Title: Dead Man’s Hand Author: Christie Yant In: Dead Man’s Hand (John Joseph Adams) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy Dates read: 26th November 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Titan Books Year: 2014 5th sentence, 74th page: Mr. Sutherland immediately turned his weapon over to Ed Durham, proprietor, and waited peacefully while a miners’ jury was assembled.
Going through the different hands that were once called “Dead Man’s Hand” and regaling the dead men that held them…
I loved how each little tale of death in this story started off with a hand of cards. And they were the cards that each of the characters were holding. Not that I’ve ever gambled much or played many card games, but it was interesting to see what a Dead Man’s Hand actually was.
It’s also nice how a collection called Dead Man’s Hand ends with a story of that same name. Featuring the cards that originally coined that term. It was well done and rounded out this Weird westerncollection brilliantly.
All in all, this was a fun and engaging short story. It was well written and left me with a huge smile stretched across my face. As all final short stories in an anthology should be.
Title: Home from America Author: Sharan Newman In: Death’s Excellent Vacation (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Family, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy Dates read: 24th November 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Gollancz Year: 2010 5th sentence, 74th page: In the gray light of morning the plane slid down through the cloud cover and the O’Reillys got their first glimpse of what for them was the Promised Land.
Patrick has always dreamed about he home land. And been incredibly self-conscious about his height. Now he finally gets to go “home”. What he finds is nothing like what he expected.
I have always wanted to find out more about my ancestors. But I can’t say that I’ve ever had wonderful, powerful imaginations about them. After all, I’m probably from farm folk or some such. Even though I would love to go and see England and Scotland, I don’t think it would be like coming home. Which made it interesting to read a short story that featured a young man who was so desperate to live in and move to a country that he had never laid eyes on because he thought he was from hero stock.
Pride is never really a good thing. If we’re being honest here. And Patricks’ pride in this short story leaves his vacation at a pretty grisly ending. He is too proud to love his family for who they are. And he is certainly too proud to stay and listen and learn. Rather, he wants to be a hero and from more “impressive” ancestors. I really don’t understand that, and I’m kind of glad that he got his comeuppance. He was a bit of a weeny in this tale.
I love that this story dealt with family and pride. Leprechauns and the Luck of the Irish. The whole story was fun and had me smiling as I turned the pages. It wasn’t quite what I expected from the title. But it was most definitely a tale that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Effrijim just wants to spend his ten day vacation with the love of his life. But things don’t quite go as planned when a She-Bitch gets involved.
The first comment in my notes was “Poor Effrijim”. After all, this story is just one calamity after another. Just a whole series of problems that stop him from having a relaxing vacation and leave him feeling frustrated and ready to scream. It’s just not the optimal vacation and left me feeling seriously bad for Effrijim, even as I laughed and laughed at all of the bad that befell him.
Titania and Oberon made a great cameo appearance in this story. They’re altered story line was fun and entertaining. I also loved how militant and kick ass Titania was. After all, she is completely unorthodox and has been wronged. I also love how she decides to keep Oberon in line from now on…
Jim’s torture is what dreams are made of. It was the kind of torture and storyline that had me laughing happily throughout the entire story. I finished this with a huge grin on my face and a desire to just read more.
All they wanted to do was open up a quaint little B&B in a small coastal town. But then tourism dropped off. And the locals really didn’t like these two interlopers coming into their town. And then, well, things just got worse.
To start with, I was a little bit “eh” about this story. I mean, two guys from the Big Smoke move to a tiny, backwater town… it’s not exactly a groundbreaking or really very original story. But then it started to develop. And I got hooked. And now I’m still thinking of it with fond memories.
As someone from a tourism area, I completely understand how drastically tourism can impact on a town. This story helped to drive this fact even further home. Plus, it was quite entertaining the new form of tourism that started to encroach on the town.
This short story is a great mix of mythology and folklore. And just the general wit, fun and mayhem that I seriously enjoy in a good short story and paranormal fantasy tale.
Title: Stray Author: Rachel Vincent Series: Shifters #1 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy Dates read: 30th – 31st October 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Mira Year: 2007 5th sentence, 74th page: He chuckled, sounding distinctly unsympathetic.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MOVIES AND REALITY? IN REAL LIFE, I WAS THE MONSTER.
