Three new stories in one delicious volume of horror and romance.

Her Best Enemy by USA Today bestselling author Maggie Shayne:
Kiley Brigham refuses to believe there's a ghost in her house, but when an unseen hand leaves a bloody message on her bathroom mirror, she's forced to turn to local psychic Jack McCain. As the two work to uncover a long-buried secret, Kiley finds that she's haunted not by spirits, but by thoughts of Jack...

Someone Else's Shadow by Nebula Award-nominated author Barbara Hambly:
Maddie Laveau worries about her young roommate, Tessa, when she stays late to practice ballet in the old Glendower Building... and when Tessa goes missing, Maddie enlists mysterious tenant Phil Anderson to help. but is Phil the white knight she needs, or the predator she fears?

Dancers in the Dark by Anthony Award-winning author Charlaine Harris:
Layla Rue Le May is no ordinary dancer--her partner, Sean McClendon, is a three-hundred-year-old redheaded vampire. So when Layla Rue acquires a stalker, she's forced to face the music... and wonder if this will finally be her last dance.

I started reading this book over the weekend and I really enjoyed the first story, Her Best Enemy by Maggie Shayne. I'd always thought of Ms. Shayne as somewhat of a fluffy-bunny, happily-ever-after type of romance writer, especially after the first story I read by her from the Out of this World anthology. Not in a bad way per se, just more in the way that romance novels bore me. In any case, Her Best Enemy was a wonderful haunted house story, and though parts of the story were fairly predictable (the gal and the guy DID hook up of course), the rest of the story was intriguing right up until the very end. Bravo! I wanted to write this while the story was still fresh in my mind, but I'm going to hold off on giving a rating for the book itself until I've read the other two stories. However, if I were to rate the book on this story alone, I'd probably give it a 9. :)

The last story in this book, Dancers in the Dark by Charlaine Harris, was probably the best in this anthology, but then again, I have loved all four of Charlaine's Southern Vampire books (the Sookie Stackhouse ones) so it's not surprising that I'd really enjoy her contribution to this anthology as well.

Anyway, Dancers in the Dark, while it would probably be considered a romance, had enough intrigue and danger in the story to make it far from the usual *yawn* boring romance. Though it has different characters, it takes place in the same world as the Sookie Vampire books. If you've read those books, you'll recognize the symmetry in the handling of vampires in this story. Of the three books in this anthology, this was the only one of the three that had anything to do with vampires, though that wasn't probably the primary reason I liked it best. I believe it was more because I have really come to like Charlaine Harris' writing.

The mystery is compounded by the fact that Charlaine doesn't give everything away right up front. For instance, she starts by only hinting at some of the horrors in Layla's past instead of spelling things out in the first chapter, which tends to pique the reader's interest. Same goes for Sean, the lead Vampire. Of course, you know things are going to work out in the end, for they nearly always do in anthology stories, but I certainly couldn't have predicted everything that happened in the story.

I should probably mention something about the second story, Someone Else's Shadow by Barbara Hambly, too, since that was also fairly good. Not as good as numbers 1 and 3, but interesting enough, probably a 6. This was the first story I've read by Barbara Hambly, and using this story as a basis, I'd say that I'd definitely read something else by her in the future. This story was also a romance, but contained the supernatural element of ghosts like the Her Best Enemy, the first story. It was a bit more predictable than the others, though the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. :)

Starting a BOOKRAY for this book since it's fairly new and I know a few people who'd like to read it.

BookRay Participants, last modified 13-Apr-2006
1. Kyrissaean, NH, USA (pref US)
2. LaurieS, NH, USA (pref US)
3. tish2002, MO, USA (pref US)
4. LyekkaMarengo (aka SCOBCZ), PA, USA (ship Intl)
5. NeedSun, ON, Canada (ship Intl)
6. Quest-Kraven, ON, Canada (ship Intl)
7. SandDanz, IN, USA (pref US) requested to be skipped
8. CandyDarling, Finland (ship Intl)
9. joasik, Poland (ship Intl)
10. Tanya04, UK (pref Europe) <== current reader
11. nikel27, Germany (ship Intl)
12. jessicaloveyou, Singapore (ship Intl)
13. terra57, MA, USA (ship Intl)


I'm setting up this bookray a bit different from my usual bookrings, with less stringent rules, primarily because this isn't a PC book that I'm trying to get safely home to me at the end of its journey. This doesn't mean you shouldn't be considerate of the others participants though. Really the only thing required is that you're willing to read and pass on the book in a reasonable amount of time. I won't dictate what constitutes a reasonable amount of time, however if you haven't been able to start on the book within a month of receiving it, and you're not the last person on the list, common courtesy dictates that you should send it along to the person after you, and request to be readded to the end of the list if you'd still like to read it.

