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Jen Davis's Reviews > Of Claws and Fangs
Of Claws and Fangs (Jane Yellowrock; Soulwood)
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This anthology features a robust mix of stories from the world of Jane Yellowrock, and while I didn't love them all equally, I did really enjoy most. These are generally previously released works, but I hadn't read any of them, so they were all new to me.
"Candy From a Vampire" - a vignette from Leo's point of view. Don't expect a real story here. It's more like a scene, a snapshot, of the vampire on Halloween, as he hosts a party for the children of New Orleans. This is really too short for me to have an opinion on, but die-hard Leo fans might be excited to see him again here. This one was set after he met Jane, unlike "Make It Snappy" which was set a few years before. Here, we follow Leo as he is set up to be assassinated. Obviously, it didn't work, but there were some solid action sequences and several familiar faces, like George and Katie. It's been so long since I've seen the interplay between Leo and his people, it took me back. You can see so much of his character here, the arrogance, the charm, the decidedly inhumanness of him. Plus, there's a cool little twist at the end. I liked this one.
"It's Just a Date" takes place during the time Jane is Leo's enforcer. The plot centers on a triple date with Jane and Bruiser, Eli and Syl, and a first date for Jodi and Wrassler. I always enjoy time spent between Jane and George, but of course, the date doesn't go according to plan. There's magic and violence and a brief question of who is the intended target.
"Life's a Bitch and Then You Die" brings us closer to the current timeline. It's set just before Shattered Bonds, when Jane is spending most of her time in Beast form to stave off her cancer. I really liked it. We get a memory of Wesa and Cat as they are captured --maybe by a covert ops group--and caged along with other animals that may or may not be some kinds of shifter. This is the beginning of them calling themselves Beast. And it sets up a mystery I hope will play out in other books about who these men are and how they'll get taken down.
"Black Friday Shopping" hops over to Soulwood territory, which is A-okay with me. I am a fan of Nell and Occam too! This short follows them as they try to pinpoint the source of magic wreaking havoc at a WalMart on Black Friday. It was too short. "How Occam Got His Name" was meatier. This was his origin story, which was sad, but also really interesting. His dad really sucked.
“Shiloh and the Brick” takes place in the early days after Molly’s niece was turned into a vamp. It shows the push and pull as she fights with her family about her training and responsibilities. This was another showcase for Leo, showing how much he had in hand as master of the city. I didn’t think I would miss him, but these stories remind me of his weight as a character.
“Beast Hunts Vampires With Jane” is a Beast POV from the early days when Jane just killed vampires, before she was so wrapped up in the politics. She’s undercover at a dance club, luring her vampire prey. Short but fun.
We jump to Edmund’s POV for “Of Cats and Cars,” a story he shares with Beast. It’s set later in the series after Jane became Dark Queen, and I had a blast watching Ed and Beast bargain with each other over a hunt. I always enjoy Beast Perspective, but this is the first time I recall reading from Edmund’s. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
“Jane Tracks Down Miz A” takes us with Jane as she discovers a missing blood servant may not be as dead as she thought. It’s pretty short, while "Anzu, Duba, Beast” is a little longer. It takes us along with Jane as she gives the Mercy Blade the hunt she promised him for his help in a previous book. The Duba in the title is the prey in the hunt, a bear-hyena were-hybrid that is wreaking havoc and needs to be put down--a pair of them actually. This is story is Jane's first shift into an Anzu and highlights the dynamics of her kind of weird relationship with Gee. Pretty good.
"Eighteen Sixty" is the both the title and the year the next story takes place. It's the first of two shorts told through the POV of Atayas Fire-Wind, Jane's brother. It definitely lacked the quality of the Jane stories that pulls me in. It just didn't have the same personality. I was bored. Though it did pique my interest that he mentioned his woman was an Everheart witch. Did I know this already? If so, I forgot. And it is kind of an interesting coincidence that he and Jane share a connection to that family. His other story, "Wolves Howling in the Night," was set about 20 years later, but still, obviously, way in the past. It’s definitely the more engaging of the two. Atayas and his “Everheart woman” enter a town to discover a woman had been sold to a brothel by her new husband. The plot follows their rescue of her and bringing justice to her attackers. I got so much more of a sense of Atayas's character here. And his relationship resonated. Now I am a bit more interested in him than I was before.
