"Fantastic mix of authors, love and supernatural beings!"
Mysteria, just the name itself invokes images of magic,
mystery and mayhem. The town of Mysteria is located in the
mountains of Colorado, close enough for a day trip into
Denver. Founded, surprisingly enough, when a demon found a
wagon train full of those unwanted by "normal" humans—
vampires, witches, werewolves, fairies and one nonmagical
person—and told them all where to settle. Now we have the
pleasure of finding out how four very different women, each
with own unique gifts, find love and happiness. Our first story, MORTAL IN MYSTERIA by Susan Grant, follows
Harmony Faithfull, the new pastor in Mysteria. The daughter
of an extremely successful pastor, Harmony is newly arrived
in Mysteria and still isn't sure what of make of this
place. No one asks questions about the weird goings-on. Now
that her family has left after fixing up the place for her,
Harmony is determined to follow in her father's footsteps
and make a success of her church. Once more, her church is
empty this Sunday, but Harmony refuses to let it get her
down. Imagine her surprise when she finds a naked man under
her apple tree. And when this man tells her he's a demon
fallen in disgrace with Lucifer, naturally, Harmony doesn't
believe it and offers "Damon" a job as her handyman. Of
course, Harmony isn't exactly "normal" herself; it seems
she inherited the talents of a seer from her great-
grandmother. When strange little creatures begin showing
up, which Damon tells her are rats, Harmony begins to
realize there's more going on than what she realizes. Will the pastor and the ex-demon have a chance at love?
Will they be able to keep these "rats" away? Will Harmony's
church ever be filled on Sunday mornings? The next story, ALONE WOLF by MaryJanice Davidson, is
another of her werewolf stories. Cole Jones was an orphan;
his parents having died in a car accident. All alone, he
was shuffled from one foster home to the next until he met
Mama Zee, who took him in. Even though Cole wasn't the
brightest bulb, Mama Zee accepted him for who he was.
Always knowing he was different, Cole felt the urge to run
away at certain times. However, he always came back to Mama
Zee. When he grew up, he became quite a big boy and people
paid him for protection. When she knew it was time, Mama
Zee sent Cole away. She told him it was time he find a home
of his own with others like him. So away he goes and ends
up in Mysteria, Colorado. He finds a home for sale on the
outskirts of town and buys it, paying cash. Of course, the
realtor, Charlene Houtenan, is his idea of a beautiful
woman. He also didn't realize the house already had an
occupant, a very vocal ghost. Will Cole and Charlene have a chance at love? Will Cole
ever find others of his kind and learn about werewolves?
And exactly what is Charlene? Next up in our anthology is THE WITCHES OF MYSTERIA AND THE
DEAD WHO LOVE THEM by Gena Showalter. Genevieve Tawdry and
her two sisters are all witches. Her oldest sister, Godiva,
has the gift of healing. Her other sister, Glory, has love
down pat. And Genevieve herself has the power of vengeance.
Of course, this hasn't helped Genevieve any when it comes
to Hunter Knight. She's been in love with the man since she
was a teenager. Every time she makes a move on him, he
rebuffs her, which just makes Genevieve even more
determined then ever to have him. The problem is, he keeps
sending her mixed signals. She can tell he desires her, but
then in the next minute, he'll walk away from her. It's not
like the man has been celibate either. So when Godiva finds
an injured wolf to help, Genevieve finally manages to talk
Glory into helping her. Said help consisting of a love
potion. With potion in hand, Genevieve puts on her "almost
there" dress and heads to Hunter's bar. Even though Glory
told Genevieve to drink only half the bottle, Genevieve
drinks the whole thing and walks in. Will Hunter rebuff Genevieve once again? Is there any
chance of a life for these two? Will Glory's "love" potion
work? And last up, we have CANDY COX AND THE BIG BAD (WERE)WOLF
by P.C. Cast. When Godiva calls her friend Candice Cox and
explains how the wolf she helped turned out to be a
werewolf and the two of them are happily in lust, Candy is
disgusted. After finally divorcing husband number whatever,
Candy is experiencing one of the longest dry periods she
has had and doesn't want to hear all about her friend's
sexual escapades. It turns out Candy is a descendant of the
only nonmagical person in that long ago wagon train and
her "gift" is non magic. Magic doesn't work on or around
her and Candy feels this is why she's divorced so often.
Since love is a magic all it's own, it won't work around
her. At forty, Candy is still in good shape and maintains
this by jogging. When she ends up with a cramp in the
middle of jog, she's approached by a man with a warrior's
body. This body belongs to Justin Woods, one of Candy's ex-
students. So Candy does her best to ignore the feelings of
lust just looking at Justin invoke in her. Well, Justin
isn't happy about this and does his best to win Candy over,
including spouting poetry to her, listening to her—and not
only pretending to listen to her, but really listening to
her—and fairy fireworks. Will Candy give in to Justin's wooing? Will she take a
chance on love? Will Justin be able to prove to Candy that
she can have this kind of magic? MYSTERIA is a fantastic paranormal anthology. Authors
MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, P.C. Cast and Gena
Showalter have outdone themselves with these four stories
of love in this supernatural town. We have a little bit of
everything in this anthology, from a sheriff handcuffing
elves, to the Desdaine triplets—I'd love to see what
happens when they come of age—to Dr. Fogg, the town's
doctor who uses some strange methods to cure Mysteria's
inhabitants. And put the book down? I don't think so. This
one kept me reading not only way beyond my bedtime, but
also had me engrossed in it instead of working. Even with
four different authors and four different styles, the
stories flow one into the next seamlessly. And throughout
all the angst of love and romance, there's always a bit of
humor to keep the mood light. This is one book I cannot
recommend highly enough. I love all four of these authors
and in MYSTERIA, they definitely don't disappoint!
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted November 9, 2006
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Meet the women of Mysteria - and the creatures they fall for - in four all new stories of paranormal passion.
**2007 PEARL HONORABLE MENTION - BEST ANTHOLOGY** Hunky werewolves, delicious demons and, drop-dead sexy
witches all have the same address...
Hundreds of years ago, in the mountains of Colorado (just
close enough to Denver for great shoe shopping), the small
town of Mysteria was "accidentally" founded by a random act
of demonic kindness. Over time, it has become a veritable
magnet for the supernatural—a place where magic has
quietly coexisted with the mundane world.
It's a town like any other town, where the high school's
Fighting Fairies give fans something to cheer about, where
everyone knows your name—if not exactly what you
are—at the local bar, and where the wishing well
actually lives up to its name.
Strange occurrences happen every day, but now the ladies of
Mysteria are about to unleash a tempest of seduction that
will have tongues wagging for centuries to come... Genre: Paranormal Romance, Anthology, Fantasy, Magic
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