Burning Up (Includes: Iron Seas, #0.5; Children of the Sea, #3.5; Psy-Changeling #8.5)

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Burning Up (Psy-Changeling #8.5)

by Angela Knight, Nalini Singh (Goodreads Author), Virginia Kantra (Goodreads Author), Meljean Brook (Goodreads Author)

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 3,531 ratings · 367 reviews

Passion runs as hot as a fever dream in these all-new stories by four New York Times bestselling provocateurs of the paranormal...

In Angela Knight's Blood and Roses, a vampire warrior and his seductive captor join forces to stop a traitor from unleashing an army of demonic predators on their kingdom.

New in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series is Whisper of Sin, in which a...more

Kindle Edition, 368 pages

Published (first published August 3rd 2010)

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Nov 16, 2011 Audrey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-sci-fi-or-otherworldly

For the two stories that I read, I averaged out the overall rating to 4 stars. I don't keep up with either of the other two authors, so I didn't read them or include them in this review. The Takeaway: Should you have the opportunity, check this out, if only for the Meljean Brook story set in the Iron Seas steampunk world.

Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling novella "Whisper of Sin": Pretty standard Psy-Changeling fare with a strong alpha male Changeling from DarkRiver, Emmett, falling hard and fast for...more For the two stories that I read, I averaged out the overall rating to 4 stars. I don't keep up with either of the other two authors, so I didn't read them or include them in this review. The Takeaway: Should you have the opportunity, check this out, if only for the Meljean Brook story set in the Iron Seas steampunk world.

Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling novella "Whisper of Sin": Pretty standard Psy-Changeling fare with a strong alpha male Changeling from DarkRiver, Emmett, falling hard and fast for a sheltered, coming-into-her-own human, Ria. Those of us who follow this series will recognize Ria as Lucas's very capable human assistant. It was well written and had a good plot to tie the suspense and romance together. An upstart out of town gang is trying to challenge DarkRiver's hold on San Francisco, and they have Ria in their cross hairs, which means, conveniently, that DarkRiver will be protecting her family and, more specifically, Emmett will be protecting her. Ultimately, though, the story didn't add much to the Psy-Changeling world, and, while it was enjoyable to read, it was also pretty forgettable. I read it yesterday and already have pretty much wiped it from my romance mind bank. 3 stars overall.

Meljean Brook's Iron Seas novella "Here There Be Monsters": HOLY. SHITE. I rarely say this, but...5+++++++++ stars! FARKING LURVED THIS STORY!! Having just read "Heart of Steel," I was already freshly familiar with these two characters (Mad Machen and Ivy Blacksmith) and itching to know their story. Man, Meljean Brook does NOT disappoint! Their story is totally sexy, sweet, and swashbuckling, and, once again, the world building is AWESOME. Without giving away too much of the plot, suffice to say that Mad Machen is a man hellbent on finding - and keeping - the sweet little redheaded blacksmith who has captured his heart, and, once he finds her, he just has to convince her of two things: (a) to stay with him and (b) that he's not the cruel monster featured in the pirate stories that have clouded her opinion of him. At the same time, they have to navigate, among other things, shipboard politics, since a captain can't be seen to be "going soft" for his lil lady. The ending to this story was also perfect - loved it. I'm really not explaining this well, but trust me when I say that this story was SO SO good. The plot was full bodied and robust, and the characters, their thoughts, and their actions felt acutely real and authentic. I loved this story. I might even need to reread it again just to savor it since I blazed through it the first time. 5+++++++++++ stars and a bag o' chips for this one!(less)

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Feb 16, 2013 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: anthologies, to-review, read-in-2013, 100-in-2013

So, in between books I like to read Anthologies, to freshen up my mind, (I tend to continue to think about the book I finished in the days that follow), and to discover new reads and new authors. It works for me this way.

In "Burning Up" we have a very good start with "Whisper of Sin".

The story is set in Chinatown and we have the story of Emmett and Ria.
Ria comes from a traditional family and is attacked by order of a gang because her family denied to pay "protection".
Emmett is part of the Dark R...more

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Jan 24, 2012 ~V~ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance

My 4star rating goes for Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling story..if you're a fan of the series, you won't want to miss this one! :)

I Originally bought this book strictly for the Psy/Changeling story, which i read when it was released, back in August of 2010..the little "blurb" at the top was all i had written at the time...and i've decided to keep it where it is...i still stand behind my 4 star rating for that story..it was great and i really enjoyed it.

Now, i've come back to this book, almost a ye...more My 4star rating goes for Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling story..if you're a fan of the series, you won't want to miss this one! :)

I Originally bought this book strictly for the Psy/Changeling story, which i read when it was released, back in August of 2010..the little "blurb" at the top was all i had written at the time...and i've decided to keep it where it is...i still stand behind my 4 star rating for that story..it was great and i really enjoyed it.

