This anthology shows heroes in all shapes and sizes. You do not have to be familiar with any of the previous books in the worlds to understand the stories. I both read and listened to this on audiobook and all the narrators are excellent. Also, as someone who grew up reading the Morganville Vampires series it was fitting to see an anthology book about heroes dedicated to Rachel Caine.

Little Things by Jim Butcher
Major General Toot-Toot Minimus is a Sprite in service to captain Harry Dresden’s personal guard. This one seems like it will be silly because it partly involves Toot-Toot protecting a pizza, but it has some touching moments, and a bigger threat towards the end. I have not read any of the Harry Dresden books, but I could tell this had spoilers in it. So be aware of that.

The Dark Ship by Anne Bishop
This world has a re-imagined relationship with humans and the supernatural creatures we know in lore. It’s in the same universe as The Others series. The story starts with a girl named Vedetta who can sense things about ships and the seas but never about danger towards herself. She ends up finding a trapped feral pony and this sets up a chain of events that involves two types of pirates. I liked this one a lot.

Comfort Zone by Kelley Armstrong
This involves characters from The Darkest Powers series, but once again you don't have to know anything about it to understand what’s going on. Chloe sees and can talk to ghosts. It involves her helping a young ghost who wants to save his sister. Chloe and her boyfriend Derek work to find Justin's sister and save her from trouble.

Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet
I am unfamiliar with Annie Bellet and her Twenty-Sided Sorceress series, so I don’t know if these characters are in them or not, but I’m really interested now. It’s about two mothers who go looking for their missing daughter Mairi, and the stress factors in their relationship when their daughter went missing. This is a story about hope, and grief, and needing closure. This was very good and touching. The tone was different somehow.

Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne
This story is from the Iron Druid Chronicles, another series I’m not familiar with but it didn’t seem to have any spoilers. It’s about a druid named Atticus and his Irish Wolfhound Oberon. They can communicate telepathically, and it’s through Oberon’s point of view. It’s about bushfires in Australia and Atticus is sent there to help with rain.

Grave Gambles by R.R. Virdi
This is a short detective story about spirit bouncing, solving murders, and killing monsters. Detective Vincent Graves can wake up in a dead body and has 13 hours to find the killer. This one felt very short, but it was an interesting world. I am unfamiliar with The Grave Report books, but it sounds intriguing.

Silverspell by Chloe Neill
This story deals with characters from the Heirs of Chicagoland series that's a spinoff of the Chicagoland Vampires. This story felt the longest but was interesting. Merrit and Ethan’s daughter Elisa Sullivan is an ombud, a liaison between humans and supernaturals. It's an investigation story with light romance.

Troll Life by Kerrie L. Hughes
This was one of my favorite stories in the anthology. It's about a Barghest named Snori who has a blanket and teddy, and his troll owner Harzi Hellirverja who can talk to trains. It's a fascinating world, but more than the world, Harzi as a character is just so honorable and likeable. It made me want to learn more about him. In such a short time you really feel like you know him.

The Return of The Mage by Charlaine Harris
This one I listened to and despite the narrator being great I still had to go back and physically read it because I was getting names and job titles confused. Once I read it, I was able to grasp what was going on. Batanya is leader of the Britlingens, Clovache is a fighter, and Vandler is the mage. The first two are Mercenaries of the Britlingen collection and Vandler is the mage who ends up accompanying them on a contract mission to investigate a recovery signal. Apparently the Britlingens have appeared in the “Must Love Hellhounds” anthology and in “All Together Dead” from the Sookie universe. They seemed like tough characters.

Dating Terrors by Patricia Briggs
This was the one I was most invested in because I love this universe so much. As soon as Asil comes on the page he commands it. This feels like an important short story for this universe, much like "Alpha and Omega" for Cry Wolf. If anything, I’m looking forward to seeing more of these characters. It's basically Asil going ghost hunting on a first date, but of course it's more than that. I really liked this one.

Overall, this was a good mix of silly, serious, and touching stories.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Ace for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

A solid collection of stories by big names in Fantasy fiction, I always get hooked by my favourite authors but it is always a pleasant surprise to discover new authors to explore. These anthologies are perfect for this

Heroic Hearts is a fun, fantasy anthology of stories out together by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes. It contains many bestselling authors in the Urban Fantasy genre, including Patricia Briggs, Chloe Neill, Anne Bishop, Kelley Armstrong and Charlaine Harris.

They are a lot of amazing stories included here, so I would definitely check it out, especially if you are an Urban Fantasy reader. It’s hard to pick my favorite ones from the bunch, I read this for Patricia Briggs and Chloe Neill’s stories who are favorite authors of mine. However, these anthologies were amazing and I discovered new authors! You definitely don’t want to miss HEROIC HEARTS!

*I received Heroic Heroes from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in return for an honest review.*

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. This collection of short stories is great! Some of my favorite writers are included in this collection. The nice thing about having such a variety of writers is you can suggest it as an option to a lot of readers.

