Huntress

Huntress arrived quite unexpectedly in my mailbox but I was very happy to see it. Caitlin Kittredge had revealed on her blog that a Jack Winter story was waiting for me inside the pages of this anthology. If you haven't read Street Magic, first in the Black London series you might not understand my anticipation. Oops, got distracted by thoughts of Jack. Each story involves a huntress, but each unique. I must confess that I read Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go by Caitlin Kittredge first. We get to see Jack in all his glory before he meets Pete and goes down the dark road of addiction. Very unique story and I was riveted until the end. Then I went back to the beginning and read Devil's Bargain by Christine Warren. I hadn't read Ms. Warren since she first broke into big time publishing. I enjoyed this story with its geeky hero Aaron Bullard and Lilith Corbin, the huntress. Lilith needs to retrieve a book that Aaron owns to return it to the devil Samael in order to end her bargain with said devil. But it turns out that it isn't just a book and Lilith isn't just a huntress. The Robber Bride by Marjorie M. Liu was so good, words escape me. I would love LOVE love to see more of these characters. After a horrible virus wipes out a large portion of the population, people make do with what they have, what they can grow, and what they can trade or scavenge. Maggie is a fixer, collecting pieces of civilization that was and making it functional or using the pieces to make something new. One day a strange man on a motorcycle shows up and changes the course of Maggie's existence. In order to save a friend, Maggie sets out to find the man on the motorcycle and finds more that she bargained for. Originally reviewed at Night Owl Romance

I love these anthologies as they give us all a chance to sample new authors without making the investment in either the money or time in buying and reading their novels. The novellas are the best, they give the authors the chance to write not at novel length so that they can explore their worlds, but they won't have the space to jam in a lot of filler. It's a case of fight or fall as far as storytelling goes. Or, we can see just how good our favorite authors are at the shorter-than-novel length. The first novella in "Huntress" is 'Devil's Bargain' by Christine Warren and is an old-fashioned yarn that, except for the hot sex, could easily have appeared in the old pulp magazine "Unknown/Unknown Worlds" during the forties, which specialized, in such modern updates of classic fantasy themes. Here hottie supernatural retrieval artist Lillith "Lilli" Corbin is hired by the demon Samuel to retrieve a stolen book, and in doing so, she will complete her contract with him, something she desperately wants to do. Things are never as easy as they seem to be. As Lilli is searching Alistair Carruthers' house looking for Samuel's grimoire, she meets Alistair's nephew Aaron Bullard. Mistaking her for a burglar, which she is, they get into a tussle over the book, kick the stuffing out of each other with Aaron coming out on . . . ah . . . on top. It's only after they swap stories, amongst other things, do they realize that they have got a tiger by the tail, as Samuel wants the book for an apocalypse. You know, demons eating people, dogs living with cats, conservative talk show hosts saying nice things about Democrats, "Lost" will actually start making sense, and the world will end. So in between being distracted by each other's tight pants (yes really) they have to figure out how to complete Corbin's contract, keep the book out of Samuel's grasp, stop the apocalypse, and stay alive long enough to make like rabbits in heat. This is a good, light entertaining puzzle fantasy in which the two leads are BOTH intelligent, competent, and knowledgeable about their chosen specialties. The humor that infuses this story is evident from the snippy first sentence which I'm using for the title this review. Marjorie M. Liu just seems to be getting better and better. Having created two major series, and having contributed to two others, Liu seems to wander merrily in and out of various genres determined to make her fans work hard to just keep up with her. 'The Robber Bride' stretches the boundaries of the romance-adventure genre by giving us a bleak, post-apocalypse world in which a bunch of mysterious bikers are raiding the few surviving settlements. Maggie is a young woman who is way more than what she thinks that she is, as she also has the ability to see flashes of the future. She also runs a junkyard and she helps a mysterious biker who takes her dignity and leaves her literally in the dust, while promising to come back for her. After this encounter, she

