Never After (Anthology 4-in-1)

I started reading this book to take a break from the Anita Blake series.

It's called _Never After,_ because each story has someone who definitely does not want to marry, or at least not marry the one they are "supposed" to.

The first story in this book is "Can He Bake a Cherry Pie?" by Laurell K Hamilton. It was fun reading something by her that wasn't erotica and a stand-alone story. This is a fairy tale, but instead of the handsome prince saving the damsel in distress, it's the damsel who sets out to save the prince. She must brave many tests and in the end, decide her own fate. Cute and well written, it's a fairy tale with a twist.

The second tale is "The Shadow of Mist" by Yasmine Galenorn. In a world where supernatural beings exist show more side-by-side with humans, a selkie woman flees her home in Ireland to escape a forced marriage to her rapist. Her friends help her as she tries to save her lover and defeat the man who wants to abduct her and make her his princess. It's nice to see a story about selkies, they are one of my favorites. Putting them in the modern world is interesting. I'd read other things by this author based on this story.

"The Tangleroot Palace" by Marjorie M. Liu is back in the fairytale vein of storytelling. I really liked this one. It had magic, an evil queen, a damsel taking her life and destiny into her own hands. There is a hero, too, but he is not the main focus of the story. He helps provide the happy ending.

The last story is Sharon Shinn's "The Wrong Bridegroom." This is probably my favorite of all of them. There is palace intrigue, hidden secrets, and a princess who must choose between two suitors who have passed her father's tests to get to that point. The characters are rather stereotypical, especially the men. The women are more three-dimensional, but then it is more about them and their relationships to the men in their lives. The princess goes on a hero's journey of sorts and learns about her kingdom and herself along the way.

All the stories have heroines who are taking their lives and destinies into their own hands. They are moving out of their comfort zones. I particularly enjoyed the stories with fairytale atmospheres, Since fairy tales usually have damsels in distress waiting for a prince to save them. These are stories for modern women and girls. Galenorn's story gets pretty dark, but I think young adults would enjoy seeing women take power over their lives. show less

Four stories of princesses who, when trapped in untenable situations take matters into their own hands to win the day. Well, almost all of them...

Laurell K. Hamilton shows a softer, less horror-driven side in Can He Bake a Cherry Pie. Facing imminent betrothal to a lecherous, power-hungry noble, Elinore decides suicide by tradition to be the better option. Imagine her surprise when politeness and a dab hand at the womanly arts take the prize.

Yasmine Galenorn's Shadow of Mist about a selkie stalked for centuries finally forced to face her stalker and tell the truth about her past, was for me the weakest link. Set in modern times with a whiny heroine who depends mainly on someone else to rescue her... this was the odd story out, and not show more in a good way.

In the Tangleroot Palace, Marjorie M. Liu's princess faces marriage to a barbarous warlord. She runs away to a magic forest, trusting a quick tongue and clever wit to keep her safe. A band of roving players, an evil queen, and a hero as unique as the princess - plenty of action and snappy dialogue made me wish this entry was twice as long.

Sharon Shinn's The Wrong Bridegroom presents a spoiled princess whose refusal to marry her father's choice has resulted in a competition for her hand. When the contest ends with two winners, the plot thickens considerably. Complete with an "evil stepmother, it's an entertaining twist on an old premise. show less

Enjoyable enough. Some interesting twists on these stories. These princesses stand up for themselves and grow in the process. These stories are not about the supernatural but the women.

This collection of four short stories/novellas plays with the traditional fairy-tale concept of “happily ever after.” In Laurell K. Hamilton’s “Can He Bake a Cherry Pie?” the heroine Elinore’s father arranges a marriage between her and a loathsome earl twice her age. Rather than marry him, Elinore declares her intention to rescue Prince True, a legendary former prince of the realm who was captured by an evil sorceress. In Yasmine Galenorn’s “Shadow of the Mist,” the selkie heroine is threatened by a cruel man to whom her parents had betrothed her a century ago. Now she must fight to save herself, her true love, and the baby she carries before her tormentor catches up with her. In Marjorie M. Liu’s “The Tangleroot show more Palace,” princess Sally runs away from home rather than be wed to a barbarian warlord with an ominous reputation. She falls in with a group of traveling actors and explores the sinister shadows of the Tangleroot forest. Finally, in Sharon Shinn’s “The Wrong Bridegroom,” the beautiful but spoiled Princess Olivia has rejected her father’s choice of bridegroom, so instead he holds a contest and offers her hand in marriage as the prize. Olivia has very clear ideas about which suitor is right for her – but as she gets to know him better, she realizes that she might have been mistaken about what’s really in her heart.

