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heregrim's review
3.0
So far the best story in this collection is The Werewolf Before Christmas. The use of all of Santa's incarnations is fantastic!
Fresh Meat was a fun read! I change my mind SA was fantastic and hilarious. David the werecoral blew my mind!
Rogue Elements-I need to take a looking into this series, I love the main character the "half"were/battle mage.
Over all a good collection of short stories.
Fresh Meat was a fun read! I change my mind SA was fantastic and hilarious. David the werecoral blew my mind!
Rogue Elements-I need to take a looking into this series, I love the main character the "half"were/battle mage.
Over all a good collection of short stories.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
2.0
Giftwrap
Sookie finds a wounded shifter in the forest, it's Christmas and she is all alone and takes him home.
This one had a little heat in it, a tiny bit. But it was a good and surprising story.
The Haire of the Beast by Donna Andrews
This was a short one (but then they all are short) and I liked what the heroine did...and I am not telling you ;)
Lucy, at Christmastime by Simon R. Green
Not much happened in this one except for a surprise that was thrown in, and which made me like it.
The Night Things Changed by Dana Cameron
I am not sure about this one. A vampire sister and brother tracks down a baddie, but I was just not that interested.
The Werewolf Before Christmas by Kat Richardson
Poor reindeer, lol. A werewolf starts munching on them and Santa is not happy. Good enough.
Fresh Meat by Alan Gordon
I liked this one and mostly because at first I did not know what to make of it.
Il Est Ne by Carrie Vaughn
Would this one make me read the Kitty books...ok perhaps not, but still ok.
The Perfect Gift by Dana Stabenow
I was a bit confused but this one, it should be fleshed out more.
Christmas Past by Keri Arthur
Eh, boring.
SA by J.A. Konrath
This one was freaky, and you know I like freaky...it also got poop in it..yup, poop.
The Star of David by Patricia Briggs
Perhaps cos I always expect so much I got disappointed.
You’d Better Not Pyout by Nancy Pickard
I had not guessed that about Santa, I liked the twist and yes I could see it ;)
Rogue Elements by Karen Chance
I'd read a book by her, enough said.
Milk and Cookies by Rob Thurman
At first I was not sure but the end, oh that messed up ending was the best. Christmas joy.
Keeping Watch Over His Flock by Toni L.P. Kelner
And I can't remember a single thing about this one...
Some good ones, some not so good ones. But that is me and anthologies, I never like all the stories. Because in the end I want long stories and things are never really fleshed out in these and it is hard to connect. But as an xmas anthology it works well.
Sookie finds a wounded shifter in the forest, it's Christmas and she is all alone and takes him home.
This one had a little heat in it, a tiny bit. But it was a good and surprising story.
The Haire of the Beast by Donna Andrews
This was a short one (but then they all are short) and I liked what the heroine did...and I am not telling you ;)
Lucy, at Christmastime by Simon R. Green
Not much happened in this one except for a surprise that was thrown in, and which made me like it.
The Night Things Changed by Dana Cameron
I am not sure about this one. A vampire sister and brother tracks down a baddie, but I was just not that interested.
The Werewolf Before Christmas by Kat Richardson
Poor reindeer, lol. A werewolf starts munching on them and Santa is not happy. Good enough.
Fresh Meat by Alan Gordon
I liked this one and mostly because at first I did not know what to make of it.
Il Est Ne by Carrie Vaughn
Would this one make me read the Kitty books...ok perhaps not, but still ok.
The Perfect Gift by Dana Stabenow
I was a bit confused but this one, it should be fleshed out more.
Christmas Past by Keri Arthur
Eh, boring.
SA by J.A. Konrath
This one was freaky, and you know I like freaky...it also got poop in it..yup, poop.
The Star of David by Patricia Briggs
Perhaps cos I always expect so much I got disappointed.
You’d Better Not Pyout by Nancy Pickard
I had not guessed that about Santa, I liked the twist and yes I could see it ;)
Rogue Elements by Karen Chance
I'd read a book by her, enough said.
