Title: Let the Night In Author: Sandra Kasturi In: Evolve (Nancy Kilpatrick) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Poetry, Vampires Pace: Slow Format: Poem Publisher: Edge Year: 2010 5th sentence, 74th page: Hush – he lays you, bitten, down.
A poem about the secrets in the night and the vampires that live there.
Every now and then it is nice to read a good little poem. And this one fit that bill – it was only four stanzas, and the language utilised is quite evocative. At least, it made me think of shadows whispering along moonlit nights and avenues. Nights where the monsters roam.
This is a nice, simple way to start of the Evolve collection of vampirific short stories. It has all of the darkness and intricacy of a vampire on the prowl, with the sense of mystery and lyricality that I’m beginning to associate with the subgenre.
I know every hidden path through these woods. Trust me. There is no griffin in this forest.
Hunted by Lord Mortlake, Tom, Quinn, Elanor and Sebastian flee for cover. The unicorn leads them into the darkness of the Witchwood where the wolves howl. Can Wilda the witch be trusted?
Danger surrounds, but there’s not time to lose. The four unlikely heroes must find the griffin, dragon and sea serpent before it’s too late.
After finding the unicorn, the four young heroes on their impossible quest set off to find a Griffin. I love the mixture of fantasy and growing up that are intertwined in this journey. Even though this is only the second book in the series, the four children have already begun to accept each other for their strengths and flaws – the bickering has already almost stopped.
Something about this story that I love is the fact that the main characters who bicker and fight are the two boys – the girls (who, let’s be honest) are often cast into the “bitchy” roles towards one another don’t have any of these issues. Actually they quietly and quickly accept each other from the very beginning.
Wolves of the Witchwood, for an adult, is an incredibly easy, breezy and simple read. I spent a few nights reading it before bed when I needed to switch off, but was too tired to actually concentrate on anything. It’s the perfect addition to your shelf for those people who like a quick, easy read. Or the perfect addition to a children’s shelf.
Ayama’s sister is beautiful, and she is often forgotten. Until the day that the King needs a messenger to go and negotiate with his beast of a son… then her entire world is changed.
Most stories, fairy tales, really anything that I read features a pretty girl. She is gifted by grace, beauty, kindness, yadda, yadda, yadda. But not so with this reimagined fairy tale story. This is all about the ugly (and somewhat forgotten) ugly sister.
Ayama isn’t beautiful, her voice sounds horrible, and even her parents are kind of freaked out by her. She’s a lot more like everyone else in the world, and it’s kind of nice to read about someone who isn’t beautiful. But she does have all of the characteristics that I have become used to in a lead girl in a fairy tale. Ayama is kind, and humble. She has a strong moral and ethical compass. And she isn’t afraid to love. Everything that a young girl should actually aspire to be.
Although there is a major point throughout the story of the difference in perceptions and acceptance of siblings, this isn’t actually seen to cause a rift between the two siblings. The sisters still love each other and treat each other with respect, even when the parents are a little lacking in this. Normally I would expect a level of bitterness throughout, and it was incredibly refreshing to not come across this.
Title: Halloween in Atlantis Author: Alyssa Day Series: Poseidon’s Warriors #0.1 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Paranormal romance Pace: Medium Format: Novella Publisher: Alyssa Day Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: Not wanting to think about the day she’d leave Atlantis and go back to Chicago.
Halloween in Atlantis, a novelette of Poseidon’s Warriors
A Halloween treat from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alyssa Day.
Now that Atlantis has finally risen to take its place on the world stage, the Atlantean warriors are having to face some new and interesting dangers — like Halloween parties.
Arrogant warrior Liam doesn’t understand the beautiful, bubbly human whose entire function in life appears to be to plan parties, but he can’t seem to keep away from her, either. Jamie, who considers herself to be completely unflappable–the hallmark of a great event planner–doesn’t understand why the far-too-serious Atlantean manages to get under her skin with every single encounter. Even if he is the sexiest man she has ever seen.
When the two of them are thrown together to solve a mystery surrounding the queen’s stolen jewels, sparks fly, secrets are revealed, and Halloween has never been hotter.
