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Strange Brew (Jane Yellowrock 0.5)

by P.N. Elrod (Editor / Contributor), Patricia Briggs (Contributor), Jim Butcher (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Rachel Caine (Contributor), Karen Chance (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Charlaine Harris (Contributor), Faith Hunter (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Caitlin Kittredge (Contributor) , more…

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 5,286 ratings · 365 reviews

Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!

In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin f...more

Paperback, 372 pages

Published July 7th 2009 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published January 1st 2009)

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Jan 15, 2013 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr-uf, reviewed, quickreads

I bought this anthology for Seeing Eye, by Patricia Briggs, because it belongs in her Alpha & Omega series, about werewolves and other magical beings. It was good, but I tend to gobble up everything Briggs.

Anyhoo... in Seeing Eye, Tom and Moira are introduced, a scarred and cynical old werewolf and a blind but capable white witch from Seattle. They meet and begin to fall in love. The plot is sorta scary, with a vicious bunch of dark witches. My only gripe? It's over too soon -- blasted shor...more

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Jul 02, 2009 Liriel27 rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of the respective series and supernatural mysteries

Shelves: anthologies-and-collections, fantasy, first-reads, supernatural-mysteries, supernatural-romance, connected-to-classics, vampires

I won this book through First Reads. It's interesting to see how the 9 stories in this collection apply the central theme (witches and magic) to flesh out pre-exisiting characters and worlds (with a couple of exceptions, to be mentioned later). In order of appearance:

Patricia Briggs' "Seeing Eye" takes place in the Mercy Thompson universe, but aside from a few general references, it focuses on new characters and new situations, like the magic system and the role of witches in that world. The cha...more I won this book through First Reads. It's interesting to see how the 9 stories in this collection apply the central theme (witches and magic) to flesh out pre-exisiting characters and worlds (with a couple of exceptions, to be mentioned later). In order of appearance:

Patricia Briggs' "Seeing Eye" takes place in the Mercy Thompson universe, but aside from a few general references, it focuses on new characters and new situations, like the magic system and the role of witches in that world. The characters are interesting, and the story leaves itself open for more information and further adventures - which is slightly annoying if there aren't going to be any, but there's hope - she's introduced new characters in short story collections before.

"Last Call" is everything I've come to expect from Jim Butcher's contributions to collections. It's better if you already know Harry Dresden and the major players in his world, but it works without it. It's enjoyable and light, and Butcher gets points from me for writing a story about beer in a collection called Strange Brew.

Rachel Caine's "Death Warmed Over" reads like a stand-alone, though I'm not sure if it is or not (I haven't read any of her long fiction). The mystery was good, and I liked the interactions of the romantic leads, but the end felt kind of like a cop-out, given the established rules of the world. I'd like to see these characters again, if only to have that explained in more detail.

"Vegas Odds" takes place in the Cassandra Palmer universe, focusing on an unorthodox member of the Silver Circle. I liked the character, and the plot was well done, if a bit convoluted. I liked getting a perspective on different members of the supernatural comunity in that world.

P.N. Elrod, also the editor for the collection, contributed "Hecate's Golden Eye," a Jack Fleming story. I liked the plot twists, and it made me curious to read more about the main characters. Compared to another Jack Fleming story in a different collection, this one felt less self-contained. It would probably be most enjoyable if the reader already knew the Vampire Files series.

Charlaine Harris's "Bacon" brings back the character Dahlia (from one of the stories in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding). She's looking for revenge, but the form that takes is a bit odd. I liked how mythology was worked into the story, but it seems like a lot of the action is glossed over in favor of keeping the twists a surprise (which is only partially successful).

Faith Hunter's "Signatures of the Dead" has, as a supporting character, the main character for her new series. I didn't really connect with this story - it felt rushed, and there were hints about broader social conflicts that were left frustratiingly unclear. I miss having backstory for this one.

"Ginger" is part of Caitlin Kittredge's Nocturne City series (which I haven't read). Again, it works best if you already know the world, but that mostly helps with the magic system and politics, as far as this story is concerned. There's enough for broad outlines, and it helps that the main character for the series is a supporting character here. Some if the plot events seem truncated, which can make the flow of the story confusing at points.

