Carolyn Cannot Live Without Books!

Anthology. Average rating is 3.52 stars. There were a few I skipped because of violence against children, there were a few stinkers but quite a few good ones so worth the read.

1. Wild ride by Carrie Vaughn. A lonely man finds out he's got a horrible disease and discovers a way to get a cure. Then he has to either live the life that's expected or try to move on. Good story. 3-1/2 stars.

2. Side-Effects May Include by Steve Duffy. A guy breaks his wisdom tooth on a business trip to China and after reading an article in a scientific journal he tries to find the miracle cure. It doesn't end well. 2-1/2 stars.

3. Comparison of Efficacy Rates for Seven Antipathetics as Employed Against Lycanthropes by Marie Brennan. Didn't read. No rating.

4. The Beautiful Gelreesh by Jeffrey Ford. Really strange story of a kind of counselor who fixes and then consumes his patients and the legend he creates. 2-1/2 stars.

5. Skin in the Game by Samantha Henderson. Bunco gone wrong with the adage "Cheaters never prosper" thrown in. 4 stars.

6. Blended by C.E. Murphy. This was a great short story! An orphan werewolf girl meets her family's killer and finds a companion. I wish there were more in this series. 5 stars.

7. Locked Doors by Stephanie Burgis. A little boy is left to take care of his dangerous father. Very good story, I wish it were longer. 5 stars.

8. Werelove by Laura Anne Gilman. Such a short but powerful story. I'm wondering how it ends. I a definitely going to check out more of this author's work. 5 stars.

9. In Sheep's Clothing by Molly Tanzer. Didn't read. No rating.

10. Royal Bloodlines by Mike Resnick. Okay -what I found wrong/strange with this story. 1) The country preacher reads/talks with a country accent but everyone in Hungary understands him? Are they speaking English? 2) This is supposed to be 1936 but the card game in the toilet has a pot of several thousand dollars - so first off the amount is way too large for 1936 and dollars? 3) The dog show in Hungary has a $10,000.00 prize (again dollars and the amount) and the wolf wins in the miniature poodle division? 4) The ending was kind of gross - well not kind of, it was gross. 2 stars.

11. The Dire Wolf by Genevieve Valentine. Sad story about a lone wolf and what she does and has to give up for her people. 3-1/2 stars.

12. Take Back the Night by Lawrence Schimel. Lesbian werewolves gone wild - literally. 3 stars.

13. Mongrel by Maria V. Snyder. A foster girl forced on the street finds a life with stray dogs, rescues one and starts a new, hopefully better. life. Very good story. 5 stars.

14. Deadfall by Karen Everson. A high school girl feels the power of her family against horrible bullies. Really good story. 5 stars.

15. Red Riding Hood's Child by N.K. Jemisin. A boy loses his innocence and finds not only a companion but revenge. Pretty good story. 4 stars.

16. Are You a Vampire or a Goblin? by Greoffrey H. Goodwin. Didn't read, no rating. Well, I take that back, I started it but it had dreams/nightmares of the main character eating a neighborhood kid. The other one I skipped had the same kind of story. I can't handle that even if it's fiction.

17. The Pack and the Pickup Artist by Mike Brotherton. A playa boy is smitten and then his whole life changes. The pick-up lines were a little ridiculous and pretentious bit it was still a pretty good story. 3 stars.

18. The Garden, the Moon, the Wall by Amanda Downum. The main character is I think a goblin not a werewolf. The only werewolves are the once she thinks she glimpses from the shadows and the ones to greet her and ask a price at the gate to the garden. Does she change into a werewolf?There are also ghosts thrown in that only she can see. I didn't get it. Maybe if I read a longer version of this story it would make more sense to me. 2-1/2 stars.

19. Blamed for Trying to Live by Jesse Bullington. A trying to be vegan boy wants to become a werewolf. Cute story. 3-1/2 stars.

20. The Barony at Rødal by Peter Bell. A father who loves to travel to gardens goes on a holiday with his daughter and might have come across Nazi shapeshifters. This story was strange. I could not get into it at all. 2-1/2 stars.

21. Inside Out by Erzebet Yellowboy. For a short story, this dragged a lot. Gretchen kept going back to the cabin, over and over and over and over. It was a little ridiculous. Not my favorite. 2-1/2 stars.

22. Gestella by Susan Palwick. A girl who ages as a dog finds a pedophile, then lover, then husband, then executioner. Really sad story. 3 stars.