Flirting with Darkness

by May Sage, Alexi Blake, Karen Tomlinson

Flirting with darkness is a limited edition collection of sixteen brand new paranormal and fantasy romance standalones by best selling authors in the genre. Lose yourself in stories including vampires, fae, shifters and more! If you love protective alpha males, enemy to lover, this collection is for you!

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Anthologies, Fantasy Romance, Paranormal, Vampires

1850 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2022

About the author

May Sage is a USA Today Bestselling romance writer dabbling in different genres.

When she isn’t writing, she spends her time with her German Shepherd and her two Savannahs. She loves reading, ballet, running, and cake. Mostly, cake.

May Sage also writes longer fantasy romance novels as Alexi Blake.

Reviews

[Rachel Rowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/5/22 - Will come back to the rest of this anthology later, but this review is for the first story, Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This may be one of my favorite things Carissa has ever written, and if you know me you know that’s saying a lot. If you love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, you’ll adore this novella.

Lilith is terminally ill - but then so is the rest of her small town, ever since a plague from the gods descended 15 years ago. She is a college educated scientist hell bent on curing the disease that’s killing her beloved sister and townspeople, even if she doesn’t expect her own heart defect to respond to the treatment.

Always one to think outside the box, she boldly approaches the reclusive vampire lord Vale. She strikes him a bargain - six magically-endowed roses in exchange for samples of his immortal blood for use in her research. What she didn’t expect is the surly vampire’s curiosity, cooperation and even friendship.

Will Lilith discover the cure before it’s too late? What about the nosy, vampire-hating town priests? And what about the growing chemistry between Lilith and Vale himself??

For being so short, this story packs such an emotional punch. Y’all know I would read Carissa’s grocery list at this point 😂 her writing style is gorgeous as ever and does not disappoint.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the stories in this anthology!

[Ashley Martinez (ilovebooksandstuffblog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flirting with Darkness

Flirting with Darkness
Six Scorched Roses: 4

Full of danger, suspense, and mystery, I was drawn into this intriguing world with gods, vampires, curses, and a sweet romance.

Misdeeds: 3

A short introduction to a world of Fae and courts. I liked the glimpse of the world with all the various courts but meh on the characters for me.

Claimed by her Bear: 3
A f/f bear shifter story with Heat and some suspense.

These Gentle Wolves: 5

A thrilling story and slow burn romance with Fae, magic, shifters, and sinister plots. I enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read about the other characters as well.

Vampire Chained: 5

Yummy! A deliciously sexy m/m vampire romance that sucked me in from the start. I loved the characters and enjoyed watching their story unfold. More please!

Stolen Magic: 4

Exciting and sexy! I enjoyed the push and pull from the characters. I can’t wait to read more about these characters.

Fire Kissed: 3/3.5
A quickly paced read that I flew through. I would’ve loved more development with the relationship between the characters but I enjoyed the various elements to the story with ferryman, changelings, curses, and more.

Hired by Werewolves: 3

A short story with instant lust and werewolves. The story was okay but pretty predictable.

Dark Court: 3
A quick instant love enemies to lovers romance. I liked the concept but it moved so fast that the relationship between the characters wasn’t believable to me.

Royally Embraced: 4

A cute little short with an established rh. I enjoyed the story it had a good blend of action, fun and romance.

The Vampire Hunt: 4

A vampire mystery that was fun to read although it did have some odd errors throughout that pulled me out of the story. But I enjoyed the characters and the suspense.

Fenrir: 3
A quick story full of Magic and an otherworldly alpha protector.

Lovely Darkness: 4

A lovely Fae romance. I enjoyed the twist in the end. It was another quickly paced short but good.

Serpent’s Promise: 5

Loved it! It was romantic and sweet. I enjoyed the blend of danger and romance.

The Mage Clock: 3

Magic and time travel mixed together in a strange tale. I’m not sure to think of this one it was odd for me.

Devil’s Debt: 3

A short introduction to this new world of magic and perhaps demons.