My least favorite story in the collection is the last one, Jenna Maclaine's "Dark Sins." This is another one that's part of a series (the Cin Craven series, according to the blurb at the end). The writing style just didn't really work for me, and the inclusion of Celtic mythology was a bit odd, given the time frame presented. I like the idea of a roaming band of vampire law enforcers, but I'm a little fed up with the inexplicably-over-burdened-with-superpowers heroine trend. Perhaps the books are better representations of the series (as is true of many of the stories in this collection), but I really have no desire to find out.

All in all, like many collections, a mixed bag.
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Mar 27, 2013 Susana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, patricia-briggs-alpha-omega, short-story, urban-fantasy

This review is only for Patricia Briggs story "Seeing Eye".

Well....i liked it, of course i did!! All its twenty seven pages...

Would have liked it even more if the story had had a few more pages!!(fifty or something..)

It was just too short. Just when things were about to become more interesting, it ended!

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Dec 22, 2010 Suzanne the Mighty ~Satin Seductress~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, author-goddess-karen-chance, author-caitlin-kittredge, smexy-shifters-and-werewolves, mages-witches-magic-users, author-charlaine-harris, va-va-voom-vampires, lover-the-cover, magic, urban-fantasy

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs

3.5 Stars

This was VERY short as in only 24 pages, but I still really liked it and it has encouraged me to give Patricia Briggs another shot.

Last Call by Jim Butcher

3.5 Stars

Another story that again was really short, about 50 pages, but was entertaining, I haven't read any of the Dresden Files books but this little snippet has inspired me to put it on my TBR mountain.

Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine

5 Stars

I really liked this story, abobut a witch who resurrects the d...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Wealhtheow rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal_romance, urban-fantasy

A collection of short stories by some of the best-known authors in the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre. Each is set in the author's already popular series. On the plus side, this means the writing is at least readable and some small effort has been put into the world building. On the minus side, nothing important can happen for fear that regular readers of the books will miss out.
Patricia Briggs's "Seeing Eye" would have been good as a book--as a short story, there is barely a climax and...more A collection of short stories by some of the best-known authors in the paranormal romance/urban fantasy genre. Each is set in the author's already popular series. On the plus side, this means the writing is at least readable and some small effort has been put into the world building. On the minus side, nothing important can happen for fear that regular readers of the books will miss out.
Patricia Briggs's "Seeing Eye" would have been good as a book--as a short story, there is barely a climax and the denoument is unbelievably rushed. The last few paragraphs in particular are wretched.

I hate Jim Butcher's Dresden series, so I simply skimmed his "Last Call" and believe it to be just as pedestrian and poorly developed as all his work.

Rachel Caine's "Death Warmed Over" was the highlight of the collection for me, for the simple reason that I like the concept of her story. And the love interest is a zombie!

Karen Chance's "Vegas Odds" has my favorite world and characters and some very good action scenes. But she spent too much time explaining her characters and their backstories, and I felt the romance was shoe-horned in to make her story fit the genre's conventions. Not every heroine needs to date a werewolf biker!

PN Elrod's "Hecate's Golden Eye" was totally lackluster and unconvincing. No emotion, no heat, no memorable characters, and not much of a plot.

Charlaine Harris's "Bacon," about a vampire using a Circe to get revenge, would have been much better under the knife of a good editor.

Faith Hunter's "Signatures of the Dead" has interesting world building and a unique main character. The stand out to me was her friend Jane, a vicious, fearless shapeshifter. I'd like to read more about her. (ETA: having read the first novel about Jane, Skinwalker, I take that back. She is boring and annoying in novel format.)

Caitlin Kittredge's "Ginger" has no point--it just sort of meanders, stumbling as it tries on several different plots at once.

