Shiver: 13 Sexy Tales of Humor and Horror in Sharks of Awesome

Oct 26, 2014 Lady Heather rated it it was amazing

Shelves: humor, contemporary-romance, anthologies, i-own-this-book, 2014-release

5 Stars!

Loved these short stories from most of my favorite authors!

The stories were funny, sexy, and had just the right amount of paranormal romance which is perfect for Halloween.

Highly recommend this book!

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Oct 07, 2014 Aarann added it

I think this is going to be an ongoing review and I'll just add to it as I finish stories. I am not overly fond of anthologies that don't properly give me a summary of the books, especially with authors I'm not familiar with, so I want to keep a tally for myself, for future reference if I decide to revisit this collection. The proceeds for the book go to a good cause -- St. Jude's, so I wasn't sorry to plunk down the $3.99 for mostly unknown authors. These are in the order I'm reading them -- no I think this is going to be an ongoing review and I'll just add to it as I finish stories. I am not overly fond of anthologies that don't properly give me a summary of the books, especially with authors I'm not familiar with, so I want to keep a tally for myself, for future reference if I decide to revisit this collection. The proceeds for the book go to a good cause -- St. Jude's, so I wasn't sorry to plunk down the $3.99 for mostly unknown authors. These are in the order I'm reading them -- not necessarily book order.

"Double Dare" by Penny Reid -- 3.5 stars. This is the reason I bought the anthology, because I recently started reading Penny Reid's books and Just. Can't. Stop. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a new story and it's really just the first part of Duane's story from the upcoming Truth or Beard (this is my own fault for not paying more attention to Reid's Facebook and Goodreads posts where I now know she specifically said this was a preview). Personally, I can't wait for the full story, but I'm not a big fan of previews because they just make me want to finish the book and this one won't be out until next year. I suspect I'll give the full story a much higher score, but even though it stopped at a good place, this one just left me wanting more. There wasn't anything paranormal going on with this one, just the first encounter took place during a Halloween party and featured the heroine in a "sexy Gandalf" costume, complete with beard, which I adored.

"Better the Devil You Know" by Belle Aurora -- 2 stars. I did not enjoy this story at all. It should have been a cute story about what happens when a girl finds out her new husband is a vampire, but the female protagonist came off as very one-dimensional and somewhat immature. I didn't find the jokes amusing, and this one just seemed like the author isn't very good at short stories and it should have been lengthened to get a real feel for the main characters. I don't want to judge the author from this sample because the writing itself wasn't bad (meaning, there were no major grammar issues and the dialogue flowed okay, it was more a problem I had with the plot and the character interactions). Bottom line, it just wasn't my taste.

"Lights Out" by Jodie Beau -- 4 stars. I really enjoyed this one. This was a great example of what a short story should be. We had two protagonists, Ben and Cora, who went to school together and had a brief but memorable encounter during a high school make-out party game (I find myself both disappointed and relieved I was never invited to these high school games that always occur in books... they sound very awkward). As adults, they meet up again through their daughters and the majority of the story takes place during a school scavenger hunt with their daughters. We get a good grasp on both of the leads, their histories, their personalities, and why they'd be interested in each other, while still having a full story with a beginning, middle, and end with minimal angst. I wouldn't have minded reading a longer story about these two (maybe with some smexy times because Ben was hot), but as it was, I left off feeling like I'd gotten a full story. I wouldn't mind reading more by this author at all.

Okay, as of this point, that's the last I've read. I'll try and update this review as I finish the stories. I have noticed that these stories tend to be fairly PG-13(ish), with some raunchy foreplay, but little-to-no description of the "deed" (of these stories, only the Belle Aurora story has featured characters who have gotten that far, and that one skimmed over the smutty details).

"Spandex is for Superheroes" by Ruth Clampett -- 2.5 stars. Brooke and her boyfriend, Nathan, want to throw a Halloween party, but Brooke has gained a bit of weight and is worried about fitting in to her Wonder Woman costume. That's literally the plot. Honestly, this one wasn't bad and Nathan was really adorable (what can I say? I like 'em geeky) but it was hard to get into, mostly because it was obvious that it was a sequel to another story and the characters should have been familiar to me to fully enjoy it. I ended up looking it up and, yup, it's an update on characters from a novel called "Animate Me" that probably would have been really cute if I'd read the first novel. As it was, this one was definitely "meh". There was no suspense or drama or even really much romance -- it was just, "Will the heroine fit into her Halloween costume?" Again, I'm sure this would have been adorable had I been familiar with the characters, but as it was it isn't one I'll re-read (unless, of course I go back and one day read the original, which I'm not inclined to do at this point since many of the reviews indicate the original is riddled with editorial errors). Oh! Regarding my previous note regarding rating, this one is more R-rated than the other stories I've listed and features a love scene between the main characters.