Now, i've come back to this book, almost a year later, to read Meljean Brook's Iron Seas Prequel, and i will be honest, had my friend not told me "you should read it...i think you would like it"...i NEVER would have read this in a million years!! I think it was the whole "steam punk" label that had me turned off...the description of it being somewhat historical but with a sci-fi element to it...the only thing i kept picturing in my mind was that awful Kevin Costner movie...Waterworld!...not really sure why..but it was.

I can't even begin to say how happy i was to discover it was NOTHING like that and i've changed my rating for this book from a 4 to a 5 star strictly because of this story...I LOVED it!!..everything about it...the pirate ships, both in the sky and in the water were very cool! The krackens and the megalodon sharks were very scarey but also added to the excitement! Even all the weird nanos and prosthetic limbs that people had...oddly, it really didn't bother me at all...it was a little bit strange, yes, but it wasn't the main focus of the story...even the strange world that all these characters lived in wasn't a huge focus in this story...you were told a little bit of what was going on in and around the areas but it didn't over power what the main focus really was...which was the romance between Mad Machen (Eben) and Ivy Blacksmith. Those two were such great characters and i really enjoyed their romantic tale!
I loved Eben..he was so sweet with Ivy, even though she was a tough heroine, she was frightened of what he might have planned for her, and he knew this and didn't want to scare her off so he never pushed her. He allowed her the control...so that hopefully in time, she would come to realize that he was a good guy and that she could trust him and would eventually come to him on her own...i really really loved that about him!
Normally, i'm the type of reader who wants instant gratification but for some reason...this time i thoroughly enjoyed the wait!..it was a slow build up to a really great love story!!

This was my first experience with anything written by Meljean Brook and i can say with 100% certainty that it will not be the last..especially where this particular series is concerned! I will definitely be moving on to the Iron Duke, the first full length novel in this series, and if it's anything like this short story was, i'm sure i'll be continuing on with every other book that follows!
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Sep 06, 2010 Mollie *scoutrmom* rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of paranormal romance or steampunk

Shelves: romance, paranormal, read-in-2010, read-in-2011, read-in-2013

I liked all four novellas, but I really loved the Nalini Singh story. As soon as I finished the book, I went right back to the beginning for a second read of that one. The only things that kept this anthology from the top rating were the predictability of the plots, and the lack of sufficient world-building in some of the stories. Some of that is the limitations of the novella, but not all.

I'm so glad I bought this new instead of waiting for the library to give me a turn at it or for a secondhan...more

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Jan 24, 2012 ♠ Sharon is an emotional book junkie ♠ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, read-in-2012

**Meljean Brook's Here There Be Monsters 4 stars ~ read April 10, 2011**

Before I get into my review, I would highly recommend that if you are interested in reading this series, you check out her website to get some needed information. Here's a great page to go to:

http://meljeanbrook.com/faq#10

WOW...I'm really shocked at how much I liked this story. This is my first taste of "steampunk" and while that was certainly weird....I really liked the romance! It was refreshing to read something so differ...more

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Aug 03, 2010 Melindeeloo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance

Burning Up offers a great line-up of popular paranormal authors, but there are a few surprises in store. While authors Nalini Singh and Virginia Kantra come through with stories connected to their established series, Angela Knight leaves her Mageverse - but not her vamps and witches - with her medieval fantasy offering and MelJean Brook introduces a new universe with her steam punk prequel.

"Whisper of Sin" - Nalini Singh's Psy-changeling contribution brings in a more than quickie romance as a n...more Burning Up offers a great line-up of popular paranormal authors, but there are a few surprises in store. While authors Nalini Singh and Virginia Kantra come through with stories connected to their established series, Angela Knight leaves her Mageverse - but not her vamps and witches - with her medieval fantasy offering and MelJean Brook introduces a new universe with her steam punk prequel.

"Whisper of Sin" - Nalini Singh's Psy-changeling contribution brings in a more than quickie romance as a new mob like moves into the city and tries to collect protection money little realizing that the town is DarkRiver territory and the humans there are under the clan's protection - and shape shifting Sentinel Emmet decides that protecting human Ria should be done up close and personal. - I just love it when a shifter says "mine" and the petite yet strong Ria is a wonderful heroine, and her formidable family is great too.

"Blood and Roses" Angela Knight - A vampire knight held captive offers hope to a witch whose sister is destined for a ritual which will open a gate to allow an undefeatable enemy into their world - this one was okay, there was a good setup but really needed to be longer to capitalize on it.

"Shifting Sea" Virginia Kantra takes a step back in time with her Children of the Sea - I really liked this story, the lovely woman whose people are just a myth and the wounded soldier, now gentleman land owner, are both appealing characters. I am not a huge fan of historical settings but this one worked for me, paradoxically due in a great deal to the time the story was set in - since the independent passionate woman who doesn't conform to the strictures of the time is what attracts the honorable hero.

"Here There Be Monsters" - Meljean Brook - I am a huge fan of Brook's Guardians but this story was something completely different - a prequel to Brook's upcoming Steampunk series. I am not really drawn to the steampunk genre but I liked this story, even with the odd flavor that the world out of time gives the tale - Victorian trappings mixed with technology, which Brook calls "historical sci fi". The action and the inventions were fun but I especially loved how smitten the hero was with the heroine and how patient he is in his courtship - boy, she makes him suffer. I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series.