The worst of the book is the last, Jenna Maclaine's "Dark Sins." The love interest immediately calls the heroine "mo ghraidh", the heroine and her bffs are "The Righteous" (who answer only to the High King of the Vampires, btw), and in the end the heroine defeats the baddie cultists (who have chained the vamps to marble alters! naked!) by summoning the Morrigan, who tells our dear heroine that she is the Chosen One. Melodramatic and lazy writing style, as well. Blegh. Definitely giving this author's books a miss.(less)

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Sep 13, 2009 Nozomi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, werewolf, vampire

I remember why I shouldn't read short story anthologies. Because short stories usually suck. Luckily, I liked 3 of the 9 stories so far.

Briggs' Seeing Eye was written well, and the characters were likable. Except that it was slightly boring, and obviously, too short, I still liked it. 4/5.

Butcher's Last Call was really, really good. I've never read Jim Butcher before, but I think I might start. It was written well, and I liked the universe. 4/5.

Caine's Death Warmed Over was good. It was cut shor...more

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Jul 17, 2009 Anita rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy-short-stories

Usually I'm not a big fan of short fiction. I tend not to be satisfied with appetizers ... I want the full five course meal plus the chocolate mints that come with the check. Short stories ... like appetizers, leave me hungry, not quite satisfied, and in some cases, down right cranky. There are exceptions and this collection of short fantasies is one. The reader will find a nice section of well known authors such as Jim Butcher, P. N. Elrod, Charlaine Harris and Patricia Briggs ... all four tell...more

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Jan 04, 2010 Carolyn rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of the authors

Shelves: fantasy_paranormal, anthology

Stories were OK, some disappointing. Many were related to current series/characters by their authors. Since I'm unfamiliar with all of them except the Charlaine Harris 'world', they didn't do much for me. One good one was a standalone by Faith Hunter, will be checking to see if there will be a series [hopefully:] spinning off of this character.

ETA: The Patricia Briggs story is the backstory to a couple we'll meet extensively later, in the 2nd Alpha & Omega book Hunting Ground

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Jul 23, 2009 Jamie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-urban

I enjoyed the Patricia Briggs story, which is set in the same universe as her Mercedes Thompson books, but with new characters. (ETA: Moira and Tom show up as secondary characters in Hunting Ground, the second book in her Alpha & Omega series.)

Butcher's Harry Dresden story was pretty good, and so was Elrod's Jack Fleming story. I didn't like Charlaine Harris's contribution at all - it's not a Sookie story, but it's set in that universe.

I only skimmed the rest of the book, because I don't muc...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Mollie Trail rated it 3 of 5 stars

Patricia Briggs short story, Seeing Eye, was well written but I didn't much like the story so I deemed it okay.

I had never read a Jim Butcher story, short or otherwise, but I liked "Last Call" and I am thinking of starting his Dresden Files series.

Rachel Caine's "Death Warmed Over" was just as different from my norm as Jim Butcher's story was, and I liked it just as much. I'm going to look into her books now.

I loved Karen Chance's short story "Vegas Odds". It features a character yet to be se...more Patricia Briggs short story, Seeing Eye, was well written but I didn't much like the story so I deemed it okay.

I had never read a Jim Butcher story, short or otherwise, but I liked "Last Call" and I am thinking of starting his Dresden Files series.

Rachel Caine's "Death Warmed Over" was just as different from my norm as Jim Butcher's story was, and I liked it just as much. I'm going to look into her books now.

I loved Karen Chance's short story "Vegas Odds". It features a character yet to be seen in any of the books, at least that we are aware of. She's a war mage and part were. I love this character, Lia de Croissets, and I enjoyed the other short story featuring her as well (in the anthology INKED).

"Hecate's Golden Eye" by P. N. Elrod, also the editor, was bad. Not horrible, but barely good. I didn't like the story and I thought it didn't fit so well with the theme of witches this anthology has. It was briefly put in there but there was way more vampire than witch in there, WAY MORE. She kept to the theme as well as she edited the whole book. (Skip it)

Charlaine Harris's short story was very good. I definitely liked it and would love to read more about the character Dahlia, who is the main character in this story called "Bacon".

