Review & Giveaway: Dirty Deeds: An Urban Fantasy Collection by Faith Hunter, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Devon Monk, & R. J. Blain

Read As A Stand Alone: Mostly
Publisher: Pen & Page Publishing
Source: publicist in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 12th, 2021
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo | 
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Blurb from goodreads:

When the going gets tough, the tough get their hands dirty. Join NY Times Bestselling author Faith Hunter, USA Today Bestselling author R.J. Blain, and National Bestselling authors Diana Pharaoh Francis and Devon Monk on a wild romp where the damsels bring the distress and what can go wrong will go wrong.

Venture into a thrilling spinoff tale from the world of Jane Yellowrock; join vacationing gods in what appears to be a quiet, ordinary town; visit a supernatural hotel where the bedbugs could very well eat you; and dive into the zany, deadly world of the Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) series.

In this collection of all-new urban fantasy novellas and other stories, no job is too big or too small — if the price is right.

My Thoughts:

I grabbed this solely for the Faith Hunter story as I really like her Jane Yellowrock books and this has a Jane story, sort of. Jane appears in the story but she's not the main character. All of the stories are set in existing series except Blain's story, which, according to a note by the author, is the beginning of a new series. I will be looking for that one when it releases. I liked the characters, the humor, and the world building. The set up and the werewolves are different and a perfect setup for a PNR series. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book and reading two new-to-me authors, Francis and Blain, and re-discovering an author I read many years ago, Monk, as well as a favorite author, Hunter. The stories are novellas so the book was not quick reading. Both Hunter and Monk's stories were followed by vignettes illuminating a character or event in the main story. 

The heroines were tough and kick ass; there was romance and humor; and the damsels may have brought the distress as the blurb says but they also rescued themselves, albeit with some assistance. Interestingly, all the couples were on vacation or a road trip during the story.

Sealed with a Tryst by Devon Monk:

This worked just fine as a stand alone and left me wanting to check my library for the books in the series; sadly, they only have the first book. :( The town of Ordinary does not live up to its name. It's a town home to supernaturals, including gods and goddesses from different mythologies. They vacation in Ordinary for one year but have to give up their powers. The sheriff in town, Delaney Reed, gets to ride herd on both the humans and the supernaturals while still trying to have a personal life. The story is Delaney and her fiance Ryder's attempts to go on vacation. Delaney has control issues and keeps finding reasons to postpone their vacation. There's also some thefts, a Bigfoot reunion, a pig-shaped dragon, a major rain storm, and Thanos, the god of death. Some action, some humor, some angst, and some romance made for a good story and easily read on its own.

Bound into Darkness by Faith Hunter:

Molly's sister Liz accepts a job to find a missing dog and persuades Eli Younger, Jane Yellowrock's clan brother, to help. Good thing, as of course events go awry. Jane makes an appearance but the focus is on Liz and Eli. Neat to see Liz's powers in use and the back up that she had. A little too much technical detail but a good story, and a budding romance between Liz and Eli. Not sure how well this would work as a stand alone; it is set outside the main story line of the Yellowrock series, so maybe.

 

The Pixie Job by Diana Pharaoh Francis:

I DNFed this one. It never engaged my attention; there was too much repetition; it was light on humor; and it felt like I was dropped in the middle of the series. I was disappointed as I've had this author on my to-try list for a while. 

Doggone Mess by R.J. Blain

Oh, I liked this. It could be a little confusing, got off to a slow start, and it also had some repetition, but the world building was intriguing, the characters were interesting, the humor was both snarky and silly, and there was lots of action. I was pleased that one of my predictions was right and I can't wait to see how that plays out. At times the details around Joyce's conversion to werewolf and her life afterwards reminded me a little bit of Anna Cornick in the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs but the writing and the world building are completely different. There were some twists and turns and the romance made me smile. Also, there's a were-corgi. Yes, i said a were-corgi. :)

Verdict: 3.5 stars overall, a decent intro to some urban fantasy authors, and nice to see heroines in the spotlight.

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