Guest Review of Hexed, an anthology by Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galenorn, Allyson James, and Jeanne C. Stein

Publisher: Berkley

Release date: June 7th, 2011

More Info: Amazon  The Book Depository

Book Blurb:


Four of the bestselling names in romance and fantasy come together in this collection of thrilling novellas featuring powerful women who know how to handle a hex or two... 

New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews spins "Magic Dreams." Shapeshifting tigress Dali Harimau finds herself in deep waters when she must challenge a dark being to a battle of wits or risk losing the man for whom she secretly longs.

In "Ice Shards," New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn returns to the Otherworld as Iris Kuusi, a Finnish house sprite, journeys to the frozen Northlands to confront the crazed shadow of her former lover and break the curse that is keeping her from marrying the man she loves.

National bestselling author Allyson James takes you to Magellan, Arizona, where Stormwalker Janet Begay and her friends are trapped by a powerful curse. It will take every bit of magic simmering beneath her skin for the Stormwalker to survive being "Double Hexed."
 
From national bestselling author Jeanne C. Stein comes "Blood Debt," in which bounty-hunter-turned-vampire Anna Strong is visited by three witches who ask her to right an old magical wrong. Anna will have to live up to her last name to make it through alive.


Today we have another guest reviewer, Elizabeth. She's another person from the Hurog board and from time to time, as her schedule allows, she will post reviews here. She's 30, lives in Alabama with her husband and young son, used to live in Japan, recently started a paying job outside the house, and loves to read. Please welcome her to the blog. :)





My Thoughts:


I’ve just read "Hexed", a collection of four novellas by some very good writers. The first story is "Magic Dreams" by Ilona Andrews, which takes place between Magic Bleeds and Magic Slays in her Kate Daniels series. I am a rabid (squees and all) fan of her work, so it should come as no surprise that I found it to be a well thought out plot and timeline. In it we follow the white tiger, Dali, as she tries to save the Feline Alpha, Jim, from a curse that is killing him. As usual, Andrews touches on more than one system of religion and magic with a well thought out flow of information that doesn’t get in the way of the plot.

The second story is "Ice Shards" by Yasmine Galenorn. I have as yet to pick up the main series that this novella is from, and I noticed the lack when reading this short. The idea behind this story is wonderful, the characters are colorful and show a good bit of growth from the background she slips in painlessly. The main character, Iris, and her friends go back to her home dimension to try to release her first love from the cursed half life he’s leading as a murderous shadow, while she searches for the truth of whether or not she caused him to be that way. I found some of the lack of forethought on the main characters part a little hard to swallow given that she’s supposedly been thinking about this for over six centuries, but overall it was a worthwhile read.

The third story is "Double Hexed", the title story of this book by Allyson James. She is a new to me author who has piqued my interest. In this installment of her "Stormwalker" series we watch Janet and her motley collection of friends try to break a disturbing curse laid on her hotel, that’s not only keeping them hostage but not so slowly driving them to their baser behaviors. With guest appearances by American Indian gods and demon goddesses this dark short story manages not to be depressing, and even a little adult in its content. I plan on picking up the first in this series sometime in the near future.

The fourth and final story is "Blood Debt" by Jeanne C. Stein. This story starts out with a familiar feel to anyone who reads Urban Fantasy novels but loses the formulaic feel quickly. Our main character Anna, a vampire PI, who just so happens to be a Chosen One who dictates human/vampire interactions, is called to another plane to answer for killing two people. This ‘call’ comes in the form of blackmail, to save her friend’s brother from death, she has to defend her actions and justify killing a dark witch and her bodyguard while in a place of sanctuary. In a genre overburdened with formula heroines with predictable angst this story keeps the appeal mainstream with subtle distinguishing plot points that keep the story fresh.

In other words, this book was well worth the read. Kudos to the four authors on such wonderful stories.



The reviewer own this book.

Review: Winter Wishes by Vivi Andrews, Vivian Arend & Moira Rogers

Book Blurb: A Twist on Tradition

A woman has the Christmas Eve from Hell. Two cat shifters play naughty games. And a witch brings out the beast inside the man. The magic of the season takes on a whole new meaning in these three fantastic—and festive—novellas from some of the best voices in paranormal romance.

Anthology includes:  Tangled Tinsel by Vivian Arend
                                   No Angel by Vivi Andrews
                                   Freeze Line by Moira Rogers

Stories also available for purchase separately.

My Thoughts:  The anthology has a very fluid theme of wishes made at the holidays. The fluidity allows for some flexibility in how the stories are handled. Two of the authors chose Christmas and one chose Solstice. Interestingly, in each story the male needs saving of some kind - emotional, physical, etc. In all of the stories, the characters undergo revelations and grow and change. That's a pretty neat trick for a novella.


Tangled Tinsel

Five miles of leather-clad leg is all it takes to lure Kyle Branegan out from his carefully hidden lifestyle as part of the Cougar Corp, a secret branch of the Shifter Enforcer League. He's hoping for a night of fun and frolic, cat-style, no strings attached. With a sultry swing of her hips, Eloise Scott tangles him up in her ball of tricks, and just when he thinks he's about to get lucky, she cuffs him--naked--to her bed.

