Belong To The Night

The Long Island Coven #2

by Shelly Laurenston

Wanna know where the real wild things are. . .and what they like to do there?

Belong To The Night

The Wolf, The Witch, And Her Lack Of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston

Jamie Meacham has enough trouble controlling her supernatural abilities. There's no time for lust, or for Tully Smith, even with his smoldering amber eyes. But Tully's grappling with his own animal instincts as a powerful shifter-wolf, trying to protect all his territory-including a certain sassy witch-from vicious rivals.

In The Dark by Cynthia Eden

FBI agent and leopard shifter Sadie James' undead ex, Liam, still arouses her deepest desires, distracting her from tracking the brutal rogue shifter who is terrorizing Miami. By teaming up with Liam, Sadie has a better chance of solving the case, but as passion consumes them, she stands to lose more than just her heart.

City Of The Dead by Sherrill Quinn

Dori Falcon is a witch with a plan: get to New Orleans, locate her missing brother, and recover the Eye of Bastet, a mysterious and powerful amulet. Her plan never included falling for sexy Cajun cop Jake Boudreau; but without his help, she may never find the demon who has her brother, and the key to her family's survival.

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

352 pages, ebook

First published August 25, 2009

About the author

Originally from Long Island, New York, Shelly Laurenston has resigned herself to West Coast living which involves healthy food, mostly sunny days, and lots of guys not wearing shirts when they really should be. Shelly Laurenston is also The New York Times Bestselling author G.A. Aiken, creator of the Dragon Kin series. For more info on G.A. Aiken's dangerously and arrogantly sexy dragons, check out her website at www.gaaiken.com.

Pseudonym G.A. Aiken

Reviews

[Bonnie-Anne Carmichael (Love Triangles Are Fucking Stupid.) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cynthia Edens book only.

I can't bring myself to read the last two chapters. What a load of bollocks honestly.

"Every night. You were the last thing I thought of before sleepin' and the first thing on waking'"

Aye lad you cared about her so much you let her think you were dead for two years and literally fucked every lassie in sight during that time. This was disgusting. And she just let him right back into her bed and heart! She was a complete doormat and he was a complete and utter bawbag. He honestly kept trying to say how it was so hard to stay away from her but he was scared she would think he was a monster. Boo fucking hoo. Aye you seemed miserable whilst you were shagging like there was no tomorrow.

I want to eternal sunshine this from my memory.

[Angela (Angel's Book Nook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belong To The Night is an Anthology that features three short stories by Shelly Laurenston, Cynthia Eden, and Sherrill Quinn.

I only read Shelly Laurenston’s story called The Wolf, The Witch, And Her Lack Of Wardrobe. It’s the second story in her Long Island Coven series.

This short story was a lot of fun and I loved it. I didn’t know about The Long Island Coven series, until I say the first short published as an eBook on it’s own and after I read that one I went looking for more and found the second one in this Anthology. I couldn’t believe I had missed these stories. I love Laurenston. She always makes me smile and laugh with her stories.

The Wolf, The Witch, And Her Lack Of Wardrobe has all the things that make me happy. Theirs drama, a kick-ass heroine, and some action. It’s a bit slow at first, but things pick up as you read along. Tully is a wolf. He’s laid-back and might come off as boring, but I liked him. Jamie is a witch and head of her coven. She’s hardcore sassy bitch with an attitude. There’s a lot going on in this short and their romance is fraught with some issues.

It does take place in the same universe as her other shifter series, but without any character connections. The Long Island Coven is an unfinished series, boo hoo. I wish the author would come back to it; because there are three more interesting coven members to explore.

The Wolf, The Witch, And Her Lack Of Wardrobe was a nice surprise to find and read.

