GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Sheep Review: Femme Fatales by Linda Welch | I Smell Sheep

Monday, March 5, 2012

Sheep Review: Femme Fatales by Linda Welch

The author of Whisperings Paranormal Mysteries takes you to a future where creatures of magic and myth openly mingle with humans, or hide inside other skins. When Mankind and the Otherworldy live side by side, who are the monsters?

Let Me Bring You Into The Light
Priestess Veronica accepts gifts for the temple, and rewards supplicants in the name of her god. When she whispers in their ear, they leave with a smiling face and promise to return. They will return, time after time, until she brings them into the light.
Harpy Song
Special investigator by night, the ultimate housewife by day, Rhea adores cooking, cleaning and pampering her husband Penn. One evening she witnesses a neighbor’s brutality. Someone should have told him, nobody had better disturb Rhea’s domestic bliss.
Cast in Stone
Meddie has been here since the dawn of the world. Lauded for her art, she captures the mighty and the lowly in stone.
Come Fly with Me
The gargoyle thinks she has seen everything on Earth, but when she decides to die and her soul flees to a human body, she learns the evil of which men are capable.
Troll Love
Ashamed of her stunted body, little Brillig does not think a man can love her. When she falls for Christian and her feelings are reciprocated, she must choose between her desire, and his life.
Gladiators
Jo is a bounty hunter and gladiator undefeated in the arena. Betrayed by her elven lover, she and her friend Etta are doomed. But Jo has an edge

I really didn’t know what to expect when I downloaded this anthology. Linda Welch writes one of my favorite paranormal mysteries, The Whispering Series. I enjoy her writing style, humor and the dark edge to those stories, but she said this anthology was very different from those books. Boy, are they ever! And in the good way. These short stories are dark urban fantasy with a horror element, my kind of reading. The tag line for Femme Fatales could have been: Welcome to the dark side, we have monsters!

What I loved most about this anthology, other than how the women in these stories go from prey to predator in a blink of an eye, was the unique world-building. Usually authors first create a world in a novel and then release some cool short stories set in that world. As a result, sometimes you have to be familiar with the novels to really appreciate the shorts. Welch did things the other way around. During the course of the 6 stories she masterfully created a fascinating and disturbing world in which each story about a different woman living Austin, TX 50 years after the Great Cataclysm when the Earth split and creatures of the “otherworld” entered and the elves took control. Under the elves’ feudal style of government things are getting better, but the humans and other races are beginning to want their freedom back. Each short story gives us another POV of what life is like in this new world. I would love this anthology just based on the world building technique. Be warned, these stories are dark and life is brutal in this new world, but the vengeance is sweet.
only $.99!

4 “I like the way you taste” Sheep!




Femme Fatales is only available as an ebook, The Whispering Novels can be purchased as paper or ebook








12 comments:

  1. Thank you to my favorite sheep herder. Baaaaa!

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  2. Intriguing blurb. I had to pick up a copy. Looking forward to the read.

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    1. if you like it dark, you will enjoy. Let us know what you thought!

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  3. Thanks for the review. The author is new to me, but I love a good anthology and the premise sounds fascinating. I had to pick up a copy too!

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    1. she is an excellent writer. You should give her Whispering series a look. Along Came a Demon is the first one. It is a paranormal mystery series, but not a cozy ;) and Royal is smoking hot!

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  4. So this really sounds like something unique and special. Loved this review, very thought out. :) I really need to grab a Kindle so I can nab books at the deal prices!

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    1. I think my Kindle is one of the best investments I ever made in tech. I have been able to get so may awesome reads for free to ridiculously reasonably priced, it has definitely paid for itself :)

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    2. exactly!!! You do become an ebook hoarder though...not that it's a bad thing ;)

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  5. I have the first three books in the Whispering series in my TBR and have not gotten to them yet, will have to move them up. This anthology sounds like a bit of fun to me. I certainly perked up with the comment about going from prey to predator - yep that is a really button pusher for me. Thanks for sharing about this interesting read.

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    1. yeah, the first story really surprised me when I realized what was happening . The Whispering Series is my kind of story. First person POV of a smart, reasonable leading lady and her OMG perfect supernatural partner. He even cooks! Then there are her needy ghost roommates.

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