Customer Reviews

Out of the Light, Into the Shadows

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two authors, three pen names, and four solid stories make up the "Out of the Light, Into the Shadows anthology. Lori Foster (AND her alterego LL Foster) and Erin McCarthy each pen two connected stories for this anthology. The total? Three paranormals, one contemporary, and one very happy reader.

Foster opens with "Have Mercy" about a hunky hero with a tragic past learning to open himself up to a love-filled future. Her writing just grabs my heart every time. Not to mention her sex scenes will make you sweat!

Then comes McCarthy's "Deal or No Deal" set in her 'Vegas Vampires' world. She was once Princess Anastasia, now she's a vegas dealer thanks to the man she loved who betrayed her family. Or did he? I just love reunion romance...even if it takes 100 years!

LL Foster adds "Total Control" which had me not just sweating, but looking for a cigarette! The heroine's brother from "Have Mercy" has some talents his little sister doesn't know about. He'll only share his secret with the woman who can calm his beast. Smoking hot Alpha alert!!

Last is McCarthy's "Undead Man's Hand" starring a secondary character from "Deal or No Deal". Take one murder detective, stir in a vampire body guard, season with a wacko 100-year old teenage vampire and you'll get a short murder mystery with hot sex to boot.

Foster plays with my emotions and McCarthy's Vegas vamps are something totally different from the norm. This one goes on my keeper shelf.

Out of the Light, Into the Shadows is a novella with four short stories in it by Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, and L.L. Foster (I am assuming that this is Lori Foster). The stories just didn't connect well with me, and fell somewhat flat except for the last one which I enjoyed reading the most. I was also assuming that all of the stories would have a paranormal feel, but the first one doesn't.

The first story, Lori Foster's Have Mercy, was okay, but wasn't spectacular. It was a contemporary romance with a heroine who falls in love with the hero who has a tragic past and doesn't see himself having kids. Low and behold, the heroine is pregnant with his child and is afraid of what he will say. Now, I will say that this story had some good steamy scenes, and I liked the hero and heroine, but I've read this storyline before.

The second story, Erin McCarthy's Deal or No Deal, takes place in Vegas with her Vegas Vampires. The premise was really interesting with this one with some of the last tsar of Russia's family members being saved during the Revolution and turned into vampires who are now living in Las Vegas. Maria or Katie is one of them and she is now a black jack dealer. Her boyfriend/fiance from her life in Russia finds out that she is living and takes off in pursuit of her because he is still in love with her after all these years. He thought that she was dead, and she thought that he was a traitor to her family. But watch out, Rasputin is still alive as well, and he is after a necklace that Katie has in her possession. This was a decent read, the ending was somewhat anticlimactic, but the love story itself was what held my attention.

The third story by L.L. Foster, Total Control, was least favorite. The hero was a pushy jerk who needed a good slap across his face. The brother of the heroine from the first story was the hero in this one. But in this one, he has mind powers which can make people do things that he wants so there was a paranormal element to this one. I will say that it did have bucket loads of steam, but I didn't like how the hero tried to use his special mind powers on the heroine.

The last story by Erin McCarthy, Undead Man's Hand, was my favorite of the four. The hero in this one, Nick Stolin, is the vampire who turned Maria/Katie in the second story. He is also protector to her and her thirteen-year-old brother, Peter. There are murders being committed in Vegas and the heroine, Jordan, is on the hunt for the killer. She meets the vampire Nick when she has to question Nick's babysitter and Peter. Nick is highly attracted to Jordan and wants to go out with her. Jordan has some body issues (don't we all), but she wants to get to know Nick better too except she doesn't know that he is a vampire. Kelsey and Ringo are also back from Erin McCarthy's Vegas Vampires series, and they are again being their weird selves. But I like them anyway. I like reading about them and wish that Ringo would get off of the drugs already. But what I love about Erin's writing is that she isn't afraid to show people's weaknesses and how messed up "good" people can really be. She is one of my favorite authors because her writing seems very honest and not flowery when it comes to people's character.

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.

I also recommend:
Servant: The Awakening
Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)
Personal Demons
The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, Book 1)
Grave Illusions

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.

