bunnerz's review
3.0
There were a few stories that I really enjoyed, but this anthology mostly showed me what authors to avoid to satisfy my reverse harem cravings. I gave it an overall 3-star for a "check out but don't be too amazed" rating. I skipped or wasn't able to finish about half the stories in the anthology. I had originally picked it up due to Stacey Brutger's short story.
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Hell's Curse by [a:Eve Newton|6882972|Eve Newton|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: hellhounds, demons, shifters, necromancers, reapers, minotaurs, ghosts, m-m-romance, reverse-harem
I quit reading after chapter 6 when the Hellhound Shifter demon FMC Gaia started making out with her friend in desperation after her other Incubus friend made her super horny due to some supernatural malfunction. This is the 2nd story I've tried to read by the author and failed to finish.
This story is a Demon Princess series prequel, a series that follows the Devil's daughter Gaia from her Demon Queen series. Gaia and her circle of male friends snuck out of Hell to visit a party on Earth on Friday the 13th, and odd supernatural issues occurred once Gaia encountered a mysterious minotaur Protector. Gaia insisted that her friends were just friends, but by the time I quit, you could tell that no, they were meant to be her love interests. Every friend checked off a different supernatural checkbox - no two were the same type of supernatural. The dialogue was dry, and everyone was horny and violent.
Not my cup of tea, and I think I'll avoid this author in the future.
---
Menace to the Assassins by [a:Stacey Brutger|5808420|Stacey Brutger|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1629816592p2/5808420.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: reverse-harem, shifters, animal-sidekicks, assassins, gods, elves, hellhounds, sirens, magic, academy, gargoyles
This story takes place after book 4 of the Academy of Assassins series.
Friday the 13th has been drawing closer, when the veils between the world's are thin, and gods are able to interfere in the human realm more than normal. The FMC Morgan had quite a few gods gunning for her after her visit to their realm, and her mates were strategically holing up in the Academy in preparation.
All the characters including Shade and Loki (I love the gardog) made a cameo in this story, and Morgan found out a little more information about her parentage and magic by the end. I felt that Morgan was quite the special snowflake now with the revelation, and it didn't make for a very exciting read. The reverse harem theme was just incidental with mentions of the mating bond -- there was no real intimacy in the story, and it was mostly action-driven. I still plan on checking out the final book in the series for closure though.
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Friday by [a:Amelia K. Oliver|19813142|Amelia K. Oliver|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1584916484p2/19813142.jpg] & [a:Eileen Troemel|7868345|Eileen Troemel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1557238693p2/7868345.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: demons, academy, magic, reapers
I got 4 pages in and couldn't handle any more of the writing. I did not want to read about the unlucky FMC Friday peeing in her pants or thinking she might poo in her pants when talking to her father. Phrases like "shit a duck" and the general immature dialogue were not something I was interested in.
The story came with a trigger warning about attempted suicide.
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Mischief Managed by [a:J.E. Cluney|19048533|J.E. Cluney|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1619986151p2/19048533.jpg]
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: reverse-harem, magic, telepaths, vampires, shifters
The story jumped right into the FMC Allison's hormonal craziness and suddenly initiated sexy times. I am not familiar with the author or the Corviticus University series it was set in, so I had absolutely no idea what was going on and what species each mate in the harem was and had to slowly figure it out through context in the later chapters. It also ended quite abruptly once their friend Emma devised a spell to
I might have enjoyed this story more if I had been already familiar with the characters, but on its own as a standalone, it was a very superficial read. By the time I figured out who was what, it had ended. This story is probably best for someone that enjoys pregnancy revelations.
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Sweet Lunacy by [a:Avery Stone|21075492|Avery Stone|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: magic, reverse-harem, gods, shifters, detectives, clairvoyants, vampires, gargoyles
I have no idea what I just read, but the FMC Lucy was quite the special snowflake as a demi-goddess shifter with her boyfriends - one was immortal vampire, another was a gargoyle shifter, and two more that were barely introduced before the snippet ended. The story followed her call to duty by her boss and goddess mother for some important prophesied quest which required her to summon her boyfriends from across the globe for help.