[Alexiani G · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

This review and rating is only for Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent

This story was a surprise for me, I had seen it being released on the writer’s Instagram but wasn’t really interested at the moment and when I decided to read it –and I thank Carissa for that- I loved everything about it right away. I am amazed by how in such short pages and chapters I was able to LOVE the main character –Lilith- because that first chapter hooked me instantly and it is 4 pages long. I just love the way Carissa presents her characters. She has magic in her mind and fingers because these are complicated, dense but at the same time easy to understand –and relate- characters. Lilith is presented as neurodivergent, it is not said in those words but everything she does and thinks translates to that. Carissa explained that this was a fun and easy thing to write because she wasn’t stressed about where the characters are going, she just sat down and wrote. She made Lilith out of the way she feels and sees the world and having that in this story means a lot.
So, in short words, there is no way I was not going to like Lilith, she feels deeply but everyone around her thinks she doesn’t and that is a heavy burden to carry. I loved the way she thinks, I mean, she was faced with this really old and powerful vampire that could kill her in a second and she was thinking things like “does his kind rot? Why does he look so normal, how disappointing; how does his saliva work?” this girl was amazing from the very beginning of the book until the end, I loved how it is shown she loves her sister and how she cares for everyone in her little town. Of course, she meets this mysterious vampire and ends up falling for him and him for her BUT I can’t explain how amazing it was to see them start caring for each other. I loved every second they were together and how even Vale was astonished when he found himself caring for this out-of-this-world-human. I LOVE THEM A LOT. From him looking after her, from her escaping from her room, from their letters, they are amazing together, I could read this over and over again without getting tired of them. Okay, that being said, let’s move on.

“It appears,” a deep voice said, “a little mouse has made its way into my home.”

“Do you understand where you are?” he asked.
That was a stupid question.
Maybe he was used to being cowered at. I did not cower. Why should I? I’d already met death three times now. So far, the fourth was a bit of a disappointment.

…for a moment I considered telling her that I loved her.
I didn’t say it, of course.
If I did that, she would know where I was going and try to stop me. Besides, a word was useless compared to what I was about to do.

I hated sitting still.
Despised it, actually.
Vale all but threw me back into the bed, and I sat there for half an hour before I was fidgeting, trying to get up only to immediately stumble again. He caught on fast, soon taking watch at my bedside.
“You’re self-destructive,” he muttered, visibly irritated with me.
“I’m busy.”
“You’re ill.”
So what?

“It must be hard,” he murmured. “To bear the weight of so much affection in a life so short.”

This short story has wonderful characters in Lilith, Mina –her sister-, Vale –the vampire-, Farrow –Lilith’s friend- some crazy as hell humans and the evil god that messes with people’s lives: Vitarus. I loved the ones I had to love and hated the ones I had to hate. I don’t really think a single god or goddess from this series is going to be good at all so I’m very interested in how Carissa is going to pull these stories off.

“You want more than I can give you,” I whispered.
“I can’t imagine that ever being true,” he murmured. “Because I want only you, Lilith. Whatever of you I can have. I’ll take one night. One hour. One minute. Whatever you want to give me. I’ll have it.”

This small pocket of world we are presented is great, I got to understand this place, its rules, the people living in it, it of course adds to the main story in The Serpent and the wings of Night. I just loved everything about this novel and CAN’T wait for the next one to come out<3

[ApoorvaReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six scorched roses - 3.5 stars ⭐️

[Maite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, I've read some of the stories that I got the book for (Six Scorched Roses, I'm looking at you). I will slowly go through the rest but I am counting it as read!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of any of these authors before reading this anthology. I read these stories as the first ones I’ve ever read from these authors, and I assumed they were stand alone stories (which most of them are not).

1. Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent was amazing and I would give that story 5 stars. The story captured my attention and I couldn’t put it down. Whoever organized this anthology did a great job of putting this story as the first one in the book because it really drew me in. I’ll definitely follow this author and read more of her works. This story is about a woman who is dying, in a town where everyone is dying, and she’s trying to create a cure based on vampire blood. She trades 6 roses to the vampire for his blood.

2. The second story, Misdeeds, is not a romance. I have no idea why it was included in a “romance” anthology. The authors note at the end implies she will add more to this story (so maybe it will become a romance at some point in the future) but it is not a romance as written (unless you count a woman being almost forced to do sexual things against her will as romance, which I don’t). It also should have had some content warnings before it. It was hard to follow with a lot of inessential information and not relevant background about the story world and who the characters are. This story is about a woman who is kidnapped and trapped in a fairy world and made to do things she doesn’t want to do.

