Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology

by Tammy Blackwell

• ASIN: B00ICP5FSM
• Publish Date: 2014
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 305
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

Take Me To Your Reader is an anthology put together in honor of the 2014 UtopYA convention. The theme of the convention and the anthology being aliens and outerspace. I read this before my trip and I’m glad I did, because I found new authors just in time to have a chat with them and download a few of their books onto my kindle.

The Divided – Amy Bartol

This was really interesting! I loved the unique feel of the aliens involved and how there was an easy to understand complexity to their nature. It’s definitely one of those stories you wish had a series to go along with it. I did have a bit of trouble taking the proper nouns seriously though. This is also the longest story in the book.

Monsters of Earth – Tammy Blackwell

This one took a more contemporary feel while maintaining the alien theme. It’s actually incredibly sad and heartwarming, but it’s also rather short. I liked the idea of the ‘alien’ species traveling to other worlds to help eradicate monsters, whatever they might be.

The House on Maple Street – Amanda Havard

The House on Maple Street is an incredibly fun story with bizarre aliens and a brainwashed town. While I wasn’t fond of one of the side characters I found myself enjoying every bit of this one. It also had me craving hot fudge sundaes and Blizzards from DQ.

The Force – Heather Hildenbrand

The Force is part sci-fi coming of age and part Hangover! A group of guys (aliens of course) come to Earth for a week and after a wild night they find themselves in quite the mess with only hours before they their shuttle arrives. It’s a really fun story with a touch of cute romance.

Ultra-Con – Tiffany King

This is probably my least favorite of the bunch. I didn’t really connect with the main character, which is unfortunate since the whole thing takes place at a geeky convention. It’s like Body Snatchers meet Comic Con, and while it was a fun read I just didn’t find myself too interested in it.

Snow Globe – C.A. Kunz

I loved this one! It’s a really sweet and heartwarming read, that made me smile.

The Black Stone Heir – Sarah M. Ross

This was another really interesting one. There was a lot of cool ideas packed into a short story and I really wish there had been more. I loved the aliens and the dual POVs. I definitely want to read more from this author.

The Ascendant by Raine Thomas

This one sort of confused me a bit. I wanted to understand the “whys” and “hows” more but with the story being so short I never got that chance. The whole premise of the story is really awesome, but I wanted to know more about the main character and her guardian.



Overall it was a great collection that really put me in the mood for an equally great convention! I definitely recommend grabbing this one if you get the chance.

[Sarah Says]

And I loved Loved LOVED this book. I really enjoyed this book as a whole and I can see myself reading its stories again and again. I will definitely be looking up some of the authors other works.

As there is eight stories I’m only going to write brief comments on each one.

"The Divided" by Amy Bartol
I wanted this story to keep going. I could read a whole novel about Vi, Mattie, So-wah and Clyde, in fact I’d really like to. In this brief snapshot of the characters’ lives we get intergalactic romance, revenge, action and a glimpse at what could be a much bigger story. You immediately feel for Violet; she’s a young woman with her whole life ahead of her but then her Violet finance is murdered and what follows his death introduces her to a whole other world.
Five Stars out of Five.

"Monsters of Earth" by Tammy Blackwell
At the start you think you’re going to get some light-hearted monster slaying romp, but what you end up getting in this very short story is a lot of emotion and a monster that you really hope Helem can defeat. Four Stars out of Five.

"The House on Maple Street" by Amanda Havard
This was a nice light hearted boy finds aliens, boy outwits aliens and makes a new friend tail. You get nasty aliens, friendship, action and an average guy as the hero. I also think I would enjoy this story longer as well, maybe the aliens come back for revenge huh? I really enjoyed the Fenton and Travis dynamic, I think they could have some rather good adventures together.
Four Stars out of Five.

"The Force" by Heather Hildenbrand
I started reading this story and thought to myself this is sounding very much like that hangover movie but with teenage aliens instead of middle aged men. It got better as it went on and turned out to be about more than just waking up with a mate missing and not remembering what happened the night before. It’s not a bad story but the ending was a letdown for me, I would have liked the romance to build more between Axel and Becca and maybe even see him smuggling her back to his home land (but that’s just my personal taste) still a fun and entertaining read.
Three Stars out of Five.

"Ultra-Con" by Tiffany King
Ahh having your body taken over by an alien force was one of my recurring nightmares as a child. We get good aliens, bad aliens, action, danger and humans caught in-between it all. The story built nicely but then the final standoff seemed too rushed for my taste. Three stars out of Five.

"Snow Globe" by C.A. Kunz
I would have liked it to keep going, I want to know how Kyle goes fitting in on earth. A nice sweet little story about an alien boy finding happiness thanks to a human girl that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy.
Four stars out of Five.

"The Black Stone Heir" by Sarah M. Ross
This was a lovely well rounded story. We had action, adventure and romance. I really liked how the narration kept changing between the main two characters. It’s a loved each other from affair, unknowingly, and then coming together – Aww my favourite kind of love story.
Four Stars out of Five

"The Ascendant" by Raine Thomas
I NEED More!!!!!! Wow loved it. In this short story we get action, bad aliens and forbidden romance. I want a whole series of Kyr learning her lessons, coming across Ty each time and then finally how they continue their relationship once she takes on her destined responsibilities! Please give me more to read!
Five Stars out of Five.

Oh man I have the biggest book hangover ever. I’m going back to the beginning and reading them all again. Bye now!