Tag Archives: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers

Broke Heart Blues by Joyce Carol Oates

Book Review, ,
Overview
Image result for sirens and other daemon lovers book cover

Title: Broke Heart Blues
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Lust
Dates read: 26th April 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: But I’m sorry, I guess I’ll be going with –

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

John Reedy Heart is setting everyone’s hearts, and loins, on fire. But what are the consequences to this? Does uninhibited lust create a world in which no one is safe?

Thoughts

Everyone has their first moments of lust and obsession when they’re young. And there always seems to be one boy in the entire school that inspires this feeling more than any other. That one boy that makes every girls heart beat faster as she hopes that he’ll finally notice her. So it kind of makes sense that in a collection of romance and lustful stories, there is one that features this obsessive, adolescent lust and fascination.

This is a really jumpy and kind of hard to follow story. There isn’t a specific beginning, middle and end. Or really any kind of specific storyline. But it does have a lot of emotion, activity and movement. It made a very convoluted reading, but it was one that I did seriously enjoy. One that I would like to read again and again, just so I can get a better grasp on the storyline each and every time.

<- The Faerie Cony-catcherWolfed ->

Image source: Goodreads

The Faerie Cony-catcher by Delia Sherman

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for sirens and other daemon lovers book cover

Title: The Faerie Cony-catcher
Author: Delia Sherman
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Fae, LGBTQI
Dates read: 20th April 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: For answer then, he tightened his grip upon those fair and ruddy jewels that Peasecod brought to his marriage-portion, and so wrought with them that the eyes rolled back in his lover’s head, and he expired upon a sigh.

Synopsis

Nick thinks that he is wise and well aware of the dangers of being on his own. But when he runs across a fae woman, he finds out that maybe he’s not quite as wise as he thinks… Will this lead him to his happily ever after, or something a little more sinister?

Thoughts

I’ve read enough Delia Sherman short stories by this point to realise that they’re never going to go the way I expected. Ever. And yet, I still thought that I knew roughly how this was going to go at about the halfway point. I was partly right – there is a happy ending. But it really wasn’t the kind of happy ending that I thought it would be… or the kind of coupling that I was expecting.

Without giving away the ending of this story (and why it is in the LGBTQI shelf), I can tell you that one of the characters is really not what I thought they were. And the reaction to this was kind of beautiful. I thought that this was going to go haywire incredibly quickly. However, it led to a great happy ending. And an acceptance of people who are just a little bit different from ourselves.

This short story is in a collection of tales that are not going to fit the romance bill. But they do fit the scope of slightly twisted, kind of weird, and incredibly intense storylines. The off-kilter and unexpected storyline worked so well in this collection and now I can’t wait to pick up not only my next Delia Sherman story, but also read the next short story in the Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers collection.

<- My Lady of the HearthBroke Heart Blues ->

Image source: Goodreads

My Lady of the Hearth by Storm Constantine

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for sirens and other daemon lovers book cover

Title: My Lady of the Hearth
Author: Storm Constantine
In: Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Paranormal romance, Twisted romance
Dates read: 7th April 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: EOS
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: In time, during our lovemaking I too began to make the sounds and Simew displayed her approval with purrs.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

He has the best of the world – looks, intelligence and a great big estate. Yet, something seems to be constantly lacking from his life. That is, until his feline companion becomes something much more thanks to the dark gift of a goddess.

Thoughts

This short story was quite uncomfortable to say the least. It was a really interesting tale. Certainly, one that I enjoyed reading… but not one that I felt… comfortable about at the end. After all, the romance is between a man and his cat-turned-woman. And although it could have been considered a love story, I just couldn’t get the idea that the woman in the story started out as a cat.

The first story in any anthology tends to set the tone for the rest of the collection. Even if it is of a different theme or tone than many of the other stories in the book. So, I found it quite interesting that this series started with passions that weren’t quite natural. A story about being spurned by the people you are surrounding yourself with and accepted by those that have always been there.

This story was also about respect. The protagonist willingly takes Simew into his life, bed and home. Knowing exactly who and what she was, he still chose to marry her and keep her by his side. Yet, when she didn’t perform exactly as he wished (catching a mouse in your mouth will probably make most people a little upset), he starts to pull away from her. Which is a great reminder of how we should treat the people we love – even if they aren’t quite able to fit into the perfect world view that we have of our lives.

<- Sirens and Other Daemon LoversThe Faerie Cony-catcher ->

Image source: Goodreads