3. I initially skipped Claimed by Her Bear, because it’s book 2 in a series. Later I went back and started reading it and only made it through the first couple chapters before deciding to skip it again. Although the author says it’s a standalone, there’s a lot of references and not much detail about what happened in the first book (so not truly a stand alone). The characters aren’t that developed (but I only read the first couple chapters talked a lot about the characters who found love in the first book and not the characters in this book). This is a F/F shifter story with Pola Bear as the main character, and it appears book 1 (which I couldn’t find a copy of) is also a F/F shifter romance.

4. These Gentle Wolves, by Clare Sager, was a much longer story than I expected in an anthology (at about 280 pages). It was a good read, only a few characters, and lots of creativity. I almost skipped this story, but the first page set the stage for a faerie story, so I’m glad I read it. Although I believe was is the second book in a series, it was enough of a stand alone set in it’s own unique space that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first book. Although I generally like shorter stories, I will probably follow this author and I would give this story 5 stars. This story is about a woman who marries a Fae in order get his protection to survive in his world long enough to check on her kidnapped friend, and they get trapped in an enchanted horror house.

5. I initially skipped Vampire Chained by Karen Tomlinson because I don’t read many vampire books and I usually stick to M/F romances. However, I went back and read this M/M story and wow, it was amazing - definitely 5-stars. I couldn’t put it down. Great background, the perfect amount of characters (enough that I want to read books about the other characters, but not too many that it’s distracting from this story). The happy ending was perfect. This story really drew me in. I’m going to read everything this author has written and I’ll definitely follow her. This story was about a half-human vampire who was abused his entire life and who was sent to attempt to murder a very powerful Count, but falls in love with the head of security.

6. Stolen Magic by Emma Dean was an interesting read. Very developed characters and an interesting storyline. I almost didn’t read it because of the author’s note at the beginning, but my opinion is the author’s warnings were excessive (why does an author need to warn that the book is Not a reverse harem?) and it was a worthwhile read. It did end somewhat abruptly, with no real closure - the ongoing flirting in the book never really culminates to anything more. There were a few places in the story that made me feel like I was missing something (I believe there may be a book before this story). At the end of the story, there’s a note to visit the author’s website for more of this story, but I can’t find anywhere on her website to actually get any more of the story. This story is about a woman who is half-witch and half hunter and she’s given her first mission to investigate some weird reports, and she falls for a man who is half demon and half angel.

7. I initially skipped Fire Kissed because it appears to be at least in the middle of a series and not a stand alone book. I went back and read it, and I believe it’s the 4th book in this series (and I haven’t read any of the others). As a stand-alone, I didn’t feel like I was missing much, but it’s obvious some big things happened in other stories and the hero of this story was the villain of at least one of the previous ones. There were a few times that the story seemed to take a strange twist (halfway through the book it’s suddenly announced that it’s Christmas, when there was nothing earlier in the story to indicate it was even winter when people were trudging around outside). I had a hard time trying to figure out the time-period/setting (finally over halfway through the story someone opens a fridge and it’s understandable that it’s somewhat modern-day). The story seemed to drag on a little bit with lots of random information that I wasn’t sure was relevant (but which would probably make more sense if I had more knowledge of the series). Overall, the author didn’t draw me in enough for me to read the other related books. This story is about a woman who falls for a man who had been wooing her cousin for years (in a different book) and he’s the ferryman from the Netherworlds and his sister is fate and is trapped and he’s just trying to save her.

8. Hired by the Werewolves is an interesting storyline but overall is mediocre and unbelievable even for a fairytale (werewolves with no mention of fated mates and a missing backstory). Apparently it’s a spin-off from something else, and there were several times I got the feeling I was missing a substantial background detail. I probably would have skipped it if I had realized it was not a stand-alone. This story is about a shape-shifting witch/stripper who is hired by 3 werewolf brothers to impersonate their missing sister. Most of her “clients” pay her to shapeshift into someone they fantasize about having sex with, but she sleeps with the brothers anyway.