"Signatures of the Dead", by Faith Hunter wasn't bad, but I also didn't like it. It was okay. Apparently Faith Hunter does a series focused on the shapeshifter in the story, so maybe those books might be better. I really just DID NOT LIKE, AT ALL, the main character. (Skip it)

I ABSOLUTELY HATED "Ginger: A Nocturne City Story" by Caitlin Kittredge. First of all, the title gives away who the bad guy is. When the title of the story is "Ginger", then it is usually either talking about the main character (usually the protagonist) or the antagonist/villain. When the main character isn't a redhead, and there is only one other red head mentioned in the story before the antagonist is revealed, then you have just ruined all chance of mystery surrounding the villain. So, that was bad, but there was an even worse element to the story. IT WAS HORRIBLY WRITTEN. Scenes changed without transitions, you were just suddenly farther along in the story without any notice. Also, scenes were badly set up, with no where near enough back story or preamble. It was like a descriptive outline thrown together. I mean it was horrible. (SKIP IT!!!!!!!!!)

"Dark Sins" by Jenna Maclaine was really good too. I love the main character of Cin Craven, but have only read the first book of the Cin Craven series.

If I didn't love Karen Chance's work, really enjoyed Jenna Maclaine and Charlaine Harris's stories, and been nicely surprised by the stories of Jim Butcher and Rachel Caine (who I had never read the works of before); this book would have gotten an overall worse rating. Caitlin Kittredge's story was so bad that if the writers hadn't been so good, it could have tainted the book to a one star rating. As it is, and I'm an easy rater, it lowered the over all rating to a 3 out of 5.(less)

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Dec 31, 2012 Laurla2 added it

Shelves: scifi-fantasy, anthology

contains nine paranormal short stories. Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs - A blind witch decides to help a man, a werewolf, find his brother who is an undercover cop and has disappeared while on a case. Last Call by Jim Butcher - Harry Dresden walks into his favorite bar for a beer and a sandwich and finds chaos instead. What is wrong with the beer being brewed by the bar owner? Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine - Holly is a resurrectionist witch. The last time she brought Andrew Toland back from t...more contains nine paranormal short stories. Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs - A blind witch decides to help a man, a werewolf, find his brother who is an undercover cop and has disappeared while on a case. Last Call by Jim Butcher - Harry Dresden walks into his favorite bar for a beer and a sandwich and finds chaos instead. What is wrong with the beer being brewed by the bar owner? Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine - Holly is a resurrectionist witch. The last time she brought Andrew Toland back from the dead she fell in love with him. Now the police need his special help to solve another case but how can Holly stand the pain when Andrew has to die this time? Vegas Odds by Karen Chance - Accalia (Lia) trains recruits at the War Mage Corps. Imagine her surprise when she realizes it is her own students who are trying to kill her. Hecate's Golden Eye by P. N. Elrod - Chicago 1937 - Charles Escott and his undead colleague Jack Fleming are hired to help the rightful owner steal back her pendant. The history of the jewel says that any man who touches the Golden Eye dies. Luckily for Jack, he's already dead. Bacon by Charlaine Harris - Dahlia Lynley-Chivers is a vampire who is now a widow because her werewolf husband was defeated in a challenge fight for pack position. She hires a witch to help her find out what was done to her husband to make him vulnerable and weak during the fight. Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter - Spruce Pine, North Carolina, is being targeted by a band of rogue vampires. Earth witch Molly Trueblood and her friend shapeshifter Jane Yellowrock must find the vampire lair or the killings will continue. Ginger by Caitlin Kittredge - Sunny Swann and her cousin Luna grew up in Nocturne City. Sunny is a witch without much confidence in her powers totally unlike her werewolf cousin. Then why would someone want to kidnap Sunny? Dark Sins by Jenna Maclaine - Venice 1818 - Cin, Michael, Devlin and Justine (The Righteous-judge, jury, and executioners in the world of vampires) are in the city for pleasure, not business. When they are all four kidnapped by a wizard and his coven Cin is forced to chose between the lives of her lover and friends or dark, evil magic.(less)

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Aug 10, 2012 Meg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-stories

Strange Brew
OR
Witches With Varying Degrees of Usefulness

I'm a little disappointed that the connecting theme for this anthology was apparently witches and not potions or strange alchemy experiments gone terribly wrong, as one would assume from the title. On the other hand, all of the stories did feel complimentary, like they actually belonged in the same anthology. Which is a change from some compilations that I've read.

