Murder and Mayhem in Muskego edited by Jon & Ruth Jordan

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Overview
Murder and Mayhem in Muskego: Jordan, Jon & Ruth, Phillips, Gary, Richardson, Kat: Amazon.com.au: Books

Title: Murder and Mayhem in Muskego
Author: Jon Jordan, Ruth Jordan, Megan Abbott, Dana Cameron, Reed Farrel Coleman, Hilary Davidson, Sean Doolittle, J.M. Edwards, Andrew Grant, Ted Hertel, Jr., Chris F. Holm, Brad Parks, Gary Phillips, Kat Richardson, Greg Rucka, Marcus Sakey, Tom Schreck, Nathan Banks, Zoe Sharp, Bryan VanMeter & Jeri Westerson
In: Murder and Mayhem in Muskego (Jon & Ruth Jordan)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Mystery, Short story collections
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Down and Out Books
Year: 2012

Thoughts

I loved this collection, it is very aptly named – truly a collection of murder and mayhem. Hilariously so if I’m being honest. Alright, some of the stories aren’t all that hilarious – because they are somewhat disturbed. But, still, this was a fantastic collection. One that I thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to reading again in the future.

Although there were a few mystical stories in this collection, the majority were contemporary tales. That definitely made them more relatable and kind of disturbing. I did like that there were the occasional paranormal stories though. They just added a little bit of variety, and some unexpected twists to the tales throughout this collection. Although, they pretty much all dealt with murder, regardless of what kind of genre they sat within.

I loved that pretty much every story in this collection is filled with chaos, and some pretty serious horribleness being planned. In one way or another. I mean, it wouldn’t be a anthology of murder stories if they weren’t planned… that’d be manslaughter. Admittedly, there were one or two stories that didn’t fit the mould. But the majority were deliciously filled with horrible acts.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this anthology. Maybe not every story was my cup of tea, and it wasn’t my favourite anthology ever. But it was still enjoyable. And one I plan to keep on my shelves so that I can read it again in the future!

<- Universal DonorHollywood Lanes ->

Image source: Amazon

Huntress by Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine

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Overview

Title: Huntress
Author: Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine
In: Huntress (Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Short story collections, Strong women, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology, eBook
Year: 2009

Thoughts

This is an absolutely fantastic collection. I loved all of the stories, loved the theme. And just all in all had a great time reading this. To be fair, I’ve actually read all four of the authors featured in this anthology at some point in the past. So it was going to be a pretty good bet that I would enjoy this… a lot.

The common thread of strong women hunting and being just all around kickass was another moment that just cemented my enjoyment of this collection. I’m always a fan of women who kick butt and take names. When that is placed within an urban fantasy setting, I tend to dive into it with even more aplomb. It’s nice to depart reality for a while as a strong woman takes charge…

Each of these novellas is part of a bigger, enjoyable series. I might not have all of them on my shelves… but I probably will soon. They give you a taste of these wonderfully crafted worlds without giving too much away. Plus, they are completely readable as standalone stories, if you feel like you don’t necessarily want to start yet another series.

A fantastic anthology, one I will read again and again. A good way to spend a few hours drifting off from reality.

<- Sin SlayerDevil’s Bargain ->

Image source: Amazon

Teeth edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

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Overview
Image result for teeth ellen datlow terri windling book cover

Title: Teeth: Vampire Tales
Author: Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, Genevieve Valentine, Steve Berman, Christopher Barzak, Neil Gaiman, Delia Sherman, Garth Nix, Suzy McKee Charnas, Kaaron Warren, Cecil Castellucci, Jeffrey Ford, Nathan Ballingrud, Kathe Koja, Catherynne M. Valente, Melissa Marr, Ellen Kushner, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Lucius Shepard, Emma Bull & Tanith Lee
In: Teeth: Vampire Tales (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Short story collections, Vampires
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology, eBook
Publisher: Harper
Year: 2011

Thoughts

This is one of those collections that I’ve stopped and started multiple times. Because sometimes that’s what I do with a short story collection. And yet, I have enjoyed reading it almost every step of the way. There’s always something fun and interesting about a collection edited by Ellen Datlow.

