Very good anthology :D

Overall rating:
4 stars

This is a very good anthology. I was already a fan of Andrews and Singh so I was willing to give it a try. The other 2 authors were new to me but I liked them both well enough that I may try more of their work in the future. I've included more individual reviews below:


Secrets at Midnight
Audio: 0-3:19

4-4.5 stars

This was a very good story. This is part of the Psy/changing series. Bastian is Mercy's brother and a changling. He finds his mate, Kirby, who appears to be human (but they both get a big surprise). I liked both Kirby and Bastien and enjoyed their story very much. It was interesting and sweet and a good (if short) addition to the series. :D

Magic Steals
Audio: 3:19-6:10

4 star

This was a very good story. This takes place while Kate and Curran are out of town and Jim has been left in charge of the pack. He and Dali are dating but can only get together infrequently. Dali likes Jim a lot but because she has a low opinion of her self worth, she has no hope that their fledgling relationship will last. I did find her lack of confidence a bit annoying and it does come up a few times but it really isn't the focus of the story. When Dali gets called in to help with a curse that's threatening a family friend, Jim goes along to help (although it's more to spend time with her than anything else). During their subsequent adventures in dealing with the curse, Dali (with help from Jim) realises that she has a lot more to offer than she thought and I was happy with her personal growth. I liked Jim in this story...we get a bit of his personal stuff and I loved how he has was with Dali. The story ends with Jim and Dali heading towards a HEA together.

Lucky Charms
Audio:6:10-8:46

4 stars

This was a very good story. It's a prequel to the first book in this series, [book:The Grendel Affair|17912981]. This is the first story I've read by this author but I liked it well enough that I'll probably try more of the series in the future.

Basically, this short is about Makenna's first night on the job working for SPI. She gets partnered with Ian who is an experienced agent and doesn't seem too happy to have been assigned to Makenna. Their first case involves finding 5 lost leprechauns before something very bad happens...like an evil mage getting a hold of the wishes of a leprechaun Prince (which are much more powerful than wishes from a normal leprechaun). It's an interesting first night and Makenna learns a lot, some of which isn't good (specifically about some larger dangers she could be facing on the job which will probably be addressed in book #1). Ian and Makenna work well together, gaining mutual interest and respect for each other by the end of the story (but anything else is left for the next book).

This was a very enjoyable story. I liked Ian and Makenna as well as the cast of secondary characters. This story was interesting and kept me engaged and I had no major complaints about the story. Overall, this was a very good prequel to the series and I'd recommend it. :)

Beast of Blackmoor
Audio:8:46-13:12

3.5-4 stars

This was an interesting story. I liked Mala and Kavik and their story was pretty good. This is the first story I've read by this author (and it appears to be only 1 of 2 stories she's written) but I liked it and may try more of this author's work in the future.

Kavik is from a land with an evil warlord and a monstrous demon that causes death and sickness throughout the land. He made it his mission to rid the land of both but hasn't had much luck. Kavik left his land to raise money for an army of men to help his take down the evil warlord but to no avail. He also tried to gain the aid of a goddess and when her priestess refused, Kavik let his temper out which brought about was seems to be a prophecy of his doom. Kavik has spent years trying to keep his people as safe as possible when he encounters a woman, Mala, that has been sent to his land on a mission. They have an unexpected connection and but her mission may not be something that's good for Kavik. Mala doesn't have ill will towards Kavik and actually has very good will towards him but she's unsure of exactly what her mission entails and the will of gods are hard to determine. Kavik and Mala have some trying times as they struggle between what their missions may entail and their want for each other. I will say that the story ends with Kavik and Mala heading toward a HEA together.

10 people found this helpful

Singh 5 stars/Andrews, Shearin & Vane 3 stars

Nalini Singh- great story with a different twist, another “don’t miss” psy-changeling book
Ilona Andrews- a couple of her series were very good, these 2 main characters were very interesting, could have been s good shifter book but everything else adds up to “horrible”. Every weird thing you could dream up & then some were thrown in this story.
Lisa Shearin- my 1st book of hers, interesting characters, a little too many supernaturals for my taste, but I might give the next book in the series a try
Milla Vane- my 1st book of hers, an hour into story I realized I had no idea what it was about. Just couldn’t listen to anymore.

2 people found this helpful

Originally bought this for Ilona Andrew's book.

Truthfully I just bought this for the Ilona Andrews book. But since it comes with four stories I must not waste my money.

4 stars. Secrets at Midnight by Nalini Singh. Part of the Psy-Changling series, this book falls somewhere after Lucas and Sasha have their cub but before Mercy and Riley have their cubs. This book is about Mercy's brother Sebastian and when he finds his mate. A sweet story, I was glad to visit this world again. Same narrator as the rest of the series. Best if read in order. 3 hrs 19 mins.

4.5 Stars. Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews. 6.5 Book order in Kate Daniels series. This is the 2nd novella with Dali and Jim. Lots of entertainment packed into a short novella. I recently reread all of Kate Daniels series and realized there are about three short stories that I have missed. I quickly remedied that. I loved Dali's family and this story give a new light to both Dali and Jim's characters. Best if read in order. Not quite the same without Renee Raudman narrating this series. 2 hrs 51 mins.

