Advance copy from Berkeley Publishing Group via NetGalley

An Asil short story collection--hooray! There are three previously published stories and two new ones in this collection, and I loved having all five of Asil's blind dates together in chronological order. I liked the continuity, especially the humor of how the first story ended and the second story started.
The second story, "Must Love Cats: Aftermath," was one of the two new ones in the collection. It felt more like half a story, but I can appreciate the creative choice she made, started it where she did. It was great comedic timing for the transition from the first story, and I'm pretty sure I didn't need to see these particular villains in action anyway. It also provided important setup for the other new story, "Sheherazade," which I loved.
There's a line from the first episode of Veronica Mars, when her new friend Wallace sees through her tough exterior to the person who's willing to go to great lengths to help people (to be fair, she's also willing to go to great lengths for revenge, but that's another discussion). He says, "Veronica Mars, you're a marshmallow." And I think we could say the same of Asil. Briggs has established him in the series as this ticking time bomb about to go on a killing spree at any moment, and she continues that characterization in these stories. But, when confronted with innocents in danger, or people exhibiting admirable bravery, our dear, beautiful Asil is in fact, a marshmallow. And I love him for it.
I said in a previous review when I read the first story that introduced Ruby, "Dating Terrors," originally published in 2022, that Asil fans were going to lose their minds. That goes for "Sheherazade" as well. Ruby is a fantastic new character to the series, as well as Asil's wolf, who started talking to him in "Dating Terrors" after centuries of just being a rage-filled internal presence. I hope to see much more of both characters in the main Alpha and Omega series or in future stories