#BookReview Urban Enemies by Joseph Nassise @GalleryBooks

Urban Enemies by Joseph Nassise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Villains have all the fun—everyone knows that—and this anthology takes you on a wild ride through the dark side! The top villains from sixteen urban fantasy series get their own stories—including the baddies of New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire, and Jonathan Maberry.

For every hero trying to save the world, there’s a villain trying to tear it all down.

In this can’t-miss anthology edited by Joseph Nassise (The Templar Chronicles), you get to plot world domination with the best of the evildoers we love to hate! This outstanding collection brings you stories told from the villains’ point of view, imparting a fresh and unique take on the evil masterminds, wicked witches, and infernal personalities that skulk in the pages of today’s most popular series.

The full anthology features stories by Jim Butcher (the Dresden Files), Kelley Armstrong (the Cainsville and Otherworld series), Seanan McGuire (October Daye), Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger), Lilith Saintcrow (Jill Kismet), Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville), Joseph Nassise (Templar Chronicles), C.E. Murphy (Walker Papers), Steven Savile (Glasstown), Caitlin Kittredge (the Hellhound Chronicles and the Black London series), Jeffrey Somers (The Ustari Cycle), Sam Witt (Pitchfork County), Craig Schaefer (Daniel Faust), Jon F. Merz (Lawson Vampire), Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock), and Diana Pharaoh Francis (Horngate Witches). 

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Urban fantasy anthologies are always great fun to read. It doesn't matter if you haven't read anything by most of the authors before, heck, it's a great way to be introduced into series.

This anthology appealed to me because I recognized authors like Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire and Kevin Hearne. The rest were new ones for me, but for the most part did all of the stories work, even though most of the series in this book were new for me, like even though I have read books by Seanan McGuire before haven't I read anything before from her October Daye series, and I have only read the first book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (and a short story) before so the villain in the book was pretty unknown for me. But, it worked. Most of the stories worked, despite the fact that I had pretty much zero knowledge before I read them. Then again, I love interesting villains so that helped.

The best story was without doubt Kelley Armstrong's. But, I started to read her Cainsville series a while back, and I love it so that's not really a big surprise. It did spoil the series a bit since I have only read the first two books, but that's alright. It doesn't put me off reading the next books. 

If I had been wise would I have taken notes of every story, but I was too lazy for that so I will not comment on every story. However, I will say that it's a great collection whether or not you have read anything by the others before.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!