Lover Beware

Drake Sisters #includes #1

by Christine Feehan, Katherine Sutcliffe, Fiona Brand

BE WARNED--
four of today's most popular authors push passion and intrigue to the limit in four thrilling original stories...

In a sleepy costal town...
Early retirement turns deadly for a defense expert--until a beautiful woman steps between him and his assassins...

Among women of the night...
An FBI profiler can see into the mind of a French Quarter killer targeting prostitutes--but not into the heart of the detective she must trust with her life...

Between two strangers...
Sometimes one glance is all it takes. And sometimes all it takes is one man to tear apart what fate--and desire--have brought together...

Under the light of the moon...
Investigating a series of grisly murders, a San Diego detective is caught off guard by the enigmatic man helping her find the killer...

stories include:
Magic in the Wind by Christine Feehan
Hot August Moon by Katherine Sutcliffe
After Midnight by Fiona Brand
Only Human by Eileen Wilks

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Anthologies, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Magic

364 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 100 published novels, including five series; Dark Series, GhostWalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, the Sisters of the Heart Series, Shadow Riders, Torpedo Ink and her Romantic Suspense novels. All of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.
Her series include:
The Dark Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/darkb...
The GhostWalker series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/ghost...
The Leopard Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/leopa...
The Shadow Series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/shado...
Torpedo Ink series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/torpe...




IN HER WORDS:
I've been a writer all of my life -- it is who I am. I write for myself and always have. The ability to create pictures and emotions with words is such a miracle to me. I read everything; I mean everything! All kinds of books, even encyclopedias. I am fascinated by the written word and I love storytellers. It is a great privilege to be counted one myself. (www.christinefeehan.com)

Reviews

[Karyogini · Rating 1 out of 5]

CHANGED! ARGH! I started reading World of Lupi book 1!!! OMG! It's practically the same story but not! RAR! Don't read this story if you don't want the other book ruined for you. I thought this was and introduction to the series! It's so not! Here Yu has a dog, in the series she has a cat... I'm not done reading book 1 but it's safe to say that its way better to read it! ARG! I hate this. Wish I knew that i shouldn't have read this one!


Formerly 4 stars for Only Human


I only read Eileen Wilks' Only Human portion since I'm about to start the world of lupi. :) I like it... I know it's alot of world building but it didn't feel too forced. It's more of a romance thing than solving mysteries. The case was wrapped up pretty fast as if it didn't really matter... I guess it didn't. hahaha! It was and intro to the world and the relationship. :)

Steamy hotness factor? Not so much... Crazy out there flirting? Yup it's there.

[gremlinkitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magic in the Wind by Christine Feehan
The first few chapters of MItW started off well enough, the author captured the coastal town atmosphere perfectly, however, after that it got a little, okay at times a lot, cheesy and eye-roll-inducing. Romances don't have to be that sticky-sweet. What was different and interesting is that the narration was mainly told through the male lead instead of the female; there's not too much of that in romances. The only downfall to the story being told this way was Damon waxing poetic about Sarah the Mysterious, Sarah the Magical, Sarah the Magnificent, Sarah, She Who Walks on Water - seriously, what a Mary-Sue. I'm surprised people didn't address her as Saint Sarah. Everyone in town follows her "advice" (basically she tells them what to do in a roundabout way and they listen), seeks her out to magically fix all their problems, act like she's a goddess, combined, this all made it ten times worse. They just follow her like brainless zombies and never get upset at her poking her nose in their business (not that they all don't do the same in everybody else's). Even though all of that was nauseating, she wasn't the worst Mary-Sue I've run across (Why o' why are there so many of them? Is there a writer's manual on how to write a paragon so that everything they touch, everywhere they go, everyone they meet, they're held up as a supreme being? I wish I was perfect too. :P) and she had magic, so that makes it all the more unfair. Although, who is Sarah besides the saint of this small coastal town? I have no clue, she was never made real, I actually envisioned a golden aura around her like she's some sort of angelic being or something, which is at total odds with her tough defender super hero side. Some girls have all the luck. She has magic, she's as kind as can be, she's perfect in every way (except she's not conventionally beautiful or something, the description was kind of unclear), so of course everyone loves her, she's peaceful and she gets to kick a** like she's Buffy? No freaking way. Where can I sign up?