Rated: 3.5 Stars

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. The Wolf, the Witch, Her Lack of Wardrobe: The story was slow & boring at first and the countrified talent made me want to burn it - they were using double negatives & incorrect verb usage. "Don't matter nothing to me." Aaaaaahhhhh!!! The main characters just plod along. & do nothing interesting first half of the book. Then you learn what troubles each has & Jamie, the witch, starts kicking ass - I like her hardcore sassy bitch witch attitude. Tully, the wolf, is a snooze fest, so boring in all ways. Liked it for the powerful witch & her coven.

2. Cynthia Eden's Belong to the Night: it was good, just super short, so didn't leave a very lasting impression. Basics, lady shifter cop sees her dead lover in a bar, only he's not dead, he's undead - vampire. They work a case together again, the end.

3. Dori, a witch, is back in New Orleans looking for her missing witch brother. She gets Jake, a cop she is super loins on fire in lust with to help her. I'm unclear whether they've hooked up before when she came down looking for her brother or not. Anyway, there's barely a story going on, it's just Jake & Dori trying to have nonstop sex in every location they stop in for more than 5 minutes. I haven't finished the story yet, but the brother will probably die before they finish humping each other to death & remember they have a missing person to find. This may be a DNF. - I finished this, mainly to get it off my currently reading shelf.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wolf, The Witch, and her Lack of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston- 3 stars I'm not sure about this one. I think the plot was great, but I had a hard time liking the heroine, and the hero could have been interchanged with any other hero out there, there really wasn't much to him, which is unusual for Laurenston. I didn't see her trademark sense of humor in here as much either. The plot saved me from the characters.

In the Dark by Cynthia Eden- 4 stars I really loved this one, and I didn't expect that twist at the end.
Sadie is a shifter who works for the FBI in this novella which feels like part of Eden's Night Watch series. She's on a case and walks into a vampire bar when she sees someone she thought died 2 years ago! Her former lover. Worse than thinking he was dead, is seeing him getting cozy with a skanky looking girl at a bar. Now she's pissed and hurt.

Liam wasn't killed on that last mission, not in the staying dead sense of the word. He was turned into a vampire accidentally. He wouldn't go near Sadie for fear she'd see him as a monster. So 2 years later, his joy at seeing her is killed when she drives a stake into his chest.

Can they get over the past to enjoy the future?


City of the Dead by Sherrill Quinn- I didn't read this one, but I'll come back to it later.

[MrsJoseph *grouchy* · Rating 2 out of 5]

MEH.

I didn't enjoy this one much at all. Its the same universe as Pack/Pride but it has none of the pizazz and very little to none of the humor.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology

1. The Wolf, The Witch and Her Lack of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston. This takes place in Smithville after the coven has been in place for about 10 months. Jamie is working on getting more power and Tully is trying to figure out what she's doing. His father comes to town to make trouble and they both work to stop him. Very sweet, funny story. I really love Shelly Laurenston's books/stories. 4 stars.

2. In the Dark by Cynthia Eden. Sadie runs into her ex-lover Liam who is supposed to be and he is, he "undead"! (Cue scary music.) He thought she'd reject him when she found and and she did, tried to stake him. She also didn't mention that she's a leopard shifter. Through finding a killer, they find they still care for each other. Lovely story. 4 stars.

3. City of the Dead by Sherrill Quinn. 1st time reading this author and this story was pretty good. Dori is trying to find her brother again and goes to Jake, a New Orleans' cop, for help. They had a romance that she broke off because she was afraid of being hurt. Well this time he's not letting her get away and she doesn't want to leave. Cute, romantic. 3.5 stars.

So overall this was an above-average anthology with every one of the stories better than good. Would recommend it.

[Book Snob Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wolf, The Witch and Her Lack of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston - 5 stars
Jaime is the head of her witch coven...and is seriously a badass....like on so many levels. Tully is the Mayor of Smithville and Kyle’s brother. These two were just fun to read and they are so different, but it works. They have to work together to stop Tully’s psychotic dad and appease the gods. Love all the characters in this book and series. One of my favorites....ever.