9. Dark Court by Jewel Killian was a captivating story that I really enjoyed. The entire story was interesting and unexpected. I’ll probably follow this author. This story is about a Fae king who was trapped in a box for centuries (the humans thought he was a devil) and his new keeper is a woman who releases him. He is taking her back with him to stand trial for the crime of imprisoning him.

10. Royally Embraced was a hot mess if you read it as a stand alone. More characters than there was chapters, it seemed like it was an effort to mesh every kind of story together (siren, mage, elf, werewolf, dragon, etc). A reverse harem with the story beginning a few years into the relationship, and her friend is also in a reverse harem relationship, and then add in the father figures for them all as well… so many characters that it was hard to keep them straight and none of them were very developed in this story. At only 4 chapters, and only about 50 pages, at least it was a quick read. After reading this, I realized this story comes after an entire series - but without having any of the backstory and without the author disclosing this was related to a series, I wish I would have skipped this story. This story is about a woman with 4 mates whose child is threatened to be kidnapped because he’s a hybrid and has powers from all 5 of his parents. And her friend’s first mate is upset because she doesn’t want to be monogamous anymore when she starts seeing other men too.

11. The Vampire Hunt by Ali Winters was pretty good. There were a few grammatical errors and a few sentences that were missing endings, but overall it was a good read. It appears to be part of a series, but had enough context and depth to be a good stand-alone book. Overall, I think it was a good introduction to this author. This story is about a series of murders in the city and the main heroine decides to get close to the main suspect (a vampire) so she can try to figure out if he’s the killer.

12. Fenrir was an interesting short story. It’s actually a prequel to a book that hasn’t been released yet. Based on this, I’m assuming the book will probably be a good read, although I was disappointed that this was only a prequel and not an actual story, as it ends abruptly and readers must wait until the book is actually published to find out the ending. This story is about a girl who kisses a servant man, and her father forces her to punish him by cutting out his heart and cursing him to obey/protect her for eternity. Then she goes into his prison in order to escape an arranged marriage and they wake up hundreds or thousands of years later trying to figure out what happened to their society.

13. Lovely Darkness by May Dawson was a sweet story and a quick read. I enjoyed it. The author did a good job of building up the story world and making the characters seem realistic. I’ll follow this author. This story is about a girl who grew up playing with a boy who came out of the woods whenever it rained. When she grew up, he brought her back to the Fae kingdom so she could marry the Fae prince.

14. Serpent's Promise by Marina Simcoe is a sequel to a book I haven't read. It's set in a time where the main characters have been married for 20 years and have grown children. It’s a sweet story and a good stand-alone. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first book, and it was well written with a happy ending. I’ll follow this author. This story is about a woman who is married to a gorgonian (like Medusa) and she is in charge of that kingdom and she is invited to a meeting with other rulers in which the Sky King kidnaps her just because he wants to have a human pet.

15. The Mage Clock by JC Andrijeski was a very unique story which really sucked me in. It ended more abruptly that I would have liked, and I immediately went to the author’s website to get the bonus epilogue (which was a very sweet happy ending). This story is about a man who goes to confront the father he never knew (who left his pregnant mother to die), and he finds out his father has evil magic so he steals a time-traveling clock from his father in order to stop him. He accidentally travels through time and meets his wife who is very happy to have him home, but he hasn’t yet even met her.

16. Devil’s Debt by KT Strange is an interesting short story (and apparently the first story in a series). The author’s note has a link to pre-order the next book (and the link doesn’t work). Don’t read this if you want a happily ever after, as it cuts off abruptly in what should be the middle of the story. Although I enjoyed the story, I probably won’t follow the author since I like happy endings. This story is about a girl who has a special necklace and she’s kidnapped (or rescued) because of it. She falls for the guy who takes her back to his place.

[Véronique Laplante Grenier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hired by the werewolves is a short story by Erin Bedford that you can find in the Flirting with Darkness anthology.

Angelica is a shapeshifting witch. She will do a lot of thing for money. So the night three handsome werewolves ask her to pass for their missing sister, she don't hesitate. But can she play the part and pass for her in front of a whole pack and the girl parents?? Maybe it's more to handle then she thought. That and keeping a distance to the boys.