Another annoyance was "painfully shy" Hannah, one of Sarah's six sisters. Hannah is apparently a model who travels the world, is on magazines, goes on talk shows, etc., even though she is painfully shy. Hey, I can believe someone famous has trouble like that, my problem comes from her "condition" being described as "painfully shy" all the time. It is mentioned in that exact same way, it's never really shy, very shy, extremely shy, or even just plain old shy, no it has to be "painfully shy." In truth, it was only said three times (that I noticed), but in a story that is only around ninety pages, it really sticks out, especially since it was awkwardly brought into the plot. I have a hard time believing this is only shyness, try social phobia or at the very least, some anxiety disorder. Why hasn't she had psychological care? The only remedies mentioned are magical spells and whatnot. While I'm on the subject of Hannah, of whom I know more about personality-wise than Sarah, I might as well mention the jeering and taunting between Jona, the town sheriff, and herself. These interactions are so over-the-top and obvious; we all know where this is going to lead in a future book. And not one of the sisters or Damon notices what is right in front of them. How can they be so imperceptive? What are they, seven? Although I have to admit I'd hate to be called "Baby" or "Barbie" doll too, but then again, I don't look like a Victoria's Secret model, Hannah does.

As for the plot, it was barely there, more time was spent on introducing the sisters, their legacy, characters that went nowhere, and having Sarah sit on a pedestal. Damon would have been more interesting if this had been made into a full-length book - I like the idea of a scientist being confronted with magic - but there just wasn't enough there for a cohesive story. I usually don't write much about short stories but had a lot to say about this one. Obviously. I'm interested in the sisters' stories, I try not to judge authors solely based on a short story, so I will check them out, especially Hannah's. As someone who's been "painfully shy" (couldn't resist) her whole life, my interest has been piqued to see how the author develops Hannah and her shyness in that installment of the series.

I was thinking of giving this an average rating but after writing my review and thinking back on the story, it's just not that good.
2/5 stars

**********

Hot August Moon by Katherine Sutcliffe

The plot was awesome! I love the serial killer angle (I would ;P) and really liked how the author wrote, so I am definitely going to check out Bad Moon Rising to read more about the French Quarter Killer. On the other hand, the romance, if you can even call it that, got in the way and annoyed me whenever it interfered with the rest of the story; it was like a bug flying around your face. I know this is a romance anthology but this plot was too good to include a romance that wasn't, not to mention I hated Jerry; Anna was generally fine but he irritated me. I quite liked the ending of this story because of its nature and where it goes, or doesn't go as the case may be. This isn't your typical romance, which made its inclusion in this book rather odd, but I think it's necessary to shake things up every so often.
3.5/5

**********

After Midnight by Fiona Brand
More of a lust story than a love story, it was well-written except for the suspense angle, which was weak and felt like it was added in as an afterthought. I didn't really like the two leads that well, they were just okay, but they made me sympathize more with Jane's dead husband, Patrick, than with either of them. In the end I didn't buy their love, I only saw attraction between the two. The sex scene (or repeated sexual acts, which I'm not even sure is possible, but whatever.) had a few phrases that struck me as odd, which might not bother anyone else but felt I should mention them anyway. The New Zealand setting was a nice change of pace but it really didn't feature much in the story. So overall, it's not bad but it's not great either.
3/5

**********

Only Human by Eileen Wilks

Starting this story, I felt a sense of deja vu, so that made me wonder if this was the basis of the first book of the World of the Lupi series. By the end of the second chapter, I knew it was, but since it's been a while since I read it, thought I'd give it a go anyway. When I read the first book in the series, I never really connected with it so never picked up the sequel; this time around I did connect with the world more and most likely will give the series another try. According to Eileen Wilks' website, the full-length book "covers very different territory" than the short story, so I'm wondering what the differences are.

I was more interested in the first part of story and the introduction of this paranormal world was very well-done and believable. The characters are well-drawn and they're interesting; I like the fact that they have imperfections, characters need those to be relatable. The plot was good and well-paced, but would have been better had the romance not been so forced. And Worf, how can you not like a mongrel of a dog who's afraid of cats and doesn't like stairs? How adorable. All in all, an fairly enjoyable story.
3.5/5 stars

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up for the Wilks of it all, but decided to read everything.

My scientific rating breakdown follows:

Magic in the Wind
4 stars
This was my first Christine Feehan, and I really enjoyed it. I liked the Drake sisters and their seaside community a lot, and I’ll probably read the whole series. The sweet sentiment among the sisters and the found family theme made this one a winner for me.