I think that's going to be my last story from this collection. The Reid and Beau stories were good and I would have paid the money just for those two (don't forget, the money is going to a good cause), but the rest have been pretty lackluster and I'm not in a hurry to read the rest. One day I'll revisit it and maybe update this review, but for now that's it. ...more

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Aug 20, 2014 Preet rated it it was amazing

I'm not even sure where to start with this collection of stories. I bought it for a number of reasons.

1. Penny Reid wrote a short story featuring one of the Winston brothers, although other Winston boys make an appearance. They're bearded hotties she unleashed on the unsuspecting world in Beauty and the Mustache. I love Penny's stories and knew there was no way I could miss out on reading it.

2. All proceeds are going to charity, St. Jude's Children Hospital, which I think is amazing. At last c I'm not even sure where to start with this collection of stories. I bought it for a number of reasons.

1. Penny Reid wrote a short story featuring one of the Winston brothers, although other Winston boys make an appearance. They're bearded hotties she unleashed on the unsuspecting world in Beauty and the Mustache. I love Penny's stories and knew there was no way I could miss out on reading it.

2. All proceeds are going to charity, St. Jude's Children Hospital, which I think is amazing. At last count I think they'd raised close to $2,000 and have set a goal of $25,000, which I do hope they meet. Plus as a reader, it makes me feel great about my purchase rather than feeling guilty for spending money on buying more books when I already have so many to read. I'm helping others so it's all good! :p

3.The anthology features other authors I've read and enjoyed, and still other authors whose books are on my e-readers that I haven't read yet.

The end all be all is that this anthology is fabulous and totally five star worthy. There isn't a single story in here that I did not enjoy. I must say for an anthology titled Shiver, I laughed a lot more than I was afraid. There were even a couple of stories that got me hot and bothered more than anything else. I read this anthology as fast as I could and forgot to make any notes about what I wanted to talk about. All I wanted to do was read and enjoy the stories. Now I've got to summon the energy to go on a massive internet search to write down all the books written by these authors that I haven't read yet, and find a way to insert them into my massive reading list.

Some of the stories that really stood out for me were, "Bewitched" by Daisy Prescott, "Mystery, Mazto Balls, and Moxie" by Z.B. Heller, "Candy, Dentures, and Way Too Much Spandex" by R.S. Grey, "Peckers" by Liv Morris, "Double Dare" by Penny Reid, "Lights Out" by Jodie Beau, and "Nightmare in Night Court" by N.M. Silber.

I can honestly say this anthology is one you won't want to miss. I wish they'd made it available in paperback as well. All that awesomeness in one place would be a pretty cool sight to behold. I am so glad this anthology exceeded my expectations.
...more

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Sep 25, 2014 Liz rated it it was amazing

Buy this book. Goes to a good cause and these stories are funny and sexy... not at all scary.

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Oct 07, 2014 Red Reader rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebooks, owned, arc-for-review

I was fortunate enough to read ARCs of Daisy Prescott's Bewitched and N.M. Silber's Nightmare in Night Court.

Both of these short stories are wonderfully delightful. First off, in Prescott's Bewitched, we have college students Andrew and Madison. It's coming on Fall in Salem, Massachusetts and you know what that means.....

Madison and Andrew have a class together, and as Madison begins to notice Andrew he is definitely noticing her. Throw in a freshman year faux pas that won't go away, a roommate ...more

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Sep 16, 2014 Miranda Pinto rated it really liked it

I have discovered that I am not a fan of short stories. I hate when a long good book ends. I really hate when a good short story ends. Just as soon as you are falling for the characters BOOM its over. So frustrating. I did enjoy most of these short stories. Just wanted them to be a lot longer. I skimmed some and skipped over some all together. I'm not a fan of explicit sex scenes so when a story starts out with a warning of such I don't even bother starting it. ...more

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Dec 09, 2014 Jaclyn rated it liked it

Penny Reid's story gets a 5 and I can't wait for the book! I love the Winston Brothers! ...more

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Sep 17, 2014 MB (What she read) rated it liked it

Shelves: romance-contemporary-or-chick-lit, anthologies, 2014-read

Bought/read this for Penny Reid's inclusion (5 stars, can't wait for the book!).

Found others mostly unimpressive, but some quite fun. Actually purchased and read full length books by L.H. Cosway and Ruth Clampett due to liking their stories here.

(So I guess this anthology fulfilled it's purpose...correct?) ...more

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