I will continue to accept participants to this bookray even after it has begun it's journey. Newcomers will be added to the end of the list, primarily on a first-come, first-serve basis, though minimal reordering may be performed to keep the shipping costs and times most efficient. Under most circumstances, I can't guarantee that shipping preferences can be honored after the book has started it's journey, so if you're joining the ray after it's started, you should be prepared to ship Internationally if required.

When the book has reached the last participant, I will officially withdraw my involvement and it will then be up to that person to do what they like with the book, whether that be reannouncing and continuing the ray, using the book in trade or RABCK with another BookCrosser, or even adding it to their personal shelf for awhile so they can share it with non-BookCrossing friends. (Feel free to ask me to remove BOOKRAY from the book's title if it will no longer be used in that capacity since only the person who originally registered the book can make such changes.)

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to Kyrissaean via Media Mail. (Put in mailbox for pickup on 27-Jan-2005.)

And here it is, safe and sound! I'm getting a small flood of rings and rays at the moment, but I'm pretty drawn to this one so hopefully I'll be able to get to this one pretty quickly!

...Well, maybe I have time for just one of the stories before I get to a book with a faster deadline... ;)

Good book! Novella's aren't usually my thing -- I'm a "more is more" girl when it comes to books -- but these were all fun to read, and I didn't feel like half the story had to be left out to cram it into the shorter framework, if that makes any sense. These all fit their size and still managed to tell their stories.

I agree with CheriePie -- Charlaine Harris's story (the third one) was my favorite too, and yup, it's largely due to her writing style. It also helps that I love the Sookie Stackhouse books and am predisposed to like anything set in that world. Very fun story, which is also making me want to take ballroom dancing lessons. :) Preferably with a vampire partner, so I don't have to worry about squashing his toes! Story rating: 9

I'd never read anything by Maggie Shayne, but she's got some books out that sound interesting so I was happy to take a peek at her style. Hers is the first story, which was pretty lively, had a lot of humor, and was also the creepiest of the three. Overall it was my second favorite, and while it wasn't that scary, I just chose not to go down to the basement for the rest of the night when I finished reading it! I'd be interested to read more of her stuff. Story rating: Probably an 8, but a high 8

Barbara Hambly's story takes third place but is still a good read. Part of me wants to say I just wasn't as drawn into it, but at the same time I never wanted to stop reading once I started, either. It has some fun creepy aspects -- I like a little mystery to my characters, and there was some to be found here. But you know how I said Dancers in the Dark made me want to learn ballroom dance? Well, reading this, I do not feel like I'm missing anything 'cos I quit taking ballet as a kid! Story rating: 7

I'm sending this out to LaurieS this morning. Happy reading, everybody! Thanks for including me in this ray!

Night's Edge arrived safely yesterday. Me, being me, actually purchased a copy of this from the UBS several days before completely forgetting that I had joined this ring. Anyway, this gives me a good excuse to read it sooner rather than later.

I started it today on the way to my sister's house in Massachusetts and got a good way through the Maggie Shayne story (I do wish I had my own personal driver 7 days a week!). Shayne used to be my favorite paranormal romance author way back when she was writing for Silhouette Shadows (now defunct) but she lost me when she started writing the books with the Witchy heroines who annoyed the heck out of me. I'm enjoying this haunted house tale but the hot dog swilling heroine (kiley, is it?) is a bit abrasive (blowing smoke in a guy's face who was nice enough to hand over a light for her cig was downright rude). Will write more as I get it read.

Well here it is over a week later and I just managed to finish up the Maggie Shayne story. Will I ever get my life back? Anyway, despite the constant interruptions I experienced while reading it I enjoyed the story. I must admit that I was irritated by the heroine many times but eventually she grew on me and loosened up on her stringent beliefs a bit. The haunted house aspects were just creepy enough to hold my attention and have me anxiously turning the pages but the romance was a bit of a flop for me. The pair went from complete dislike, to overwhelming lust, to deep forever love in a blink. I can't see them shacking up together for any longer than a month before boredom sets in, tempers begin to flare and Kylie storms out in a huff but maybe I'm getting grouchy in my old age ;) Hmmm, this all sounds mighty negative but, really, I did enjoy the story and never found myself bored.

