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kathydavie's review
3.0
An anthology of four short stories that you'll hope you never have to experience on a date!
Series
"Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil" (Hollows, 0.5 although Harrison claims it as 2.5)
"Chaotic" (Women of the Otherworld, 5.2)
The Stories
Kim Harrison's "Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil" is a prequel to Harrison's paranormal Hollow series and provides a good bit of background as to Ivy's thoughts and feelings which lead to her encounter with Rachel as well as her relationships with Kisten and Picardy.
Lynsay Sands' "Claire Switch Project" is a fun read of two souls who have loved each other for years finally taking that step but in a truly unusual way as the girl of Kyle's dreams does a double-date with his sister at their class reunion. A satisfying one-two punch to the class bitch and her Lothario date.
Kelley Armstrong's "Chaotic" provides the background on how Hope and Karl meet up. Hope thinks the interracial council has hired her chaos-demon powers to help the supernaturals but it all goes wrong when she's set on the trail of Karl Marsten, werewolf jewel thief (think of a shapeshifting Cary Grant).
Lori Handeland's "Dead Man Dating" was my least favorite of the four and pits a demon hunter, Chavez, against an unsuccessful book agent, Kit, whom demons will not leave alone. Ah, the perils of online dating…
Series
"Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil" (Hollows, 0.5 although Harrison claims it as 2.5)
"Chaotic" (Women of the Otherworld, 5.2)
The Stories
Kim Harrison's "Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil" is a prequel to Harrison's paranormal Hollow series and provides a good bit of background as to Ivy's thoughts and feelings which lead to her encounter with Rachel as well as her relationships with Kisten and Picardy.
Lynsay Sands' "Claire Switch Project" is a fun read of two souls who have loved each other for years finally taking that step but in a truly unusual way as the girl of Kyle's dreams does a double-date with his sister at their class reunion. A satisfying one-two punch to the class bitch and her Lothario date.
Kelley Armstrong's "Chaotic" provides the background on how Hope and Karl meet up. Hope thinks the interracial council has hired her chaos-demon powers to help the supernaturals but it all goes wrong when she's set on the trail of Karl Marsten, werewolf jewel thief (think of a shapeshifting Cary Grant).
Lori Handeland's "Dead Man Dating" was my least favorite of the four and pits a demon hunter, Chavez, against an unsuccessful book agent, Kit, whom demons will not leave alone. Ah, the perils of online dating…
veganheathen's review
3.0
I bought this book for the Kelley Armstrong story, which was excellent. Definitely the best of the four. If you're wanting to read that story, you can actually get Chaotic as a stand-alone novella and save yourself from the other 3 stories.
The Kim Harrison story was probably really great for anyone who is already familiar with her books and the characters she's created. It was definitely a different sort of vampire story, but not really one that lent itself to a short story quite as well as some others. I am intrigued by the world she's created and might try and pick up one of the books in this series to check it out just because it is so different than the usual vampire story.
Lynsay Sands' The Claire Switch Project, the second story in the book, was just awful. I kept reading hoping it would suddenly redeem itself, but nope, it just got worse and worse as it went on. Even the character names were ridiculous. I felt like the writing was amateurish and the story was just stupid. Just when you thought it couldn't get even sillier, you read the ending and just roll your eyes. I can't believe I wasted my time reading this story. Yuck.
Chaotic, by Kelley Armstrong was great, as usual for her. It's the backstory of Hope, a chaos half-demon and how she meets Karl, a werewolf jewelry thief. I've been a fan of The Women of the Otherworld series for quite some time so it was nice to get a bit of extra story about some of the characters from that series. I think it could definitely stand alone as a good story even if you aren't familiar with that series.
The final story in the book by Lori Handeland was just okay. There were some good parts to the story, but some others that were just trite and silly. I did enjoy the story overall and felt like it was a prequel story to maybe a series or something? I'm not sure, but it definitely ended as if that is the case.
The Kim Harrison story was probably really great for anyone who is already familiar with her books and the characters she's created. It was definitely a different sort of vampire story, but not really one that lent itself to a short story quite as well as some others. I am intrigued by the world she's created and might try and pick up one of the books in this series to check it out just because it is so different than the usual vampire story.
Lynsay Sands' The Claire Switch Project, the second story in the book, was just awful. I kept reading hoping it would suddenly redeem itself, but nope, it just got worse and worse as it went on. Even the character names were ridiculous. I felt like the writing was amateurish and the story was just stupid. Just when you thought it couldn't get even sillier, you read the ending and just roll your eyes. I can't believe I wasted my time reading this story. Yuck.
Chaotic, by Kelley Armstrong was great, as usual for her. It's the backstory of Hope, a chaos half-demon and how she meets Karl, a werewolf jewelry thief. I've been a fan of The Women of the Otherworld series for quite some time so it was nice to get a bit of extra story about some of the characters from that series. I think it could definitely stand alone as a good story even if you aren't familiar with that series.
The final story in the book by Lori Handeland was just okay. There were some good parts to the story, but some others that were just trite and silly. I did enjoy the story overall and felt like it was a prequel story to maybe a series or something? I'm not sure, but it definitely ended as if that is the case.
jenniferbbookdragon's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I enjoyed 3 of the 4 stories in this anthology of paranormal romance tales. Vampires, werewolves, demons, and more deal with love, lust, and adventures in dating.
I enjoyed the stories by Lynsay Sands and Kelley Armstrong the most.
I enjoyed the stories by Lynsay Sands and Kelley Armstrong the most.
yellow_star's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
trudyd's review against another edition
4.0
A nice collection of paranormal stories. Whenever I reread a series by one of the authors this is a nice little bonus read.
pnwtinap's review
3.0
The 4 stories contained are also supposed to involve dates gone bad. The interesting thing is that Kim Harrison and Kelley Armstrong used characters from their ongoing series. So, as a reader of both series their stories were wonderful. They contained a glimpse into the series and a bit of character development.
bikes_books_yarn's review
4.0
I like these books with multiple authors as they let you dip your feet into new pools without much commitment. I have since read many Kelley Armstrong and Kim Harrison books and have a pile of Lyndsay Sands waiting for me to read. I wouldn't mind reading Lori Handeland books too. I need to see what else she has written and put her on my list.
Anyway - I really enjoyed this book and am tempted to read it again now that I have read quite a few of the Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld books.
Anyway - I really enjoyed this book and am tempted to read it again now that I have read quite a few of the Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld books.
charlottenw1's review
3.0
Entertaining short story that made me laugh, but it was missing depth in the characters for it to hook me completely.
jlaynereads's review
5.0
I enjoyed this Book of short stories!
If you enjoy Kim Harrison Short story 1 Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil ... is for you!
If you like Lynsay Sands story 2 The Claire Switch Project will be a fun read!
If you read Kelley Armstrong then story 3 Chaotic will be the story for you!
If you enjoy Lori Handeland then story 4 Dead Man Dating will be the read for you!
if you like any or ALL of these authors then give it a try ... you might find a new author or two!
If you enjoy Kim Harrison Short story 1 Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil ... is for you!
If you like Lynsay Sands story 2 The Claire Switch Project will be a fun read!
If you read Kelley Armstrong then story 3 Chaotic will be the story for you!
If you enjoy Lori Handeland then story 4 Dead Man Dating will be the read for you!
if you like any or ALL of these authors then give it a try ... you might find a new author or two!
christawatkins's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun collection of four novellas about... yes, dates from Hell. I'm now on day two of being sick in bed so I'm not up to a detailed review at the moment, but I may come back later and append. For now, just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this book.