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Book Review of Inked: Skin Deep / Armor of Roses / Etched in Silver / Human Nature

Inked: Skin Deep / Armor of Roses / Etched in Silver / Human Nature
barbsis avatar reviewed on + 1076 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


I'm don't usually like anthologies because the stories don't have any meat to them and everything is super rushed. However, I really enjoyed this batch of shorts.

Skin Deep by Karen Chance (5 stars)
You just gotta love a story that starts:

"Get it off! Get it off!"
"I'm trying!" Caleb grabbed a numb stick out of a drawer. "It would help if you stayed still for half a second."
"You stay still with claws in your ass." I snarled, as they sank a little deeper.

Come on, doesn't that make you want to pick up this book? This one takes place in Vegas' underground, literally. Tartarus is practically a duplicate of Vegas but under the city and home to all the supernatural weirdos. I loved Lia de Croissets and her mates, Caleb and Jamie. I was disappointed to find out that this was not really part of a series but just a few short stories printed in anthology form. I would have enjoyed further adventures of these guys as well as Sebastian Arnou and the werewolves.

Armour of Roses by Marjorie Liu (2 stars)
I've had problems with Ms. Liu's writing in the past and wasn't sure I even wanted to read this one but I needed to retry this author for a challenge. It started as if in the middle of the story and I played catchup most of the time. I liked Maxine Kiss but I really liked her demon tattoos - Zee, Aaz, Raw, Dek and Mal. They were just cool. The story centered around her great grandmother and WWII which is a time period that I absolutely hate. It also involved time travel - Maxine goes back in time to save some children during the war. I read this but it didn't make me want to read any further in the Hunter Kiss series.

Etched in Silver by Yasmine Galenorn (4 stars)
I've only read the first book in this series and I did like it. This short was quick but entertaining. It will be interesting to get back into the series and see where Camille and Trillian go next.

Human Nature by Eileen Wilks (4 stars)
It is definitely time to get back into this series. I love Lily and Rule's relationship as it's so real. They spent a lot of time fighting in this story which was surprising but true to life. It's always fun to read about Rule and his werewolves. This one went a little more into detail than most of the previous ones.