I think this was a sneak peek of a specific book since the whole snippet was labeled as prologue, but the ending linked to the book Rejected Queen. It seemed like I was missing a lot of backstory, but the FMC was a little too much for me with all her special powers that I'm not really interested in reading the rest of the story if this was what the introduction looked like.
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Death's Deeds by [a:A.J. Macey|18782920|A.J. Macey|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1609548730p2/18782920.jpg] & [a:M.J. Marstens|18921840|M.J. Marstens|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1553288178p2/18921840.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: fae, reapers, angels, reverse-harem, magic
This story gave us a sneak peek into the Death Fae reaper FMC Arkyn and the men around her who were in her fantasies and hinted at potentially being in her future harem.
The world-building with her personal life and job was pretty interesting, and I think I'll pick up the full book whenever it releases.
---
My Soul to Keep by [a:Debbie Cassidy|7620229|Debbie Cassidy|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
* skipped *
The author is on my avoid list as I haven't enjoyed their writing style or plot development in multiple series. This short story is set in the author's Accords world that starts with the Wolves of Hawthorn Cove series and introduces Nyx in their new Demons of Morningstar series.
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Bloody Lucky by [a:Cali Mann|19771164|Cali Mann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1612743079p2/19771164.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: fae, shifters, academy, new-adult, magic, vampires, ghosts, reverse-harem
The beginning started off well with interesting characters and the introduction of an academy setting, but after the shifter-vampire FMC Marguerite mated with her teacher and were kicked out of the school, the whole story went down the drain. The bullying and insta-lust were over the top, and the contrived manner the lucky rabbit's foot was written in to save the day within a few pages was super awkward.
I'm unclear if this short story is supposed to be expanded into a full novel, but if so, I am not interested.
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A Witch's Love by [a:Melissa Adams|14430425|Melissa Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1609719520p2/14430425.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: reverse-harem, magic, academy
I managed to make it through the first chapter where the whole harem was attending some Halloween sorority party, but I had to quit by the time I started the second chapter (out of 5). There was a ton of backstory missing with how the harem originally got together -- apparently the witch FMC Selena hadn't even slept with all of her boyfriends yet? The immature jealousy in the first chapter was not my cup of tea, and I didn't even understand the rules of how Selena was allowed to have multiple boyfriends but wasn't allowed to show interest in other men.
Regardless, the dialogue and writing seemed to need a decent amount of editing. The author liked to break up everything into 4-5 paragraphs and then adding a giant section break in a single scene for no necessary reason. There wasn't a change of setting or POV or anything. I don't think this author is for me and will avoid their writing in the future.
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Curses Bite by [a:Ginna Moran|9860625|Ginna Moran|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564865230p2/9860625.jpg]
Rating: ★★★★☆
Tags: magic, shifters, slaves, telepaths, vampires, reverse-harem
This short story followed the FMC Isobel as she was exiled from her coven as a powerless witch after helping a female lycan escape slavery from another abusive coven member. While everything was quite fast-burn, I enjoyed the world building and magical society that was detailed. I thought the final battle pulled a little too much of a deux ex machina plot device, but I liked the story overall. I plan on checking out more books by the author set in the world.
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Infernally Taken by [a:Jewels Arthur|19339151|Jewels Arthur|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1641242850p2/19339151.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: demons, genies, shifters, reverse-harem, vampires, dragons, m-m-romance
It was a little confusing to get all characters straight with their species and background as the story had jumped right in without much of an introduction. The story followed the succubus FMC Mara and her harem of supernaturals as they celebrated Friday the 13th with her best friend Rora who also had her own set of guards she was trying to tempt into bed. Cue lots of smut scenes as the day went on. I also think there was some MM action in a smut scene, but it was so confusingly written that I still didn't understand what was going on when I re-read the details multiple times.