So for me Burning Up was a hit (3 out of 4 stories ain't bad ) even though the anthology is really an odd mix of genres. Still the anthology is good for fans looking for an author fix and all in all most the stories are long enough for new comers looking for a new favorite author too.
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Sep 28, 2012 Blacky *Mistress of doom* rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-paranormal, oooooooooooooooooooooooo, 4-stars-for-quality, 4-stars-for-enjoyment

This review is only for "Whisper of sin" by Nalini Singh

A bit longer than her other short stories from this series, but really interesting, sweet and so very HOT

Emmett and Ria were great, had chemistry like crazy, I'd say more than some of her couples from the "real" Psy books. The story starts after someone attacked and tried to rape Ria. Emmett and Dorian saved her, and Emmett took upon himself to take care of her and protect her from further attacks. So, him being her bodyguard of sorts, t...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: angela-knight, nalini-singh, own, pnr-uf, shifters, vampires

For an anthology this one was pretty good.

Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh is Ria's story. Ria, a human admin assistant to Lucas Hunter, alpha of Darkriver pack. She first comes to the attention of Darkriver enforcers, particularly Emmett, after being attacked in pack territory by a group of human thugs trying to oust the changelings. Writing as always is excellent.

Blood & Roses by Angela Knight is not a Mageverse story, but still includes Vampires and is set in some distant past. Quite good.

S...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Regina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: available-phili-free, anthology, urban-fantasy-uf, paranormal-pnr, steampunk

I only read the pre-quel to The Iron Duke in this anthology by Brook. The 4 stars are for the Iron Seas. This is a great short, good character developmenet, great world building and a satisfying read. It is a good introduciton to the steampunk world of the Iron Duke.

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Nov 23, 2011 willaful rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: any romance fan who hasn't yet tried steampunk

Shelves: damsel-in-distress-knight-in-armor, special-needs-physical, story-novella-or-anthology, heroine-is-chubby-zaftig-or-amazon, angsty-goodness, reread

Not wanting to start any new series at the moment, I only read the Nilani Singh story, which is pleasant, and the Meljean Brook story, which is outstanding. The steampunk elements made more sense to me here than in The Iron Duke and the romance was unique. And the ending -- what a blast. A very touching and clever story.

11/22 Reread Brook's story, preparing to read the story in Wild & Steamy. It still rocks.

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Apr 27, 2013 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh - 3.5
This was a cute story. I'm not sure if I'm interested in pursuing the series, but I might. I particularly liked the interactions between Ria and her grandmother, and Emmett and Ria together were sweet and sexy.

Blood and Roses by Angela Knight 3
I like the premise of vampire warriors and Blood Roses, the women who match and complement them in strength. However, I think this story maybe overreached itself by trying to explain this whole new universe in 66 pages....more

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Mar 24, 2013 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am a huge fan of Nalini Singh and I was excited to see that this anthology had a short story from her Psy-Changeling series in it. I am devoted to reading the whole series. This short story was from early in the series and I was nice to revisit the characters at this timeframe. I enjoyed reading about a relationship that is mentioned fleetingly in a couple of books. It does stand on it's own, but I think that it is better reading it in order with the series. Her books are adult only. I also re...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Hilly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: keeper-shelf

This was my first Meljean Brook book (okay, short story), and Here There Be Monsters

Here There Be Monsters (Iron Seas, #0.5)

was amazing! A tour de force in novella form! Hooked me right in to the Iron Seas series. This, by golly THIS, is STEAMPUNK. Start here, with this one.

... Oh, I suppose that I should mention the other authors, too, huh?

Well, while both Angela Knight and Virginia Kantra are favorites of mine -- and I was glad enough at the time that I read it for another installment of Kantra's Children of the Sea series -- the...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Melissa J. Katano rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

Hard to categorize this collection of short stories, except as "Fantasy Romance," because none of the stories are in the same genre... well, two have shape-shifters, but set in different eras...

First up is "Whisper of Sin" by Nalini Singh, one of the shape-shifter stories. It's an Urban-Fantasy Romance, set in a San Francisco where Psys are the elite, shape-shifters (called Changelings) are the soldier types (but not necessarily law enforcement) and humans are the boring ones. This is part of a...more Hard to categorize this collection of short stories, except as "Fantasy Romance," because none of the stories are in the same genre... well, two have shape-shifters, but set in different eras...

First up is "Whisper of Sin" by Nalini Singh, one of the shape-shifter stories. It's an Urban-Fantasy Romance, set in a San Francisco where Psys are the elite, shape-shifters (called Changelings) are the soldier types (but not necessarily law enforcement) and humans are the boring ones. This is part of a well-established series, but I didn't feel like I didn't have a good understanding about what was going on. I liked it enough to want to read other books in the series. If you like Marjorie M. Liu's shape-shifter stories, you should like this story.

