Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Heroic Hearts by Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Kelley Armstrong, Anne Bishop, Annie Bellet, Chloe Neill, Nancy Holder, Kevin Hearne, Kerrie Hughes, RR Viedi, Charlaine Harris, Jennifer Brozek Published by Ace on May 3, 2022
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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An all-star urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, and more . . .
In this short story collection of courage, adventure, and magic, heroes—ordinary people who do the right thing—bravely step forward.
But running toward danger might cost them everything. . . .
Heroic Hearts is an anthology of stories by some of my favorite authors. Easily, one could read the stories without having read the author’s work before. Of course, if you are familiar with the author’s world and series, it is a further development and additional knowledge. I’ve added an asterisk (*) by the titles where I have read the author previously and recognize the world.
* Little Things by Jim Butcher is set after Battle Ground. The point of view is that of Toot Toot so it is a further development of a supporting character. We get a view of how / what Harry is doing after the big battle.
* The Dark Ship by Anne Bishop is set in the world of the Others. There is a young woman who lives in a village on the Mediterranean Sea who is not in a good situation. None of the characters are ones I recognize from the series.
Comfort Zone by Kelley Armstrong is not set in a world I recognize but I have read and enjoyed this author previously. This story and its characters were well-developed enough for me to enjoy without any other connection.
Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet is a very enjoyable LGBTQ story. This was my first experience with this author. I’d be interested to read these characters in a series so I’ll go look for it. I can’t find a series but maybe they are side characters in one of her series. The story is about a couple who is trying to find their daughter.
* Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne is set in the world of his Iron Druid Chronicles. The series is the one for our Read-along next year and I have read only the first book, but own them all. I LOVED this, as the point of view is Oberon his dog. Sausage, squirrels and poodles are key concepts here. There was so much humor. Based on some aspects, I would guess this sits later in the series.
Grave Gambles by RR Virdi is written by an author I do not know. But now I also want to track down what I hope will be a series about this character. Yes! There is a series called The Grave Report. The basic premise is the monster hunter wakes up in a recently dead body and has to track down who killed him. Fun, right? I loved it.
* Silverspell by Chloe Neill is in her current series, Heirs of Chicagoland. It showed how the community is reacting to Elisa working as an Ombud in a murder case and to her relationship with Connor.
Troll Life by Kerri L. Hughes is an author I have not read previously. Apparently in this world, trolls are involved in running a sort of underground train station. The trains are sentient and can communicate telepathically with the trolls. They both know which stops are for humans and which stops go into supernatural dimensions.
* The Return of the Mage by Charlene Harris is about side characters we met first in her Sookie Stackhouse series. This does not have any characters from that series though, except the Britlingens. There are also mages which I don’t recall in that series but it has been quite awhile since I read it.
The Vampires Karamazov by Nancy Holder is another new to me author. There are a family of vampires living in New York City. The youngest brother, it is all men, studied to be a monk before his father turned him. He is still committed to his faith but unsure of whether he would be wanted. This was my least favorite story with its religious tones.
The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic by Jennifer Brozek is a story set in museum with witches and mysterious artifacts. It seems to be connected to her Karen Wilson Chronicles with some side characters.
* Dating Terrors by Patricia Briggs is another in the adventures in dating for Asil. The world is the same as her Mercy Thompson series. The author has been doing these Asil short stories for a few years now. They are delightful.
I did my first reading of urban fantasy and science fiction fantasy in an anthology not unlike this one. I found stories by Charlene Harris, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn which I enjoyed tremendously so I sought out their books and read their series. I appreciate the opportunity to try new things with a smaller time commitment. It’s also a gift if I already know the world to learn more, usually about a supporting character.
I found all of these stories to be engaging and well-developed. I would say they are all 4-5 heart reads and not a bad one in the bunch. If there are authors you already enjoy, you will love their stories. And it’s a great chance to try a few new authors, I know I will be reading more in some of those series. I highly recommend this anthology.
About Anne Bishop
Anne Bishop lives in upstate New York where she enjoys gardening, music, and writing dark, romantic stories. She is the author of fourteen novels, including the award-winning Black Jewels Trilogy. Her most recent novel, Twilight’s Dawn, made the New York Times bestseller list. She is currently working on a new series, which is an urban dark fantasy with a bit of a twist.
About Chloe Neill
Chloe Neill is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Captain Kit Brightling, Heirs of Chicagoland, Chicagoland Vampires, Devil’s Isle, and Dark Elite novels.
She was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest, where she lives with her gamer husband and their bosses/dogs, Baxter and Scout. Chloe is a voracious reader and obsessive Maker of Things; the crafting rotation currently involves baking and quilting. She believes she is exceedingly witty; her husband has been known to disagree.
Photo by Dana Damewood.
About Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
About Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could
write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a
story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls
and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. Today, she continues to
spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked
away in her basement writing dungeon. She lives in southwestern
Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
About Kevin Hearne
Kevin Hearne lives with his wife, daughter, and doggies in Canada. Kevin hugs trees, pets doggies, and rocks out to heavy metal. He also thinks tacos are a pretty nifty idea. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling series the Iron Druid Chronicles, the Seven Kennings trilogy that begins with A PLAGUE OF GIANTS, and co-author of the Tales of Pell with Delilah S. Dawson.
About Patricia Briggs
Patricia Briggs was born in Butte, Montana to a children’s librarian who passed on to her kids a love of reading and books. Patricia grew up reading fairy tales and books about horses, and later developed an interest in folklore and history. When she decided to write a book of her own, a fantasy book seemed a natural choice. Patricia graduated from Montana State University with degrees in history and German and she worked for a while as a substitute teacher. Currently, she lives in Montana with her children and six horses and writes full-time, much to the delight of her fans.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 22-COYER
I will definitely be adding this to my reading list. Great review, Anne.
Thank you. It was easy to read as a bunch of short stories but none were boring, easy to engage with them.
I don’t think I’ve ever read an anthology with so many of my favorite authors before. Sounds like a great book.
That’s what I thought. It had so many favorites and it turned out I knew more of the series than I expected..
I’ve got this for review so I only snuck a peek at your rating. I’ll have to come back to see what you thought. Glad you loved it. Can’t wait!
It’s fabulous! Enjoy!
I both read and listened to the iron Druid books. Really recommend the audiobooks. Luke Daniel’s voice for Oberon (an Irishwolf hound) is a perfect voice for a dog. I also like the narrators for Butchers, Harris’, Bishop’s and Brigg’s’ audiobooks. Just finished re-listening to Crowbones by Biship.
I’m sure this will be fabulous on audio.
I just loved this anthology. All of the stories were just so good. I do want to read more from some of these authors.
There wasn’t a bad story here. I really appreciate this type of anthology with the ability to help me learn about new authors.
Oh I’ve seen this reviewed around and what a great way to get a good look at an author or two I’ve been wanting to read. It’s going on my list!
It’s an awesome read.
Truly an all star collection! You’ve reminded me to return to the genre. Excellent review, Anne💜
It has many of my favorites.
I listened as well and loved it.
I found this one easy to love.
I have this one to listen to. I got it for Hearne, Briggs, and Bishop. I *may* listen to Butcher, but I never finished Battle Ground… Will I need to eventually finish it?
There are spoilers from Battle Ground in the Jim Butcher short. The whole anthology is stellar. I really enjoyed it.
Hey @anne,
The Kelley Armstrong story is an off shoot from her Darkest Powers/Darkness Rising Series, which is itself set in the Otherworld Universe. The “Edison Group Subjects” that they mention in the story is also mentioned in the YA Otherworld Novel Wolf’s Bane
Thanks for sharing! I want to read more of her work.