I have really love this short story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for May Sage and Erin Bedford

Enjoyed both of these.entertaining shorts. May Sage and Erin Bedford.are.queens of spinning a fabulous supernatural tale that will keep you thoroughly engaged.

[Khali Hearon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a major Carissa broadbent Stan I ran to this anthology to read six scorched roses. And man it did not disappoint. 😭🤍🖤

“You’ve spent your whole damned life dying, Lilith. Now you’ve gotten that out of the way, and you get to go live.”

[Christy deSade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most are NOT standalones

Most of these stories are NOT standalones like the description says. 🙄 If that's what you were looking for, look elsewhere.

[Maria Fatma]

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
At this point I'm certain I'll love everything Miss Broadbent writes. This story was so romantic and I loved Vale and Lilith. I can't wait to meet them again in the sequel to the Serpent and the Wings of Night.

[Lady Chenaee · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIRE KISSED-- I waited almost a year for this story and it did not disappoint. Fire Kissed is a standalone in the beautiful nightmare series that follows characters from One Winter's Kiss. Okay, so I truly adored One Winter's Kiss in all of it's modern-day-fairytale glory. It was sweet and full of the insta-love goodness that works so well in holiday stories. But baby when I tell you Fire Kissed was FIRE!! Like blow the roof off this mutha!

Kharon and Rae waited for their time but boy did they seize their opportunity. I felt so bad for Rae, she was often overlooked even in One Winter's Kiss. I was glad to see her take charge of her life and stand up to her uncle. (I hate her uncle and was secretly hoping Kharon would kill him). Kharon was what book boyfriends are made of. Sexy as hell and always ready for his woman. There's also a loving side to Kharon that made me drool in how he cares for not only Rae but his sister.

It was nice seeing Dalcour again. Although this is the first time he's actually got on my nerves. I was happier to see Rae's twin brother, Ross. He is a hoot! I'm still waiting for the author to give us a story with him and Stephen. Like stat, please!

I know the author says this is a bridge book to her next series, Netherworld, and I am so excited! If I had any critique and it's not the worst thing is the love scenes seemed to go on and on. For real, I was like damn, find me a dude with his stamina. But again, I loved it because it seemed like they were working through things during their love making which made it interesting. It wasn't just sex for sex's sake.

I'm looking forward to the duet Fire Born and the Netherworld! Matter of fact, let me get my passport ready. If all the dudes in the Netherworld are like Kharon Nyx, I WANNA GO!!

[Sydney Hopke · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a collection of great authors in this set! My review is for LC Son's Fire Kissed.

What happens after One Winter's Kiss for Rae and Kharon? Well you'll need to read this to find out and if you haven't read it don't worry you'll still enjoy this. It's a wonderful story about a couple who've been waiting for each other and finally get there. There are character's we've met before and a story that you'll love!

[rania · Rating 5 out of 5]

only read six scorched roses cause if carissa writes it, i read it.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I will be rating these as I go. I got this because Emma Dean has a book in here and I really enjoy her books. That was really all I knew about this and the first story had me sucked in and ready to read all night long

SIX SCORCHED ROSES⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story was so engrossing. When I read short stories like these I don’t really expect to be thrown into this incredible new world that blows my mind. And while there is still a lot to learn about this world I was absolutely floored by how well the author was able to pull you into it so quickly. Plus her writing and descriptions were beautiful. The emotion in this book- damn it had me in tears

“You want more than I can give you,” I whispered. “I can’t imagine that ever being true,” he murmured. “Because I want only you, Lilith. Whatever of you I can have. I’ll take one night. One hour. One minute. Whatever you want to give me. I’ll have it.”

Lilith was a complex character for such a short story. At first she gave off an impression of being unable to connect, a social awkwardness. I didn’t fully understand her but everything clicked for me when Vale was able to see past what everyone else say to the woman she truly was

“It must be hard,” he murmured. “To bear the weight of so much affection in a life so short.”

