Customer Reviews

Over The Moon

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I finished this book couple of days ago, and realized something kind of odd. While I was reading the stories, I'd have said I was enjoying them (well, 3 of them anyway), but at the end I was left feeling dissatisfied and wondering if I need to give up on buying short story collections, since this isn't the first time I've been left feeling this way.

One of my gripes is that all four of these stories are sequels or part of continuing stories that had been started in novels or other anthologies. I was familiar with the "worlds" of Knight's and Davidson's stories, since I read (and enjoy) those authors' novels regularly. Those two were my reason for buying the book.

Kantra's story was a sequel of sorts, but from references in this story, it was clear that the prequel was based on the legend of Tam-lin. While I hadn't read Kantra's prequel, I've read other books based on that legend, so I understood the references and didn't feel too lost.

The last story, however, was by Sunny, (a new-to-me writer) and it was, in some ways, like opening up a novel right in the middle and reading just one chapter without bothering to read the beginning or end. I find it a little frustrating that the publisher didn't include even one story that was strictly a stand-alone tale, where you didn't need extensive knowledge of folk tales or an author's back list to fully appreciate the story.

It was also frustrating because I thought each of these tales could have potentially been a novel if the writer had gone more in-depth into character, motivation, etc. and I would've enjoyed the novels more than I enjoyed the short stories. I felt cheated at the end, like I only got a tiny bite of a larger story and that tiny bite wasn't very satisfying.

Then there was the problem that bothered me even more - the last story in the book (and only the last story) was so poorly edited that the grammatical errors were driving me crazy before it was over. That would have been annoying in any part of the book, but for it to be the last story in the book - my final impression of the anthology - yikes! Not good!

I spotted misuse of I/me, mixing up of singular and plural within the same sentence, but the error that was bugging me the most was the author's habit of using phrases like "truthful sincerity." As opposed to what - deceptive sincerity? Truthful lies? Doesn't that seem like a case of *repetitive redundancy*? Just sayin'...

Another one I remember was a scene where the protagonist, who is a shape-changer, was saying something about her "feline cat nature." Whew! What a relief that she doesn't have the dreaded canine cat nature, which causes sufferers to chase themselves up trees until they collapse in exhaustion. Bah!

Then there was the *strong* resemblance of the story to Hamilton's Merry Gentry novels, something already noted by several other reviewers. I found that off-putting as well.

It's a shame because I thought Sunny's writing showed talent, but I was so annoyed by the problems in that story that there's no way I'm going to buy the novels and take a chance on having those same issues drive me nuts for 200+ pages.

Unfortunately, I think this one's going in the used book store pile.

Moon Dance by Angela Knight

Lucas Rollings was introduced to the world of the Direkind when he was shot and nearly killed one night. When his friend saved his life, Lucas had no idea what he was in for. Five years later, Elena Livingston is about to come looking for Lucas. As a member of the Chosen, the Direkind elite, she needs his help, desperately.

Lucas and Elena come together in an explosive meeting. Elena is running for her life, trying to keep away from the man who will do anything to get her pregnant...including rape her. I loved Lucas, he was so hot my toes curled, and Elena is admirable in her wishes for the Direkind. Moon Dance is a combustible combination of sex, magic and a little dash of violence.


Between the Mountain and the Moon by Virginia Kantra

Caitlin MacLean is sore, tired and her blisters have blisters. She is on this hike as a graduation present to herself, despite her parents' wish for her to cancel it. When she runs across another group of hikers, it is the mysterious Rhys Danuson that captures her attention. But, Rhys has other plans for her...plans that involve a decades long feud and the machinations of the fae.

Between the Mountain and the Moon captured me from the start with a likable protagonist, a sexy mysterious man and enough hints of mystery to have me turning the pages to find out what happens next. This was my first story by Virginia Kantra, and I'll definitely be looking for more.


Driftwood by MaryJanice Davidson

Burke Wolftauer is walking along the beach, half an hour before the moon is about to appear. He is already in a bad mood, courtesy of some ignorants driving onto the beach with all the air in their tires. When he comes across Serena Crull buried in a hole, he decides to help her...until his claustrophobia and the moon interfere. When he goes back the next day, thinking to find her dead body, he doesn't realize what he's in for.

MaryJanice Davidson has always been my go-to author when I want a laugh-out-loud funny read. Driftwood combines the world of the Wyndham werewolves with the world of the vampires once again for a breath-takingly funny glimpse at what happens when a wolf and a vamp meet under less than auspicious circumstances.