This is a really fun anthology for fans of urban fantasy. I enjoyed the Dresden Files and Iron Druid story and got introduced to a ton of different worlds that I want to read about in the future. There wasn’t a bad story in the entire anthology and each story was unique, yet easy to fall into with enough world building to keep new readers engaged and wanting more.

The publishers put their biggest names at the front and back to draw in readers, Butcher and Briggs, and they succeed in their goal. In between the two stories are a flush of seasoned and unknown authors to delight, intrigue and unsettle their readers. A satisfying anthology all the way through sure to please readers.

An irresistible anthology loaded with urban fantasy from so many favorite and new to me authors compelled me to pick it up and dive into the riches within.

“Little Things” by Jim Butcher
Dresden Files story
Tiny, but brave pixie hero discovers their castle is infiltrated and sets out to save the day when Harry is sad and trying to keep up with new responsibilities. Whimsical and fun-action!

“The Dark Ship” by Anne Bishop
The Others story
An intuit and Terre Indigene sea tale on the Cel-Romano coast. Loved the tone to the intuit girl's story. She can't help saving others even when her circumstances are dire. Very satisfying!

“Comfort Zone” by Kelley Armstrong
A Darkest Powers story
A necromancer and her werewolf boyfriend are trying to find a balance between hiding from the danger to them and stepping in to help others in desperate circumstances. Exciting and heartwarming!

“Train to Last Hope” by Annie Bellet
Oh the ache of a parent who lost her child. A hearth witch and her Reaper wife go on one last search to find their missing daughter. Bittersweet, beautiful story.

“Fire Hazard” by Kevin Hearne
Iron Druid story

Atticus takes Oberon and Starbuck to fight the fires in Australia. He is worried there might be a supernatural influence. Oberon learns the difference between sausage and courage. Funny and whimsical adventure.

“Grave Gambles” by RR Virdi
A Grave Report story

Vincent hops dead bodies to solve their murders by monsters and I was intrigued by my first encounter with the series.

“Silverspell” by Chloe Neill
Heir of Chicagoland story

Alisa and Connor work a case of a werewolf murdered and dark magic in the air. I enjoyed my first dip into the Chicagoland Vampire world and spin off Heirs of Chicagoland.

“Troll Life” by Kerrie L Hughes
The coolest of worldbuilding- a troll minding a train station for supernaturals, his pet barghest, sentient trains, and a missing gargoyle child adventure. Favorite new to me author story of the book!

“The Return of the Mage” by Charlaine Harris
A world of Sookie Stackhouse story

An adventure for a pair of familiar Britlingen mercs. I liked encountering Batanya and Clovache once again. Sent on a rescue op that goes wrong. Abrupt ending leaving some loose ends.

“The Vampires Karamazov” by Nancy Holder
Alexei, his brothers, and his father are a family of Russian vampires in NYC. Alexei does not embrace vampirism and is very religious. His father is the opposite and no good. A tortured hero story.

“The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic” by Jennifer Brosek
A Karen Wilson Chronicles story

A mysterious artifact arrives at the museum where Maureen works and it takes all of her and Felicia's pragmatic magic skills to deal with the trouble that is unleashed. I was left with a few question, but I want more of the series.

“Dating Terrors” by Patricia Briggs
An Alpha and Omega story

Asil's latest blind date takes him to Seattle for a ghost hunting date where he encounters a fae witch with a big monster problem. Something about Ruby has his wolf feeling whole and like he did before losing his mate. I need more Asil and the whole Alpha and Omega world.

Alas, the stories are through and I reveled in several, was entertained by all, and left with satisfaction at favorite authors' stories and discovery of a few new to me authors' books I need to pursue further. Most of these could be read as standalones and enjoyed as samplings to the authors, but I also appreciated the added pleasure of already being familiar with worlds and characters in the ones I knew. Urban Fantasy fans should consider this a treat to read.

Heroic Hearts is a collection of short stories about heroism that comes in different forms. Its heroes are far from stereotypical, but instead are the ones who are in the right place at the right time. In Jim Butcher’s “Little Things,” brave pixies in the service of wizard Harry Dresden protect his stronghold from evil, formidable goblins. “The Dark Ship” by Anne Bishop is a dark fantasy with a scarred young woman who makes a selfless choice that garners her a favor from the leader of inhuman pirates. In “Comfort Zone” by Kelley Armstrong, a young psychic and her werewolf boyfriend are recruited by a ghost to protect a loved one from human predators. Annie Bellet’s “Train to Last Hope” is the story of two estranged spouses who unite to find their long-lost child, using their magical skills in an Old West set adventure. Kevin Hearne’s “Fire Hazard” is from the point of view of druid Atticus O’Sullivan’s devoted Irish Wolfhound Oberon, as they work to stop unnatural fires in the Australian wilderness. “Grave Gambles” by R.R Virdi features a man whose unique ability to reanimate the body of a recent murder victim to solve the crime, on a case to find missing children. “Silverspell” by Chloe Neill’s latest story in the Heirs of the Chicagoland Vampire series involves a vampire sentinel and her werewolf boyfriend solving a series of ritual sacrifices of urban-dwelling supernaturals. In “Troll Life” by Kerrie L. Hughes, Harzl is a troll who works an unglamorous job in an underground train system who intervenes to protect a gargoyle child from slavers. Charlaine Harris’ “The Return of the Mage” intertwines low fantasy and science fiction as between warriors and mages who form an uneasy to rescue the lost members of their battalion. With “The Vampires Karamazov”, Nancy Holder asks the reader to ponder how the famous Dostoyevsky novel would look if the family were all vampires. In “The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic” by Jennifer Brozek, Maureen is a 71-year-old docent who may look mild-mannered, but she has some hidden skills to help protect her coworkers at the Stewart Historic Museum from a dangerous magical artifact. Longtime fans of Asil the Old Wolf from Patricia Briggs’ werewolf series have the privilege to accompany with him on a special kind of date that involves his unique set of skills in “Dating Terrors.”