As ever, some stories I really liked, some stories I didn't like as much. Pre...more

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May 14, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

All in all I really enjoyed this urban fantasy anthology; it was a lot of fun. I gave this a 4-star rating because there were only a couple duds out of all the nine authors who contributed; and that in itself is really surprising to have so many good novellas in one anthology.

Faith Hunter "Signatures of the Dead" Now this novella was spectacular! This was definitely my favorite out of all nine authors. We are introduced to Jane Yellowrock, the heroine in Faith Hunter's new series. This novella h...more All in all I really enjoyed this urban fantasy anthology; it was a lot of fun. I gave this a 4-star rating because there were only a couple duds out of all the nine authors who contributed; and that in itself is really surprising to have so many good novellas in one anthology.

Faith Hunter "Signatures of the Dead" Now this novella was spectacular! This was definitely my favorite out of all nine authors. We are introduced to Jane Yellowrock, the heroine in Faith Hunter's new series. This novella however, focuses on Molly Trueblood, an earth witch. Molly assist her friends, Jane and a detective in locating rogue vampires who are currently on a vicious killing spree. The story was exciting, mysterious and smoothly done. The whole story felt complete even though it was only 31 pages long. 5+/5

Caitlin Kittredge "Ginger" This one comes in at a close second. This novella takes place in Caitlin's Nocturne City world. The story focuses on Sunny who helps Luna in infiltrating a blood magic coven. The story was interesting, moved fluidly and was full of action and intrigue. 5/5

Rachel Caine "Death Warmed Over" I stop reading Rachel's Weather Warden series last year because it started to seem completely unbelievable and coincidental. This story however, was flawless! Holly, a Necromancer, is asked by the police to resurrect a tenacious Zombie War hero to assist them in a current case. This story really surprised me. It was dark, interesting, humorous and smooth. 5/5

Karen Chance "Vegas Odds" Lia a mage teacher and her werewolf boyfriend Cyrus are attached in her home by a few of her rogue students, hellbent on killing her. This story was invigorating, exciting and fast paced. 5/5

Patricia Briggs "Seeing Eye" Moira, a powerful witch aids a werewolf in the search for his brother. The story was interesting but the transitions weren't smooth and flowing; instead it felt choppy and hurried. Regardless of the rushed impression, I liked Moira. She's a blind witch with a lot of courage and a steel spine. She chose to walk into a lion's den in complete darkness, for a complete stranger. 4/5

Jim Butcher "Last Call" Harry Dresden gets more than he bargained for when he goes on a beer run. This was my least favorite. Now I loved the show The Dresden files from the Scifi network and was pissed off when it got canceled. Surprisingly though, this story just didn't hook me. I found it boring and tedious. 1/5

This anthology was a surprisingly fast read and I highly recommend it. Most of the stories had a nice spooky and comfy feel to them. Like when you snuggle up and crack open a good book on a cold and snowy night, and more importantly, with a day off from work the next day.lol

I also recommend:
Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1)
Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)
A Rush of Wings: Book One of The Maker's Song
Blood Engines (Marla Mason, Book 1)
The Demon's Librarian (less)

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Mar 12, 2011 Ruby Hollyberry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthologies, fantasy-sci-fi, covers-i-like, borders-clearance

I of course got this primarily for the same reason most people will buy it - the Patricia Briggs story!! Which was excellent, as I'd hoped, and threw additional light on matters in Alpha and Omega and the related series about Mercy Thompson.

Apart from that I also had a very positive overall impression of this, which is I think my first UF/PNR anthology. The P.N. Elrod story was very entertaining, and I enjoyed the one by Faith Hunter so much I expect I'll go looking for more works by her. Some...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overall this is a decent set of stories. The highlights for me were Karen Chance's super action packed "Vegas Odds" and Jenna Maclaine's beautifully written, action packed, and intricate "Dark Sins". I found Cin from "Dark Sins" to be a very interesting heroine and I would definitely like to read more about her. I also really liked meeting Jane Yellowrock in Faith Hunter's "Signatures of the Dead." Jane is a character I would also like to read more about.

