Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this anthology. While I enjoyed some stories more than others there are a number of authors whose other work I will be seeking out.

Good collection of short stories dealing with magic and fantasy. Gave me a few new author names to check out the other work, and look forward to more short collections like this.

I'm slowly working my way through the stories but this far I have really enjoyed Not Aliens by A.L. Kessler and BORN BY DRAGON’S BLOOD by N.M. Howell

I am a huge urban fantasy fan, so I was intrigued by this anthology. Unfortunately, the intrigue ended fairly quickly and it never really came back. Of the stories, there were 4 that I truly felt interested/invested in - the rest were just ok, and there was one that was truly terrible. I do realize that anthologies can be a very mixed bag, but I have to say that this seemed even more so than usual.

Not normally a fan of short fiction, but I have to say, this was a wonderful surprise. Discovered a few new authors I'll be looking for full length novels from!!

This anthology had an interesting mix of stories that would appeal to any urban fantasy reader. My reviews are for the ones that appealed to me the most out of the set.

Not Aliens by A. L. Kessler
A woman claiming aliens are bothering her turns up dead and the agent tasked with the original case now has to find the murderer. Definitely one of my favorites in this set, the story was fast-paced and engaging and the characters well developed. Abby Collins, an agent for the Paranormal Investigation Bureau, was easy to like with her take charge attitude and witch powers. I was also thrilled to discover more books in the series!

Saffron by Heather Marie Adkins
Vengeance goddess Nemesis uses hand picked assassins to mete justice. I liked the premise of the story and found the ending intriguing enough to learn there is another story out .

Born by Dragon’s Blood by N. M. Howell
Anybody with dragon blood gets death. A sorcerer and his wife have been hiding the fact that the wife and daughter have dragon blood. When their secret is exposed, things turn ugly. Anything with dragons is a good thing, and this was a good story! The characters, setting, and plot were well done considering the short length. I was happy to discover there’s a whole series out about the daughter, Andy.

The Girl in the Forest by Fionn Jameson
A little girl in a red cloak is seen in the forest and bad things are predicted for the small town. I liked this story! A snarky cat, an archivist with a big decision, a sneaky wolf shifter, Fae, a banshee with a syndrome, and magic...lots of characters, good setting, and an interesting plot had me wishing for more!

Ghostly Magic by Devyn Jayse
A ghost is haunting an apartment and a local shopkeeper with rune magic is asked to remove it. This story was cute and charming! The characters were amusing -Mateu, a witty gargoyle, was my fav-and the plot was on the light side with more humor than some of the other stories in the anthology.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First I love anthologies because it's so easy to pick up one story and then do something else. Am a Hallows fan so I really enjoyed the stories in this one.