Heroic Hearts has a little something for everyone in this wide variety of stories. It may involve some knowledge of the series to fully appreciate all the nuances, but even for new to the series readers, there are plenty of enjoyable moments. While a few of the stories were unimpactful, most showcase their writers’ enviable skills at telling a short, satisfying, engrossing story. Overall, this is a recommended read for fantasy lovers.

This is the way an anthology should be done. I was surprised at how much I liked it. Maybe it's because I'm familiar with half of the series in this book.

LITTLE THINGS by Jim Butcher
Toot-Toot is a sprite that protects Harry in the way he can. Toot-Toot also loves that Harry can provide him with his favorite food: Pizza. So Little things have Major General Toot-Toot Minimus defend Harry, his friends, and pizza from evil gremlins.
Glad I didn't have to wait to read this one. James Marsters does the perfect voices in the Dresden world. I couldn't listen to a book without his voice. I also love Toot-Toot and his attempts to gain the love of Lacuna.

THE DARK SHIP by Anne Bishop
The Others is at the top of my favorite fantasy series. The Dark Ship just made me want to be in this world again. Vedetta "Dett" is the protagonist of this short story. She has "feelings" about boats. She saves a pony and knows that she will be punished by the evil man who rules Pyetra, Captain Starr. What she wasn't counting on was the Black Ship and Corvo Sanguinati.
Loved it! I just wished that it was a full novel. I can get behind these new Others characters.

COMFORT ZONE by Kelley Armstrong
Chloe Saunders is a necromancer who is contacted by a ghost named Justin who asked for help saving his sister from the people who killed him. She and her boyfriend Derek Souza will decide to help find the 13-year-old girl and save her.
I read The Darkest Powers series so many years ago. I almost didn't remember who Chloe was. I remembered that I did like her and at that time she was not with Derek yet. I do remember loving Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. Elena and Clay were my favorite couple.

TRAIN TO LAST HOPE by Annie Bellet
Raina comes looking for Cassidy and asks her to follow her. She believes she has found the trail to find their missing daughter, Mairi.
I'm not familiar with this series but the horse "Nightmare" intrigued me.

FIRE HAZARD by Kevin Hearne
I haven't read this series in a while. I do remember loving Oberon and I see now that Atticus, the druid has another dog, Starbuck. This short story is told from Oberon's POV. By the end of it, Oberon will know that courage and sausages are not the same.

GRAVE GAMBLES by R.R. Virdi
Vincent Graves can move his soul into a recently departed corpse and bring it back to life. He has a time limit where he needs to find the monster who killed the body he is inhabiting and dispose of him.
I can see myself reading more about this character.

SILVERSPELLby Chloe Neill
I used to love Merrit and Ethan until something happened that made me stop reading the Chicagoland Vampire series. Now, I see this is a new series, a spin-off where Elisa Sullivan and her boyfriend Connor are the main characters. After, reading this short story, I'm tempted to give Merrit and Ethan another try.

TROLL LIFE by Kerrie L. Hughes
I loved this one. The Troll, Harzl Hellirverja was nice, he had a dog, Snori, and communicated with the trains. I will look into this series further.

THE RETURN OF THE MAGE by Charlaine Harris
After a beacon is activated and the majority of the team dies, Batanya and Clovache decided to follow the beacon signal accompanied by Vandler to look for the rest of the team.
This was my least favorite series in this book. It was hard to follow all these different characters or care about them in such a short time.

THE VAMPIRES KARAMAZOV by Nancy Holder
Alexie is a vampire who used to be a monk. He worries about the sins of his father and brothers who are all vampires. He knows his brothers are planning something and he must find the courage to stop them. I haven't read this series but I did like Alexei and I'm intrigued by another one of his brothers, Dmitri.

THE NECESSITY OF PRAGMATIC MAGIC by Jennifer Brozek
Two witches trying to stop a daydream nightmare from happening. I like the two ladies. She seems to be fierce and determined.