My least favorites were Elrod's story (no...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Marianna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs: The best of the lot. I wanted more once I was done reading it. 5/5

Last Call by Jim Butcher: Not exactly my cup of tea, but it made me interested in reading the series. 3.5/5

Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine: Not bad. Disliked the heroine intensely. "Bad things happened to me, that's why I'm a b*tch!" Sure. The romance was meh. 3/5.

Vegas Odds by Karen Chance: Not bad. It had its funny/sweet moments, but I found the action and intrigue a little lacking. 3.5/5.

Hecate'...more

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Oct 10, 2009 Melindeeloo rated it 4 of 5 stars

A tasty sampler of UF shorts to quench your thirst for a quick summer read
Strange Brew was a pretty good sampler of urban fantasy shorts and even though most of the stories are connected to these favorite authors' popular series, most worked pretty well as standalones. My favorites were the one's by Briggs and Caine.

****Seeing Eye - Patricia Briggs - A blind witch is an unlikely `finder' but this witch has a very personal reason for accepting a werewolf's plea for magical aid to help rescue hi...more A tasty sampler of UF shorts to quench your thirst for a quick summer read
Strange Brew was a pretty good sampler of urban fantasy shorts and even though most of the stories are connected to these favorite authors' popular series, most worked pretty well as standalones. My favorites were the one's by Briggs and Caine.

****Seeing Eye - Patricia Briggs - A blind witch is an unlikely `finder' but this witch has a very personal reason for accepting a werewolf's plea for magical aid to help rescue his kidnapped brother from a powerful villain - I like Brigg's style, and enjoyed this short set in another corner of her Mercy Thompson world. (4 stars = I liked it)

****Last Call - Jim Butcher - It's personal for Harry Dresden when an attack on Mac's bar comes between Harry and his beer - I am just wild about Harry, but even though this wasn't my favorite Dresden short, it did have some moments. (3.5 stars = it was pretty good)

****Death Warmed Over - Rachel Caine - Andrew was dead long before Holly ever him, but when Holy is forced to resurrect Andrew back a second time to protect her from a witch killer, Holly doesn't know how she can stand to watch Andrew die again. (4 stars)

****Vegas Odds - Karen Chance - A war mage with wereblood is on the hunt for an assassin - This one starts out with a frenzy of action and pretty much keeps up the pace the whole way through. A bit frenetic for me, but a nice glimpse into another corner of Chance's Cassie Palmer world. (3 stars = it was ok)

****Hecate's Golden Eye - P. N. Elrod - Since he's already dead, vamp gumshoe Jack Fleming is the perfect choice to retrieve a jewel cursed to kill any man who touches it.(3 stars)

****Bacon - Charlaine Harris - Vampire Dahlia who found her werewolf mate in "Tacky" is now a widow out for revenge. And who knows better than a vamp that "revenge is a dish best served cold" -- I was a bit bummed out by this one having read the story with Dahlia and Todd's hook-up. (3.5 stars)

****Signatures of the Dead - Faith Hunter - I haven't read Hunter's new series starter Skinwalker: A Jane Yellowrock novel yet but this a connected short. This one stars Jane's friend witch Molly who is strives to use her gifts to track down a clutch of murderous vamps -- Hunter does a good job of giving us a glimpse into her new world and I'll be checking out the series which stars Cherokee shapeshifter Jane. (4 stars)

****Ginger - Caitlin Kittredge - This is a Nocturne City connected short, which puts werewolf detective Luna's witchy cousin in the lead. Sunny use of power to foil an attack in a courtroom, lands her kidnapped and in the middle of a coven's power grab, and gives her a chance to shine when she asks herself what would Luna do? - (4 stars)

****Dark Sins - Jenna Maclaine - Vampire witch Cin and her lover Michael and vampire justice cohorts Devlin and Justine are kidnapped by a dark mage out for revenge who intends to force Cin to the darkside of magic -- Cin's way in over her head in this one and if it hadn't been a short story I'd have been disappointed with the `divine intervention' necessary for the resolution of Cin's predicament, but an even bigger problem I see for this one is if series fans don't read this one they are going to miss a huge turning point for Cin and the series. (3.5 stars)
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Jul 11, 2009 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, urban-fantasy, dresden

"Seeing Eye" by Patricia Briggs was a tight story of a blind witch, who after a werewolf comes to her door, faces off for the fight of her life.

