lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
3.0
These books with several short-stories are a little bit difficult to rate. I loved the Richelle Mead story, and if she wrote more about the characters in a series of it's own, I'd buy it and read it for sure.
Cast's story was OK too.
Cast's story was OK too.
elaine_a's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
alice94's review against another edition
5.0
Podobało mi się że mogłam czylać historie w perspektywy różnych osób które normalnie piszą dlugie książki. Te książki są czasami nie dla wszystkich wiec czytanie łatwych i krótkich histori pozwala na poznanie jak oni piszą i czego można sie spodziewać z ich książek.
cuddlesome's review against another edition
1.0
What an absolute disaster. Usually when I read anthologies I pontificate about how it’s the nature of having a short story collection to have hits and misses and that’s always how it goes. Not so this time. Every single story here had me curling my lip and/or rolling my eyes. I didn’t like a single premise put forth and the execution always felt varying levels of sloppy on top of it, even from experienced writers. What gives?! Why is all of this so aggressively terrible?
wilda85's review
5.0
Amber Smoke-Kristin Cast: I read this one out of curiosity. I love the idea of the storyline, but it didn't feel complete to me. Definitely a story that could be better.
Dead Man Stalking-Rachel Caine: Ah my reason for reading this book in the first place. Another great Morganville Vampires story, this time told from Shane's pov. I didn't like it as much as I liekd the Eve ones, but I love Shane and I love getting a glimpse inside his mind :)
Blue Moon-Richelle Mead: What can I say, I seriously don't think Richelle could write anything bad even if she wanted to. This was my fav short story in this book. I love this new world similar to that of Morganville Vampires where the Vampires rule the town. This is definitely one I would love to see more of.
Binge-Rachel Vincent: I'm not a fan of leande Sindes or however you spell them, but Rachel is one of my favorite authors and I had to give it a chance and I'm glad I did. Binge sucked me right on in and I found myself liking Mallory despite her being a leande sinde. The ending is completely heartbreaking. Rachel really knows how to make you feel what her characters are feeling.
Dead Man Stalking-Rachel Caine: Ah my reason for reading this book in the first place. Another great Morganville Vampires story, this time told from Shane's pov. I didn't like it as much as I liekd the Eve ones, but I love Shane and I love getting a glimpse inside his mind :)
Blue Moon-Richelle Mead: What can I say, I seriously don't think Richelle could write anything bad even if she wanted to. This was my fav short story in this book. I love this new world similar to that of Morganville Vampires where the Vampires rule the town. This is definitely one I would love to see more of.
Binge-Rachel Vincent: I'm not a fan of leande Sindes or however you spell them, but Rachel is one of my favorite authors and I had to give it a chance and I'm glad I did. Binge sucked me right on in and I found myself liking Mallory despite her being a leande sinde. The ending is completely heartbreaking. Rachel really knows how to make you feel what her characters are feeling.
briannarengland's review
2.0
Yikes. None of the stories were cohesive and you can definitely tell that this was published in 2008.
char931's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
marcyjmf's review against another edition
3.0
I gave this book four stars, but it would be better to break it down by story,because their individual ratings would vary WIDELY.
The best of the best? Richelle Mead. Her story was interesting and entertaining and you wanted to read more about the characters and their story when it was over. It was set in a completely different world than her vampire academy books with brand new characters and a brand new mythology. So freaking fabulous! (though I wouldn't have said no to a story IN the VA world, particularly a story that involved a Rose/Dimitri indiscretion...)5 stars
Next best was Claudia Gray's story. It was absorbing as well, and now I absolutely MUST get my hands on a copy of Evernight.
Nancy Holder's story felt a lot like "someone trying to imitate Holly Black writing a vampire story." I didn't HATE it, but I didn't love it either. I'm not even sure that I liked it. Probably I did though. It's hard to tell. ;) 3 stars.
Kristen Cast's story wasn't bad either. But it was very abrupt. Too much mythos for such a small word count. 3 stars.
I didn't read the Morganville vamp story, mostly because I have the books on my shelf and didn't want to be spoiled on them, but I will eventually.
The other stories were...well, they were not enjoyable at all. Cynthia L Smith wrote Tantalize, which I absolutely detested, and as it turns out, it wasn't just that story I didn't enjoy. The short story left me unimpressed as well. She isn't a bad writer, just not something I'm likely to ever enjoy. 2 stars.
Tanith Lee's story was meh. That is all I can muster the energy to say about it. Meh. 2 stars
The best of the best? Richelle Mead. Her story was interesting and entertaining and you wanted to read more about the characters and their story when it was over. It was set in a completely different world than her vampire academy books with brand new characters and a brand new mythology. So freaking fabulous! (though I wouldn't have said no to a story IN the VA world, particularly a story that involved a Rose/Dimitri indiscretion...)5 stars
Next best was Claudia Gray's story. It was absorbing as well, and now I absolutely MUST get my hands on a copy of Evernight.
Nancy Holder's story felt a lot like "someone trying to imitate Holly Black writing a vampire story." I didn't HATE it, but I didn't love it either. I'm not even sure that I liked it. Probably I did though. It's hard to tell. ;) 3 stars.
Kristen Cast's story wasn't bad either. But it was very abrupt. Too much mythos for such a small word count. 3 stars.
I didn't read the Morganville vamp story, mostly because I have the books on my shelf and didn't want to be spoiled on them, but I will eventually.
The other stories were...well, they were not enjoyable at all. Cynthia L Smith wrote Tantalize, which I absolutely detested, and as it turns out, it wasn't just that story I didn't enjoy. The short story left me unimpressed as well. She isn't a bad writer, just not something I'm likely to ever enjoy. 2 stars.
