Review: Nightshade

Nightshade by Annie Bellet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really only picked up this book with the intention of getting to the one story I wanted to read – the one about James and Elise. I was genuinely surprised when I found myself really enjoying a large majority of the other stories included. It was a nice variety of witches, vampires, ghosts, demons, and anything else that falls into the paranormal category. While not all of them are romantic in nature or set in the somewhat present, they all gave a good look into their respective worlds.

There were definitely some standouts in the collection and rather than review them all, I’ll pull out my favorites. All of these short stories left me wanting to know more about their worlds (with the exception of the SM Reine read, of which I have already read all there is to read about my favorite angsty pair – James and Elise).

Spirits of Bourbon Street: This was a good mix of fun, sizzle, and mayhem all rolled into an enjoyable paranormal package. What begins as a simple Halloween party ends up throwing everyone into a “time warp.” There are witches and ghosts and men in body paint – what more could you want?

The Ghost & Mrs. MacKay: Maggie is my type of girl – sarcastic and prone to chaotic nights dealing with her family. Oh, and she’s got a wonderfully clueless elf partner. These two had me hooked from the start and I immediately added the author to my “to-read” list. Maggie’s band of misfits is tasked with attending her mother’s ghost-filled Halloween party and tracking down an aggressive attendee. Oh, and there’s witchy booze thrown in, too. This was a super fun read!

Dying Night: I’m not sure how easy it is to dive into the world of James and Elise, but as a fan I absolutely loved this. We get to see what happened on that night in the Grand Canyon and boy did it exceed expectations. The relationship with James and Elise is complicated to say the least, but here we see them handle things as they always do – by saving the world. And there’s Malcolm, and who doesn’t love Malcolm?


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