Next up, “Death of a Fashionista” is a Molly POV and it’s one of my favorite stories in the book. It takes place in a time Molly is really struggling with her death magics. Two powerful strangers appear at her home, looking for power, and it doesn’t go quite the way they planned. I love the Everheart-Trueblood family and the connection between Molly and Evan. They are so strong together! I hope we get more of them.
We stick with the family for “My Dark Knight,” though Angie takes the reins in this one. Someone is attacking the family home, and Angie must use her magic to protect herself and her little brother. Only, things get hairier when her magic crosses with her mother's and that of her angel. She has to call Edmund for help. I find their relationship interesting but I am always a little leery of the possibility that one day a grown-up Angie will end up with him. After reading the story, thankfully, that seems a little less likely. She is such a fun character. She is going to be an awesome lead for her own series one day.
“Bound into Darkness” is a full-fledged novella and follows Molly's sister Liz as she goes out on a mission-slash-date with Eli shortly after the events of Shattered Bonds. Someone has hired her to find a lost dog, deep in the woods, away from civilization. This was great. It had action, romance, demons, vamps, weres, and witchcraft all rolled into one. Admittedly, it was kind of romance-light but I enjoyed the banter and... the possibilities. I would totally read more from these two together.
Finally, we have "The Ties That Bind." I've got to admit, it took me a second to figure out who this story was about--the name Bedelia didn't ring a bell. But it's the Everheart matriarch --and Lincoln Shaddock! And this is tied directly to the story before this one. I loved the exploration (and revelations) from their past as they work together to take down the witches responsible for setting up Liz for the demon/were attack. A great story and a solid way to wrap up the anthology.
I think any fans of Jane Yellowrock will enjoy this collection as well.
*ARC provided by publisher
"Candy From a Vampire" - a vignette from Leo's point of view. Don't expect a real story here. It's more like a scene, a snapshot, of the vampire on Halloween, as he hosts a party for the children of New Orleans. This is really too short for me to have an opinion on, but die-hard Leo fans might be excited to see him again here. This one was set after he met Jane, unlike "Make It Snappy" which was set a few years before. Here, we follow Leo as he is set up to be assassinated. Obviously, it didn't work, but there were some solid action sequences and several familiar faces, like George and Katie. It's been so long since I've seen the interplay between Leo and his people, it took me back. You can see so much of his character here, the arrogance, the charm, the decidedly inhumanness of him. Plus, there's a cool little twist at the end. I liked this one.
"It's Just a Date" takes place during the time Jane is Leo's enforcer. The plot centers on a triple date with Jane and Bruiser, Eli and Syl, and a first date for Jodi and Wrassler. I always enjoy time spent between Jane and George, but of course, the date doesn't go according to plan. There's magic and violence and a brief question of who is the intended target.
"Life's a Bitch and Then You Die" brings us closer to the current timeline. It's set just before Shattered Bonds, when Jane is spending most of her time in Beast form to stave off her cancer. I really liked it. We get a memory of Wesa and Cat as they are captured --maybe by a covert ops group--and caged along with other animals that may or may not be some kinds of shifter. This is the beginning of them calling themselves Beast. And it sets up a mystery I hope will play out in other books about who these men are and how they'll get taken down.
"Black Friday Shopping" hops over to Soulwood territory, which is A-okay with me. I am a fan of Nell and Occam too! This short follows them as they try to pinpoint the source of magic wreaking havoc at a WalMart on Black Friday. It was too short. "How Occam Got His Name" was meatier. This was his origin story, which was sad, but also really interesting. His dad really sucked.
