Reviewed by Cheryl K

 

TITLE: Heart2Heart: A Paranormal Charity Anthology (Collection), Volume 7 (Heart2Heart Volume 7)

SERIES:  Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology

AUTHOR: Pandora Pine & Alice Winters

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 500 pages

RELEASE DATEFebruary 2, 2024

BLURB:

Once upon a time, a bunch of authors wondered… what would happen if Heart2Heart, the mystical matchmaking app adored across the supernatural world, brought in an absolute legend to help them find true love?

This Valentine’s Day, the sunshiny necromancer, the lonely vampire, and the nonbinary dragon will put their trust in H2H and a certain cheeky cherub of romance. Will Cupid’s arrows strike true?

As always, all proceeds from this anthology will benefit LGBTQ+ charities to ensure that love in all its incarnations will be celebrated and protected every single day of the year!

Stories included in this collection are:

You Can’t Spell Necromancer Without Romance, by Alice Winters

Hot Date, by Eliot Grayson

Sweet Treats, by Grae Bryan

Looking 4 Furever, by Kiki Clark

Locked in Love, by Lark Taylor

Love Me Love My Dogs, by Macy Blake

Not So Cupid, by Mika Nix

Starry Night, by Pandora Pine

The Hidden God of Open Doors, by Tavia Lark

Love Under the Sea, by Taylor Rylan

REVIEW:

Welcome to part one of my two-part review of this fantastic paranormal version of the Heart2Heart anthology.  Why two parts you ask, well I was approached by the lovely Pandora Pine to review hers and one other authors submission for this book.  Which of course I said yes to. So, I reviewed the list and selected the one other author I have read previously and loved. The wonderfully talented Alice Winters.  At which point I wanted to give the other authors their due, so I will have a part two review on the remaining authors included in this anthology.

Without further ado, here is my review of Pandora and Alice’s submissions to this wonderful anthology.  If you are not familiar with this anthology, please read all the way to the end of the reviews, for a little bit about the mission of the Heart2Heart Anthology project.

You Can’t Spell Necromancer Without Romance by Alice Winters (4.5)

Cupid has outdone himself this time, promising to match users of the H2H app.  Of course, this app matches users with their perfect match.  But can a necromancer really find his perfect match? Well Cupid seems to think he can.  Axton is a witch, and the necromancer is Sylvan.  Alice excels at the prose, worldbuilding, and character development, which even in a short story is concise, descriptive, and witty.  The backstory is well thought out and incorporates the subtext of the dating app and it’s matchmaking of Axton and Sylvan.  You can also expect to be treated to the brilliant side characters; Alice created for this story.  Hades is a super funny familiar to Axton and the best part is he is a miniature horse.  Loved it. As short stories, there is the great use of the insta love theme and works so well in this story.

Starry Night by Pandora Pine (5)

I think Cupid has certainly got a challenge in this awesome short story by Pandora Pine.  He needs to match Orion (yes that Orion) with his perfect mate.  As I have come to expect from Pandora, this short story incorporates all the things I love.  Cupid matches Orion with Kaden, a werewolf.  As one would expect trying to picture a demigod and a werewolf was a little daunting for me.  But I was not disappointed.  From the prose, worldbuilding and character development it becomes clear quite quickly, that these two men are made for each other.  I love the small wrinkle she throws in, as we discover Kaden is allergic to animal dander – that’s got to be rough if you’re a werewolf.  Insta love for the win and Cupid succeeds where others have failed.

 

Both authors, always impress me with their ability to not be formulaic and keep these new and fresh ideas coming.  I can honestly say, I am never disappointed when I read stories from Pandora Pine and Alice Winters.

I highly recommend these stories and hope you will rush out to get this anthology from your favorite book purchasing site. Stay tuned for part 2 of my review of this anthology.

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For those of you that are not familiar with Heart2Heart Anthology – here is a just a little bit about what this anthology has done since its inception.

 A LETTER FROM THE H2H TEAM

Can you believe that Heart2Heart has now published eight collections across seven volumes, and donated more than $175,000 to LGBTQ+ charities worldwide? We never imagined something that started as a fun little “what if” project among friends would grow to be such an incredible book-community effort, making real impact in the lives of LGBTQ+ people. Words cannot express how grateful we are to everyone who’s been a part of H2H over the years. Thank you! With this collection of stories, we’re proud to support the work of the following organizations. To their volunteers, directors, teams, and communities, thank you for all you do.

 ARCH: archguelph.ca

Ten Oaks Project: tenoaksproject.org

Friends of Ruby: friendsofruby.ca

We encourage you to learn more about the work they do and show your support in any way you’re able.

RATING:

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