I got an ecopy of this book to review from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This books includes all of the Hallows short stories as well as a couple novellas/short stories from new urban fantasy worlds.

I had read most of the Hallows short stories previously in other anthologies. The Bespelled was one I had missed and was an excellent story about how Al and Ceri meet.

Million Dollar Baby is original to this book and is a story about how Trent rescued his daughter; this was a good read as well. There are four novellas/short stories that are not set in the Hallows world. Of these the one that really stood out for me was Grace; this was a wonderful world were certain types of people can manipulate energy. It had lots of action and some great new characters.

You can read summaries of all of the stories included in this anthology below.

Overall this was a decent read and something you should definitely pick up is you are a fan of the Hallows series.

– The Bespelled
This is story about Al and Ceri and how they originally met. More of a fantasy read, it provides some interesting background information on the two.

-Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel
I had previously read this story. This was a great prequel to the Hallows series. It was fun to read about a younger Rachel who is still struggling to recover from Rosewood syndrome and trying to decide if she should join the IS or not. It was nice to read about a time in her life that helped get her to where she is at the start of the series. This is the story where Rachel and Pierce first meet.

– Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil
I had previously read this story. This story is about Ivy when she was dating Kisten; Mia (the banshee from “White Witch, Black Curse” is involved as well). This story helped explain some of the back story between Ivy and Mia, as well as gave nice insight into Kisten and Ivy’s history. It was an engaging story and I enjoyed it; overall

– Dirty Magic
I had previously read this story. This story is about Mia the Banshee and how she ended up in the situation she was in in White Witch, Black Curse. It is well written and engaging.

– The Bridges of Eden Park
Rachel and Kisten rescue Kisten’s sister’s son from an attempted kidnapping. Good story, gives a bit more background on Kisten’s character.

– Ley Line Drifter
I had previously read this story. This is an excellent story about Jenks helping a fellow pixie. You learn more about pixie culture and there is a ton of action.

– Million Dollar Baby
This is a previously unpublished story all about Trent’s journey to save his daughter. Adds a lot to Trent and Jenk’s relationship and let’s you look into Trent’s thoughts and how he feels about fatherhood.

– Pet Shop Boys
Previously unpublished story about a man who encounters a lady and her daughter in the pet shop he works in. He finds out that there are more evil things in the world than he ever dreamed. Okay story, but my least favorite of the bunch.

– Temson Estates
Previously unpublished story about a man who finds out he has inherited a forest full of dryads. This was a fun little story.

– Spider Silk
Previously unpublished story about a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughters and the danger they face from a forest spirit. The grandmother trapped the evil forest guardian in a tree but when the tree dies he tries to claim one of her granddaughters. The mother does what she must to save her daughter. Full of irony and very well written.

– Grace
This was my favorite story of the bunch. It introduces readers to an excellent new world and characters. Grace has special powers; she can manipulate energy. She has chosen a career where she hunts down other undiscovered energy manipulators like herself before they do serious harm to society. When her current target (a 17 year old boy) hurts her dog and her friend, Grace has no choice to to hunt him down with a vengeance. An interesting new world and wonderfully done characters. I really enjoyed this story a lot. It would be great to see some books to follow-up this novella. The story is part urban fantasy, part science fiction.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
– 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review – Into the Woods by Kim Harrison (4/5 stars)

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