Review – Strange Brew edited by P. N. Elrod (4/5 stars)

Overall this is a decent set of stories. The highlights for me were Karen Chance’s super action packed “Vegas Odds” and Jenna Maclaine’s beautifully written, action packed, and intricate “Dark Sins”. I found Cin from “Dark Sins” to be a very interesting heroine and I would definitely like to read more about her. I also really liked meeting Jane Yellowrock in Faith Hunter’s “Signatures of the Dead.” Jane is a character I would also like to read more about.

My least favorites were Elrod’s story (not surprising because I have read a couple of the books with Jack and don’t enjoy her writing style all that much) and Harris’s “Bacon”. See a summary of each below. I liked the book in general and really liked that is gave me a look at some of the new authors and characters coming out in series.

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs
A witch named Moira and a werewolf named Tom go to save Tom’s brother from an evil coven. Pretty good, I enjoyed it. 4/5

Last Call by Jim Butcher
Entertaining story about Murphy and Harry tracking down the source of some tainted beer that Mac accidentally served in his bar. Tons of action, very entertaining! 4/5

Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine
About witch named Holly who resurrects an old witch, Andy, to help the police find a witch killer. Unfortunately Holly and the resurrected witch have a history. Fast-paced and engaging story although I didn’t like the main character all that much. 4/5

Vegas Odds by Karen Chance
Lia is a War Mage stuck in the middle of a war between good and evil. When her house comes under attack she is left to figure out who the attackers are and hunt down their master. I really liked this story; it was packed with action and set in an interesting world that I want to learn more about. 5/5

Hecate’s Golden Eye by P. N. Elrod
Jack and Charles are hired to recover a stolen piece of jewelry. The crime turns out to be more than it first seems. This was a fast paced story featuring Elrod’s well known Jack Flemming. Overall a decent story. 3/5

Bacon by Charlaine Harris
This story is about a vampire, Dahlia, who hires a witch to help avenge her werewolf husband that has been murdered. Overall I thought this story was boring and the plot a bit hard to folllow at points. I didn’t really like any of the characters much either. 2/5

Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter
About a witch named Molly who works with a Skinwalker named Jane Yellowrock to bring down some rogue vampires. I really didn’t find Molly to be all that fascinating of a character. I did really like Jane Yellowrock though. The story moved quickly, was very engaging, and had lots of good action scenes. I am eager to read more stories involving Jane Yellowrock. I know that Hunter’s book “Skinwalker” featuring Jane came out earlier this summer and this short story really makes me want to check it out. 4/5

Ginger: A Nocturne City Story by Caitlin Kittredge
A witch named “Sunny” gets kidnapped as part of a larger plot onvolving a witch coven. This was an okay story, although I didn’t think it was great and didn’t like any of the characters much. 3/5

Dark Sins by Jenna Maclaine
I really liked this story. Cin Craven is a vampire who attained her witch powers. Her and her S.O. Michael are attacked and captured; and need to escape to save their lives and the lives of their friends. This story was set in the Victorian era. I really liked both Cin and Michael as characters. Just the glimpse this story give hints at a very interesting and intricate world with a lush history. Lots of action and a tad of romance. The entrance of the goddess Morrgan made things very interesting. One of my favorite stories of the bunch. 5/5