Faythe Sanders looks like an ordinary student, but she’s hiding a dark secret: she is a werecat, a powerful supernatural predator. Yet headstrong, independent Faythe resents her power, heading to college to escape her family and her overprotective ex, Marc.
That is until a stray – a dangerous werecat without a pride or territory – catches her scent. With two werecat girls already missing, Faythe is summoned home for her own protection.
But Faythe will do whatever it takes to find her kidnapped kin. She has claws – and she’s not afraid to use them.
This is one of those novels that I have stopped and started a couple of times. And then I read it all in one sitting. There was just something about it that finally grabbed my attention and pulled me in. I think, after you get past the fifth chapter, Vincent really hits her stride and pulls you in. But it does take a little while. And then WABAM! A fantastic novel that I seriously enjoyed.
To start with, I was beyond annoyed at the gumption and attitude of Faythe’s family. And even her ex, Marc, they were just so damn heavy handed and irritating. But, as the story unfolds you kind of begin to see why they act that way. Not that their behaviour is okay, but Faythe is also a little bit of a brat and doesn’t stop to discuss things… she just informs people. I loved that the understanding for why the Sanders act the way they do grows throughout the book, alongside Faythe.
Fayth goes through an awesome transformation throughout this novel. I found it really well written. Instead of one huge moment of epiphany and understanding, she slowly grows into herself and becomes the adult she probably would always have been. It makes me intrigued to read Rogue as I want to see how her newfound maturity serves her as she grows the hell up.
I think that one of the reasons I couldn’t put this down was the action crest towards the middle. I was about to put this aside and cook myself dinner, but there is a moment that has a definite trigger warning attached. And at that point, I just really, really needed to know what in the heck was going to happen next…
There’s nothing like home renovation for finding skeletons in the closet or otherworldly portals in the parlour… And when you add in a hefty dose of the supernatural, the normal, everyday challenges of home D-I-Y become even more hazardous!
International number 1 bestseller Charlaine Harris has joined forces once again with award-winning mystery writer Toni L.P. Kelner to construct a brilliant anthology of fourteen forays into the frightening world of home improvement.
This is a great and fun collection. It’s amusing and light. Filled with lots of gorgeous paranormal stories and just seriously fun. What I love most about it though is that each and everyone of these stories features the process of home renovations in some way, shape or form. And, as a home owner myself… I can attest to the fact that sometimes home improvements are literally hell…
I love that this collection brings the supernatural and paranormal into our everyday experiences. Everyone has a home and, in the case of these somewhat more magical lives… after all, even vampires and witches and the fae still need a home… but their complications are a lot worse than the ones that I have had to face…
This collection had some authors and series that I’m familiar with. And some that are new to me. As with many of the good anthologies that I read, my wish list has grown yet again. Which is really what I want when I read a good anthology.
They live in the House. It’s a House that straddles two realities. So what happens when those realities collide?
Something about this short story made me think about the Innkeeper Chronicles. In the best way possible of course, since I loved that series. And I loved this short story. After all, a house that straddles two worlds and works to keep the peace, keep people safe… it’s definitely the kind of story that I get drawn into.
This was a seriously fun journey into a seriously interesting and intriguing house. It was really hard to put down and I was grinning throughout the whole story. Particularly the couple that runs the house. They are the exact kind of married couples that I love in a good story – obviously in love and filled with witty banter and light.
I’m really disappointed that this is just a short story. I would really, seriously love more stories about this House Between Worlds. There are just so many potential stories!
Title: Working Stiff Author: Rachel Caine Series: Revivalist #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy, Zombies Dates read: 18th September – 23rd October 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Roc fantasy Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: Bryn tried the keys Fideli had given her, but they didn’t work.
RACHEL CAINE, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE WEATHER WARDEN NOVELS, TAKES THE ZOMBIE GENRE BY STORM IN HER BRAND-NEW REVIVALIST SERIES.
Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn’t the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment – until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele… as part of an extortion racket. Now Bryn faces being terminated (literally) with extreme prejudice.
With the assistance of corporate double agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem – pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She’d better do it fast before she becomes a zombie slave – a real working stiff.
She’d be better off dead…
So I had absolutely no clue what to really expect from this novel. But even if I had expectations… they would have been surpassed. This was completely, totally and utterly unexpected. In the best of ways possible. It was absolutely awesome and a lot, lot, lot of fun. I didn’t want to put this down. I didn’t want to look away. And I most certainly desperately want the final two books in this trilogy!