Hot August Moon
1.5 stars
Nothing here really grabbed me—the writing or the characters. And the fact that it didn’t really end knocked its rating down further.

After Midnight
2 stars
Kind of a squicky premise, but at least I cared about the characters. I can’t get too fired up about a love/lust at first sight thing when both characters are married when they meet. I know that makes me a big fat hypocrite because I love the Outlander books, but time travel makes all the difference. Because it does.
Plus, this didn’t have a paranormal element like the other three, so I’m not sure why it was in this collection.

Only Human
4 stars
Yay, Eileen Wilks! I didn’t realize this was an older version of what was fleshed out in the first Lupi novel, but it was fun to read. I liked the changes Wilks made when she did a longer version, but after finally getting caught up on the series and not knowing when the last book will be out, it was nice to revisit Lily and Rule’s beginning.

[Vasya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rating and review revolves only around World of the Lupi novella by Eileen Wilks


It was sweet. Well, not the whole story, but the ending, it was really sweet and made me smile because well, I suspected but it was handled in such a way that I just had to smile. Don't know how to describe the feeling to you.

As for the actual story before the sweet ending, it was OK. The world building was interesting, my attention was fairly captivated and the characters were fun to get to know. I just think that Wilks need to spend a little bit less time in the whole repetitive description department.

Will see how she goes in the next book.

[Debra Firestone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first and last story the best. Both had me interested enough to continue the series. The second book was an enjoyable one time read. I found the third book to be more implausable and more of a fall in lust than in love which is what they try to describe it as.

Merged review:

I enjoyed the first and last story the best. Both had me interested enough to continue the series. The second book was an enjoyable one time read. I found the third book to be more implausable and more of a fall in lust than in love which is what they try to describe it as.

[Amarinske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.75/5 (rounded up to 3) stars or 5.25/10

Magic in the Wind by Christine Feehan 2/5 stars 3/10
Great concept for the magic and the plot, but this was way, way, to drawn out. I think it could've been cut down by half. The romance was an incredibly poor choice for my enamel. So sweet. Near unrealistic.
The balance between romance and other plot was good too. I like that there was another plot going on. What I didn't like was the pacing of the entire thing. Sarah's vibe is a bit like Cassy's in Good Witch, but I like Cassy better. Probably because of the amount of time I spent watching the show.
This story was boring simply because of poor pacing. I might consider trying another book about the Drake Sisters later. But I don't know when yet.

Hot August Moon by Katherine Sutcliffe 3.5/5 stars or 6.2/10
Nice short story. The POV of the perp makes it extra disturbing. I've come across a similar device before and it adds something every time. I liked the plot and character dynamics, but even for a detective, this was a bit predictable. A bit cliche so to speak and the characters don't seem to have any type of development past what they get at the beginning. Granted, this story isn't that long so I can't expect that much development, but the only thing that changes is people giving into their emotions 'for old time's sake'.
This sounds overly negative for a story I actually think was quite a solid one. I enjoyed reading it and the progression was fine. Just not something very special.

After Midnight by Fiona Brand 2.5/5 stars or 4.5/10
Overall just a meh story. A lot of it is just lust and the ending almost completely exists of smut. I didn't think this was romantic in the slightest. Quite the opposite. And the language Jane uses to describe how she feels about her feminity and Michael's manliness just irks me. Normally I wouldn't be extremely bothered by traditional man/woman relationships, but in this case, it just feels so disturbing. On Michael's side, it's just plain possessiveness (to the point of it being put on the page so blatantly you can't even pretend anything different and Jane just uses it as self-deprecation, which isn't something I can stand behind.
Granted, it was a relatively quick read. It wasn't what I signed up for, however, and it wasn't very good either. I like a pleasant surprise in an anthology, but I'd rather not see ones I could do without. All in all, probably my least favourite story so far, which is telling since the first one could do with a 50% cut of its length. Still probably a slightly higher rating than the first one simply for the fact that it wasn't as boring.