Next is "Blood and Roses" by Angela Knight, who is also the collection editor. Story is set in a "medieval-ish" period. Castles, knights, etc. Not sure if this is part of a series, or a story to launch a series. In a way, it felt almost science-fictiony, rather than fantasy, even though we have vampires and magic casters. Maybe it's because the evil race of lizard people just put me in mind of the Gorn from Star Trek. Not a bad story, but there were times when it felt....awkward. The language starts off stilted, with very formal phrasing. So, we have vampire knights (genetically altered--I mean, transformed--human champions) and female sorceresses called Blood Roses (but really are a caste of women who can "seduce and tame" the vampire knights. But you can only be a Blood Rose if your mom was a Blood Rose, so maybe sorority would be better. Supposedly, they have been "transformed" as well, but I'm not sure what makes them so different) and the lizard people (called the Varil). Didn't hate the story, but I'm not going out of my way to find more by the author.

Third, we have "Shifting Sea" by Virginia Kantra. This is the other Shape-shifter story, set in the Napoleanic era. Probably my least favorite of the stories, but again, not necessarily a bad story. Our shape shifter is one of the "Fin-Folk" (as opposed to selkies) who decides to prove that she can live on land without her brother to protect her. I don't know why I didn't really like this story, but I just couldn't get into the characters and root for them.

Our fourth (and last) story "Here There Be Monsters" by Meljean Brook is the reason why I bought this collection. I saw her "Iron Duke" on Pinterest, and it looked intriguing enough that I thought I'd start with a short story, especially since this is set just before the start of "Iron Duke." This is a steampunk story, which is a newish genre (although it's been around for awhile, at least in RPG--Space 1889 is still one of my favorite RPGs to play). Both stories ("Here" and "Iron Duke") are completely stand alone, although some of the same characters are in both (or at least mentioned), but in a way that doesn't make you feel like you're missing part of the story. Really liked this story. In a way, it's the least romantic of the stories. Yes, there's sex. Yes, the male and female protagonists fall in love, but you almost get the sense that it's not inevitable that they'll be together. If anything, I think the romantic thread of the story is the weakest part--not because you don't like the characters and want them to have their happy ending, but because it almost feels like the author is saying, "oh, if I can add an element of romance/sex to this story, it'll be easier to sell to a publisher." Having said that, I really like how the heroine solves the problem that threatens to keep her from her happy ending.(less)

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Apr 23, 2012 Kellie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok so some of my GR friends will prob kill me **cough cough KARLA cough cough** for reading out of order again but this book I didn't need to. I knew exactly what was going on as it was happening without back story. Some I will go back and read the series I will skip.

There were 4 stories in this anthology.

Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh 4 stars
It was about Emmet, a Psy changeling and him protecting a human named Ria. Ultimately, they fell in love, had amazing sex and were happy. ( **GASP** I...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Aimee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-reads, romance, paranormal, steampunk-victoriana, light-reading, borrowed

This review is only for the Meljean Brook contribution to this; as I'm not familiar with the other authors, I haven't read their parts yet.

So, the Iron Duke Prequel:

FIVE STARS

I read The Iron Duke first, which was a 4.5 stars book for me. I loved everything about it except some misgivings regarding the Iron Duke himself, and, new to the author, I wasn't sure whether it was an issue with the writing or just my personal taste. I can say now that I think it was half and half, but this book blew me o...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I got this book as part of a reading challenge I am doing with vvb32 reads (thanks for the awesome book!). Readers of my reviews know that I am more of an urban fantasy fan than a paranormal romance (PNR) fan, but I do enjoy the occasional PNR novel. I was eager to read stories by Nalini Signh and Meljean Brook since those were two authors I have been dying to check out. The collection of stories was pretty good and widely varied.

Angela Knight's Blood and Roses was set in a fantasy setting with...more I got this book as part of a reading challenge I am doing with vvb32 reads (thanks for the awesome book!). Readers of my reviews know that I am more of an urban fantasy fan than a paranormal romance (PNR) fan, but I do enjoy the occasional PNR novel. I was eager to read stories by Nalini Signh and Meljean Brook since those were two authors I have been dying to check out. The collection of stories was pretty good and widely varied.

Angela Knight's Blood and Roses was set in a fantasy setting with a creative world set-up; I enjoyed it and loved the special powers of the Blood Roses. It was a little romancy for me but the creative world definitely kept my attention.

The highlight of the book was Here There Be Monsters, a prelude story to Meljean Brook's new Iron Duke series. This was a great story and made the whole book worth reading. The world Brook has created is incredible, the characters full of depth, and some of the scenes incredibly steamy. This story packed more story than any of the other stories in this novel and didn't sacrifice creativity and action to provide romance. Overall it was a wonderful story that I really enjoyed.

Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh and Shifting Sea by Virginia Kantra were more typical PNR. Both about tough men falling for beautiful women; the majority of the story focused on getting the two main characters in "bed" so to speak. Although I will say that Kantra's finfolk are interesting and I have never read about anything like them before.

A highly varied collection of stories. All more with a romance bent to them than an urban fantasy bent. I would definitely recommend urban fantasy and steampunk fans check out Here There Be Monsters by Meljean Brook. See below for more detail on each story.

- Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh (3/5 stars)
Supposedly this is a prelude to Singh's Psy/Changeling series. It was okay. The characters definitely have good chemistry. The story plot is just barely there and mainly used as a vehicle to provide steamy scenes. This was bit too much of your helpless female/alpha male set up for me. I am really not into that kind of thing. It was well-written though.

- Blood and Roses by Angela Knight (4/5 stars)
This was a well done fantasy story. The chemistry between the two main characters was excellent and Knight creates a story in a complex universe with complex politics. The main character is a Blood Rose whose lot in life is to fuel the desire and power of vampires. Both the Blood Rose, Amaris, and the vampire, Raniero, are very conflicted characters. There are some nice fight scenes and some very steamy scenes. I liked this story. Again it was a bit too much of a romance for me, but still well-balanced.

- Shifting Sea by Virginia Kantra (3/5 stars)
Story about a soldier turned landowner who stumbles upon a beautiful woman, Morwenna, who is not quite human. Morwenna is one of the finfolk and wants to escape the ocean to try out life as a human. Basically the soldier sets out to woo Morwenna and there are complications because of her background. The story is well-written and the finfolk are unique. Not much humor or action.

- Here There Be Monsters by Meljean Brook (5/5 stars)
This was an absolutely wonderful story. I have never read any of Brook's books before but I want too. This was a great opportunity to be introduced to her writing and her new Iron Duke series. This is a steampunk fantasy novella and featured an incredibly creative world with a bleak tone to it. Loved that the characters had clockwork limbs grafted on and that steampunk and nano technology helped to run so much of this world. There was action in here, a wonderful world, believable characters, and great descriptions of fantastical devices. The two main characters had excellent chemistry and really tugged at your heart. There were the prerequisite steamy scenes which were tastefully done and engaging. I just really loved this story and am eager to read the Iron Duke series now.(less)

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Nov 20, 2010 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-books, keeper-shelf

I'd been looking forward to Burning Up for a long time, at first because of the new offering in the Psy-Changeling series that's included, but then because of the introduction to Meljean Brook's new steampunk romance series as well. I'm pleased to say that this book lived up to my expectations entirely and even had a few surprises in store.

First up was Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh, which is the story of Ria, a human, and Emmett, her changeling mate. Emmett takes it upon himself to act as Ria's...more I'd been looking forward to Burning Up for a long time, at first because of the new offering in the Psy-Changeling series that's included, but then because of the introduction to Meljean Brook's new steampunk romance series as well. I'm pleased to say that this book lived up to my expectations entirely and even had a few surprises in store.

First up was Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh, which is the story of Ria, a human, and Emmett, her changeling mate. Emmett takes it upon himself to act as Ria's bodyguard and it was extremely fun to watch their relationship grow and develop. It was definitely up to par with what I've come to expect from this series, as well as for Play of Passion when it comes out this fall.
Grade: A

The second story was Angela Knight's Blood and Roses, which definitely had its high and low points. I admit I wasn't quite comfortable with the romance between the characters (dramatically unfair power dynamics and the so-called "forced seduction" element don't really work for me) I did really enjoy the world and the setting of the story, as well as the idea of a high fantasy/vampire/medieval mashup. I think this story would have done a lot better as a full length novel, since as it stands the pacing of the relationship was kind of wham-bam-thank you ma'am-I-love-you-forever-and-ever-amen.
Overall Grade: B-

The third offering, Shifting Sea by Virginia Kantra, was the story that, for me, was the most middle of the road. It wasn't great, it wasn't terrible, it just kind of...was. I didn't find myself terribly enthralled to find out what happened to the characters or how they came to be there, and the world didn't interest me all that much. I think folks that were already interested in the series might have enjoyed it more; for me it was a pleasant enough story but nothing to write home about.
Overall Grade: B-

The final story and the one that seems to have been the breakout hit of this anthology is Meljean Brook's Here There Be Monsters, which is the story of piracy, technological slavery, invention, romance, Victorian sensibilities, rumors, intrigue, and a second chance romance that really worked for me. This story is also a good example of how uneven power dynamics in a relationship can work to a story's advantage; although Eben (the pirate captain) is definitely holding all the cards, he tries to avoid using them in his relationship with Ivy (the genius mechanic). He wants to win her on his own or not at all.
Overall Grade: A

It's actually pretty rare that I buy an anthology (I usually opt to get them from the library) but I did spring for this one, even in violation of my promise to not buy books this month. I guess, though, if I'm going to cheat on my book diet, it's good that it was for a book as enjoyable as this one.

Overall Grade: A

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Oct 17, 2010 Soraia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: psy-changeling, anthologies, reviews

Whisper of Sin

Since I'm a Psy-Changeling fan, I am really anxious for the next book in the series but while waiting, Burning Up brings Whisper of Sin, the story of Ria and Emmet, taking place before Slave to Sensation.

