Reviews

Carniepunk by Nicole D. Peeler, Jennifer Estep, Hillary Jacques, Seanan McGuire, Jaye Wells, Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Meding, Rob Thurman, Jackie Kessler, Allison Pang, Kevin Hearne, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Rachel Caine

jodielee's review against another edition

3.0

review to come

christhedoll's review against another edition

3.0

Read most of the stories, it seemed like a lot of them were short stories about established characters from other series.

marxamod's review against another edition

2.0

Meh. Even with authors that I typically like this collection disappoints.

deblbrice's review against another edition

3.0

Painted Love - Rob Thurman
The Three Lives of Lydia - Delilah S. Dawson
The Demon Barker of Wheat Street - Kevin Hearne
The Sweeter the Juice - Mark Henry
The Werewife - Jaye Wells
The Cold Girl - Rachel Caine
A Duet With Darkness - Allison Pang
Recession of the Divine - Hilary Jacques
Parlor Tricks - Jennifer Estep
Freak House - Kelly Meding
The Inside Man - Nicole Peeler
A Chance in Hell - Jackie Kessler
Hell's Menangerie - Kelly Gay
Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid and the Open Lonely Sea - Seanan McGuire

matosapa's review

2.5

I'm not a fan of Caine's (the editor of this book) work so it's not surprising that this anthology didn't impress me overall. Apparently, I'm one of the few that doesn't want bodice-ripping lust and romance in their urban fantasy. I blame Armstrong for this :-p). A handful of the tales in here are shorts from urban fantasy book series. While the "worlds" are explained in the beginning, I had little interest for the characters and story lines.
However, there were some standouts - namely Painted Love by Rob Thurman and Daughter of the Midway ... by Seanan Maguire. These two were worth the cost and time spent slogging through the others.
If you want to read some seriously brilliant anthologies, look up Ellen Datlow's collections. I've read a lot of them and they are all high quality.

jruetschlin's review against another edition

3.0

Really uneven

leggothemeggoreads's review against another edition

5.0

I only read the below stories. I love these authors.

Jaye Wells - The Werewife
Rachel Caine - The Cold Girl
Nicole Peeler - The Inside Man

gonza_basta's review against another edition

3.0

I read only the short story by Kevin Hearne with the best druid in town and I loved it, because bewitched Luna Park are one of my favorite topic!

Ho letto solo la storia di Hearne che ha come protagonista il mio druido preferito e mi é piaciuta un sacco, perché i racconti con argomento i luna park stregati io li adoro!

ctakamoto's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

3.0

ralphd00d's review against another edition

4.0

Kevin Hearne (THE IRON DRUID series) had announced he was a contributor to this anthology a few months before the release date, and so I felt compelled to get it. Especially since it had a short story from the IRON DRUID series Hearne writes. However, seeing that it had several authors I have read, it added to value of what I was getting. This was a great read, each story having something to do with carnivals, whether it was twisted and dark, or revenge, or finding a missing person. Hearne's contribution sticks out to me, as does Estep's short of the ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN. As usual, there were a couple stories that didn't hit the mark for me, but overall, was a good read - even if you are afraid of clowns!