Review: An Enchanted Season by Maggie Shayne, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and, Jean Johnson

Title: An Enchanted Season
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Length: 341 Pages
Publication Date: October 2, 2007
Available Format: Kindle Edition, eBook, Paperback, Mass Paperback
Source: Bought
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Book Description: (taken from Goodreads)

It's the time of year when dreams come true, miracles happen every day, and love is the greatest gift of all. The holidays always seem to bring out the best in everyone, with heartfelt hugs for long-missed friends, sincere smiles in the spirit of the season, and a feeling of magic in the air...

This scintillating collection of paranormal romances celebrates the holidays as never before. From a shape-shifting leopardess who wants a pack-mate to be her soulmate, to a sudden snowstorm that brings a surprise gift, these four tales will stir readers' spirits in all the right places.

An anthology of Christmas stories, perfect for the holiday season. It includes four shorts: Melting Frosty by Maggie Shayne, Charlotte’s Web by Erin McCarthy, Beat the Temptation by Nalini Singh, and Gift of the Magi by Jean Johnson. Because these are short stories I can’t really tell you what they are about without risking revealing the whole thing up, but I’ll do my best to review them without spoilers.

So I read this book due to the Vet VS Newbies challenge at Goodreads’ Gotta Have Paranormal Romance with a Kick Group. The book showcases spirits, witches, werewolves, and the magi and I totally love it. I usually stray away from Christmas books unless I want to read a story from a particular author. It’s nothing against the books, just not what I normally read. Which is why I’m so glad that I was given this book as one of my alternatives, otherwise I would have missed it completely. All four stories are worth the time and can be read in one sitting.

Here is the breakdown:

ARC Review: Dark Light by Carl Hose

Title: Dark Light
Series: Standalone
Editor: Carl Hose
Publisher: MARLvision Publishing
Length: 518 Pages
Publication Date: June 15, 2012
Reviewed Format: ARC Edition: Kindle Edition, PDF
Source: Supplied by the editor through IO Book Tours
My Rating: ★★★★★
Get it @: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble

Book Description:

Dark Light is the light that shines through when some of the finest writers in horror use the power of their words for something good. That’s the case with this anthology—42 writers coming together to help support the Ronald McDonald House Charities and all the good the organization does for families every day of the year.

Make no mistake, though. These are horror writers and the stories they’ve written are not pretty. Traditional and non-traditional horror, dark humor, ghosts, serial killers, alternate universes, magic, zombies, and other creatures of the night hide between these pages. Shadows move and dead fingers stroke unsuspecting flesh, razor sharp knives shimmer in the moonlight, and unknown things hide in closets and under the bed. The stories here are as varied as the writers themselves. If you’re a fan of horror, you will not be let down.

Despite the horrific nature of these tales, however, their very existence in Dark Light stands as proof there will always be a light at the end of every tunnel.

Turn the lights down low and enjoy the show.

This book is an amazing anthology, 44 short stories by 42 extremely talented authors. Some of the stories are scary; others are downright creepy, while some leave a note of sadness at the end. Have you ever been reading a scene in a book and felt a chill go down your spine? I did while reading this book. It’s as gruesome as the genre gets, with a strange, albeit twisted, undertone of hope. It highlights human nature in the good, the bad and the extreme throughout many different scenarios. If you are a horror fan, this will be a great addition to your collection. If you want to taste the genre, this book will give you the perfect opportunity to test it out while also getting some serious quality reading. Best part is, if you buy this book you will be giving back to charity.

You read that right. I received this book for review as part of its Blog Tour thanks to Innovative Online Book Tours. Proceeds from the sales will go to The Ronald McDonald House Foundation.

The Roaster: (Title / Author)

Review: A Story Not Wish to be Read

Title: A Story Not Wished to be Read
Series: Standalone
Author: Nicola Black
Publisher: Self Published
Length: 8 pages
Publication Date: February 2, 2012
Reviewed Format: PDF (supplied by the author)
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

A Story Not Wished to be Read is a collection of poems that reflect on everyday issues and experiences looking for a way to understand the normal chaos that surrounds our lives. The book contains 21 short poems that deal with themes such as love, pain, faith, promises, engagements, and mostly the mental trappings that we tend to cover ourselves with. The book is a quick read, with it being only 8 pages long.

Want to know more? Read the interview with the author.

Excerpt from the book:

Dark Passages
Don’t follow me
Down the dark passages of my mind.
Though I need you near,
Would you stay with me
To find my dark secrets?
Are you willing to risk
Getting lost in the shadows
To bring me light?

Come follow me
Down the dark passages of my mind.
I want to lure you and keep you
Forever mine.
To get entangled in my sinister thoughts
And never get free...
Would you want to be mine then?

Save me from
The cruel dark passages of my mind.
Teach me how to love, how to trust.
Take my hand and
Lead me to the light.
Give me yourself
And I’ll give you everything.

The Bite Before Christmas by Jeaniene Frost and Lynsay Sands

Title: The Bite Before Christmas
Series: Anthology
Author(s): Lynsay Sands, Jeaniene Frost
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 25, 2011
Reviewed Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Bought
My Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Get it @: Amazon | Book Depository

I love me some Bones!! Not to mention that i love the Ian time!!

Jeaniene Frost has a new short story from her acclaim series Night Huntress. The story is a part of an anthology along side Lynsay Sands called The Bite Before Christmas. Like the title suggests, the story takes place during the holiday festivities. The stories that compose this anthology are "The Gift" by Sands and "Home for the Holidays" by Frost.

I will try to keep the review as spoiler free as posible.

The Gift by Lynsay Sands

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

I haven't read this short story yet, so will update this part of the review once i have gone through it

Home for the Holidays by Jeaniene Frost

Rating: ★★★★☆

I love this story and the fact that we get more of Bones' past shown to us. Chronologically, this story comes almost immediately after the events on One Grave at a Time, which was released this past August.

In Home for the Holidays Cat is getting ready to do something completely out of the ordinary in her typical lifestyle; spend some time at home, battling no one, and celebrating the festivities, not to mention spending some serious time with her delicious husband Bones. The celebration kicks off with Bones' B~day Party. But what is suppose to be a joyful time among family and friends takes a turn for the worse when a dark secret gets revealed. Lives become threatened, friendships might be broken and with a marriage in danger the stakes could not be higher (for a short story that is).

If one thing is certain is that Jeaniene Frost knows how to torture us fans of her books. For those of you ladies that have been claiming more Ian time, he gets some in this story, however, the story's main focus remains Bones and his back-story. Unfortunately for those of you who are Vlad fans he doesn't make an appearance in this one, but we do get a glance at Fabian, Mencheres, Kira, Spade, Denise, Annette and a new Vampire that becomes the surprise of a century (or two) for Bones. The story also explores a bit more in depth the world of Demons and the how their inner workings.