Caffeinated Reviewer

Heroic Hearts is dedicated to Rachel Caine, who was supposed to be a contributor before her passing. This anthology is filled with some of my favorite authors and narrators, so naturally I devoured their stories about heroes. Whether you listen or read, this one is a keeper. 

An all-star urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, and more . . .

In this short story collection of courage, adventure, and magic, heroes—ordinary people who do the right thing—bravely step forward.

But running toward danger might cost them everything. . . .

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s “Little Things,” the pixie Toot-Toot discovers an invader unbeknownst to the wizard Harry Dresden . . . and in order to defeat it, he’ll have to team up with the dread cat Mister.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs’s “Dating Terrors,” the werewolf Asil finds an online date might just turn into something more—if she can escape the dark magic binding her.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s “The Return of the Mage,” the Britlingen mercenaries will discover more than they’ve bargained for when they answer the call of a distress beacon on a strange and remote world.

And in #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s “Comfort Zone,” the necromancer Chloe Saunders and the werewolf Derek Souza are just trying to get through college. But they can’t refuse a ghost pleading for help.

ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY Annie Bellet * Anne Bishop * Jennifer Brozek * Kevin Hearne * Nancy Holder * Kerrie L. Hughes * Chloe Neill * R.R. Virdi

Brand-new stories from my favorite authors with a few new to me authors to sample- a feast from beginning to end. If you love urban fantasy, this is a must have collection.

• Little Things by Jim Butcher read by James Masters (The Dresden Files, standalone)– First kudos to Masters for keeping in character. I love the pixie Toot-Toot and this is his heroic tale. When enemy forces breach the castle walls, not even Bob believes Toot. This event takes place about a fortnight after the battles. Harry is recovering from injuries and dealing with loss. It was a clever way to give us an update and give our Pixie the spotlight.
• The Dark Ship by Ann Bishop read by Alexandra Harris (Others World, standalone) I loved this! The Others is one of my favorite urban fantasy series. This takes us to a port city in one of the human areas and a young girl with a gift finds herself at significant risk after aiding a pony. Alexandra Harris was wonderful and the reason I listen to the series on audio first before diving into my hardcover editions. I want more!!
• Comfort Zone by Kelley Armstrong read by Cassandra Morris (The Summing Series, standalone) I love this author, but have not read the Summoning series. I found myself engaged and enjoyed spending time with Derek and Chloe as they help a ghost who is worried about his little sister. Cassandra Morris provided the voices and did a wonderful job.
• Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet read by Maggi-Meg Reed (new to me author) An interesting story involving witches, demons and grim reapers. We travel with a mother and daughter as they try to discover what happened to their daughter. Not sure if this is tied to a series, but I found the world fascinating and enjoyed the narration. I would dip into this western world again. Delightful narration by Reed.
• Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne read by Luke Daniels (Iron Druid Chronicles, standalone) It was wonderful spending time with Atticus, Oberon and Starbuck, as they investigate a forest fire. The story told from Oberon’s POV had me snickering with delight. Luke Daniels as always did a stellar job with the narrator and is the reason I listen to all of Hearne’s series.
• Grave Gambles by R.R. Virdi read by Travis Baldree – (Grave Beginnings, standalone) I have not read this author, but loved the concept of Grave Gambles. The protagonist wakes up in a body and has a limited amount of time to determine how the person was murdered. Travis Baldree was a new to me narrator who did a stellar job from voices to tone. I am adding this series to my wishlist.
• Silverspell by Chloe Neill read by read by Suzanne Elise Freeman (Heirs of Chicagoland, standalone) I am enjoying the Heirs of Chicagoland and this was a nice short. Elisa and Connor are investigating a series of ritualist murders. It was an intriguing case, and I enjoyed watching Elisa do her thing. Suzanne Elise Freeman was delightful with the narration and has me curious about the series on audio. It was the perfect teaser to hold me over until the next release.
• Troll Life by Kerrie L. Hughes read by Sean Patrick Hopkins (new to me author) The world made me curious enough to see if there was a series tied to it. Trolls, vampires and more await you at the train station where trouble lurks. I liked Sean Patrick Hopkins narration and added him to my list of narrators to look for.
• Return of the Mage by Charlaine Harris read by Johanna Parker – I’ve read some of the author’s work but was not familiar with these characters or world. I listened twice and felt a tad lost. There are mages, rituals, combat and a distress call answered by the Britlingen mercenaries. Johanna Parker gave a delightful narration that fit the tone and characters.
• The Vampires Karamazov by Nancy Holder read by Daniel Henning (The Brothers Karamazov) This is another new to me author and my least favorite story of the collection. It was dark, old school and grim. The writing is good, I just felt like I would have enjoyed it more if I knew the series. Daniel Henning is a new to me narrator, but has a pleasant tone and I would listen to him again.
• The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic by Jennifer Brozek read by Nancy Linari. (new to me author) The story held my attention as an evil entity caused problems at a museum. I would like to read more about these witches. The story was engaging despite the quickly ending that left me flat. This has a cozy mystery vibe you might like, and the narrator was perfect for this story.
• Dating Terror by Patricia Briggs narrated by Holter Graham (Alpha & Omega, standalone) Both Briggs and Graham are favorites of mine and I slipped right into this story. This is another adventure involving dating for Asil and is set in the Mercy Thompson world. As always, I had a blast listening. Briggs has a way of pulling you in and making you laugh.

