Anthology – Hexed

Published June 2011.



Ilona Andrews – Magic dreams

New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews spins Magic Dreams. Shapeshifting tigress Dali Harimau finds herself in deep waters when she must challenge a dark being to a battle of wits or risk losing the man for whom she secretly longs.


I love the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, there are two recent reviews on my blog if you want to read them. Jim is of course a fixture in those books, as he is the security chief of the Pack, and Kate’s old partner in the Mercenary Guild. Dali was mentioned before, as she drives as a blind bat from hell, and Kate is terrified of having to ride along with her.
Dali is insecure about herself, she is not pretty, and she longs to be, as she has been in love with Jim, the Alpha of the big cats for years now. She is very smart though, and a rare white tiger with a lot of ancient magic at her disposal. Which she uses through calligraphy, which is a very cool thing and something I have not come across before. She has very bad eyesight, and when she shapeshifts, it takes her a few minutes to come back to reality, unlike most other shapeshifters.
Then one night, she comes home to find Jim in her house, in her bedroom, unconscious against the wall. Something bad happened to one of their offices, and Jim went to check things out, on his own. Now he too is affected by the bad magic, and Dali will do everything in her considerable power to safe him. To get a magic cure, she has to confront the poachers in Atlanta’s underground, and fight a demon.

A great short story, with new kinds if magic and evil to fight. At first I though, why not just ask Kate to come and kill the demon, but of course, this is Dali’s story. And it went great. I am happy for her.

8 stars


Yasmine Galenorn – Ice Shards

In Ice Shards, New York Times bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn returns to the Otherworld as Iris Kuusi, a Finnish house sprite, journeys to the frozen Northlands to confront the crazed shadow of her former lover and break the curse that is keeping her from marrying the man she loves.


I’ve bought this book just for this story, as I love Otherworld / Sisters of the Moon / series by Yasmine Galenorn. I have been curious about Iris, their housekeeper, for a long while now. And finally we learn about her past, and her future in this novella.
Iris, Camille, Smokey and Rozurial travel to the Northlands to find out the truth about what happened 600 years ago. Did Iris truly kill her lover? Or was she set up? She has no memories of the past, but her lover’s soul is trapped in a Shadow, and it is killing people, getting more powerful. He has to be stopped, and it is the only way for Iris to ever know the truth.
With the help of Howl, the Great Winter Wolf Spirit, they set of for the Skirts of Hell, where Vikkommin dwells. But in the end, Iris will have to confront him on her own, the others won’t be able to help her.


A great novella. Lots of flashbacks of Iris’ live, both as she remembers it, and when she tells it to the rest. I loved Howl and his pack, and how they take care of Iris. The others play just a small part, in accompanying Iris through the different planes to her destiny. It was really good to finally learn the truth, and I hope to learn more in the next book in this series, of what it will have brought to Iris.

9 stars.

Allyson James – Double Hexed

National bestselling author Allyson James takes you to Magellan, Arizona, where Stormwalker Janet Begay and her friends are trapped by a powerful curse. It will take every bit of magic shimmering beneath her skin for the Stormwalker to survive being Double Hexed.

I am not reading this one yet, I plan on reading the whole Stormwalker series soon.

Jeanne C. Stein – Blood debt

From national bestselling author Jeanne C. Stein comes Blood Debt, in which bounty-hunter-turned-vampire Anna Strong is visited by three witches who ask her to right an old magical wrong. Anna will have to live up to her last name to make it through alive.


I have not read this series yet, and am not sure I will. In this short novella, Anna Strong has to face a tribunal, as she killed a black witch in a sanctuary. To safe herself and an innocent man who was also captured to atone for her “sins”, she needs to tell the truth about what happened, and while imprisoned, she tells her life story to Stephen. But there is more to their captivity than seems, her accuser, Samual, seems to have a personal agenda as well …
The story is told very straightforward, very dry, no humor, and I find humor very important in a story. So, that is the main reason I am hesitant to start reading. The story itself sounds very good and original. Perhaps if someone has read this series, you can tell me if there is some humor in the books themselves?

6 stars.