MYSTERIA LANE

Author: MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter and P.C. Cast ISBN: 9780425222942 10/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: BERKLEY

Centuries ago, the Demon Lord of Self-Doubt and Second Thoughts created the town of Mysteria... Located in the picturesque mountains of Colorado, it's where the supernatural co-exists with the natural. It's a town of bewitching seduction, dark magic, and sensual demons. The ladies of Mysteria wouldn't have it any other way... Glory, witch of love, wants her man. Unfortunately, he barely knows she exists. Until a magic pen brings to life her creative fantasies of seduction, sex, and delicious revenge... In a town of bloodsucking vampires, a vegan like Summer can have trouble adapting. But Colin Vlad has what it takes to change a woman's mind-not to mention her appetite... Shay, Satan's most devoted emissary, levels disaster on the world like a real pro. Now, she's come to Mysteria with a hot new job, and giving grave new meaning to the term Nanny from Hell ...The Desdain Triplets may look like little angels, but a new man in town is bringing out the devil in one of them.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

MYSTERIA LANE is a paranormal romance anthology, though I would add humor to that description as all the stories in the collection are sure make you chuckle occasionally. MYSTERIA LANE, like its predecessor MYSTERIA, is set in a mystical town called Mysteria where it's not unusual to see a lady dressed in the latest fashions beheading some wicked demon from another plane of existence.

The fun of MYSTERIA LANE is that the four authors—MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter and P.C. Cast, four recognizable authors of the paranormal genre—have created an endless resource for which they can make stories about. There are enough secondary characters and characters with the briefest introduction to create several more stories. For instance, the Desdaine triplets from MJD's story, Disdaining Trouble, are familiar pranksters from the first anthology and are mentioned in the other three stories as well.

The only trouble I had was time relativity from one story to the next. The stories aren't told in Story A first, Story B second, etc., but from various times scattered about. This can get confusing. especially when the events of Disdaining Trouble, the first story of the anthology, aren't referenced in the other stories. As something rather big happens to the characters therein, this was surprising. I'm not sure if this was intentional to avoid giving away details of each individual author's story, or if it was merely overlooked for the grander picture.

However you look at it, the anthology is an enjoyable read. Fun, witty characters make Mysteria a town everybody would want for their own—even with temperamental wishing wells and horny ghosts.

Alexandra Cenni