Search - Burning Up: Blood and Roses / Whisper of Sin / Shifting Sea / Here There Be Monsters

Meljean Brook’s "Here There Be Monsters" made the purchase of the whole anthology worthwhile. What an amazing new world, extremely well thought out, intricate, creative, and full of great characters. This was the best short story I’ve read in a very long time. As it was the reason I even wanted to buy this anthology in the first place, I’m extremely happy that I did. I am not one who usually likes short romance stories because I don’t feel most authors can create a believable romance in the span of 65 or so pages. But this managed to be both epic and an intimate portrayal of love, which is not an easy thing to do. Meljean Brook has truly grown as an author (especially considering how much I disliked her first short story, "Falling For Anthony") and I can’t wait to revisit this world in The Iron Duke this October.

The rest of the stories in this anthology were not huge offenders of the genre, but not particularly memorable either. I gave the overall anthology 4 stars based on the power of Brook’s story alone. The rest of the stories I’d individually give 2 or 3 stars.

Angela Knight’s "Blood and Roses" was the worst story of the bunch. She had what could have been an interesting concept but mucked it up with cardboard characters and dumb villains whose illogical motives never made sense to me. In fact with the amount of sex she managed to get into the plot, I felt the story was mostly sex with a few connecting lines that tried valiantly to make a plot of the whole thing, but ultimately failed.

This was my first introduction to Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling series in "Whisper of Sin" but I was left underwhelmed. I just finished her Guild Hunter series, which is far more creative and has a better hook. I just couldn’t get into this story despite it being well written.

Virginia Kantra’s "Shifting Sea" evoked some powerful and amazing imagery of the sea and I honestly felt immersed in the scenery. But nothing really happens in the story so the power of her detail and scene-setting is lost in a pretty uneventful plot.

Bottomline: I would recommend the purchase of this book purely on the power of Meljean Brook’s contribution which is truly awe-inspiring and no less so for it’s brevity. I found myself wanting to re-read it right after I’d finished it which is the mark of a keeper to me.

Good read. Multi author anthology. Whisper of Sin is a stand-alone Psy/Changeling story. Here There Be Monsters is a steampunk story related to her Iron Duke book. I believe The Shifting Sea is related to her Children of the Sea. Angela Knight's Blood and Roses seems to be a stand-alone vampire story. All of them are excellent, an anthology that does not disappoint.

*** BLOOD AND ROSES by Angela Knight pairs a vampire warrior and his seductive captor in a battle against demonic predators.

*** WHISPER OF SIN by Nalini Singh returns to the world of her Psy-Changeling series as a woman in lethal danger finds an unlikely protector -- and lover.

*** SHIFTING SEA by Virginia Kantra continues the haunting tales of the Children of the Sea in her story of a wounded soldier rescued by an enigmatic young woman.

*** HERE THERE BE MONSTERS by Meljean Brook launches a bold new steampunk series about a woman who strikes a provocative -- and terrifying -- bargain for freedom.

Psy-Changelings
1. Slave to Sensation (2006)
2. Visions of Heat (2007)
3. Caressed By Ice (2007)
4. Mine to Possess (2008)
5. Hostage to Pleasure (2008)
6. Branded by Fire (2009)
7. Blaze of Memory (2009)
8. Bonds of Justice (2010)
9. Play of Passion (2010)
Hawke's Book (2011)

Children of the Sea
1. Sea Witch (2008)
1. Sea Crossing (2008) (in Shifter)
2. Sea Fever (2008)
3. Sea Lord (2009)
4. Immortal Sea (2010)

Iron Seas
1. The Iron Duke (2010)

Angela Knight (she has a proven track record). I wasn't impressed by Nalini Singh, but found Virginia Kantra and Meljean Brook new and intense story tellers. I like anthologies as it allows you to sample writers you haven't read before. I recommend this book. Three good stories out of four can't be bad.

What I'm really looking for is an exquisite storyteller who can raise above the contrived story lines of most romance novels. That is a hard to find commodity in the genre.

Four hot sexy stories, unusual and riveting. I could read more of these. Vampires, changelings, monsters, mechanical body parts, mechanical healing, magic, and hot sex. Who could ask for anything more? And every story woven in such a way that you can put yourself in that world.