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linda_1410's review against another edition
3.0
Next of Kin - 3 stars
Written by Astrid Amara - Good, if a bit rushed. Nice intro to this anthology. Decent world building and Brian was adorable with his nervous chatter. But Jay's so hot (literally) that no one can touch him. Except Brian.Which he proceeds to do the very first night they're together - while he's under Jay's protection, no less, despite Jay being supposedly scared to let anyone touch him. And then he's still afraid later when they actually boink. Uh-huh. Good thing they like each other or Jay would still be waiting to get laid .
Narrated by Tristan James - He's not terrible, just ... mundane. If you'd rather have books read to you than performed, here's your guy. But this will be my first and last audio from him.
Red Sands - 2 stars
Written by Nicole Kimberling - So, hell cops don't care about the rules at all, do they?Sleeping with a potential suspect and all. Is it really that hard to keep it in your pants? It doesn't matter that they'd hooked up once before this. Dude should've kept his hands to himself until the case was over and he knew whatshisname was innocent. It only took a couple of days. 🙄
Narrated by John Solo: Female voices are his weakness, but still much better than Tristan James.
Touching Sparks - 3.5 stars
Written by Ginn Hale - Easily the best of the bunch, writing wise. James is an informantor is he? so of course his hell cop, Moran, is all kinds of inappropriate with him. There's corruption and something about a fighting ring. At least these characters already knew each other (sort of) and she didn't rush to the sex like the other two, so I had more time to care about the characters. Still skipped most of the sex scene though.
Narrated by Kirt Graves - This is also my first from this narrator, and he was the best of the bunch as well, though he could improve on his female voices as well.
What do hell cops do? Other than have inappropriate sex with people they shouldn't? Why do authors feel the need to squeeze sex scenes into short stories which, by their nature, are already running short on time to establish the characters, their conflicts and the world they live in? Especially when it's a world as complex as this could've been. I definitely like the idea more than the stories that resulted from it, and frankly, I'm already forgetting details and things are starting to blur together. I won't remember any of these in another day or two.
Written by Astrid Amara - Good, if a bit rushed. Nice intro to this anthology. Decent world building and Brian was adorable with his nervous chatter. But Jay's so hot (literally) that no one can touch him. Except Brian.
Narrated by Tristan James - He's not terrible, just ... mundane. If you'd rather have books read to you than performed, here's your guy. But this will be my first and last audio from him.
Red Sands - 2 stars
Written by Nicole Kimberling - So, hell cops don't care about the rules at all, do they?
Narrated by John Solo: Female voices are his weakness, but still much better than Tristan James.
Touching Sparks - 3.5 stars
Written by Ginn Hale - Easily the best of the bunch, writing wise. James is an informant
Narrated by Kirt Graves - This is also my first from this narrator, and he was the best of the bunch as well, though he could improve on his female voices as well.
What do hell cops do? Other than have inappropriate sex with people they shouldn't? Why do authors feel the need to squeeze sex scenes into short stories which, by their nature, are already running short on time to establish the characters, their conflicts and the world they live in? Especially when it's a world as complex as this could've been. I definitely like the idea more than the stories that resulted from it, and frankly, I'm already forgetting details and things are starting to blur together. I won't remember any of these in another day or two.
pshelling's review against another edition
3.0
Not as well edited as the first one; I noticed a few typos. I enjoyed that it was a believable continuation of the same characters and relationships, and the referential cohesion between the stories of this volume.
teresab78's review
5.0
4.5 Stars
Set in a world where demons, who live on different planes, power our devices as well as live among us. Hell Cops, a division of the ordinary police force, enforce the laws dealing with such creatures. I found the world rich and colourful. The three stories in the anthology were all set in the same city and had overlapping characters which was done seamlessly. I really enjoyed all three stories and connected with all the MCs. They all had strengths and weaknesses but overcame their challenges.
Set in a world where demons, who live on different planes, power our devices as well as live among us. Hell Cops, a division of the ordinary police force, enforce the laws dealing with such creatures. I found the world rich and colourful. The three stories in the anthology were all set in the same city and had overlapping characters which was done seamlessly. I really enjoyed all three stories and connected with all the MCs. They all had strengths and weaknesses but overcame their challenges.
teresab78's review against another edition
5.0
I thought the narrators did a great job bringing these different stories to life!
marlobo's review
3.0
Overall 2.5 stars
Next of Kin by Astrid Amara - 2.5 stars
Red Sands by Nicole Kimberling - 2 stars
Touching Sparks by Ginn Hale - 3 stars
marlobo's review against another edition
2.0
Trust Me by Astrid Amara - 3 stars
Dark Waters by Nicole Kimberling - 2 stars
Such Heights by Ginn Hale - 1.5 stars
Dark Waters by Nicole Kimberling - 2 stars
Such Heights by Ginn Hale - 1.5 stars
jamiesbookaddiction's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting anthology. I've never read anything with this kind of 'world' so it was a little different for me. It took me a bit to understand the portals and what not. I'm not sure I fully understood it by the last story, but the stories weren't bad.
I preferred the first story, Next of Kin, best out of all three. But overall, they were all good.
I preferred the first story, Next of Kin, best out of all three. But overall, they were all good.
daydreamer45's review against another edition
3.0
Trust Me by Astrid Amara - 2.5 stars It was lame. Annoying. Well placed issues, could have been handled differently.
Dark Waters by Nicole Kimberling - 4 stars This one was fun.
Such Heights by Ginn Hale - 4.5 stars My favourite of the three.
Total: 3.5 stars
Dark Waters by Nicole Kimberling - 4 stars This one was fun.
Such Heights by Ginn Hale - 4.5 stars My favourite of the three.
Total: 3.5 stars
missawn's review against another edition
4.0
I have wanted to read this book for a long time. It fits quite nicely into the story categories that I love - paranotmal and law enforcement. This is a collection of three short stories that follow along this theme. The storytelling is well-done and I particularly enjoyed the first two. The third story is the only one I struggled with the most - it was considerably darker than the first two and at times ... dragged. The plot included things that I often find problematic - like ex-boyfriends, gory death scenes, cruelty, and borderline inappropriate relationships. This was tough. But the first two were really well done - both had excellent world building and strong MCs. For a short story collection, this stands out as one of the best and is therefore ... recommended ...