In Red, With Pearls by Patricia Briggs ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆I really enjoyed this! I loved getting Warren's voice and thoughts and would love to know more about him and Kyle; Mercy's POV is just not enough. But I will take any insight into their relationship that I can get. Anyway, it was a sweet short story all about Warren and Kyle with a paranormal mystery. Unfortunately, I was still a little confused about how Warren figured it all out in the end. 

Basic premise: Urban fantasy stories that center around mysteries/detectives.I hate George RR Martin on a personal level at this point. His SOIAF series has pissed me off to the point that I have been unable to continue reading it. So here I have a volume of stories set in my favorite genre, edited by GRRM. There's a fantastic introduction to the book, defining UF and the connections it has to the mystery genre. Then he proceeds to give me an overly-large volume of mostly "meh"-level stories, so...

There are 16 short stories with a common theme of mystery and private detectives, whether the individual story is of fantasy or reality, well, that's up to the individual author.I suspect Martin and Dozois are including Martin's introduction, "The Bastard Stepchild" as part of the story count. I do suggest reading it as it sheds light on the theme of the stories to come.Series:"Death by Dahlia" (Sookieverse)"Hungry Heart" (Nightside, 1.5)"Styx and Stones" (Roma Sub Rosa, 0.5a)"Pain and Suffering...

A very good collection, each story was substantial and led me to some new to me authors to try, and favorites to revisit.

The Bastard Stepchild (Introduction) by George R. R. Martin ★★★★★ “Maybe a few elves are still around, but if so, they’re likely hooked on horse or coke or stronger, stranger drugs, or maybe they’re elf hookers being pimped out by a werewolf. Those bloody lycanthropes are everywhere, though it’s the vampires who really run the town...” Let daddy tell you all about urban fiction...Death by Dalia by Charlaine Harris ★★★★½ I love Dahlia stories. This episode sees Dahlia solving a murder at a party...

I bought this collection of urban fantasy short stories specifically to get my hands on the new novella by Diana Gabaldon, "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies". For anyone devoted to the works of Diana Gabaldon, this is yet another fun addition to the Lord John series -- not exactly essential, but another chance to see Lord John apply his upper-crust British military efficiency to the solving of a seemingly supernatural mystery. Gabaldon knows how to please her fans. LJ&tPoZ includes just enoug...

I borrowed this to read the story about Warren and Kyle from Patricia Briggs ("In Red, with Pearls"), but I found quite a few well worth the reading. I'm not a big Diana Gabaldon fan, so I think this was the first story I've read about Lord John ("...and the Plague of Zombies"); it's a good story, as story, but I don't have any interest in reading more about him. Laurie R. King's "Hellbender" is a very good story, very different from her Mary Russell books. The last story in the collection, "The...

You can also read this review at Reflections on Reading Romance Rating: 4.5 out of 5Despite its hardcover price, this is one of the better anthologies that I’ve read and well worth the money. The stories are outstanding and varied, and there’s a clear connection between them, as described in the prologue “The Bastard Stepchild,” written by George R. R. Martin. The bastard stepchild to which he refers is Urban Fantasy, an amalgam of the horror and mystery genres, and each of the stories features

I have to confess I've only read one of the stories in this anthology so my rating is purely for In Red, With Pearls by Patricia Briggs.I can't tell you how excited I was to see a story told from Warren's POV. Warren and Kyle have always been two of my favourite side characters in the Mercy Thompson series, I love their relationship and the fact that Warren holds his own against the very prejudiced members of Adam's pack (I'm not counting Adam in that group - I also happen to love that he is so

The bastard stepchild, by George R.R. Martin -- This is an essay that opens the book. Other than what seemed to be a delight in light profanity for its own sake, I found the essay interesting and thoughtful. It really sets the stage for the stories that follow and why they are part of this collection. It was the first time I'd ever read anything my George R.R. Martin, and I know understand why he's so popular. He's got a great turn of phrase that helps you understand what he's driving at. I did

Only read: In Red, with Pearls by Patricia Briggs A zombie shows up at Kyle's law office intending to kill him but luckily Warren steps in and takes care of it with some help from the witch, Elizaveta. Now all Warren has to do is find out who sent the zombie.I was so happy to find out that there is finally a story about Warren and Kyle! (Thank you Heather C.) Obviously, the main problem is that it is way too short and now enough alone time for Warren and Kyle. I did love seeing Warren's protecti...

