Great shorts! I had already read two of them (I bought "Angelic" and "Counterfeit Magic" as ebooks) but it was fun to re-read those, and the new-to-me shorts were also a lot of fun. Also, this is my preferred dose of Hope: I enjoy her in short stories, but don't like her as the narrator for a full novel. ( )

I have read and reviewed several of the novellas collected here as either standalone books or part of a collection but there was new to me stories in here and a new story written for this collection. The best deal is by far a reasonable print version of Angelic, a Sub press novella that sold out and is rather pricey on the secondary market. The plus with this collection is it fills in some holes in the backstory of a few people and shines the story light on a few people that normally don’t always get featured in their own books. I really enjoyed this and recommend it for fans of the series.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
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A thief tries to frame Karl for a theft he didn't undertake. Karl is trying to set a good example for his daughter and Hope works to clear his name and give a little payback.
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This book contains:
Life After Theft (Karl and Hope novella - new)
Forbidden (Elena and Clay novella - previously published)
Angelic (Eve and Kristof novella - previously published)
The Ungrateful Dead (Jaime short story - previously published)
Zen and the Art of Vampirism (Zoe Tanaka short story - previously published)
Counterfeit Magic (Paige and Lucas novella - previously published)

In Life After Theft Hope and Karl are expecting their second child; Karl is retired from jewel-thieving, and is working in security. There's still the itch, but a man needs something he can tell the kids about what daddy did at work today. But there's a supernatural McGuffin, and somebody wants Karl to steal it... An entertaining novella, as Karl and Hope work together to come out on top.

Zen and the Art of Vampirism deals with Zoe Takano, a vampire who likes the quiet life (just as ex-alcoholics like lemonade). Zoe is the only vampire in Toronto, and when two vampires show up to kick her out and take over, what's the most sensible thing to do? Show them around and offer to sell them the lease on your lovely apartment, of course... This short story has been out of print for a while (it was published in [b:A Fantasy Medley|5473470|A Fantasy Medley (Otherworld Stories, #9.2; Crown of Stars, #7.5; Realms of the Elderlings)|Yanni Kuznia|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328051071s/5473470.jpg|5541109]) and that's a real pity. I'd like to see more of Zoe Takano. ( )

Features several characters from the Otherworld novels. I was pleased to find that this anthology only had one story that I've read elsewhere. A very enjoyable read.