Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
I knew my first choice was going to be one of the “Mammoth books” but I couldn’t remember which one for a minute. At first I thought it was The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance. I went and looked at my copy, but really, the best story in the whole book is “The Midday Mangler Meets his Match” – Rachel Vincent , and not much else is awesome.
So I went out to my car. Yes, my car. I keep my copy of The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance. in my car. Why do I keep in the car? Because sometimes you get in situations where you have to wait for something to happen, and when that happens, I like to have to have something to read.
It has a ton of really good, very diverse stories in it, and it’s worth the read. Some of my favorite authors have written the stories. I wanted to talk about one or two of them, but I couldn’t pick from among my top four, so here you go:
The Temptation of Robin Green by Carrie Vaughn is a cute little story about a woman who works in a place where they catch supernatural creatures for study, and this time, they’ve got a hot Selkie man on their hands. Carrie Vaughn writes excellent characters and is also one of my favorite authors, so if you enjoy this, check out her Kitty and the Midnight Hour series.
Paranormal Romance Blues by Kelley Armstrong takes place in the same world as her other books. I early stated that Elena is one of my favorite characters, and while this story doesn’t actually involve her, it is her world that the short story is set in. This story involves a half demon reporter and a hot werewolf.
Taking Hold by Anya Bast is a story set in a world where werewolves are out, and experiencing some persecution from all the non werewolves of the world. This is a tale of forbidden love between a werewolf and a non-werewolf, which takes place while the two of them fight together to save the life of a young werewolf boy. The world is entrancing, and I hope that Anya Bast considers writing more stories in this setting. Anya writes amazing fantasy romance, and I really enjoy reading her stories and books.
Light Through Fog by Holly Lisle is probably my favorite though. I like Holly Lisle, but she’s not on any of my short lists for favorite author. This story is one of the best short stories I have ever read. In the story, Sarah’s husband has recently died, and she is attempting to deal with the loss. Sarah heads out to one of the special places her and her husband used to share, only to find him there, waiting for her. This touching story is not a ghost story, but you’ll have to read it to find out exactly what it is about.
In short, I highly recommend of The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance. It is my choice for favorite short story collection, because of the wealth of options and the high number of excellent stories.
The Chronicles of a Henchwoman 