San Francisco is under the attack of a human gang trying to take hold of the city. DarkRiver's leopards are doing their best to run them out and finally establish their domain. Ria, one of the locals is attacked by one gang member after her parents refuse to pay "security money"....more

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Oct 01, 2010 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: keepers

Good read. Multi author anthology. Whisper of Sin is a stand-alone Psy/Changeling story. Here There Be Monsters is a steampunk story related to her Iron Duke book. I believe The Shifting Sea is related to her Children of the Sea. Angela Knight's Blood and Roses seems to be a stand-alone vampire story. All of them are excellent, an anthology that does not disappoint.

*** BLOOD AND ROSES by Angela Knight pairs a vampire warrior and his seductive captor in a battle against demonic predators.

*** WHIS...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Lynette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Blood and Roses"

To me, Blood and Roses is different than Ms. Knight's previous mageverse novels, but still very good. I could be wrong and often am (not really but that sounded more humble – LOL), but if you're familiar with Ms. Knight's mageverse series, I think Blood and Roses takes place in one of the other worlds Merlin traveled to create vampires and witches.

Amaris is a witch (Blood Rose) who is being held against her will. If she doesn't help the vampire Tannaz, the wizard Lord Koban, and...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Marlene rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review of Here There be Monsters only

Ivy is born into a rather dismal world, in which, the Horde has used nanoagents to control the population of England and much of the world for two centuries. When pirate captain, Rhys Trahaearn, destroyed the tower, that the Horde used to control the nanoagents, the Horde rule was ended. For seven years Ivy has known freedom from Horde subjugation, but one night she awakens and is unable to move, and upon further investigation, finds several people in her bui...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Lexie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-type-anthology, genre-romance-paranormal, genre-romance, books-owned, autographed

Individual story reviews, than a wrap-up!

"Whisper of Sin" by Nalini Singh (futuristic paranormal)
I haven't read Singh's 'Psy-Changeling' series before, so I was a little apprehensive and worried I would get lost. Not so! Singh gave me a good sense of the world, the politics and who's who without making it seem contrived for exposition. I loved Ria's family--the scene at dinner when certain revelations are brought forth by her popo (grandmother) Miaolong in regards to the 'Great Match' was pricel...more Individual story reviews, than a wrap-up!

"Whisper of Sin" by Nalini Singh (futuristic paranormal)
I haven't read Singh's 'Psy-Changeling' series before, so I was a little apprehensive and worried I would get lost. Not so! Singh gave me a good sense of the world, the politics and who's who without making it seem contrived for exposition. I loved Ria's family--the scene at dinner when certain revelations are brought forth by her popo (grandmother) Miaolong in regards to the 'Great Match' was priceless. The threat level for the story was kind of middling however, for once having such a big bad impressively male specimen as the 'hero' of the story worked against it. Emmett and his pack were just so effective--in both action and from the stories--a human gang like Vincent's didn't seem threatening. At all. More of a mild irritant.

"Blood and Roses" by Angela Knight (historical fantasy paranormal)
As far as I can tell this isn't tied with any of her other series, but having not read her longer works (just the occasional short story), I can't be certain. Medieval vampire romance with lizard barbarians, wizards and violence aplenty. I was intrigued by the notion of the 'Blood Roses', women who were genetically predisposed to being the perfect bed mates for the Vampire Knights, men genetically predisposed to being super-awesome fighters for the king. Both the leads--Amaris and Raniero--had deep trust issues, but sex cured them of that. Sort of. Desperation I think also helped; Amaris was desperate to save her sister and Raniero was just desperate to keep himself alive and save the world. Still, I'm intrigued by the Blood Roses and would love to see more about that.

"Shifting Sea" by Virginia Kantra (historical paranormal)
This is part of her Children of the Sea series, of which I read one book from (Sea Lord, Book 3) and was not suitably impressed with to read the others. The covers are gorgeous however. Morwenna was a child of the Sea, finfolk and Jack was a recently injured soldier taking over a holding with hostile villagers and a self-satisfied steward. As I said, the series doesn't quite catch me and while I enjoyed this story and was delighted by the outcome it didn't change my opinion. Also, some of the issues Morwenna brings up--especially in regards to her brother Morgan--aren't given enough explanation in the end. I did find her attempting to live like a human amusing--in that she was kind of like the Little Mermaid, intrigued by shoes, a dress, riding a horse.

"Here There By Monsters" by Meljean Brook (steampunk paranormal)
This is the beginning to Brook's up-coming Iron Seas steampunk romance series. Its about Mad Machen (Eben) and his inability to properly court engineering whiz Ivy. No really that's pretty much the whole set up, but you see Eben is a pirate (with a very very bad reputation, that may or may not be taken completely out of context at times) and Ivy is part mechanical (her arms at least, though we're never told why). Ivy is dead certain Eben means her harm, Eben is dead certain he wants Ivy in his life for keeps and Lady Corsair (a female airship pirate--er merchant) is dead certain the two will be the end of decent pirating. Its at time amusing to see Eben try to quell his rather violent nature to reassure Ivy, while Ivy doesn't question the fact he's taking one coin a night to avoid 'mauling' her. Lady Corsair who pops up infrequently and tends to disturb the peace, was fun and I hope we see more of her! This just made me want the new series now and I'm rather cross I have to wait until October to read about the Iron Duke himself.

