Publication Date: 11/25/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Books
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
ISBN-10: 042527392X
ISBN-13: 978-0425273920
(Received for an honest review from Berkley Books)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes
Nalini Singh on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads
Ilona Andrews on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads
Lisa Shearin on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads
Milla Vane on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads
Excerpt from, Night Shift, courtesy of Nalini Singh's website.
Synopsis:
Four masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance plunge readers into the dangerous, captivating world unearthed beyond the dark...
New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh delivers a smoldering story with Secrets at Midnight, as the scent of Bastien Smith’s elusive lover ignites a possessiveness in him that’s as feral as it is ecstatic. And now that he’s found his mate, he’ll do anything to keep her.
In #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews’ novella, Magic Steals, when people start going missing, shapeshifting tigress Dali Harimau and jaguar shifter Jim Shrapshire must uncover the truth about the mysterious creatures responsible.
From Milla Vane—a warrior princess must tame The Beast of Blackmoor to earn a place among her people. But she quickly discovers that the beast isn't a monster, but a barbarian warrior who intends to do some taming himself.
It’s seer Makenna Frazier's first day on the job at Supernatural Protection and Investigations, and her first assignment is more than she bargained for when bodyguard duty for a leprechaun prince’s bachelor party goes every which way but right in national bestselling author Lisa Shearin’s Lucky Charms.
Thoughts:
Night Shift is a Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy anthology, boasting some pretty big names in the genres. Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook writing as Milla Vane along with newcomer Lisa Shearin, bring readers four completely different stories. Each one brings something unique to the table that many readers will appreciate. Two of the stories continue long running series', one is a prequel to a new series and one is a simply barbaric. A great sampling of what both genres have to offer!
What I liked:
Nalini Singh's story, "Secrets at Midnight," is a part of her Psy-Changling series. Readers learn more about one of Mercy's brothers, Bastien as he searches for his elusive mate. Her scent is both 'cat' and human and once he finds Kirby, Bastien must help her learn about herself and what she can do. I enjoyed this novella set in the Psy-Changling world and marveled at how Singh can bring a story together and make it interesting, sexy and multi-layered in a such a short format. It takes a master, and Singh does it with ease. A great addition to that series.
Ilona Andrews is one of my favorites in Urban Fantasy. Her Kate Daniels series is perfection when it comes to this genre and "Magic Steals," was a great story from that world. Andrews is top notch when it comes to world building, but in this novella, we see more of her character development skills. Dali and Jim are not newcomers to the series and fans will love learning more about them and seeing their relationship move to the next level in this book. I love Jag shifters and all of Dali's tigress tendencies were amazing in this one. I loved the mysteriousness of the story and the way Jim and Dali worked together to solve the puzzle. Dali finally knows how Jim feels... now what!
Lisa Shearin was a new name to me when I started reading her story, "Lucky Charms." But I will have to say that I am really impressed with her writing. Mac is a seer who has been chosen by the SPI (Supernatural Protection and Investigations) to work with them in keeping the supernatural population in line. Her first official case, pits her with a very sexy new partner and looking for a naughty leprechaun. There was humor, there was just about every known variety of supernatural I could think of. There was just a lot going for this story. I look forward to reading more from this new series. This story was excellent in every way.
Milla Vane is Meljean Brook's darker alter ego. Her story, "The Beast of Blackmoor," is precursor to a new series from the author. It was definitely dark and gritty as Mala a warrior princess, takes on Kavik a forsaken Barbarian who has incurred the wrath of the goddess for his disrespectful behavior in his youth. Readers will be able to tell that Kavik isn't all bad, but neither is Mala all good. This one gets pretty dark and if readers are looking for a light PR read, this is not it. There were some situations that may be hard for some readers to read, but I felt Vane was using them to show the barbaric nature of what was going on in this stark and barren world. I really enjoyed seeing this different side to a favorite author of mine. Great way to begin something new!
Bottom Line:
All four stories were well written and unique. Surprisingly one of the stories I liked best was from the relative newcomer to the genre, Lisa Shearin. It was great to revisit the Psy-Changling series and the Kate Daniels series and those barbarians are looking mighty interesting. As always I wish each story could have been longer and more in depth. Such is the nature of an anthology though and it felt like a really good sampling of what each author had to offer.
Night Shift is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.
I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!
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