This one is more of a compendium of short stories published previously in other anthologies but all from the Wyndham Wolf series. This series is very good but because they are all printed in different Anthologies it has been a pain in the butt to follow so I was jumping all over this Anthology when it first came out.Now to be honest, I had not read any of the Wyndham Werewolf books but my daughter raved about Derik's Bane and since I knew Derik's Bane was the third book in the series I put off picking it up until I had collected all the books and could read them in order.
My suggestion is to NOT do this. The short stories are not strong plots and if you read too many of them, you kind of get sick of the tales. I read the first 4 on vacation back in August and then read the rest in September. Now all I need to read is Derik's Bane.
The Prequels to the Anthologies are:
Love's Prisoner : (C-) SPOILER ALERT!!!
I cannot fathom why I didn't give this story a worse grade. What I keep remembering is that Michael rapes Jeannie… more than once! I think that when I read it I forced myself to step out of my contemporary shoes and go into this alternate universe where werewolves exist and pack law determines how one deals with every day situation. He tries to explain this to his mate (who is human) and I REALLY had to work on getting past the whole rape issue. The story was good enough to bring up the grade even after the incidents but it is not for everyone.
Jared's Wolf : (C) Jared's sister was killed by a rouge Were and he has been searching for the culprit for years. Now he believes he has finally found him and is stalking the mansion waiting for his chance for revenge. He believes that only men can be Weres and kidnaps Moira from the grounds thinking she is in danger. Moira realizes the security risk Jared is and decides to stay close to him to 'protect' her pack. Yeah right!
Derik's Bane should be at this point.
From the Anthology though we have:
Santa Claws (C+): Cute little Xmas story but it was mostly a no plot story (thus why it didn't go over a C+). Just saw you, screwed you, committed to you. Didn't give it anything lower because the heroine, Giselle was a short plump girl that dressed in a Santa's costume. She was just too cute! The Hero, Alec was a Scot that came to pay homage to Michael and Jenny's daughter.
Monster Love (C+): In this one Janet Lupo, who must be a dominatrix in another life since she is such an overbearing b*tch, finds her mate in a vampire that kidnaps her (what is with these Weres getting kidnapped?), hot monkey sex ensues and she makes him heel to her – okay so she does give a little too.
There is no Such Thing as Werewolves (B-): This one was different. The hero was a blind Were who was not feeling welcomed in his pack. He has made a life for himself as a doctor among the humans and runs into some homeless kids that try to mug him. Cresent Muhn is among them but decides that mugging a blind guy is a bit much for her and offers him protection. Drake realizes that there is something different about Crescent and not in the wacko way (even though she is determined to fly). He had some issue due to an age difference but there is more different about them than age. This one was pretty good.
A Fiend in Need – (B): A crossover with Queen Betsy series. This story was a big seller for me on this Anthology. I want to say it was what made me buy the book but not really.. I wanted to read the story of George, The Fiend from the Betsy books and how he finds love with Antonia, the Were that doesn't change but has premonitions. These premonitions are what guides Antonia to Betsy's door and ultimately leads her to George.
Overall, I like this type of anthology where it’s one author and many of their shorts.
Grade: B-
Format: eBook
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