Out of the Light, Into the Shadows

This is a fine collection that readers, especially of paranormal romance, will fully enjoy

"Have Mercy" by Lori Foster. Mercedes Jardine loves Wyatt Reyes and wants to marry him. However, although he loves her he fears a permanent relationship so he refuses to marry her. Her powerful brother Braxton likes Wyatt, but expects him to come to his senses and wed his sister. Brax's office manager Cameo Smithson tells him to mind his business.

"Deal or No Deal". by Erin McCarthy. In Vegas, Russian expatriate Nick Stolin protects two young vampire siblings (he changed back the tsarist period) Kate and Pete Stolin. When Kate puts on a family heirloom, Rasputin knows the necklace with the blood of the ancients inside has surfaced. He plans to steal it to strengthen his power. Michael St. Markov also learns the woman he always loved Katie is alive and he plans to keep her safe.

"Total Control" by LL Foster. Brax knows Cameo is the woman for him. He fires her from her job and uses his special power of persuasion to sexually manipulate her. When his Uncle Amos arrives a hurt Cameo does not blink as she helps him. However, the woman who injured Amos is coming for them and using Cam as bait.

"Undead Man's Hand" by Erin McCarthy. Las Vegas police detectives Jordan Water and Shawn Marshall investigate a serial killer who drains the blood from his victim. They come to Bellagio to talk with thirteen year old Pete, an allegedly autistic teen who witnessed the assault. He offers nothing. Nick asks Jordan out and she accepts as they are attracted to one another although she thinks his family is dysfunctional.

This is a fine collection that readers, especially of paranormal romance, will fully enjoy. This reviewer suggests finishing the two Foster tales back to back and like wise with the McCarthy entries as "Total Control" is a direct sequel to "Have Mercy" and likewise with the two Ms. McCarthy contributions. Fans will enjoy this entreating anthology.

Harriet Klausner

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Anthologies

What can I say about anthologies? Stephen King recently gave an interview in which he mentioned the dirth of "short stories" today. Well, these anthologies of the fantasy genre more than make up for the difficiencies in that field in this genre! Each story was a lovely little golden nugget, funny, romantic, and downright wacky at times. A great read!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a pretty good anthology

This was an enjoyable anthology. It's not necessarily one I'll go back and visit, but I enjoyed it for what it was. What is intersting is that the two stories by Lorie Foster (one written under the name of LL Foster) are connected as are the two stories by Erin McCarthy. That did add to the enjoyment of the anthology as a whole. Of all the stories, I did not care for Erin McCarthy's first story and did not finish it. That said I've read other reviews where people found that story to be their favorite. Here's some quick stats i hope you find helpful... Stats: Anthology- 4 stories Authors- 2 EBook Pages- 221 Genere- Paranormal Romance Steam Factor- Very Very Hot,no purple prose here.

Hot!

All I can say is the short stories that made up this book were short and very sweet!! I'll definitely be picking up books from both authors in the future.

Worth Reading

Engrossing with an interesting twist of writing styles by Lori Foster.

Loved it!

I loved this book. Four Novellas all complete stories. I was not left wondering what happened at the end of any of them. They packed a lot of information in just a few pages. I usually feel short changed with novellas but not this time. I would highly recommend this book.

Out of the Light, Into the Shadows

This anthology seemed to be split into different genres. The first anthology "Have Mercy" was more contemporary, the second novella "Deal or No Deal" more paranormal romance and the last two novellas "Total Control" and Undead Man's Hand" being more dark paranormal romance fantasy (which I prefer).

Lori Foster "Have Mercy" Mercedes Jardine has found the man of her dreams, Wyatt Reyes, unfortunately he comes with a tragic past and has a result of that past, causes him to shy away from marriage or starting a family. When Mercedes finds out she's pregnant, Wyatt must prove to Mercedes and her overprotective brother Braxton that he can tear down his walls, come to terms with his demons and be the father and husband Mercedes needs him to be. Wyatt and Mercedes have great chemistry and very hot sex scenes. There was no direct paranormal involved with this particular novella. However, the love that Wyatt and Mercedes share is magical. For those readers looking for a happily ever after (HEA), this story fits the bill. This novella was well done and was able to hold my attention. However, there was more romance in this novella than I usually prefer to read; but the way Lori created the characters, made you want to care about them and see what happens next. 3.5/5

Erin McCarthy "Deal or No Deal" This was another HEA that held my attention and made me care about the characters. Katie Stolin, a former Russian princess and century old vampire, reunites with a lost love and sets out to avenge her family's slaughtering. This story was extremely predictable, albeit interesting, it did feel complete and smoothly done. 3.5/5

L.L. Foster "Total Control" Braxton Jardine has a complicated life. He's big brother to Mercedes Jardine who has a baby on the way, a successful businessman by day and also a vigilante, dispensing his own brand of justice to criminals by night. Finally his eyes are open and he figures out that the love of his life, his assistant Cameo, has been in front of him the whole time. Things get problematic when a pair of sexual sadists he's been chasing, goes after Cameo and puts her life in danger. This was an interesting story. Braxton's character reminds me of the heroine from L.L Foster's The Servant series, Gaby. Braxton and Cameo have sizzling chemistry and I enjoyed this short story a bit more than Foster's other novella. This novella was darker, more dangerous and sexy. 5/5

Erin McCarthy "Undead Man's Hand" This novella uses the supporting characters from Erin's previous novella, Deal or No Deal. Detective Jordan Water's, searches for a vicious serial killer on the Las Vegas strip. Someone has been violently murdering women in the most heinous of ways and leaving their bodies in humiliating poses to be discovered. This story was exciting, mysterious and interesting. This novella was only 89 pages long but the characters were well developed. The story was so smoothly done and complete, I felt like I read an entire book. 5/5

I got this anthology for L.L. Foster's "Total Control" novella. I am a big fan of her The Servant series and figured I'd give this a chance. All of the stories had more romance in them than I usually prefer to read. However, I did get a pleasant surprise by discovering Erin McCarthy. I've never read anything from Erin but judging her from the "Undead Man's Hand" novella, I would probably seek out her series in the future.

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