Originally I read this anthology because I needed an Erin McCarthy fix. I love her contemporary romance stories, although I have yet to read any of her Vegas Vampire Series or her other paranormal books. But after reading this, I think I'm going to have to change that. I haven't read a Lori Foster story in a few years, and again never had read any of her darker paranormal stories or those written under her pseudonym. So 'Out of the Light' seemed worth trying. A fun, quick, sometimes dark, and different read - I'm really glad I picked it up. Each author's contribution of two short stories was both captivating and refreshing. Definitely no boring stories like in other anthologies!

- Have Mercy introduces Mercy and Wyatt, a couple dealing with the really basic subject of love and marriage. Mercy's struggle to reconcile her predicament with wanting a solid marriage to the man she loves and getting him to want that too may be overdone in fiction, but Foster makes this story both interesting and entertaining, with a revelation at the end that pulls at one's heartstrings.

- Deal or No Deal is the first of two short stories involving McCarthy's Vegas Vampires, but with a twist. Katie and her brother Peter are the surviving members of the Romanov dynasty. Of course, the bad guy is still Rasputin (who else would it be) and he's after a relic that Katie and Peter find stashed away. Michael, Katie's first love, resurfaces as well having spent his immortal life searching for Katie and now protecting her as he couldn't at the onslaught of the Russian Revolution. Together they sort through the misunderstandings and sad events of their past and figure out their second chance in the present. I absolutely love alternate histories, and thought that if centuries-old vampires were living in Las Vegas (especially Russian royalty), this is exactly how they'd talk and act. Deal or No Deal was funny and sweet with a bit of suspense thrown in.

- Total Control literally had my jaw drop (in a good way) as I read the story. I was pulled in from the first sentence and it was like being on one of those smooth roller coasters until reading the last word. The story featuring Brax (Mercy's brother from Foster's previous entry) and Cameo (his assistant) was scorching. In reading Foster's past work, I always thought her sex scenes were straight forward and sometimes a little ordinary for her push-the-envelope publishers (not trying to be harsh, just my opinion). The writing in this story though was satisfyingly extreme, sensual, gritty, and completely draws the reader in with its spell (exactly just like Brax and his powers). Foster's writing made me understand and even sympathize with Brax, his "family gift," and his need for a woman of his own to ensure his survival and sanity. At the same time, both headstrong characters were completely justified in their struggle to be themselves within their relationship. There is quite a bit of action crammed into the end of the story. It's over the top, but Foster makes it work flawlessly.

- Undead Man's Hand is the second part of the Vegas Vampires story, this time featuring the Russian Nick and Vegas detective, Jordan. This story was really dark, a bit gory with some disturbing imagery/scenes, and much more of a suspense/mystery than McCarthy's other vampire story in this book. Basically the story is about two lonely hearts finding each other, but it's so much more, with both a happy and an unfortunate ending. I'm sure some readers won't be satisfied with the ending, but I think McCarthy did a good job leading up to it overall.

Foster and McCarthy have a history of working together as authors and I'm glad neither has lost her touch. This anthology is definitely a keeper.

I enjoyed the 4 short stories, normally I'm not a huge fan of 100 page stories. Everything is usually so crammed together and it goes from day 1 to in love 2 days later.

I like Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy as authors and have enjoyed several of their books.

This is a nice way to introduce yourself to these authors.

Some of the other reviewers have done a great job of summarizing the storylines of this anthology so I wont go into that. This was a somewhat uneven pairing of authors. It seemes that the the standard of Foster's writing is so much higher, putting McCarthy's offerings at somewhat of a disadvantage.

I happily give the Foster stories a 5 star rating. When I was done with her first story, I just had to jump right into the second one because the plot demanded it! I simply had to find out how the second romance would turn out. Both were very satisfying reads and I enjoyed the instant gratification of seeing the series start and end in one anthology.

Erin McCarthy's books were actually not bad. Its just that coming after Foster's great writing they weren't particularly captivating. I literally had to put the book down for a couple of weeks and then try again so that I could read them on their own merit. The premise of the stories is interesting but the execution falls a little flat. So, I give her stories a 3 star.

Bottom line, the uneven pairing of these two authors makes it difficult to apply a single rating to the entire book.

"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