Two Moons by Elena Pavlova

Warning: The review contains spoilers.

Rating 8 of 10

First I guess I will have to say I'm not really a fan of short stories. By the time I get into the story and it ends. And this book is an anthology of 17 short stories. But... I loved it. Or most of it anyway.

Elven Song - bittersweet story of first love, absolutely loved it.

Three of Swords - nice story, not one of my personal favorites in the anthology but good

Three of Swords 2: The Royal Sword - another story with the characters from previous one. Funny, good but still doesn't make it to my personal top 3  from the book.

A Master of The Bow and Torinawa - one of the stories I wanted to be longer, picked my interest and... ended. Perfect example why I don't like short stories in general.

Cavanos' Dragons - and that's the story on 3d place in my personal top 3. What to say.... Dragons!

Moonlight Path - suspense, blood and... um, can I have a little more please?

Night Club - my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad one, just... really not my cup of tea.

Ghostly Afternoon - loved that one, almost made it to my top 3. Almost. I just liked three others a bit more. Good 4th though. 

They come from the hills at night 2.0 - another one of not exactly my favorites. Can't exactly point out why. Guess it just goes to the group "not my cup of tea", too.

To Walk On Water - nice little story. Read it and liked it... and promptly forgot it. It's a bit... too even, nothing much happens and in between the other ones, most of which have the impact of a hammer strike... just goes unnoticed, forgettable.

A Dinosaur for Christmas - I want one too. And some more of that story. Absolutely loved it. Deserving 2d place in my top 3.

Tasty to The Last Cup - for coffee lovers. Nice but also on the list of a bit forgettable. 

Nomad: The Killer Sleeps Downstairs - a bit overwhelming. Had the same problem with the book. It feels like you are being hit by a train but the violence gets a bit too much for my taste. Okay, I admit it, I'm squeamish. 

Closed Timelike Curve - had a lot of fun here. How much trouble exactly two boys with a time machine can get in?

Two Moons - somehow when I read the title (and the previous stories) I was expecting it to be about werewolves. And... it's not. Big surprise for me. In everything - plot, setting, main character. Got me curious. But not about what happens next as more stories do. Got me curious what happened before it started.

The Manipulator - hmmmmm, really not sure what to say about this one. Goes to the "not my cup of tea" category, I guess.

Winter Census Of The Vampire Population - my absolute favorite. I got swallowed by it, chewed and spit out to pick my pieces. Can I have more of it? Pretty please?

So in total: 

3 absolutely favorite stories

8 others I loved too

2 nice but forgettable

1 nice but got me squeamish

3 in the "not my cup of tea" category

Considering the fact that the book actually offers a little bit for everyone, I think I have a very nice count of likes. Anyone surprised? Well, that's Elena. If you have read something from her before - you won't. 

A World Apart by L.J.K. Oliva

I got the book free of charge from the author in exchange of an honest review through Lovers of Paranormal. The following review contains spoilers.

Rating 8 of 10

A very nice read for everyone who likes paranormal mysteries. The mystery is intriguing and so are the characters. MacMillian is skeptic but curious. non-believer but ready to stand-up against whatever "go bump in the night". At first I was skeptic I would grow to like him, he is not your typical hero. But with time he sort of grew on me. I only wish we got a better explanation what a "baro" is and how that is important. His dislike for Marc Durban was also unexplained but as this is first book in a series, that didn't bug me as much.
Lena... I liked Lena. Mostly. She was funny, smart, likable character. And then she had to go and sleep with Marc. Which didn't fit. Not for her. Especially with the fact that MacMillian didn't like Marc and she knew it. At this point Lena already trusted the private detective, so why she didn't think more about why he doesn't trust Durban? He probably has a reason.
The mystery was interesting, not as much of who but of how and why. Will admit to not being a big fan of cliffhangers but it sure made me curious to read the next book. It looks like it will offer a wider range of night creatures and more mysteries to solve. But I think I'm mostly curious about the whole Jesper-Durban history. What really happened between these two?