A fantastic collection for urban fantasy readers and listeners! From shorts in beloved series to new to me authors, narrators and series, I devoured this and highly recommend adding it to your audio collection. Some of my favorites were from Butcher, Bishop and Hearne.

Amazon | Audible

About Anne Bishop

Anne Bishop lives in upstate New York where she enjoys gardening, music, and writing dark, romantic stories. She is the author of fourteen novels, including the award-winning Black Jewels Trilogy. Her most recent novel,Twilight’s Dawn, made the New York Times bestsellers list. She is currently working on a new series, which is an urban dark fantasy with a bit of a twist.

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About Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing mysteries for thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area of the United States. She now lives in southern Arkansas with her husband and three children. Though her early work consisted largely of poems about ghosts and, later, teenage angst, she began writing plays when she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She began to write books a few years later. Her later books have been in the urban fantasy genre. She is best known for The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, which HBO later adapted for its dramatic series entitled True Blood.

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About Chloe Neill

Chloe Neill is the New York Times bestselling author of the Chicagoland Vampires Novels, the Devil's Isle Novels, and a YA series, the Dark Elite. Chloe was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest. When she's not writing, she bakes, works, and scours the Internet for good recipes and great graphic design. Chloe also maintains her sanity by spending time with her boys--her husband and their dogs, Baxter and Scout.

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About Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri. Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.

Website | Twitter

About Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

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About Kevin Hearne

Kevin is the NYT bestselling author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, as well as two forthcoming series: The Seven Kennings, an epic fantasy trilogy, and Tales of Pell, a fantasy series co-authored with Delilah S. Dawson.

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About Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs was born in Butte, Montana to a children’s librarian who passed on to her kids a love of reading and books. Patricia grew up reading fairy tales and books about horses, and later developed an interest in folklore and history. When she decided to write a book of her own, a fantasy book seemed a natural choice. Patricia graduated from Montana State University with degrees in history and German and she worked for a while as a substitute teacher. Currently, she lives in Montana with her husband, children and six horses and writes full-time, much to the delight of her fans.

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About Alexandra Harris

Alexandra Harris is a British/Canadian voice-over artist and actor. She now lives in Los Angeles where she’s been narrating audiobooks for over half a decade. She's been nominated for her work on stage, including Reverie and The Edinburgh Festival. Film and TV credits include MVP, Four Hours, and The Last Man.…

About Holter Graham

Holter Graham is an actor and voiceover artist whose principal film credits include Fly Away Home, Hairspray, and Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive. His television credits include Army Wives, Damages, and Rescue Me. A multiple Audie Award Nominee, Graham has received Best of the Year awards from AudioFile magazine.

About Johanna Parker

Johanna Parker is an Audie Award Winning, Earphone Award Winning actress living and working in San Francisco. Since narrating her first audiobook for Recorded Books in 2002, Johanna has received high praise for her work in all genres, including the young adult Mediator series by Meg Cabot, Earlene Fowler’s Bennie Harper Mysteries, and her portrayal of Sookie Stackhouse in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire books of which Audiofile has said, “Parker personifies Harris's perky Southern heroine, Sookie Stackhouse. Her splendid pacing allows listeners time to absorb the action and emotions…listeners will be enthralled.”

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About Luke Daniels

Luke Daniels has narrated over 250 audiobooks, has been the grateful recipient of thirteen AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has earned three Audie nominations. His background is in classical theater and film. Luke has performed at repertory theaters around the country, but now he resides in the Midwest with his pack.

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About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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