Only Human by Eileen Wilks 4/5 stars or 7.3/10
The longest and the best story in the book in my opinion. The world0building is solid and I liked seeing the original piece that caused the creation of World of the Lupi as a series. This story stands on its own very nicely and had a nice progression. Of course, it wasn't like Tempting Danger in many ways and it took me a while to get to grips with this. When I did this story was actually very solid. I do like the world-building (especially Lupus culture and Lily's powers) more in the actual series which makes a lot of sense since the first book alone is about 2.5 times as long as this novella was and on top of that, we have 13 more novels and a bunch of novellas and some shorts. It's just different. But I like seeing the 'prime' version so to speak, the first version before the actual story got published. Brandon Sanderson has recently done something like this by putting his first version of The Way of King up to read for free and I'm so curious about it. It'll probably be like this. It's the same story and it isn't. Small and large things will be different and character dynamics and ties will have massively changed.
In this case, the story was great for a novella and I loved seeing it. I can see why Eileen Wilks wanted to do more with it and why she loves it so much. The other detective story in this book (Hot August Moon) was also fine but so much less refined and thought through than this. The fact that Eileen Wilks wrote such a long story also shows me that the other women could've done the same thing had they wanted to. I'd have loved for the book to be longer, or at least for Hot August Moon, Magic in the Wind could've been cut in half or might have benefited from more page space too so all the things around and even about the case could've been developed better.
What I found to be the least likeable about Only Human was the development of the mate-bond. This again has to do with Lupus culture. At least in the actual novels, it's not portrayed as something more than a physical thing. In this novella, it causes what basically constitutes insta-love even if Lily tells herself that isn't happening. She does say 'I love you' at the end even after it's clear she and Rule still barely know each other and she feels the same as on day two or three of the contact even if they now actually talk.
All in all a solid story, but I prefer Tempting Danger over this. This might just be a preference thing, but I think it has some solid reasons behind it.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology - 3.5 average rating

1. Magic in the Wind by Christine Feehan. After reading some of this series, I already knew about this couple - the first sister Sarah and Damon. The story itself was okay. 3 stars.

2. Hot August Moon by Katherine Sutcliffe. An FBI agent who can get into the heads of both the victim and the assailant, goes back to her old home town and lover to help solve a murder. The problem is, she doesn't. There's a lot of almost falling over, feeling faint, but she doesn't solve the crime so the murderer is free to kill again and maybe her next time. FYI - for an anthology this story was long. I kept thinking the author should speed up the plot because the story would need to end soon to fit in the book. With the cliffhanger ending, she not only left the story half-finished but made me so frustrated I don't plan on reading any more of this series(?). There is a second book but it's not noted as a series. 2-1/2 stars

3. After Midnight by Fiona Brand. I can't read anymore of this story. The male protagonist is so ultra male that he can't even smile. And the woman climaxes during a kiss. Okay, this is fantasy. No rating because I didn't finish it.

4. Only Human by Eileen Wilks. I read this story a long time ago, so I must have bought this book just because of this addition. I actually liked some of things mentioned that were not put in the series like what happens with female children. Fantastic story. 5 stars

[Erica Chilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rating and Following Review are for the Novella "Only Human" By Eileen Wilks (World of Lupi #0.5)
I will rate & review the other Novella in this book when I read the Drake Sisters series by Christine Feehan.

Most reviewer have reviewed that the World of Lupi series as a poor knock-off of the Vampire Hunter Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. This review is mainly to dispute such a claim.

Having only read the prequel so far I can only comment on the main Character and the story premise. Lily Yu is an Asian-American Detective (100%) Human with a large family, who are all living including grandparents. Lily is rational, calm, intelligent, and has a wicked sense of humor. Pretty much the complete opposite of Anita Blake, other then height, both ladies are short. But, hell, I'm only 5'1" so maybe I'm an Anita knock-off as well!

I have read the Vampire Hunter series 3 times. Yes, 3 times, all 21 books. I love LKH and Anita. But that journey is like a therapy session for the Author and readers alike. I understand the need to allow all your baggage spill into your work. I've done this myself, and then later I trashed those therapy sessions from my book. This book however deals with murder, maiming, and violence, but absolutely NO baggage. It was refreshing and compelled me to read the book from start to finish.

Yes, this book is paranormal in nature. Lupi, Lycanthropy is known to the world with all the political ramifications. So far NO vampires, fae, witches, angels, or mythology. Just Lupes.

Detective Lily Yu has no issues with her superiors dealing with her size or sex. Yes, she has issues with them, the same ones as every other cop in the story. Whereas Anita does not listen nor follow orders from her superiors. Another BIG difference is Lily's ability to negotiate. She will talk a person down from a ledge with her intelligence not push them from the ledge and shoot them 5 times for good measure on the fall down.