I don't care what anyone says but Kyle and Warren really are mates! I love these two so much and always yearned for a story of their own. So, I'm glad they finally have one! Even if it's short.I loved both Kyle and Warren and it was fun getting the story from Warren's POV so we got to see his thoughts and his adventures. I really wish there had been more to the story, though, because I don't think I could ever get enough of these two. They are just perfect for each other!I very much enjoyed the

17 supposedly detective tales are mostly gruesome, spooky, scary, rather than intriguing lively puzzle-solvers, from elsewhere 5* authors. In degenerating order: If, like me, TV "True Blood" sometimes pulls late night hours http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jRIUn..., Charlaine Harris, "Death by Dahlia" has a petite powerhouse vampire fond of naked romping and solving murder. "Beware the Snake" by John Maddox Roberts has Roman Decius Caecilius, brother-in-law of Emporer Cesar, solve a missing templ...

This book is touted as "urban fantasy" which is something I will take issue with. Several of the stories are by prominent writers of historical fiction and the stories are to me, historical mysteries NOT urban fantasy.For it to be urban fantasy the stories all need to have the frisson of the unexplained - ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night. A number of stories fit that category, the vampires in Charlaine Harris' story for example. And S. M. Stirl...

I'll admit that I bought this only for Gabaldon's short, "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies." Setting: 18th century Jamaica. Lord John is called to help subdue an uprising of slaves in the hills of the island. While staying at the governor's mansion, he gets quite the surprise and he's left with the task of solving a murder as well. This is classic Gabaldon: witty dialog, a fun mystery, a smattering of the occult :) And all the while, John still pines away for Jamie :)

This Review is ONLY FOR Patricia Brigg's "In Red, With Pearls"I have to borrow this one, if only to read Patricia Brigg's short. Why? BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT WARREN AND KYLE from the Mercedes Thompson's series!!! As a lover of M/M romance genre, I welcome Warren (the third of Adam Carpenter's werewolf pack) and his mate, Kyle, taking over the spotlight for once. Written from Warren's first person narration, it gives a glimpse of their relationship, including how Kyle accepts Warren's predatory natur...

I skipped stories I wasn’t interested in or that weren’t to my taste (I'm not into "hardboiled"/ noir-ish stuff); and I ran out of time because I had to return the book to the library and didn’t want to renew it for longer to read more.I enjoyed some of the stories.The introduction—“The Bastard Stepchild”—by Martin, discussing the origins of urban fantasy, is wryly witty.“Styx and Stones” by Steven Saylor – a story of his Roma Sub Rosa series. It's historical mystery with a spook factor/suggesti...

Although I'd give a story or two in this collection 5 stars, I've got to give the overall collection just 2. This is NOT a collection for light and humorous paranormal romance/thriller lovers. It's a weird collection of that type of headliner, coupled with other straight mystery writers all being asked to write old fashioned hard-boiled detective/noire type stories.It's billed as an urban fantasy collection, but it's not that either. I picked it up for Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, and despit...

The introduction by Martin was good, he really captured something about what I like so much about urban fantasy. He said it's the combination of mystery and horror that makes UF unpredictable and therefore keeps the readers turning the page to find out what happens next, where in traditional mystery, you know that it's probably the psycho who did it, or in horror it's probably the vampire. UF opens the door for a whole new mix of elements and outcomes and the creativity that it allows is a big p...

I let my blog readers select a new-to-me genre to read, and this is one of the two books I'll be reading that fall under "urban fantasy." George R. R. Martin promises in his introduction that urban fantasy is no longer an elf on a motorcycle wandering the streets of Toronto solving crimes. Really, though, most of these stories connect to series the authors write. Without that background, they often lack enough context to figure out where you are without knowing the characters and world they inha...