I don't have a story of my own in this one, but as it is, this is a two volume set and I did get copies of both volumes, so here's my review of volume two. As before, I'll say a few words about each story then my overall impression at the end.

 

1) Elevenses: Liam Hogan – A short zombie tale from across the pond. Set in a London nursing home and seasoned with just the right amount of British understated humor. Especially the ending. 6 pages, 4 stars.

 

2) The Final Bite: Laurie Axinn Gienapp – A vampire tale in reverse is probably the best way to describe this. Told in small bites (pun intended), it's a cautionary tale at least partly about not judging too quickly who the real monsters are. 8 pages, 4.5 stars.

 

3) At Wits End: Catherine Valenti – Set in small town, Anywhere, USA, this is a ghostly but good natured tale of love and haunting. And possibly vindication for an old spirit. 13 pages, 4 stars.

 

4) A Good Boy: Desmond Warzel – What can I say about this that won't give it away. The runaway in this tale tries oh so hard to be a good boy. He really does. 8 pages, 4.5 stars.

 

5) The Spree: Jessica Lévai – Whimsical tale of an ageless? vampiress out on a shopping spree. Sure she's evil, but not from her point of view. And she's also fun. Lighthearted romp that's also a good read. 5 pages, 4 stars.

 

6) Run for the Roses: Gerri Leen – You'll never see horse racing in quite the same way after reading this tale of zombic weirdness. Beware crossbreeding vegans with predators. 6 pages, 4 stars.

 

7) Smitten: Ginny Swart – A departure from the title creatures and another tale of whimsy and love. And some animosity between old rivals. 6 pages, 4 stars.

 

8) The Lay of the Land: Jude-Marie Green – Touching ghost story about an old security guard and her faithful dog. Neither expected nor unexpected, the ending still provides a delightful (to me) surprise. 9 pages, 4.5 stars.

 

9) Down the Road: C. M. Saunders – A late night drive takes some interesting turns. A somber story of ghosts and death. Something of a twist at the end, though not completely unexpected. Still, a worthy tale. 7 pages, 4.5 stars.

 

10) Aspirin: Scott Savino – As strange a zombie tale as I've ever encountered right up to the very end. Check aspirin twice next time you go shopping, and don't accept any loose doses from friends. 4 pages, 4.5 stars.

 

11) Ghomestic: Laird Long – Strange story of the crazy adventures of a paranormal investigator who really doesn't enjoy getting involved in ghomestic situations. Fun romp. 6 pages, 4 stars.

 

12) Through the Glass Darkly: Margery Bayne – Anther strange tale, this one about mermaids (merfolk?) and their ways. A somewhat disjointed, but still compelling tale of murder, revenge and maybe . . . origins? Definitely an unexpected ending here. 13 pages, 4.5 stars.

 

13) Trick or Treat: Dianna Duncan – Short, entertaining story about being a dentist for monsters. 4 pages, 4 stars.

 

14) Always Paris: R. J. Meldrum – Touching ghost story about a lonely old man contemplating the end of his life after the loss of his wife. 11Pages, 4.5 stars.

 

15) The Hit: Michael Penncavage – Short story of a mob hitwoman hired to take out a mobster who turns out to be something more than your average bookkeeper. 5 pages, 4 stars.

 

16) Gimlet: Gina Burgess – Another ghost story, but this one is from a surprising perspective. I could go for a few more Gimlet adventures. 6 pages, 4.5 stars.

 

* * *

 

A combination of morbid and whimsical tales; some uplifting, some darkly macabre, some just plain fun. While there may be those who find that a few of these stories fall a little flat, I am not one of those people. All of these tales have their plus sides for those willing to look for them, and this latest volume makes a worthy addition to anyone who's building their own, private 'Read on the Run' collection.

 

4.5 stars overall.

 

RSL

Publication Date: 30th August 2014

 

Publisher: Hague Publishing

 

ASIN: B00MS0FG1S

 

Source: Netgalley

 

My Rating: 3½/5

 

Synopsis:

When Stephanie Anders discovers her estranged, wild-child little sister has died and she must attend her funeral, she discovers that Estella’s death is not necessarily as terminal as she had been lead to believe and that, rather than dead, her sister is more of the undead variety. Too late to save her sister’s life, Stephanie Anders must now try to save her soul from the vampire who has possessed her, Branwyre, eighteenth vampire Lord of the Aegean. 

 

With only the aid of the ghost of a pissed-off Buddhist monk with a potty mouth, and the modern day Priestess of Isis, Stephanie must battle demons and other denizens of a world she knows nothing about. Even her first task, to recover Branwyre’s crucible if she is to succeed in banishing the vampire before he has regained his full strength, is not what it seems. 

