Actual rating: 3.5 stars 
 I've been hearing lots of awesome things about Lips Touch: Three Times. And while it did not overly blow me away, it did not disappoint me either. There is something magical about the way Laini Taylor weaves her words into these three short stories. No doubt about that. Lips Touch: Three Times can best be described as a 3 course meal. Goblin Fruit can be likened to an appetizer: small and simple. It's not enough to calm your hunger, but enough to pique your interest for the remaining meal. She tells you just enough about the story to wet your palette, leaving you wanting more. So you continue onto your entre, Spicy Little Curses Such As These. You continue to devour the story laid out before you and before you know it, it has come to a subtle end. You are satisfied, but something better awaits you...dessert, Hatchling. You slowly savor every bite, tasting the individual flavors, teasing your taste buds. And it does not disappoint. 
 Reading the above paragraph would make you wonder why I didn't give this book 5 stars, wouldn't it? I think short stories and I have issues. They just might not be my cup of tea. It's not that I found any of the stories bad, because they were very good. It just wasn't enough for me to truly connect to the characters. This book is most definitely a page turner and has the ability to keep you on edge. I was impressed with Taylor's ability to paint 3 vivid worlds/cultures with such few pages. That is a skill many YA authors seem to lack these days. Taylor is absolutely an author to keep an eye on. 
 I didn't really know what to expect when I started reading this book. I was pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful drawings that prefaced each story. They told just enough of a part of the story to entice your curiosity. (Interestingly, they wre drawn by her husband. Thumbs up for the awesome team effort!) After finishing Goblin Fruit, the shortest of the three, I was surprised by the ending and intrigued. It was also my least favorite of the three simply because it caused images of Bella/Edward or Nora/Patch to dance on the edge of my memory. However, the story did not agitate me as theirs would. At least the ending matched where the story was heading. 
 Spicy Little Curses Such As These was better for me and it neither surprised me nor upset me. It easily kept my interest, however, and the characters seemed slightly more relatable. Once again the writing was beautiful and I feel Taylor captured that time period perfectly. 
 Hatchling was by far the darkest and coincidentally, my favorite. It's also the longest story of the three. I was really caught up in the mythology that Talyor used and was very interested in figuring out the mystery behind Esme's past. Let me just say that Laini Taylor is a master at the "show, don't tell" rule. The back story of Mab, Mihai, and The Queen was told so perfectly. She doesn't tell you everything all at once in a huge info-dump, but rather slowly reveals everything you need to know at just the right time. Honestly, I would have been happy to have an entire, full length story of Hatchling. It was just that interesting to me. 
 All in all, I'm really happy I picked up Lips Touch: Three Times and I really can't wait to get my hands on Daughter of Smoke and Bone. 
 More reviews and more at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.