Huntress

Cin Craven #3.5 - Sin Slayer

by Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge

Christine Warren

“Devil’s Bargain”
Supernatural bounty hunter Lilli Corbin made a pact with the Prince of Hell: She agreed to recover a book of prophecies. When she learns it could trigger the apocalypse, Lilli is forced to make the ultimate choice: save her soul, or the man she loves?

Marjorie M. Liu

“The Robber Bride”

Welcome to a post-apocalyptic world where women are fed on for their life forces. Now it’s up to Maggie, one of the last female survivors, to hunt down and destroy an army of darkness…

Caitlin Kittredge

“Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go”

Ava is a demon slayer who needs help from mage Jack Winter to reach the demon underworld—a place of dark seduction…and, maybe, one of no return.

Jenna Maclaine

“Sin Slayer”

London 1889. Jack the Ripper is killing off the city’s vampire population, and now it’s up to Cin Craven to hunt him down—and save the infected Michael, the love of her undead life.

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Anthologies, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Vampires

342 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 30, 2009

About the author

Born and raised in coastal New England, Christine Warren lived in the South and the Mid-Atlantic before hopping to the other side of the country to take up the life of a transplant in the Pacific Northwest. She completely bypassed those states in the middle due to her landlocking phobia. Hmm, need to research a scientific term for that...

When not scrambling frantically to complete her latest writing project, Christine spends most of her time as a crazy animal lady, hanging out with her dog Levi (he’s the one with the hair) and pretending to train him to have some manners. She also hangs out with her horse, Cal—a thoroughbred with a craving for strawberry licorice twists—her goddog, Merlin; and her best friend, fellow author Hannah Murray. In addition to playing with her pets, Christine’s hobbies include identifying dog breeds from photos of their underbellies, appreciating fine and not-so-fine wines, shopping for the perfect pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, and most of all reading things someone else had to agonize over.

She enjoys hearing from readers and can be reached via email sent to Christine@christinewarren.net or by postal mail to Christine Warren, PO Box 871900, Vancouver, WA 98687-1900.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/christ...

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Devil's Bargain" by Christine Warren-3 stars
Christine Warren's book was not her usual fantastic stuff. It wasn't bad, at all, don't get me wrong, I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of her "Others" stories. It's about a girl who is a bounty hunter for a devil (not THE devil, but one of the devils) and her last order is to get a certain book. Well owner of said book is studious and incredibly handsome and won't give it up without a fight. They fight, they kiss, they get interrupted, they kiss some more, fall in love and outsmart the devil. Seriously. And it was interesting, steamy and certain parts were funny, but it wasn't fantastic.

I probably won't read the Marjorie M. Liu story...her writing's very good, but the stories just aren't my taste.

Caitlin Kittredge-1 star
I can honestly say I will never read her again. It was lame, and both characters were unlikeable. Seriously. Not one redeeming factor in the heroin chic punk hero, or the wannabe demon slayer heroine. I realize it takes place in 1990 (btw, wtf? Really? What was so special about 1990? New Kids on the Block?), but everybody smoked. It was to the point where each sentence began with "A curl of blue smoke slipped from his/her lips." I couldn't find that sexy. If someone lights up a cigarette, fine, no problem, but it was every friggin' sentence.

"Sin Slayer" by Jenna MacLaine-5 stars
Wow, do I love Cin and Michael. I wanted this to be longer-it was a great short, but it would have made a fantastic full-length novel.
Jack the Ripper is killing humans in London. The vamps shrug and think "No big"...until he starts killing vampires.
Cin and the Righteous are called to London and I can't say anything other than that. If you are a fan of Cin Craven, you NEED to read this. I'm trying to get my greedy little hands on the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance now that I know there's a Cin short story in it.
This is one amazing series and I love when an author can do a great job with shorts, it kept me happy while I wait for the next book to be delivered to me.

btw, this short story comes AFTER Bound By Sin I read it before and am getting ahead of myself in the series. It's frustrating.

[Julie (jjmachshev) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, how to rate an anthology? "Huntress" is a four-story, four-author anthology from St. Martin's. Two of the stories were set in the worlds of ongoing series from two of the authors, the other two were not. The stories I liked, I really liked; but there was one story that just wasn't my cuppa...it wasn't bad, just not my flavor. So how to rate it?

"Devil's Bargain" by Christine Warren isn't set (as far as I know) in any of her 'worlds'. It's the story of a half-human bounty hunter who made a deal with a devil to capture a killer. Just as she's set to finish the terms of her bargain, she's put into a situation that will cost her either her life, or the life of her new love. ***Well-written, pretty darn hot, and well-played.

Marjorie M. Liu penned "The Robber Bride" in a brand new world of the future, after a horrible virus kills off most of the population. Our heroine is a 'fixer' and she finds herself in a scenario with creatures from the 'horror' books she's managed to scavenge. Off to save a friend, her only ally is a crow...or is it? *** Possibly my favorite even without any sex! That should say it all.

