Mundie Moms

Monday, September 12, 2011

Book Review: Enthralled, Paranormal Diversions


Edited by: Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong
Stories by: Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, Jackson Pearce, Carrie Ryan, Rachel Vincent, Sarah Rees Brennan, Jeri Smith- Ready, Mary E. Pearson, Margaret Stohl, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Jessica Verday, Kimberly Derting, Ally Condie and Rachel Caine
Published by: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: September 20th, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher at TLA
5 stars- I Loved It! Go Pick It Up!
Purchase from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble

A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved (quoted from Goodreads).

This book lives up to it's title! This is an absolutely enthralling anthology and I'm so glad the ladies from The Smart Chicks got together to create this must have collection of short stories. This is the first anthology I've read where I've enjoyed each story. Some of the stories contained characters I've enjoyed reading about before and other's introduced me to new characters that I hope I'll get to read more about in future books. Since I can't pin point one specific favorite, I'll give you a brief run down about each of these enticing short stories.

Giovanni's Farewell by Claudia Gray
This is a sweet ghost story set in Rome, and introduces readers to twins, Ravenna and Cairo who have two different paranormal powers. I know I'm being vague, but there's a lot to this short story. I'm hoping I get to read more about in one of Claudia's upcoming releases.

Scenic Route by Carrie Ryan
I am not a big zombie fan, but I'm a Carrie Ryan zombie fan! If you've read her series you know what I'm talking about. This short story centers on two sisters trying to survive in a zombie infested world. Like her other books, this short story has a great complicated love interest.

Things About Love by Jackson Pearce
The first book I read by Jackson was her debut, As You Wish, and I love that this short story is like a companion to that story. With alternating points of views and her jinn mythology, I think Jackson Pearce fans will be anxious to go pick up As You Wish after they read this.

Red Run by Kami Garcia
This is another fabulous ghost story and one that left me wanting more! Set in the south, this short story has fabulous character chemistry, murder, mystery, and a lot of appeal. If Kami ever decides to expand Tommy's story, I'm totally buying the book.

Niederwald by Rachel Vincent
I've not yet read Rachel's YA series, but I'm guessing Sabine fans will really enjoy her story. I enjoyed getting to meet Sabine and after reading this, I'm even more excited to read the series, which I'll be reviewing towards the end of the month.

A Mortal Winter King by Melissa Marr
I loved being back in Melissa's fey world with Keenan and Donia's story. I won't say anything as this short story is a spoiler to those who've not yet picked up Darkest Mercy. Melissa's series is one of my favorite fey series.

Facing Facts by Kelley Armstrong
Wolves and ghosts, what a great combination! This is another fabulous short story and this one includes characters from Kelley's The Gathering. I've not yet read this book (it's sitting on my TBR pile), and I'm kind of wishing I read The Gathering before reading this one. It wasn't necessarily a spoiler read, but there's things that are mentioned that obviously happened in The Gathering. None the less, I still enjoyed it.

Let's Get This Show On The Road by Sarah Rees Brennan
Sarah's humor shines through with this story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Her characters are always so well written and she has the best one liners that always make me laugh out loud. SRB fans will enjoy this short story!

Bridge by Jeri Smith- Ready
Logan's back! Okay, he's not really back, back, but this story is one Logan fans will love. All I'm going to say is it's about Logan and his brother Mickey and it's one that made me tear up a bit.

Skin Contact by Kimberly Derting
I really liked Rafe in Desires of the Dead and I loved being back in Kimberly's world. This short story is all about him and his abilities. It's definitely the most heart breaking out of all the short stories, and it's made me feel that much more drawn to him as a character.

Leaving by Ally Condie
Like Kami's short story, this is another one I'd love to see expanded into a fuller story. I adore Ally's writing and this story has a similar feel to it like that of Matched and Crossed. It's a great story and it's one I definitely want to read more of.

At The Late Night Double Feature by Jessica Verday
Girl Scouts, dental assistants and vampires make for a really fun read. Jessica's writing is fabulous. This story line is simple, fun and I like how she blends in humor with her paranormal characters. I'm a big fan of her storytelling and I'm hoping I'll get to read more of story in the near future.

I.V. League by Margaret Stohl
Margie creates a great setting with her story about a vampire trying to get into an Ivy league college. It's a good, short read that vampire fans will enjoy.

Gargouille by Mary E Pearson
More please! One word.... Etienne! I loved this story. It's uniquely refreshing with it's Gargoyle characters and it's sweet love story. I'm such a sucker for a paranormal romance and this story sucked me right in and left me wanting much more. I'm tempted to write Mary and beg to her write more! This story NEEDS to have it's own book.

The Third Kind by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
This story needs to be a book! I really like Jennifer's writing and the rich mythology is creates and she did a great job with The Third Kind. It's a story about two sisters who up and leave in the middle of the night to head to San Antonio, and in the process one ends up finding out her sister isn't who she thought she was. This story contains angels, guardians and the third kind.

Automatic by Rachel Caine
The Morganville Vampires are back! I should say Michael's back and along with him is Eve and Oliver. Even though I've not read all the books in the series, I really enjoyed this short story. Rachel definitely won't disappoint her fans with this read.


If you're a paranormal fan, I HIGHLY recommend picking this book up!

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for the details! I'm so curious about Ally Condie's story, and Jeri's...I'll definitely be on the lookout for this anthology! :)

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  2. Ooh! I know so many of these authors and I love them all! I'm usually not the biggest fan of anthologies, but I definitely want to check this one out! :)

    Awesome review!

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  3. YA Book Queen- You're so welcome! This is such a fabulous collection of stories.

    Mimi Valentine- Thank you so much! This is one anthology I highly recommend picking up!

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  4. Oh I really do need this! I knew about the Logan story by Jeri and was going to get it just for that but wow, so many great stories are in it.

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  5. Mel- There's a lot of great stories. I really liked how there's a mix of new stories and a short stories that have carried over from series that are already out. I hope you enjoy it!

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  6. Awesome review,MMs. Sounds like a must-have anthology.

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  7. Thank you Sophie! You'll love it. There's a little bit everything. Well except Nutella eyes. LOL

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  8. I have this book on pre-order. Can't wait to read these stories. Such wonderful writers in this one! :-)

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  9. Amber- These stories are fabulous! I adore the group of writers who all contributed to this book. Enjoy it!!

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