In The Dark by Cynthia Eden - 3
Sadie is a shifter for the FBI and Liam is her ex vampire boyfriend. I am a huge Cynthia Eden fan, but I am not a Liam fan. His death was faked over 2 years ago when he became a vampire. So instead of coming back for Sadie, he’s been alive and apparently quite “busy” with the ladies...while she mourns his death. She literally walks in and finds him with another woman at the bar she’s at. Hurt and confused...rightfully so. I think what actually irritated me about him the most is how he goes on that she’s his....uh, no...pretty sure he lost that bragging right when he was with all those others.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series: The Long Island Coven #2
Rating: 3 stars - I liked it

The rating is only for the story, The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston.

Like a lot of Laurenston’s books, this was a fun paranormal romance with a lot of bickering and action. Jamie is the high priestess of the coven protecting Smithville and keeps everyone at a distance. Tully Smith is a wof shifter and mayor of the town. He is constantly amused by Jamie and finds her very attractive, but when he is tasked with preventing her from causing more problems he quickly catches feelings.

I enjoyed this couple and their antics. Jamie was a tough and powerful witch who wasn’t afraid to destroy an enemy, which I liked about her. Tully comes off as a carefree wolf but he is actually smart and cunning. I enjoyed this and hope Laurenston writes more about this coven because they are very tough but fun.

You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multiauthor anthology - one outstanding, one good, and one OK read.

The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston: This is directly connected to her The Long Island Coven series [Sun, Sand, Sex Anthology-"My Kind of Town":] and indirectly to her Pack and Pride books. It is hysterically funny and the hero brings ambling to the level of art. Somehow you never think of Pack Alphas as amblers... Rating 5

"In the Dark" by Cynthia Eden: shifter and vampire FBI agents go after a shifter serial killer. Heroine walks into a bar and sees her dead lover making time with a redhead and tries to kill him. He bites her and figures out she's a shifter - and therefore capable of dealing with what he has [unwillingly:] become. Rating 4

"City of the Dead" by Sherrill Quinn: an OK read but not much more - rather predictable and frankly [IMO:], lots of steamy sex but not much plot. Rating 3

[TinaNoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very quick, somewhat incomplete review. I only read the Laurenston novella. It was great. Very much full of the Laurenston stamp: strong heroine full to the brim with personality, a hero who is simply delighted with her, tons of family and friends around who are all involved in the story. Fun read. I do plan to read the other two novellas but I got the book on the strength of the Laurenston.

[Kimmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tully and Jamie are hilarious. His kin her coven laughter galore.

[fulano · Rating 1 out of 5]

tw/cw: violence, gore, blood, grief, cheating hero... as of DNF.

[Mettesknit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audiobook narrated by
Lucinda Gainey
⭐️

Not for me.
Neither the story nor the narration.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only have one complaint it wasn’t long enough , needed more.
This has me laughing. Steamy scenes and an perfect storyline. Truly loved this book and her writing style

[Michelle Tempted By Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the Cynthia Eden and Shelly Laurenston contributions to this anthology so the review will be only for those novellas. Overall I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with the stories though.

The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Clothing by Shelly Laurenston was about Coven Witch Jaime and the wolf Mayor of Smithville, Tully. I can't really put my finger on this one, something just didn't click for me. Jaime was very closed off and Tully was too laid back. They had good chemistry together but the relationship was kind of chopping in the telling. The story itself was quite slow and though the couple do make it to bed it just didn't do much for me. Shelly has many great stories, this is just one that I didn't much care for.

In the Dark by Cynthia Eden, I am just starting her stuff and can say so far she has a great writing voice. Her stories seem to suck me in immediately and keep me guessing. This story however, I was unable to forgive Liam the way Sadie apparently did. I felt there was never really any explanation or apology and I just had a hard time believing they would just fall into bed again. The case was was well paced and plotted but the romance left me flat.

[kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude · Rating 4 out of 5]

R&R only for The Wolf, the Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe by Shelly Laurenston.