This changed the book for me. I went from liking it and enjoying it to absolutely falling in love with the authors work and immediately getting some of her books. Hopefully this first book doesn’t set the bar too high for the rest

MISDEEDS ⭐️⭐️.5

So I didn’t love this one and there’s a number of reasons. First I just don’t like kidnappings and forced sex. Granted this one didn’t get that far but most of the story included her being enslaved so right off the bat I didn’t like it, but that’s just a personal opinion. 2nd even though it was short we were thrust into a world that was unexplained and seemed rather complicated in the politics. Then there’s an ending

“The End …At least it was supposed to be the end.”

I get that authors are hoping we’re going to start reading their books and I’m all for that but really. You can finish the short story and have me intrigued enough in your writing or your world for me to go looking for more. Ending it like this almost automatically made me say nope, done. Overall this wasn’t the story for me.

CLAIMED BY HER BEAR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Honestly I skipped a lot of this. It’s a fated mates which I don’t really love

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really big anthology and I may or may not read them all. I picked it up to read Carissa Broadbent’s contribution, “Six Scorched Roses”.

This is a great novella (less than 200 pages) that takes place in the world from her most recent series, “The Serpent & The Wings of Night”, which I loved and am anticipating the 2nd installment of that series next year.

So this was a good fix in the meantime and a good story in its own right. I didn’t find the premise and story as interesting as the full book but I liked the characters and felt the relationship between Lilith (a scientist trying to find a cure for the plague an angry god put on her city) and Vale (the vampire who reluctantly, as a result of his curiosity in her, agrees to help by providing sample of his blood). Similar to the Serpent book, I feel that this lacks the true vampire nature that I love. It only seems to be there as a side note. There is no blood lust or even any talk at all about him feeding ever. For most of the story it could have been any magical creature in his place. That aside, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I just hope that the vampire nature comes out more in the future installments in the series.

4 stars
_________________

The 2nd novella in the anthology is called “Misdeeds” by May Sage. This was really well written and deep in High Fae lore, which I do enjoy but it suffered a bit from too much of the Fae politics, which can bring a richness to fantasy stories but when it’s too much can bog the story down a bit. I did enjoy the setting and the premise, based around a human woman sucked in by accident into the cruel Fae world. She gets tossed around a bit between 3 different Fae nobility males and there’s a great twist at the end. Pretty short at about 100 pages but a good read.

3.5 stars
_____________

I’ll come back with other reviews of the other stories as (and if) I read them.

[Kreela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an ARC of May Sage’s “Misdeeds”, which is part of the anthology.


• One night story bite
• Queen exiled
• Clueless fae in human lands

This story has so many teasers. There were three male fae involved, and they acted like a traditional fae: don't say thank you, don't eat the food, etc. I really love to read a more traditional idea of fae interacting with humans...plus romance. Too many stories now have "fae" plastered on a generic supernatural that could just as easily be a demon, vampire, or other being.

The main character is a music teacher who loves to dance, and that is something I love, too. Hearing a new tune in the club she frequents leads her to meeting someone who goes by the laws of the fae, not humans, and she becomes enslaved.

As for the romance, there were so many almosts and maybes my heart practically jumped into my throat. Almost rape. Almost bondage. Almost tricked into more of same...I didn't realize I was so plain vanilla. Paddles, ropes, multiple partners, and voyeurism don't appeal to me. Luckily, I was saved from skipping any scenes.

At the end of the story, May Sage mentioned that she was so inspired that a full series might come out. I would expect, based on past stories, it to be extremely well-written with included voyeurism and other fetishes included. I am not knocking a fetish, because it can make life exciting, but those of us who might cringe need to know.

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Errors Everywhere

All of the stories were littered with spelling and grammatical errors. The vampire mystery had so many errors in it that it was difficult to follow along at times. Half a paragraph placed at the end of the chapter, words and and half of sentences missing, incorrect spellings, etc. were everywhere in that one. The others had their fair share, but that one stands out to me because it was so disappointing. The story line was good, but the errors made it difficult to enjoy.

My other complaint were that some were just badly written in general. The fae story about Tor felt like it had been written by a 12 year old, the entire story was focused on beauty and ugly. At one point he calls a group of them “ugly and stupid”. That’s a retort I would expect from a five year old, not a powerful fae. Just childish and awful.

Hire editors and beta readers. This could’ve been a good collection if that had been done.