A hard-edged, hard-rocking hero is trapped by a bodacious, sexy blonde in "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" by Caitlin Kittredge. A very dark urban fantasy with sex magic, zombies, and demons; oh my. When the hero escapes, will he rescue the sexy blonde who put the sex whammy collar on him? ***I guess I'm too old for this one. It's well-written and well-scripted, and has some hot sex, but just isn't my flavor. A little too 'hard' (-edged, -boiled) for me.

Finally "Sin Slayer" is a return to Jenna Maclaine's world of Cin Craven. There's a demon on the loose in London and his name is Jack the Ripper; but humans are easy prey so now he's turned to vampires. Finding out where he came from and why turns into a test of love and resolve for Cin and friends. ***Love the series, loved this story about 'keeping the faith' no matter how bad the situation.

So, three out of four makes this one a winner for me. A mix of new worlds and old, and new characters and old...some hot sex, some mystery, some action...what's not to like?

[Rishika Aggarwal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty decent anthology - one of the stories I hated, 2 I really enjoyed, and the fourth I was kind of meh over. I should also note that two of the stories are set in pre-existing worlds, for those who'd rather not read that. That said, as someone who has read nothing in those worlds prior to this book, the stories are pretty easy to follow and read as standalones.

* Devil's Bargain (Christine Warren): I cannot tell you how much I hated this story. Standouts here include:
- utterly flat characters
- making out and sex in the middle of the first conversation between the two leads about 5 minutes into knowing each other
- insta-love following sex barely 3 hours after meeting each other
- "all powerful" general to Lucifer being fooled by a book that was shelved incorrectly
- neither said "all powerful" general or the main character (a famous bounty hunter) doing enough research to figure out the guy they are hunting had a nephew even though they know he had a sister.

Final judgement - utterly awful, 0/5 stars, and that only because i can't give it negative stars, almost caused me to toss the book into my bin. Really bad choice as a first story for the anthology, because it left me feeling some kind of way about continuing the book. If this story had to be a part of the book, it would have done better as second in the sequence of stories rather than first.

* The Robber Bride (Marjorie M. Liu): Undoubtedly the best story of the anthology. Despite being a short story, Liu manages to create realistic, fleshed out characters, as well as a well thought out sci-fi/dystopian/supernatural world. The world feels sold despite the limited space for world-building, the characters are relatable, and the dynamics between the characters are solid.

The other thing that works well here is how Liu chooses to approach the man "romance" of the story - Maggie is the focus of the story, with her romantic interest decidedly a secondary character. There is no insta-love, and she leaves space for a developing relationship between the characters that is both interesting and leaves you wanting more. I could definitely go for a full length book that fleshes out this story and characters even more that Liu does here.

Final judgement - enjoyed this story the most. 3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars. If you plan on reading only one story in the anthology, this is the one to go for.

Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go (Caitlin Kitteredge): One of the two stories in the novel that takes place in previously established universes & series by the respective authors, this was an interesting one. Kitteredge succeeds in creating pretty interesting leading characters in Jack and Ava, but there's something about the story that just rings hollow for me.

Set in a world that seems to be a cross between a modern day world and the feel of a hard-boiled black-and-white noir mystery movie, Kitteredge seems to be trying a bit too hard to give the story some edginess. Her main characters may be well thought out and interesting, but they also feel too tropey - Jack's a hard-drinking, womanising musician, and Ava's desperately seeking for a way to avenge her dead love, both badass and naively trusting every dude who promises to bring him back ,with a touch of being a sex magic wielder to explain the random sex right after Jack hits on her and she turns him down for about the 10th time in the first 15 pages. Also, I was deeply pissed off by the way Kitteredge fridged Nina right after making her the most interesting character in the story.

Final judgement - not the worst of the anthology, but I can't pretend it was enjoyable. 1/5 stars - it isn't lower solely though the fact of it not being as bad as Warren's story.

* Sin Slayer (Jenna Maclaine): The other story in the novel that takes place in a preexisting world created by the author, this also makes use of preexisting characters. As a result, readers coming to this as a standalone story, like me, may not be able to grasp all the nuances of interaction between the characters. That said, Maclaine manages to make the characters and story something that can be enjoyed as a pure standalone as well. I really liked the fact that she decided to go with married main characters, does bypassing the risk of insta-sex that two of the other stories fell into.

Anything Jack the Ripper is an instant interest for me, and I love this version of him being a demon killing vampires. The plot is good, the characters are interesting, and I do like the way the story is written. That said, it does feel a bit rushed in how they deal with the Ripper is rushed - a bit too easy considering the build up.

Final judgement - 3/5 stars, started off strong, but ended up rushed.

