Marc is the self-proclaimed landlord of the 13th floor in an apartment building in Carmine. The residents of the 13th floor are far from ordinary.

Marc used to be the Grand Marquis, Lucifer's favorite demon. When Vetis, a low-level demon, comes to Carmine to kill Kiren, a vampire and tenant of the 13th floor, Marc intervenes. Now Vetis wants Marc's head and all he holds dear: the city of Carmine and Mae, a woman with a bright spirit. The only way for Marc to defeat Vetis is by becoming the demon within, but he faces losing all if he does.

Demons and monsters, sweet romance and hellish battles. This is a nice beginning to the 13th Floor collection.

I loved this book as a kid. I had forgotten a lot about the story line. Actually, the only thing I seemed to remember is that she liked to jog. This is a cute story about growing up, bonding with grandpa, and developing a passion for picking up trash and recycling.

Josh's mom pushes an ugly teddy bear on him that belonged to his stepfather when he was a kid. His stepfather is creepy. He is always eyeing Josh, smirking at him, and when he laughs, it gives Josh chills. This teddy bear is a nasty-looking panda bear with beady eyes and long fangs. Pretty soon, Josh realizes he should be deeply afraid of this teddy bear....

Edgar (the bear) does horrible things that gets Josh into trouble, and in turn his stepfather punishes him. I actually teared up while reading about those cruel punishments. My heart tore for Josh. I just wanted to protect him and beat the you-know-what out of the stepfather.

J.H. Moncrieff has a real gift with all things that go bump in the night. She captured many childhood fears just in this short story (80 or so pages). It brought back memories from my childhood and the things I was afraid of. She is a pro at unraveling a spooky, often heart-breaking tale, and really did a great job writing in the perspective of a ten-year-old angry and frightened boy.

The end was a huge shock for me. I didn't see it coming, which is a HUGE compliment.

If you want to read a spooky story with twist after twisted twist, and great writing, look no further!

3.5 I liked the first book better but Katniss is a bit more likable in this one. In the first one I thought she was a real witch...with a B. I love Peeta and Haymitch, though. They are my favorite characters. I'm looking forward to reading Mockingjay since the last movie isn't out yet and can't spoil the ending for me.

Stefanie is a werewolf. She was the leader of a pack, but had been defeated by another power-hungry werewolf named Wyatt. When she lost, her pack turned on her. Wyatt has a more sinister plan though...he wants her to be his mate, which is something she'll never let happen. With Wyatt and his pack close on her scent, a strange werewolf comes to her aid. James.

Right off, this story was exciting with chases in the woods and an escape over rooftops. I also loved how Christine Rains added bits from the first story in the collection (The Marquis). She also did really well writing int he perspective of a wolf. Everything was realistic and done so well that I started to think I was a wolf! ;)

This story is fun and thrilling. A must-read for all werewolf fans!

I've read books about vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, banshees, gods/goddesses, zombies, trolls, unicorns and dragons, but never about dragonslayers or dragons that can turn human. So props to Christine Rains for this unique story.

Xan is a dragonslayer. His target: Governor Randall Whittaker, a nasty dragon.

But Xan misses the shot and reporter Lois King catches him in the act. Lois is a feisty woman. I enjoyed her antics against Xan. She even throws a shoe at the back of his head! To stop her from revealing his identity as the assassin, Xan has to tell her the truth about himself and the governor. When the governor's dragonkin come to take her out, Xan has to protect her, a task that makes him sweat.

Xan and Lois are well developed characters. They're quirky and interesting. I had fun reading their story.

Again, I loved the link to 1301: The Marquis. I love that every story is set around the same period of time.

4.5 stars

Meira is a sexy woman, a few centuries old. She loves shoes and Sam Wright. She's also a harpy who escorts souls to Zeus and her next target is Sam. She doesn't want to lose him and will do anything to make sure she can keep him. In doing so, she gets on Hera's bad side and faces more loses than she thought. In order for Meira to keep Sam and save him, Sam has to win a hero's challenge, which consists of three separate challenges.

If I had been given a chance to really get to know Sam before all of this happened, I could've been genuinely worried for him. It was Meira's sadness and anger that made me feel for her and her situation.

Christine Rains' interpretation of Olympus for the modern age was unique. Her take on the gods and goddesses was also interesting, such as Zeus wearing khakis.

I was entertained throughout the challenges and almost came to tears over Meira's fate. I'm a sucker for happy endings and this one was quite beautiful.

Harriet is a banshee. By day, she's a beautiful young woman. By night, she'd a screaming crone thanks to a curse that she can't get rid of. Kiral is the resident vampire of the 13th Floor who has a narcotics addiction. Harriet has a thing for Kiral but he only knows he as "Grandmother." One day Harriet gets a vision about Kiral's death and wants to prevent it from happening at all costs.

Harriet's situation really tore my heart to shreds. I couldn't imagine how devastating it would be to love someone who doesn't know you...or worse, doesn't know you are the young woman he seeks because you no longer look like her. My heart broke for her over and over again.

Ever since 1301: The Marquis I've been curious about Kiral. And since 1302: The Alpha I've been interested in the banshee who was mentioned only briefly. I enjoyed getting to know them and getting into their heads, especially Kiral's. I liked how all the stories tied together in this one. This story is truly the sequel to The Marquis.

Kiral is my favorite hunk on the 13th Floor. And this is my favorite story of the collection.

Well Done, Christine Rains!