There was a small attempt at character and relationship development, but it was lost on me as I didn't really know how the men had joined the harem to begin with. The short story likely would be paired best with the original Infernal Blade series rather than as a standalone read, even with the spoiler warnings in the preface. As expected, I had already marked the series as *not-interested* in my bookshelves, and this story hasn't changed my mind.
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Insurrection [a:R.L. Caulder|20224149|R.L. Caulder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1621874740p2/20224149.jpg] & [a:M. Sinclair|1629077|M. Sinclair|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1575164268p2/1629077.jpg]
* skipped *
I already know that I don't like anything that R.L. Caulder has written so far, so I'm not going to bother trying to read this preview of their new book Insurrection.
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Lupine: Pigs Might Fly by [a:Hanleigh Bradley|14468232|Hanleigh Bradley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1600045274p2/14468232.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, magic, reverse-harem, paranormal, mafia
This short story was set in the Silver Springs orphanage and mainly followed the ex-mafia wolf shifter Camden as he tried to deal with the juvenile witch Catalina and her revenge pranks. The plot didn't really captivate me, and I didn't really like any of the characters involved. Everyone was rather immature, especially with the prank, and the smut scene came out of nowhere. The FMC Lupine was a rather special snowflake as a self-described mafia princess and the head of the orphanage. I'm passing on the main book Lupine and probably the author based on this writing and story line.
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Our Lucky Day by [a:Lilith Darville|6924215|Lilith Darville|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1513865836p2/6924215.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: gods, druids, reverse-harem, magic, ghosts, angels, demons
This short story was a prequel to the author's new Masters from Afterlife series. I stopped reading after the huge info-dump from the goddess Queen Hera and the druid priestess Anais and their plan to manipulate the FMC Aleah's fated mate Atroyel in the first chapter (out of 3). I already don't really enjoy manipulation plots, and their bitchy housewives attitudes didn't endear me to them.
Not my cup of tea, and the existing review on the story (renamed to Cassiel's Fantasy) didn't encourage my curiosity either.
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Unlucky Angels by [a:Cate Corvin|19106845|Cate Corvin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1580229606p2/19106845.jpg]
* skipped *
This is a sneak peek to the next generation after the author's Razing Hell series and takes place 10 years after the events of that series.
I never finished the original series after got I bored with finishing the first book, so I skipped this short story as well.
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Hunting Shadows by [a:Imani L. Hawkins|18599796|Imani L. Hawkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1541782326p2/18599796.jpg]
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: prisons, magic, vampires, demons, shifters, telepaths, amnesia
This sneak peek mostly followed the FMC Lani after she was placed in prison for murdering her husband and the plan by a few powerful supernaturals in the prison to use her fire and metal magic to escape their sentences. Intertwined with the story were a few flashbacks of how she ended up in the prison.
I was really confused at the prison setting since it appeared that inmates were able to use their magic without restrictions, and they were able to go to and from their cells and other cell blocks without guards because they policed each other. What was the point of having assigned cells then? Why wouldn't the inmates just fight to have the best ones?
The writing really needed an editor as I saw quite a few typos, especially with apostrophes. The descriptions like "a body made of murder" were a little silly. The insta-lust from the vampire Alex was a bit much, and it was unbelievable that Lani would allow one to just feed on her just like that given that she was supposed to have been abused by one for an extended period of time. Most of the cast introduced barely got any character development.
The unrealistic behavior and overall writing did not make this a good read for me, and I ended up skimming after I got to chapter 7 (out of 10). Additionally, the story left me hanging on a resolution for any of the plots introduced. It was unclear if the author was releasing a full length novel. As is, while I could guess at the harem members, this was purely a 1:1 relationship and not with multiple men.
