“WEREWOLVES, VAMPIRES, WITCHES, VOODOO, ELVIS—AND WEDDINGS“An “ordinary” wedding can get crazy enough, so can you imagine what happens when otherworldly creatures are involved? Nine of the hottest authors of paranormal fiction answer that question in this delightful collection of supernatural wedding stories. What’s the seating plan when rival clans of werewolves and vampires meet under the same roof? How can a couple in the throes of love overcome traps set by feuding relatives…who are experts at voodoo? Will you have a good marriage if your high-seas wedding is held on a cursed ship? How do you deal with a wedding singer who’s just a little too good at impersonating Elvis?
“SHAPE-SHIFTERS, WIZARDS, AND MAGIC, OH MY!
“Spellbound: L.A. Banks”
Well, this was not the first time that I read L.A. Banks, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first—and, for those of you who didn’t read my other review of Banks, I didn’t really like the writing to begin with. I REALLY don’t want to be completely down on Banks because it does take a lot of work to write, but there was just something lacking in both stories I have read by her. Plain and simple, her writing just isn’t for me. The plot was not fun to follow and there were just so many names and hardly any background at all (which was similar to the other short story of hers that I read). The overall idea of this story was cute and interesting, but things could definitely have been explained better, and I had a hard time feeling for the main characters at all. I was a little disappointed with this story and—in all honesty—really hoped that the book got better as I read.
“Something Borrowed: Jim Butcher”
I have never read Jim Butcher before, so this short story was a first. I liked the characters and the story was unique because it was written in the first-person. This isn’t easy to do and not many authors are able to pull it off, but I must say that Butcher did a very good job. His story was interesting and gave me good background and defined terms so I wouldn’t struggle through the story.
Now, this isn’t really my normal type of reading, but it was fairly compelling and a good, short read. Who knows? I might even read more of Butcher’s works in the future—even though he isn’t entirely my style.
“Dead Man’s Chest: Rachel Cane”
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this story!!! It has to be my favorite one in this book thus far. The characters were fun and realistic and the plot had captivating twists that kept me reading. ****This next part is a bit of a spoiler*** As soon as I read the description of Captain Lockhart, I instantly thought “oh boy…here’s a blatant copycat of Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean…” and that Rachel Cane was just a Pirates fanatic… But I was REALLY happy that Cane’s character realized how similar the situation was to Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. She even went so far as to practically quote certain scenes that corresponded to the film. I laughed several times and found myself charmed by her characters.
Overall, the plot was unique and VERY interesting and would actually LOVE to read more of Rachel Cane in the future!
“ “All Shook Up”: P.N. Elrod”
This is the first writing by P.N. Elrod that I have gotten a chance to read and I really enjoyed it. Her characters were sweet and endearing and the plot was fun. I found myself guessing what was going to happen next and could not figure it out. (That’s pretty hard for an author to do that to me. Though, I will be honest, I think if I had read Elrod before, then I would have been able to figure it out.)
Anyhow, this was a very cute short story and found myself really liking the characters. I will probably read more of Elrod in the future.
“The Wedding of Wylda Serene: Esther M. Friesner”
Esther M. Friesner was another new author to me in this anthology. This was an interesting short story as a first reading from this author.
As I first started reading, I had no idea what to expect from this story. The language used—including the dialogue—was a bit wordy for my tastes. The story was written in the first-person (which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing), but the vocabulary was unnecessarily elaborate. I liked the plot twists and it was a cute story, but I may or may not read more of Friesner in the future.
“Charmed by the Moon: Lori Handeland”
I’ve read Lori Handeland before, in another anthology, and it was good to read her again. Her writing is fun; her characters are interesting; and her plots move very well. I don’t have much more to say about this short story because it’s all pretty straightforward and to-the-point, but it was all good nonetheless.
“Tacky: Charlaine Harris”
I don’t believe that I’ve read Charlaine Harris before, but this was a cute story. The plot was refreshing and interesting. There were refreshing bits to it that made the story unique and cute. The characters were fun and made me want to read more.
Overall, it was a nice short story and I may even read more works by Harris in the future.
“A Hard Day’s Night-Searcher: Sherrilyn Kenyon”
And here we are with Sherrilyn Kenyon again. Need I say how much I love her writing?
Anyway, once more, Kenyon has that unique ability to make her readers care about her characters in the span of only a few pages. It’s amazing! However, this was not one of my favorite works of hers, but it was still very cute and a fun read. The characters were interesting and it was cool to read more about a Dark-Hunter that I’d only barely seen before. Plus, I LOVED the fact that Rafael’s Squire, Jeff, wrote about the world of the Dark-Hunters and made it his own. It was hilarious and really dragged me into the story. Can’t wait to read more of Kenyon’s work!!!
“ “…Or Forever Hold Your Peace”: Susan Krinard”
This is the first work by Susan Krinard that I’ve read and I liked it more than I expected to. It was very unique and I instantly liked the characters. I know for certain that I wouldn’t have been able to understand what the heck was going on if Krinard hadn’t supplied background information, so I REALLY appreciate that. I actually really liked this short story and—though it isn’t my usual taste in reading materials—I think I may seek out other books by Krinard that are like this one.
***YAY!!! So, this is my 100th post for my book-review blog! I’m actually really excited about it! I wish I’d posted the books that I’d read in that gap between my first and second posts, but oh well…I will just end up making them my next few blog postings :) Anyhow, I LOVE doing this blog and would really appreciate some feedback. Just a “hey, what’s up”, let me know what you think of the books I review—whether you loved them or hated them, or even tell me that you think what I’m doing is stupid. I can take it! I know people read this and I would LOVE to hear from them! Peace out!***
*Just a note, my label for this post does not contain all of the authors of this anthology because I can only have 200 characters...sorry!*
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