Some backstory to how witches came to be in Smithville, a mostly shifter locale.

Each coven was unique, their particular strengths needed at that particular point in time. But they were also very similar. Good, simple women who wanted a safe place to worship their gods and raise their children. They’d chant happily in the early evenings and dance naked under the full moon.

It was all simple, beautiful, and very “We are one world, love everyone, save Mother Earth.” And for nearly four hundred years, none of that had changed.

Which takes us to the present day

Until now. Until the day the Coven of the Darkest Night came into town and changed absolutely everything.

Meet our couple; Tully is the (Smith) wolf shifter older stepbrother of Kyle the leopard shifter from book one. Jamie is Emma's (also from book one) coven leader.

If there was one thing Tully Smith, Alpha Male of the Smithville County Smith Pack and mayor of Smithville Township, could say about Jamie Meacham, it was that he loved the way she made an entrance.

Jamie is a foil to Emma's (mostly) sweet and unremarkable self.

She was tall for a full-human. About five-eleven or so... he couldn’t look away from those eyes. If he didn’t know for a fact she was full-human, he’d swear she was one of them. It wouldn’t matter what breed either. It was her eyes. She had the eyes of a predator and, he’d bet, the soul of one, too.

With her coven Jamie reigns supreme (kind of lol)

Behind Jamie came the rest of her coven. As a functioning unit, they weren’t half bad, although there seemed to be more infighting among five full-human females than there was among the nearly fifty-five members of the local Martoni Hyena Clan. But each coven member was so different, it amazed him the women had joined forces at all.

But clearly there was something amiss with her leadership skills...

As head of the Coven of the Darkest Night, Jamie was nothing but gorgeous trouble rolled in brown sugar and dusted in arsenic.

and despite all her perkiness and smiles, Jamie is no pushover.

Yeah. Jamie was the one he found the most entertaining. Why? Because if he didn’t know better, he’d swear that woman didn’t give a damn about anybody. She strutted through life tempting fates and whatever powers she or anyone else worshipped. She brought out the worst in the predators around her, insisted on calling his baby sister “Snaggle” because of the state of Katie’s fangs while in shifted form, and kept a sidearm on her at all times—last he checked it was a .380 auto—but was known to travel with a rifle at night. Both of which were illegal within Smithville County lines. Remind her of that, though, and she’d only laugh.

Yep, I love Jamie. But she has Secrets, she is Hiding Things; not just from Tully, but from the rest of her Coven. 'Serious' things...

However, on a not-so-serious note, as a practising witch, she has a well-loved familiar,

As she was nearing the last few grapes and wondering what else she had in her refrigerator or freezer to eat, she heard a loud bang somewhere in the back of the house followed by extensive cursing.

She started to get up when Rico flew into the room followed by Tully Smith trying to catch her.

“Come here, you little bastard!” He made a wild grab for the gyrfalcon and the bird went up into the rafters. One of the reasons Jamie had picked this cabin for her new home was because of the deliciously extravagant high ceilings.

who because of 'circumstances', leads her to her first sexual encounter with Tully

“Of course when that large splatter of bird shit hit him dead center of his head, he did realize that he could use a good rifle with a sight. Could this be the thing Jamie had been saying “Honey, I’m home” to the other day? Because Lord forbid the woman should do something normal.

Laughing so hard she fell back on the couch, Jamie couldn’t manage more than, “Oh, my God! She hates you!”

despite this incident!!!

There's a lot more going on in this one, even though it is only novella length (like the first one) and one of those things is a Daddy Problem that unfortunately Jamie gets embroiled in. However, as the saying goes, those who slay together and all that... and slay they do AND come up trumps in the end.

