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plh114's review
adventurous
3.5
A zoo is opening up but instead of being transported to the new zoo the animals have disappeared across space and time. Each author has a different animal in their story. Some obviously don’t belong while others seem to blend in to their environment. It took me a minute to realize that this was the theme of the anthology since I didn’t really read the blurb first. I was reading it because of some entries by favored authors. There are 15 stories here so this is a long one and while my rating of 3.5 is an average I did include specific ratings for each story.
The Event by Miranda Grant ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first story explicitly talked about the people hunting the animals down in a way the next few didn’t.
A Manticore on the Loose by G. Clatworthy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An interesting entry in her new to me Rise of Dragons series featuring Agent Jones. I found the story to be interesting as well with a team working to retrieve a deadly manticore.
Herbs, a Flask and Spaghetti Water by Jen B. Green ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two women with a secret are sent out on a call to work a case so they have to play along like they are green witches and solve the case while not getting themselves hurt or outed as fakes. It wasn’t obvious in this one but I think the mushroom may be what’s being retrieved in this one.
Frustrated Justice by Heather G. Harris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The next entry in the Otherverse is going to feature Stacy, the crossover cop in Chester. This story follows her as she solves a “murder”. She is aided by a caladrius that witnessed the incident. We also see her future love interest, which we discovered in the connected Other Witch series, enter her life.
Dharma Alchemy by Becca Woods ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jack, an inner or nonhumans, and the doctor, an outers or human, go on a call to assist at a naiad birth. I couldn’t find any other books from this world so I believe this is either the first or a standalone. Since it is a short story there isn’t much time for world building but there is a good relationship between the two main characters and story does enough to get me interested in the next books. I think the animal that landed here was the axolotl.
The Magpie and the Wobegone Wizard By Jilleen Dolbeare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oliver is an untrained wizard looking to go to wizarding school even though he is older. He uses a book to summon a familiar Rill, a special magpie and then the story takes off with his application resulting in some surprises. The relationship between wizard and familiar is sweet.
Waif in the Wilds By Lauretta Hignett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chloe is an assassin on what she mistakenly believes is her final mission when she finds a, get this, battle goose. The author took one of the devil’s favorites and gave them a seemingly indestructible battle form and the ability to communicate with someone. I’m sold. Sign me up for the rest of the series.
The Song of The Wild By C.N. Rowan ⭐️⭐️
The story is written in a poetic style that seems well suited for historical. This did make it difficult for me to connect to the characters or the in a meaningful way.
Finding Fae Pets By Isa Medina ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maddie, who hunts fae artifacts, gets “hired” by a fae kid to find her pet. Only she isn’t the only one looking because of course this is the misplaced animal. They’re is enough here for me to put the author on my TBR list.
Sorcery in the Shadows By Rosie Wylor-Owen ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beatrix is waiting for her powers to come in while living under her grandmother’s harsh rule. While out, she discovers a feline creature called a Grimalkin who needs her help to escape capture. The Grimalkin returns the favor. A solid entry that is part of a larger world found in the Midnight Waters series.
Alchemy of Revenge By L.A. McBride ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Set in the world of Kali James, Olivia is an agent back in her hometown trying to get revenge but still follow orders while saving some lives.
Death Uncaged By C. Thomas Lafollette ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An exiled Reaper, Dax, is tasked with helping a friend find a missing person. At the same time, a team of fae is tasked with finding an escaped monster when one of them is captured leaving the other to search for their partner and the monster. Here we see the two cases meet. There are such interesting characters in this story that I'll be checking out the series.
Hunting the Guide By Amy Cissell ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Archibald is a cat determined to serve as a guide for Frankie, a Valkyrie but he broke the rules so the one meant for the position is hunting him. Unfortunately so is someone else. It’s an interesting story but I felt a little lost. This is part of a series and I feel like I was missing something by having read it in order but I was still able to enjoy it.
Keys of Promise By Georgiana Kent ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Erica, Michael and Nathaniel are all going about their day dealing with the supernatural in their own way. We get hints at future relationships but this is mostly a glimpse into their lives before that. There were too many points of view. This likely works for people already invested in these characters stories but as someone unfamiliar with this world it didn’t work as well for me.
The Opening By Miranda Grant ⭐️⭐️
Continued from the first story with the opening of the zoo.
The Event by Miranda Grant ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first story explicitly talked about the people hunting the animals down in a way the next few didn’t.
A Manticore on the Loose by G. Clatworthy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An interesting entry in her new to me Rise of Dragons series featuring Agent Jones. I found the story to be interesting as well with a team working to retrieve a deadly manticore.
Herbs, a Flask and Spaghetti Water by Jen B. Green ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two women with a secret are sent out on a call to work a case so they have to play along like they are green witches and solve the case while not getting themselves hurt or outed as fakes. It wasn’t obvious in this one but I think the mushroom may be what’s being retrieved in this one.
Frustrated Justice by Heather G. Harris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The next entry in the Otherverse is going to feature Stacy, the crossover cop in Chester. This story follows her as she solves a “murder”. She is aided by a caladrius that witnessed the incident. We also see her future love interest, which we discovered in the connected Other Witch series, enter her life.
Dharma Alchemy by Becca Woods ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jack, an inner or nonhumans, and the doctor, an outers or human, go on a call to assist at a naiad birth. I couldn’t find any other books from this world so I believe this is either the first or a standalone. Since it is a short story there isn’t much time for world building but there is a good relationship between the two main characters and story does enough to get me interested in the next books. I think the animal that landed here was the axolotl.