Jim Butcher, as always presents an excellent Dresden story, "Last Call" - all Dresden wants in some of Mac's beer, and of course, its not that simple. Certainly not a required reading for the series, but a great, funny story neverless.

"Death Warmed Over" by Rachel Caine was an ok story about a necromancer, who oddly and disturbingly, falls in love with...more

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Jul 09, 2009 Ascexis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dresdenfiles, fantasy, magic, urbanfantasy, vampires, anthologies

I got Strange Brew in the post yesterday (one of those lovely pre-order surprise arrivals ::g::), and loved it. So much so that I went looking to see what the authors I *hadn't* heard of had written, and added some stuff to the old wishlist. Even the Charlaine Harris stories (whose Sukie Stackhouse just pissed me off) was enjoyable, and I really want more of the Lia de Croisset stories -- a war mage in Las Vegas. Sadly the only other story for this character was in another anthology, which I can...more

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Feb 07, 2010 ~Sara~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to ~Sara~ by: Tosca

Shelves: paranormal, short-stories-poems

I haven't read much paranormal fiction before, so I thought this would be a good taster to see what I like.

Seeing Eye, by Patricia Briggs is the first story and it was fantastic. I would've never guessed I'd have a thing for werewolves or that smelling a neck could be so sexy. It's a good story to draw you into the book and I will definitely look for more by her. *4.5*

Last Call, by Jim Butcher is amusing. All he wants is a beer but it's not easy to get. I would've given it 4 stars if Harry got m...more

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Sep 23, 2009 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires, werewolves-are-awesome, short-stories, fantasy-urban

Strange Brew is a nice mix of stories. Most, if not all, of the authors in the collection have novels that make use of the characters in the short fiction. I've read some of the books.

In this collection, I truly enjoyed "Bacon" by Charline Harris. It is set in her Sookie world, but does not feature Sookie. I found to be a good use of myth, and I loved the ending. It almost made me wish I was still reading Sookie, almost.

Jim Butcher's story, "Last Call" is also good, though I'm not entirely sure...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, magic, short-stories, zombies, vamp-attack, shifter, kick-ass-lady

These did indeed seem "short" short stories but over all good

5/5 Seeing Eye (Patricia Briggs)- I liked this one a lot, fun story.
4/5 Last Call (Jim Butcher)-Fun bit of travesty one of the few male protagonists I can read
2/5 Death Warmed Over )Rachel Caine) -Ugh, not a fan of the Zombie love here it feels wrong and every time I find it, it creeps me out. Good story plot though.
4/5 Vegas Odds (Kern Chance)- This one I found fun and interesting. Magic-Were not something I see too much of.
5/5 Baco...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Laura (Kyahgirl) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, anthology

I really enjoyed this anthology. There were some great stories by authors I'm familiar and those I haven't read before. Here is how I'd rate them:

Patricia Briggs-Seeing Eye-4 stars
Jim Butcher-Last Call-5 stars
Rachel Caine-Death Warmed Over- 4 stars
Karen Chance-Vegas Odds- 5 stars
P.N. Elrod-Hecate's Golden Eye-4 stars
Charlaine Harris-Bacon- 3 stars
Faith Hunter-Signatures of the Dead- 5 stars
Caitlin Kittredge-Ginger- 4 stars
Jenna MacLaine-Dark Sins- 3 stars

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Jul 28, 2009 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: not-fade-away, personal-library

A new anthology set with some of my favorite fantasy authors and I actually read most of the stories this time!

Patricia Briggs had Seeing Eye was a decent story- set in the same world as the Mercy Thompson ones, but not with any of the same characters. I liked it though. She should revisit Moira and Tom.

Jim Butcher...always there with a good Harry Dresden tale. Two thumbs up.