Milk and Cookies by Rob Thurman
At first I was not sure but the end, oh that messed up ending was the best. Christmas joy.
Keeping Watch Over His Flock by Toni L.P. Kelner
And I can't remember a single thing about this one...
Some good ones, some not so good ones. But that is me and anthologies, I never like all the stories. Because in the end I want long stories and things are never really fleshed out in these and it is hard to connect. But as an xmas anthology it works well.
jasmiinaf's review against another edition
3.0
It's not easy to write an original werewolf story, but I like how some of the authors tried to anyway. I enjoyed most of the stories, but I'm not a huge fan of Werewolfs OR Christmas, so all the stories weren't quite to my liking.
biblio_amy's review against another edition
3.0
So, this was a fun read but it got a bit repetitive at times for me. I guess that's expected since the stories have to have some type of werewolf story line tied in. It's sometimes fun to read a short story from authors who have never written about werewolves before, like Kat Richardson's story.
jazzrizz's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't read all the short stories. I mainly checked this out for Charlaine Harris' Sookie short story.
I really liked Karen Chance's story too. I'll be adding her to my list of authors to read.
I really liked Karen Chance's story too. I'll be adding her to my list of authors to read.
git_r_read's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing like werewolves for the holidays. As with all anthologies, or at least most, some stories were fab, some were meh, some had how fast could I skip through parts.
My favorite was by J A Konrath. I kept grinning. Werewolves, holiday and grinning...perfection...
My favorite was by J A Konrath. I kept grinning. Werewolves, holiday and grinning...perfection...
kimberly_b's review against another edition
4.0
For full disclosure, I only read the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse story "Gift Wrap". It was a great short story! The "gift" Niall gives Sookie is a tad bit odd coming from him, so that's the only reason I'm rating it 4 instead of 5 stars. Worth a read for any Sookie fans who have read through the 8th book.
nicolelin23's review against another edition
3.0
Overall this book was just ok. I liked only a few of the stories. Of corse all of the story were set at Christmas time. Some were funny others made an attempt to be uplifting. But most of the stories were about killers that happen to attack at Christmas time.
virginiacjacobs's review against another edition
3.0
An entertaining enough "read" on my commute. Nothing spectacular.
kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
4.0
Overall 3,5* rounded up.
Not the best anthology I read, but most of the stories were fun enough for me to enjoy them. I am not a fan of most paranormal romance and "very hot men" in my fantasy though. People who are will most likely enjoy it a lot more than me.
Gift Wrap - Charlaine Harris
I found this one both slightly annoying, and the twist at the end more than just a bit creepy. Way too much hot men, and way too little actual story for my taste.
The Haire of the Beast - Donna Andrews
Very short, and just funny. Not bad, but also not especially good.
Lucy, at Christmastime - Simon R. Green
Another really short one, without much actual plot. I did like the tone and setting though.
***** The Night Things Changed - Dana Cameron
I quite enjoyed the twist on vampire and werewolf lore. The tone and voice worked well, and I clicked with the characters. It made me buy the first Fangborn novel!
The Werewolf Before Christmas - Kat Richardson
This was weird, and bloody. I liked some of the twists, but the tone didn't always work well for me. Overall it was fun, but not a favourite.
***** Fresh Meat - Alan Gordon
This has (some little) romance, and yet it was one of the best stories in my eyes. I enjoyed it so much, I ordered the first book in a series with the same main character! It's dark and fun, and I really liked the pragmatic way of the main character.
Il Est Né - Carrie Vaughn
Entertaining, but not one I will think about for a long while.
The Perfect Gift - Dana Stabenow
Really didn't like this. Just didn't catch my interest either ins tory, characters or tone.
Christmas Past - Keri Arthur
Hated this, and the "Oh he is so hot I can't resist" thing. I'm definitely not the target audience.
SA - J. A. Konrath
I really didn't like this one. The humour was nice at the start, but later on it and the romance part just made me cringe. Not horrible, but not my cup of tea. Not a fan of insta-attraction.
