ON THE HUNT - Gena Showalter, Shannon K. Butcher, Jessica Andersen, Deidre Knight
Signet
ISBN: 978-0-451-23243-4
February 2011
Paranormal Anthology

Ever Night - Gena Showalter
Nightmare

Rose Pascal had been eagerly awaiting midnight, when she would turn eighteen, but nothing could have prepared her for the night to come.  At the stroke of midnight , the walls of her room fade away as she finds herself outside, in the rain, and surrounded by monsters.  Brought in a cage to their leader, Rose meets Vasili, who threatens to kill her, yet turns her on at the same time.  He explains that she's a Dimension Walker, and tells her when she comes back on her next birthday she will tell him about other Walkers, and will know how to defend herself…or else.  After a couple of years, and a couple of visits, Rose is determined to learn all she can about Vasili and the place the other Walkers call Nightmare.

When the stuff that bad dreams are made of becomes a reality for Rose, she quickly learns to adapt in Ever Night .  Vasili also has some adapting to do; his people hate the Walkers, with reason, but every time he sees Rose, the urge to protect her overrides everything else in this compelling novella.

The Collector - Shannon K. Butcher
The Sentinel Wars , Book 5
St. Louis, Missouri - Present Day

Neal Etan had expected the antiquities collector he was visiting to be a little old lady, so he's pleasantly surprised to find Viviana Rowan to be in her twenties and beautiful.  Even more surprising is that when he shakes her hand, the pain he lives with disappears.  For more than four hundred years, he's waited to find the woman who'd be able to use the magic his body stores, but as he can feel that his time is coming to an end, he's given up hope.  He'd only come to buy an artifact from Viviana, but Neal knows that his only chance of surviving is to convince her that she is meant for him—and that's she's not exactly of this world.

Fans of the Sentinel Wars series may recognize Neal, but for those new to the series, THE COLLECTOR is still a story that will capture your interest.  Viviana has always felt like the odd person out, but with Neal she feels a connection.  Neal feels it also and, for the first time in a while, feels hopeful that he may have found the woman for him.  They'll have a bit of an adventure in their short time together, making for an entertaining read.

Crystal Skull - Jessica Andersen
Mexico - Present Day

Natalie gave up the opportunity to help on an archaeological dig that was a safe bet and followed her instincts to the rain forest south of the Mexican border.  She and her team did find a cave marked with carvings of the local legend about the camazotz , a bat-demon.  However, with the equinox approaching, the villagers are afraid that finding the cave will make it easier for the camazotz to cross into our world, and the villagers are trying to get Natalie and her team to leave.  They'd only been welcomed this long because of Natalie's relationship with JT Craig, but since that ended a few days ago, she won't even have him backing her up anymore.  When Natalie finds a crystal skull, she goes to JT and unexpectedly learns that the legends are real when she's attacked by a camazotz , and she has to team up with JT to stop them.

By following her instincts, Natalie finds a reality beyond belief and the key to her past in Crystal Skull .  Adopted as an infant, Natalie has often wondered what her origins are, but it isn't until she confronts JT that she starts to get some answers in this intriguing story.

Red Angel - Deidre Knight
Savannah, Georgia - Present Day

As the leader of the Shades, (a group of demon and vampire hunters) Jamie Angel has spent his life trying to rid the world of evil, and now his siblings, Shay and Mason, have invited it into his home.  Since the engagement of Dillon Fox, a Shade, and Kate Rabineau, a vampire, Shay and Mason have tried to get him to lighten up about his hatred of vampires, and they hope that by inviting the couple to the family's New Year's celebration, Jamie will realize that Kate isn't evil.  Worse than inviting a vampire into the family home, though, is Shay's attempt at matchmaking between Jamie and Kate's friend, Sunny Renfroe.  Of course, Sunny turns out to be quite possibly the most intriguing woman Jamie's ever met, but he also realizes that she's not exactly human.  Unfortunately, the rest of his family think she's normal, so Jamie's determined to find out just what Sunny is.

Connected to the Gods of Midnight series, Red Angel is a fascinating tale of forbidden love.  Jamie Angel is a bit of a scoundrel in addition to being probably the best hunter in Savannah .  He's been gifted with the ability to tell when a non-human being is around, and Sunny is definitely not human.  Sunny is more than Kate's friend; she's also her protector, though no one is aware of this, including Kate.  She's drawn to Jamie, but falling in love is not in her job description.

Four thrilling paranormal tales will transport you to worlds beyond imagining, or show you that reality may not be what it seems in ON THE HUNT.

Jennifer Bishop