I tried to include the sub-genre each story was part of as well, but they all shared 'paranormal' and with the exception of Singh's were all set in a historical like time period (Medieval, Regency, Victorian). I definitely liked Brook's story the best, but I can honestly say I didn't dislike any of these stories. Some worked less well for me (such as Kantra's) and some I would have liked way more expansion of the world on (Knight's) and then I'm likely to go and find me Singh's other Psy-Changling books now, but in all this entire collection was a solid romance anthology. (less)

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Aug 10, 2010 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, read-in-2010

What I liked:
I really liked getting a peek at Nalini Singh's Psy/Changling world, if only because I'm hoping it will help hold me over until the next full length novel in the series in November. Whisper of Sin was like a visit with an old friend. It felt comfortable.
For the most part, I bought this book because I wanted to see how Meljean Brook handled steampunk in Here there Be Monsters. I admit. I was skeptical, but I was wrong. The whole world is detailed but still accessible in a way I didn'...more

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Aug 08, 2010 Tori [Book Faery] rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, read-in-2011

This rating is only for HERE THERE BE MONSTERS by Meljean Brook. I will adjust the rating as I continue reading the other stories.

5/5 Stars for HERE THERE BE MONSTERS by Meljean Brook

I'll admit that I only bought this book to read Meljean's new Steampunk series. I read a snippet of it probably a week before the release and HAD to know more!

HERE THERE BE MONSTERS is amazingly well written. Considering that this is my first time reading anything within the Steampunk genre, I must say that Meljean...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Ami rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal-futuristic

This review is ONLY FOR WHISPERS OF SIN by Nalini Singh.

This novella is set seven years before the event in "Slave to Sensation" (a.k.a. Lucas's) story. It's about Ria, Lucas's very efficient human assistant and her own sexy changeling hero, Emmett. Emmett saved Ria on a day when she was almost hurt by a man from an organized crime family. Sparks fly between the whiskey-eyed leopard and the petite female and well, it all makes up for a very delicious story.

I always enjoy changeling stories bette...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Daffodil rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

Nalini Singh and Meljean Brook's contributions were both excellent. Angela Knight and Virginia Kantra's were nice reads.

By far the best contribution, Nalini Singh gave us a wonderful romance between a deceptively strong human and a member of the leopard pack. The pack's response to an invading gang in the city hilights the differences between Changeling and Psy; Changeling's are willing to protect the humans in their territory as well as the territory itself.

Meljean Brook's prequel to her Iron S...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Missy Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, romance-parnormal

4 Stars for the book, but 5 for Meljean's Here There Be Monsters.

In order:

Nalini's Whisper of Sin. Eh... fair to middling. Trying to do too much in too little space. And one of my least favorite schticks made an appearance. The family door mat. While our heroine wasn't overwhelmingly door matty; she was too close to the line for me. Close families don't try to run each other as a sign of affection. Let me repeat this: love does not equal control. Stop it, stop it now. But it's the Psy-Changeling...more 4 Stars for the book, but 5 for Meljean's Here There Be Monsters.

In order:

Nalini's Whisper of Sin. Eh... fair to middling. Trying to do too much in too little space. And one of my least favorite schticks made an appearance. The family door mat. While our heroine wasn't overwhelmingly door matty; she was too close to the line for me. Close families don't try to run each other as a sign of affection. Let me repeat this: love does not equal control. Stop it, stop it now. But it's the Psy-Changeling world and therefore a must read. 2 Stars

Knight's Blood & Roses. Angela's Jane's Warlord has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf. I've bought this book 3 times. Mass market, trade (it appeared there with 2 other stories) and once more for my Kindle. She can be brilliant. Unfortunately I haven't seen much of that at all from her lately. Same old same old, but with no soul. No spark! Just words on a page and nothing compelling. I'd venture to say she's also got some Daddy Issues. Which is fine, I know exactly where the bodies are buried in my psyche too. But I'm worried she's drained her creativity well dry. I really really hope I'm wrong and can post a glowing "she's back!" review for whatever she writes next. Two stars.

Kantra's Shifting Sea. Now Kantra's been on my radar for a while, but this is the first of her work that I've read. I will be reading more. Solid, and a very satisfying short. And me likely very much soldiers home from the Napoleonic Wars. 3-1/2 Stars

Meljean is a freaking genius. I was cool to her first 3 full length Guardian books but I've always really enjoyed her short stories. And Here There Be Monsters... I'd pay the cover price for Burning Up if this was the only story in there. She had to do a fair bit of world building, but she handled it so very well. I was torn between reading faster to find out happens next and reading slower and re-reading to savor every word. One tiny little complaint (and that's because I always find something to bitch about) I wish we could've been a little bit more in Eben's head to find out why he fell so hard and so fast for Ivy. I'll re-read, maybe it's there and I'll find it the second time around. I'm absolutely drooling in anticipation for The Iron Duke. READ THIS STORY. READ IT NOW. Ok, maybe wait until the week before Iron Duke releases so you won't be as impatient as I am for it. Oh and screw the Duke, I'm waiting for more Lady Corsair. (less)

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Aug 13, 2010 Jocelyn Zombie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, romance, steampunk, victorian-era, weird-science, future-setting

Nalini Singh story 3.5 stars - I love Nalini Singh, and it's great to see her in a short format, just letting her protagonists fall in love. At the same time, I don't think I'll re-read it, because the overarching conflict in her series is what makes me like her stuff.