The one thing I keep coming back to with this anthology is just how rushed 3/4 of the stories are. I'm aware that creating pacing can be difficult in a 100 odd page story, but when the build up to the big bad is essentially 'this person/being is awful! and impossible to kill! one of the worst ever!', the payoff becomes difficult to create in a limited amount of word and page space. Liu manages to sidestep this issue in a great way, by making the story more about the main character's journey, both from one location to another, as well as her journey to becoming a different person. The others, regardless of any other pro or con, could have all done with much better pacing.

2/5 stars, on an average. Liu's story shines, and I wouldn't have complained if the anthology had stories similar to Maclaine's, despite pacing issues. But 2/4 stories were unenjoyable, one of which was downright awful, and that's a difficult place to bounce back from. I will be looking up more from Liu and Maclaine, though, especially full length books, so positives!

INSTAGRAM

[Kenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Devil's Bargain" by Christine Warren – I liked this story. It was nice that for once, when the tow people fell in love within a few hours of meeting each other, “chemistry” was involved and it SAID that it was involved. Plus, it was fated and that was very helpful for me. There’s nothing worse than having them fall in love for no reason. 4 stars

Marjorie M. Liu penned "The Robber Bride" This is by far my favorite story. The gradual caring for and falling in love between the two main characters is beautiful. The story itself is entertaining and while not plausible, is certainly imaginable. I found myself drawn into the story and walking down the street with them. GREAT read! 5 stars

"Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" by Caitlin Kittredge. Not my cup of Earl Grey. While entertaining at first, when it went underground, it lost me. Some scenes are confusing while others seem to drag on. 2 stars

"Sin Slayer" by Jenna Maclaine is a crazy take on Jack the Ripper. I loved this story. I can see myself reading this series and by the end of this story, I was left wishing that there was another. While I wanted more, the content was just right for this entry in the Cin Craven series. I want to read how she and her husband met up, I want to follow her after and I want to see what happens after this story. Perfect! 4 stars

[Carolyn F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthology. Loved Marjorie Liu's story, wish it were a novel. And Christine Warren's story was pretty good. The other two were either so-so or awful.

1. Devil's Bargain by Christine Warren. Lilli is a bounty hunter that owes a demon prince 3 favors. She's down to her last one which is to find a book that was stolen from him and then they're even. Well, she meets the nephew of the guy who stole it and finds out it's not as easy as it appeared. Good story. ***-1/2

2. The Robber Bride by Marjorie Liu. This story I liked a lot. Post-apocalyptic. Maggie lives is a dump where she recycles things. She's visited by a freaky motorcyclist, an old time friend with a pet crow. (Interested yet?) Everyone is more than they appear and I loved the ending. Would have loved this as a full length novel. ****-1/2

3. Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go by Caitlin Kittredge. Ugh! Not a good story. I couldn't stand the Jack or Ava or Nina. It was hard to keep track of the lies and what the bad people were. I couldn't wait until this story ended. *

4. Sin Slayer by Jenna MacLaine. Cin is a witch/vampire who is called back to London to help catch Jack the Ripper who happens to be a demon. So-so story. **-1/2

[Kitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sin Slayer" by Jenna Maclaine ★ ★ ★ ★

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most anthologies this was a mixture of fantastic stories and horrible stories.

Christine Warren's "Devil's Bargain" was a good story, it was by no means the greatest story I have ever read, but I definitely enjoyed it. There was action, sex and magic - an excellent mix.

Marjorie M. Liu's "The Robber Bride" was my favorite story in the entire book! It's actually one of my favorite stories ever, but then I love post-apocalyptic worlds. Liu's writing was fantastic, you could picture everything she described in her unique tale. I loved it so much that the second I finished reading I rushed to see what else the author has written.

Caitlin Kittredge's "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" was so horrible I didn't even finish it. I love the occasional raunchy story, but this one was just so lame that it made me roll my eyes and skip to the next tale. It was like the trailer trash of the book, all the other stories shined, but not this one.

Jenna Maclaine's "Sin Slayer" was another good one. I loved her ass-kicking vampires. I also loved how it was a woman that saves her true love, not the other way around.

Honestly, if it wasn't for Marjorie M. Liu's story this book would have got 3 stars instead, but she saved it. This was a good collection, but it wasn't an amazing 'read in one sitting' one.

[Schnaucl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a pretty good anthology.

Christine Warren's story didn't do much for me because it was one of those woman meets man and is in love within half an hour stories. Attraction, even affection, sure. But in love?

I really liked Marjorie M. Liu's story though. I'm always a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories and I liked the world that Liu created. The society was interesting, I liked the magic system, and I particularly liked the crow.

Caitlin Kittredge also created an interesting world. I haven't read her series though so I don't know if it's a new world or not. It was a dark world sort of in its own dimension where demons rules.

Jenna McLaine's story was okay, even if Jack the Ripper has been way overdone. I'm not a huge fan of her series (or at least, the stories that I've read in anthologies that seem to be part of a larger series) though.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to give a short story series a single rating, especially when there is such a spectrum of quality as in this book. Each story is rated below.

