Reviews

Cat o' Nine Tales by Faith Hunter

git_r_read's review

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5.0

It's been a while since my last visit with Jane Yellowrock and the gang. I liked the short stories/novellas approach for a quickly told story through different voices. Not just Jane telling the tales and that was nifty. I got to know other characters that I have met and others I have yet to meet. I liked seeing the chemistry Jane has with other folks in her life.
I think my favorite was seeing how she was raised.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.

librovert's review

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4.0

Finally finished this collection of short stories. I started reading this after book 3 (making several of the stories additional background information) and continued to progress in chronological order.

Some of my favorite stories were those of Jane's early relationship with Molly, and I think this was because I had already seen Jane and Molly at work and it was neat to go back and see, after the fact, how they came to be so close.

All the stories are entertaining, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them to a non-fan of the series. Some notes on each story follows:

Spoiler Notice: This collection contains short stories that take place within the chronology of the novels and some of my comments may spoil the novel taking place before the short. I've labeled each story with it's place in the series, so you can easily avoid those that are further into the chronology than you've read.

WeSa and the Lumber King (0.1) is told from Beast's PoV and takes place right before "the hunger times" that begin as loggers invade the forest where Beast lives.

The Early Years (0.2) is the story of the day Jane turns 18 and leaves the orphanage, she finds the place in the mountains she came from and shifts to Beast for the first time since she was found.

Cat Tats (0.3) is Rick's story of how he got his tattoos. I've only read up to Mercy Blade so far, so I'm really curious to see how the tarot reading that decides Rick's tattoos figures in to the rest of the story.

Kits (0.4) is my favorite thus far and is the story of how Jane and Molly became friends. I don't want to give too much away, but it's absolutely adorable.

Haints (0.5) is a short about an exorcism Molly undertakes with the help of Jane and Evan. Nothing super special, but it's a fun look into Jane's early relationship with Molly.

Signatures of the Dead (0.6) is another short told from Molly's perspective about her and Jane hunting a family of rogue-vampires. This takes place shortly before [b:Skinwalker|5585788|Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, #1)|Faith Hunter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400516601s/5585788.jpg|5757031] and the story had been mentioned in the novels, so it was good backstory filler.

First Sight (1.5) is Bruiser's first meeting with Jane. This happens in [b:Skinwalker|5585788|Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, #1)|Faith Hunter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400516601s/5585788.jpg|5757031], but here it is told from Bruiser's PoV. Fun for fans, but nothing special.

Blood, Fangs and Going Furry (3.2) takes place between [b:Mercy Blade|8100979|Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock, #3)|Faith Hunter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388337237s/8100979.jpg|10885471] (Book 3) and [b:Raven Cursed|11053874|Raven Cursed (Jane Yellowrock, #4)|Faith Hunter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327191717s/11053874.jpg|15321609] (Book 4). It's told from Rick's PoV and chronicles his first Full Moon as a were-leopard. It fleshes out some of the back story relevant to Rick and Kemnebi's situation at the start of Raven Cursed.

Dance Master (3.3) also takes place between books 3 and 4. Told from Bruiser's PoV, this is a very short scene where he calls Jane in to investigate something and they end up dancing. Could be a pivotal moment in their overall story, but didn't really have any bearing on book 4.

Cajun with Fangs (4.1) takes place on Jane's return trip from Ashville, NC (where she was in Book 4). She stops for repairs in a small town and is drawn into a conflict between the local witches and vampires. A bit of Romeo and Juliet is thrown into the mix here.

Golden Delicious (4.2) focuses on Rick, Brute and Pea as they train to become an official PsyLED team. Introduces Soul, Rick's PsyLED overseer. A nice intro to Rick and his team, but nothing super exciting here.

Beneath a Bloody Moon (6.2) gives Yellowrock Securities a gig hunting werewolves who are killing in a town nearby. I loved this story just for the growing relationship between Jane, Eli and Alex. But thought it was a little dramatic in the sense that Jane is a little impulsive and idiotic in this story, she came too close to dying too many times in the span of a few hour story.

Black Water (6.3) takes Jane, solo, back to the place where she hunted weres in Beneath a Bloody Moon, only this time she's hunting an escaped prisoner. We get to know more about Sarge (introduced in BaBM) and meet his wife Christabel, who I do hope to see again. This story and BaBM put some ideas of other supernatural creatures out there, so they definitely peaked my interest for future novels and what other supernats we might encounter.

somewheregirl7's review against another edition

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4.0

A collection of 13 short stories from the Jane Yellowrock series, including several new stories and several previously published pieces. I love all of them, though the new ones were obviously my favorites. This is the first time I've read stories from a perspective other than Jane's so that was an interesting take. Fans of the Jane Yellowrock books will love this collection and won't be disappointed. People who are new to the series should start with the books first, so they are well grounded in the characters and world before diving in to the short stories as you'll enjoy them more. A fun, fast read and just the perfect pre-holiday treat.

joannethefairy's review

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4.0

This was great fun. Sure some of the stories were not that good - but some were brilliant. I loved getting back into Jane’s world. Time to reread some of the novels now and continue on to the new ones!