I think it more appropriate to simply say when recommending this series to another that it's old school Anita Blake. The thrill of chasing clues down to solve the case while kicking ass and taking names.

I loved the book, the world building, the characters, and the story premise. I've started a few series lately that I could give or take. I just couldn't get into them. But, within 15 pages of this series I was hooked. I am enthralled and excited to start this series after reading the prequel. I'm off to read Tempting Danger(world of lupi #1) next.


Recommend: Old school Anita Blake fans. Urban Fantasy readers. Detective series readers.

Within this book: Paranormal, Lycanthropes, Violence, murder, romance, crime fighting.


for all you Anita fans.... You won't have to wait 6 books before she bags the guy... *Wicked Evil Laugh*

[Nika · Rating 4 out of 5]

World of the Lupi
I thought this was an intro for the series, but it is a simplified version of book 1.
Don't read this if you don't want to get spoiled.
Although I am at only 100 pages of #1 so far, it's incomparably better, obviously more elaborate and longer than novella version. I'm sorry there wasn't any warning posted, otherwise I wouldn't have read this first. Or at all, actually.
Don't get me wrong, this is a good story if you don't plan reading book 1 or rest of the series.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story but a shame it's a short story as it doesn't go in to enough detail for me! However I have now learnt that I shouldn't of read it before starting the series as it's a shortened slightly altered version of the first book from what I have read from other people.... But fingers crossed it hasn't spoilt the first book for me too much!!!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread of Feehan story. Still love those Drake sisters.

[Serena Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So if u want to read this series and want to start from the beginning skip this book. Tempting danger is just a expanding on this book.

[Jodi Aubihl daume · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Magic in the Wind" by Christine Feehan
Sarah is the oldest of 7 sisters. Damon moves in as her neighbor and is very interested in her, which is unusual because usually he doesn't care about.. well much. So, he introduces himself and they have an instant connection. I think he is in his 40's, but seems to never have been married, instead caught up with his job. The romance moves too quickly for me - there is no buildup, but granted, that is harder with a short story. It turns out that not only is the mythical Sarah some sort of a foreseer, but she is also a bad-ass ninja. It was a weird kind of twist. The other issue for me was the sister Hannah/Sheriff Jonas verbal tumbles - that was a bit over the top.

Overall, I thought it was well written and I did enjoy this, as sappy as it was. 3 stars

"Hot August Moon" by Katherine Sutcliffe -
FBI agent Anna comes back to New Orleans to investigate a murder, where the victim was a friend. There she runs into Jerry her ex, the one that got away as they say (although she left him for her career). The killer has been killing prostitutes, but Anna thinks her friend's killer is the same. This was more suspense as there really wasn't much romance. Anna isn't very endearing. It was weird that she can see through the victims' eyes sometimes, but couldn't figure out much about the killer. The narrative changes to the killer's perspective sometimes so the reader can see some of the killings through his eyes, which is creepy. The ending is a cliffhanger - you need to get the follow-up book (Bad Moon Rising) to read the ending - which strangely has different characters. It was weird that she just left without finding the killer.

Not my cup of tea 2 stars

"After Midnight" by Fiona Brand -
Jess is married to Patrick who has cancer and dies. Michael is a neighbor who falls madly in love with Jess when she is still married and divorces his wife. He leaves town for a while and comes back after the husband dies. Wow. Not much of a romance from Patrick's point of view. Again, the romance seemed rushed. There is also some weirdly concocted plan of a murder/theft and the murderer is still on the loose. This was wrapped up very strangely for me - the murderer was obviously not too bright - it seemed like this whole plot was an afterthought. Jess was too passive for me too.

Not for me either. 2 stars

"Only Human" by Eileen Wilks -
Lily is a cop who is assigned to help Rule, the local werewolf Alpha, so that she can figure out some murders. Rule is immediately drawn to her. They meet each other's families darn fast. Again, this was very fast paced, but this one, I thought, has better world building and a better romance and yeah, a better plot. I thought the conversations were well written too.

