This anthology includes 5 new stories by popular paranormal authors. In all cases (except for Marr's story) the stories are set in preexisting worlds created by the authors. My favorite of the bunch were "Ley Line Drifter" which gives you a closer look at Jenks' family and "Rekoning" which introduced me to Jeaniene Frost's writing. This book made me want to learn more both about Frost and Drake and read some of their series. "Dark Matters" by Petttersson is an important read for those of us reading the "Signs of the Zodiac" series as it explains in full some of the events that happened in "City of Souls". Marr's first adult story "Two Lines" was also a pleasant surprise and I liked it quite a bit more than her young adult series.

In general the stories in this book tend more towards action/urban fantasy than romance. I personally enjoyed that. All in all a great collection of stories. See below for more detail on each story in this anthology.

- "Ley Line Drifter" by Kim Harrison (5/5 stars)
An excellent story set in Harrison's Hollows world, it's about Jenks helping a fellow pixie. You learn more about pixie culture and there is a ton of action. Given the ending I am wondering if what Jenks and Ivy unleashed will come back to haunt them in the next Hollows book.

- "Reckoning" by Jeaniene Frost (5/5 stars)
A prequel to the Night Huntress series by Frost. This story tells about a vampire named Bones who is hired by the New Orleans Queen vampire to take out some serial killer Ghouls. On top of this hunt for the killers, someone is trying to kill Bones. I have never read any of Frost's Night Huntress books but based on this story I will have to check them out. I like her writing style; no-nonsense and lots of action. Bones was an intriguing character and Frost creates an interesting variation on paranormal alternate worlds.

- "Dark Matters" by Vicki Pettersson (3/5 stars)
This is a prequel to her "Signs of the Zodiac series". It tells the background/history of JJ/Hunter. It was good to read a story that made the events in the "City of Souls" (book 4) make more sense. I still don't understand why "City of Souls" couldn't have explained what this story did. If you are reading the "Signs of the Zodiac" series then reading this story is a must. As for the story itself I didn't like it all that much (aside from the info it gives). The story is more a romance than anything and much of the action is pushed aside for numerous sex scenes. It was okay, but nothing to write home about.

- "The Dead, the Damned, and the Forgotten" by Jocelynn Drake (4/5 stars)
Prequel to the Dark Days series by Jocelynn Drake; I have not read any books in this series. This story follows Mira as she tries to track down a nightwalker killer and avoid assassination herself. Both Mira and Knox are intriguing characters. The story was action packed and hints at an interesting world. An enjoyable read. I will have to check out the Dark Days series eventually to see how I like the full novels.

- "Two Lines" by Melissa Marr (4/5 stars)
This story tells about Eaven, she is a human that will become a glasitig is she ever does two things: kill and have sex. She is hell bent on staying human. Things get out of control when she starts hunting a drug lord. When her grandmother provides a sexy bodyguard for her Eaven begins to wonder if her desire to stay human is worth the sacrifice. Not as much action as the other stories, this story presented a very unique world with supernatural creatures different than I was used to seeing. I actually like Marr's writing style in this story quite a bit more than her writing style in her "Wicked Lovely" series.

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Anthologies are hit and miss for me. I liked Jenks' story but not a reader of the other series so they didn't make sense as stand alones. Unless you re familiar with the characters, I wouldn't recommend.

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Kim Harrison - Ley Line Drifter. A pixy and a gargoyle must band together to rescue the endangered innocent from a pychotic nymph with delusions of goddesshood. Jenks gets his own story and investigation! Takes place sometime after Bis moves in.

Jeaniene Frost - Reckoning. In New Orleans in 2004, a pair of undead serial killers is about to turn Mardi Gras into a horrow show--unless the immortal hitman Bones can hunt them down. Good story about a bit of Bones's past. Can be read whenever.

Jocelynn Drake - The Dead, the Damned, and the Forgotten. A nightwalker is slain, and suspicion falls on Mira - Fire Starter - the last hope of her immortal race. Nice story from shortly before Danaus shows up in town. Can be read whenever.

Melissa Marr - Two Lines. Nice girls don't hunt is Eavan's credo--until a deadly alpha male sets out to ensnare her in the ultimate seduction. Good story, the author's first adult fiction.

Vicki Pettersson - Dark Matters. HUGE spoilers for City of Souls (Zodiac Bk 4) in this story. Seriously, don't even read the rest of this paragraph if you haven't read the novel yet. Reading this story after it's nice fill in of the backstory. Following the slaughter of his parents, J.J. became an agent of the Light--but now his love for the beautiful killer who spared his life transforms the fierce defender into the most perfect predator of all.

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The only story I read in this book was RECKONING by Jeaniene Frost. Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau has ordered Bones to New Orleans. When he arrives, Marie's henchman, Jelani, tells him that Marie wants Bones to kill Delphine and Louis LaLaurie, two ghouls who are murdering their way through the city. Bones jumps on the job, wanting to stop the LaLaurie's slaughter of innocent humans. But while hunting for the LaLauries, Bones finds that someone is hunting him...and that someone wants him dead.

This is a short-story about Bones before he met Cat. It's a quick read with lots of action. My rating: 4 Stars.

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If you are following any of these series', this anthology is definitely something you want to read. I'm not reading any of the series' but I enjoyed this anthology anyway. All of the stories are well written and interesting.

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I basically bought the book for Kim Harrison's story about Jenks, the pixie, and it was well worth the cost for that alone. I'm not familiar with the other authors, but as a whole, they were pretty good.

And Jocelynn Drake's story made me wonder how I missed reading her series for so long---scarily believable vampire politics!

From back cover: Five masters of dark fantasy cross the borders between our world and others.
Not all hunters are bound by human laws...
Revisiting the paranormal realms they've made famous in their wildly popular fiction, New York Times bestsellings authors KIM HARRISON, JEANIENE FROST, VICKI PETTERSSON and JOCELYNN DRAKE--plus Nwe York Times bestselling YA author MELISSA MARR with her first adult supernatural thriller--unleash their full arsenal of dark talents, plunging us into the shadows where the supernatural stalk the unsuspecting... and every soul is a target.

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