Review: On The Prowl - Anthology

On The Prowl is a paranormal romance anthology with some fab authors.  I already love Patricia Briggs and Karen Chance but it was a good way to try out a couple of new authors Eileen Wilks & Sunny I'm definitely planning on trying more of Eileen's books but I'm just not sure about the Children of the Moon series by Sunny.  Overall I'd say the anthology is well worth reading if only for the Patricia Briggs and Karen Chance stories but would recommend it if you're a fan of any of the authors included.

The stories included in the anthology are:
Alpha and Omega - Patricia Briggs
Inhuman - Eileen Wilks
Buying Trouble - Karen Chance
Mona Lisa Betwining - Sunny

For more information about any of these authors click on their names in the above list to go to their websites.

Alpha and Omega - Patricia Briggs
The werewolf Anna finds a new sense of self when the son of the werewolf king comes to town to quell unrest in the Chicago pack - and inspires a power in Anna that she's never felt before.

Mercy Thompson Series:
Homecoming (Graphic Novel)
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed
Silver Borne
River Marked
Frost Burned
Hopcross Jilly (Graphic Novel)
Night Broken
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson
Fire Touched
Silence Fallen

Alpha and Omega Series:
(This is a spin off to the Mercy Thompson series)
Alpha and Omega (novella found in the On the Prowl anthology)
Cry Wolf
Hunting Ground
Fair Game
Dead Heat
Burn Bright

Review:
I'm really enjoying Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series so I was keen to try her Alpha and Omega series which is set in the same world.  I didn't realise that we've already one of the main characters in this series - it's actually Samuel's brother Charles.  I'm not going to go into detail about the plot of the story as I don't want to give any spoilers but if you've already read Moon Called then you'll realise that this is a spin off from that book & I found it really interesting to get to see Charles' side of the story.  Anna is an interesting character, turned into a werewolf against her will she hasn't had a very good experience with the other wolves in her pack.  I think it will be interesting to see how her character develops throughout the series as she comes to terms with what she has become and settles into the world she was forced into.  This was my favorite story in the anthology and I'm looking forward to getting to know Anna and Charles better in Cry Wolf, the next book in the series.

Inhuman - Eileen Wilks
Kai as a secret gift of sensing thoughts and desires.  What she senses in her neighbour Nathan could be dangerous.  Because he has a secret gift, too, and it's about to be let loose.

Lupi Series:
Only Human (novella in the Lover Beware anthology)
Tempting Danger
Originally Human (novella in the Cravings anthology)
Mortal Danger
Blood Lines
Inhuman (novella in the On The Prowl anthology)
Night Season
Mortal Sins
Human Nature (novella in the Inked anthology)
Blood Magic
Blood Challenge (releases in January 2011)
Ghost (release date TBC)

Review:
Again I won't go into the plot but I enjoyed this short story featuring Kai and Nathan.  Eileen Wilks has created an interesting world but I think I'd probably have a better understanding of how that world works if I'd read the previous books in the series - I will definitely be checking them out though.  Kai and Nathan's story is left wide open to continue in Night Season and I'd like to find out more about them both but will probably start from the beginning of the series to get the full background information.

Buying Trouble - Karen Chance
In a New York auction house, a Lord of the Fey crosses paths with a fiery redheaded mage named Claire.  But in this strange underground society, the rarity up for sale is Claire herself.

Dorina Basarab Series:
Buying Trouble (novella in the On The Prowl anthology)
Midnight's Daughter
Death's Mistress

Review:
This was my second favorite story in the anthology and one I was looking forward to reading as I'm a big fan of Karen Chance's Cassie Palmer series.  Claire is a great character & I believe she is Dory's roommate from the Dorina Basarab series but you don't need to have read any of those books to enjoy the story.  I loved Heidar, he's probably up there with my favorite leading men from Karen's books.  I would love to see more of these two so I'm hoping they will make appearances in the Dorina Basarab series which I'm going to have to start reading very soon.  Some of the scenes in this story had me laughing out loud & I'd say this would make a very good introduction to Karen's work if you've not read any of her books before.

Mona Lisa Betwining - Sunny
Among the children of the moon, Mona Lisa is of Mixed Blood - part Monere, part human, and destined to be alone.  Then she meets a man who could be her salvation - or her downfall.

Monere: Children of the Moon Series:
Mona Lisa Awakening
Mona Lisa Three (novella in the Over The Moon anthology)
Mona Lisa Blossoming
Mona Lisa Betwining (novella in the On The Prowl anthology)
Mona Lisa Craving
Mona Lisa Darkening

Review:
This was my least favorite story in the anthology and I actually found it a very confusing read.  I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd already read the previous books in the series but for someone new to the world Sunny has created there was a lot of information to take in and I really struggled with it.  Mona Lisa Betwining didn't really have much of a plot to it and I have a feeling that the back story included some major spoilers for the previous books.  I'm not sure if I'll continue reading this series or not, I've heard good things about it but this story just didn't convince me.  I might try out the first book if I come across it at the library but I'm not going to rush out and buy it.

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
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