Mona Lisa Three by Sunny

Mona Lisa has only a few days before she is to go to her new territory in Louisiana. Her life has changed unbelievably since finding out she was Monere, and now she is responsible for the men and women in her group - including her younger brother, her guards and the two men she loves most. Unfortunately, her mother, Mona Sera, has one last task for Mona Lisa before she leaves New York.

Mona Lisa Three allows a small glimpse into the lives and loves of Mona Lisa. The cast of characters is large enough to pique my interest and I find myself falling more in love with them after every page. Mona Lisa is appealing, Gryphon and Amber are intriguing and the others...simply add more layers to an incredible world.

Over the Moon is a compilation of four incredible novellas that left me panting for more. Separately, each of these stories brings a unique twist to the Paranormal genre, but together, Over The Moon is a can't-put-down read.

Shannon
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

See what happens when some of the top authors in the paranormal genre combine their talents to produce the anthology, OVER THE MOON....

Angela Knight kickstarts this anthology with "Moon Dance", a tale of the Direkind. Elena Livingston is one of the Chosen, a werewolf directly descended from the first Direwolf created by the legendary Merlin. Unfortunately, the Chosen tend to be ruled by their Traditions, so Elena's father intends to force her to marry the abusive Stephen Bradford. Elena flees for the protection of Lieutenant Lucas Rollings, one of the Bitten. Will love flourish despite the deep divide between their social classes?

Angela Knight always writes a hot story and "Moon Dance" is no exception! The Burning Moon attraction instantly flares between Elena and Lucas as this is one phenomenal romance. Angela Knight sensitively addresses the issue of abuse and discrimination in this fascinating tale. Stephen is a classic case of the typical abuser and his arrogance had me cheering for his downfall. Fans of the Mageverse series will enjoy this deeper glimpse into the inner workings of politics within the Direkind.

"Between the Mountain and the Moon" by Virginia Kantra is a tale of the treachery of the Sidhe. Cait MacLean is hiking along the Appalachian Trail when she meets three mysterious strangers, Goodfellow, Ursus, and Rhys. Cait soon finds herself entranced with Rhys but Rhys is hiding a deadly secret.

Virginia Kantra's Sidhe tale is quite eerie. The Appalachian Trail has always held a certain mystique and Ms Kantra uses this to create a wickedly clever fantasy in which the world of the Sidhe springs to vivid life. The attraction between Cait and Rhys is a bit dark but this is entirely fitting for a story set in the realm of the Sidhe. Virginia Kantra is better know for her romantic suspense stories but she proves with Between the Mountain and the Moon that she is a force to be reckoned with in the paranormal genre as well.

MaryJanice Davidson's "Driftwood" is a tale that briefly unites her Wyndham werewolves and the vampires from the Undead series. Serena Crull and Burke Wolftauer meet in the most unexpected place- a deep pit at the beach. Sparks immediately fly between the two but Serena has a mission to ease the ghosts of her past. Will Burke understand?

"Driftwood" is the weakest story in the anthology. MaryJanice Davidson's heroines are always sassy and Serena is no exception. However, I admit to a bit of disappointment with the lack of depth to either Serena or Burke. Serena, in particular, seems almost a carbon copy of any other MaryJanice Davidson heroine with no real distinguishing traits to make her stand out. The plot itself is a bit more interesting although the ending is completely implausible, even for a reader used to suspending disbelief quite frequently. MaryJanice Davidson is an author I automatically buy and I expected more from her than what I found in "Driftwood".

The anthology concludes with "Mona Lisa Three" by Sunny. Mona Lisa is the first Mixed Blood Monere Queen. She has a gift of healing through sex and she'll need to use her gift more than ever when her mother, Queen Mona Sera, issues her an ultimatum.

Sunny provides a breath of fresh air to the more erotic paranormal field. "Mona Lisa Three" is a part of her series featuring the Monere and has certainly whetted my appetite for this new series. While references are made to events that appear to be a part of the first book, enough information is still provided to make this a stand alone short story. Mona Lisa is a well developed character who is both sexy and smart. Readers who like their stories dark and spicy should enjoy "Mona Lisa Three".

OVER THE MOON is an enjoyable anthology that offers readers several different slices of the paranormal genre. Each one of these very talented authors brings a slightly different perspective to OVER THE MOON, practically guaranteeing that there will be a bit of something for everyone. OVER THE MOON is definitely one hot read!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I bought the anthology for the MaryJanice Davidson story (disappointing) but am keeping it for 'Mona Lisa Three' by Sunny - a new paranormal romance author. The short story was fast-paced and compelling. Definitely reminiscent of Laurell K. Hamilton's style but without so much of the heroine's angst. I enjoyed the erotica scenes, characters that have the the quirkiness of MaryJanice Davidson's heroes/heroines & upbeat ending.