I didn’t actually realise that this novella takes place after the actions in Warriors of Poseidon until I was almost halfway through. I’m not really sure why it took me this long to figure it out, but I digress… it was still wonderfully fun, and luckily for me, didn’t give away much of the activities and plot throughout the rest of the Warriors of Poseidon series.
I’m an Australian, so I don’t really celebrate Halloween. I also don’t really get the whole hype about it. Which made it kind of fun to read a story that featured a Halloween celebration as the backdrop. Certainly a festive season that I’ve never partaken in, and one that both fascinates and disinterests me. I especially enjoyed the ways in which the Halloween party was used to create an escape avenue through fancy dress.
I love the paranormal romance throughout Alyssa Day’s stories. It is sweet, quaint and quick. But it also makes sense, and doesn’t feel like a horribly conceived, but badly written character development. I like that the relationships throughout feel natural.
Title: Dear Prudence Author: Steven Savile In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Horror Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Pocket Books Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: Sunlight and a crucifix.
Miller needs to leave a note for his wife Prudence. But it takes him a little while to figure out exactly what he wants to say.
This story is just damned uncomfortable. To the point that I don’t even know how to shelf it – it was kind of funny, but mostly just… well…. Uncomfortable.
As the title suggests, this short story is effectively a letter to Prudence. Actually, it’s a series of different drafts that go into very graphic details about how and what Mike wants to do to Prudence (hence the uncomfortable part). There is a lot of background and reflection that has been shoved into a few pages. Which makes it both better and intensely more not-okay.
Get swept away by the passions that rise out of the unfathomable depths of the lost city of Atlantis…
I loved Bastien’s romance. It features shapeshifters, passion and temptation. There’s also this great idea that although Riley and Conlan’s romance is the first in the series, Bastien met his soulmate a long time before Conlan did. It just took longer for the two to connect and find their way to each other.
I loved the sense of intrigue and intensity throughout this story. Other than the leading romance (which does take up most of this novella), there is a conspiracy theory, a race against time and an alliance to make. It was a lot to cram into a novella. But it was thoroughly enjoyable! There’s nothing like upping the stakes to increase the passion and lust in a paranormal romance…
As a finish to the Wild Thing anthology, this was a fun ending, as a next instalment in the Warriors of Poseidon series, it helped to keep me engaged within the series. It makes me wonder what is going to happen next.
Jane Sallow is taken into custody for the paraphenalia that she is distributing. But as the story unfolds, a strong message is given to the Baliffs who have trapped her.
The flow of this is not even remotely what I’m used to, or what I expected. Jane’s story is told, but it is also partnered with the wording in her fliers. Quick, pithy sentences that get the point across – mostly about feministic values such as equality. Or at least, that was what I got out of this story.
There is a sense of Jane being the messiah and the one to teach others to better their ways. Although, this was kind of hard to get at – because the storyline is jumpy, kind of complex and just generally a lot of fun.
Although this short story didn’t have the same intensity of steampunk as the rest in this collection so far, it did have the themes and messages that I’m becoming used to.
Title: Atlantis Rising Author: Alyssa Day Series: Warriors of Poseidon #1 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Paranormal romance, Vampires Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Berkley Sensation Year: 2007 5th sentence, 74th page: He released his viselike grip on the priest’s throat, looking away.
Eleven thousand years ago, before the seas swallowed the Atlanteans, Poseidon assigned a few chosen warriors to act as sentinels for humans in the new world. Tehre was only one rule – desiring them was forbidden. But rules were made to be broken…
When she calls… Riley Dawson is more than a dedicated Virginia Beach social worker. She’s blessed with a mind link that only Atlanteans have been able to access for thousands of years. Being an empath may explain her wistful connection to the roiling waves of the ocean, the sanctuary it provides, and the sexual urges that seem to emanate from fathoms below…
He will come. Conlan, the high prince of Atlantis, has surfaced on a mission to retrieve Poseidon’s stolen Trident. Yet something else has possessed Conlan: the intimate emotions – and desires – of a human. Irresistibly drawn to the uncanny beauty, Conlan soon shares more than his mind. But in the midst of a battle to reclaim Poseidon’s power, how long can a forbidden love last between two different souls from two different worlds?