DATING TERRORS by Patricia Briggs
Love Asil and him finding a good date was the best!! My only wish would have been for his story to be 6 more hours. He deserves some happiness and so does his wolf.

As a huge Dresden and Alpha and Omega fan, I knew I needed to read this one. The audible version helped so much in helping keep track of all the characters, new and old.

Of note, the sad thing about this book is that Rachel Caine was supposed to be part of it but she died before she could join them. She was a good writer and she will be missed.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Ace via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I probably say this every time I read or review something like this, but I'm normally not a huge fan of anthologies or short story collections. It always feels like the story ends just when I'm really getting sucked into it or starting to really love the characters. Though, now that I think about it, it's really obvious that that is the point as I almost always go out and buy more books by the authors in the anthology. Heroic Hearts is no exception because as soon as I finished reading it I started either rereading books by the authors I knew or looking into the books of the authors I haven't read yet.

There were a lot of good stories in this book and while I enjoyed every one of them, the two that stood out the most to me were by my two favorite authors in the anthology-- Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs. With Little Things by Jim Butcher, I really enjoyed getting a glimpse of what life was like for Dresden post-Battle Ground. The fact that it was told from Toot's PoV was just icing on the cake. I didn't think I could love Toot as a character more than I already do but Little Things shows how amazing he is and how much he's grown.

And Patricia Briggs's Dating Terrors was just as fun to read like all the other Asil short stories we've gotten so far. I love Asil every time he makes an appearance and every time we get one of his date stories I'm just hoping it will go well for him because he's a character deserving of love and acceptance. I don't want to spoil anything but I thought Dating Terrors was by far the best of Asil's date stories we've gotten so far and I hope we get to see more of what happens next soon.

While those were easily my two favorite stories in the anthology, I think every story I read was just fantastic. Heroic Hearts definitely introduced me to some authors I've never read before and I'll definitely be checking the books of pretty much every author in this anthology. I enjoyed this book enough that I just bought the audiobook the other day so I can re-experience all the stories in a new medium with some great narrators.

All in all, I thought this book was fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for something new to read. It's a great introduction to some really good authors and some of the best urban fantasy series on the market today.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From start to finish, this short story collection, “Heroic Hearts” has a little bit for everyone. With a multitude of best selling authors, there are plenty of stories to captivate you and that truly fit the concept, that of a heroic hero that steps up in a time of danger, from fairies, necromancers, werewolves, and mercenaries, each story will keep your attention. Each story is dynamic and compelling. 

Each hero brings diversity and complexity, all vastly different but each with their own strength and heroic abilities. It is extraordinarily good how much each story fits in but brings a unique flavor to the anthology. I love the diversity of the stories and the characters and I especially love both the beginning and ending story in the series. I loved meeting the delightful characters and truthfully, now want to have more about each character from each author.

If you love being able to check out an author’s world and stories but aren’t sure, this is a great way to do so. You get a taste of their style, of their world, and of their characters. And much like me, I think you will find each one dynamic and compelling, will want to read more from all these authors, if you haven’t already. If you are already a fan, it will give you a new look at the lesser known characters in those writings. I want more already.

Heroic Hearts edited by Jim Butcher is a great urban fantasy short story collection featuring some of my favorite authors and others I'd like to get to know better in the future. My favorite stories featured here were Little Things by Jim Butcher (Toot-toot gets his own story!), The Dark Ship by Anne Bishop, and Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne. I need more Kelley Armstrong one of these days.

4 Stars overall

This anthology is heroes that may not always be a straight forward heroic character. It was pretty good. My favorite stories were

Little Things by Jim Butcher
I'm not reading this one because I am not caught up with the series.

The Dark Ship by Anne Bishop - 4 stars
This is a short story of The Others that takes place in the Mediterranean sea area of the Cleo-Roman empire. It was lovely so see other parts of this world. I just wanted it to be longer and a bit more fleshed out.

Comfort Zone—Armstrong - 3.5 stars
A ghost needs some help saving his little sister from his mistakes. Chole and Derek are the help. This is a short story from the Darkest Powers series. It's a cute catch up with the characters from after the series. It is also fine on its own. I read the first book in that series so long ago and I don't know how it ended and I was fine.

Train to Last Hope—Annie Bellet - 3.5 stars
When Cassidy's Reaper wife shows up again after 10 years with a clue to their daughter's disappearance, Cassidy is torn between her grief and wanting to know. I liked the witches and the old west atmosphere but I wasn't completely sure what exactly was going on. I wish there had been a bit more explanation world building for me and a lot more about what happened to the daughter.

Fire Hazard—Kevin Hearne - 3 stars
This is an Iron Druid Chronicles story, I'm guessing around the last book (because I haven't read this series yet). Oberon is a special dog who goes with his druid to Australia because there is something wrong with the fires in the Outback. Oberon is a fun narrator but I was a little lost on what was going on exactly with Atticus.

