Of Claws and Fangs

Of Claws and Fangs (2022) Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock)

This is a collection of stories from the world of Jane Yellowrock & Soulwood.

Candy from a Vampire
Make It Snappy
It’s Just a Date
Life’s a Bitch and Then You Die
Black Friday Shopping
How Occam Got His Name
Shiloh and the Brick
Beast Hunts Vampire with Jane
Of Cats and Cars
Beast Hunts Pie-bald Deer
Jane Tracks Down Miz A
From Anthologies:
Anzu, Duba, Beast
Eighteen Sixty
Wolves Howling in the Night
Death and the Fashionista
My Dark Knight
Bound into Darkness
The Ties That Bind

These are only the most recent stories. If you are working your way through the Jane or Soulwood series, you want to read the previous anthology: Blood in her Veins

Candy from a Vampire – Leo vignette.

Make It Snappy – Leo short story set prior to Jane arriving in NOLA.

It’s Just a Date – Jane & Bruiser on a double date with Jodi & Wrassler. This is more for readers who wanted to see Jodi and Wrassler together.

Life’s a Bitch and Then You Die – Jane & Beast and a lost memory

Black Friday Shopping – Nell & Occam go shopping only to discover something wrong at WalMart.

How Occam Got His Name – Occam’s backstory. This was interesting, and should work even for those unfamiliar with the Soulwood series. It’s dark, with the death of a child, and the eventual caging of another child. The caging was known to anyone who’d hear glimpses of Occam’s story from the Soulwood series. But the death of his best friend wasn’t expected.

Shiloh and the Brick – Shiloh (Molly’s niece) needs to be convinced to learn control. I quite liked this story, even though I’m not certain it would be of any interest to those who hadn’t read the books.

Beast Hunts Vampire with Jane – Beast short story.

Of Cats and Cars – Edmund takes Beast hunting. This is the story that anyone who read Cold Reign wanted: Beast has wanted to hunt cows in Edmund’s classic car, so he give her an alternative.

I do adore Edmund.

There was little he missed about the past, hating the stench of sewage, the lack of fresh water, the smells of unwashed bodies, the sight of starvation, the sounds and stench of illness and pain, the remembered agony of losing loved ones so easily to whooping cough, measles, the flu.

Beast Hunts Pie-bald Deer – Beast short story.

Jane Tracks Down Miz A – A Jane short story. I found this one confusing, so I’ve apparently missed something, somewhere. Despite the fact I’ve reread the entire series this year, excluding the last two books.

Anzu, Duba, Beast – Jane and Girrard DeMercy go on the hunt Jane owes Gee.

Eighteen Sixty – An Ayatas FireWind story. I don’t much care for FireWind.

Wolves Howling in the Night – Another An Ayatas FireWind story. See above.

Death and the Fashionista – A Molly short story where she continues to deal with her death magics.

My Dark Knight – Edmund, Angie, and EJ. As much as I like Edmund, Angie tends to annoy me. She is always both too young AND too old in her speech and thoughts.

Bound into Darkness – Liz and Eli. I love Eli. But I am not sure how I feel about Eli and one of Molly’s sisters in a relationship. Mostly because I felt like it was forced to give Eli a HEA.

The Ties That Bind – Bedelia & Shadock. This one bothered me even more. Mostly because there were never any hints of a previous relationship between the two. The story itself, of older women using their power and knowledge to defeat evil, I very much liked. But I was really weirded out by the relationship that came out of nowhere.

Publisher: Ace

Rating: 7/10

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