The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
earlgaytea711's review
I just have no desire to pick this up again and it's killing my want to read at all. The third story is so canned and weird. I could just skip it and go onto the final story, at least I now I liked that author in the past but I just can't bring myself to. Not for high school me's tastes.Â
tomokizu's review
5.0
I didn't think this book could be so good. I had this one and the prequel of it lying around in my bookshelf for nearly unto 3 years now and never could bring myself to read it. My first dip into these books wasn't favourable, which is why I never read them. But since I wanted to read some anthologies now and finish off unread books I took these 2 out and actually found out, that both books are great!
The stories are witty and captivating. I love reading all of the authors, and have done so for quite some time now. I'm glad I bought them, even though it took me a long while to actually read them. Now it's done, and I'm really happy!
The stories are witty and captivating. I love reading all of the authors, and have done so for quite some time now. I'm glad I bought them, even though it took me a long while to actually read them. Now it's done, and I'm really happy!
whiskeyorwine's review
3.0
It was a fun read, especially since I read the first book a few years ago.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Fantastic book, it makes me wish for a 3rd collection or something, just some more stories from Mysteria, especially since there were some continuing plot lines from each story to the next, and I want more of that!!
ashleynichole's review
3.0
Actual, averaged out rating is more like 3.5 stars when factoring in the individual star ratings of the four stories.
Davidson: 2 stars. I was so disappointed by this one. Perhaps this one would have been more likable had I read Mysteria but this story still would have had the issue of too much going on. Honestly this could have easily been fleshed out into two or three different stories or even one stand alone book with ease. This story was also the least romance-y of the four books. Yes there’s sex and dating but, everything else that’s happening in this town is a much bigger focus. Mild spoiler for the plot of this story (please skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want a spoiler). There is a case of alternative dimension rapid aging of a character who then finds love and there’s like, some ick factor because she was just 14 years old and now she’s ten years older and banging a dude who’s now super into her and I had a hard time wrapping my head around this. It felt very unnecessary.
Grant: 3 stars. I don’t think I’ve read anything by Grant before and now I’m intrigued to try some of her other stuff. The demon plot wasn’t very original but the writing was well done and I greatly appreciated Grant’s ability to write a sequel story that was accessible to readers who hadn’t read the previous story.
Showalter: 4 stars. This was my favorite of the four stories hands down. I love the idea of a family of witches all having different types of magic that are good for different things. It keeps a world interesting without overpowering your magic users. This is an enemies to lovers trope that’s body and sex positive in addition to being the steamiest of the four in my opinion.
Cast: 3.5 stars. I started reading Cast’s adult novels at a too young age so I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this one now that I’m of a proper reading age (ie not in high school). Cast’s romantic pairings tend to read like a Harlequin romance novel from the 80’s and this one was no exception. At this point I think I’m a bit sick of romances where the vampire is so much older than the heroine so that put an immediate damper on the story for me. Also I just, can’t read stories about teachers. I’m a teacher and 1) I get to read in my teacher free time, I don’t want to be reminded of teacher time. 2) I can’t help but judge everything about the teacher aspects of a story so I was definitely not the right audience for this book. The storyline was fine but, this one just wasn’t for me.
Davidson: 2 stars. I was so disappointed by this one. Perhaps this one would have been more likable had I read Mysteria but this story still would have had the issue of too much going on. Honestly this could have easily been fleshed out into two or three different stories or even one stand alone book with ease. This story was also the least romance-y of the four books. Yes there’s sex and dating but, everything else that’s happening in this town is a much bigger focus. Mild spoiler for the plot of this story (please skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want a spoiler). There is a case of alternative dimension rapid aging of a character who then finds love and there’s like, some ick factor because she was just 14 years old and now she’s ten years older and banging a dude who’s now super into her and I had a hard time wrapping my head around this. It felt very unnecessary.
Grant: 3 stars. I don’t think I’ve read anything by Grant before and now I’m intrigued to try some of her other stuff. The demon plot wasn’t very original but the writing was well done and I greatly appreciated Grant’s ability to write a sequel story that was accessible to readers who hadn’t read the previous story.
Showalter: 4 stars. This was my favorite of the four stories hands down. I love the idea of a family of witches all having different types of magic that are good for different things. It keeps a world interesting without overpowering your magic users. This is an enemies to lovers trope that’s body and sex positive in addition to being the steamiest of the four in my opinion.
Cast: 3.5 stars. I started reading Cast’s adult novels at a too young age so I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this one now that I’m of a proper reading age (ie not in high school). Cast’s romantic pairings tend to read like a Harlequin romance novel from the 80’s and this one was no exception. At this point I think I’m a bit sick of romances where the vampire is so much older than the heroine so that put an immediate damper on the story for me. Also I just, can’t read stories about teachers. I’m a teacher and 1) I get to read in my teacher free time, I don’t want to be reminded of teacher time. 2) I can’t help but judge everything about the teacher aspects of a story so I was definitely not the right audience for this book. The storyline was fine but, this one just wasn’t for me.
prationality's review
4.0
MYSTERIA LANE is a paranormal romance anthology, though I would add humor to that description as all the stories in the collection are sure make you chuckle occasionally. MYSTERIA LANE, like its predecessor MYSTERIA, is set in a mystical town called Mysteria where it's not unusual to see a lady dressed in the latest fashions beheading some wicked demon from another plane of existence.
The fun of MYSTERIA LANE is that the four authors—MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter and P.C. Cast, four recognizable authors of the paranormal genre—have created an endless resource for which they can make stories about. There are enough secondary characters and characters with the briefest introduction to create several more stories. For instance, the Desdaine triplets from MJD's story, Disdaining Trouble, are familiar pranksters from the first anthology and are mentioned in the other three stories as well.
The only trouble I had was time relativity from one story to the next. The stories aren't told in Story A first, Story B second, etc., but from various times scattered about. This can get confusing. especially when the events of Disdaining Trouble, the first story of the anthology, aren't referenced in the other stories. As something rather big happens to the characters therein, this was surprising. I'm not sure if this was intentional to avoid giving away details of each individual author's story, or if it was merely overlooked for the grander picture.
However you look at it, the anthology is an enjoyable read. Fun, witty characters make Mysteria a town everybody would want for their own—even with temperamental wishing wells and horny ghosts.
The fun of MYSTERIA LANE is that the four authors—MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter and P.C. Cast, four recognizable authors of the paranormal genre—have created an endless resource for which they can make stories about. There are enough secondary characters and characters with the briefest introduction to create several more stories. For instance, the Desdaine triplets from MJD's story, Disdaining Trouble, are familiar pranksters from the first anthology and are mentioned in the other three stories as well.
The only trouble I had was time relativity from one story to the next. The stories aren't told in Story A first, Story B second, etc., but from various times scattered about. This can get confusing. especially when the events of Disdaining Trouble, the first story of the anthology, aren't referenced in the other stories. As something rather big happens to the characters therein, this was surprising. I'm not sure if this was intentional to avoid giving away details of each individual author's story, or if it was merely overlooked for the grander picture.
However you look at it, the anthology is an enjoyable read. Fun, witty characters make Mysteria a town everybody would want for their own—even with temperamental wishing wells and horny ghosts.
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