Home Improvement: Undead Edition [Paperback]

I only got the antho for the above two authors - I read pretty much whatever they put out, but I am glad that I relied on my friendly librarian and didn't buy this, as I couldn't get into the other tales.

The Sookie Stackhouse one is the best of the two that I read in full, and takes place just after Tara has had her twins. Whilst remodelling her house to create space for the babies, a bloodied hammer is discovered...and a spirit is unleashed in the house. ...a really good tale with Sookie, Sam, a new nanny who happens to be psychic and Tara and hubby.

The Patricia Briggs one comes very close to being as good as the SS one. Elyna is a vampire, who has come back to buy and renovate the house where she and her husband were so happy until his death...at her hands. She had been abducted, held for several days and managed to escape, not realising that she was changed, but then overcome by bloodlust, she killed her beloved husband. She's part vigilante, part rebel vamp, trying to change the established vampire hierarchy and traditions...a sad but also happy tale.

Was the antho worth paying for? Not at the hardback price. I tried to read the other tales, but one featured zombies, another ghosts, but none other than these two appealed.

I have never read a anthology before due to thinking i would not get the stories since most of them are extended stories from other series. However I'm glad I took the chance. The sookie stackhouse was fantastic. The others took a bit of getting used to since I was unaware of the other authors apart from Patricia Briggs which I have yet to read any of and after reading her short in this I'm looking forward to reading more. The only thing about these anthologies since reading this I am looking for others like revamped and many bloody returns is that amazon no longer has them and you can only buy them from other sellers at high prices.

There was a story by James Grady I basically flipped through because it was weird and did not make sense even the style of writing did not make sense if u are into obsecure it's perfect for you.

I loved the wizards home security story it takes a little while to get into but had a perfect statisfying ending. Talking of endings I got into squatters rights right away but halfway through the story it just got bizzare and the ending confused me. Who endings like that. And I don't mean a ending that makes you think it's either went that way or another. It's not even a ending. It seems a bit like reading a preview chapter it has no real ending. Very dissapointed.

Another great story was Blood on the Wall. Now I have looked up other books of this author and would not purchase any but this story was fantastic. I recommend it. The style of writing makes it flow really quickly and your dissapointed when it ends.
The Strength Inside by Melissa Marr is just weird. It's worth a read but it does not get you excited or unhappy it's just there as a book filler I guess I had to empathy to the characters apart from the ARS chair who I started hating but as for the sisters none whatsoever the author does not make them endearing just the opposite but a good revenge story nonetheless.

Now a story I thought I'd hate but ended up liking was woosleys kitchen nightmare. He is the Gordon Ramsey of the translifes as he calls them. A translife is any supernatural creature. He used to own kitchens but ditched it and now goes to resturaunt to resturaunt giving tips on how to turn the place around and how to make a great centre piece. That centre piece being a human surrounded by veg lol. I've said to much already. I started the story by reading the first couple of pages. Thinking this is crap and skipped a few then I forced myself to read another page before completely dissing it like I did with the James Grady Story and I liked it and the ending was abso superb. One of my favs in the book.

There are other stories left in the book to review but I can't do them all. I will say this book has introduced to me to a very talented author who I look forward to reading more from and after reading Through This house by Seanen Mcaguire which is a series about fae and other mystical creatures I found it the most entertaining story of all. Even beats sookie and that's saying something. Especially when halfway reading the story I went and ordered her first book of the series rosemary and rue. So far it's about a woman called Toby who is a changling. Her dad was half human and mum half fae. Her mom encouraged her to seek her fae side to keep her safe. In this story it's about her moving into the countesses mansion so to say and you can only get to it through a door on the mortal side which leads to the fae world. Now does that not sound familiar. Remember the fae in sookie lol. However it's nothing like sookie and the author is a genius. Very quirky and you never want the story to end.

Verdict buy it If you have the money it's worth it. However I prob would have borrowed from library if I had one as I never read books twice and usually sell them again on eBay or sometimes amazon once I have read them to save my hubby stumbling over them in our room. Yes I do have to many. Lol. Now all I have to do is get the other anthologies of chatelaine harris etc.

really not worth the money. I felt the authors were slumming it! Not one interesting story among the lot of them. very disappointing.