It came as a nice surprise to me that this duology (which it seems is another unfinished series, boo hoo for that as there are three other very interesting members who the coven who need stories) takes place in the same universe as her other shifter series' Smith's Shifter World but without any connected characters, apart from one Bubba Ray Smith of the SmithTOWN Pack, Tennesee. These folks in SmithVILLE, North Carolina are just another arm of the huge 'family' of Smith wolf shifters that are spread throughout the whole of the US, but there is also a very vague connection to SL's Crows books towards the end of this one too!

(Re-up from export file following the Great GR Data Loss of Oct 2022

[Annvelwis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe" by Shelly Laurenston - 5
"In the Dark" by Cynthia Eden - 3,5
"City of the Dead" by Sherrill Quinn - 2,5

[Jordan Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll buy anything with Shelly and Cynthia in it. This anthology did not disappoint.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars for Shelly Laurenston
3 1/2 Stars for Cynthia Eden

[Goge (BARRONS) le Moning Maniac, · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best anthology I've read in a while, why, because I enjoyed all three of them. Of course the last one made me frown some but it was great too. The sex, anyway, which I discerned to be the 'real' plot of the story. 4 stars overall. Each story held their own. Despite my iffy comments about the last story, I actually enjoyed it until it got to the demon scenes which didn't occur until three-fourths of the story in. They were each different from one another and intriguing and tantalizing in their own way and I can't wait to reread them all over again.


The Wolf, the Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe


There was a moment when I went: OHMYFUCKINDGOD! *BLISTERING RED MORTIFIED RED TO THE ROOTS!*

"There were worse things in the universe than predators willing to feed on her."


“Thanks for walking me.”
“I can take you all the way home.”
“That’s okay.”
“You afraid to take me to your house, Jamie? Afraid I won’t leave until morning?”
“The way this town works?” she laughed. “I know you won’t leave.
“Wow. You are cocky.”
“Not cocky. I just know how it works in Shifterville, USA. One night leads into another and into another until one day I look up and all your shit will be in my house and you’ll be wondering where your breakfast is.”




Jamie: “Is it love?”
Emma: “For now.”
Kenny: “I hope it lasts until next winter."
Jamie: “You want Sen to be happy and in love?”
Kenny: “Until winter time.”
Mac: “Why?”
Kenny: “Because… I wanna be there when she finds her polar-bear sweetheart splayed out on one of the frozen man-made saltwater lakes, patiently waiting for one of those baby seals we’ll have flown in just for this reason to pop its head up so the polar can snatch it out of the ice cold water, tear it open, and devour it like a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie.”


(I want the other witches to have their own stories. The Long Island Coven, will I ever get their stories? If so, when? And has Shelly forgotten them?)

"There was sweet Emma, whom Kyle had snagged as his own before the rest of them had even gotten a good look at her. Of course, she was such a cute and sweet little thing, Tully couldn’t blame his brother. He definitely would have tried if it had been anyone but Kyle who’d been sniffing around her. Then there was the “always friendly, dang-near loved everybody, couldn’t get enough of people, wanted everyone to be happy and show it!” Seneca. She’d somehow found her way among the bears, which only proved she was a sweetheart down to her toes because those easily startled, oversized bastards didn’t like anybody but themselves and fresh salmon. The one he had the least interest in was Kendall, also known as Kenny. She was a real Yankee. Not remotely friendly, suspicious, paranoid, and almost defiantly plain. They rarely saw her during the day, and when she did come out after the sun had gone down she would usually head over to the edge of town where some wild dogs had opened up a comic book and gaming store. The one Tully found much more interesting was the extremely statuesque Mackenzie. Mac was about his height, a cool six-three, and a former firefighter. It had taken her time to warm up to the locals but she’d found her way merely by not being her cousin."

And of course, we have Jamie! Our heroine! Of course, I thoroughly enjoyed Tully and Jamie.