Devil's Bargain -- 3 stars
Decent story, rather simple writing and predictable plot.

The Robber Bride -- 5 stars
Excellent story, beautifully written and intriguing world with unique beings. I got the book for this story by Liu and was not disappointed. Her style is not classic romance at all, much more poetic and main stream than the others in this book.

Down in the Ground ... -- 1 star (because 0 isn't allowed)
An AWFUL, confusing and convoluted story. I finished it only because it was short and now regret my 45 minutes spent on it. The main characters were completely unlikeable, coarse and unrealistic.

Sin Slayer -- 4 stars
Fun and light, with a good pace. Very much part of the "romance, fantasy" genera and a good representation of it. I'll be seeking out other books by Jenna MacLaine.

[Laurie Garrison]

The only story I read was By Jenna MaClaine so I cant rate the whole book but as for Jenna Maclaine stroy I give 4 stars...

[Jodi Aubihl daume · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Devil's Bargain by Christine Warren.
Lilli is retrieving a book for a Devil that she made a bargain with. Aaron is a scholar who has the book in his possession after his Uncle died - he understands the value of the book. Lilli is on the clock to get this book and fulfill her obligation to this Devil. Not sure how Lilli gets in the house, but he catches her off guard so she throws a knife at him to kill him, but fortunately, he is able to deflect it being a sorcerer and all. The romance was thrown together quickly and didn't really work that well (one of the problems with these short stories - they try to accomplish too much). They come up with this plan to beat the Devil - it was very spur of the moment and not well thought out, but that's what they did. He trusted her even having just met her. It was ok.

3 stars

2. The Robber Bride by Marjorie Liu.
Oh Ms. Liu. This was one of the best short stories I have ever read... until the end. It was so well developed and flowed so well. Maggie lives in this future dystopian world where an apocalypse occurred when a sickness killed most of the world's population including Maggie's parents. She was raised by her grandfather and family friend Trace and makes her living in a junk yard setting.

Some bad guys (vampires with a new take on them) come and take people away periodically. Maggie witnesses this and when she thinks they have Trace, she sets out to not sure what.. stop them? She does have her bird friend to help her though.

Again, I thought the setup was so great that I spent some time after reading this going through it again trying to fathom the ending. I was just so disappointed in it..

With the ending, I would rate it 4 stars.

3. Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go by Caitlin Kittredge.
'A pint glass sailed past his head and shattered on the backdrop, a garish neon Jesus with purple blacklit blood spilling from his wounds. Jesus's eyes rolled up into his head, in a way that made him look like there was a weasel chewing on his privates.'

Who writes stuff like this? Apparently Caitlin Kittredge

'Jack sighed. If she wasn't so bloody attractive, he would have thrown in his lot by now, geas or no.' - Jack thinks that he may die on this venture, but as long as his comrade is beautiful and sleeps with him, it is ok.

There was one character towards the end more that I kind of liked, but didn't like anyone else.

Not on board at all with this story. 1 star - don't waste your time.

4. Sin Slayer by Jenna MacLaine.
So, this is a short story set in her Cin Craven world. I had never read any of them before. It starts with Paris 1889. I'm not super big into historical reads personally so that threw me off.

Cin has been alive for a while - I think 100 years or so. She is married to Michael who changed her over. They have a vampire friends that are a couple also. They make up some sort of vampire policing force.

There are murders of vampires in London - the 'Ripper' started killing humans, but now is killing vampires. They know he is a demon because he left one of his host bodies when it was killed and infected another. So, what does Michael do when he sees it? He goes after it without a plan - but it can't be killed - so if it is, what do you think is going to happen? I dislike when characters are this stupid.

So Cin and Michael are very hot for each other after 75 years or so. That and descriptions of Michael got old to me..

I wasn't super big on this one so I'm not going to run out and get any more of the series. Rating is 2.5 stars.

Overall, giving the book a 3.

[Genevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me forever to read, I think because I'm just not in the mood lately for "Paranormal Romance". I had very mixed feelings on the four different stories:

Devil’s Bargain - I really disliked this one, which I think is part of why I put this down for so long. In particular, the main characters' need to Do It right when they were summoning a demon was befuddling.

The Robber Bride - This was my favorite, and had the least sex, probably not coincidentally. I liked the hero and heroine, and that the vampires were creepy and gross.

Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go - The plot logic on this one was rather confused. I also found the heroine stereotypical and flat (total bombshell but also naïve?) The hero was vaguely interesting, but the amount of British Slang (TM) felt very forced.

Sin Slayer - I shouldn't have liked this one, because it was totally like all the Vampire Romances that make me roll my eyes (The heroine is undead, but that only seems to make her more beautiful and more rich. Her husband is a total hunk, adores her, is ready to Do It at any time, AND is Scottish), but I actually found the writing engaging. I think I may have had enough Jack the Ripper is a Demon storylines to last me awhile though...

