Short Story Collections – Earth and Skye

Fantasy by Christine Feehan, Sabrina Jeffries, Emma Holly & Elda Minger

I bought this because I had a few weeks / months of obsession with Christine Feehan. I didn’t expect to find more authors to be completely obsessed about. Alright, I read another Emma Holly story the month before I read this one, but still… three new awesome authors and four beautifully simple and cute novellas to spend my nights forgetting about the world around me… what more could a girl want?

No Rest for the Witches by Mary Janice Davidson, Lori Handeland, Cheyenne McCray & Christine Warren

This was one of those random books that I picked up in a second hand shop. I had no idea what it was about. Really what genre it belonged to, and only vaguely recognised the names of the authors who had contributed. I really just liked the name of the collection, it was a fun little pun that made me quite intrigued…

Out of the Light, Into the Shadows by Lori Foster & Erin McCarthy

This was one of those random books that you just pick up because it looks kind of cool and intriguing. I had no idea that it was part of a series that was already lurking on my shelves and I had no idea of what to expect from the pages of the book. And boy was I happily and pleasantly surprised by everything within its pages! Actually, I’m more than a little disappointed that it’s all over. I just want more!

An Apple for the Creature edited by Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner

This book has been on my wishlist for ages. But, it’s one that’s out of print, so I had to get a second-hand copy, and I always seem to be a bit slower at getting these. Now I’m not sure why I waited so damn long! I loved every single one of these short stories. They managed to reflect not only your worst nightmares relived in high school, but it was also filled with stories of training and cops, the paranormal and the supernatural.

Hot Spell by Lora Leigh, Emma Holly, Shiloh Walker & Meljean Brook

Once upon a time I used to think that paranormal romance, romance and erotica stories were boring, smuttish and just not worth reading. I have changed my mind. In a big way. And it is collections like Hot Spell that really remind me of just why I did such a big turn around. These novellas and tales still include all of my favourite aspects of fantasy stories, but there is an extra layer of passion, lust and, dare I say it, cuteness to the stories that have me reaching for these stories again and again and again.

Dates From Hell by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong & Lori Handeland

Normally I love collections like this because you can read one novella, finish it, put it down and walk away. I did manage to do this… but it was quite a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I had already read something by every one of these authors, and so I knew that what was just around the corner was going to be fantastic. And it was this knowledge that made it nigh on impossible to stop thinking about this storyline.

Cravings by Laurell K. Hamilton, Mary Janice Davidson, Eileen Wilks & Rebecca York

I bought this book a few years ago to read the World of the Lupi novella between it’s pages. And then I put it away because I was still incredibly new to the genre of paranormal romance. Now, a few years later, a lot more involved in the genre and more than a little obsessed, I decided to pick up this collection again. And boy, was I glad that I did.

Novellas and Stories by Meljean Brook, Carolyn Crane & Jessica Sims

This was one of those great collections that had a really wide array of stories under the heading of paranormal romance. From incredibly erotic shapeshifter stories to tales of steampunk piracy across the worlds. Every moment of these six novellas are steamy, warm and full of passion. And of course, a little intrigue to make it impossible to put down.

Unbound by Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson & Jocelynn Drake

This was a great collection of urban fantasy novellas. Not only did it introduce me to a few new worlds (that are now sitting impatiently on my To Buy List), but it also swept me away into a couple of worlds that I already love, and can’t wait to sink my teeth into again and again. The great balance of known worlds and new ones made me incredibly excited to crack the pages of this collection, and I’m mostly just disappointed that it took me so long to do so…

Black Feathers edited by Ellen Datlow

This is my first collection of horror stories. Actually, it’s really my first ever horror novel. So reading this has been a very interesting journey. One that I was surprised to enjoy so much. And, although I didn’t really read any of these stories late at night, I also didn’t get any horrifying nightmares from the tales either. Unlike some of the crime, mystery and thriller novels that I’ve read.