expected great things from these authors and I was not disappointed! I only read "Unappreciated Gifts" by Patricia Briggs thus far.
I enjoyed it and wish we would have seen more or alldates, Lol
I will read the rest of the stories someday, Only read the short: Mercy Thompson World,Alpha amp Omega.: Unappreciated Gifts
I loved this story with Asil, And it makes me hopeful that we're going to get a lot more of these "dates" of his in future stories.
crossing fingers
to come, Unappreciated Gifts Patricia Briggs:
Asil gets dared to go on five dates that some concerned packmates of his have arranged, and he is determined to win.
This story focuses on the first date of his that is a lot more fun than Asil thought it would be, for very unexpected reasons .
A light and fun story that shows a whole different side of the dangerous Asil that made me like him even more.
The series continues with an Alpha and Omega story next, sitelinkDead Heat,
Previous book reviews:
sitelinkFrost Burned Mercy Thompson, ,
sitelinkFair Game Alpha amp Omega, ,
sitelinkRiver Marked Mercy Thompson, ,
sitelinkSilver Borne Mercy Thompson, , ,
I got a copy of The Gift of Stories from my library because I wanted to read Briggs's Unappreciated Gifts.
I ended up reading all the stories, I did not expect horror in a Christmas/holiday story anthology, but at least two of the stories A Christmas Feast, A World Done In By Great Granny's Grateful Pie are definitely horror.
Several stories are science fiction and several are urban fantasy,
I am a rabid Asil fan, and Unappreciated Gifts is a wonderful story of acceptance and standing up to a bully, actually to several bullies.
Briggs's story easily earns the bookstars, but Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Brad Torgerson, Sam Knight, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Eric James Stone also wrotestar stories.
Even the horror stories are worthy ofstars, You may get this book to read Unappreciated Gifts, but I strongly recommend trying the other titles, Decided to read the Patricia Briggs Asil story again, This is the first date he goes on, Im left wondering whether he wins and who set up the whole thing, Great, cute story about Asil being set up on a blind date through a dating site, Things definitely dont go as planned, Wonder how the next ones go,
sitelinkFantastic Hope has the next date
Reread Not quite as I'm reading some of the other stories for the first time.
Naughty amp Nice by Kevin J Anderson
Someone has stolen Santa's naughty list, A zombie PI with his ghost assistant get on the case, is it Elvis the naughty elf that is trying to capitalise on the holiday and take over Santa's business.
How about the missing children Then a werewolf couple comes to say that their adoptive child is missing, Could it be something to do with it,
Pretty quick and straight forward,/stars
Close Knit
Family magic, a movie and dinner, then talking to his kids on everything he missed.
His son who is gay, how he is overbearing for his daughter, First year as a separated dad, arrives for Christmas morning too, He discovers what went wrong,
Astronaut Nick by Brad R Torgerson
Futuristic Martian holiday Talk about the old Saint Nick story from Earth.
Could he bring to the children that believe in him, Kid just wants to go home but doesn't yet understand that home is where the heart is,/
The Longest Night
Drags at first
Jimmy Krinklepot
Midnight Trains
A Christmas Feast
A World Done In
Santa's Mortuary
Yes Virginia
Christmas Eve at Harvey
The Atmosphere for Miracles
A Sufficiently Advanced Christmas
Unappreciated Gifts
I love this short about a date Asil goes on because someone from the pack is setting him up on dating sites and challenging him to "complete" the dates, with qualifiers.
This date starts wrong from the beginning as "Kelly" is not female and Asil prefers women but, . . he also prefers to win the challenge so, . . what could go wrong, it is dinner then a masquerade 'vampire' ball where humans pose as vampires with no knowledge of what is around them.
Asil likes to dance so of to the ball they go,
I don't know why I rated it and never reviewed or even change the shelf to read, since I'm not going to read the other shorts but I fell down on the job.
I read only Unappreciated Gifts a short story in the Mercy/Alphaamp Omega world involving Asil, Asil is talked into going on a number of "dates", they don't turn out as anyone had hoped or planned and one has consequences.
I loved how things played out with the last date, I'm not saying anything as there is a twist, and others players are involved, It is short, read it for yourself, But every short I read of Asil makes me like him more,
Ooo, one I missed, Has an Asil story from Mercy Thompson world that I missed, Patricia Briggs', Unappreciated Gifts
. .
Dearest Children,
Challenge accepted,
Asil
Since sitelinkAsil Moreno was sitelinkfirst introduced in the sitelinkAlpha amp Omega series, I've been lowkey hung up him.
