Armstrong is a favorite. I love the variety of personalities and complex connections to each other. Of the stories, I think "Art and the Zen of Vampirism" is probably my pick of the novellas included. Focusing on Zoe, it deals more with the less aggressive supernaturals than the rest. Zoe's got her own kind of badass, separate from say Cassandra or Eve. Probably a decent mentor for Savannah in learning to keep powers in check.

I didn't particularly like "Counterfeit Magic," though. Featuring the Cortez-Winterbourne crew, there wasn't as much...well, magic, in the writing. Felt more requiredt. Especially hard since "Zen" was right before it. And the reason why the book didn't get 5 stars. Savannah's also found in "The Ungrateful Dead" featuring Jaime. Another lackluster attempt. I normally like the necromancer but this one felt flat until the last 4-5 pages of the story. Rushed and focused on the celebrity aspect to Jaime. She needs a bit more work.

I wanted to like "Angelic," as an Eve Dallas fan, but again. It didn't gel in this anthology. I think if it had been placed after "Life After Theft," it may have played better. "Theft" features Karl and Hope, life after the end of Thirteen. Eve and Karl share enough characteristics that the stories would have balanced just right. While he's working on his reputation, she's working on hers. The betrayal for Eve was huge...but it didn't feel like it. Something, that spark, was missing. Hope, on the other hand, had a much better progression. I think "Angelic" and "Dead" were probably tied together, given the stories, but it just felt wrongly placed anyway.

I'm torn on "Forbidden." I love the story, the idea of a 'Mutt' looking for more, but the storyline was really, really hard to follow at the end. Not the writing, so much as the suspension of disbelief. Watching Clayton transition from growling bodyguard to a sightly lesser version was nice. And Elena's worry of kids, of all stripes, is pretty revealing. Even as she feels like she's losing something to become Alpha. The standouts were Morgan Walsh, a werewolf that ran between the Alaska killers, and Westwood police Jessica Dales. Both were good foils for Elena and Clayton. It worked in it's own way. More of the investigation stories wouldn't be remiss.

I think it's time to work in characters, like Jessica, and integrate characters like Zoe into the stories. Build up the world, showcase why the original women were in charge to start with.