[Amy Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, easy read for escapism. The first and last stories were my favourites, and while the stories in between them were in no way bad, they simply weren't to my taste. The writing style for both was great, yet I simply wasn't compelled by the story or was a little confused about what was happening.

So, focusing on the stories I did enjoy, both were different, but both had fun female heroes, romance, and adventure. Given the length of the stories, there were some pacing issues, which I understand, and I would have loved to see the story expanded a little bit more. Of all four stories, the final one with Cin Craven was my favourite. I really liked Cin and am interesting in seeing more of her world.

All in all, I recommend this book looking for some fun, light reading for urban fantasy/paranormal romance fans, even if these authors aren't currently on your radar.

[Samaira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved 3 out of the 4 stories. The 3rd story in this book was Caitlin Kittredge. I have read things by this author and had enjoyed them, but this story was not one of them. I feel she took too much time with the flirting at the beginning and then went to fast with all the action and important parts. I found myself asking what just happened, rereading and still not getting what happened in the story. The ending was also not what I had hoped for. Besides this story being an issue the others were great!!

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely fantastic collection. I loved all of the stories, loved the theme. And just all in all had a great time reading this. To be fair, I’ve actually read all four of the authors featured in this anthology at some point in the past. So it was going to be a pretty good bet that I would enjoy this… a lot.

The common thread of strong women hunting and being just all around kickass was another moment that just cemented my enjoyment of this collection. I’m always a fan of women who kick butt and take names. When that is placed within an urban fantasy setting, I tend to dive into it with even more aplomb. It’s nice to depart reality for a while as a strong woman takes charge…

Each of these novellas is part of a bigger, enjoyable series. I might not have all of them on my shelves… but I probably will soon. They give you a taste of these wonderfully crafted worlds without giving too much away. Plus, they are completely readable as standalone stories, if you feel like you don’t necessarily want to start yet another series.

A fantastic anthology, one I will read again and again. A good way to spend a few hours drifting off from reality.

For individual reviews, head to: https://earthandskye.org/huntress-sho...

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Robber Bride was the only one I read - I'm on a Marjorie Liu kick

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of stories / novellas

[Dahlya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go by Caitlin Kittredge (1.5)

[Kelly Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice finish to the series, I really enjoyed it. It was well written, lots of depth to the characters, historical aspects and well, the story was just intriguing.

[♥ I’d Rather Be Reading ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devil's Bargain by Christine Warren: (2.5 stars)
Lilli is a half-human, half-devil bounty hunter. She has owes three favors to a devil named Samael because of a favor he did for her. When she's asked to retrieve a book as her third, and final, favor, she's a little skeptical at how easy the task sounds. But, when she meets the keeper of the book and finds out what's inside, things become all too clear.

This was my first Christine Warren story, although I do have The Others series on my to-read shelf. I thought this was pretty entertaining and I read through it pretty quickly. The thing that bugged me the most about this story, though, was the depth of feelings and "love" that the main characters supposedly felt for each other after knowing each other for a few hours -- literally. I get that it's a short story, but I thought that went a little overboard and brought this down half a star for me. However, I did like her writing style and I think I will still continue to read the series I've had on my to-read shelf one of these days.

-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------

The Robber Bride by Marjorie M. Liu: (3.5 stars)
This is my first story by Marjori M. Liu and it was interesting. I like her writing style, it's very descriptive, yet not overbearing. I can picture the world she creates, yet she doesn't go overboard on details we don't need to know about.

This story takes place in a post-apocalyptic America. A young woman named Maggie has an encounter with a strange man on a motorcycle. She fears him, but isn't sure why. When the town she lives in is invaded by more motorcycle-riding men, she fears the worst. A friend of hers named Trace is kidnapped by them, along with other woman in the town so she sets off to find her. A "friend" in the form of a crow accompanies her and she learns that sometimes there's more than meets the eye.

I liked this story alright. It read well and it was really interesting and unique from other things I've read before. However, it was still a little bit strange and a bit too much for me. I'm not sure I will read more by this author in the future, but we'll have to see.

-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------

Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go by Caitlin Kittredge: (3 stars)
(Black London, #1.5)
I've only read one other Caitlin Kittredge short story, and I didn't like that one very much. This one is part of the Black London series. I haven't read anything from that series, so I'm not really sure where this one takes place timeline-wise, but based on the publication dates, it looks like it comes just after the first book in the series.

In this story Jack Winter, a mage, is approached by Ava, a demon hunter. She convinces him to take her to the demon underworld in order to find a demon that took a loved one of hers. She doesn't really fill him in on the details of her plan completely though, so he soon finds out that her plans might prove to be a bit dangerous to his being alive.