Think I've mentioned before how much I love anthologies. I've discovered several new authors this way, and don't feel cheated if I don't like a particular author, as there's several more to choose from. The first story in this collection is The Devil's Bargain by Christine Warren. Lilli Corbin made a deal with a devil and all she has to do to finally fulfill the bargain is retrieve an old book. Too bad it's a book of prophecies that will bring about the Apocalypse. This story was just okay for me, and my least favorite. Didn't really warm up to either Lilli or Aaron, the current owner of the book. And while this book is classified as a romance, I thought the sex scene was a little unnecessary. Next up is The Robber Bride by Marjorie M. Liu. Maggie runs a junkyard in a post-apocalyptic world, on the outskirts of a small settlement of other survivors. Maggie's world is turned upside down when a strange gang of bikers invade her town and make off with several of her neighbors. Concerned for an old friend when she sees one of the bikers with Trace's necklace, she sets off in pursuit. Think this was my second favorite story, as it had interesting characters with a good plot. Loved the twist towards the end, and think Maggie deserves to have a full length novel of her very own! Third story is Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go by Caitlin Kittredge. This one features Jack Winter, the bad boy mage we all know and love. Jack is tricked into helping a sexy demon slayer seek revenge against a demon in the underworld. While I usually like Jack, I didn't really care for this story. Couldn't really get into it, and wasn't really invested in the outcome. Last but not least is the final story, Sin Slayer by Jenna Maclaine. Think this one was my favorite and I'm looking forward to reading more by Jenna, as she's a new discovery for me. Cin Craven is a vampire witch and a member of The Righteous, a group of vampires who police the vampire world and answer to no one but the High King. Jack the Ripper has started targeting vampires, and it's up to Cin to stop him. And oh yeah, Jack just happens to be a demon who's possessed Cin's husband, Michael. This was a great story with all the action you could possibly want, plus well developed characters that left you wanting more! Very happy to discover that Cin has her own series, as I'm now a fan! Gave this collection a 4 out of 5, as thought that two of the stories were really, really good, and the remaining two were okay. Definitely worth buying!

I would categorize this as an urban fantasy romance anthology. I found this anthology to be highly enjoyable. I'm sorry I kept it on my back burner so long because I really found all the novellas entertaining. Jenna Maclaine "Sin Slayer" Cin and the rest of the Righteous (the Righteous are fellow vampire friends of Cin who police the vampire society as a whole) hunt down Jack the Ripper. It seems Jack has grown tired of killing mere humans and has now taken up whipping vampires out of existence. While I've enjoyed Jenna's Cin Cravel series, I've also been on the fence about continuing to the read the series or not. Don't get the wrong, there is nothing wrong with the series but lately I've been feeling like there isn't an exciting pull to make me want to read the series either. This fantastic novella renewed my craving to read the next Cin Cravel novel, Bound by Sin. 5/5 Christine Warren "Devil's Bargain" Lilith, half demon/half devil bounty hunter accepts her last assignment from the devil, that when completed, will finally fulfill her bargain and debt to him. Only one obstacle, should she succeed, she just may start the apocalypse! She should have known the job sounded way too easy..... I've read a few novellas by Christine Warren and never really cared for them. However, this short story was excellent. It was mysterious, creative and dark. The predictability of this novella didn't make the story any less exciting. The story delivered a huge entertainment factor that was smoothly done. 5/5 Marjorie M. Liu "The Robber Bride" Marjorie has built a dark desolate world where most of humanity has been ravished and killed by a deadly pandemic. A gang of demons violently feed and pray off of what little humanity remains on earth. On the outskirts of a small town, Maggie Greene, thought she was just a junk yard owner and "fix-it girl" of her small town. But when women from her town go missing, Maggie goes on the hunt and awakens her own inner demon. This novella was different and interesting, however, had a few dry/boring parts. Nevertheless, the story did flow nicely and felt complete. 4/5 Caitlin Kittredge "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" This novella is set in Caitlin's Black London series world. Jack gets tricked into becoming a guide for Ava, a demon slayer, down into the City of Demons. This novella was dark and different. The story felt just a but choppy but was nonetheless interesting. 3.75/5 Overall, I thought this anthology was a success. My favorite novella turned out to be Jenna's Sin Slayer story, which surprised me because I actually got this anthology for Caitlin's story; which turned out to be my least favorite from this anthology. I really liked Lilith's character from Christine's novella. If Christine ever decided to turn Lilith's character into a full series, I would definitely read it. I also recommend: The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, Book 1) Wages of Sin (A Cin Craven Novel) Un

"Devil's Bargain" by Christine Warren. Supernatural bounty hunter Lilli Corbin made a Faustian deal with the devil. However, she soon learns what she agreed to could start the End of Days. Now she must choose between saving her soul and that of her beloved Aaron Bullard. "The Robber Bride" by Marjorie M. Liu. Women have become sustenance for a new species that came from the ruins of the old world. These creatures suck the life essence from females who are beneath them on the food chain. In that environs, Maggie wants to live as she fights for survival against impossible odds. "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" by Caitlin Kittredge. Ava the demon slayer asks mage Jack Winter to help her with her quest to invade the realm of the demons. He reluctantly agrees knowing there is a great chance neither will ever return. "Sin Slayer" by Jenna Maclaine. In 1889 London Jack the Ripper is killing vampires; Cin Craven needs to stop him if she is to keep her beloved undead husband Michael alive. These are four strong fantasies in which the "worlds" seem real. Fans of Ms. Kittridge will enjoy the return of Jack (see STREET MAGIC) and of Ms. Maclaine will relish seeing Cin (see WAGES OF SIN and GRAVE SINS). Harriet Klausner