Short Story Collections – Earth and Skye

Hot for the Holidays by Lora Leigh, Angela Knight, Anya Bast and Allyson James

This is a fantastic novella collection. Especially since it’s got a Christmas theme, but really wasn’t Christmassy at all. Actually, other than the fact that each of these novellas was set around the festive season, there was nothing truly Christmassy about any of these. Which made me much, much happier. I’m just not that into the festive season this year…

The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance edited by Trisha Telep

The thing that I love most about this collection is that it completely runs the gambit of supernatural and paranormal creatures. There are a number of standalone stories and tales that are part of series. But mostly, there’s just stories which feature vampires and werewolves; djinn and selkies. Some of the paranormal beings that feature in this are not ones that I normally come across. Which of course just made it all that much more exciting. You didn’t know what sort of paranormal creature would be next!

The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance edited by Trisha Telep

This is an absolutely brilliant collection. I haven’t read any time travel romances before. So it was kind of nice to read a whole collection of them. I do have a few full length novels in this genre sitting on my shelves ready to go though. Now that I’ve read this collection, I kind of can’t wait!

Urban Enemies edited by Joseph Nassise

I really enjoyed this collection, but it was a little more difficult to get through. Unlike a lot of anthologies, every single one of these stories was placed in an already established world and series. However, unlike the few other books that I’ve read which have the same setup, these shorts didn’t stand by themselves very well. Actually, some were just downright confusing because I had no idea what was happening.

Haunted Nights edited by Ellen Datlow & Lisa Morton

This selection is super creepy, intense and wonderful. I absolutely adored it. Even if I spent a lot of the time reading it with my feet curled under me feeling incredibly overwhelmed and somewhat horrified. A whole new world was introduced as I read through this. This might be why I’m starting to get into the horror genre though…

The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories edited by Maxim Jakubowski

You know from the very beginning that this collection is going to be quite twisted. I mean, it’s a collection of 40 stories about Jack the Ripper. That is never going to be a nice collection. But it was an incredibly interesting one. One that I’m incredibly glad I read and found very difficult to put down.

Alien Sex edited by Ellen Datlow

This is the single most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever read. Like wow uncomfortable. And not in bits and pieces. But pretty much every single story in this was uncomfortable. Not that that’s bad. But it’s very hard to read a book quickly when you know that things aren’t going to be, well, pleasant. Which makes it incredibly WOW to read. I suggest this to everyone who loves their science fiction.

Naked City edited by Ellen Datlow

This is a seriously diverse collection of urban fantasy short stories. Not to mention fun and engaging. Probably moving right to the top of my list if I’m being honest. Normally my purview of urban fantasy is kind of small. But the breadth and width of these stories and the style in which they’re written… just wow.

Four Dukes and a Devil by Cathy Maxwell, Elaine Fox, Jeaniene Frost, Sophia Nash & Tracy Anne Warren

I’ve had this collection on my shelf for a little while. And wow! Why did it take me this long? I completely loved all five novellas. They managed to run the gambit of romance genres and all featured good, strong women who you were completely gunning for the entire time. Five different couples, five different authors, five different settings, one really good adventure. This is the first collection in a long time that I have wanted to read cover to cover instead of taking a break in between like I usually do…

Red as Blood Collection by Tanith Lee

This is the second feminist collection of fairy tales I’ve ever read. And I don’t know if I like this or Angela Carter’s version better. What I do know is that I love both of them and I will read them again and again. They’re fun, kind of brilliant and super dark. Much more likely in our lives than the pretty Disney-versions that I grew up with.