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Deflated by [a:Mia Harlan|19214375|Mia Harlan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1599861408p2/19214375.jpg] & [a:Eva Delaney|18564425|Eva Delaney|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1540855568p2/18564425.jpg]
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: shifters, reverse-harem, trolls, vampires, magic
This was a short story that was set in the Silver Springs universe from the Spell Library series. One of the main POVs followed the chameleon shifter Violet and her three mates as they were trying to figure out how to have sexy times with her when kept shifting into random beings she met recently whenever she was turned on. The other half of the story followed the dildo witch Juniper as she had to deal with one of her mates accidentally cursing the town with limp dicks (I'm not lying at this plot).
The attempt at humor in the writing was not my cup of tea, and it honestly took it to the point of absurdity (e.g. dildo shifters, flying dicks, etc.). I had already not really enjoyed the single book I had read in the universe by one of the authors of this short story, so it was kind of expected that I didn't really enjoy this story either. I skimmed it and finished it just to figure out what was going on.
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Dahlia 2: With a Side of Fries by [a:Tabitha Barret|13507738|Tabitha Barret|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1574649840p2/13507738.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: magic, vampires, necromancers, ghosts, clairvoyants, reverse-harem, shifters, zombies
The introduction blurb indicated this was a sneak peek of another novel from the Silver Springs universe from the Spell Library series - this time following the FMC Dahlia and her mates. Poltergeists invaded Silver Springs, and they had to figure out how to fix the problem.
I already wasn't terribly enthusiastic about reading the story based on my opinion of the previous two stories in this anthology also set in the universe, and after the necromancer Daire started info-dumping his sad history while putting zombies back down, I quit in the middle of chapter 2 (out of 3). Based on this book, I'm not planning on reading any more stories in the Silver Springs universe - the romcom RH theme is not my cup of tea.
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Hell's Curse by [a:Eve Newton|6882972|Eve Newton|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: hellhounds, demons, shifters, necromancers, reapers, minotaurs, ghosts, m-m-romance, reverse-harem
I quit reading after chapter 6 when the Hellhound Shifter demon FMC Gaia started making out with her friend in desperation after her other Incubus friend made her super horny due to some supernatural malfunction. This is the 2nd story I've tried to read by the author and failed to finish.
This story is a Demon Princess series prequel, a series that follows the Devil's daughter Gaia from her Demon Queen series. Gaia and her circle of male friends snuck out of Hell to visit a party on Earth on Friday the 13th, and odd supernatural issues occurred once Gaia encountered a mysterious minotaur Protector. Gaia insisted that her friends were just friends, but by the time I quit, you could tell that no, they were meant to be her love interests. Every friend checked off a different supernatural checkbox - no two were the same type of supernatural. The dialogue was dry, and everyone was horny and violent.
Not my cup of tea, and I think I'll avoid this author in the future.
---
Menace to the Assassins by [a:Stacey Brutger|5808420|Stacey Brutger|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1629816592p2/5808420.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: reverse-harem, shifters, animal-sidekicks, assassins, gods, elves, hellhounds, sirens, magic, academy, gargoyles
This story takes place after book 4 of the Academy of Assassins series.
Friday the 13th has been drawing closer, when the veils between the world's are thin, and gods are able to interfere in the human realm more than normal. The FMC Morgan had quite a few gods gunning for her after her visit to their realm, and her mates were strategically holing up in the Academy in preparation.
All the characters including Shade and Loki (I love the gardog) made a cameo in this story, and Morgan found out a little more information about her parentage and magic by the end. I felt that Morgan was quite the special snowflake now with the revelation
Spoiler
that she was actually a goddess---
Friday by [a:Amelia K. Oliver|19813142|Amelia K. Oliver|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1584916484p2/19813142.jpg] & [a:Eileen Troemel|7868345|Eileen Troemel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1557238693p2/7868345.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: demons, academy, magic, reapers
I got 4 pages in and couldn't handle any more of the writing. I did not want to read about the unlucky FMC Friday peeing in her pants or thinking she might poo in her pants when talking to her father. Phrases like "shit a duck" and the general immature dialogue were not something I was interested in.
The story came with a trigger warning about attempted suicide.