“Shiloh and the Brick” takes place in the early days after Molly’s niece was turned into a vamp. It shows the push and pull as she fights with her family about her training and responsibilities. This was another showcase for Leo, showing how much he had in hand as master of the city. I didn’t think I would miss him, but these stories remind me of his weight as a character.
“Beast Hunts Vampires With Jane” is a Beast POV from the early days when Jane just killed vampires, before she was so wrapped up in the politics. She’s undercover at a dance club, luring her vampire prey. Short but fun.
We jump to Edmund’s POV for “Of Cats and Cars,” a story he shares with Beast. It’s set later in the series after Jane became Dark Queen, and I had a blast watching Ed and Beast bargain with each other over a hunt. I always enjoy Beast Perspective, but this is the first time I recall reading from Edmund’s. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
“Jane Tracks Down Miz A” takes us with Jane as she discovers a missing blood servant may not be as dead as she thought. It’s pretty short, while "Anzu, Duba, Beast” is a little longer. It takes us along with Jane as she gives the Mercy Blade the hunt she promised him for his help in a previous book. The Duba in the title is the prey in the hunt, a bear-hyena were-hybrid that is wreaking havoc and needs to be put down--a pair of them actually. This is story is Jane's first shift into an Anzu and highlights the dynamics of her kind of weird relationship with Gee. Pretty good.
"Eighteen Sixty" is the both the title and the year the next story takes place. It's the first of two shorts told through the POV of Atayas Fire-Wind, Jane's brother. It definitely lacked the quality of the Jane stories that pulls me in. It just didn't have the same personality. I was bored. Though it did pique my interest that he mentioned his woman was an Everheart witch. Did I know this already? If so, I forgot. And it is kind of an interesting coincidence that he and Jane share a connection to that family. His other story, "Wolves Howling in the Night," was set about 20 years later, but still, obviously, way in the past. It’s definitely the more engaging of the two. Atayas and his “Everheart woman” enter a town to discover a woman had been sold to a brothel by her new husband. The plot follows their rescue of her and bringing justice to her attackers. I got so much more of a sense of Atayas's character here. And his relationship resonated. Now I am a bit more interested in him than I was before.
Next up, “Death of a Fashionista” is a Molly POV and it’s one of my favorite stories in the book. It takes place in a time Molly is really struggling with her death magics. Two powerful strangers appear at her home, looking for power, and it doesn’t go quite the way they planned. I love the Everheart-Trueblood family and the connection between Molly and Evan. They are so strong together! I hope we get more of them.
We stick with the family for “My Dark Knight,” though Angie takes the reins in this one. Someone is attacking the family home, and Angie must use her magic to protect herself and her little brother. Only, things get hairier when her magic crosses with her mother's and that of her angel. She has to call Edmund for help. I find their relationship interesting but I am always a little leery of the possibility that one day a grown-up Angie will end up with him. After reading the story, thankfully, that seems a little less likely. She is such a fun character. She is going to be an awesome lead for her own series one day.
“Bound into Darkness” is a full-fledged novella and follows Molly's sister Liz as she goes out on a mission-slash-date with Eli shortly after the events of Shattered Bonds. Someone has hired her to find a lost dog, deep in the woods, away from civilization. This was great. It had action, romance, demons, vamps, weres, and witchcraft all rolled into one. Admittedly, it was kind of romance-light but I enjoyed the banter and... the possibilities. I would totally read more from these two together.
Finally, we have "The Ties That Bind." I've got to admit, it took me a second to figure out who this story was about--the name Bedelia didn't ring a bell. But it's the Everheart matriarch --and Lincoln Shaddock! And this is tied directly to the story before this one. I loved the exploration (and revelations) from their past as they work together to take down the witches responsible for setting up Liz for the demon/were attack. A great story and a solid way to wrap up the anthology.
I think any fans of Jane Yellowrock will enjoy this collection as well.
*ARC provided by publisher
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Reading Progress
July 3, 2022
–
Started Reading
July 3, 2022
– Shelved
July 5, 2022
–
Finished Reading