He became that character, the enigmatic one, the impossibly handsome and elusive one, the one who can talk shit without anyone realising because he's an actual wizard of words.
And in my head he looks like the beautiful love child of sitelinkMarwan Kenzari and sitelinkOscar Isaac.
Yeah, . . let that ruminate for a while,
And then imagine that filthy, angelic package with a weirdly charming arrogance, a healthy dose of intimidating intelligence, an unexpected sense of humour, and a whole lifetime of pentup lupine crazy just waiting to fuzzball out at any given moment.
Go on, ruminate, I'll wait,
Understand now why this guy's been on my mind
I'm not normally drawn to characters, especially male characters, who exude this much confidence they often come across as more arrogant douchebag than selfassured kingofmyownkingdom, and arrogance is a major turn off for me.
But somehow Asil manages to skirt the line between "so damn old that he knows he's hot shit" and being a cocksure prick about it.
Somehow he
makes it obscenely attractive, he makes you want to lean a little closer to hear what unexpected wonder will roll off his beautifully accented tongue next.
He's that guy,
Throw in his tender love of rose growing, the same tenderness and patience he shows to a newly turned werewolf in need of guidance see: Roses in Winter in the sitelinkShifting Shadows collection such a beautiful short story, his general amusement at the behaviour of werewolves far junior to him, and he's just.
. . so readable.
Unappreciated Gifts is the second short story I've read featuring Asil and this one is far more lighthearted than the previous.
In this we're not focusing so much on how old Asil is or his struggle to maintain his humanity and not let the wolf take over.
Instead, a prank is played on him by, as he refers to them, the children,
Younger members of his pack show "concern" for his lack of social life and set him up on a series of dates they've orchestrated by pretending to be him.
I know, catfishing, not cool, but this is fiction so just shut it, morality police and trust me, this is adorable
But there's a catch:
A successful date is one in which a neither party runs screaming into the nightb there are no dead bodies at the end of it and c lasts longer than two hoursat least an hour and a half of which is spent with your datewhich is an hour and fifty minutes longer than we expect any date of yours to last.
There's a strong part of me that thinks our eponymous Omega in the sitelinkAlpha amp Omega series might be the driving force in this particular game of Get Asil Socialised.
A very strong part of me,
So, we have Anna to thank for this delightful little Winterfest tale,
We have Anna to thank for Asil showing the manners of a true gentleman who never balks in the face of the unexpected.
We have Anna to thank for the visual of the abovementioned Moreno/Isaac lovechild in authentic Renaissance clothing, all floral brocade and richly coloured fabrics.
We have Anna to thank for the general delight of being around a seasoned werewolf who could charm the undies off the most devout of nuns simply by existing in their direction.
And then he has the audacity to smile, or god forbid, open his mouth and speak, . .
Yeah I could do with a lot more Asil in my reading life,
Hopefully Patricia Briggs will give it to me,
But for now, there's this lovely story,
There's a little mischief,
A little flirting.
A lot of respect,
A dash of dancing,
And a routine beheading,
Now, the challenge included five dates in total, . . where can I get my paws on the other four HmmNaughty amp Nice by: Kevin J, Anderson:
If you enjoy stories dripping with clichés about every other line, this just might be your kind of story but certainly not mine.
I could have easily played holiday bingo with this story and won in the first few pages,
The premise is that Santa lost his naughty or nice list so he seeks out the help of a zombie detective to solve the mystery.
I found the culprit far to obvious, the clichés unbearable, and the worldbuilding too inclusive as in every kind of supernatural, story, and minder reference exists: Santa, Zombies, Elvis, Lord of the Rings you name it.
If the goal was to create a story so cheesy and with such a ridiculous plot a middle school drama teacher would select it to have her students perform, this author nailed it.
out of
Close Knit by: Nina Kiriki Hoffman
I ended this story both fascinated and wishing it wasnt so brief.
Leo is separated from his wife and longs to repair the bond between he and his family, While it was simple in plot, I loved the magical element as I felt it was unique and something I hadnt come across before.
I dont know if this is a taste of one of the authors series but if so Id be interested in checking out more of her writing!
/out of
Astronaut Nick by: Brad R.
Torgersen
To believe in Santa or not believe in Santa this story follows a boy who hasnt adjusted to his new life on Mars and just wants to go home.
Tessa from school begins talking with him and telling him about astronaut Santa Claus and this begins this story,
It is a very cute story with a valuable lesson that fits into the plot of a typical Christmas story but with the setting of space.
I really enjoyed this one and felt the author did well,
out of
The Longest Night by: Mercedes Lackey
Vickie must spend the holidays at her school of magic while her FBI parents are off hunting down a magical criminal.