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Mischief Managed by [a:J.E. Cluney|19048533|J.E. Cluney|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1619986151p2/19048533.jpg]
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: reverse-harem, magic, telepaths, vampires, shifters
The story jumped right into the FMC Allison's hormonal craziness and suddenly initiated sexy times. I am not familiar with the author or the Corviticus University series it was set in, so I had absolutely no idea what was going on and what species each mate in the harem was and had to slowly figure it out through context in the later chapters. It also ended quite abruptly once their friend Emma devised a spell to
Spoiler
determine the father and the sex of the arriving baby.I might have enjoyed this story more if I had been already familiar with the characters, but on its own as a standalone, it was a very superficial read. By the time I figured out who was what, it had ended. This story is probably best for someone that enjoys pregnancy revelations.
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Sweet Lunacy by [a:Avery Stone|21075492|Avery Stone|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: magic, reverse-harem, gods, shifters, detectives, clairvoyants, vampires, gargoyles
I have no idea what I just read, but the FMC Lucy was quite the special snowflake as a demi-goddess shifter with her boyfriends - one was immortal vampire, another was a gargoyle shifter, and two more that were barely introduced before the snippet ended. The story followed her call to duty by her boss and goddess mother for some important prophesied quest which required her to summon her boyfriends from across the globe for help.
I think this was a sneak peek of a specific book since the whole snippet was labeled as prologue, but the ending linked to the book Rejected Queen. It seemed like I was missing a lot of backstory, but the FMC was a little too much for me with all her special powers that I'm not really interested in reading the rest of the story if this was what the introduction looked like.
---
Death's Deeds by [a:A.J. Macey|18782920|A.J. Macey|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1609548730p2/18782920.jpg] & [a:M.J. Marstens|18921840|M.J. Marstens|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1553288178p2/18921840.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: fae, reapers, angels, reverse-harem, magic
This story gave us a sneak peek into the Death Fae reaper FMC Arkyn and the men around her who were in her fantasies and hinted at potentially being in her future harem.
The world-building with her personal life and job was pretty interesting, and I think I'll pick up the full book whenever it releases.
---
My Soul to Keep by [a:Debbie Cassidy|7620229|Debbie Cassidy|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]
* skipped *
The author is on my avoid list as I haven't enjoyed their writing style or plot development in multiple series. This short story is set in the author's Accords world that starts with the Wolves of Hawthorn Cove series and introduces Nyx in their new Demons of Morningstar series.
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Bloody Lucky by [a:Cali Mann|19771164|Cali Mann|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1612743079p2/19771164.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: fae, shifters, academy, new-adult, magic, vampires, ghosts, reverse-harem
The beginning started off well with interesting characters and the introduction of an academy setting, but after the shifter-vampire FMC Marguerite mated with her teacher and were kicked out of the school, the whole story went down the drain. The bullying and insta-lust were over the top, and the contrived manner the lucky rabbit's foot was written in to save the day within a few pages was super awkward.
I'm unclear if this short story is supposed to be expanded into a full novel, but if so, I am not interested.
---
A Witch's Love by [a:Melissa Adams|14430425|Melissa Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1609719520p2/14430425.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: reverse-harem, magic, academy
I managed to make it through the first chapter where the whole harem was attending some Halloween sorority party, but I had to quit by the time I started the second chapter (out of 5). There was a ton of backstory missing with how the harem originally got together -- apparently the witch FMC Selena hadn't even slept with all of her boyfriends yet? The immature jealousy in the first chapter was not my cup of tea, and I didn't even understand the rules of how Selena was allowed to have multiple boyfriends but wasn't allowed to show interest in other men.
Regardless, the dialogue and writing seemed to need a decent amount of editing. The author liked to break up everything into 4-5 paragraphs and then adding a giant section break in a single scene for no necessary reason. There wasn't a change of setting or POV or anything. I don't think this author is for me and will avoid their writing in the future.