Grave Gambles—R.R. Virdi - 3 stars
This story is a good introduction to the Grave Report series. Vincent Graves is a paranormal detective who inhabits the body of a recently dead to find out what supernatural hijinks, usually murder, is going on and stop it. This was interesting and a good teaser to check out the series.

Silverspell—Chloe Neill - 3 stars
This novella is set in the Heirs of Chicagoland series. I have read the previous series so I'm familiar with the world. It was a good story.

Troll Life—Kerrie L. Hughes - 4 stars
A Troll, and a barghest, run a train station, where the trains are sentient and vampires are after two runaways. I actually really liked the trains and troll. I would read more of this troll's adventures.

Return of the Mage—Charlaine Harris - 4 stars
Mercenaries, mages and mechanics all work together to provide support and rescue for parties traveling to other worlds. When a lost beacon is activated and a team killed on arrival the captain goes to investigate with her second and an unwilling mage. This is a mix of magic and sci-fi. I actually really liked this story. I wanted someone to get more comeuppance though and I would like to see a year later.

The Vampires Karamazov—Nancy Holder - 2.5 stars
Four vampire brothers and their crazy father have lived for hundreds of years. When their father makes an unforgivable choice the brothers react but all the former monk Alexie wants is for god to recognize him again. This one started out okay and then got weird.

The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic—Jennifer Brozek - 3.5 stars
This is in the world of the Karen Wilson Chronicles. When a mysterious tablet is delivered to Kendrick's small museum bad things start to happen. The one full time docent is the only one who can help. I liked Maureen and Felicia and their way of doing magic.

Dating Terrors—Patricia Briggs - 5 stars
I read this anthology for this story and it was worth it. Asil, a werewolf known as The Moor, has been going on a series of blind dates. This date is with a ghost hunter who needs help escaping the monster after her. I have loved the Asil dating stories and this one was the perfect cherry on top. Asil has many sides and we get to see his interactions with his wolf. I hope that we will see Ruby, Alan and their ghost hunters in a mercyverse book soon.

Brand-new stories from my favorite authors with a few new to me authors to sample- a feast from beginning to end. If you love urban fantasy, this is a must have collection.

Little Things by Jim Butcher read by James Masters (The Dresden Files, standalone)– First kudos to Masters for keeping in character. I love the pixie Toot-Toot and this is his heroic tale. When enemy forces breach the castle walls, not even Bob believes Toot. This event takes place about a fortnight after the battles. Harry is recovering from injuries and dealing with loss. It was a clever way to give us an update and give our Pixie the spotlight.
The Dark Ship by Ann Bishop read by Alexandra Harris (Others World, standalone) I loved this! The Others is one of my favorite urban fantasy series. This takes us to a port city in one of the human areas and a young girl with a gift finds herself at significant risk after aiding a pony. Alexandra Harris was wonderful and the reason I listen to the series on audio first before diving into my hardcover editions. I want more!!
Comfort Zone by Kelley Armstrong read by Cassandra Morris (The Summing Series, standalone) I love this author, but have not read the Summoning series. I found myself engaged and enjoyed spending time with Derek and Chloe as they help a ghost who is worried about his little sister. Cassandra Morris provided the voices and did a wonderful job.
Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet read by Maggi-Meg Reed (new to me author) An interesting story involving witches, demons and grim reapers. We travel with a mother and daughter as they try to discover what happened to their daughter. Not sure if this is tied to a series, but I found the world fascinating and enjoyed the narration. I would dip into this western world again. Delightful narration by Reed.
Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne read by Luke Daniels (Iron Druid Chronicles, standalone) It was wonderful spending time with Atticus, Oberon and Starbuck, as they investigate a forest fire. The story told from Oberon’s POV had me snickering with delight. Luke Daniels as always did a stellar job with the narrator and is the reason I listen to all of Hearne’s series.
Grave Gambles by R.R. Virdi read by Travis Baldree – (Grave Beginnings, standalone) I have not read this author, but loved the concept of Grave Gambles. The protagonist wakes up in a body and has a limited amount of time to determine how the person was murdered. Travis Baldree was a new to me narrator who did a stellar job from voices to tone. I am adding this series to my wishlist.
Silverspell by Chloe Neill read by read by Suzanne Elise Freeman (Heirs of Chicagoland, standalone) I am enjoying the Heirs of Chicagoland and this was a nice short. Elisa and Connor are investigating a series of ritualist murders. It was an intriguing case, and I enjoyed watching Elisa do her thing. Suzanne Elise Freeman was delightful with the narration and has me curious about the series on audio. It was the perfect teaser to hold me over until the next release.
Troll Life by Kerrie L. Hughes read by Sean Patrick Hopkins (new to me author) The world made me curious enough to see if there was a series tied to it. Trolls, vampires and more await you at the train station where trouble lurks. I liked Sean Patrick Hopkins narration and added him to my list of narrators to look for.
Return of the Mage by Charlaine Harris read by Johanna Parker – I’ve read some of the author’s work but was not familiar with these characters or world. I listened twice and felt a tad lost. There are mages, rituals, combat and a distress call answered by the Britlingen mercenaries. Johanna Parker gave a delightful narration that fit the tone and characters.
The Vampires Karamazov by Nancy Holder read by Daniel Henning (The Brothers Karamazov) This is another new to me author and my least favorite story of the collection. It was dark, old school and grim. The writing is good, I just felt like I would have enjoyed it more if I knew the series. Daniel Henning is a new to me narrator, but has a pleasant tone and I would listen to him again.
The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic by Jennifer Brozek read by Nancy Linari. (new to me author) The story held my attention as an evil entity caused problems at a museum. I would like to read more about these witches. The story was engaging despite the quickly ending that left me flat. This has a cozy mystery vibe you might like, and the narrator was perfect for this story.
Dating Terror by Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham (Alpha & Omega, standalone) Both Briggs and Graham are favorites of mine and I slipped right into this story. This is another adventure involving dating for Asil and is set in the Mercy Thompson world. As always, I had a blast listening. Briggs has a way of pulling you in and making you laugh.
A fantastic collection for urban fantasy readers and listeners! From shorts in beloved series to new to me authors, narrators and series, I devoured this and highly recommend adding it to your audio collection. Some of my favorites were from Butcher, Bishop and Hearne.