****½ "Moon Dance" by Angela Knight. This is set in the Mageverse, but deals with the Direkind (werewolf) side of that universe rather than the vampire/witch side. (Check Angela Knight's website for the details.)

Elena is a Chosen--that is, she's a descendant of one of the original Direkind created by Merlin rather than one who was merely bitten and turned. The Chosen are exclusionary and patriarchal, and Elena's father has decreed that she must marry another Chosen, the sadistic Stephen.

In order to save herself and change things for the rest of the Chosen females, Elena turns to relatively new Direkind Lucas, a cop in a nearby town, for help.

For a novella, this story has quite a lot going on. The werewolf politics are clear, and both Elena and Lucas are easily identifiable characters. It's less easy to believe the declaration of love at the end, but given the novella length, and the fact that they have similar and complementary personalities, and are in tune enough with each other to spirit link, I'll buy it.

****½ "Between the Mountain and the Moon" by Virginia Kantra. This story is apparently connected to Virginia Kantra's story in Man of My Dreams, which, unfortunately, I haven't read. Yet. But that doesn't make a difference with understanding this story.

Cait is hiking the Appalachian trail with a group of friends. An injury causes two of them to turn back, and she's left with Josh, whose interest in her wanes when she declines to share his bed.

Still, he's better than nothing, she thinks, except that when she's chased by the menacing Ursus and gets lost, he doesn't come for her, and she's left at the mercy of Rhys, a man they met the night before at a hiking shelter, and who seemed to be friends with Ursus.

Rhys is more than he seems, and, without giving away the surprises, the story involves the conflicts between duty and desire, and love and self. A true fairy tale.

****½ "Driftwood" by MaryJanice Davidson. This is a crossover story, involving one of the Wyndham werewolves and one of Betsy's vampires.

Burke is a bit of a rarity among werewolves, in that he's a loner. Serena is a vampire who wants to get revenge on the vampire who killed her best friend. But before she can do that, she finds herself stuck in a deep pit on a beach.

Burke comes to help her out, but it's daylight, so she refuses his help, whereupon he jumps down into the pit with her, freaks out (werewolves are notoriously claustrophic), changes (the full moon just rose), and claws his way out.

The next day he comes back to find what he assumes will be her body, and discovers a very annoyed, but very not-dead Serena.

These two are a little darker than MJD's usual couples, but there's still a lot of humor, and they're definitely a couple that's made for each other.

**½ "Mona Lisa Three" by Sunny. This novella follows Mona Lisa Awakening and concerns Mona Lisa and her entourage needing to move to their new territory. But before they can, they've got to go shopping. And her mother, Mona Sera, comes demanding that Mona Lisa either heal her warrior who's been bitten by a hellhound, or give up one of her own warriors in his place. I've no idea where the "three" comes from--as far as I can tell, this is the second story in the series.

Continuing in the tradition of the first book, this story is even more "LKH-lite." For a short story, there are interminable descriptions of Mona Lisa clothing her reluctant his-em in tight pants, and yet more characters who fall madly in love with Mona Lisa, including of course the warrior she heals, the hellhound, and its mistress.

There's never any question of whether she can heal the warrior--all it takes is her magical orgasm.

I'm not going to list all the parallels between this series and LKH's two series. Suffice it to say that the parallels continue, and that if you like LKH's more recent books, you'll like this one, and if you don't, you won't.

Four short stories. MaryJanice Davidson threw in a little lone werewolf/vampire part that was weird, but okay. Angela Knight added a story about a bitten werewolf that agrees to protect one of the nobility from a bad situation (this I felt was the best story). I've never heard of or read anything by Virginia Kantra. She wrote a story about the Fae that was okay, nothing memorable about it. And then onto the last story by Sunny.

I have read Sunny's two other books in this series and enjoy them greatly. In her first book, she flat out tells you that she was inspired by early Laurell K. Hamilton and other paranormal romance writers and that she created her world based on what they started, so don't get all uppity about it. Also, her books are labeled as erotica, so you can expect a lot of heavy sex. This short story, even though it is labeled "Three," is actually based between her first and second novel. I thought it was a good contribution to her series.

"Moon Dance" by Angela Knight. Elena Livingstone's Daddy is negotiating to have her married to Stephen Bradford of the Chosen. She needs an ally of her own to match muscle with alpha male werewolf Bradford. She chooses Harrisville, South Carolina cop Lucas Rollings though he may not want to become involved in a battle in which his soulmate is not at stake.