Tanith Lee's story was meh. That is all I can muster the energy to say about it. Meh. 2 stars
stephanylectora12's review against another edition
3.0
Le doy solamente tres estrellas porque hubo solamente tres historias que me llegaron a gustar. Las otras cinco historias no estuvieron mal sólo que no sentí nada leyendolas ,sólo quería que se acabarán.
jljaina's review against another edition
4.0
The book is a bunch of short stories. Some were really good but all were decent. P.C. Cast did a good job getting a variety of different stories. My only complaint is the title. Many of the stories had little romance (just some attraction) or love. But just a small detail. Below are my thoughts on each story individually.
1) Haunted Love by Cynthia L Smith. This was a story about a newly turned vampire who kills his uncle and starts to run a small theater. The theater is haunted by a ghost named Sonya. Cody (the young vampire) also hires a girl named Ginny. He is drawn to both. This story has interesting connections between the 3 of them but I would have liked a bit more detail and emotion in the story. Overall-3.5 star rating.
2)Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast. An odd vampire twist wit a touch of very off beat Greek mythology. A young girl dies by falling and hitting her head, is turned into a vampire upon getting kissed while dying. Each vampire has unique powers. They don't feed off blood and when they bleed their blood is amber. Very odd story.Not exactly my cup of tea but I am sure others would like it. 2.5-3 star rating
3) Dead Man Stalking by Rachel Caine. This story takes place in the Morganville series. It focuses on a young man named Shane. He is kidnapped by a zombie-type guy named Jerome and brought to face his father who is trying to kill all the vampires. Although I have yet to read this series this story stood well as a stand-alone and actually left me even more interested in reading Rachel Caine's other books. 4 stars
4)Table Manners by Tanith Lee. A good story about a girl at a party. She comes across a vampire and starts question him on his habits, weaknesses as a vampire (sunlight, blood, mirrors, etc). In Lee's story here vampires are not obligated to any of the lore that is made about them. That its psychological. Very nonstandard vampire traits but is slowly becoming a more common theme in newer books. I like the first person perspective this story was written in. 3.5- 4 stars.
5)Blue Moon by Richelle Mead. A good, likely futuristic story. Here, vampires are the upper class and run things. Humans are servants and lower working glass. The story focuses on a young girl trying to escape the city. She uses a human to do this. AN interesting story about the relationships between humans and vampires. 4.5 stars!
6)Changed by Nancy Holder. Great short story. Well-written and captivating! This story takes place in the city when one night vampires attack and over then next several days the city is in chaos. Survival is hard death is everywhere. A teen girl looking for her best friend amidst the fires, surrounded by those who would drain her blood. 5 stars!
7)Binged by Rachel Vincent. Not Really sure this is a vampire story. Its about 2 girls, one being a siren and feeds off others (energy?) while singing. The other seems to give and take opposite energies of music. Very strange and hard to follow what and how their abilities work. Especially the second girl who goes after a guy she feels drawn to. However the story was well written otherwise. 3 stars.
8) Free by Claudia Gray. Set in the 1800's in New Orleans. Focus's on Patrice's struggle as she learns what it really means to be free in those days. Well written for the most part but was a bit tricky to believe the time period based on writing style and description at times. However the story was very good. 3.5-4 stars.
1) Haunted Love by Cynthia L Smith. This was a story about a newly turned vampire who kills his uncle and starts to run a small theater. The theater is haunted by a ghost named Sonya. Cody (the young vampire) also hires a girl named Ginny. He is drawn to both. This story has interesting connections between the 3 of them but I would have liked a bit more detail and emotion in the story. Overall-3.5 star rating.
2)Amber Smoke by Kristin Cast. An odd vampire twist wit a touch of very off beat Greek mythology. A young girl dies by falling and hitting her head, is turned into a vampire upon getting kissed while dying. Each vampire has unique powers. They don't feed off blood and when they bleed their blood is amber. Very odd story.Not exactly my cup of tea but I am sure others would like it. 2.5-3 star rating
3) Dead Man Stalking by Rachel Caine. This story takes place in the Morganville series. It focuses on a young man named Shane. He is kidnapped by a zombie-type guy named Jerome and brought to face his father who is trying to kill all the vampires. Although I have yet to read this series this story stood well as a stand-alone and actually left me even more interested in reading Rachel Caine's other books. 4 stars
4)Table Manners by Tanith Lee. A good story about a girl at a party. She comes across a vampire and starts question him on his habits, weaknesses as a vampire (sunlight, blood, mirrors, etc). In Lee's story here vampires are not obligated to any of the lore that is made about them. That its psychological. Very nonstandard vampire traits but is slowly becoming a more common theme in newer books. I like the first person perspective this story was written in. 3.5- 4 stars.
5)Blue Moon by Richelle Mead. A good, likely futuristic story. Here, vampires are the upper class and run things. Humans are servants and lower working glass. The story focuses on a young girl trying to escape the city. She uses a human to do this. AN interesting story about the relationships between humans and vampires. 4.5 stars!
6)Changed by Nancy Holder. Great short story. Well-written and captivating! This story takes place in the city when one night vampires attack and over then next several days the city is in chaos. Survival is hard death is everywhere. A teen girl looking for her best friend amidst the fires, surrounded by those who would drain her blood. 5 stars!
7)Binged by Rachel Vincent. Not Really sure this is a vampire story. Its about 2 girls, one being a siren and feeds off others (energy?) while singing. The other seems to give and take opposite energies of music. Very strange and hard to follow what and how their abilities work. Especially the second girl who goes after a guy she feels drawn to. However the story was well written otherwise. 3 stars.
8) Free by Claudia Gray. Set in the 1800's in New Orleans. Focus's on Patrice's struggle as she learns what it really means to be free in those days. Well written for the most part but was a bit tricky to believe the time period based on writing style and description at times. However the story was very good. 3.5-4 stars.