I liked this story and it was entertaining. I didn't really like Ava -- she was sort of a biatch. I also didn't like the ending. It got to be a bit confusing at the end there, and so that brought the rating down a lot for me. I did, however, very much like Jack. Man do I love an English man. He's sexy and his accent is sexy, and I want to lick him. Because of him I want to read this series. Believe it or not, I could see myself liking him just as much as Bones (from Night Huntress), which is saying a lot since he's like my favorite male character...like ever. I will go on to read this series because of Jack and I want to hear more about him. :)

-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------

Sin Slayer by Jenna Maclain: (4.5 stars)
(Cin Craven, #3.5)
This story is the reason I picked up this anthology. In this story, it's 1889, so it's been 27 years since book #3, Bound By Sin. Now there's trouble in Paris -- in the form of Jack the Ripper -- and The Righteous are the only ones who can help, particularly Cin. This is an interesting and paranormal sort of take on Jack the Ripper and I really enjoyed it. I think I would have liked it even if I didn't already love the series. It was a little heartbreaking at times, with Michael being possessed by the demon. But some old villains come around and the series kind of comes full circle in this story with Sebastian -- even though he gets away at the end.

So I liked this a lot. It was my favorite story in the anthology. But, I'm also very sad because it's the last of Cin Craven we have as of now! I really hope that the series continues, but right now it's not looking like it will. :( So it's kind of sad for me because I just love these characters and would love to read more about them!

[Jessica]

Only read the Marjorie M Liu story, The Robber Bride, which was her usual brilliant and strange mix of mythopoeic and post-apocalyptic. Loved it.

[Serret · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting read and a good way to check out the author's. I personally liked devil's bargain by Christine Warren best but the others were well written

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would categorize this as an urban fantasy romance anthology. I found this anthology to be highly enjoyable. I'm sorry I kept it on my back burner so long because I really found all the novellas entertaining.

Jenna Maclaine "Sin Slayer" Cin and the rest of the Righteous (the Righteous are fellow vampire friends of Cin who police the vampire society as a whole) hunt down Jack the Ripper. It seems Jack has grown tired of killing mere humans and has now taken up whipping vampires out of existence. While I've enjoyed Jenna's Cin Cravel series, I've also been on the fence about continuing to the read the series or not. Don't get the wrong, there is nothing wrong with the series but lately I've been feeling like there isn't an exciting pull to make me want to read the series either. This fantastic novella renewed my craving to read the next Cin Cravel novel, Bound by Sin. 5/5

Christine Warren "Devil's Bargain" Lilith, half demon/half devil bounty hunter accepts her last assignment from the devil, that when completed, will finally fulfill her bargain and debt to him. Only one obstacle, should she succeed, she just may start the apocalypse! She should have known the job sounded way too easy..... I've read a few novellas by Christine Warren and never really cared for them. However, this short story was excellent. It was mysterious, creative and dark. The predictability of this novella didn't make the story any less exciting. The story delivered a huge entertainment factor that was smoothly done. 5/5

Marjorie M. Liu "The Robber Bride" Marjorie has built a dark desolate world where most of humanity has been ravished and killed by a deadly pandemic. A gang of demons violently feed and pray off of what little humanity remains on earth. On the outskirts of a small town, Maggie Greene, thought she was just a junk yard owner and "fix-it girl" of her small town. But when women from her town go missing, Maggie goes on the hunt and awakens her own inner demon. This novella was different and interesting, however, had a few dry/boring parts. Nevertheless, the story did flow nicely and felt complete. 4/5

Caitlin Kittredge "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" This novella is set in Caitlin's Black London series world. Jack gets tricked into becoming a guide for Ava, a demon slayer, down into the City of Demons. This novella was dark and different. The story felt just a but choppy but was nonetheless interesting. 3.75/5

Overall, I thought this anthology was a success. My favorite novella turned out to be Jenna's Sin Slayer story, which surprised me because I actually got this anthology for Caitlin's story; which turned out to be my least favorite from this anthology. I really liked Lilith's character from Christine's novella. If Christine ever decided to turn Lilith's character into a full series, I would definitely read it.

I also recommend:
The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, Book 1)
Wages of Sin (A Cin Craven Novel)
Unbound
Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten
Undead on Arrival (Crimson Moon, Book 3)

[Alexia561 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think I've mentioned before how much I love anthologies. I've discovered several new authors this way, and don't feel cheated if I don't like a particular author, as there's several more to choose from.

The first story in this collection is The Devil's Bargain by Christine Warren. Lilli Corbin made a deal with a devil and all she has to do to finally fulfill the bargain is retrieve an old book. Too bad it's a book of prophecies that will bring about the Apocalypse. This story was just okay for me, and my least favorite. Didn't really warm up to either Lilli or Aaron, the current owner of the book. And while this book is classified as a romance, I thought the sex scene was a little unnecessary.

