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I knew from the description that I was going to love this novel, and I wasn’t wrong. I love reading stories about faes so I was immediately attracted to the fantasy of the story. What I wasn’t expecting was how hot this story was! I actually had to walk away a couple times to catch my breath before I could return. Normally, I don’t like dialogue during my erotic scenes. More often then not, it sounds cheesy and silly. Rivard has a talent with writing such dialogue without taking away from the heat of the scene. In all honestly, it made them even hotter.

It wasn’t all about the sex, however. The author created a fantastical world filled interesting creatures. I can’t wait to read more stories to learn more about her mystical races. Not only that, but she did a great job of adding meat to the story, creating a cornucopia of characters whose stories intertwine. I found myself wondering about certain characters and hoping she continues their stories in the next novel.

The only true issue I had with this novel was how stubborn Dion was. I guess if I look from his point of view, I would understand. I wonder if the author gritted her teeth while she wrote him being so bullheaded. I know I would have.

This story could have gone wrong so very easily. I have read it countless times before. Rivard knew what she was doing and expertly wove a story of love, sacrifice, and fantasy. I will definitely be continuing the series.
  
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Suite 606 (In Death, #27.5)
J.D. Robb | 2008
2
2.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I only read the story by [a:J.D. Robb|17065|J.D. Robb|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1202524651p2/17065.jpg]. I glanced at the other three, but they're primarily romance stories, which do NOT interest me.

The whole point of these little anthologies is to introduce readers who enjoy an established author's work to other, similar authors, right?

I know that J.D. Robb is a pen name for [a:Nora Roberts|11139|Mary Shelley|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205347203p2/11139.jpg]. I know that the stories she publishes as NR are romances. If I saw an anthology anchored by an NR story, I'd expect it to be full of romances.

However, I don't read the NR stuff. I only read her JDR books, which have a little romantic spice about the main character, Eve Dallas, and her husband Roarke, with occasional glimpses into Eve's partner, Peabody's, relationship with her guy, McNab. That's it, though. Neither of those sets of relationships are the focal point of the plots. The mystery/crime is the main thing, and while they're set in the future with the advantages of technology we don't yet have, they're essentially police procedurals. (I don't consider them SF, quite, because all the tech seems to be extrapolated from what we have now, and quite plausible. And, of course, the tech isn't the point of the stories, either.)

So why not put similar stories in an anthology anchored by a JDR story? Why why why? Misleading and disappointing readers is NOT the way to garner any positive buzz for the lesser-known authors, and the backlash can lead to less enthusiasm from established readers (like me) for the established author's work.
  
Roar: A Story for Every Woman
Roar: A Story for Every Woman
Cecelia Ahearn | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
On the whole, I enjoyed this book of short stories. They’re all stories about women who are unhappy about some aspect of their lives, have lost their way and are working out how to get back. They’re all a bit magical realism, and just plain fantasy sometimes (this is not a bad thing for me, by the way!), and ‘Feminist Aesop’s Fables’ kept popping in to my head. It’s definitely a book to dip in to, and I did so whilst reading other books - I could see that reading all of these in one go could be overwhelming.

I think that these stories have a bit of something for everyone. I didn’t enjoy all of them, but I did have my favourites: The Woman Who Grew Wings is about a woman who flees her country with her family to live in the West, and the negative attitudes of the other mothers at the school gates (they’re not nice people) - this brought me to tears actually. The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor and Who Met Lots of Other Women Down There Too - because who HASN’T had this happen to them at least once in their lives?! The Woman Who Ate Photographs was another tear jerker about how visual prompts (the photos) can bring back feelings connected to smell, touch, and the memories of our children before they grew into hairy teenagers (this one did for me, I’m afraid!).

I think all of these stories will resonate with someone.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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ClareR (6106 KP) Nov 13, 2019

@James Koppert now THERE’S an idea!!🤣

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Sarah (7800 KP) Nov 13, 2019

I'm in a phase of reading motivational books at the moment so will have to give this one a go!

The Red Grouse Tales: The Little Dog and Other Stories
The Red Grouse Tales: The Little Dog and Other Stories
Leslie W.P. Garland | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Related as stories told between friends in the Red Grouse pub, each of these tales has a thread of the paranormal and philosophy running through them, to varying degrees. There are four stories to enjoy (I have also reviewed each of these separately in depth)

The Little Dog is the story of a forester who is forced to work with a much disliked colleague for a week. Each day is tense and stressful, but is Blackman just unsociable or actually evil?

The Crow focuses on a local politician, generally held in high regard but the tale of his life as related by a bitter and dying priest casts doubt on his motives.

The Golden Tup is the tale of a local couple who are notorious for having killed their baby. But just perhaps not everything is as it seems. Has an old evil been awoken?

The White Hart finishes the stories with a very rare thing - a heartwarming and feelgood ghost story that touches on the power that men wield over women, and vice versa.

Each of these tales has a different tone but are a complete story in their own right, even if some make mention of places and events in others. The story telling makes this a great collection to dip into and read. As each story also carries a philosophical theme they have a depth and resonance beyond the actual tale being told.

A good collection of paranormal and interesting stories, definitely worth a read. Each story is also available separately (and I have posted full reviews for them separately too)