Review – Enthralled Anthology

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: Out Now

How I got this book: from publisher

 

Four authors leave the reader enthralled. Leigh’s stubborn Breed meets her match, and can deny neither him nor herself. Day introduces the League of the Black Swan, and a woman cursed to kill the man she loves. In Brook’s steampunk Iron Seas world, a man bereft of everything finds his marriage in jeopardy, and sky pirates stealing his wife. Monroe unleashes a werewolf’s passions on the body, mind, and soul of his prey, his lover, his lifemate.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

 

I love Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series, and for that reason alone I was excited to read this anthology. And I’m glad that I did, because I really liked three of the stories, and found two additional new authors that I’m excited to read more of.

 

The Devil’s Due by Lora Leigh is a story set in the Breeds universe. I have to be honest, I didn’t even like this story well enough to pay that much attention as I was reading. I didn’t really like Devil or Kate for that matter, and I thought their romance was lacking. It felt like half the story was spent on one of the secondary characters as much as the romance between Devil and Kate. I have read one other Breed story before and I didn’t hate it as much as I did this. I almost stopped reading this book two or three times, but ended up finishing it. However, I would give this story an F.

The Curse of the Black Swan by Alyssa Day is a novella set in the new series world, League of the Black Swan. I didn’t know what to expect while reading this story, as I’ve never read anything by Day before, but I was so happy with what I did read. The world was exciting and engaging and something unique. I liked the aspect of the city of Bordertown being in the midst of three different paranormal worlds and how they all interacted together. The story between Sean and Brynn was wonderful. The backstory with the curse was so fun and different, and I loved the way that Sean and his family felt they needed to hide their demon status. The worldbuilding was fabulous, the romance between Sean and Brynn sweet and sexy, and the set up for the series itself was wonderful. I’m excited to read the full length novel and am so glad that I’ve found a new author to enjoy.

I give The Curse of the Black Swan a B+

Salvage by Meljean Brook is a novella set in the Iron Seas world. I love the stories within this series, and this story was the main reason I read this anthology. This is the story of Thom, a salvager who left his one true love in search of a treasure to bring home to her. The only problem is that the only thing his wife wanted from him was to be home with her every night.  When they get taken hostage by a pirate, they will have to rely on each other to get out alive. I really liked this story. It was sweet and gave us a glimpse into another aspect of the vast Iron Seas world. I really liked both Thom and Georgie, thought they were pretty perfect for eachother. I loved that Georgie was willing to wait for her husband to return to her, and yet she was also willing to pick up and make something of herself when he was away. Poor Thom had some big insecurities to overcome, and yet he did everything he thought he needed to in order to keep Georgie safe and happy. I thought they had a great rekindling of their romance, and I adored the two of them together.

I give Salvage an A.

Ecstasy Under the Moon by Lucy Monroe was the final story in the anthology, and a historical paranormal. While I’m not usually a big fan of historical paranormal stories, I read this are more of a fantasy romance, and it ended up working great for me. Una is an eagle shifter, but given her past she is scared of the wolf emissaries that come into their home. Something about Bryant attracts her though, and Una is willing to take a chance getting to know him in the spirit world. I happen to love fated mates stories when done right, and I thought Monroe got it right. I loved that Bryant pulled Una out of her scared little bubble, and that he was willing to go through so much to show her how special he thought she was. I liked that it seemed that these two very different cultures, wolf and birds, were going to come together to make their lives better all around. I don’t know how I would feel about a full length book in this series, but I did really enjoy this short and sweet novella.

I give Ecstasy Under the Moon a B.

All in all I thought the anthology was strong, except for the Leigh story. However, I know that the Breeds series is very popular, so fans of that will probably enjoy Devil much more than I did. On the plus side, those who pick up this anthology for the Breed story alone, will also have some great reading ahead of them with Day, Brook, and Monroe also providing knock-out stories.

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