Hello, and welcome back! It looks as if the little bit of snow we’ve had here so far this winter will be melting with warming temperatures, which makes me a bit sad, as it doesn’t really feel like we’ve had a real winter here this year. At least I’ve had plenty of reading time with the chilly weather.

This time out, I have the anthology On the Hunt (Signet, purchased) with stories by Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, Jessica Anderson, and Deidre Knight. I’ll be up front and say I bought this one just for the Butcher story. Showalter leads things off with ‘Ever Night’ and Rose Pascal finding herself in a world not her own on her birthday night. There, she meets Vasili, a sexy, dangerous man whose world is dangerous to her. Yet she returns there the next year, unwillingly, yet intrigued by the man who challenged her so much the previous year. Still, she doesn’t know all of his secrets, and the biggest one could mean her death. ‘The Collector’ by Butcher has Sentinel Neal Etan heading to meet with Viviana Rowan with the intentions of acquiring an artifact she owns that he needs to save a friend. But Viviana isn’t what he expected, and when she touches him, he knows he’s found his mate, the one who will save him. Only the demons he hunts are close on the trail of the artifact as well, and, despite Neal’s intentions not to rush Viviana into a strange new world, she’s got to hurry to adjust in order to save both their lives. Anderson’s ‘Crystal Skull’ has Natalie Albright working with her ex JT to deal with demons bent on destruction after her archeological dig stirs the ancient evil up. ‘Red Angel’ from Knight has Jamie Angel meeting his match in the vampire Kate. He’s hunted her kind for a long time, and getting emotionally attached to one never crossed his mind. Until now. I’ve never been a Showalter fan, but I enjoyed the story in this collection. Vasili is a sexy hero, though I won’t say I loved Rose, and I don’t know that I’m going to rush out to pick up more books by this author based on my previous experiences. Butcher’s is a fast-paced, steamy read, with Viviana quickly falling for the sexy Neal, and who can blame her? I couldn’t get into either of the last two stories, though I know those authors have legions of fans who probably will adore these tales, both additions to existing series. For the first two stories in this one, I’m borrowing four of Cupid’s five arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!