Rachel Caine brought us Death Warmed Over. It was oddly moving.

Karen Chance proves that she can always write a good time w...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Jim rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-stories, paranormal-urban

For some reason GR keeps showing this as one of a series as if it is exclusive to one. It's not. It's a bunch of short stories by some of the hot UF/PNR writers around so there are a lot of series represented. They're all women, with the exception of Butcher, FWIW. While there were a few good stories, most were barely OK. Considering these authors are churning out several books a year, I expected a little better, although wasn't holding out too much hope.

Most of the fighting was fairly horrible...more

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Aug 28, 2010 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fantasy-other-world, short-stories, wizard-witch

These are all written in the first person... it makes it hard to get the names of the main character...

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs... Wendy Moira Keller a white witch, forsees her own death in a confrontation with her father, a black witch, who took one of her eyes to power his magic, and made her sacrifice the other, hence she is blind. Tom Franklin, 2nd of the Emerald City Pack, a werewolf/policeman, comes to her because he believes Kuros, leader of the black coven, has kidnaped his brother...more

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Aug 20, 2009 Kathryn rated it 4 of 5 stars

My take on what I've read so far.

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs - Great new twist on the witch and familiar story. I'm a big fan of Briggs to begin with and this story really impressed me.

Last Call by Jim Butcher - I love Harry Dresden stories.

Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine - Not one of my favorites. However, I really like her Morganville Vampire teen series.

Vegas Odds by Karen Chance - Non stop action.

Hecate's Golden Eye by P.N. Elrod - Never read any thing with these characters before. Inter...more

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Sep 13, 2009 Schnaucl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, fiction, library, read_2009, september, urban_fantasy

I think the stories were supposed to be linked via the use of a brew (usually a potion). Sometimes that works better than others.

I was amused by Jim Butcher interpreting "brew" to mean McAnally's prized beer. It was a nice story, no guest appearances aside from Murphy, and no major revelations about things from the novels.

Karen Chance had a story from a new series that might be interesting. Then again, her protagonist is dangerously close to spending a lot of time whining about how it's not saf...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Desiree rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, series-mercy-thompson-alpha-omega, author-patricia-briggs, 3-star-reads, borrowed-from-library, werewolves-shifters, witches-wizards-magic-users, urban-fantasy, vampires, various-paranormal-creatures, hh-physically-injured-scarred, paranormal-romance

This rating is only for 3 of the stories.

Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs - 3 1/2 stars. This short story is set in the Mercy Thompson/Alpha & Omega world but there's no mention of the characters (at least up until the point I've read in both series). Although I liked Tom and Moira I wish that there had been more. This was only about 40 pages and I didn't feel like I spent enough time with these characters to really form any kind of valid opinion. I still enjoyed the story but I didn't feel co...more

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Sep 09, 2009 Kerry rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Patricia Briggs fans

Shelves: 8, anthology, paranormal

I really got this book to read the Patricia Briggs story, Seeing Eye. I thought that was lovely; just short and to the point, but beautifully executed. It makes me immediately want to read more Briggs.

I also skim read through the Faith Hunter story, Signatures of the Dead. I really liked Hunter's Rogue Mage book (Bloodring, Seraphs and Host) and I recommend them. However, this story didn't do much for me and I think I'll give Hunter's Jane Yellowrock books a miss.

The rating is for the Patricia B...more

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About P.N. Elrod

Patricia Nead Elrod is an American fantasy writer specializing in novels about vampires. Her work falls into areas of fantasy and (in some cases) mystery or historical fiction, but normally not horror, since her vampires are the heroes. -Wikipedia

More about P.N. Elrod...

Books by P.N. Elrod

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (Dark-Hunter, #10.5; There Be Pirates, #1; Night Creature, #1.1; Kit and Olivia, #2; Sookie Stackhouse, #6.1; The Dresden Files, #7.5)

Hex Appeal (Phoenix Chronicles; The Shadowfae Chronicles, #4.5; Kate Daniels, #5.6; The Dresden Files, #11.9)

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Strange Brew (Jane Yellowrock 0.5)

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