It took me a little while to truly get into this story. I almost felt like the beginning of the story was a little overbearingly cliché for a paranormal romance. And I didn’t feel that immediate sense of attachment to the leads that I usually do. But, once I passed over that first hump, I managed to fall into this story. And after the halfway point, I found it impossible to put down.
Riley is a good female lead, and the opening scene with her sets the scene for her personality and battles. But the intensity of her first moment quickly died off, and that was made it hard to fall completely in love with her straight away – an intense situation made way to a bizarre one rather quickly. However, once I got to know the character and her ability to cope with any situation (especially ones that involve vampires), I wanted the happily ever after that I was sure was coming.
For me, Conlan was the biggest hurdle in falling in love with this story. Most of the paranormal romance tales that I read feature men that I immediately fall for. Conlan is one that I still don’t feel passionate towards. There’s just something about his characterisation that doesn’t draw me in. Which I think comes down mostly to personal preference, since in the second novella, I absolutely loved the lead male. And I was certainly drawn to Alaric…
The world that Atlantis Rising creates is multi-layered and fun. It creates a reality in which Poseidon sits side by side with vampires, and one that I can’t wait to read more of. Now I just have to wait for the next novel to arrive in my post-box…
Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. finds himself tackling a bizarre Christmas case when Santa Claus himself becomes a client, hiring Dan to recover some very precious stolen North Pole property. If you like werewolves, vampires, evil elves, zombies, as well as a lot of belly laughs, curl up with this story and some eggnog.
I’m struggling to get into the Christmas spirit this year. So I thought that I would try and read some Christmas themed stories to get the festive feelings going… and it’s kind of working, but mostly it’s giving me that nice,happy, buzzy feeling that a good story gives me. And this was an amazing story to start the collection off with. It was funny, sassy and reminded me of the joy that Christmas time used to bring as a child (and I’m not talking about the presents).
For me, Christmas has always been about the joys of family,friends and community. Although, as with any other kid, I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed present receiving (and giving), it’s been about the people that I’m around. So it’s always been a little annoying to be thrust into a world full of the commercialisation of Christmas. And how many people have bitched about that? Luckily, Anderson feels the same – this story is all about how bad the commercialisation really is. The comedic and entertaining way in which this was done worked nicely.
This story by itself would have made me quite happy and entertained.But the fact that a zombie was the P.I. and his poltergeist girlfriend helped him out… that just made everything ten times better. It introduced a level of dark and urban fantasy to a Christmas tale that worked incredibly well for my happily crazy and convoluted brain.
Title: 110 Grimmer Fairy Tales Author: Brothers Grimm Series: Word Cloud Classics Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Classics, Easy reading, Fairy tales, Short story collections Pace: Slow Format: Collection Publisher: Word Cloud Classics Year: 1819 5th sentence, 74th page: So she did the old woman’s bidding, placed herself at the window and looked on the distant country, as if she were very sorrowful.
We all know the stories — or do we? We know who Snow White is, but what about Rose Red? And what happens to an all-too willful child? Learn more intriguing stories about “Wise Folks,” “The King’s Son Who Feared Nothing,” and . . . well . . . “Donkey Cabbages”–to name a few. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were well-known nineteenth-century German storytellers, academics, linguists, and cultural researchers who did not hold back when telling terrifying tales, including parables and fables designed to teach and entertain readers of all ages.
The Brothers Grimm Volume 2: 110 Grimmer Fairy Tales is perfect for the short story lover, and offers many entertaining tales to delight–and fright–literature lovers.
There seems to be a lot of stupid Hans’ in this collection. Or at least a patch towards the later middle that has a lot of stories that feature a dumb young man named Hans. And the recurrent theme seemed to be honesty, truth and fairness. Give to others. The typical ideas of fairy tales that I grew up with. Just with a far more twisted take and journey.
It’s a little difficult for me to seriously review a collection of traditional fairy tales. The things which normally trigger me and make me frustrated are rife throughout (stories of women beating, princess needing saving, etc.). But it is a different time, and I don’t really believe in rampaging about ideals of different times and places. The fact that the underlying message and themes are all about integrity and honesty. Not taking others for granted. Treating people as you wish to be treated. The kinds of things that I love to see perpetuated through tales, stories and journeys.
