What first caught my eye about this anthology, other than its very wonderful premise, was the name of the editor. His Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel Pretty Maids All in a Row was the only noncanon Buffy novel I've ever truly enjoyed. So when I was presented with the opportunity to read this delightful anthology, I took it. And boy did I not regret it.

This book has a little bit for everyone, a little twisted romance--like in the very first story, "The Awkward Age" by David Liss--to something totally non-supernatural--like "Siren Song" by Dana Stabenow. The stories were wonderful, and some of them really did a great job of making you rethink the idea of a "monster." Even my least favorite story in the collection, "Saint John" by Johnathan Maberry, was still a very enjoyable read. Past that, I had three clear favorites: "Torn Stitches, Shattered Glass" by Kevin J. Anderson, "Rattler and the Mothman" by Sharyn McCrumb, and "Jesus and Satan Go Jogging in the Desert" by Simon R. Green. All three are very much character driven pieces, but I feel like they really do the best job of making you think about the idea that the person you're reading for is the monster in most people's eyes. You're given an opportunity to really feel sympathetic for the supposed villain in those three pieces.

To sum up, this is a great collection, and I would readily recommend to anyone.