Welcome to Las Vegas, home of the Sin City Collectors. The job description is easy: Bring the offending supernatural in to the Boss and don’t ask any questions.
Queen of Hearts, Vol 1
Feline shifter Claudette Marchon traded life as a showgirl to become a Sin City Collector, giving up the glamour to earn some serious cash in order to buy her own business. Mission accomplished, she now runs a pawn shop specializing in gems and jewelry.
Life is good until a Collection job requiring her specific skill set lures her back in. The Queen of Hearts, a museum-worthy ruby and diamond necklace has been stolen from the Boss’s private collection and she’s his last hope to do what two other Collectors have already failed to do. Bring in the necklace. And the thief.
But gargoyle Jason Tennant isn’t quite the dangerous criminal Claudette expects. In fact, he’s not a thief at all. He’s former Special Ops and being set up by the real mastermind, forcing her to decide between the man she’s falling for and the man she works for. Proving Jason innocent may risk the Boss’s wrath, but Claudette’s heart says it’s a gamble worth taking.
Dead Man’s Hand, Vol 2 Demi-goddess and muse Seraphina Kostos has been tasked with bringing her employer’s wayward teenage daughter home. Not the hardest job Seraphina’s ever had – until her boss calls in a favor in the form of extra help. The man who arrives is unlike any she’s ever encountered.
Sin City Collector Ares rarely goes on typical Collections. Mostly because his skill set involves taking lives, not saving them. As the son of a vampire and a grim reaper, his touch holds the ability to reap souls. Sure, it makes for a lonely existence, but he’s learned to deal with that. Or has he?
Beautiful Seraphina has him questioning everything he’s ever known. Living the rest of his life alone suddenly seems impossible. But what kind of future is there with a woman he can’t touch or hold or kiss?
Double or Nothing, Vol 3 Gage Hudson is a vampire on a mission. All he wants—all he’s ever wanted—is to locate the vampire who killed his brother and exact his revenge. Even if that means losing his job as a Gotham City Collector. And he knows what loss feels like, because his desire for revenge has already cost him the love of his life.
Sin City Collector and pixie Minka Winslow has revenge fantasies of her own and they all involve Gage. When he walked out on her with no explanation, she took the heat for the Collection he ruined. Fortunately for him, she’s put that part of her life behind her.
At least until the two are forced to work together to stay alive. When an enemy from their past returns to threaten them, they have no choice but to reconcile long enough to survive. Then new information changes everything. Just how much will they gamble to make things work this time?
Kristen Painter likes to balance her obsessions with shoes and cats by making the lives of her characters miserable and surprising her readers with interesting twists. She currently writes award-winning paranormal romance, paranormal women's fiction, and cozy mysteries. The former college English teacher can often be found on twitter @Kristen_Painter, Facebook at www.facebook.com/KristenPainterAuthor where she loves to interact with readers and her blog: http://kristenpainter.com/blog/.
FYI, this collection jumps around the series. Still, you don't really need to read them in order because the individual plots aren't all that contiguous.
I went into this because I needed a break from the darker stuff I've been hearing/reading lately. As a light read, this hit the spot.
The premise is intriguing; the series centers on a national bounty-hunting agency (there are branches all over the nation, maybe the world) comprised of various flavors of supernatural who capture bad little supernaturals and turn them over to the powers that be.
You do get that satisfying "got the bastards!" feeling when people are caught and brought in, but because these are Kristen Painter novels, everything has a decidedly Nancy Drew feel to it, complete with hollow characters, corny dialogue and the unsophisticated employment of mystery tropes.
Also, because these are, at their core, romance novels, there are mad alpha-shenanigans; control and over-protection abound.
The first in the set, entitled Queen of Hearts, is the best because that heroine gives as good as she gets and shuts her love interest downwhen he tries it.
The second and third are about what you'd expect when lerve is involved, so if you like that sort of thing, you'll love these.
All in all though, these were a nice, light, and uncomplicated break from the bloody, intense, and nail biting stuff I usually read.
This was about Claudette, Claude to her friends, who had retired from the collections department two years before, only to be called back into action, to retrieve a large ruby that belongs to the Boss, from a gargoyle named Jason. Jason’s boss has the ruby that Jason stole and he, Sloan, is a real dick. Sloan is holding something over Jason so Jason has to do whatever Sloan tells him, from stealing the ruby to getting some scales from a lamai demon, and yeah, that was exciting.
Anyway, this was a very good story, with supernaturals aplenty and a great storyline. There is absolutely no sex or swearing, which is par for the course for Kristen Painter. LOL, that’s why I don’t read her books as a rule.