Meljean Brooks story 5 stars - Loved it. Best thing I've read in quite a while. My favorite thing she's written so far. The steampunk is not window dressing in this story, but it's still a solid romance. Can't wait for the next one...more

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Dec 02, 2012 MarieJaneB rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: custom-spells-and-hexes, fangs-for-the-memories, here-be-demons, steam-punk

Blood and Roses , a vampire warrior and his seductive captor join forces to stop a traitor from unleashing an army of demonic predators on their kingdom.

Whisper of Sin , in which a woman in lethal danger finds an unlikely protector- and lover- in a volatile member of the DarkRiver pack.

Shifting Sea , the story of a wounded soldier rescued by a strange and enigmatic young woman.

The above three were all OK I preferred Whisper of Sin of the three but they were in the main forgettable.

Here There Be...more

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About Angela Knight

Angela Knight is an American author of mostly erotic fantasy. She was a reporter for ten years and a comic book author. She lives in South Carolina. First published under Red Sage, she was able to write romantic fiction for the first time in 1996. She published several short stories in their Secrets anthologies. Editor Cindy Hwang brought her to Berkley Publishing and has helped her become a best...more Angela Knight is an American author of mostly erotic fantasy. She was a reporter for ten years and a comic book author. She lives in South Carolina. First published under Red Sage, she was able to write romantic fiction for the first time in 1996. She published several short stories in their Secrets anthologies. Editor Cindy Hwang brought her to Berkley Publishing and has helped her become a best selling author.

When developing her Mageverse series she wanted to create a unique spin on the vampire tale. Taking the Arthurian legend and twisting it, she has vampires that are not evil, still possess their souls, and can reproduce. Merlin was an alien who traveled to Earth from the Mageverse (an alternate world where magic is everywhere) to establish protectors. Merlin's race had seen species that destroyed themselves as they advanced. To avoid this, he searched Earth for worthy men and women who would give everything to protect others. After drinking from the Grail, men became Magi, vampires and women became Majae, witches. They have a symbiotic relationship. The Magi have to drink blood from the Majae to help absorb the energies of the Mageverse. The Majae have to donate blood or they will suffer heart attack from excess blood and elevated pressure. The Majae are the magic in the Mageverse. The Magi also sleep during the day as another means of gaining magic. The men and women could theoretically live forever, should they not be killed.

They are capable of reproducing with mortals to ensure that there are more potential candidates to recruit. Anyone born of such a union is a Latent. Their Gift, becoming Magi or Majae, is triggered by three or sexual encounters with a Gifted man or woman. A Latent must be approved by the Magi or Majae councils. Many can not psychologically handle the impact of the Mageverse (It can trigger insanity). There are professional court seducers who Gift latents on the Councils orders.

On Mageverse Earth, there are Fairies, Dragons, Unicorns and the city of Avalon where the Magi and Majae live. They magically create gates to travel to Realspace Earth. The Fairies are featured in Master of the Moon, which has King Llyr of the Faeries.

Merlin, who knows that power can corrupt, created another magical species in case the Magi and Majae become out of control. These are werewolves. They do not have to wait until the full moon to change. They are a rigid society that has been hidden from their inception. In Master of Wolves, the werewolves declare themselves and fight alongside the Magi and the Fairies.

Master of Swords introduces the dragons of Mageverse in more depth and the hero for Master of Dragons is introduced.

Futuristic Books

Jane's Warlord introduces Jane Colby, a 20th century reporter. Baran Arvid is sent back from the future to protect her from another time traveler, Druas. Druas travels back in time to commit the Jack the Ripper murders and his next target is Jane. Baran is a technologically and genetically enhanced human classified as a Warlord.

Mercenaires is three short stories (originally published electronically) set in a future like Baran’s. They can be technologically and genetically enhanced. Space travel has extended to other galaxies and other life forms have been discovered. Humans have established many new colonies on planets capable of sustaining life.(less)

More about Angela Knight...

Books by Angela Knight

Shifter (Includes: Warriors of Poseidon, #2.5; Breeds, #15; Children of the Sea Prequel)

Beyond the Dark (Includes: Tales of the Demon World, #5; Breeds, #13)

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“You‟re my mate. Think you can handle that?”
It was hard to speak with her heart bursting open. “Think you can handle me?”
“So long as you're gentle with me.”"
Emmett to Ria - Whisper of sin” — 6 people liked it

“Money could buy her slippers. Only crazy would get her a man.” — 5 people liked it

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Burning Up (Psy-Changeling #8.5)

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