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A review by nikkisreadingx
Angels of Darkness by Meljean Brook, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews
4.0
Angel's Wolf -- Nalini Singh: 4 stars.
I really enjoyed the world in this one. I've only read the first two books in the Guild Hunter series so stepping away from New York and Raphael was a nice break. I loved Noel; watching him grow back into his own was interesting and pairing that against Nimra who was trying to find the betrayer in her court. Singh is a favorite author of mine and I'm biased, so take that as you need.
Alphas -- Ilona Andrews: 4 stars.
Honest, I was expecting to hate this one. I was expecting it to be the rapey, awful, Stockholm-esque story in a world far too big to explain in a short story. I was so surprised! There's a scene in the beginning that is exactly what I expected and then it shifted. The end followed a few tropes I thought were a little cheesy and there were a few Holy InfoDump, Batman moments, but it was good. I was sorely disappointed to discover the series would not be continuing because the authors wanted to write the story I expected, but there's not much more to do.
Nocturne -- Sharon Shinn: 2 stars.
My opinion and my rating are weird. The story is good, it was nice to read, I loved the world it was set in, and the author had a really neat voice that pushed the story along effortlessly. Why the 2 stars? Because it should have been a YA novel. I haven't read the genre in over a decade and it doesn't matter that the characters are both in their 30s, it reads exactly as the young adult novels I used to read -- POV, writing style, plot line, character arcs, everything. Not really what I was expecting and my rating probably would be higher if it had been in the right anthology.
Ascension -- Meljean Brooks: 5 stars.
When I read the blurbs of each short story, I guessed that I would love Singh's, like Shinn's, but Brooks and Andrews were tied for what I thought would be worst. I was so wrong and very happy for it. I loved this story. I usually do not like the ex-lover returns trope because those story tend to skip the building chemistry that I prefer in my books, but this one had it. There was a good backstory that was told over the course of the story, the world was very interesting with information doled out naturally, and I really loved the characters. Reading them reconnecting, addressing the past, and then moving from it was amazing. I was completely surprised.
I really enjoyed the world in this one. I've only read the first two books in the Guild Hunter series so stepping away from New York and Raphael was a nice break. I loved Noel; watching him grow back into his own was interesting and pairing that against Nimra who was trying to find the betrayer in her court. Singh is a favorite author of mine and I'm biased, so take that as you need.
Alphas -- Ilona Andrews: 4 stars.
Honest, I was expecting to hate this one. I was expecting it to be the rapey, awful, Stockholm-esque story in a world far too big to explain in a short story. I was so surprised! There's a scene in the beginning that is exactly what I expected and then it shifted. The end followed a few tropes I thought were a little cheesy
Spoiler
(Karina becomes something powerful at the last second before they die and kills all the enemies, yay they live to see another day, thank you heroine who only discovered that she would become something a chapter earlier)Nocturne -- Sharon Shinn: 2 stars.
My opinion and my rating are weird. The story is good, it was nice to read, I loved the world it was set in, and the author had a really neat voice that pushed the story along effortlessly. Why the 2 stars? Because it should have been a YA novel. I haven't read the genre in over a decade and it doesn't matter that the characters are both in their 30s, it reads exactly as the young adult novels I used to read -- POV, writing style, plot line, character arcs, everything. Not really what I was expecting and my rating probably would be higher if it had been in the right anthology.
Ascension -- Meljean Brooks: 5 stars.
When I read the blurbs of each short story, I guessed that I would love Singh's, like Shinn's, but Brooks and Andrews were tied for what I thought would be worst. I was so wrong and very happy for it. I loved this story. I usually do not like the ex-lover returns trope because those story tend to skip the building chemistry that I prefer in my books, but this one had it. There was a good backstory that was told over the course of the story, the world was very interesting with information doled out naturally, and I really loved the characters. Reading them reconnecting, addressing the past, and then moving from it was amazing. I was completely surprised.