3.5 stars. Lucky Charms by Lisa Shearin. This book seemed to be a prequel to the series so it works since I haven't read anything by this author before. I don't like to start in a middle of a series. A fun little romp, I will probably try some more from this series. 2 hrs 36 mins.

3 stars. The Beast of Blackmoor by Milla Vane. First book if this book is a series, I could not figure out one way or another. Rumor is that Milla Van is Meljean Brooks alter ego. So with that in mind I proceeded to read this book, knowing I love Mejean Brooks other works. This book was dark and very sexual in a strange way that the other three books were light romances. I can see why this would not be well liked by readers. I myself thought it was okay and I may even be interested in more in this series if there is any out there. While the other 3 stories in this book are urban fantasy's this book is straight up fantasy. 4 hrs 24 mins.

2 people found this helpful

Wonderful way to sample authors!

Anthologies are the perfect way to taste authors you haven't read before. I thoroughly enjoyed these short stories...filled with action, it will be difficult to sit the book down or stop listening..

2 people found this helpful

Disappointed in the narration

I got this for the Ilona Andrews story, but the narration was so lacking compared to the amazing Renee Raudman who normally narrates Ilona Andrews books. I think the other stories would be better if I knew more about the stories. To me, knowing nothing about the worlds of the other stories I wouldn't have been bored. I'm returning this one. I did enjoy the Ilona Andrews story!

6 people found this helpful

Nightmare

hard to follow, not like Nalini other books, disappointing might even return not sure yet. Nalini might want to do a redo of book.

1 person found this helpful

Would prefer single titles, rather than anthology.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes and no. I purchased this anthology because I really enjoy Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling world and was eagerly anticipating finding out what Bastien Smith's story. The time that I spent listening to that story: well-spent.

The problem is that I was unfamiliar with the other three authors and took a gamble that I would enjoy them as well.

The middle two stories are okay, but didn't grab me like Singh's story did and the last story... I could definitely have NOT listened to that one. (As it is, it took me 3 tries to finish and I am seriously debating returning the audiobook because of this last story).

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Nalini Singh's story added some interesting depth to her world. Instead of taking the typical changeling-human or changeling-psy story that she has been using, this one is a twist on a changeling-changeling and it is well done. It explains a possible problem with changelings and adds further depth to the world.

The two middle stories were occassionally funny and obviously continuations of previous worlds, but they didn't pull me in and were an easy listen without being very engaging. I will admit, they are both written first person and I tend not to appreciate stories written in the first person as much.

The final story in the anthology is set in a "barbarian fantasy" world and the ending is about the only thing I enjoyed in the entire book. I would NOT recommend this book to most people, because of the extremely graphic and violent "romantic" scenes throughout the book. The book starts with a battle scene and I was definitely interested, but was immediately turned off when the book began integrating the extremely violent abusive scenes. Interestingly enough, a couple of other reviews of this anthology said that they were glad that Nalini Singh had toned down her "intimate scenes", but they didn't mind this particular novella within the anthology. I would say that the Nalini Singh is a story of which the romance and intimacy is one part, but it does not dominate the story. The same can NOT be said of this novella - these scenes dominated the book and were much much more graphic than any of Nalini Singh's in ANY of her Psy-Changeling series (and I have eagerly read them all).

Which scene was your favorite?

I am only going to address the novella that I liked (the Nalini Singh one):
If I truly put my favorite scene, it would be a spoiler. ;) So I will go with an early one in the book that made me smile.

The scene when Bastien pulls up to drop off the elderly packmate who he drove home and then turns around and sees the heroine Kirby is cute and has funny parts. The elderly packmate has a very snarky sense of humor and it is really fun to see them interact. Finally, at the end of the book, when the "kitten defurring tools" make a reappearance is another fun scene and a good look at protective Mercy looking out for her younger sibling (even if he is a full grown Dark River leopard).

Was Night Shift worth the listening time?

**IF** you like more than just one author, yes.
**IF** you go into the last story knowing it is very violent and not everyone's cup of tea, maybe.

Would I purchase this anthology again? Probably not. I would much prefer to purchase just the one story that I really liked and have the option to go back and purchase the middle two if I decide later I want to listen to them. Is the last one worth ANY purchase price, IMHO? No.

Any additional comments?

Go in with your eyes open. Enjoy the ones you enjoy and bail on the other ones.

4 people found this helpful

Not bad

All the stories were pretty good except the last two. the third was a good start and interesting concept; just ended too abruptly. The last was unappealing to me.

2 people found this helpful

Magic Steals Only

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.25
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.50

Audio Rating: 3.50 (not part of the overall rating)

Note: Only listened to Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews

Overall Thoughts: OH Jim! Way to ease into it :) <---that ending quite frankly had me fist pumping and going "WAIT! I need the rest of that scene". Overall I adore Dali and Jim and hope we get more stories from them in the future.

Audio Thoughts

Narrated by Angela Dawe


I love Angela Dawe! I just want to say that upfront but it is hard for me to wrap my head around different narrators picking up characters that I already have in my head with another narrator. She did well but it wasn't the same. I don't blame Angela--just my head for liking it one way!

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, Done! Reviews

2 people found this helpful

Loved them All!

I loved ALL the stories. The only one I HATED and will never read a book from that author was the one about the leprechauns. I was so confused and lost. I only continued to listen to it so I would know where the next story began. You'll like them except that one, but totally worth it.
Happy Reading!!!

3 people found this helpful