Picking up Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes’s new story collection Heroic Hearts, you learn that heroism comes in many forms, whether flying, furry or four-legged. Harry Dresden may be a battle-hardened Chicogoan wizard, but Harry would have gotten nowhere if it were not for Toot Toot. Likewise, in Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series, we all know that it isn’t Atticus that is the main character but his four-legged Irish Wolfhound Oberon.

Heroic Hearts is an absolute feast of stories for lovers of Urban Fantasy. Many of the biggest names in the sub-genre are a part of the collection. If you are longing for that little bit of extra information about some of your favorite characters, Heroic Hearts does a great job alleviating that desire.

Not every story is a hit; doing that in a short story collection is practically unheard of. You get this many authors together, and not everyone’s writing style is for every reader. However, Heroic Hearts is solid the entire way through; even when the stories did not personally hit me as a reader, they still were all decent stories. There are some notable ones that sung to me as a reader.

Firstly, the story that starts the collection is Jim Butcher's Little Things, read on the audiobook by James Marsters of Buffy the Vampire fame. Marster's has done all of the Dresden books, and as a long-time audio listener, I can now not separate the two. The voice of Dresden's world is James Marsters. Little Things is about the battle of Pixie General Toot Toot, never underestimate the tenacity of creatures in Dresden's world, whether they big or small. They will surprise you.

When an enemy attacks the defenses and breaches the castle walls, Toot Toot and his army of wee people go to battle. They protect Dresden for once instead of the other way around, and Dresden gets some quiet moments to rest and recuperate after the events of the last novel. It is a truly delightful novel. Toot Toot is as sparkly and lively as Pixies should be while being downright bloodthirsty and unforgiving.

Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet, read by Maggi-Meg Reed, was excellent as well, but in an entirely different way than Butcher's story. Train to Lost Hope is about love and loss. Ten years ago, the two women said goodbye to their bright and bubbly daughter and never heard from her again.

Drowning in their grief, one felt that she was dead, and the other thought she was still alive; it tore their love asunder. The wife, who did not believe her daughter had died, gets some new information. She picks up her ex-wife to see if they will have luck getting the townsfolk to talk to them. It is painful. It is the type of story that sticks in your teeth, and you find yourself chewing on it for a few hours after you read it. It also was an excellent counterpoint to the bubbliness of the other stories. Courage and heroism come in all shapes, even if it is the courage to let go.

Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne is a lovely story where we get to have Oberon, one of my favorite dogs in all of fiction, center stage. A wildfire is burning in the Australian brush, and Atticus and his family (two dogs) go down to the fire to see if they can assist the earth deity in stopping the fires. He gets more than he bargained for. It is so much fun; pretty much any story equating sausage to courage is a solid win for me.

Grave Gambles by R.R. Virdi, read by Travis Baldree. This is a standalone story, but it needs to be a series as soon as possible. It reminded me of a slightly weird supernatural take on Quantum Leap. The protagonist wakes up in the bodies of the dead with a number on his arm. That number is how many hours he has to solve the crime of the person's death. This often leads to more extensive and more complicated crimes. When the protagonist wakes up with a number 1 tattooed on his arm and in a dumpster smelling of rot. He knows that he needs to work fast. Using some of his detective skills, he can piece together a crime.

Troll Life by Kerrie L. Hughes, read by Sean Patrick Hopkins, is easily my favorite story of this collection. Our protagonist troll works at a train station, has a barghest as a pet and speaks to trains. They respect him. This already had my interest peaked. Trains that communicate telepathically sounds rather cool. He does his job day in and day out, hoping to move up a little in the world. When other supernatural creatures chase some runaway kids onto his platform, his protective tendencies emerge. Trolls aren't flashy, but they are immune to magic, calm, and loyal. The way this story was written, I had no problem building a mental picture of the troll protagonist in my head.

