A Very Paranormal Holiday

The Sensor #4.5

by J.T. Bock, Debra Dunbar, Mark Henwick

There’s something supernatural lurking under the mistletoe this year. Get ready for a twist on the holiday season with paranormal tales from six fantasy authors:

"The Grandfather Paradox: An UltraSecurity Christmas Story" by J. T. Bock
A Billionaire, a Christmas Dinner, and the Grandfather Paradox
Nobody has time for this, especially UltraAgent TimeTrap. Between holiday drinks with friends, visiting long-lost family, and her mother's reality show special, TimeTrap's time is limited—even for an alt-jumper like her who can travel through space and time. Another alt-jumper is messing with her mojo and her timeline. UltraAgents are missing. Her bosses have disappeared. Now she has to protect the next target, a hot CEO of a large defense company. Is there enough time to save the day and Christmas and enjoy a holiday cocktail with a special someone?

"The Naughty List" by Debra Dunbar
Samantha Martin is an Imp, on holiday with her angelic main-squeeze, Gregory. What better place to show an angel the true meaning of Christmas than a small Alpine resort town? But it’s hard to keep up the impish good cheer when people are being murdered for their sinful ways. Could the killer be. . . Santa?

"The Biting Cold" by Mark Henwick
Detroit. A bitter winter. A city coming apart and a woman holding on to her rapidly ebbing life.
Psychiatrist Dr. Amanda Lloyd is focused only on living long enough to give her testimony in court and put a vicious criminal away. The defense lawyers are fighting for a postponement she can’t afford and digging into her own mental problems in an attempt to discredit her.
She can’t spare time for the patient who claims to be a vampire.
Unless what he offers her is exactly what she needs.

"Facing the Darkness" by Susan Illene
Kerbasi, a former guardian of Purgatory, has resisted every effort to help him find his humanity. After forty-five hundred years of tending to his prisoners in the cruelest of ways he feels he's above the petty concerns of mankind. But what's he to do when he's charged with bringing comfort to a boy sick with cancer during the holiday season? This is one child who just might break through that impervious wall he's wrapped around his heart.

"Cat and Moused" by J.C. Mells
Moused Thurman was sure there had to be better ways to spend Christmas Eve
than being held hostage in an elevator by a sexy, sassy, vampire-assassin.
But for the life of him, he couldn't think of one.

"A Christmas Feral" by Connie Suttle
Cassie is running from the man who forced her to become his fiancée.
Parke is stepping into his father's shoes as Chancellor of everything paranormal.
The two are on a collision course with unpredictable results.

What should you do when a Truth Demon marries a Fire Demon?
Get the hell out of Seattle.

Genres: Anthologies, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Angels, Paranormal Romance, Demons

415 pages, ebook

First published December 20, 2014

About the author

When J.T. Bock was a child, she wanted to be James Bond or Indiana Jones or a vampire hunter or Wonder Woman. Whatever brought her the most action, adventure and romance while play acting on her stage—otherwise known as her grandmother's basement. Now J.T. has assembled her own team of action heroes, supernatural creatures and maniacal villains and set them on adventures far from her basement to exotic lands and alternate dimensions.

From a secret location outside of Washington, DC, J.T. conjures these pulse-pounding tales to share with those kindred readers looking for an exciting escape. Her alternate identity enjoys spending time with her workaholic husband and their sidekick rescue dog, traveling to interesting locales (San Diego Comic-Con), and enjoying life to the fullest with an amazing group of family and friends and a good glass of wine.

Check out J.T.'s latest adventures and find her by flashing her initials in the sky, opening up her favorite bottle of Pinot Noir, or by email at jennifer@jtbock.com.

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of freebies for Christmas. Loved some of the stories, others were more for fans who are already acquainted with the particular story universes.

THE GRANDFATHER PARADOX
IDK, too techy for my taste. 2.5 ★

THE NAUGHTY LIST
A free Imp novella! There is a God. Thank Gregory, Gabe and Rafael.
... and Debra:-)

There's no rest for the wicked when your boyfriend is an archangel: Shortly after their arrival in a German town, Gregory's angelic sense of duty, ruins Sam's carefully planned Christmas holiday break of sin, seduction on sex. When a couple of less savory locals start disappearing, suspicion falls on one of Sam's old acquaintances, and Gregory drafts the biggest sinner of all to help him track down the culprit.

