A Timeless Romance Anthology: All Hallow's Eve

Sarah M. Eden, Heather B. Moore, Annette Lyon,
Lisa Mangum, Jordan McCollum, Elana Johnson
Genre: 
Other

ANTHOLOGY:  There are six full novellas in this anthology, and all of them are complete tales with a beginning, middle and end. There are no cliffhangers or series starters here; all entries were written specifically for this collection. Three historicals come before three contemporaries and all have a paranormal context (or three) to them, though Halloween itself is not used in every one. All are superbly written, with some of the novellas jumping well over five stars and into perfection. Whether a fan of contemporary or historical, readers should savor the whole anthology as each novella is a near-perfect example of its genre. 

 

The historicals are written in stylized language using all the traditional elements of their time, and all three do it superbly. All of them lean heavily on the paranormal aspects of Halloween—ghosts and curses—but none slip over the line into horror or gothic. Things are kept sweet but have twists and turns. At the beginning of each tale, the hero and heroine are strangers, thrown into believing and action by phenomena outside themselves, and outside of mortal reality. 

 

The contemporaries run far and wide through traditional modern paranormal genre. With ghosts, straight fantasy, and premonitions, readers will find all kinds of things to love. None of these stories touch on Halloween itself, but as they are stuffed full of  paranormal elements, no one will mind. None of these couples are strangers when the stories begin, and two know each other well. Their journeys are not "getting to know you while solving a mystery", but more along the lines of, "what would you do for love...how far would you go"?

 

Julie York