I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Night Shift
by
Ilona Andrews, Lisa Shearin, Milla Vane, Nalini Singh
It is part of the , Psy-Changeling #12.5, Kate Daniels #6.5, series and is a in eBook edition on November 25, 2014 and has 384 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Must Love Hellhounds, Dark and Stormy Knights, Angels of Darkness, Hexed, Fate's Edge, Hex Appeal, An Apple for the Creature, "Magic Gifts", Gunmetal Magic, Innkeeper Chronicles, Steel's Edge, Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Magic Slays, Magic Rises, Magic Bleeds, Burn For Me, Magic Shifts, Magic Binds, White Hot, Wildfire, Iron and Magic, Magic Triumphs, "Gerard Demille and Helen Meet", "Diamond Fire", "Sweep with Me", Clean Sweep, Sweep in Peace, "A Mere Formality", Blood Heir, "The King of Fire", Sapphire Flames, "A Misunderstanding", Emerald Blaze, "The Cool Aunt", One Fell Sweep, Sweep of the Blade, "Silent Blade", Fated Blades, On the Edge, Bayou Moon, "George and Jack in School", Sweep of the Heart , Magic Tides, Small Magics, "The Wilson Building", "Conlan’s Birthday Text", "Dabwaha", "Don't Fight with Fate", “A Bit More of Roman”, “Getting Distracted”, "Sgt Munoz Had to Go", Ruby Fever, "Regina", Magic Tides, "The King of Fire", Magic Claims, "Sandra", "No Heroes", "Purpose", "A Mere Formality", "I Will Explain Everything", Kiss of Snow, An Enchanted Season, Archangel's Blade, Lord of the Abyss, Desert Warrior, Angels' Flight, Tangle of Need, Play of Passion, Archangel's Storm, Wild Invitation, Heart of Obsidian, Archangel's Legion, "Hide and Seek", "Making Dinner", Shield of Winter, "A Conversation", "Home", Angels' Pawn, "New Year's Kisses", "Weapons Training", "Zoë's Workshop", "Wild Night", Archangel's Shadows, Archangel’s Enigma, Shards of Hope, “Fairy Balloons”, “An Unexpected Guest”, Allegiance of Honor, "The Song of the Wolf", Silver Silence, Archangel’s Heart, Archangel’s Viper, Ocean Light, "Elena's School of Horror", Cherish Hard, "Ain’t No Party Like A Bear Party", Archangel's Prophecy, "One Night At The Refuge", "Secret Things", Rebel Hard, Rock Hard, Wolf Rain, "Clean and Dirty", "Wolf School", "Naya’s Most Important Visitors", "Grocery Shopping", "The Cannibal Princess", "A Gift for Kit", "Movie Night", "Kaleb and Sahara’s Meeting with Sascha and Lucas", "Housewarming at the Orchard", "Christmas in the Kitchen", "Stalking Hawke", "Romancing Drew", "Sunday Morning", "Rowan", "Baubles & Ben", Wild Embrace, Love Hard, Rock Addiction, "Music Awards", Rock Courtship, "Rock Courtship Memo"s, Rock Redemption, "Sunshine", Rock Wedding, "With This Memo", "That Lip Ring…", A Madness of Sunshine, "Beary Tiny Ghosts", Alpha Night, "A Wedding Breakfast", "Poker Night", "Knives and Sheaths", "Seedlings", "Star Kissed", "A Walk on the Cliffs", "Wild Cat Blues", Slave to Sensation, Caressed by Ice, Visions of Heat, Kiss Hard, Angels' Blood, Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's War, Archangel's Sun, Archangel's Light, Archangel's Resurrection, Last Guard, “A Perfect Moment”, "Music in the Rain", Storm Echo, Resonance Surge, "Mate", “New Year’s Eve”
A supernatural anthology of four short stories in the general fantasy genre.
Series:
“Secrets at Midnight” (Psy-Changeling, 12.5)
“Magic Steals” (Kate Daniels, 6.5)
“Lucky Charms” (SPI Files, 0.5)
“The Beast of Blackmoor” (Barbarian, 1)
The Stories
Nalini Singh’s “Secrets at Midnight” finds a frustrated Bastien trying to track the scent of his future mate. It’s a somewhat irritating story as it falls into a double-sided trope. On the one hand, Bastien keeps telling himself to take it slow so he doesn’t scare her off. On the other hand, Kirby can’t figure out why she’s so attracted to Bastien. She also makes me nuts with her passive-aggressive behavior. It’s reasonable that Kirby’s character would be scared of this new information, and Singh should have taken some time to develop this. Why didn’t Bastien take her, immediately, to see their healer instead of faffing about?
Then there are the kittens in a cage…lol.
Ilona Andrews’ “Magic Steals” is an intriguing story within a story. It’s about Jim and Dali’s, well, courting, I guess. It’s very much Dali’s point-of-view so we don’t know what Jim is thinking. Which is frustrating as I don’t understand what attracts Jim to Dali. I can see why Dali wants Jim, and I can see why she thinks she’d be a negative for him.
“When a man truly loves you, the longer you are together, the more beautiful you will be to him. When he looks at you and you look at him, you won’t just see the surface. You will see everything you shared, everything you’ve been through, and every happy moment you hope for.”
Then there’s the missing grandmother. A mystifying case that becomes more bewildering and scarier. It does provide Dali a good opportunity to learn she’s wrong about her and Jim. The very end is quite funny as well when we learn what Jim’s been up to behind Dali’s back.
Lisa Shearin’s “Lucky Charms” was too, too funny. I have got to start reading this series. I mean, how can you resist a tour through the strip clubs of New York with a naked Russian werewolf, stoned leprechauns with the munchies, two hungover elves, and a hot partner racing after a leprechaun with a tracking chip in his butt cheek. Ending in a McDonald’s after midnight. Although, Makenna seems too fussy for this job.
Love the T-shirt: “Don’t run, You’ll only die tired.”
Milla Vane’s “The Beast of Blackmoor” is a complete story with a horrible situation and the mystery of who truly is the beast of Blackmoor. There were a few blips in this, but on the whole a good tale that will have you raging at the injustice.
The Cover and Title
The background on the cover is the forest at night, and it appears as if we’re looking through night vision goggles. That same green washes over a woman in jeans and a black leather halter top with a tiger tattoo covering her back, hips cocked, and hands clasped behind her head. The title reflects the orange of the tiger while the author names and details are in white.
I have no idea why this title was chosen. The only short story that seems to fit is “Lucky Charms” with its Night Shift working its way through the strip clubs. I suppose “The Beast of Blackmoor” might fit since the big action takes place under the moon.