Vampire stories are one of those things that I’m very much on the fence about. I mean, I often enjoy them. But because of the naughties, they became something that was slightly overdone. Probably one of the reasons this book came in and out of my shelves so much – I enjoyed it but didn’t want to overdo it either.

The stories in this run the gambit of vampire characterisation. Some are classical. Some are romantic. Some are just a little bit bizarre. But every story was fun and worth reading again.

<- The PumaThings to Know About Being Dead ->

Image source: HarperCollins

Hauntings edited by Ellen Datlow

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Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Hauntings
Author: Ellen Datlow, Pat Cadigan, Dale Bailey, E. Michael Lewis, Lucius Shepard, David Morrell, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Joyce Carol Oates, Elizabeth Hand, Neil Gaiman, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Carroll, Terry Dowling, Paul Walther, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Connie Willis, Stephen Gallagher, Michael Marshall Smith, Richard Bowes, James P. Blaylock, Jeffrey Ford, Gemma Files, Kelly Link, Adam L.G. Nevill & Peter Straub
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror, Short story collections
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This is, as with all Ellen Datlow collections, seriously fun and enjoyable. The fact that this fantastic collection is full of seriously creepy stories made it that much more enjoyable. Mostly because it’s out of my usual genre of choice. Horror and ghost stories might not be quite my usual speed, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t love reading this collection!

Although I really enjoyed reading all of these short stories, I did find that this was not an anthology I should be reading late at night. Or when I was home alone. Whilst some of the stories were kind of mild and not too terrifying, some made it really difficult to sleep after turning the final page. Or just made it difficult to turn off the lights. Which is why this took me a little bit longer to read than I had anticipated.

Hauntings runs the gambit of horror and ghost stories, from horrible hauntings to stories that had a little bit more hope at the end. They made me feel all of the feelings, and I would most definitely read this collection again in the future.

<- The First Lunar HalloweenEenie, Meenie, Ipsateenie ->

Image source: Amazon

Blogging Update

Book Review

I’m in the process of scheduling a whole slew of reviews… it might take me a little while. It turns out that when you have complications during childbirth and stay an extra night at hospital, then go home to recover… well, you get a LOT of reading done. Particularly while feeding. But it’s worked out alright. I get to do a bit of extra reading, and I gave birth to a beautiful, sweet baby boy.

So please enjoy the chaos and insanity that I’m trying to get on top of, and, if all goes well, there will be some more consistency in my review publishing / writing again.

Reading Update – Mid-November 2023

Book Review, , ,

Lots of reading lately – it’s been a good way to distract myself from being an adult. Just a little delayed to get them all online… and there will probably be more of a delay with the next batch. Baby #2 is due to arrive any day now! ❤

Poems

Series

Short story collections

Standalones – Novels

Standalones – Novellas

Standalones – Short stories

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Kingdom of Ash
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #7
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Romance, Strong women
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2018

Thoughts

I wanted to like this a whole lot more than I did. I mean, I’ve loved all of this series. But, something about the bulk of this and the convoluted nature of the story meant that I found it kind of a hard slog. It might have been a bit more palatable if the story was split into a few different novels if I’m being honest. Part of it is just the sheer size of this damn novel. I could probably knock someone unconscious with it if I’m being honest. In fact, once I got about halfway through, I found that I was just skim reading this – I wanted to know how it ended, but wasn’t invested enough to read every single word.

I think one of the aspects that I found so difficult about this was that there are SO many loose ends and convoluted story lines that need to be tied up. I mean, Maas has done a great job of world building in this, but it felt a little like there was a little bit too much going on. As much as I’ve loved this series, I didn’t really consider it an epic fantasy. Yet, that is how Kingdom of Ash reads – as though it is an epic with epic final battles. None of which were actually… well, epic.

