Heroic Hearts by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Overall, this was a wonderful anthology full of action, adventure, and heart that I would absolutely recommend to fans of urban fantasy who enjoy short stories. Below I've given my brief opinion of each of the individual stories.

Little Things-5 stars
I loved this story! Action. Humor. Light and fast.

Dark Ship-5 stars
This was on the longish side. I loved the writing, descriptions, and world. Believable characters. Heavier themes. I was happy to spend more time in the Others' world.

Comfort Zone-4 stars
I enjoyed the characters and plot, but I'm not a huge fan of 1st-present pov.

Train to Last Hope-5 stars
Annie Bellet was a new-to-me author, and I'm so glad I got to sample her work. While heart-wrenching, this was a beautifully written tale with vivid descriptions and a well-woven plot. I'll definitely be looking up her other work. She packed a lot of emotion into such a small space, though the inner story had a few holes.

Fire Hazard-5 stars
A wonderful story about the true meaning of courage and the reasons people (or in this case, dogs) face their fears. Oberon's voice is so unique and entertaining. This one will definitely put a smile on your face.

Grave Gambles-5 stars
Great premise, fast pace, engaging characters.

Silverspell-3 stars
Bit of an info-dump at the beginning. Intriguing world building. Writing's a bit dry. This one felt a little more like an excerpt of a larger story than a complete tale on its own.

Trollife-5 stars
What a great world! Even though the whole story takes place in one subway station, you get a clear sense of the world and the beings who inhabit it.

The Return of the Mage-3 stars
Interesting world building, but the story fell a bit flat for me and I didn't particularly connect with the characters.

The Vampires Karamazov-2 stars
This story was not for me.

The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic-3 stars
I liked the fact that the protagonists were elderly, and I enjoyed Felicia's personality in particular. The plot was fairly straightforward but jumped around. The details felt a little sparse, but I was left with a sense of a much larger world than what was on the page.

Dating Terrors-5 stars
Briggs' writing never fails to delight. This story was basically a blind date told from both sides, but Briggs packed a heck of a lot into that date! Her characters were both strong and vulnerable, and while the ending was satisfying, I was left wanting more.

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