Next up is The Robber Bride by Marjorie M. Liu. Maggie runs a junkyard in a post-apocalyptic world, on the outskirts of a small settlement of other survivors. Maggie's world is turned upside down when a strange gang of bikers invade her town and make off with several of her neighbors. Concerned for an old friend when she sees one of the bikers with Trace's necklace, she sets off in pursuit. Think this was my second favorite story, as it had interesting characters with a good plot. Loved the twist towards the end, and think Maggie deserves to have a full length novel of her very own!

Third story is Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go by Caitlin Kittredge. This one features Jack Winter, the bad boy mage we all know and love. Jack is tricked into helping a sexy demon slayer seek revenge against a demon in the underworld. While I usually like Jack, I didn't really care for this story. Couldn't really get into it, and wasn't really invested in the outcome.

Last but not least is the final story, Sin Slayer by Jenna Maclaine. Think this one was my favorite and I'm looking forward to reading more by Jenna, as she's a new discovery for me. Cin Craven is a vampire witch and a member of The Righteous, a group of vampires who police the vampire world and answer to no one but the High King. Jack the Ripper has started targeting vampires, and it's up to Cin to stop him. And oh yeah, Jack just happens to be a demon who's possessed Cin's husband, Michael. This was a great story with all the action you could possibly want, plus well developed characters that left you wanting more! Very happy to discover that Cin has her own series, as I'm now a fan!

Gave this collection a 4 out of 5, as thought that two of the stories were really, really good, and the remaining two were okay. Definitely worth buying!

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology of stories that encompass the concept of a woman hunting within the paranormal.

Series:
"Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" (Black London, 1.5)
"Sin Slayer" (Cin Craven, 3.5)

The Stories
Christine Warren's "Devil's Bargain" is a new [to me] approach to preventing the Apocalypse when Lilli Corbin, a half-human, half-demon bounty hunter is required to fulfill the third and last task she owes Sammael. The interpretation of the verses of a prophecy that could wind either way.

Marjorie M. Liu's "Robber Bride" is an intriguing story that reminds me of Ilona Andrews' Edge series with a touch of Faith Hunter's Thorn St. Croix. An isolated settlement. A junkyard. A fixer of things. Shifters and demons clashing. A sense of boundaries. A kiss that promises. Death. Love. I don't really understand the title. The demons rob people of life as can Maggie. Yes, Maggie does collect salvage which I reckon would count as robbing. Although, there's no one left to own what she takes. I suppose the "bride" could be interpreted as Iudra wanting her??

Caitlin Kittredge's "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" ain't just whistlin' Dixie and it finds the Poor Dead Bastards playing a gig in Scotland where Jack Winter is trapped by his cock and his curiosity into going up against demons. Forced by a geas into aiding a huntress into reclaiming her lover as they go Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go. The denouement is most confusing; I did not understand who was doing what or what was their driving purpose.

Jenna Maclaine's "Sin Slayer" should probably be titled Cin Slayer as that's what the London Wardens are hoping the Righteous will do. Or more exactly, what Cin Craven will do with the aid of Michael, Devlin, and Justine. Someone has unleashed a demon on London and Jack the Ripper has gotten bored with killing humans. Vampires are so much more fun.

The Cover
The model on the cover is the concept of the lethal and sexy as a red bustier-clad huntress standing in her high-heeled, calf-high boots with legs braced and a crossbow held down at the wet stone paving on this dark night.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christine Warren 'Devil's Bargain' -- Supernatural bounty hunter Lilli Corbin made a pact with the Prince of Hell: She agreed to recover a book of prophecies. When she learns it could trigger the apocalypse, Lilli is forced to make the ultimate choice: save her soul, or the man she loves? **This was an interesting story, all 90 pages of it, but not one of the best in this book.**

Marjorie M. Liu 'The Robber Bride' -- Welcome to a post-apocalyptic world where women are fed on for their life forces. Now it's up to Maggie, one of the last female survivors, to hunt down and destroy an army of darkness. **Maggie is a young woman who is way more than what she thinks that she is, as she also has the ability to see flashes of the future. She also runs a junkyard and she helps a mysterious biker who takes her dignity and leaves her literally in the dust, while promising to come back for her. I like this authors writing and follow the Hunter Kiss story religiously.

Caitlin Kittredge 'Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go' -- Ava is a demon slayer who needs help from mage Jack Winter to reach the demon underworld - a place of dark seduction and, maybe, one of no return. **Jack winter is one of the main characters of Black London, a series that I follow and am currently reading Bone God** This story however, disappointed me like the last one in the Nocturne City series.

Jenna Maclaine 'Sin Slayer' -- London 1889. Jack the Ripper is killing off the city's vampire population, and now it's up to Cin Craven to hunt him down - and save the infected Michael, the love of her undead life. ***First of all, I am a huge Cin Craven fan and have read each and every story that Jenna has put out; including several short stories. Cin and Michael are fantastic together, and I pray that there will one day soon be another book. This book actually takes place several decades after Bound By Sin. Cin Craven is a vampire/witch and a member of The Righteous, a group of 4 vampires who police the vampire world and answer to no one but the High King.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four dark short stories from four popular authors, each featuring a powerful woman against some form of demon.

