An anthology by Karen Chance, Marjorie M Liu, Yasmine Galenorn, and Eileen Wilks
Imprint: Berkley
Publisher: Penguin Group
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Anthology
My Rating:   4 of 5 flames

Blurb from publisher:
Four of today’s hottest urban fantasy writers together for the first time! 

From today’s most provocative authors come four tales of urban fantasy and paranormal romance exploring body art that is more than it seems-in a world of magic and mayhem that always leaves its mark.

This captivating tattoo theme surrounds each author’s popular characters and worlds: Karen Chance‘s war mage Lia de Croissets, Marjorie M. Liu‘s demon-hunter Maxine Kiss, Yasmine Galenorn‘s Otherworld Intelligence Agency operative Camille D’Artigo, and Eileen Wilk‘s Lupi world.


BookSavvyBabe’s review:
  Anthologies make for interesting reading.  They give readers an opportunity to be introduced to new authors, worlds, and story lines.  In the Inked anthology, all four novellas are linked by a common theme, tattoos.  I love tattoos, I have a few myself, and the pairing of urban fantasy and ink sounded like very fun reading, and it was.  I enjoyed all four stories in this anthology.  The world’s were all unique, the characters interesting, and the writing was excellent.

The first story in this anthology is Skin Deep, by Karen Chance.  I have read some of Karen Chance’s work before, but I was not very familiar with the characters or setting in this novella.  The ink in this anthology is actually a magical rune that comes into play while the main character, Lia searches for her missing mate.  The story was well developed, and I enjoyed meeting these characters and exploring this world.

The second story is Armor of Roses by Marjorie M. Liu.  I have not read Marjorie M Liu’s work before, and I was very happy to read this story.  The main character is a demon hunter, Maxine Kiss, who has very unique ink, a special and dangerous bloodline, and the ability to time travel.  This story was very different, and very compelling.  I really loved this one, and look forward to reading more of Ms Liu’s work in the future.  

The third story is Etched in Silver by Yasmine Galenorn.  Again, I was unfamiliar with this author, but I enjoyed the story.  This one was also very well developed for a short story.  The character descriptions and backgrounds were clear, and I enjoyed the romantic touch to this story.  

The fourth and final story in the Inked anthology is Human Nature by Eileen Wilks.  This story is a novella with some of the characters from Eileen Wilks’ popular Lupi series.  FBI agent Lily Yu and her mate Rule are back in action, looking for the killer of a friend and pack mate of Rule’s.  There is magic, werewolves, and plenty of bias to go around in this story.  It was a quick, but good read.  Lily and Rule are such and uncommon pair, it is always fun to read about their adventures.

Urban Fantasy fans, if you like short stories or novella’s (and tattoos), this anthology is a great read.  All 4 stories were well-written and fun to read, and now I have a craving for another tattoo…