This was a very good set of short stories - and I'm usually not really a fan of short stories. They did vary slightly in quality and enjoyability, as one would expect, but overall they did keep to a high standard, the characters were likable, and it served as a good intro to several established series for me as a newcomer as well. ( )

This anthologies was just ok. I picked it up to read Alexandra Ivy’s The Sentinels since I own book’s 1 & 2 (not yet read them), so I wanted to get a taste of what the series is about. I also went a head and read the other novellas featured as well.

Out of Control by Alexandra Ivy - 3 Stars

This one is an introduction to The Sentinels #0.5 series. It features Nikolo a Sentinel and Angela. The set up is interesting. I’m not found of the quick hook up’s. The couple featured have only known each other for a few weeks, they are thrown together, with not much dating happening; before they hook up. I wasn’t fully feeling the connection between these two even though you can clearly see the desires and sexual tensions.

Out of Control gives us heartache, betrayal, and surprises. It had plenty of action, humor, and lust. This novella was enjoyable!

Ties That Bind by Nina Bangs - 3 Stars

This one was a little dark, a little odd, and a little interesting. It features Cassie who has a fear of dead bodies and Ethan a vampire. We get a taste of the world and supernaturals it has. The set up was nice and the romance was warm and heartfelt.

Ties That Bind gives you lots of action and an engaging storyline. This novella was enjoyable!

In Still Darkness by Dianne Duvall - 3 Stars

This one is part of the Immortal Guardian #3.5 series. It features Richart a Guardian and Jenna a human. The characters and concept are interesting. I was a little confused at the beginning on what the differences where between a Guardian and a Vampire, but that was answered farther along in the novella.

I did have a little issue when Richart was ambushed and ends up in Jenna’s living room. Jenna and son should have looked for a wallet on him, a phone, or some way to get ahold of his people even though they aren’t sure what he is. Also his people should have found him sooner since they have the capability to track cell phones and he has one on him.

In Still Darkness gives you action, steamy romance, and camaraderie. I’ve not tired the series out yet, but I plan to give it a try at some point. This novella was enjoyable!

High Stakes by Hannah Jayne - DNF

Couldn’t get into this novella.

Rated: 3 Stars

As far as anthologies go. I wouldn’t purchase this one, but I do enjoy that my library carries this and other anthologies. I will point out that most of these novellas are now published on their own.


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Predatory contains short stories by Alexandra Ivy, Nina Bangs, Dianne Duvall and Hannah Jayne. As with most anthologies, a reader will get a mix of strong reads and at least one weak read. Here is my breakdown of the four stories.

Out of Control by Alexandra Ivy

Angela Locke is special. Even though she doesn’t know how special she soon learns when she is kidnapped by a woman named Dylan. What Angela learns is that it isn’t her intelligence that helps her alter DNA, but her “otherness.” This soon makes her target of the psychopath that is Dylan. Angela soon discovers that the hot professor, Dr. Nikolo Bartrev, is also different. He is a Sentinel from Valhalla send to protect Angela but along the way he ends up falling in love.

Ivy’s new world is intriguing. This short story is just the very tip of the iceberg. I lapped up every word written and now I am excited to read the first book in this series, Born in Blood. This world is unique and I enjoyed all the interesting characters. If you are looking for a fresh take on urban fantasy, this is a series I would recommend.

Ties that Bind by Nina Bangs

Cassie Tyler gets more than she bargains for when she agrees to sub for her friend at a funeral home. All of a sudden she is thrust into a world of vampires and other things that go bump in the night. Ethan, a vampire with a face so beautiful and will kill you (for real), becomes her savior as they try to escape the bad guys who are capturing vampires and turning them into something else unworldly and frightening that they are able to control.

This was my least favorite short story. The storyline just fell flat for me and didn’t keep my attention.

In Still Darkness by Dianne Duvall

Richart d’Alencon’s secret is finally revealed! As a fan of the Immortal Guardian series, I have been patiently waiting to read what he has been up to. I figured it was because of a woman and I was correct.

Richart saves Jenna after she is attacked by vampires. He returns her home (drugged up) but is unable to shake off the incredible kiss they shared. He begins to court her because Jenna remembers nothing from that night. Slowly Jenna becomes sicker and sicker and after Richard appears suddenly in the middle of Jenna’s living room after being gravely injured, he has no choice but to bring her into the fold. Mainly to discover why Jenna is becoming so sick and also to explain what he is.

There is a lot packed into this delicious story and well worth picking up this book.

High Stakes by Hannah Jayne

Nina LaShay’s design contest rival turns up dead and she becomes the number one suspect with the sexy photographer Pike being their number two. Nina risks outing herself as a vampire but it could be the only thing that will save her.

There is bits and pieces that I liked and then there was other scenes I just didn’t care for. I thought the characters were interesting but the story was a bit weak and predictable. I did like the humor that was interjected throughout and had be laughing out loud.

Since this was my first book by Hannah Jayne and I won’t judge an author on their short story, I do plan to read something else by her.

Conclusion

Overall, Predatory is a mixed bag of stories, all of which work together to make this anthology a great one to pack on your carry on for a quick airplane read.

(Book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review) ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This anthology is full of steamy love, action, and unique characters. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, and it wasn’t a huge page turner, but lovers of paranormal romance might want to give it a try!

The Review:

Out Of Control by Alexandra Ivy – 2 out of 5 stars

Well, this started out fine, but it went downhill from there. It seemed enjoyable enough at the beginning, and the author took her time in explaining and I had no problem with the writing style or anything else, but it’s a whole other story as soon as the villain comes in.