Bryn is a fantabulous lead. She is a little bit weak in some ways, but also has this great core strength that carries her through all of the insanity that this story entails. I mean, there is a LOT of insanity throughout this story. It is just one crazy moment after another… all careening through the pages in an unstoppable plot that has you on the edge of your seat. It makes it way too easy to feel seriously heart sore at her plight and makes you just hope for the best. I’m not all that optimistic to be honest, but that’s probably why I liked this so much.
This is a seriously unique and individualistic zombie story. Not that I’ve read many zombie stories. But the way in which zombies are created, and the whole plot line is just unfathomably unique and sheer awesomeness. It makes this story even more difficult to put down and put away. Because somehow, these zombies feel a little scarier and more plausible… and then you start dealing with big corporations and corruption… and well, the zombie story is just WOW.
Jo, Pat and Bryn are the absolute dream team in this story. They all work incredibly well together to create this team that is kind of personally interwoven, and there are heaps of secrets… and I just can’t wait to see what happens next to this little trio. Particularly with how Caine finished off their journey in this novel… there are SO MANY more questions left unanswered!
Title: Full-Scale Demolition Author: Suzanne McLeod In: Home Improvement (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fae, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy Dates read: 19th October 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: After much manoeuvring I balanced the bundled drop cloth on the backs of my thighs, tucking an end into my waistband, and started crawling down headfirst.
She can’t cast, but she can catch Pixies… really well. So when a routine Pixie collecting job goes seriously hay-wire, it might just be up to her unique abilities to stop this full-scale demolition.
I jot down notes when I’m reading, so that it’s easier to write reviews when I’m done. And the first point I wrote for this story… :
Ooooooh. I liked this story.
It’s a pretty good summing up of my feelings really. This was fun and entertaining and I was really, really hoping that it was part of a series (it’s not, but I’m going to imagine it in my mind’s eye anyway…)
This short story combined pixies, sidhe, lamia and kelpies. All paranormal creatures that I have loved in previous stories, so, of course, I was drawn in completely. Plus, any story that starts with pixies is generally going to be fun… they’re such an interesting and insane paranormal pest.
I loved that in the end, this story was saved by pixie dust. Pixie dust saves the day and is what ultimately is the source of power in this fun and incredibly cute short story.
Title: The Lay of the Land Author: Seanan McGuire Series: InCryptid #0.21 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Paranormal fantasy, Strong women, Urban fantasy Dates read: 4th October 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Free online short story Publisher: Seanan McGuire Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: “But you don’t think Mr. Price is a part of that.”
Thomas Price has seen the world, has studied and fought unbelievable creatures on every continent, and knows more about cryptids than almost anyone else alive. But he’s never seen anyplace like Buckley Township, Michigan, and he’s certainly never met anyone like Alice Healy, who is far too young for him, far too much a Healy for him, and far too wild to disregard. This is going to be an interesting assignment.
Unable to understand why her ever-tolerant father wants her to write off a newcomer as dangerous solely because of his origins, Alice Healy has set herself on a collision course with Thomas Price–a man who needs companionship, answers, and someone to guide him through the tangled ecosystems of the local wood, where the unwary go in, but don’t come out.
It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and a new chapter in the story of the Healy family. Assuming that Alice can get Thomas through the woods alive, and Mary can convince Alice not to get Thomas murdered by her father.
Alice is growing into absolutely everything I expected… and more. I almost don’t want to leave the world of the InCryptid short stories. She’s got so much gumption. And is incredibly accident prone. Two things which I absolutely adore in a strong female character. It doesn’t fail to brig a smile to my face, opening my Kobo and reading one of the stories which feature her and her amazingness.
I love that in this story, she’s showing Thomas around. The independent, matter of fact way in which she does so helps to draw you ever further into the InCryptid world and Alice’s great personality. She’s most definitely Fran’s daughter. And although I still miss Fran, I love that there is someone there to fill that void with their humorous take on life.
This story was a great way to see all of the things in the InCryptidworld that go bump in the night. Even the more innocent of the creatures that go “bump” were included. I wish there was an illustrated encyclopaedia of all of these amazing creatures… I could almost die a happy woman then.
Earth and Skye 