An undercover cop in the human police force, El's been given a top-secret mission to keep the big cat under her paw until he's needed to testify in court in the New Year. Her decision to take him home for a quiet Christmas in her sleepy hometown turns out to be far more interesting than she expected. Her parents are suddenly rich, her old boyfriend is sniffing around and all six-feet-plus of sexy cougar male is sleeping in her bed.

And that's before they announce their fake engagement...
 
     This author was new to me. I had never heard of her before. The story felt to me like it was part of a series, set in an established world. I was sometimes lost trying to understand the world. According to her website it's a stand alone, with nothign to indicate that it fits into an existing world. So on the one hand, Arend did a good job of building the world to make it feel so real, but on the other hand, it left me, the reader, confused.

     The story starts very quickly with Kyle following El to a lingerie store after seeing her walk by him. There's a humorous bit involving him imitating a store clerk followed by a steamy make out scene in the store fitting room. They head back to some place a little more private, her place, where Kyle is completely surprised by what happens next.

     At times I found Kyle to be overbearing and condescending, traits that I don't care for in real life or fiction. At other times, he was kind and thoughtful. El is emotionally strong except when it comes to her family. She loves them at teh same time she doesn't understand them and avoids visiting.

     Together, Kyle and El help each other out and discover new things about each other and their families. Despite that, I had a hard time connecting to the characters. Add that to my confusion about the world and it was my least favorite of the stories.

      This novella had the most explicit, and frequent, sexual scenes. (Not a bad thing, just FYI)
     
No Angel

When Sasha's boyfriend Jay is sucked through a fiery vortex to Hell, an angel reveals that she's been chosen as the Champion of Virtue in the battle for his immortal soul. As a perennial offender on Santa's naughty list, Sasha can't believe she's anyone's idea of a girl fighting on the side of the angels. But if she doesn't save Jay, he'll be stuck in Hell forever!

Jay aka Jevroth isn't surprised to find himself back in Hell. His visa to visit the mortal plane expired three months ago, but to steal more time with Sasha he's been ignoring his mother's demands to come home to meet his new stepfather: Lucifer.

Sasha has until dawn on the 25th of December to fight the Legions of Hell and rescue Jay, or be trapped there for eternity herself. But now she must decide if the lying, son-of-a-demon is even worth saving...

     I was hesitant about this story; angels and demons aren't my favorite supernatural beings and the premise seemed fake. To my surprise, I liked the story a lot. It has humor, tension, romance, a glimpse into Hollywood, and two very likable leads. The story flowed right along, never moving too fast or too slow and both Jay and Sasha feel like people you might know in your every day life. Now how many demons can you say that about? :D

     I really liked how both Jay and Sasha tried to be their "best" selves with each other, instead of their real selves. As a result, neither knows the other very well and when they go to Hell, the truth comes out. To the surprise of both of them, they like each other's real selves much better than who they pretended to be with each other. Andrews doesn't hit us over the head with the message but works it skillfully into the story.

     A surprise for me was how likable, and pleasant even, Satan was. Yes, he is The Prince of Lies, but he's also a guy dealing with a conniving wife and a reluctant stepson. Even demons have family problems. Andrews was a new-to-me author and after reading this story, I'll be looking for more by her.

     One fairly graphic sex scene towards the end.


Freeze Line

A twenty-first century ice age dulls the magic that emanates from the earth. Shane Sullivan is a lone wolf above the freeze line; He has no desire to join the packs that range closer to the border, where feral instincts can turn a man into a monster. Not until the winter solstice, when he stumbles across a dying witch who needs his help to get back to her people--and her magic--in the south.

Nadia is a powerful woman in her own world, but drained by her escape from captivity in a northern lab. She knows it's foolhardy to trust a werewolf, but he's her only chance to survive the vast white wilderness. The farther south they travel, the harder it is for Shane to keep the beast within under control, and as their mutual attraction intensifies, Nadia's no longer sure she wants him to.

     I had the pleasure, thanks to a friend and Twitter, of discovering the wonderful writing team who make up Moira Rogers just a few months ago. I'm also very fond of werewolves and witches, they are my favorite supernaturals, so I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this story. I did.:)

     Shane is a decent man dealing, the best way he can think of, with the changes in his life since becoming a werewolf. Nadia is a woman, a witch, just trying to survive. Together, they help each out, saving each other's lives and healing their emotional wounds.  I liked how Rogers didn't rush matters between them but let it build. Despite the fact that I am not a werewolf, nor, rumors to the contrary, a witch, I was able to connect with both Shane and Nadia. I cared about them and wanted to see what would happen.

     The world building in this one also felt like a pre-existing  world but not so much so that I was lost. As far as I can tell,  it's the only story in this world but I'd like to see more.

     Contains several sex scenes of varying graphicness. (I have to say, the Rogers team does an awesome job of writing sex scenes; they have become one of my favorites.)


     Overall, this is a solid anthology, with each story worth reading.


Publisher: Carina Press                                                  

Release Date: November 6, 2010

More info: goodreads

This book was received from NetGalley as an  eARC.