---
Curses Bite by [a:Ginna Moran|9860625|Ginna Moran|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564865230p2/9860625.jpg]
Rating: ★★★★☆
Tags: magic, shifters, slaves, telepaths, vampires, reverse-harem
This short story followed the FMC Isobel as she was exiled from her coven as a powerless witch after helping a female lycan escape slavery from another abusive coven member. While everything was quite fast-burn, I enjoyed the world building and magical society that was detailed. I thought the final battle pulled a little too much of a deux ex machina plot device, but I liked the story overall. I plan on checking out more books by the author set in the world.
---
Infernally Taken by [a:Jewels Arthur|19339151|Jewels Arthur|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1641242850p2/19339151.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: demons, genies, shifters, reverse-harem, vampires, dragons, m-m-romance
It was a little confusing to get all characters straight with their species and background as the story had jumped right in without much of an introduction. The story followed the succubus FMC Mara and her harem of supernaturals as they celebrated Friday the 13th with her best friend Rora who also had her own set of guards she was trying to tempt into bed. Cue lots of smut scenes as the day went on. I also think there was some MM action in a smut scene, but it was so confusingly written that I still didn't understand what was going on when I re-read the details multiple times.
There was a small attempt at character and relationship development, but it was lost on me as I didn't really know how the men had joined the harem to begin with. The short story likely would be paired best with the original Infernal Blade series rather than as a standalone read, even with the spoiler warnings in the preface. As expected, I had already marked the series as *not-interested* in my bookshelves, and this story hasn't changed my mind.
---
Insurrection [a:R.L. Caulder|20224149|R.L. Caulder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1621874740p2/20224149.jpg] & [a:M. Sinclair|1629077|M. Sinclair|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1575164268p2/1629077.jpg]
* skipped *
I already know that I don't like anything that R.L. Caulder has written so far, so I'm not going to bother trying to read this preview of their new book Insurrection.
---
Lupine: Pigs Might Fly by [a:Hanleigh Bradley|14468232|Hanleigh Bradley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1600045274p2/14468232.jpg]
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, magic, reverse-harem, paranormal, mafia
This short story was set in the Silver Springs orphanage and mainly followed the ex-mafia wolf shifter Camden as he tried to deal with the juvenile witch Catalina and her revenge pranks. The plot didn't really captivate me, and I didn't really like any of the characters involved. Everyone was rather immature, especially with the
Spoiler
penis pig---
Our Lucky Day by [a:Lilith Darville|6924215|Lilith Darville|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1513865836p2/6924215.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: gods, druids, reverse-harem, magic, ghosts, angels, demons
This short story was a prequel to the author's new Masters from Afterlife series. I stopped reading after the huge info-dump from the goddess Queen Hera and the druid priestess Anais and their plan to manipulate the FMC Aleah's fated mate Atroyel in the first chapter (out of 3). I already don't really enjoy manipulation plots, and their bitchy housewives attitudes didn't endear me to them.
Not my cup of tea, and the existing review on the story (renamed to Cassiel's Fantasy) didn't encourage my curiosity either.
---
Unlucky Angels by [a:Cate Corvin|19106845|Cate Corvin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1580229606p2/19106845.jpg]
* skipped *
This is a sneak peek to the next generation after the author's Razing Hell series and takes place 10 years after the events of that series.
I never finished the original series after got I bored with finishing the first book, so I skipped this short story as well.
---
Hunting Shadows by [a:Imani L. Hawkins|18599796|Imani L. Hawkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1541782326p2/18599796.jpg]
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: prisons, magic, vampires, demons, shifters, telepaths, amnesia
This sneak peek mostly followed the FMC Lani after she was placed in prison for murdering her husband and the plan by a few powerful supernaturals in the prison to use her fire and metal magic to escape their sentences. Intertwined with the story were a few flashbacks of how she ended up in the prison.
I was really confused at the prison setting since it appeared that inmates were able to use their magic without restrictions, and they were able to go to and from their cells and other cell blocks without guards because they policed each other. What was the point of having assigned cells then? Why wouldn't the inmates just fight to have the best ones?
