The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance (Mammoth Books)

Erato, here.

I’ve been reading through the new Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance and it’s high time I put my review up. You can see on our side bar that I gave this book three stars, (Amazon won’t let me give it bells there). There were several other stories I enjoyed, but with so many, it would take pages to review each one. So, I have highlighted my three favorites here, but must give a nod at then end to several others whose work I’d never read but found interesting enough to try a full novel.

Lilith Saincrow

Rebecca York

Jenna Black

Delilah Devlin

…and several others were very good reads. There were a few clunkers for me but that’s my take and I won’t mention them here. Overall, this was a great read, easy to carry with me with stories just the right length to finish while waiting at the doctor’s office or sitting down with a cup of coffee for half an hour.

If you like vampires, you won’t be disappointed! Overall Grade: 

 

What’s at Stake?
Alexis Morgan

Josalyn Sloan – Chancellor, neither human or vampire, she is the equivalent of our Federal Marshall-District Attorney-Executioner. (Well, okay, we don’t technically have people who carry the title of Executioner, but in the justice system, someone has to push the button).

Rafferty O’Day – Vampire. Once a lead arbitrator for the council between vampire and human, he now stands accused of murdering a human. And it’s Josalyn’s case to prove guilt or innocence. If she finds he is guilty, she’ll be his executioner.

The only problem is, they spent one hot, sex filled night together and fell hard for each other, though neither was willing to admit it, long before the accusations. Rafferty has asked that Joss handle his case, because he knows, if she finds him guilty, his execution will be quick and as painless as possible. Joss doesn’t want her face to be the last thing he sees.

Wonderfully self contained, this was a great read and the characters stayed with me long after I’d finished it. They are clear and well defined for a short story, pulling the reader into their emotional ups and downs. Josalyn aches for the man she may have to kill, Rafferty aches for Joss and the fact that he’s never wanted another woman the way he’s wanted her. The plot is concise, no plot holes, the sex was hot and the story wrapped up nicely. I would love to see more of this world and I have a feeling, judging from Miss Morgan’s site, that we will.

 

Hunter’s Choice
Shiloh Walker

Sarah stands on a rooftop, crossbow aimed at a vampire, feeding in a dark alley, when she hears a familiar voice behind her. Wyatt, the man she’d met a year before, spent one scorching week with him before walking out on him, now stands on the rooftop with her, though she never heard his approach. She’d found comfort in his arms during that week, after tending to funeral services for her twin brother and his new wife, brutally killed on their honeymoon. The police didn’t do much. But Sarah knew who killed them. Vampires. Now she was determined to wipe out as many as she could.

Wyatt is a Hunter, the vampire equivalent of our elite police force. He was sent that week to make sure Sarah would be all right. He wasn’t sent to bed her or to fall in love with her. But he did both. Now he’s back to stop her from killing because not all vampires kill and she doesn’t know that, or care.

What follows is a well plotted short with great characters and no plot holes. The ‘good guys’ were easy to sympathize with, the ‘bad guys’ easy to hate and another story that ended much too soon. I had never read Miss Walker prior to this, I certainly will read more in future.

 

Play Dead
Dina James

Nikolai is a lost soul. A vampire, destined to mate with one of his own, or die alone. He is on a mission to find and kill a Betrayer, one of their kind outcast from their world. Instead, he meets his soulmate in the form of a human woman.

What follows is a well orchestrated ballet of give and take, trust and suspicion, between Nikolai, Kail the Betrayer and Katrina, the mortal Nikolai wants as his own. Should Nikolai stumble in the dance, it means not only his life, but Katrina’s. If he completes it, it means his salvation. Not to the human world, but to his clan.

I really enjoyed this story. I’d never read Miss James, but she brought her characters to life in a way that made them whole. It didn’t feel like a short story in its execution, but did in the fact that I didn’t want it to end. I won’t give away the ending, but I could see a much longer story generated from this. Her writing draws the reader in, the old world style of Nikolai and the modern of Katrina are well defined and Kail keeps his secrets well, demanding we know more about him, which is my one regret. Because I do. And in that instance, this ended much too soon. This is another author I will have to add to my TBR list.

 

 

Comments

[Dina James]

A friend sent me this link and I just had to stop by and say "thank you!" I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

Dina James

[erato]

Miss James, You are welcomed. I loved it! But...will there be more? I would really like more...

[Dina James]

There will be more! Coming soon, I'm told! Keep an eye on my site/blog for the what/when.

But there is more of Kyle....

[erato]

Well, I can't wait! :-) And I love your site. Very...paranormalish is certainly not the word (is it A word? *snort*) but I think you know what I mean. And that tat! Gorgeous!

I can't wait for more Kyle. He is awesome. You really gave full characters which is so hard to do in a short story. It really stayed with me.

Thanks again and I can't wait for more.

[Dina James]

Thank you! That's so nice to hear!