Delightful Diversions

*ARC read via Around The World ARC Tours

Overall this book gets a grand 4 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes for having a great mix of stories and having characters in the stories that the reader will really want to know more about.

I don't normally review anthologies but this one sounded intriguing so to review it I decided to go through story by story rating and saying a little bit about each one.  I used a 4/4 scale for these reviews and most of the stories were outstanding.

Giovanni's Farewell by Claudia Gray - 4/4, Ravenna and Cairo are great characters.  I like their twin relationship/bond.  This is the kind of short story where you end up really wanting a full length book and to know more about the characters.

Scenic Route by Carrie Ryan - 4/4, Wow, the tension in this story is crazy.  This is one scary world and you don't even ever see any zombies.  There's just always this foreboding feeling that they are around somewhere.  The ending is great and makes you really want to know what happens next.

Red Run by Kami Garcia - 4/4, This is a weird story.  A girl is trying to get revenge against a ghost for killing her brother.  I love how everything in this story turns out.  It makes for an awesome ghost story and had a really surprising ending.

Things About Love by Jackson Pearce - 3.5/4, Gotta love genies.  Great to see how the best friend of a main character deals with fantastical knowledge that not everyone knows about.  This story made me want to read the book that these characters are from.  Get a nice look at how different people feel about love.

Niederwald by Rachel Vincent - 3/4, Not the best story especially if you don't know about this world or characters ahead of time.  It just kind of throws you into the middle of a story.  It is a good look at harpies and an oracle.  I'm not sure Sabine was the best character to follow, she's not very likable.  Felt like this one is one that can be easily skipped and that the reader would get more out of it if they read the series itself that the characters come from.

A Mortal Winter King by Melissa Marr - 4/4, This is another story that makes me want to read the books that these characters are from.  The characters are interesting and have a fun yet insightful journey.  When they have a problem they think of quite a genius plan to solve their problem.

Facing Facts by Kelley Armstrong - 4/4, I love these characters and it's always good to read more stories about them.  Some shocking type family secrets are revealed and of course Chloe gets in some trouble along the way.  Chloe has more of a backbone now and more confidence dealing with ghosts.  It's fun to see the various relationships in the group and wonder about the future.

Let’s Get This Undead Show on the Road by Sarah Rees Brennan - 4/4, Great story, gotta love a boy band consisting of three humans and one vampire.  Christian aka Chris the vampire has quite the back story.  Love all the different personalities in the band especially Pez, the drummer who commonly eats things like detergent.  The way that the all become closer as a group is genius and will leave you wishing that you could read more about them.

Bridge by Jeri Smith-Ready - 4/4, Written in verse and looks like it takes place in a very interesting world.  It really makes me want to read the story that it's based on and makes me imagine how insane it would be to talk to ghosts.  This is a really strong story.

Skin Contact by Kimberly Derting - 4/4, What a depressing story but it was great to learn Rafe's story.  Really explains why he's so messed up.  Can't wait to read more about Rafe.

Leaving by Ally Condie - 4/4, Like the future setting of the story.  It's great that people are looking up to Beautiful People of the past as some kind of ideal.  Sora and Elio are very interesting characters that I would love to read more about especially with the last line side.  It just makes you want to read more about that world.

At the Late Night, Double Feature, Picture Show by Jessica Verday - 4/4, This is the best story so far.  It has a great main character that I would love to read more about.  Also it's very funny especially with things like cannibal Girl Scouts and defanged vampires.  The situation and creatures that are introduced give a funny haunted house type tension and atmosphere to the story.

I.V. League by Margaret Stohl - 3/4, A look at an interesting group of vampires trying to find a college to go to.  The story is well done, most notably the ending.  Probably shows how many really feel about the whole college admissions process.

Gargouille by Mary E. Pearson - 3/4, All about Gargoyle/Angel like beings.  Some extreme lengths are gone through to keep a relationship alive.  The ending makes you curious about the future of the characters.

The Third Kind by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - 4/4, Story that pulls you right into the action and makes you want to know more about the characters and world.  The ending was pretty epic and really made me want to know more about the characters and what happens next.  I don't usually like books about angel type being but I have a feeling a full length book from this story would be awesome.

Automatic by Rachel Caine - 3/4, Another great look at vampires and shows that sometimes convenience and technology are not a good thing.  An interesting story that might really make you think twice about canned food.