Overall, this one worked for me. 4 stars

[DKSDGM · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fourth story in this anthology, Eileen Wilks' Only Human, is fantastic. The romance between Detective Lily Yu and Nokolai wolf-shifter prince Rule Turner comes across passionately and full of life. Lust at first sight doesn't just turn into the perfect relationship, instead each of them struggle with realistic questions about trust, compatibility, and how a relationship will change their lives. The murder mystery is engaging and the fear of the killer striking again, especially against one of our lead character's, is palpable. Rule being a wolf-shifter isn't just a flat gimmick. Instead Eileen is able to demonstrate a rich alternate culture with complex motives and beliefs. The whole work is deeply engaging and a fantastic introduction to her novel series about these characters and this alternate reality with shifter-culture among human culture.

Christine Feehan's Magic in the Wind starts her series about the Drake sisters: magically bound sisters finding there way among ordinary humans. While the premise is an engaging concept the actually execution of the romance between the eldest Drake sister Sarah and the now reclusive genius entrepreneur Damon falls completely flat. I didn't feel any romance. I didn't see the spark between the two and The mystery wasn't engaging. I did really like the introduction to Sheriff Harrington, who clearly has a deep passion for Drake sister Hannah who is completely blind to his feelings. Those two clearly have spark and I can't wait to see those through battle their way through to a happy ending unlike the bland non-adventure that was Sarah and Damon's story.

Katherine Sutcliffe's Hot August Moon had a more engaging mystery than Magic in the Wind but it seemed to drag on and got stale. There was no lasting resolution to the mystery but because the main characters do not end on a happy note I have no interest in purchasing the next part of the series. Disapointing.

Fiona Brand's After Midnight was engaging. Michael and Jane are both complex and engaging characters. I'm not a huge fan of second love stories (both characters had previously been married) but the story was well written, the emotions came across as genuine, and I wouldn't mind trying other work by Fiona Brand even though this wasn't one of my favorite reads.

All in all the book is well worth the purchase just to read Eileen Wilks' phenomenal Only Human!

[Jennifer Custer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magic In the Wind by Cristine Feehan: *****
Sarah Drake is the eldest of 7 sisters. Damon Wilder is a retired one man think tank after him and a friend were kidnapped. His friend died and Damon blames himself. Sarah is hos body guard, but Sea Haven is her home and Damon just happens to move there. Love at first site. Damon takes the Drake's family witchy eccentricity in stride. Very short book. Well written. Love Feehan.

Hot August Moon by Katherine Sutcliffe: ***
Anna Travelli is an FBI agent in a classified department. Jerry Costos is a Prosecutor for New Orleans. It's been 6 years since they split. Anna never told Jerry all her secrets. They had a difference of opinion about Anna's career. When they see each other, it's as if it was yesterday and not years. Both still wanting each other, but each still opinionated about Anna's job. Eh, the book is ok. If sold as a stand alone, I wouldn't have picked it to read. Well written, just not my cup of tea.

After Midnight by Fiona Brand: ***
Not much of a love story. Michael Rider, SAS soldier and spread owner. Jane O'Reilly retired stocks agent and spread owner to Rider. Both married 7 yrs ago and meet for the 1st time. Instint lust/love. Jane's husband dies. Rider retires to snatch up Jane. In the midst is a neighborhood robbery, murder and rape. Written ok. No imagination imo.

Only Human by Eileen Wilkes: *****
Lily Yu is a California detective. Rule Turner is a lycan orince among his clan. She's his mate, but doesn't know it yet. Fighting her intense attraction to Rule while working with him to solve a series of murders by a lycan. Lily has her own set of secrets that will surprise Rule. This book caught my attention and pulled me in as I was reading. Just the type I like. Awesomely written.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice mix of stories

The first story is a sweet paranormal love story called Sarah, that is a novella in The Drake Sisters, which looks promising. It has a man who has always been scientific focused learning that the world has more mysteries than he realized.

The next story is primarily a murder/thriller with the twist where the love interest happens to be an FBI Profiler who happens to bring an extra ability to her work. I’ve been unable to find the novella Bad Moon Rising that continues the story but I’ll keep looking.

After Midnight is more of a lust at first sight than a traditional love story. The depth of feeling by the previously happily married New Zealand farm wife is the only “paranormal” aspect of the story to put it in this anthology.