"Tully was in the middle of washing his hair and debating on pancakes or waffles or both, when the shower door opened, slamming against the wall beside it. The sound had him spinning around, ready for a fight until he saw Jamie standing there… staring at him. “Jamie?” Her gaze swept down to his feet, then slowly back up until she gazed into his face. Tully instinctively took a step back. “Jamie?” She licked her lips and stepped in to the shower. Water poured down on her and she used both hands to swipe her hair off her face. “Are you all right?” “Uh-huh.” She openly stared at his cock, the damn thing rising without direct orders from him. “I feel great.” “Are… are you sure? Because you don’t seem yourself.” She stepped closer and Tully realized he was now backed up to the shower wall— and his shower was not small."

LOL I thought it was funny. I laughed a lot reading their story:)



And, because I don't want to forget.. : Mac and Jamie, they are entertaining cousins. I really would enjoy it if Mac ended up with Bear, who has a son, I forget his age:( Bear likes her, he'd be good for Mac.


"..Bear followed after the hostess, but stopped when Mac was tossed out of the kitchen. The tall female landing at his feet. Kyle leaned over to Tully and whispered, “How long ya think he’s been waiting on that?” “His whole life?” “Miss Mackenzie?” Bear said softly. “Hi, Sheriff.” She ignored the hand he held out to her and got to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me.” She stormed back into the kitchen and came flying back out three seconds later, this time right into Bear’s arms. By now, the rest of them had returned to their seats and were fully entertained by the activity going on in and around the kitchen. “That bitch,” Mac snarled under her breath. She pulled away from Bear, cracked her neck and her knuckles, before marching back toward the swinging door. She was only a few inches away when the door swung out, slamming right into her face, shoving her right back at Bear...."


Last time I read this book I forgot what it was about, it's been four or more years since I've read this so I'm putting a lot of excerpts in here to remember.


In the Dark


"And her claws— damn claws— dug into the bloody mess that was his chest. “Not so fast, vampire.” His head lifted. He gazed into her eyes. Eyes that were shining, no, glowing, with some kind of bright light. His breath heaved out. “Well, well…” Looked like he wasn’t the only one who’d taken a walk in the Other world."

This little snippet reminds me of what happened after. I like!;)


Sadie thought Liam was dead, she'd gone to 'the jerk's funeral', 'cried over his grave', and 'even taken flowers to the graveside', but then she goes to the bar where the vamps hang out to look for a leopard shifter killer (so, awesome, she's a leopardess! I haven't read about one in a while, so many wolf shifters lately and no variety. (I LOVE YOU MAGNUS, VAN HOLTZ AND SMITH PACKS!!)) She finds him, he does the vamp thing and bites her "Drinking without permission. Vamps always thought the world was their damn drive-in restaurant." They chase after the leopard guy, they fall in bed, the leopard dude wants to keep Sadie but that's irrelevant since he changes his mind and decides to kill her instead and Sadie and Liam and the other FBI agents never find out about that little snippet so really, it's irrelevant but interesting to know about the killer. Liam and his team were killed by vampires, and its been two years since they've seen each other. I'm a bit irked that that jerk agent got away with hiding the secret that Liam is 'alive' or undead and that the agency experimented on him a bit. grrrrr but they end up happily ever after, after killing the leopard dude (I'm glad Kyle got his share of the kill.) Su and Kyle, I'm intrigued. Su got her memories wiped (that's rough, sad) and poor Kyle (who's blind btw but that's no liability “I might not be able to see, but it doesn’t mean I’m weak.” He turned toward her and his eyes zeroed instantly on to her face. “You’re five-foot-two, one hundred fifteen pounds. You’ve got blond hair, you use rose-scented shampoo, and you’ve been fucking the vampire who is pacing outside the door.”) who feels deeply for her don't even get a chance to say anything to her. Psychopathic killer leopard ass is to blame. They're twinsies. I like Kyle, I'd love to read a story just for him. Overall, this story is quite memorable. :)




City of the Dead

"..she was back to wanting to give him a boot in the ass. “Never mind,” she muttered and ducked under his arm. If she had to put up with that arrogant mouth, she could do without his cock."