The writing really needed an editor as I saw quite a few typos, especially with apostrophes. The descriptions like "a body made of murder" were a little silly. The insta-lust from the vampire Alex was a bit much, and it was unbelievable that Lani would allow one to just feed on her just like that given that she was supposed to have been abused by one for an extended period of time. Most of the cast introduced barely got any character development.
The unrealistic behavior and overall writing did not make this a good read for me, and I ended up skimming after I got to chapter 7 (out of 10). Additionally, the story left me hanging on a resolution for any of the plots introduced. It was unclear if the author was releasing a full length novel. As is, while I could guess at the harem members, this was purely a 1:1 relationship and not with multiple men.
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Deflated by [a:Mia Harlan|19214375|Mia Harlan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1599861408p2/19214375.jpg] & [a:Eva Delaney|18564425|Eva Delaney|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1540855568p2/18564425.jpg]
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Tags: shifters, reverse-harem, trolls, vampires, magic
This was a short story that was set in the Silver Springs universe from the Spell Library series. One of the main POVs followed the chameleon shifter Violet and her three mates as they were trying to figure out how to have sexy times with her when kept shifting into random beings she met recently whenever she was turned on. The other half of the story followed the dildo witch Juniper as she had to deal with one of her mates accidentally cursing the town with limp dicks (I'm not lying at this plot).
The attempt at humor in the writing was not my cup of tea, and it honestly took it to the point of absurdity (e.g. dildo shifters, flying dicks, etc.). I had already not really enjoyed the single book I had read in the universe by one of the authors of this short story, so it was kind of expected that I didn't really enjoy this story either. I skimmed it and finished it just to figure out what was going on.
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Dahlia 2: With a Side of Fries by [a:Tabitha Barret|13507738|Tabitha Barret|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1574649840p2/13507738.jpg]
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Tags: magic, vampires, necromancers, ghosts, clairvoyants, reverse-harem, shifters, zombies
The introduction blurb indicated this was a sneak peek of another novel from the Silver Springs universe from the Spell Library series - this time following the FMC Dahlia and her mates. Poltergeists invaded Silver Springs, and they had to figure out how to fix the problem.
I already wasn't terribly enthusiastic about reading the story based on my opinion of the previous two stories in this anthology also set in the universe, and after the necromancer Daire started info-dumping his sad history while putting zombies back down, I quit in the middle of chapter 2 (out of 3). Based on this book, I'm not planning on reading any more stories in the Silver Springs universe - the romcom RH theme is not my cup of tea.
morebookspleaseblog's review
4.0
If steamy is what you’re going for, this is the book for you! It’s full of short stories that will have you melting. Each short story that I’ve read was unique and fun. I had a bit of confusion because there were some stories I couldn’t tell if they were standalone stories or if they were slight continuations/epilogues. As I’m not familiar with the works of some authors involved, it was a little difficult to tell.
Admittedly, I haven’t read all the stories; however, the ones that I have read, such as Hell’s Curse by Eve Newton or Mischief Managed by J.E. Cluney or Hunting Shadows by Imani L. Hawkins (just to name a few) were thoroughly entertaining and I was interested in reading more of their work. Anthologies aren’t typically my go-tos and I’m discovering that I like reverse harems.
Got to go read some of the other stories!
Admittedly, I haven’t read all the stories; however, the ones that I have read, such as Hell’s Curse by Eve Newton or Mischief Managed by J.E. Cluney or Hunting Shadows by Imani L. Hawkins (just to name a few) were thoroughly entertaining and I was interested in reading more of their work. Anthologies aren’t typically my go-tos and I’m discovering that I like reverse harems.
Got to go read some of the other stories!
bookishrenee's review
4.0
Into The Dark is a great anthology with a collection of stories from paranormal reverse harem readers. I’ve only read a couple of stories from this collection, but I’ll definitely be reading more.
There’s also the beginning of new series, with a number of the stories just offering the first few chapters aka sample chapters of upcoming novels.
There’s also the beginning of new series, with a number of the stories just offering the first few chapters aka sample chapters of upcoming novels.
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