"Opposites Attract" by MaryJanice Davidson. Cop Burke Wolftoyer finds a woman stuck in an eighteen foot hole so he jumps in only to suffer from claustrophobia. When the moon rises he leaps out howling. The next evening she bites Burke as Serena Crull is a vampire. He insists she is his soulmate and she thinks he is a lunatic. Serena explains that she is in town to kill a vampire who murdered her friend.

"Mona Lisa Three by Sunny. Louisiana Monere Queen Mona Lisa visits Manhattan when Demon Dead Lucinda of hell comes to see why her sibling High Prince Halcyon is fascinated with her. Later Lisa's cruel mother New York Monere Queen Mona Sera orders her to either heal her dying warrior or give her a replacement as he was bitten by Lucinda's hellhound Brindell. Healing is doubtful so she wonders who to give up.

"Between the Mountain and the Moon" by Virginia Kantra. Cait MacLean hikes the Appalachian Trail when she meets three strange travelers, Goodfellow, Ursus, and Rhys. The next day Ursus attacks her, but Rhys saves her. They make love and he offers her a necklace but she refuses to take it. Rhys decides to free her when a seven foot woman arrives calling him a loser for failing to steal Cait's soul.

The lead couples are brave admirable individuals, who make four fine lead pairs. Whereas the fantasy elements seem genuine, the novella format forces the story lines into rushed endings. Still fans will appreciate these hot charmers.

Harriet Klausner

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.

I've never read anything by Angela Knight before, but I really liked her story MOON DANCE. I was intrigued by her Direwolfs and the world they live in, and plan to look up more of her books.

BETWEEN THE MOUNTAIN AND THE MOON, by Virginia Kantra, was an interesting story, but didn't appeal to me simply because of my preconceived notions of the sidhe world. In this story they seem evil, and that threw me off, but the premise of the story was a good one.

MaryJanice Davidson's story, DRIFTWOOD, was the reason I got the book in the first place. It's another fun, short, sarcastically funny read in typcial MJD style.

I've never read anything by Sunny, so I had no preconceptions when I began reading MONA LISA THREE. I have to say that I loved it -- and that I'm also surprised that the author hasn't been sued for blatant plagiarism by Laurell K. Hamilton. Sunny has taken every single plot element from both the Anita Blake and Meredith Gentry series' and placed them into her world of Mona Lisa and the Monere. Since I enjoy LKH, that's no doubt the reason I love Sunny's story. It's even more sexually erotic than LKH's stories, and I really like her world that revolves around a group of people who get their power from the moon. But at the same time it's so much like LKH's worlds that you get a distinct feeling of deja vu with each paragraph. I'm still going to look up her first two books featuring Mona Lisa and the Monere -- before the lawyers come knocking at Sunny's door.

I enjoyed these short stories. Angela Knight writes well, and her short story "Moon Dance" reflects it. I had never read anything by Virginia Kantra. It was a pretty good story, although I was a bit surprised how quickly the hero and heroine "connected" in spite of everything that was happening. Still, it is a short story, and I know that authors have to get a lot of story into a small amount of pages. What can I say about MaryJanice Davidson's "Driftwood," except that she knows how to write and I always enjoy her writing. I loved the idea of an interracial couple and their not-so-mainstream view on childrearing as well as their caustic attitudes. Lastly, I had never read anything by Sunny, and, although, this story is apparently in the middle of a series, I loved it. In fact, it was my favorite in this collection. Sunny gave sufficient details, so that I could understand what happened in the series before this story, and I am going to run out and read the books in the series. Also, the sex was hot, and that's always a plus, in my mind, in these types of novels.

I liked Moon Dance pretty well; Knight explained the history pretty well, so you don't have to read her Mageverse to understand it. But I felt like things moved too fast - though the sex was pretty hot - and there were a lot of unanswered questions at the end, loose ends that didn't get tied up. It could have done with an epilogue; or maybe even been expanded into a full-fledged novel.

Between the Mountain and the Moon wasn't good at all. It's a sequel to a previous story in another anthology, but focuses on the daughter of the couple, so that didn't cause problems. What I had a problem with was that there was absolutely no reason for the characters to care about each other at all. Forget love at first sight; the girl is *scared* of the guy, and even she can't come up with any reason why she's attracted to him.

Driftwood was funny and fun, even if it was much shorter than the others. I haven't read the two series by MJD that she merged to write this, but I felt I understood the worlds well enough.

Mona Lisa Three is apparently the third part (?) in some series thing, and while I could understand the plot with the bit of backstory she gave in the beginning, I didn't like the story at all, or the writing style. I couldn't even finish it.