The sex in here was scorching. The plot line wasn't very extravagant or exploited well and wtf was up with the fucking 'thees thous hasts' from that annoying, my nervvvesss *shudders, hisses*, demon poop dude. grrrrrrrrr

Plot: Let's see if I can wade through the sex in here Art or Arthur, brother to our heroine, Dori or Endora (I like her name), disappeared Again and so Dori needs Detective Jake Boudreau to help her look for him. She's a witch, he's full-human, she left him without a goodbye before because she's afraid he can't accept her and she was falling in love. They're ex-lovies.. He's iffy about going out to look for Art since Art is always disappearing then popping back up and Art needs six more hours until he's officially 'missing' so measures can't be taken yet. Dori gets pissed, thinks she's gonna die anyway so she decides to fuck him. They go at it, oops the sexual activities creeped in, REWIND! (And it was just some pawing.. SOME pawing, indeed) He's iffy about looking for Art, Dori gets pissed she goes off to the cemetery where Art was last supposed to have gone (Art's on this wild venture to raise his dad back from the dead and so he needs the Eye of whatever it was and for some reason he was meeting up with Sabin, a vamp witch all-in-one paranormal dude who everyone acts as if he's all-powerful.) Dori's at the cemetery, runs into Jake, our main guy, they meet Sabin there, they hatch a plan to kill the demon who they think has Art. The demon has Art so they can exchange him for the Eye of whatever it was. The Eye can control(?) Kill(?) enslave(?) the witches and so it's apocalyptic for the demon to have the Eye of whatever it was. But they decide to fake a trade, for some unknown reason Jake, this full-human dude, is needed, I'm still unsure why, and so he's present and he's the one who actually Offs the demon. By stabbing the Eye into his head. The demon turns to dust by that puzzling action, Art is saved, all's well that ends well. HEA DONE! I'm still unsure wtf happened with the whole demon ordeal, I've read that twice already. I can't do it a third time, sorry.

Complaints: The plot was wince-worthy. The secondary characters were flat and 2-D. The heroine and Sabin were pretty much useless, so was Jake, they are so powerless I am not amused, more so, I was kinda annoyed by all the posturing of oh-hey-i-have-so-much-power-feeaaar-me-suckahs! tch. But pish posh, it's over, done deal, can't do anything about it. Except complain of course. Art suddenly decides that he realizes he was a fool for trying to resurrect his daddy (that was rather lame. His little revelation. HEA surgical repair fixer-upper.) Oh, yeah, and Dori decides she can be with Jake because.. what again? After all the sexin`.. (Oh, it's the Eye of Bastet not 'of the whatever') Oh, yeah, he accepted her as a witch. That was decided so easily, simple, without horror or wtf-ness at her true self it wasn't believable. Sex, btw, was the main reason why this story was written, that's what I suspect anyhoo. It was scorching so excellent job there. Overall, it was an ok read.

[TINNGG · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Long Island Coven is an outlier of the various shifter books Ms Laurenston has out. You don't actually run into anyone you know, so it's not obvious it's part of the series. I like this one better than the first one in that the H isn't a creep. Was kinda frustrating that it took so long to take care of The Problem. And, I must admit, I don't generally care for her wolves (Dee Ann and the Van Holtz bunch being an exception) because they tend to play up that hillbilly angle a bit much...while being assholes half the time. Tully - the H - is a member of the Smith Pack...and the resident alpha...and mayor...and well-known architect who may be ivy league. He plays dumb a lot. He's not an ass either, though admittedly it's usually the females who take on that unpleasant nature.

Cynthia Eden's entry is yet another random pairing in her world. I did like this one but the end made me flinch a bit.

Sherrill Quinn's entry is a PWP really. Oh there's a plot in there but for such a short story (80 pages or so), most of it seemed to be overly descriptive and crudely written sex.

