Dead of Night (Anthology)

Dead of Night includes stories by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan and Mary Kay McComas. Each story is about 100 pages long. The quality varied a lot, so I'm going to rate each story separately rather than give one rating for the book.

"Eternity in Death" by J.D. Robb features her futuristic Lt. Eve Dallas. Although I found this novella to be well written, I also thought it was very boring. I really had to force myself to finish it. There was little suspense, little humor and the characters didn't come alive for me. If you are a fan of Robb's series, though, you might enjoy this. I'd rate it a 4 out of 10.

The gem of the book for me was Blayney's "Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure." It's an English time travel that uses an unusual approach. My attention was riveted from the beginning and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. It was fresh and original, with great characters and a nice touch of humor. I'd rate it an 8 out of 10 and would probably have rated it higher if it was longer. I'm going to see what else Blayney has written.

The third story, by Langan, is "Timeless." As you can guess from the title, it's another time travel. This one was quite different than Blayney's story, though. It takes place in Scotland in the 15th century and although it is interesting, there is a major problem with the ending. [SPOILER ALERT] I absolutely HATE books where the hero dies and the heroine returns to the present time to find someone very like him (descendant? reincarnation?) Either way it doesn't matter because he is NOT the hero and it ruins the book for me. Therefore, the story rates a 2 out of 10 solely because of the ending. If it had ended differently, I probably would have rated it a 6.5.

The last story is "On the Fringe" by Mary Kay McComas. I was turned off at first because it felt like chicklit, not a genre I enjoy. I really hate whiny women dealing with boring everyday problems. The story did pick up once the magic carpet appeared. I don't remember reading a romance before with a magic carpet and I found this intriguing. It then took on a "It's a Wonderful Life" feel and I did get quite interested. I thought it was original, although I didn't like the characters that much, and I'll rate it a 7 out of 10.