If you are looking to discover some great new authors or catch up with some old friends from a solid tried and true urban fantasy series, Heroic Hearts is an excellent collection.

I was looking for a bit of a change of pace to wrap this week’s reviews, so I turned to my favorite pick-me-up genre, urban fantasy, and to this excellent collection of it, Heroic Hearts, which features stories by some of the stars in the genre, while giving me a chance to explore worlds both familiar and not.

Four of the stories were set in worlds that I am at least somewhat familiar with; Jim Butcher’s Little Things, set of course in the Dresden Files, The Dark Ship by Anne Bishop in previously unexplored part of her World of the Others, Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne in the Iron Druid Chronicles and Patricia Briggs’ Dating Terror in her Alpha & Omega spinoff of Mercy Thompson’s world.

What made both Little Things and Fire Hazard so much fun to read wasn’t just their familiarity but the way that both stories gave that familiarity a bit of a twist by telling the story from alternate points of view.

Harry Dresden is too busy to be the main character or narrator of Little Things. That role is reserved for the pixie Toot-Toot who leads the castle’s forces of pixies and other small creatures to fend off a gremlin invasion. While Toot-Toot and his minions start out just defending their beloved pizza, by the time the story is baked to its conclusion they’ve saved the whole castle and everyone in it – with a bit of assistance from Dresden’s cat Mister. Even if they can’t manage to help Dresden with his angst about the terrible “conomee” and his regular fight with the dread monster “budget”.

Fire Hazard, which deals with the very serious issue of the wide-spread fires in Australia, is both lightened and made a bit more profound – surprisingly so! – by being told from the perspective of Oberon, Atticus’ Irish wolfhound. While the fires were started through either natural causes or human error, there is something supernatural that is, quite literally, fanning the flames. That Atticus can take care of. But it’s Oberon’s meditations on the nature of courage and sausage that give this story both its heart and its humor.

The Dark Ship is one of the darker stories in the World of the Others, and that’s saying something because the world as a whole is often plenty dark. But what makes this one chilling isn’t the looming threat of the Others, it’s that the evil that men do is so terrible that the reader completely understands why the Others get involved – even though on this occasion the Others are not the target of that evil. I still think there’s reading crack somehow embedded into this series, because even in ebook form once I start one I can’t put the damn thing down.

I haven’t kept up – at all – with the Mercyverse. I read the series as it stood a long time ago, including the first Alpha & Omega book, and that was enough to make the world of this story feel familiar. In the end Dating Terror is a story about taking control of your own life with a bit of help from your friends, but it does it through a fake dating agency scenario that blends a subtle bit of humor with the righteous takedown of a monster.

The rest of the stories in this collection are either standalones or set in worlds I’m not familiar with. And for the most part that didn’t matter either way. Except for one story, Silverspell by Chloe Neill. It’s part of her Heirs of Chicagoland series. I liked it well enough as a standalone but I think there would have been more there, there if I were familiar with the series.

The one story that didn’t work for me was The Vampires Karamazov. There were plenty of villains in this one, but no real hero and the story was just dark and grim.

On the other hand, my favorite stories in the collection, Troll Life by Kerrie L. Hughes, Grave Gambles by R.R. Virdi and The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic by Jennifer Brozek were all set in worlds completely new to me.

Troll Magic features the troll probationary station master of a train line that takes paranormal creatures from one realm to another. It’s part of his magic to manage the station, make sure that no one is aboard who shouldn’t be, and keep the vending machines stocked. When a couple of runaways – and the villains who are chasing them – use his station for their confrontation, it’s up to the station master and his pet barghest to see justice done and evil get its just desserts, along with some help from some sentient and surprisingly gossipy trains.

Grave Gambles was interesting as a kind of paranormal variation on Quantum Leap – which seems apropos as that classic series might be coming back. But instead of science powering the leaps, it’s magic. Specifically the magic of meting out deathly justice to those who have escaped the earthly kind. It’s a quietly atmospheric story with a fascinating premise.

I liked The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic because it features two elderly ladies, one of whom would probably be excellent friends with the protagonist of An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good. It’s the story of two old witches who are comrades a bit more than they are friends, bringing their magical power to bear on an ancient terror that wants to consume their favorite museum – along with, most likely, the town it sits in.

I had mixed feelings about Return of the Mage by Charlaine Harris, and based on the reviews I’m not alone. I did rather like it, even though it isn’t really urban fantasy, but that’s because it reminds me a lot of episodes of both Stargate and Star Trek. It’s a story about a mage who has settled down on a primitive planet and made himself king, emperor and god even though he really ought to know better. The mage/mech/merc forces that come to pry him out of his cozy, exploitative little nest certainly do.

The last two stories are Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet and Comfort Zone by Kelly Armstrong.