Loved Sam's teasing and Gregory's reaction to her banter. Apparently, angels are into kinky breath play ;-) Sam is rightfully proud of his ability to sin, and I for one would love to see him make an appearance as Sam's consort in Hel. But judging by his reaction, Sam's got a long way to go before he's willing to meet her in-laws in Hel, should she ever find out who they are. (I guess cultural exchange isn't an angelic "thing")

I found a discrepancy in the naming of the town: Karmish/Karmisch, but I didn't mind too much. I actually found the typo interesting, as Karmisch is more German sounding than Karmish, and has an actual meaning (carmic) that fits the theme of the novella as well.

Our Iblis has got such a soft spot for helpless individuals, unlike her badass angel. Too bad Sam never got her oral, I happen to think she deserved it... Oh well, being seduced with all the power an archangel has at his disposal, isn't bad either. Why didn't I get a winged dude for Christmas? I feel so deprived :'(

4+ ★

THE BITING COLD
Psychiatrist Amanda is living on borrowed time, she's dying from a degenerative disease. But first she needs to survive long enough to put a criminal behind bars with her testimony.

Then Scott arrives and insists that he's 200 years old and that there are, indeed blood drinking immortals living amongst us.
Liked this story and the final twist.

4★

FACING THE DARKNESS
Kerbasi has been a guardian in Purgatory for millennia. Cast out, he's been forced to deal with humans and making a life for himself in the mortal realm. He's not coping very well until he meets a dying boy.

This novella is best read after you've become acquainted with the Sensor series, I think. For that reason I felt I missed out on a lot, and that is the main reason why I am rating this story...

3 ★

CAT AND MOUSED

The young and cocky genius/security chief from a prospering vampire House faces off against the female Enforcer/assassin from a House that's down on it's luck. Not a bad novella, but the story is unresolved. I get that authors publish novellas, especially freebie novellas as a way to entice new readers, but it still bothered me.

3 ★

A CHRISTMAS FERAL
An interesting take on demons: Ice demons, rock demons, truth demons, water and fire demons and shapeshifters. Cassie, a paralegal secretary is unwittingly caught in the middle of a demonic power play. Now it's up to Parke, her new and powerful boss and Cassie herself, to find a way to defuse the situation, solve a murder, prevent innocents from getting killed and learn to trust one-another despite their differences.

I think I might actually give this series a try. The different kinds of demons were interesting, as was their social structure. The ending made me giggle. Cassie's cooking skills might not be excellent, but no matter, it was quite funny.

4★

The anthology as a whole: 3.5 ★

[Sarah Leenart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been meaning to review this for a while but wanted to have read all 6 stories in order to review them all. I received this free from the authors as part of a promotion but it is now on Amazon at a very low price. It's an absolute bargain, go snap it up!

I am a huge fan of both Susan Illene and Mark Henwick and knew their work would be outstanding, yet again they did not disappoint.

Facing the Darkenss, Susan Illene. This is an interlude with Kerbasi as the main narrator and I would say if you have not read the series you might be a little lost with who everyone is but it would still be enjoyable. Melena has the thankless task of humanising Kerbasi. This instalment is one of Melena's many lessons. Not watching a film marathon this time, she introduces him to a young boy dying of cancer in the immediate run up to Christmas, Kerbasi's only job to keep the boy company whilst his mother works. This is outstanding in every way, truly beautiful and I had tears rolling down my face. The characters are all up to their usual form, a hilarious fight scene too! How Susan manages to make me actually begin to like and want on the page, a character who I absolutely hated when he was first introduced, I do not know, but she does. He has the funniest of lines and a peek from his perspective was priceless. I hope he is by Melena's side for a while yet, although I am sure Lucas does not!! A solid 5 stars.