I picked up this anthology for the Sharon Shinn story, having never read anything by the other three authors. I was surprised that I liked Hamilton’s story, after everything I’ve heard about her Anita Blake series! But I thought her story in this collection was well written and interesting, despite being the shortest in the bunch. I also liked the Shinn story very much (the longest in the collection by far), but my favorite was probably “The Tangleroot Palace,” which had some great touches of humor and romance that the other stories lacked. The only story I didn’t like was Galenorn’s, probably because it was set in contemporary America and it read more like urban fantasy than a fairy tale. Also, apparently Galenorn used characters from one of her other series, so maybe if I’d read those books first I’d have been more connected to the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the collection, though only “The Tangleroot Palace” made it worth buying for me. show less

I only borrowed this book for one story: The Shadow of Mist by Yasmine Galenorn. The story is about a secondary character in her Otherworld series, a selkie woman named Siobhan Morgan. Her past had been nebulous until this, and now we find out why. A century before current events to the story, Siobhan had been assaulted by a roane prince who then made arrangements with her family to marry her. She ran away and stayed on the run for most of the ensuing time, but now she's been found again. Now, when she is pregnant and engaged. She is determined to stay out of the clutches of this man just as much as he's determined to own her. We learn more about Siobhan's roots, which even she did not know.

My four star rating is for this story. I was show more once a big reader of urban fantasy and similar books but now read only a very small amount. Ms. Galenorn has stayed on my list without question. She's a great writer and keeps me hooked. show less

So I like fairy tales. A Lot. If I didn't, I wouldn't be as excited about "Never After" as I am. I thought this was an interesting, fun anthology. Some common themes appear to run throughout. The stories feature princesses who are running away from marriages to men they didn't pick. In most of the stories, their father, the King is a jerk. In most of the stories, the princesses run away. Yet all the tales are unique and engaging. The book was a fairly quick read and I am glad to have bought it.

"Can He Bake A Cherry Pie" by Laurell K Hamilton headlines the book, but her story is disappointingly short. The good news is that the story comes without the vaguest hint of sex. It also reminded me that Hamilton is an excellent writer. show more Unfortunately the story is so short, the reader is left wanting more. As it stands I don't believe its a story I will long remember. 3 stars.

"The Shadow of Mist" by Yasmin Galenorn was very good. The story takes place in her Sisters of the Moon series, which I really enjoy. Instead of being narrated by one of the three sisters its narrated by their Selkie friend Siobhan. This story was also on the short side, but it was fully developed and I didn't feel cheated. 4 stars.

"The Tangleroot Palace" by Marjorie M Liu was a wonderful story and probably my second favorite of the bunch. It was about a princess who didn't want to marry a wicked WarLord so she runs away to find her future in the Tangleroot forest. Her adventures during her journey and the madcap group of characters she met up with are the strongest charms of this story and her 'prince' ended up being my favorite of all the men we met in this anthology. The one thing that kept this story from being five star is that I didn't care for the big magical finale in the forest. I thought it wasn't well explained and it sort of didn't make sense. Its a credit to her characters and the story Liu drew that this didnt' bother me much more. 4 star.

"The Wrong Bridegroom" by Sharon Shinn Was the story I least looked forward to. The funny thing, as things often end up, this was my absolute favorite of the foursome. This was also the only story by an author that I had never read previously. (I've never read a novel by Liu, but I have read several short stories). This story was the meatiest of the group and was roughly 150 pages. This was truly a fully fleshed out story with characters that developed and grew along the way. It also had the best finale of the four stories and I was engaged and charmed by the tale. I find myself wanting to read more of these characters. 5 Star

This was a clean, delightful collection of tales and its a shame that the leasst magical one of the bunch was the headliner. I hope everyone who bought the book for Hamilton or Galenorn actually read to the end for the other two gems. show less

Lightweight but great fun nevertheless. Bought this for the Sharon Shinn story, which did not disappoint since I love her character development skills. Very satisfying to see Princess Olivia grow up and get smart.

The LKH story was snarky and amusing, although I did think it read a little too much like a first draft that could have used a little filler and maybe some polishing. At least the plot wasn't entirely taken over by sex all over the place, like the Anita Blake series. I never thought that porn would become so boring for me to read. I miss Original celibate Anita.

The Yasmine Galenorn Selkie story was enjoyable, although I never did find out what's the what with the vampire sister. I felt I must be missing a backstoryI didn't show more understand. The Marjorie Liu story was my least favorite since she never really explained why the dread Warlord would be traveling in an actor's guise, or why the terrible Queen of the Tanglewood was better off imprisoned. This story was a nice enough pastime, but I'll not seek out her other works. show less