Seeing these short stories by Laurell K. Hamilton was a treat. Some were good, some were great, and some can be skipped over. My biggest problem with the whole shebang is the cover. This book has nothing to do with women in bondage attire eating candy. Actually, this book has no sex in it at all. Which, when you think about it, is "strange" indeed when you consider the other series' that this author writes.

Overall, a pretty good read, although some of Ms. Hamilton's snarky comments in the introductions to some of the stories really didn't need to be included.

If you're a fan of Ms. Hamilton, you'll want to read STRANGE CANDY just to see how she handles short stories. If you're looking for another sex-filled Anita Blake or Meredith Gentry story, this isn't the place to find it.

And for those who feel the need to hide the cover of this book beneath a copy of Good Housekeeping, I don't blame you. The cover is there for shock value alone, nothing else. It doesn't apply to what's inside the book at all, and for that someone should be ashamed. ( )

Short stories by her. Not bad, worth reading. ( )

Good book if you are a fan of Laurell Hamiltons. It has a bunch of different short stories of hers both that have been published and not published. There were a few that were a bit weird and not that great to read but for the stories that ARE good reads its worth checking this book out. ( )

A short story collection, ending with a new Anita Blake short story. I still find her straight-up fantasy simplistic, but I enjoyed enough of the material here (some of which I've seen in other anthologies) to not regret picking this up on the bargain table at the book store. :) I liked the one off set in Anita's world but not mentioning any of the main characters: a real estate agent has to move a house with a disturbing history, and she takes it in stride when non humans come to view it. ( )

I generally don't go for short story collections, but I really enjoyed this. It's the best Laurell Hamilton I've read since the appearance of the ardeur in the Anita Blake series. A couple of the stories seemed too short, or even unfinished ("Those Who Seek Forgiveness", "A Lust of Cupids"), but several were excellent and left me wanting more ("A Scarcity of Lake Monsters", "A Token for Celandine", "House of Wizards", "The Curse-Maker") . The remaining fell somewhere in the middle. There were four stories set in the world of her first novel, Nightseer, which I had never heard of. Now I need to seek it out! If you like Laurell K. Hamilton for more than vampire and faerie sex, you'll enjoy these stories. ( )