Dead Man’s Hand Vol. 2
Wow, I loved Ares. He was half vampire and half reaper, and when he was described in his reaper form he sounded incredible, especially since he transformed into the reaper while he was battling Hades. I really like Seraphina too. She was Javier’s muse, and just as sweet as she could be. And for as little as these stories are there’s a lot going on, and battles too.
Again, no sex and no swearing.
Double or Nothing Vol. 3
Minka was a character in the last book, Dead Man’s Hand, and I really liked her. So, I was glad to see that this one had her as the heroine. She and her ex, our hero Gage, were taken prisoner by the Alchemist and Minka was supposed to be killed by Gage when he went into bloodlust and went after her. Needless to say, the Alchemist wasn’t very smart and they got away, BUT they did find out who paid the Alchemist and all hell broke loose. Can’t tell you who but Gage had been looking to kill him for 200 years. Long time to hold a grudge but understandable.
I can’t say which of these stories was my favorite because I enjoyed all three. I do hope more of them come out.
No sex and no swearing. Bummer!
As to the narrator: I loved him and I hated him. He reads with good emotion when the men talked but no emotions at all when the women said something. And his women’s voices were great, too. B.J. Harrison, I think I have a love/hate relationship with him.
Queen of Hearts (Sin City Collector's #2) Claudette is a semi retired collector who gets called in for a job. She takes a job as a magicians assistant who stole a priceless item from her boss. The actual culprit was gargolye Jason, but Claudette soon realizes that something is off. She eventually has to get the item back and save Jason from being held responsible. Not an easy task. I loved this, it was fun and cute with great characters as per usual with Kristen Painter.
Dead Mans Hand (Sin City Collector's #4) Half muse Seraphina teams up with Wraith Ares to find her boss's daughter who was kidnapped by a troll. Seraphina is used to getting what she wants and people being drawn to her. Ares is used to being alone because skin to skin contact will take the other persons soul. The two become close and eventually have to fight through several issues to give their relationship a try. I think Ares and Seraphina might be my favorite's so far.
Double or Nothing (Sin City Collector's #6) Gage once betrayed Minka for the sake of trying to find his brother's killer and they haven't seen each other since. Now they've been kidnapped by an old enemy looking for revenge and everything kinda comes together. This was still good but not my favorite. I thought they were both duped a little too easily to start the story so I kinda thought less of them from the start.
Kristen Painter is always a great choice for family friendly, fun stories. In each of these books there is a secondary supernatural character introduced who then gets their own book later. These books can be read as stand-alone. If you are ready for a light hearted read involving vampires, shifters, and pixies, then be sure to give this series a chance.
Queen Of Hearts I really enjoyed this novella, it's the second in a multi-author series (the first being Aces Wild by Amanda Carlson) and I am loving this series!
This novella centres around Claudette (a semi-retired Collector) and Jason, a gargoyle who's being forced to carry out criminal activity by a sorcerer who has his keystone. I loved Claudette and Jason, the story was fast paced and engrossing! I was routing for them both to get a happy ending!
They didn't have the history that the previous couple did but they had a very strong and instant attraction! I like that we get a little epilogue at the end to let us know how their relationship progresses 6 months down the line! I really liked getting that little peek. I was really intrigued by their supernatural types as well, this series so far has featured some less known and used supernatural types alongside the more known ones! I'm very intrigued by a character we met briefly near the end, Aries, a wraith that I hope will get a book of his own!
I'm really looking forward to the next in the series Ante Up by Amanda Carlson due out later this month with another contribution from Kristen Painter to follow this year! This is shaping up to be an excellent series and well worth picking up! Dead Man's Hand Loved this novella! I'd been looking forward to Ares getting a book and it didn't disappoint! He's an interesting supernatural type, a wraith which is the offspring of a vampire and a reaper. You feel bad for him cause he can't touch anyone (unless they're immortal) cause when he touches anyone skin to skin he reaps their soul whether he wants to or not.
Seraphina was a cool character as well, a demi-goddess, the daughter of one of the greek muses. Her power meant she didn't trust if people liked her for her or because of how her power affected them. Except for Ares, her power didn't work on him.
They had a great chemistry together but Ares kept pushing her away, afraid to hope for more cause people usually shun him because of what he is and he didn't know if she was immortal or not, neither did she and he didn't want to risk killing her with his touch.
I was happy with how it ended for them and can't wait for the next book in the series! Double or Nothing Really enjoyed this book! I loved Gage & Minka, they were good together even if they had their past problems that caused them to be separated at the start of the book, they had them resolved by the end and I love the twist in the story for Gage concerning his brother! There was no strong hint as to who the next character to get a book will be as there has been in past books, it could be any one of Gage's three colleagues or someone we haven't met, I don't think it will be Romero but I look forward to finding out!
