Oh, anthologies. The good and the bad. I put a lot of blind faith into this one because George R. R. Martin was an editor for it. Upon reading it I immediately recalled from past story collections/recommendations of his how tremendously his tastes in fiction he doesn't actually write can differ from mine.

I grabbed this book on a lark from the library, and once I started reading I realized there was a lot in it that didn't really float my boat (for instance, I hate The Dresden Files, and anymore any stories even remotely related to vampires or werewolves kind of makes me want to die before I even attempt to read them). The stories that I did finish reading, for the most part, were definitely worth having checked the book out.

- I loved "The Marrying Maid," which was presented to us by the historical romance author Jo Beverley. It was the kind of fantasy short story I've been desiring for awhile, and it had a delicious helping of Fae, Robin Hood, and a race against time while a lord tried his damnedest to convince a religious spinster to become his wife.

- "Demon Lover" by Cecelia Holland was a great story for me to read following the first. Although it was a bit obvious, I felt that it was written with fresh imagery and it really pulled me in. It's definitely not what it sounds like.

- "Blue Boots" by Robin Hobb also fit right in as the third story I skipped to. It's a wonderful story about a kitchen maid and a minstrel.

- "The Thing About Cassandra" by Neil Gaiman was, as most Gaiman tends to be, perfect. Spun my head right round at the end just the way I like it. I notice that's getting harder to do lately (I don't know if it's me or just newer writing) but he always manages somehow.

- "You, And You Alone" by Jacqueline Carey was my small foray into her universe. One reason I grabbed this book was to see if I liked her writing and to judge whether or not I'd like to try out her Kushiel series. Well, turns out I liked it very much and I'm super intrigued now to learn about these characters in a more in depth format.

- "His Wolf" by Lisa Tuttle... sucked for me. It was a pseudo-werewolf story, and I only skimmed through it while I was waiting for technicians to change my transmission fluid. Blech.

- "The Demon Dancer" by Mary Jo Putney also rubbed me quite wrong. The whole story seemed a bit too Buffy The Vampire Slayer-ish for me. I didn't enjoy it one bit.

That was also where I stopped, because the not-good stories were beginning to outweigh the good ones. It got returned to the library with some other less favored checkouts.

Unfortunately, I skipped the Tanith Lee story, and I may have liked it. ( )

This anthology is jam-packed with major authors who explore themes of star-crossed love, some of them within the worlds of existing series, such as Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. Most are along the lines of fantasy, but there were some science fiction tales mixed in as well. One of my favorites ("Hurt Me" by M.L.N. Hanover) tilted toward horror, not a genre I usually like, but the twist here was especially delicious. ( )

I'm not the biggest fan of short stories. I got this book for the Jacqueline Carey story of Anafiel from the Kushiel Series.

Some of the stories were very good, some were just ok. I don't honestly remember if I read them all, which is probably not a good sign :) ( )

All great stories, some more surreal than others. But closing with Diana Gabaldon's "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" I mean...wow...5!! Deeply satisfying! ( )

Read a couple of the stories before returning to the library. Good so far