I knew that everyone would get their happily ever after. Which, personally I do like – although I’ve enjoyed some books that don’t have a happily ever after, I did like that this one had that. I can imagine the loving cast riding off into the sunset with their partners, having children and just being… well, happy. I think that it could’ve been accomplished in a lot less pages though…

All in all, while I did enjoy this and I’m glad that the series got a nice ending. I did find that there was a lot of filler. I think I just found that Maas was trying a little bit too hard. I can imagine how difficult it would’ve been to finish out a number of character arcs, but I still wish that they were tidied up a little more succinctly.

<- Tower of DawnThe Assassin’s Blade ->

Image source: Amazon

Grumpy as Puck by Elizabeth Lynx

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Grumpy as Puck
Author: Elizabeth Lynx
Series: Blue Ridge Mountain Hockey #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Sports romance
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2022

Thoughts

I’m not going to lie, I picked this up because of the title, I love a good puny title. But, beyond that, I didn’t quite know what to expect. It turns out, this was a good and easy read. Not necessarily a book that I will reread a thousand times, but one that I did seriously enjoy throughout the reading of it.

For the first half of this book, I did find Daisy to be a bit of an idiot. I mean, she catches her boyfriend cheating with her boss, and just… walks away? And continues working for the woman? It might be my impulsiveness, but I definitely relate better to tales of woman who go nuclear on that kind of behaviour. Maybe I’ve also been reading too many urban fantasy books where the woman is more likely to stomp on the guy’s head (literally, both…).

Cillian I didn’t have too many issues with though. Granted, he’s a grump and doesn’t have the greatest filter on his treatment of others. But I kind of get the need. Honestly, a lot of what he says throughout this is the internal monologue in my brain. I just care a little more about others’ emotions I suppose… I do love that a lot of his brashness is about thinking others hate him. Which turns out to be completely false.

As much as I enjoyed this romance and the growth that each goes through, there were a few moments I struggled with. Firstly, Jackson’s attitude to Cillian. It did a full 180, without any real moment of epiphany. I felt like this needed a little more work and build up before it happened. And, then there’s all the crap that Cillian’s ex puts him through. I mean, it works for the storyline, but it SO could’ve been a stronger plot point.

<- More Elizabeth LynxDangle the Ring ->

Image source: Goodreads

Blood Hunt by Lucienne Diver

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview

Title: Blood Hunt
Author: Lucienne Diver
Series: The Latter-Day Olympians #5
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Mythology, Paranormal fantasy, Strong women
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2015

Thoughts

I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I did. I got through it, just, but it was so “eh” that I really am struggling to even write a review. I’m not sure if it’s because for me, this series has run out of steam. Or the fact that I just wasn’t necessarily in the right headspace to read this book. But all in all, I was disappointed.

I think part of the reason I was so driven to read this is because it rounds out the series. But admittedly I struggled with getting through Battle for the Blood. Again, I wanted to love this more than I did. Maybe it was just that my expectations were too high. After all, the premise is brilliant.

As with all reviews of books I’m not ridiculously into, I’ll keep this review short. I just struggled to feel attached to the characters and didn’t really care what the outcome of the story line was. But it might be amazing for other readers.

<- Battle for the BloodMore Lucienne Diver ->

Image source: Amazon

The Price by Patricia Briggs

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: The Price
Author: Patricia Briggs
In: Silver Birch, Blood Moon (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Retellings
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Short story
Year: 1999

Thoughts

I could pretty much guarantee, before even reading this, that I would love it. Because I tend to love all things by Patricia Briggs. The fact that it was a Rumpelstiltskin retelling just made it all that much better. Mostly because I don’t get to read many retelling of this fairy tale…

I love that this story gives you a bit of backstory about Rumpelstiltskin. Rather than just being a character who takes advantage of the Miller’s daughter, there’s how they actually met. In fact, a good portion of this is about how the two met, and then how they bonded. It makes a whole lot more sense than the original if you think about it.

I also love that this retelling got a happily ever after. Not all retelling do, and I thought this one was even better than the original. In fact, I kind of want MORE of their story and happiness…

<- CarabosseGlass Coffin ->

Image source: Wikipedia