"Queen of Hearts" is Kristen Painter's first addition to "A Sin City Collectors novella" series. Sin City Collectors are supernaturals that are called in when another supernatural has committed a crime. In this first novella, Claudette, a special feline shifter, is called out of retirement to retrieve the 'Queen of Hearts' ruby that was stolen from the Boss's safe along with bringing in the gargoyle who stole it in the first place. But when she starts her assignment she quickly realizes that the job is and offending supernatural is much more complicated than she expected. Can Claudette straighten out this mess, keep her heart safe, and not get collected herself? Overall, I enjoyed this story. The characters meshed well together and were fun to read.
"Dead Man's Hand" by Kristen Painter is her second stand alone novella in "A Sin City Collectors" series. Seraphina is the daughter of a Muse, making her a demi-goddess. Her words inspire men to produce their best work. Her current employer is a famous artist whose daughter has gone missing. Like any good father, he called the one person who can help. On assignment as a collector, Ares (not the Greek god of war) is half reaper and half vampire. Anyone who touches his skin loses his soul. Ares and Seraphina team up to find the missing girl. But they find more than just the teen, they find each other. The trick is can they ever be together? Overall, I enjoyed this novella.
"Double or Nothing" is the third novella written by Kristen Painter for the Sin City Collectors Series. Gage Hudson is a vampire on a mission. For nearly two hundred years he's sought after his brother's killer. He's sacrificed everything including the trust and respect of the Pixie he loves. Minka Winslow who was introduced in "Dead Man's Hand", has spent the last two years getting over Gage. She lost much because of his betrayal and is finally starting to gain back her place in the Sin City Collectors hierarchy. The two are forced to come together in an impossible life and death situation. Will either one of them survive or will they lose both their hearts and their lives. Overall, Kristen Painter is an awesome writer. Her characters and storylines have a wealth of depth that keeps me coming back for more.
Three separate novellas with a common theme; paranormal bounty hunters / romance. A fun group of stories where danger is high and romance is the key to overcoming the odds against the enemy.
Includes Queen of Hearts; Dead Man's Hand and Double or Nothing. I had read the first two previously and enjoyed listening to the audible version the second time around. The narrator was easy to listen to.
Double or Nothing pairs a pixie and vampire, getting them back together after years apart. They fight an old enemy and find that their chemistry together is as strong as in the past.
Queen of Hearts brings a shifter and a gargoyle together on a magician stage fighting to save the world against evil. Their combines efforts soon have sparks flying.
Dead Man's Hand has a demigoddess and reaper saving a hostage while they try to fight the attraction they are sure will end in heartbreak. Not here. (We already know it's an HEA, right?)
A fun set of stories were Vegas is truly filled wth stories of the strange and unusual.
I believe this is the first collection of short stories from Kristen Painter, and as usual, she does not disappoint. I am generally not a fan of short stories, but these I liked a lot because they are so well written. Characters are well developed and likeable. All characters are strong and come with dark secrets from the past. Ms Painter managed, yet again, to resolve seemingly unsolvable situations and provide us with good endings. As you read on, the stories get darker and more complicated. Still, my favourite remains the first story - Queen of Hearts. This collection matches up with Sin City Collectors Boxed Set: Aces Wild, Ante Up, All in by Amanda Carlson, also great collection of short stories written in a similar style, set in the same world and with great characters. I recommend both. Very much.
This knocked my socks off! Of course, I'm partial to Kristen Painter's work. I love this series and hope she does more in it. While Ares in Dead Man's Hand is my favorite Hero, Jason, the gargoyle in Queen of Hearts runs a VERY close second. And Jason's lady, Claudette, is a sexy and a strong feline shifter. That was such an intense read. I would recommend this boxed set to anyone who likes some suspense and a taste of romance. I just can't say enough about it, words don't do it justice. Check out the audiobook also. The narrator is to die for! Just WOW! What a talented person.
I love Kristen Painter's other series so I went looking for a new one to read and came across this box set. Of course, she did not disappoint. Each book in this series got better. By the end of the last book I wanted more but only found the other SCC books written by other authors. My favorite story was the last one Double or Nothing with Gage and Minka. I enjoyed there adventure together and there romance.
Kristen never disappoints! I loved this series. All three novella's are awesome, filled with suspense and brilliant characters. If I had to pick a favorite out of the three, it would be Ares and Seraphina's story.
I love Painter's quick novellas. Supernatural happily-ever-afters with just enough going wrong to make the endings that much sweeter. I just wish there were more of them. I read all three of these in 2 days.