This was story reminiscent of Harry Potter in a modern age set in America, It takes a bit for the story to begin as time is spent explaining her modern/antique room which in the scheme of things didnt need so much focus for a short story like this one.
While I appreciate the world building, I feel a bit more focus should have been given to the action of the story which seemed to wrap up a bit to fast in comparison.
Otherwise, I was intrigued by this story and the world building to seek out this authors other works,
/out of
Jimmy Krinklepot and the White Rebels of Hayberry by: Quincy J, Allen
A young inventor ins Missouri is taken to court when one of his inventions causes havoc, And then, union soldiers in Zeppelins arrive
This was a very unique story that pulled together historical context and a steampunk angle.
Overall it was interesting though I wasnt necessarily satisfied with the resolution as I felt the kid did need some proper consequence for what he did to the judges chickens.
That part just didnt sit well with me and gave me the impression of a future serial killer when I believe the goal of the writer was to give us the impression of a mad scientist.
/out of
Midnight Trains by: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A man alone in Paris on Christmas Eve meets a mysterious woman
It was a simple story that did well reflecting the loneliness of the character and gave vivid imagery of Paris during Christmas.
out of
A Christmas Feast by: Jonathan Mayberry
Imagine the ending of The Giver, but place the setting in modern day during a zombie apocalypse and there you have the start of this short story.
Two brothers seeking refuge from the apocalypse find a unusual refuge from the undead,
I enjoyed the mystery, horror, and hope all staked into this story and was left interested to read more after this story.
out of
A World Done in by Great Grannys Greatful Pie by: Ken Scholes
Kay Ann is hosting Thanksgiving dinner at her new home.
Her family is plotting to find her love with their plus ones but her Great Grannys pie is going to be the true disaster of the night!
I feel like this is the start of a truly phenomenal story.
As a short story the author does well to wet out appetite for an engaging series hopefully there is one but I havent checked yet.
out of
Santas Mortuary by: Heather Graham
A couple comes to help a friend on the investigation of her bed and breakfast after the visitation of a ghost.
It was a simple enough story that was good but didnt stand out much compared to other stories in this anthology.
/out of
Yes, Virginiac, There is a Santa Claus by: Sam Knight
In the future where technology is bonded to people and Christmas is about commercialism, Virginia comes to learn the truth about Christmas.
This was a captivating futuristic story that was also a bit unnerving, I could see Knights warning to us about the capitalistic nature of holidays over what the real meaning is, Sadly I can picture this kind of future,
/out of
Christmas Eve at Harvey Wallbangers by: Mike Resnick
A disagreement on the names of Santas reindeer lead to a later bet to retrieve money owed.
I feel I was dropped into this world but missing pieces so it took effort to get into this story.
The characters having mostly alliterative nameswas something I found boring and the cheating Santa Claus angle didnt sit well with me either.
Not my cup of tea,
out of
The Atmosphere for Miracles by: David Boop
A western with otherworldly creatures, In the town of Drowned Horse, supernatural events are the norm, Most people avoid it and the town itself is on its last leg, When several people end up in town, something supernatural begins,
I think this was my first supernatural western story Ive ever read, They set up was good, I enjoyed the plot, and it wasnt littered with the Clichés I expected from a western.
/out of
A Sufficiently Advanced Christmas by: Eric James Stone
A city waiting for its People to arrive, stashes its memory to preserve it.
Flash forward to the planet and city being discovered by humans years in the future, Carlinda, her son Justin, and husband Will travel to the planet as the first phase of colonist, Unbeknownst to the parents, the city comes alive and chooses four your old Justin who has Christmas on his mind to observe and learn if these are the People it has been waiting for.
I love this story! The space exploration/archaeology angle was interesting and I was particularly drawn into the debate of three parts of the stored city mind.
This is another author I plan to look into for more of their works!
out of
Long ago a city was established on a new planet.
The city stored away its mind to protect it until year later when colonists arrived to explore the ruins of an alien city.
The pieces of the citymind connected with four your old Justin
Unappreciated Gifts by: Patricia Briggs
Asil, a powerful and dangerous werewolf, receives an email challenging him to go on five dates from a mysterious group of friends.
The date that takes place ends up being far from the expected,
I am an absolute fan of Patrica Briggs and came to this anthology for her story alone, This story lived up to my expectations and I cant wait to read the others of Asils dates!
out of
Overall I LOVED this anthology.
I believe it is my favorite so far for all the anthologies Ive read, The stories were mostly cheerful and were unique in the worlds created, I even found several authors Im excited to seek out for more of their writing, Out ofstars, I would say this was a solid four, .