Kicking It (Alex Craft #2.5 – Ruby Red)

I am an anthology nut so I liked Kicking It. This has nine kickin’ stories involving footwear of some significance from a fair number of my favorite UF authors, most set in the worlds of their series. I admit that I was a bit biased toward those connected shorts – probably because I brought a fair bit of knowledge of those worlds/characters with me into those stories and could focus on the action. A quick rundown…

Forked Tongues – Rachel Caine – I believe this is Caine’s third story starring resurrection witch, Holly, and Andy, a resurrected witch from Old West times kept alive by their love. I really like this pair but I brought their history with me from the previous stories, so I really enjoyed seeing them work together to deal with a boot wearing nemesis.

Stolen Goods – Shannon K Butcher – not connected to her Sentinel Wars, A thief with magical boots and an artisan mage who coerces her help to try to steal a magical artifact being used by unearthly villains they both have reason to hate. I enjoyed this story and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the pair.

The Girl With No Name – Chris Marie Green – I think it might tie into one of Green’s series but I haven’t read anything by her before. The hook for this was interesting but as a whole the story was more on the side of ok.

The Devil’s Left Boot – Faith Hunter – a Jane Yellowrock connected story but starring the sisters of Jane’s witch friend Molly – The sisters are hired to find the missing mother of their high school ‘mean girl’ nemesis. I liked this, although there is just a brief cameo for Jane.

High Stakes – Cloe Neill – Chicago Vampires story with Luc and Lindsey in the spotlight. This was pretty short, I liked that it gives a bit of Lindsey’s history, but I was expecting a bit more of them together though.

Lucienne Diver – The Parlor – this is apparently hooked into Diver’s Olympian series which I haven’t read. I liked the mythic tie-in.

Red Isn’t Really My Color – Christina Henry – from her Black Wings series, I only read the first book (which hadn’t grabbed me) but this had enough promise to make me consider checking out the second book – the gargoyle is kind of cute.

Snakeskin – Rob Thurman – a Trickster prequel, I liked this story but it wasn’t what I expected – I had heard that it was supposed to introduce the side characters (I forget the two guys names right now) but they are incidental – the focus is Trixa’s case.

Ruby Red – Kalayna Price – an Alex Craft story but not starring Alex – she’s just mentioned at the end. I liked the story and I am hoping there will be more Alex someday soon.

As I do with most anthologies, I picked and chose what I read, but that was the majority of the book. As always, some stories are stronger than others, but I felt these were overall good. The Chicagoland Vampires story was accessible to me as someone who hasn’t read the series, and made me want to read it. On the other hand, the Jane Yellowrock mentioned some major events and I felt lost. The Kalayna Price focused on supporting characters and made me want to read more of them.

This book also did an excellent job of sticking to the theme of shoes. The Chicagoland Vampire one only mentioned shoes tangentially, but they were definitely present. The Jane Yellowrock was hysterical with the shoe-collecting vampire. It was interesting to see how various authors incorporated the theme.

This anthology is a lifesaver! It helped me through hours of tedium in doctors’ waiting rooms. I purchased Kicking It for The Parlor by Lucienne Diver. I’m addicted to her Latter-Day Olympians series, and this story did not disappoint. Yeah, I laughed out loud a few times in the waiting room. I love the mix of Greek mythology in modern-day mysteries.

There are so many awesome authors in this book. Well, you know. Check it out! I loved Christina Henry’s story Red is not My Color. The characters are so cool, I need to go find her novels. I love urban fantasy, so this collection covered it. The theme to each story tied in with shoes of some sort. What gal, or open-minded guy, doesn’t adore that?

If the Surgeon General recommended reading, they would make a special label for these stories: a book a day keeps the doctor away.
Again, books save lives. Don’t die of boredom, read!

Kicking It is a collection of nine short stories, by different authors. I originally bought the book to read the short stories of Chloe Neill, Kalayna Price, Faith Hunter and Rachel Caine. I’ve read their series and have really enjoyed them. I was introduced to five new to me authors. Which I’m now going to have to look up and learn more about.

The stories are very short, but they are all well written and include great characters. As I neared the end of each story I found myself wishing for more.

I loved reading Chloe Neill’s short about two of my favorite characters in the Chicagoland series, Luc and Lindsey. It was fun seeing Lindsey’s “flapper” side.

It was a great collection of stories. I highly recommend it, for anyone who loves paranormal romances. and shoes or boots. They seem to show up in each of the stories. It was fun.

All stories with a heroine kicking butt. All entertaining. The stories also introduce the reader to other authors and a sampling of their creative worlds. Some of the stories were not the author’s usual main character but other characters that could fascinate the reader on their own. This is a book I would highly recommend.

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