Comfort Zone reminded me a bit of the Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris, in that Chloe sees – and speaks to – dead people. So the story is about helping a ghost save his little sister from the mess he got her in before he died because of said mess.

Train to Last Hope is the kind of Weird West story that haunts. Two women go on a quest to find out what happened to their daughter. They broke up a decade ago, because one accepted that the girl was dead while the other refused to let go. Not that either of them truly ever has let go of the girl or each other. One became a Reaper to harvest the souls of the dead in order to extend her search, while the other waits at Last Hope, the last stop of the train of the dead, hoping that one day her daughter will pass by. This story about closure is bittersweet and sticks with the reader once it’s done. It also reminds me more than a bit of T.J. Klune’s Under the Whispering Door.

Escape Rating A-: This was a collection with plenty of great reading but surprisingly just the one story that didn’t work for me. There’s always at least one, but usually it’s more, so I’m very happy to have picked this up and read the lot. I do think the ones that are set in established worlds work better with at least some familiarity, but it is a great way to sample and see if you like what those worlds have to offer.

To make a long story short, if you love urban fantasy, this collection is fantastic – pun certainly intended. If you’re curious, this is a great place to start!

Mister rules, as cats always do, but Oberon, as always, is a very good boy indeed.

This was a fun short story collection and as always it's great for fans of The Dresden Files. If you like urban fantasy you'll like this.

This was such a great collection of stories! I think there were more stories and authors that I was interested in then that I wasn't, so that was really great! I had such a great time in these various familiar worlds from these authors, and reading this collection was so great!

Top of my head, my favourites were of course the Asil story, the Chloe and Derek story, the Toot-Toot story, the Others story and the Eliza and Conner story. These continuations of the series were so great, and I loved seeing these characters again, and this part of the Others world for the first time!

The Charlaine Harris story, if I didn't know going in that it features characters who were in the Stookie Stackhouse series, I would've thought that it was a new to me world. It was really interesting, and I would love to spend more time with the Britlingen mercenaries!

Of course Dating Terrors phenomenal. I've been loving this short stories of Asil's dates, and of them, this was the most game-changing. I hope we get to see more of them of the future! Plus the way it ended was pretty hilarious, his one word reply!

I'm so glad that I read this anthology, it had some really great reads that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Heroic Hearts is a wonderful anthology. Not only is it filled with stories from some of my favorite urban fantasy authors and featuring side characters from my favorite series, but it was a great introduction to some authors I have never read before. The anthology is very well constructed and each of the individual stories are definitely worth a read. Readers can certainly choose to read only stories by their favorite authors, but reading the anthology as a whole is definitely worth the time. It's a great experience. One warning though, reading this anthology has a side effect of adding even MORE books and authors to your to be read pile.

This collection of stories is about the unlikely heroes. We all know them. We see them every day. They don’t even know they are heroes. Until they need to be. Heroes.

I wanted to read this for Patricia Briggs’ story about the werewolf Asil, a recurring character in her Alpha and Omega series. In Dating Terrors, Asil goes on a date (arranged through a dating app) only to find out that he was picked as a date because of his superior strength and lethal talents. But there is also Ruby, who almost immediately regrets using Asil and wants to back out. As you can imagine, events are propelled toward a showdown that doesn’t work out how Ruby imagined it would. The question is, will Asil ever find true love? This is a great story for Ruby, but even more so for Asil. Over the series, he has grown as a character and will not disappoint Briggs’ fans in this short story.

Believe it or not, before I read Little Things, I had not read anything by Jim Butcher before. This story is from the viewpoint of a sprite who must save the day while the giants (humans) around him don’t even know anything bad is happening. I loved this story of the tiny little one using all available resources (even a cat) to overcome danger.

Kerrie Hughes is another new to me author and I was delighted with Troll Life, the story of a train station attendant, Harzl, who is a disappointment to his family because he has not become a station manager yet. But he is intuitive and strong, so with his pet barghest (large, black, toothy dog) at his side he faces down evil to protect two innocents running for their lives. Another great thing about this story – sentient trains.

Irish Wolfhound Oberon is the hero of Kevin Hearne’s Fire Hazard. Perhaps other Iron Druid series readers will also feel that Oberon has always been great hero, but in this story, he proves that to himself.

I found several new to me authors and enjoyed long-time favorites. Every single story in this collection is great! They all stand alone, even if they are part of a series and there are no cliffhangers, so you will get your money’s worth on this anthology. The collection includes:

Little Things by Jim Butcher
The Dark Ship by Anne Bishop
Comfort Zone by Kelley Armstrong
Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet
Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne
Grave Gambles by R.R. Virdi
Troll Life by Kerrie Hughes
The Return of the Mage by Charlaine Harris
The Vampires Karamozov by Nancy Holder
The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic by Jennifer Brozek
Dating Terrors by Patricia Briggs

Heroic Hearts is glorious proof that urban fantasy is alive, kicking and entertaining readers everywhere!

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.