Review: Sight Unseen anthology
Sight Unseen: A Collection of Five Anonymous Novellasby Emma Barry, Erin Satie, J.A. Rock, Meredith Duran, Sherry Thomas
Publisher: Open Ink Press
Publication Date: June 6, 2017
Genres: Romance
Pages: 386
Source: Purchased
My rating:
What stories would you tell if you could? Where would your mind take you, if you let it? Five of the top voices in romance dare you to explore the most distant corners of their imaginations as they test the limits of storytelling and break the boundaries of what even they thought possible, teasing and tormenting you shamelessly as they go.
But there’s a twist—the author of each story is a secret at the time of release. They’re each plumbing the depths of the human heart and mind in ways they’ve never attempted before. Taking you high, bringing you low, until you will be hardpressed to guess who wrote what. Can you tell? Want us to?
Too bad our lips are sealed . . . for now.
Sight Unseen has an interesting premise. Basically, it’s an anthology of stories by some very accomplished romance writers, but they’re writing outside their normal genres, and the authors of each story won’t be revealed until three months after it’s published.
I picked this up mainly because I was curious about the premise, and I had to read an anthology for the Ripped Bodice Summer Read Along. I went in figuring that the stories would be interesting but probably not spectacular, since the authors would be writing outside their usual genre. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
Lost That Feeling – 3 stars. Enjoyable, but it felt like that scene in Toy Story 2 where Mrs. Potato Head packs a bunch of stuff inside Mr. Potato Head, until play dough comes spurting out all over. I liked all the pieces, the magic system, the amnesia plot line, even the characters (though the heroine bordered on “specialist of them all!!!!”), but it all felt like too much crammed into a short story. I’d love to see this as a book.
A Clear View of You – 4 stars. I’m a huge fan of paranormal romance, so of course I enjoyed this one, prickly heroine and all. I’d also like to see this one as a full-length book, but I felt like it worked as a short story.
Free – 4 stars. I think this is the most “normal” of the stories, since it’s a contemporary. Also, super hot.
Chariot of Desire – 3 stars. I’m normally a fan of rock star romances, but something felt off about this one. I don’t think I ever really understood the attraction the hero and heroine had for each other.
The Heart is a Universe – 5 stars. What a delightfully odd story. I was completely sucked in to this one, and while I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying, I definitely give it props for a wild ride.
