ended up with her father.  They decide to join forces and apparently the rest is history.  Again, I have no previous knowledge of this universe but things were well enough explained that I was able to follow along and am intrigued to learn more about it.  A nice introduction.

The Inside Man by Nicole Peeler - A Jane True Short Story.  Capitola Jones and her companions have been hired by the biggest, meanest supernatural boss in Chicago to find out what happened to his sister who lives in outlaying small town where everyone seems to have gone even quieter.  As they start investigating, they find that there is a whole collection of towns that fall into this category so they map it out and find the next logical town on that route and start staking it out.  It seems fairly boring and straight-forward until the clown shows up and takes her companions along with the town's inhabitants.  Now Capitola has to try and figure out what is going on and how to retrieve their essence by herself.  Another short story in a universe I'm not familiar with but felt right at home.  Well set-up, the magic in the universe was sufficiently explained without bogging the story down, and what seems to be a fresh take on it as well.

A Chance in Hell by Jackie Kessler - A minor demon has managed to obtain a soul and escape from hell.  She still has her knowledge intact and is occasionally called to put down demons who are not following the rules but she is in over her head when her friend invites her to a carnival and she finds that it's run by a major demon who is just itching to get his hands on her soul.  There was some interesting stuff going on and while I wouldn't run away from something else by this author, I'm not searching them out at this point either.

Hell's Menagerie by Kelly Gay - A Charlie Madigan Short Story.  Charlie's mom has left her in the care of her supernatural guardian who was unable to successfully talk her out of her mission to go to hell and find the hellhound puppies and their mom that she had rescued.  He figures it would be better to go with her and try to keep her safe but he didn't count on just how stubborn she would be when she found the menagerie of exotic animals and sentient beings trapped in misery.  Another interesting new author for me, not 100% sure I'll searching it out but not sure I won't either.

Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea by Seanan McGuire - The mermaid's daughter has been cautious her whole life to stay away from the water lest it claim her as it has her mother but now the traveling carnival she is with has come back to her mother's home town and her mother's adoptive parents have other ideas for her.  While this story is not actually set in any of Ms. McGuire's series, the mermaids are definitely like those we were introduced in one of the Incryptid short stories with Jonathan and Fran.  This story was another reason why I bought and read this anthology and it did not disappoint.

In all, a good anthology and I found a few new authors that I may look into checking out further.

Page count: 448p/22,057p ytd/203,095p lifetime