The Magpie and the Wobegone Wizard By Jilleen Dolbeare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oliver is an untrained wizard looking to go to wizarding school even though he is older. He uses a book to summon a familiar Rill, a special magpie and then the story takes off with his application resulting in some surprises. The relationship between wizard and familiar is sweet.
Waif in the Wilds By Lauretta Hignett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chloe is an assassin on what she mistakenly believes is her final mission when she finds a, get this, battle goose. The author took one of the devil’s favorites and gave them a seemingly indestructible battle form and the ability to communicate with someone. I’m sold. Sign me up for the rest of the series.
The Song of The Wild By C.N. Rowan ⭐️⭐️
The story is written in a poetic style that seems well suited for historical. This did make it difficult for me to connect to the characters or the in a meaningful way.
Finding Fae Pets By Isa Medina ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maddie, who hunts fae artifacts, gets “hired” by a fae kid to find her pet. Only she isn’t the only one looking because of course this is the misplaced animal. They’re is enough here for me to put the author on my TBR list.
Sorcery in the Shadows By Rosie Wylor-Owen ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beatrix is waiting for her powers to come in while living under her grandmother’s harsh rule. While out, she discovers a feline creature called a Grimalkin who needs her help to escape capture. The Grimalkin returns the favor. A solid entry that is part of a larger world found in the Midnight Waters series.
Alchemy of Revenge By L.A. McBride ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Set in the world of Kali James, Olivia is an agent back in her hometown trying to get revenge but still follow orders while saving some lives.
Death Uncaged By C. Thomas Lafollette ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An exiled Reaper, Dax, is tasked with helping a friend find a missing person. At the same time, a team of fae is tasked with finding an escaped monster when one of them is captured leaving the other to search for their partner and the monster. Here we see the two cases meet. There are such interesting characters in this story that I'll be checking out the series.
Hunting the Guide By Amy Cissell ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Archibald is a cat determined to serve as a guide for Frankie, a Valkyrie but he broke the rules so the one meant for the position is hunting him. Unfortunately so is someone else. It’s an interesting story but I felt a little lost. This is part of a series and I feel like I was missing something by having read it in order but I was still able to enjoy it.
Keys of Promise By Georgiana Kent ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Erica, Michael and Nathaniel are all going about their day dealing with the supernatural in their own way. We get hints at future relationships but this is mostly a glimpse into their lives before that. There were too many points of view. This likely works for people already invested in these characters stories but as someone unfamiliar with this world it didn’t work as well for me.
The Opening By Miranda Grant ⭐️⭐️
Continued from the first story with the opening of the zoo.
perri47's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
This is a must read! I loved the stories in this anthology, where I made new friends and was happy to come across old ones. Bravo to all the wonderful writers who made this book possible.
andimontgomery's review
4.0
This was an overall very solid anthology, with stories from both familiar and new authors, with somewhat of an interconnected plot featuring the disappearance of magical zoo animals. I especially can’t wait to read more from a few of the new-to-me authors!
- The ‘Event’ by Miranda Grant - B-, This is a very quick intro focusing on a supernatural creature zoo called the Kingdom of Tails and Feathers that has suddenly lost all of its animals.
- A Manticore on the Loose by G. Clatworthy - B+, I liked this introduction to Agent Jones of the Magical Liaison Office in Wales, who assists two rangers of the Kingdom of Tails and Feathers in finding one of the missing beasts, a giant manticore.
- Herbs, a Flask, and Spaghetti Water by Jen B. Green - B, This one starts out slowly, but I enjoyed the ending. And Teddy the dog was a fun addition.
- Frustrated Justice by Heather G. Harris - A, I’ll admit, Heather is one of my favorite UF authors, and I really enjoyed this story from the perspective of Stacy, a level 5 wizard and human Detective Inspector who works for both the Common (human) and the Connection (supernatural) police forces. She investigates the death of a notorious criminal with the help of an intelligent, talking bird. I loved how the bird called her a pigdog. Ha ha! I’ll take a whole series based on Stacy, please!
- Dharma Alchemy by Becca Wood - B, I liked this short story featuring a doctor who works on magical beings, a half-succubus (shouldn’t he be an incubus?), a pet sea monster, and a naiad birth.
- The Magpie and the Wobegone Wizard by Jilleen Dolbeare - C, Novice wizard Oliver gains a familiar with the hopes of joining the Guild, but discovers his familiar is at the heart of something very big at the Guild. The pacing was slower in this story, and it ended well, but still rather abruptly.
- Waif in the Wilds by Lauretta Hignett - B, I’ve read Chloe’s series, but never knew the story behind her rescue of Dwayne. This story provides that background.
- The Song of the Wild by C.N. Rowan - C-, I sadly didn’t connect with the writing or plot.
- Finding Fae Pets by Isa Medina - A-, I love Maddie, and this short story about her being hired to retrieve a lost pet in Faerie was very good!
- Sorcery in the Shadows by Rosie Wylor-Owen - A, I really enjoyed this story featuring a magical cat and nineteen-year-old Beatrix, who is trapped in her grandmother’s home until her magical talent surfaces. I’d love to read more about this duo in a full-length series!
- Alchemy of Revenge by L.A. McBride - B+, It was easy to become immersed in this story of Shadow Olivia, who is on assignment in her hometown.
- Death Uncaged by C. Thomas Lafollette - DNF - I just couldn’t get into this one.
- Hunting the Guide by DNF - I couldn’t get into this one, either.
- Keys of Promise by Georgiana Kent - C, It was challenging in a short story to follow several characters, and I lost interest.
- The Opening by Miranda Grant - C, This was a bit of a letdown, returning to the zoo which has reacquired most of its missing supernatural animals. The story was almost haphazard in its delivery.
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