[Angie Kossina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology has some amazing authors. Two of my favorite authors are May Dawson and Erin Bedford and loved to read their stories, The Hired by Werewolves included a shapeshifting witch that was hired to act as the werewolves sister, the story is a spinoff and looking forward to reading more about the crazy witch and the sweet wolves (although one is a bit more grumpy). May Dawson's Lovely Darkness has to do with a little girl who had parents that were the worst type of monsters, the ones that didn't treasure their children. She befriended a boy she met out in the woods and when they grew up her life got a whole lot more complicated especially for someone who wants to be invisible.

[Gayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great way to find new to you authors

I loved most of these stories. Some didn’t appeal to my genre tastes. I just skipped those stories but took note of the authors to check for other stories written by them. Most seem like full stories and put together are a nice long read.

The first story,honestly blew me away and I have since devoured all books by Carissa Broadbent. Marina Simcoe is one of my go to authors and the reason I took a chance on this collection.

All the stories I did read were very well written and some of them were beautiful and charming.

Lots of great material here and well worth trying.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Shape-Shifting Witch and Three Werewolves
This short story (Hired by Werewolves by Erin Bedford) takes place in the same world as the House of Durand series, but with werewolves this time instead of vampires. Angel is hired by werewolf brothers Cooper, Jax and Duke to shapeshift and stand in for their runaway sister. However, while she’s staying with them, they get up to some very unsisterly activities. I would have loved it if it was longer, since I loved Angel and would’ve loved to see more of the group's developing relationship. A great quick story.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Court by Jillian Killian is a super steamy and short read. Even though short it is still packed with intrigue, heat and a captivating storyline. It is very well developed with dynamic characters and a storyline that kept me guessing.
Hired by the Werewolves by Erin Bedford is a very interesting paranormal RH romance. It features Angelica and her 3 wolves. She gets herself into more that what she thought she could handle. I really liked the dynamics of their group.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly i havent read the whole anthology just yet but i plan to after reading all of the great writers in it. At the moment this review is for

Hired by Werewolves by Erin Bedford

Things turn steamy when shapeshifter witch and stripper - Angelica is offered a job by werewolves - Duke, Jax and Cooper. It starts off an interesting dynamic between them all. This was a quick read with characters i really liked. A good read

[Es · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

I loved this novella so much! It’s a perfect short story that is reminiscent of beauty and the beast. It was faced paced yet the romance was so compelling. I adored the main characters Lilith and Vale. They are perfect together and they saved me from a huge reading slump.

P.S. You can enjoy this novella whether or not you’ve read ‘The Serpent and the Wings of Night’.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

overall a 3.5.
4 stars for Marina Simcoe and Demelza Carlton. I really enjoyed Marina's gorgon tale 20 years in the future. Demelza's fenrir sets up a viking myth.
3 or less stars for quite of few of new to me authors. some stories were blah... maybe because of it it being part of a series, maybe because of the lack of connection, but most probably because with a short story its difficult to get involved.

[Sam Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit hit and miss in quality

Some of these stories are really very good, and have encouraged me to read the authors' other works. Some of the stories I found less compelling either due to the content/premise or because of the formatting (one story in particular seems to have been an incomplete draft submission by mistake with the author's notes to themself regarding editing etc.).

[Joy Ki`Ili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot's of new stories

I'm going to review JC Andrijeski's new series, first off it's completely different from any of her other series. It starts off with some background and then jumps up and grabs you. Because it's time travel there's a bit of blurr as we get connected to the new place. No one does that quite like this author & she's great at it and now we have to wait for the full story.

[thenerdybookworm_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Court by Jewel Killian

What if…everything you believed in, turned out to be false? Follow Liesl, as she descends into darkness.

This little gem was such an intriguing story. It was spicy and kept you guessing. The characters and the storyline will keep you hooked. A fantastic short by the author.

[Samantha Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this story!!!

Dark Court is a short story in the Flirting With Darkness anthology.

This might be a quick read, but Jewel creates a story that hooks you, keeps you guessing and will have you wanting more!!

I absolutely loved the characters, I loved the world, I just loved it all!!!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reviewing Misdeeds from May Sage -I absolutely love her books and this short story did not disappoint. Well, it did because it was short, but that's the point. Overall, I really enjoyed the story telling and a quick fast read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.