[Ciru · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe" by Shelly Laurenston (The Long Island Coven #2):

That is the only story that I was interested in and that I read. I was craving some S.L. and since I had started off with book one in the Long Island Coven, I had to finish off with this story.

I haven't read the Pride series, just the Honey Badger one. We see the Smith's and Van Holt's that we met in that series mentioned in this one. It's not hard to see the similarities between the two series in terms of characters, back stories and even mannerisms. And that is what makes the story a strong 3.75 rating.

I loved that it was longer than the first book but also sad that the series was not completed and we know Bear+Mac were the next couple.

I loved it and I'm looking forward to more S.L. books to read.

[Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

The vampire story was awful. Most of the book was graphic sex without any particular purpose to it. There was a slender framework of plot around the sex scenes, but not much. The characters don't get much development or depth. I didn't learn very much about Sabin at all, certainly not why he and Dori are friends or how he became or lived as a vampire. Evidently sun doesn't bother him and he enjoys coffee, and he's probably old enough to have known Dori's father when he was a younger man. That's about all I learned. I don't understand what the Eye of Bastet is or how the demon planned to use it to kill witches. After the first graphic sex scene, I skimmed the pages until I saw more plot development, because I'd had more than enough of pointless sex.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wolf ...-Being from the South, the attempt at dialect grated on me.
There are two main issues to be resolved in this one. First is Tully’s bio dad-a mean so and so. It takes a team effort to overcome.
The other takes awhile to be revealed, and Jamie doesn’t come across too well along the way. I still didn’t really like her by the end.
In the Dark-It feels like it may be part of a series, and there may be some backstory that fills in more of the universe. I liked it okay, but didn’t really like the characters.
City of the Dead-A lot of the typical New Orlean’s atmosphere setters like Marie Laveau’s tomb, a Cajun named Boudreau, etc. And for all the urgency she projects at the beginning, they spend a lot of time having sex, which doesn’t further the plot at all.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe" takes place ten months after the first story in this series. I am sorry that the series hasn't been finished yet because it is an interesting overlap of the Smith Pack with some witches.
In this town, Tully Smith is the mayor. He's laid back, takes care of his people, and walks everywhere so that he can be available to his townspeople. But he will work hard if they need protection. And Jamie Meacham, the lead of the witches is bringing trouble to his doorstep. She's been called to be a warrior for a god and that is bringing all sorts of odd creatures into town. Creatures that can be driven out by sex magic. Too bad that won't work on his father.
Not full developed but, to be fair, it is a short story.

[Angela Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelly Laurenston's contribution is a five-star delight! The leads are great (so are the secondary characters), the humor is as on-point as the smexy times, and the battles are intense!

Cynthia Eden's is a three-star disappointment; the female lead is strong unless it concerns her ex (pitiful!), and the ex is a man-whore with an excuse (cue eyeroll). Too bad, because the mission makes for gripping storytelling...

Sherrill Quinn offers a four-star read with a willful witch and her human cop in wild and wonderful N'awlins!

[Catherine Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Shelly Laurenston's stories. They all tend to have scenes that make me laugh regardless of where I'm reading. This book had a couple of those moments. Tully Smith (yes, he's related to the Smiths we love from the Pride series) is charming and I liked his laid back existance. Jamie is NY like I remember it. She's strong, a smartass and independent and hides a warm interior. I wish there were another of these Long Island Coven stories.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hunting for more books by Shelly Laurenston when I checked this one out. I was not aware at the time that it was a book of short stories so it ended up introducing me to some new authors.
All in all, a win!

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot lines are OK. Sex scenes are a total turn off. I do not enjoy that level of graphic detail. But to each his own. Having a story about witches is a nice change of pace to go with all of those shape shifters. Although the resolution of the main witch Jamie’s problem in the first story was very silly. The Cajun cop in second story was fun.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the whole book back in September 2010 when I bought it, but I only read the one by Shelly Laurenston this time. I like the characters and it’s almost novel length so that is a treat in an anthology.