Only Human is the story that introduced me to Eileen Wilks World of the Lupi series. (15 books & 10 total works) I found this same story in the anthology Cravings, where I reviewed it as well. For here I will say that the story has an interesting paranormal woman of some interesting abilities has a man drop into her life that has powers & ability that makes him an even more interesting person to her. Even though this story is listed as World of the Lupi #1.5 I personally found it was not only a good story but it actually helped me understand Tempting Danger (World of the Lupi #1) better. When I finished the book I found the author left an afterword where she said that she wrote this story first. Upon reflection she decided that the story wasn’t done being told. So she took two details from this story and began writing…. Now she’s up to 26 works so far!

[May Mostly Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

ก่อนหน้าที่อีลีน วิคส์จะหันมาเขียนชุด World of the Lupi เธอเป็นเพียงนักเขียนเล็ก ๆ เขียนหนังสือให้กับสนพ.ฮาร์ลิควินที่ไม่ค่อยมีใครสนใจนัก แม็กซ์เองก็ไม่เคยอ่านงานของเธอมาก่อนเลย แล้วก็ไม่คิดจะอ่านด้วย

จนกระทั่งแม็กซ์ซื้อหนังสือรวมเรื่องสั้นที่ชื่อว่า "Lover Beware" หนังสือที่แม็กซ์พูดตามตรงว่าซื้อเพราะติดตามอ่านงานของนักเขียนอีกคนที่ ชื่อว่าฟีโอน่า แบรนด์ (ที่ปัจจุบันเลิกอ่านไปแล้วแหละ) ส่วนงานของอีลีนถือเป็นของแถมที่ติดมาด้วยในเรื่อง

แต่แล้วเรื่อง Only Human ที่เป็นหนึ่งในเรื่องสั้นใน LB ก็กลับกลายเป็นเรื่องสั้นที่ดีที่สุดในชีวิตที่แม็กซ์ได้มีโอกาสอ่าน แม็กซ์กล้าใช้คำนี้เลยล่ะ เพราะไม่ใช่คนที่ชอบอ่านเรื่องสั้นนัก มันสั้น และจบเร็วเกินกว่าที่ตัวละครจะมีพัฒนาการอะไรได้ แต่ใน Only Human มันสมบูรณ์แบบ (และคนที่รู้จักแม็กซ์ดีจะรู้ว่า แม็กซ์ไม่ชอบใช้คำว่าสมบูรณ์แบบนัก แต่เรื่องนี้เป็นข้อยกเว้น)


ใน Only Human เรื่องสั้นที่หนาไม่ถึงร้อยหน้า อีลีนแนะนำให้เรารู้จักโลกอันซับซ้อนของเหล่าหมาป่า โลกที่น่าสนใจ และไม่น่าเชื่อว่าด้วยจำนวนหน้าที่เล็กน้อย จะทำให้เราตกหลุมรักอย่างจังไปกับรูล เทอร์เนอร์ เจ้าชายแห่งเผ่านิโคไล ซึ่งเป็นเผ่าหมาป่าที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในโลก และความรักที่ไม่สมูลนักของเขากับนักสืบแห่งกรมตำรวจซานดิเอโก้อย่างลิลลี่ หยู

ความน่าสนใจของ Only Human มีมากขนาดที่แฟนหนังสือเรียกร้องให้อีลีนกลับไปที่โลกแห่งนั้นอีกครั้ง มันน่าสนใจ น่าค้นหา รูล และลิลลี่อยู่ในความทรงจำของแฟนหนังสืออย่างไม่จางหาย และในที่สุดอีลีนก็ได้เริ่มต้นอาชีพในฐานะนักเขียนอย่างจริงจังเสียที (หมายถึงเธอเริ่มเป็นที่รู้จักมากกว่านักเขียนเล็ก ๆ ให้กับฮาร์ลิควิน)

คะแนนที่ 97 (เฉพาะเรื่องสั้นเรื่อง Only Human)

[Apurva C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review for Only Human by Eileen Wilkes:

Only human is a sort of a first draft of Tempting Danger. In tempting danger, the story is much kore detailed and so much better. I would advice people against reading only human if they are interested in reading the entire series. Things get confusing otherwise.

Although the book is well-written, I'm not a fan about how it centered around the lupi need to impregnate and spread their seed. Tempting Danger while better in this aspect, still has the same issue.

In only humans, the male lead character, Rule, already has two children with two different women and it was on purpose, even knowing that they weren't going to turn it into a long-term relationship. There are people who can enjoy such things, not me. I have the same issue with the Tempting danger as well, he only has one son in that one but there's not much information about his conception.

