The Inheritance and Other Stories
Paperback | Kindle
By Robin Hobb & Megan Lindholm
HarperCollins Voyager
Release date: May 3, 2011

This marvelous collection of short stories is the creation of two different halves of the same mind. Both pseudonyms, Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm weave fantastic tales in their distinct individual voices that enrapture the reader with relatable main characters whose transformations are sometimes subtle yet significant and others drastic but necessary for the protagonist’s survival.

The stories of Megan Lindholm are set mostly in the present day, in places we can picture without stretching our imaginations too far with characters who only at first appear to be living ordinary lives. They are all somehow touched by magic, as in “Silver Lady” and the “Fortyish Man,” or by alien beings, as in “Touch of Lavender.” Her crisp, clear style cuts through a lot of b.s. to hit us right where we live. She is a master of full description with few words. Thus, her stories seem to fly by. We are fully immersed in her worlds and emotionally invested in her characters, but ever so briefly.

By Darkeva

Afterlife
The Resurrection Chronicles
By Merrie Destefano
Paperback | Kindle
HarperCollins Voyager
Release Date: September 28, 2010

Plot Summary
This novel revolves around the life of Chaz, who is a “Babysitter,” which means that his job is to help people who have recently died adjust to their lives, which are supposed to be better, but this whole big brother-esque “Fresh Start” program isn’t as good as it seems to be, and people, like cats, only get nine lives, and it doesn’t take too long for those to dry up. But the keys to preventing the negative side effects of the re-adjustment and the nine lives is with a pretty blonde newly risen woman, Angelique, who also remembers quite a bit from her past life. The two eventually fall for each other, and soon he finds himself doing anything he can to protect her from the people who mean her harm.