1)‘Devil’s Bargain’ by Christine Warren. 3 stars.
Interesting story about a battle between good and evil forestalling an invasion of the demons of hell with love conquering all. The instantaneous sexual attraction of the couple is very abrupt and not very well explained, except for a brief word: ‘magic’. Later we know why it happened, but not what started it.

2)‘The Robber Bride’ by Marjorie M Liu. 1 star.
This is a dark post-epidemic America story with a band of life stealing demons and a girl with psychic talent who develops a strange relationship with a mysterious crow. The remnants of the country has been divided into conclaves who are being terrorized by an unnatural band of men on motorcycles. Maggie owns a remote junk yard and is the area’s ‘fixer’, until a stranger comes by and changes her life. Left me feeling depressed, grossed out and wanting to move on to something cleaner.

3)Down In The Ground Where the Dead Men Go’ by Caitlin Kittredge. 1.5 Black London series. Stars. 2 stars.
Edinburgh, 1990. A small band lead singer/mage is hired to help a demon hunter arrange a meeting with a head demon. There’s a lot of unnecessary emotional complaining and back alley London trash talk. Definitely need to read book 1 to get background. I didn’t finish the story or feel like I wanted to read the series.

4)‘Sin Slayer’ by Jenna Maclaine. 3.5 Cin Craven series. 5 Stars.
Paris, 1889. This is the story that I read this book for. The Righteous are in Paris to attend Justine’s performance as Carmen when they are called back to London to catch and kill Jack the Ripper who is demon, but now he’s hunting vampires instead of humans. Unfortunately in the process of hunting him, Michael is taken over by the demon.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I'm getting a little sick of these anthologies-for-the-sake-of-a-favorite-writer, this one was a nice surprise.

Christine Warren - Thought there could've been something here, but then there was insta-love and meh. Not for me.

Marjorie Liu - One of the things I love about Liu is her ability to create an atmosphere quickly and quietly. We know just enough about how the world "ended," and just enough about the remaining communities, without being info-dumped. We know there's something off about Maggie, and just enough to keep us wanting more. I love that this isn't a closed story - the ending is satisfying, but opens the doors for way more to happen to the characters. I don't know if Liu plans on pursuing it, but she certainly could.

Caitlin Kittredge - A gritty, dirty surprise. An unlikeable hero and heroine, and this one focused on the hero, which was different. There isn't a lot to like about the people in this story, but there is a lot to like about the worldbuilding, language, and pacing. I'm not sure I was clear on everyone's motivation for everything, but I liked it.

Jenna MacLaine - This was just going to be something to skim on the way home from yoga, but then the heroine pulled a gun and straight up shot a dude through the heart. Just because he was annoying and she didn't have time for that, yo. Most writers in this genre tell us their heroines are tough, fighters, warriors, but MacLaine wrote the real deal in this short story (think old-school Laurell K. Hamilton).

[Purpleholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love reading short story and novella collections where you get the chance to read several different perspectives of the same storyline. These four stories are all basically about the same type/style of characters but each author's differing perspective shows a different vision. I was really thrilled with "The Robber Bride" contributed by Majorie M. Liu. It was just right in my favorite style or something but it definately was my favorite of the four.

Each female lead shows her strengths is different ways. Although the lead character in "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" by Caitlin Kittredge, appears to me to be the male mage Jack Winter. Ava seems more like a supporting character but she is still very good.

I enjoyed the tough choices Lilli Corbin had to make in "Devil's bargain" but I was glad I didn't have to make choices like that. Last but in no way least, Jenna Maclaine wrote "Sin Slayer" which I thought was fantastic too. The main lead is not only strong-willed but also smart. She's the kind of woman I would like to be if for some reason I was a vampire.

All in all; I really enjoye reading the stories and I am now looking for more to read by all four of the wonderfull authors.

[Rachel Maloney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devil's Bargain: C-
The Robber Bride: A
Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go: B-
Sin Slayer: B

Devil's Bargain was cliché and melodramatic. I don't know that I've read Christine Warren before this, and I won't be rushing to read anything else by her anytime soon.

The Robber Bride was wonderful -- a fresh, engaging voice, in a starkly beautiful landscape. I hope Liu has written more stories for this world. A great story!

Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go -- It's not that this was poorly written, but I just couldn't bring myself to care for any of the characters...which is a fatal flaw for any literature in my book (heh). Also, I felt like the plot was unnecessarily complicated -- twists for the sake of twists, rather than to enhance the story.

Sin Slayer -- I have never read a Cin Craven book, only some of the short stories in anthologies like this. I wasn't overly impressed by the others so I wanted to skip this one, but I felt like I had to give it a go so I could justify marking this "read" in Goodreads. I was pleasantly surprised. I'll almost certainly check out a full-length after reading this short story.