The antagonist didn’t have enough motive to be one of those characters that make your spine tingle and your hairs stand on end. Honestly, if I didn’t have to create a review for this, I wouldn’t have kept reading. It was kind of ridiculous: the antagonist was chasing after Angela because she wants to be beautiful, and apparently Angela has a power to do that. If it was me, I would give up and just buy some face paint, or even try out plastic surgery. Maybe if the author had given readers a chance to see from her point of view, then we could understand how desperate she was to not look like she does. I lost my interest when I realized why Angela was being accosted constantly.

Then there is Nico. He seems strong, smart, fast, and everything that a main character should be if they are jailkeepers of a place where magic users are imprisoned. But as soon as he gets closer to Angela, it almost feels as if half of his talent is tossed to the side, making his worth, at least in my eyes, decrease. He allows himself to be knocked out, he doesn’t keep close enough watch on his “true love”, and more.

I didn’t enjoy this very much, to sum it up. I definitely saw some positive in the first few pages, but after that my interest deflated.

Ties That Bind by Nina Bangs — 4 out of 5 stars

In my mind, this represents a lot of what a good old vampire story should be. Morbid and creepy, the tone is set immediately, and Cassie’s personality immediately demonstrated. Cassie isn’t the typical heroine. She is easily frightened, not very strong, and although she seems smart, there is a certain frailness about her. However, this is sort of a good thing in this plotline, and reminds me of Twilight. Cassie is similar to Bella, as are Edward and Ethan, Cassie’s love interest. Their love is gentle at some times, and at others fiery and passionate.

The romance was heartfelt and adorable. Ethan was both a fierce predator and a gentle lover, mixed into one little ball of conflicting emotions and 100 percent amazing. I’m not sure why I loved his character so much, but I think it was how his imperfections just made him cuter. Queue the cheesy music! Altogether, a good read.

In Still Darkness by Dianne Duvall – 4 out of 5 stars

In contrast to the first story of this anthology, I felt this started off uninteresting but became much better as it went on. This consistency was one of the only problems, the other being that the author doesn’t fully explain what the character is until you are far into it, which is confusing.

I love the relationships and the way that they are built up by Duvall. For example, Jenna and her son John have a very close relationship, and the bond is so close that it’s obvious John’s father’s death brought them together. Also, Richart and Jenna’s romance slowly builds, making for an exciting love story and a couple that you can’t help but ahh at. Richart: an odd name. For the first twenty pages, I swear, I was reading “Richard” by accident. But I think the unusual name helps to show that the character is unique, and in a way Richart is better.

Altogether, this is a sweet love story with just enough action, and also my favorite of these stories.

High Stakes by Hannah Jayne – 3 out of 5 stars

The irony of the name of this story, being that it is about vampires, is not lost on me. Be that as it may, I saw nothing that swayed me from making this just alright. The main character has a hilarious, girly personality (and she’s a vampire…), but the love interest didn’t counter her with any intriguing aspects, other than looks, so their love wasn’t very balanced. Additionally, I didn’t really connect with either character.

There really isn’t much I have to say about this one. It’s not anything to rave about, but not anything to rant about. Feel free to try it out if you liked the other stories this anthology has to offer.

FTC Advisory: Zebra/Kensington provided me with a copy of Predatory. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

4.5

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Kensington for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Predatory is a paranormal romance anthology with four authors of which only Nina Bangs is new-to-me. To be completely honest, while I have enjoyed the works of Alexandra Ivy and Hannah Jayne in the past, I requested this book solely on the fact that it included Dianne Duvall's story about Richart from her Immortal Guardians series. I love, love, love the Immortal Guardians! Turns out, with this book, I had my wonderfully frosted cake and not only savored it, but had decadent ice cream, too. All of the stories were wonderful, if only a bit too short.

Out of Control ~ Alexandra Ivy
Series ~ Sentinels, #0.5

Angela Locke is a Ph.D student when gorgeous hunk of man Dr. Nikolo Bartrev walks into her lab. But Nikolo is not just a Dr. and Angela is about to find out she’s not just a student. She has a crazy Sentinel after her and Nikolo is sent to guard her. Peril happens, sparks fly and there’s humor. I love humor in my reads. A great introduction to a different take on the paranormal. I’m looking forward to more in this series.

Ties That Bind ~ Nina Bangs
Series ~ None known, but hoping so.

Cassie doesn’t like being around dead people, but when her friend calls with an emergency and needs Cassie to mind the shop, er funeral parlor, what’s Cassie to do? Go hang with the deaduns, of course. She’s thinking zombie apocalypse, but what she gets is much different when she discovers a naked guy (Ethan) in a glass coffin and two thugs almost kill her. Her life does a 180 after that. I really enjoyed this different take on vampires. Color me intrigued. I really hope this is the start of a new series because I may kick my little *cough* feet in a tantrum if it’s not.

In Still Darkness ~ Dianne Duvall
Series ~ Immortal Guardians, #3.5

This is yummy Richart’s story in the even yummier Immortal Guardian series. I need say no more. *pauses* What do you mean you haven’t read the series?! *mind boggles* Get thee crackin’ right now! You don’t know what you’re missing! *makes shooing motions*

High Stake ~ Hannah Jayne
Series ~ Underworld Detection Agency, #4.5

A little side story for the resident vampire, Nina LaShay, from the Underworld Detection series. She goes to New York for a fashion competition and instead ends up giving Sophie a run for her money in the dead-people-show-up-wherever-she-goes competition. Vlad is in this and a new interesting character shows up. I hope Pike sticks around. All-in-all a fun addition to the series. ( )