I began story #2 last night but, of course, was interrupted and didn't get very far before having to put it down and today I can’t remember a thing about it and will have to started over (it’s the age thing creeping up on me again). Will write more soon.

I hope you don't mind me cluttering the place up with my constant updates. I find that if I don't write things down while they're fresh in my head I forget them entirely.

I'm midway through the Barbara Hambly story and must say it's been rough going. There is a heck of a lot of navel gazing going on and the story just doesn't seem to move. Maddie has way too much internal dialogue going on and over analyzes everything and everyone near to her.

One night Maddie goes out in search of her young roomie, Tessa, who spends long nights alone practicing ballet in a creepy studio. While searching for Tessa a smelly man lurking in the shadows whispers something along the lines of "little sluts are alike" before disappearing. Maddie is justifiably creeped out and when Tessa introduces her to Phil (a nice enough guy, temporarily homeless and living at the studio) she fears he was the one whispering those not-so-sweet-nothings in her ear. But she's confused because Phil isn't stinky and the erotic dreams she has about Phil after the fact have her hoping he isn't the foul-mouthed, foul-smelling psychopath hanging out in the shadows.

She goes over and over (and over) this in her head, does a tarot reading filled with danger signs that adds fuel to the fire, then worries some on her roomie, her past, her mother and well you can see the pattern here.

I guess I'm just not patient enough for a character like this and wish the story would get a move-on. If I had to sum this up right now "unfocused" and "meandering" would do it.

Damn, I feel impossible to please.

I have finally finished up the Barbara Hambly story and, though it got a bit better, it just wasn't my thing. I kept having flashbacks of Stephen King's "Kingdom Hospital" which I foolishly watched to the deadly dull end so that didn't help matters. All in all this was an okay ghost story and a so/so romance. On to the Harris . . .

This should be my final pesky long-winded entry (yeah right, I can hear you groan). I'm about 10 pages away from finishing up the Charlaine Harris story which turned out to be the best of three for me. Rue is a dancer, haunted by a tragic past that is only revealed in bits and pieces. She needs money and agrees to sign on with a copy of dubious origins called "Blue Moon" where she is paired up with a sexily accented, very secretive centuries old vampire named Sean. The pair hit it off as only two kindred and very damaged souls can but trouble surfaces when a nut from Rue's past comes back to haunt her. This story was tender and suspenseful and never made me think "awww, stop feeling sorry for yourselves and get over it already" as so many angsty vampire tales have a tendency to do. I liked both of these and their chemistry was a very powerful thing.

I've PMed the next in line and will this along as soon as I hear back. Thanks so much for sharing!

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailing off to tish2002 about 2:00 pm this afternoon.

Arrived safe and sound. I'm reading another book, but I'm going to start this one too. It sounds so good that I just can't wait.

I enjoyed all three of the stories. I thought the first story was so good that nothing could top it. The second one was good, but maybe not quite as interesting as the first. The last story surprised me by being even better than the first one.
Thanks so much for letting me be on this bookray, CheriePie. I will be mailing this to LyekkaMarengo by the end of the week.

RELEASE NOTES:

DC# 02805213907332277852

Received safe and sound in PA on 04/29/2005. Just have to finish a Connie Wills bookring and then I'll get on this one.

I liked all three of these stories and probably liked the Barbara Hambly better than some of the other people. I thought some of her descriptions of the city were very vivid. But I am a big Charlaine Harris fan so it was no surprise that I liked her story best. I guess the Maggie Shayne would come in third for me since it was what I was a pretty standard ghost story, though again very well done. This is another one of those books that was a little more secually graphic than I expected it to be but that kind of thing doesn't bother me it just seems to be more prvelant in ghost stories anymore.

Will send on to NeedSun when I have the address.

This arrived today and I am so looking forward to reading it that I may just start it today.

The first and last stories were both page turners. I loved all of the books I have read by Charlaine Harris and the world she has created. This story fit in well. I just ordered the first book from her Tea-Garden series. I will look around for more books by Maggie Shayne since this was my intro to her.