 

But dealing with a demon, or double-binding a vampire in a sunbed pales in comparison to learning how to forgive her sister for what she did, especially if she is to have even half a chance of saving her soul.

 

Welcome to a world within our own, the Other World. A place of Darkness and Light; where gods, vampires, demons, and ghosts wage a constant struggle for survival.

Estella has been trouble her entire life and it’s always been her older sister Stephanie’s job to clean up her messes and attempt to rescue her. Now it appears that Estella’s wayward lifestyle has led to an early death and that Stephanie will have just one final responsibility, her sister’s funeral. Except it turns out that Estella isn’t quite as dead as Stephanie had been led to believe. She’s temporarily undead to be precise.

 

Estella had gotten herself involved with a group of Isis worshipping women--which is a total surprise to Stephanie and a big change from Estella’s former partying ways--and while on a mission with her righteous cohorts to slay a vampire things went terribly wrong. Estella was killed but is still animated because she’s been possessed by Branwyre, an evil vampire who’s Lord of the Aegean, and now Stephanie must race against the clock to save her sister’s soul.

 

Stephanie has been angry with and estranged from her sister for years, and she doesn’t believe all the new age paranormal mumbo jumbo she’s being told, but what choice does she have? Estella is her baby sister. She can’t just let a vile vampire steal her soul. So now Stephanie is battling ancient demons she knows nothing about with the reluctant help of a foul-mouthed double-crossing Buddhist monk ghost as a sidekick--he was one of my favorite characters.

 

Like Janis Hill’s earlier Sci Fi adventure romance (Bonnie’s Story: A Blonde's Guide to Mathematics) this book is fast-paced, inventive, surprisingly touching, and beyond funny. Romance doesn’t play much of a role in this story because the important relationship is the two sisters, a dynamic I found refreshing.

 

Through its publisher and NetGalley I received an advance review ebook copy of Isis, Vampires, and Ghosts--Oh My! Review opinions are mine.

Synopsis:

 

When Stephanie Anders discovers her estranged, wild-child little sister has died and she must attend her funeral, she discovers that Estella’s death is not necessarily as terminal as she had been lead to believe and that, rather than dead, her sister is more of the undead variety. Too late to save her sister’s life, Stephanie Anders must now try to save her soul from the vampire who has possessed her, Branwyre, eighteenth vampire Lord of the Aegean.

With only the aid of the ghost of a pissed-off Buddhist monk with a potty mouth, and the modern day Priestess of Isis, Stephanie must battle demons and other denizens of a world she knows nothing about. Even her first task, to recover Branwyre’s crucible if she is to succeed in banishing the vampire before he has regained his full strength, is not what it seems.

But dealing with a demon, or double-binding a vampire in a sunbed pales in comparison to learning how to forgive her sister for what she did, especially if she is to have even half a chance of saving her soul.

Welcome to a world within our own, the Other World. A place of Darkness and Light; where gods, vampires, demons, and ghosts wage a constant struggle for survival.

 

 

My thoughts:

 

It doesn't happen often that I don’t finish a book but this one I did not finish.In fact it was the first book I DNF since I started reviewing. It was just not for me.

I made it 20% in the book and I decided to leave it at that, I couldn't bring myself to read any longer.

That does not mean the book was terrible and everyone will dislike it though. It was just not what I thought about vampires.

That being said, just because I don’t agree with the books version of a vampire doesn't usually make me stop read a book but in this case I  just didn't care about what I read and I decided to move to something hopeful enjoy more.

In the book a vampire was more of a demon possession than anything else. Her sister has the vampire virus and with that a part of the vampire in her, she must safe her sisters soul with her blood to cleanse her sisters soul in a special ritual by the new moon. All that before the vampire completely takes over her sister’s soul and body.

 I thought all of this sounded more like a demon possession and not vampirism. But that alone didn't make me decide to not finish the book, it was also the fact that there were too many over described things. I like knowing things in detail but this was just way too much even for me.

I will still add the goodreads link so you can decide for yourselves, like I said I’m sure there are people who will enjoy it more than I did.

 

 

 

*I received a free ARC copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.5 stars

I'll be honest here, when I first saw it on Netgalley, I wasn't going to read it because I thought it wouldn't be my cup of tea. It didn't seem like a book I was going to love but then, the storyline and characters got me curious. There weren't lots of explanations at the very beginning about the world created. I liked the writing and the ending was nice.

If you read this book, you'll find there is a lot of original cursing with quirky characters. We didn't have lots of explanations about what happened to her baby Heather but then it was implied when her sister asked for forgiveness.


***ARC received through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review***