**** The Star of David - Patricia Briggs
I quite loved this one! Both the characters and the way the story was told. Add in a tone and voice I enjoyed, and a Christmas theme that actually felt christmassy, and it's another favourite of mine, and another book added to my ereader...!
You'd Better Not Pyout - Nancy Pickard
I could have enjoyed this, if the story would have been a bit more focussed on the characters. As is, I liked the start and end, but the middle felt a bit off the rail.
**** Rogue Elements - Karen Chance
This was another fun one, with a main character I instantly liked. Coming from a werewolf family, but not being a were herself, she is instead a warmage. I loved the blend of magic and werewolves - it reminded me a bit of Gail Carriger, whom I adore. I marked my favourites with *****
Milk and Cookies - Rob Thurman
Weird, fun, bloody - not a favourite, but entertaining enough.
Keeping Watch over His Flock - Toni L. P. Kelner
One I liked, but not a specific favourite. I also didn't expect to find such a topic (a pedophile with a little girl, right before the worst happens) in a christmas anthology. I did quite like a twist, and the end, that felt more christmassy than most other stories.
Not the best anthology I read, but most of the stories were fun enough for me to enjoy them. I am not a fan of most paranormal romance and "very hot men" in my fantasy though. People who are will most likely enjoy it a lot more than me.
Gift Wrap - Charlaine Harris
I found this one both slightly annoying, and the twist at the end more than just a bit creepy. Way too much hot men, and way too little actual story for my taste.
The Haire of the Beast - Donna Andrews
Very short, and just funny. Not bad, but also not especially good.
Lucy, at Christmastime - Simon R. Green
Another really short one, without much actual plot. I did like the tone and setting though.
***** The Night Things Changed - Dana Cameron
I quite enjoyed the twist on vampire and werewolf lore. The tone and voice worked well, and I clicked with the characters. It made me buy the first Fangborn novel!
The Werewolf Before Christmas - Kat Richardson
This was weird, and bloody. I liked some of the twists, but the tone didn't always work well for me. Overall it was fun, but not a favourite.
***** Fresh Meat - Alan Gordon
This has (some little) romance, and yet it was one of the best stories in my eyes. I enjoyed it so much, I ordered the first book in a series with the same main character! It's dark and fun, and I really liked the pragmatic way of the main character.
Il Est Né - Carrie Vaughn
Entertaining, but not one I will think about for a long while.
The Perfect Gift - Dana Stabenow
Really didn't like this. Just didn't catch my interest either ins tory, characters or tone.
Christmas Past - Keri Arthur
Hated this, and the "Oh he is so hot I can't resist" thing. I'm definitely not the target audience.
SA - J. A. Konrath
I really didn't like this one. The humour was nice at the start, but later on it and the romance part just made me cringe. Not horrible, but not my cup of tea. Not a fan of insta-attraction.
**** The Star of David - Patricia Briggs
I quite loved this one! Both the characters and the way the story was told. Add in a tone and voice I enjoyed, and a Christmas theme that actually felt christmassy, and it's another favourite of mine, and another book added to my ereader...!
You'd Better Not Pyout - Nancy Pickard
I could have enjoyed this, if the story would have been a bit more focussed on the characters. As is, I liked the start and end, but the middle felt a bit off the rail.
**** Rogue Elements - Karen Chance
This was another fun one, with a main character I instantly liked. Coming from a werewolf family, but not being a were herself, she is instead a warmage. I loved the blend of magic and werewolves - it reminded me a bit of Gail Carriger, whom I adore. I marked my favourites with *****
Milk and Cookies - Rob Thurman
Weird, fun, bloody - not a favourite, but entertaining enough.
Keeping Watch over His Flock - Toni L. P. Kelner
One I liked, but not a specific favourite. I also didn't expect to find such a topic (a pedophile with a little girl, right before the worst happens) in a christmas anthology. I did quite like a twist, and the end, that felt more christmassy than most other stories.