The Biting Cold, Mark Henwick. This is set in Mark's Athanate world but with totally new characters. This could easily be read as a standalone although your understanding of the Athanates themselves would be greater if you had read his previous books, which are all outstanding. This was a total story, complete in every way, despite it's length. It had characters fully dimensional, a detailed plot and the complete inability to put down once started. Good job these are short stories as I would never get to bed! Classy writing throughout, this was a gripping tale and if I hadn't already devoured everything Mark had written I would be straight out to buy it. I would love to see Manda and Scott appear in his other works. 5 stars

The Naughty List, Debra Dunbar. I have read the first 2 of the Imp series and whilst the writing is slick and of good quality, with a sound and intriguing story line I just did not gel with the main characters, call it personal preferences, we can't get on with everyone! This was a fun little story, great plot and well rounded out. I did enjoy this little read but don't think I'll be picking the series back up as yet anyway. 4 stars, as I won't hold personal issues of the man in character to blame for what was a good little story.

Cat and Moused, J C Mells. This was a totally new to me author. I enjoyed this very short story and found Moused and his world intriguing. I really enjoyed the interaction between him and his 'stalker', they both had very distinct personalities that shone off the page. My main criticism with this story is that it felt like a prelude to a book and was in no way resolved, disappointing as it was the only short in the anthology to not have a clear end. I have looked up the first in the series as the world intrigued me, I might well buy. 3 1/2 stars

A Christmas Feral, Connie Suttle. This started well, with interesting characters, I really liked and was intrigued by Cassie and Parke, the office setting intriguing and very satisfying in the 2 nastier bosses getting their come uppence at the arrival of the big boss. The slow review of the hidden supernatural world had me very curious, however with the reveal of Cassie's real identity it all went far too rapidly for my taste, from fun and quirky to insta love. I did not feel Cassie go from just thinking her boos was a great and possibly fanciable bloke to the love of her life, can't live without him. That's just not my kind of story unfortunately. The world however was intriguing and I wonder if full length books written by this author allow the story to play out better. It might be worth a look. 3 stars.

The Grandfather Paradox, J T Bock. This for me was the stand out story of an author I had never heard of or read before. In fact the second I finished it I went out and bought A Surefire Way. It was that good! I got that little tingle you get when you discover a new author that you know you are going to love and enjoy for many years to come. This story had it all, world building, characters I really really wanted to know more, slick writing and a story that I literally could not put down. Also top points for complete originality. Probably leaning a little more towards the syfy rather than supernatural with all the technology and alternate universe references. I don't think you can really put this in a neat little box and that makes it all the richer. Loved it and want more, what else is there to say. A resounding 5 stars.

[Abra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Grandfather Paradox, by J.T. Bock: Skip this. It's a teaser. The other stories are complete, but this fragment isn't worth reading.

The Naughty List, by Debra Dunbar: This is an Imp story featuring Sam and Gregory. It's a very funny short story with the usual weird/funny/gory mix that make Sam's books so great. I wish there was more interaction between the two characters because that is one of the most interesting aspects of the series, but I still love The Naughty List. Gregory remains one of the most interesting and multi dimensional alpha males in PNR. So great.

The Biting Cold, by Mark Henwick: This one was cool. I haven't read the series so I wasn't expecting the ending. I love stories from the therapist's point of view.

Facing the Darkness by Susan Illene: This is a great story. The MC, Kerbasi, is the torturer in Purgatory where the nephilim are sent to be punished. These tortures have been detailed in prior books from other MCs' points of view and are truly horrible. Facing the Darkness is written from his point of view. It doesn't excuse Kerbasi at all - it gives you a view into the mind of a being that has always had a black and white mentality, no experience of interactions outside of a jail, complete certainty of his superiority, and has no idea of any punishment short of extreme torture. The angels are forcing him to live with Melena, the Sensor Series heroine, as a punishment/learning experience for being such a monster and he's starting to realize that he doesn't know everything. He's not even close to being reformed and that what makes this story so essential to understanding the series. It's really good.

Cat & Moused, by J.C. Mells: I found this really boring and didn't finish it.

Feral, A Cautionary Seasonal Tale, by Connie Suttle: This short story is fine, but what made me like it way more than most of its type is that the heroine is living under an assumed name because her father sold her for $5m to the bad guy, the bad guy is trying to find and kill her (hidden) sister, she is broke and needs her job, and she is scared out of her mind when her new boss has her investigated and finds out what is going on. She does not hide her fear because she's too plucky to show weakness despite everyone else being in a better position to help and she does not say random dumb statements she doesn't have a chance in hell of following up on. It's a low bar, but it is awesome reading about a MC who actually shows appropriate fear. There are several amazingly convenient major plot points, but whatever. It's still a win.

[Sharlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

The grandfather paradox by JT Bock

Reading this was like a mixture of watching the film back to the future and having a nightmare.

The naughty list by Debra Dunbar

I wouldn't mind having the skills the angel has with the cases moving and unpacking, storing and hanging up of the clothes!
I quite enjoyed this story where they get rid of 1 really bad person in the town.


The biting cold by Mark Henwick

I really enjoyed this story. I would read more too!
She takes him in as a private patient as she thinks she's dying and won't be able to devote much time if she was still at her practice, she's a psychiatrist. He breaks down her barriers bit by bit, she's thinks he's a bit on the deluded side when he says he's 200 yrs old. Then she sees the photo!

Facing the darkness by Susan Illine

I really enjoyed this story.
I'm glad Kerbasi learnt to have feelings and was able to help others and that the archangel came to help him and Melena too.

Cat And Moused by J Mells

I loved the Pierced series, I want to know more about Moused And Catty Cakes!
Will Cat get the files/chip she needs to help her brother Claude before he kills someone else? I hope she does, I don't want to see him try and kill Moused.

A Christmas Feral by Connie Suttle

I didn't know what to make of this story. It was fast paced with all sorts of demons. I found it quite confusing at times but I'm glad it ended the way it did.

Overall I enjoyed this collection of stories, I don't normally like collections but this one was good!

[Kara-karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rating is for Susan Illene's story about Kerbasi which was wonderful and heartfelt.

Yes, as usual I only read one story out of the whole anthology and I really, really enjoyed it! It's a sad Christmas story, and Kerbasi here is shown in such a light that the reader can't hep but secretly find him adorable. Aww, this was sweet, totally recommend it!

[Val Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rating refers only to Mark Henwick's short story.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Christmas Feral by Connie Suttle is 5 stars.

[Ada · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the naughty list. And I think I finally discovered why Debra Dunbar doesn't really work for me. The story she tells is on the surface very likeable but (and this is a big one) she never manage to convince me of the depravity of humankind. like in this story she talks about junkies. The way you would talk about props in a play. I can seem like an interesting topic for conversation but it's really not. People who are addicted are always chasing that one perfect high. She talks about that somewhat but not about the negative side of that. Not with any emotion. No thought about the person behind the junkie. And this happens throughout her stories. Something happens and she tells the surface story. It's frustrating because I really like the idea behind every book. (but not with the angel. What angel find it acceptable to assault somebody and doesn't count that as a sin? But eating food is a big no no? If that was not a thing in the serie every book would get one star extra). I will read the next book in the serie. But I will never reread it.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

mostly dreadful

I got this for the Heswick story and it was very good. The first selection was decent, but a bit comic-geek for me, e.g. 'Ultra Agent Time Trap.' And I don't know why any decent writer would talk about someone "going potty"--maybe this is a parent forgetting we aren't small children?

The Ilene piece was much too dependent on reading whatever series it related to, though the story itself was touching.

The Connie Suttle story was okay, and the remaining pieces ranged from poor to abysmal. I didn't read further than a few pages in the story about the imp. I got as far as the imp telling the hotelkeeper that their room was reserved under 'Angel Hottie-Pants' and couldn't go any further. Between the imp's puerile obsession with sex and the nauseating names, I don't see how this author has any self-respect left. That story should have come with a warning.

The second piece I couldn't get through was

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first Cassie story

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

They added this to end of audiobook 6. I hadn't read it before. Awesomesauce.

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not impressive

Rather disappointed. This book sounded so good, but the stories were so random and none of the characters grabbed me.

[Felice Oliva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read the book debra dunbar short story. Was Great.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars for Connie Suttle's "A Christmas Feral"

Mark Henwick's "The Biting Cold" reviewed separately (4 stars)

[Brittney Bower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feral Christmas

[Vader · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish

[Patricia Lopes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only Read "The Naughty List" by Debra Dunbar ***

[Sheila Ryals · Rating 5 out of 5]