My favourite stories were the ones about Molly (‘Kits’, ‘Haints’& ‘Signatures of the Dead’) and the one featuring the Vodka Boys (‘Cajun with Fangs’). Least liked were ‘WeSa and the Lumber King’ & ‘Golden Delicious’.

4 stars - a nice way to learn more about Jane’s world.

setaian's review against another edition

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4.0

Cat o' Nine Tales is an anthology of short stories and vignettes from the Jane Yellowrock world. Many of the episodes from Jane's life which are hinted at in the full length novels are explained and some of Jane's friends get to stand in the spotlight for a while.

The stories can be bought individually for a couple of dollars each, or if you want them all in one neat package this is the way to go. It's definitely worthwhile for fans of Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock books.

a_h_haga's review against another edition

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4.0

I had actually never planned to listen to these short stories.
But then again, I'm a stubborn gal, and I'd gotten to love this series so much I felt I should at least give them a shot. So I bought this book, the collection of most of the short stories in the Jane Yellowrock-series by Faith Hunter.

As always, the narrator does a great job of giving each and every one of the characters an individual voice. Also, in this collection, there are some different POV's, and she even managed to give the ones from other POV's than we are used to, a different feel.

I enjoyed most of the novellas.
They have an easy language and a good flow.
I would say I enjoyed them as much because I know the characters from before hand, but some of them would easily have stood on their own.

"WeSa and the Lumberking"

This really short novella is told from Beasts POV, before the hunger times, and while she was alpha. It tells of her hunting, and how the hunger times came to be.

I strongly enjoyed it

5/5

"First Sight"

The first meeting between Bruiser and Jane told from his POV. Interesting, but not all that much fun or anything special

3/5

"The Early Years"

I'm both dissapointed and glad for this story. It's about Jane as she leaved the childrens home, going to the rock with the gold, and her ''first'' change.
I've always wanted to know where the name Yellowrock came from, and we get that answered here, other than that, I wish we'd gotten to see some other part of her late teen life, as we already knew about this from the books.

3/5

"Dance Master"

Another story from Bruisers POV, and again it's filled with sexuality and hormones.
Not that I really mind, one of the things I enjoy with NA paranormal books (or urban fantasy) is the sexuality and how natural it often is.
But this novella was all about it, and I have to admit a novella just about that, doesn't interest me much.

3/5

''Kits''

Yes! Molly is in this one!
This is the story of how Angie-baby got her powers, and how the friendship between Jane and Molly took form.
I liked this one, but I like everything with the witches. But it was a good story. Both with character growth, story, and with action.

5/5

"Blood, Fangs and Going Fury"

I'm not the biggest fan of Rick, never really liked him at all - and have to say I'm glad things went as they did between him and Jane - but I did like this novella, seeing what happened to him, and how he ended up with Nebi.

4/5
(wow, writing this one without spoilers to the other books was hard, and I still didn't manage)

"Cat Tats"

So I did enjoy this novella. It was a bit long, but it had witch magic in it, and that saved it! It also answered a few questions, and had a bit of action.
I've never really liked Rick, but this novella kind of painted him in a new light for me. Maybe... ish

3/5

"Haints"

I've been wondering about this one, seeing as I didn't know what ''haints'' mean - although I had my thoughts. It was an interesting story. I loved that we got it from Molly's POV, and that it had so much magic. I also liked the whole idea with the curse!

4/5

"Signatures of the Dead"

I'm glad we got to read this short story, as it is one of the moments most mentioned in the main story. This is the story about the rogue vamp-family that made Jane famous as a vampire killer.
Also, we got to see it from Molly's POV.

4/5

"Cajun With Fangs''

Also one I'm glad I got to hear, 'cause it is mentioned in another story in the future - but I'm not sure if it is in the books, or another short story.
A little fluff piece of diplomacy, stupidity, and how communication can go a long way.

4/5

"Golden Delicious"

So I'm not a big fan of Rick, never liked him, but after the novella ''Cat Tats'', I've gotten a bit more tolerant of him. So I'm glad I'd listened to that one, before listening to this.
It's another one from Rick's POV, of his time in training with his new unit.
I liked it. A good mix of relationships, character growth and action.

4/5

''Beneath A Bloody Moon''

I was a bit uncertain about this novella when I started it, about where in the series it would be. I soon got it though, and enjoyed it!
A good mix of character growth, world-building and action!
Long though

4/5

"Black Water"

One of the things I love with Faith Hunter's writing, is how things happening in one book, affecting the story in a later one.
This entier novella was a resault of the pervious novella.
I liked this one. It was a bit disturbing, the plot, but I liked it, and I liked how it ended.

5/5

teri_b's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved diving back into the world of Jane Yellowrock with this short story collection.

The six stories are placed at various places within the main series.

Loved to see the other POVs some of the stories are written from.

The world defintely got richer and deeper with reading these short stories.

Would recommend to read alongside the series or afterwards.


littleread1's review

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4.0

I freaking love this world!

telegramsam's review

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5.0

Another great entry in the Jane Yellowrock mythos. All the stories are engaging and insightful and the action is perfectly choreographed.

I do wish I had read further in teh main series as some events covered in the short stories obviously happened beyond where I have read to date (book 03, Mercy Blade). My bad but aside from spoilers, the stories were complete within themselves and so I was able to enjoy them without having read the more recent books.
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