[Jenny Clark]

Magic In The Wind
This was the story I actually read the book for. A coworker and I are reading The Drake Sisters, Sea Haven and Torpedo Ink, and she happened across this book.
The writing was pretty good, and there was decent suspense as well. I did enjoy the fact that Sarah was the one with the gun and training, and that Damon was ok with that. I did feel like the romance happened a tad too quickly, but it was rather sweet so I can kinda overlook that. I do hope the paranormal angle is explained more in later books in this series.

Hot August Moon
The romance and mystery were both well done, but were awkwardly mashed together.

After Midnight
Not really a fan. Overly dominant male, overly submissive female, love at first sight, breaking up a marriage for said love at first sight, and had it not been for Patrick's cancer Jill would have left him... Just a little too much. The writing was just ok as well.

Only Human
Another really good story, and I am now interested in reading this series. I enjoy the building of the lupi world and culture. The characters were pretty well developed and there was a good balance of the mystery and romance in this one.

Overall, I would skip the third story completely, and possibly the second. I would definitely re read the first and last ones though, and recommend the authors.

[Jennifer Gottschalk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story in this collection was lovely. It was different enough to be memorable and I’ll be on the lookout for more in that series. This story is 4.5 stars rounded up.

The second novella had potential but the ending was extremely unsatisfying and it left me feeling both annoyed and frustrated. This one gets a rating as 1 star.

The third story was set in New Zealand but as a kiwi, it did not ring true and some of the small details felt off. The actual plot was extremely simple. I’d rate this one 2 stars.

‘Only human’, the fourth story in this book was pleasant, light entertainment with a twist at the end that made it more memorable than the other stories in this volume.

Overall, this is 3.5 stars rounded down.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this collection because I thought that it was a prequel to Tempting Danger. It turns out that the Eileen Wilks tale in this collection was just an original version of the much better novel. Although that tale kind of fell flat for me (as I said, the novel was much better), I loved the collection. It introduced me to three new writers I had never before experienced and took me away to a number of entirely new worlds filled with romance and love.

The paranormal spin on the romances in this collection is a little less potent than what I’m used to. Most of the paranormal romance tales that I read have a heavy emphasis on the paranormal, and the romance (and often lust) occurs as a secondary plot line. With Lover Beware, the romance was first and foremost. It was fun and interesting. It made me believe in true love again and also gave me a great, romantic lustful story, or four to think about.

For individual reviews, head to: https://earthandskye.org/categories/s...

[Delia · Rating 3 out of 5]

about a 2.5. It took me awhile to get through the first story, Magic in the Wind by Christine Feehan. Agh! get moving already. So slow, then it's just bam! Love you can't live without you. Then the next, Hot August Moon by Katherine Sutcliffe. I liked this one a little better. I kinda want to read the series. After Midnight by Fiona Brand, ok this one was just a little off for me also. He just catches the guy and thats it. the last story, Only Human by Eileen Wilks, I just read Tempting Danger and it was the first chapters of the book, so I didn't even read it. I guess that was a good thing from checking out some of the other reviews.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 books in one

This 3 books in one has the best novels I have read in combination since Stephen Kings Different Seasons. They are older novels but filled in some missing beginnings for me. Feehand, Sutcliffe,and Wilkes.

[Marsha Wilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only Human by Eileen Wilks

If you’re planning to read the World of Lupi series, skip this one. Or know this was a novella that bespelled the author, so she "expanded" it into Tempting Danger (book 1), but in doing so, virtually obliterated the entire storyline.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short story version of Only Human. The main Character Lily caught my attention & I ended up reading the whole World of Lupi series.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished Eileen Wilks, where Lily and Rule first meet. A bit different from what I recalled from an earlier book, but still like coming home. Love the series.

All together, these were all good stories and worth reading. Several authors were new to me but would read them again. Loved the Fiona Brand story. Enough mystery and suspense to keep me interested.

[Amelia Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked all 4 stories.

[Maryjane Coons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book.

[Karen Hackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lover Beware contains 4 paranormal stories by 4 authors

MAGIC IN THE WIND by Christine Feehan
HOT AUGUST MOON by Katherine Sutcliffe
AFTER MIDNIGHT by Fiona Brand
ONLY HUMAN by Eileen Wilks

[Joanne Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I’m late to the party….but most definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read. So well written that I even read through all the acknowledgments!!