Book Description: Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! In Charlaine Harris' 'Bacon,' a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In 'Seeing Eye' by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother - and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher's 'Last Call,' wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers - the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer. For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!
Synopsis: Lia de Croissets, half-human, half-Were, isn't considered an ideal employee. But her bosses at the War Mage Corps, the supernatural community's version of a police force, have found the solution-- make her the mentor to a group of raw recruits. It's a thankless job designed to keep her busy, useful and out of trouble. And it seems to be working--until Lia receives an early morning visit from her suddenly homicidal students. The mages may be young, but they know enough to be deadly. Lia soon finds her house in pieces and herself and her Were boyfriend, Cyrus, in little better shape. In the end, though, it's one of the students who lies dead on the ground--from Lia's own spell. An investigation uncovers the unsettling fact that the students were acting under a powerful illusion cast by someone with a long-standing grudge against Lia's family. Even worse, the spell hasn't been affected by the cadets' defeat, and if it isn't lifted soon they may all die. Only the mage who cast the spell can lift it, forcing Lia to track down an assassin with the ability to weave terrifying and very real illusions. Her Were heritage offers her some protection against these, but Lia is half-human, too. Can she find the killer before her own mind betrays her? –KarenChance.com
Review:
The longest story in Strange Brew is Karen Chance’s Vegas Odds coming in at 56 pages. The tale opens with a scene straight out of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Half-Were Lia and her boyfriend Were Cyrus destroy her house while under attack from a group of War Mages. From there, author Karen Chance does a wonderful job of creating a world full of magic and a strong instantly likeable heroine while never letting up on the non-stop action. This is probably my favorite story that Ms. Chance has written and I would love to spend more time in this world.
Sexual Content: A woman performs oral sex on a man in a brief scene that in not overly graphic.
*Vegas Odds is part of Strange Brew: An anthology of stories edited by P N Elrod. I will be reviewing the other stories in this anthology in separate posts.
Product Description:
Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; (July 7, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312383363
- ISBN-13: 978-0312383367
I just picked this one up! I got it for Patricia Briggs and have read her story but not the other ones, can't wait to read your review when you get to her story :)
ReplyDeleteKiwi, its already posted. Click on Reviews above and look under Briggs, Patricia
ReplyDeletewhoops! thanks :) LOL I'll go check it out right now!
ReplyDelete