I was extremely disappointed with the second story by Barbara Hambly. I was really looking forward to it since she was one of my favorite authors when I read fantasy/sci-fi exclusively. The story seemed to go on and on in a disjoined, rambling sort of way. Not one of her best works.

I'll send it on it's way as soon as I get an address.

Received yesterday. I'll journal again once finished. :)

07/15/05: I am almost ready to pass this book on. I'm just finishing off the Shayne short story(I started backwards) while waiting for an address. I'll make a new journal entry once I'm ready to review. Tuesday will be the target mail out date.

I started this anthology backwards, beginning with Dancers in the Dark. I really enjoyed this short story and actually found it more engaging than some of the Sookie Stackhouse books. Although Rue isn't the type of protagonist I typically go for, I found myself admiring her humble struggle to regain her confidence and build a new life. I also thought Sean and Rue had a wonderful chemistry, something I wish Sookie and Bill(or maybe Eric) had in the Undead series. I hope Charlaine Harris writes more novellas like this in the future because I would definitely be interested in reading them.

I'll have to agree with the majority here and say that Someone Else's Shadow was the weakest of the three. Right from the very beginning I had trouble connecting with the characters and story. The characters and setting seemed sort of dull, and the pace was slow. Since the "haunted floor" storyline has been done to death, Hambly really needed to do something more energetic and passionate with this story to get my attention. I ended up skim reading the rest of this one.

Her Best Enemy by Maggie Shayne was surprisingly fun to read. I've read Maggie Shayne before but I wasn't sure what to expect from her novella-wise. With Her Best Enemy, Shayne hits the nail right on the head and spins a creepy but fast paced haunted house tale with 2 strong leads. Kiley and Jack's comical sparring and passionate interludes kept this one from being another run of the mill haunted house story.

So 2 out of 3 stories I would recommend. That's better than most of the anthologies I read. Maybe anthologies with fewer stories are the way to go. I liked that Night's Edge only had 3 authors with more page space (120+) to work with.

thanks for including me on this bookray!

**still waiting for an address. SandDanz asked to be skipped and Tanya04 is heading to Uganda for 3 weeks.

RELEASE NOTES:

sent to CandyDarling in Finland. I'm sending by airmail instead because sending by boat can be 4-10 weeks.

Thank you Quest-Kraven and CheriePie, the book is now here! I have several books by Barbara Hambly and Charlaine Harris, but I've never got around to reading them, so it'll be interesting to get to know three new authors. I think I'll start from the end because a quick glance at the previous journal entries suggested that Charlaine Harris' story has been everyone's favorite.

I liked this anthology very much, and was surprised that it had been published by Harlequin. I like Harlequin's Red Dress Ink books, but I've been very prejudiced against other Harlequin titles. Apparently there are some gems there too. I read the stories out of order, here are my individual reviews:

Dancers in the Dark by Charlaine Harris
I liked this story. It had a special feeling to it, which is hard to describe. The was some sort of dark foreboding hanging in the air, but you couldn't put on finger on what caused it. I liked how the author hinted at the troubles in Rue's past, and how she managed to make Rue's and Sean's romance believable, instead of recreating all the old romance cliches. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the Sookie Stackhouse books.

Her Best Enemy by Maggie Shayne
I liked this one immediately. The main characters were very good, and their attraction seemed natural. Even the sex scenes were well written. Those seem to be hard for many romance authors... A great story, I'll definitely keep an eye out for Maggie Shayne in the future.

Someone Else's Shadow by Barbara Hambly
This was the weakest of the three stories, but not bad. The beginning was a bit confusing, and I only started to get into the story half-way through. I thought the romance between the main characters didn't really work as well as it should have, and I was a bit put off by the way they declared their love to each other even though they had only just met. I have the two first books in Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series, about a free black man in pre-civil war New Orleans. It'll be interesting to see how she handles the historical mystery genre.

I'll send the book to joasik tomorrow. Thank you CheriePie for organising this bookray!

I got the book ca. 2 weeks ago but could not read the right BCID. Reading now...

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to the next person in the bookring!

Received this Saturday. Began reading immediately. I quite enjoyed Maggie Shayne's story, but couldn't finish the second story. I loved Charlaine Harris' story though. Really enjoyed it, and would have loved to see more. Thanks for allowing me to participate CheriePie.