First Blood

"Cave Canem" by Susan Sizemore When hellhound pups are stolen from under Dan Conover's nose, an unlikely alliance is made. Vampire enforcer Dan is bound by a promise to guard the hellhounds. Werewolf Tess Sirella is charged with making sure no hellhound is trained to tap into its evil, murderous potential. Vampires and werewolves aren't supposed to be attracted to one another...but for every rule, there's an exception. "Cave Canem" is part of Susan Sizemore's Laws of the Blood series. I found the story to be entertaining and the world Ms. Sizemore has created to be interesting. However, Tess and Dan's love story seemed rushed and much of the story was dominated by the subplot. I feel Tess and Dan's love story would have been stronger and more believable in a longer format; there simply was too much going on in the novella and not enough time for the romance. For a newcomer to the series, such as myself, it was easy to follow the main plotline of "Cave Canem." However, there was clearly too much history in the series for the subplot involving Valentine and Yevgeny to have an impact at all, which is perhaps part of the reason I found them to be so distracting. All in all, I think the story will be enjoyable to fans of the Laws of the Blood series. "Russian Roulette" by Erin McCarthy Alistair Kirk is a bar owner, a musician, and a vampire. When he hears that a fledgling vampire is being held captive and faces certain death, he rushes to the rescue. Sasha Chechikov, once a vampire slayer, now a vampire herself, is on the run from her former associates. Sasha's past leaves her wary of trusting anyone, but she can't deny the sparks that fly between her and her sexy savior. Will Alistair be able to protect Sasha from her enemies? And will two vampires who seem so different from one another learn what it means to truly love? "Russian Roulette" is the first story I've ever read by Erin McCarthy and I will definitely be buying more of her books in the future. I believe the novella is connected to Ms. McCarthy's Vegas Vampires series, but having never read the books I had no problems following the story at all. Alistair was interesting, patient, protective, and sexy as all get out; in other words, the ideal hero. Sasha was vulnerable, yet had a spine of steel and I found her to be endearing. A fast-paced story with truly likeable characters made "Russian Roulette" a highly entertaining read. "Double the Bite" by Chris Marie Green On a hunt to find the cause of his brother's mysterious death, Ben Tyree finds himself at the infamous Studio 54, and soon in the path of two preternaturally beautiful women. Ginny and Geneva aren't just twins, they're vampires. Their connection is put to the test when Ginny falls for Ben, much to Geneva's anger. How can Ginny choose between the man she's falling in love with and the sister who won't let her go? "Double the Bite" is part of Chris Marie Green's Vampire Babylon series, but there was enoug

FIRST BLOOD SUSAN SIZEMORE, ERIN MCCARTHY, CHRIS MARIE GREEN, MELJEAN BROOK Paranormal Romance Berkley Sensuality rating: Sexy Overall rating 4 Enchantments Cave Canem- Susan Sizemore 3.5 Enchantments Dan Conover is the protector of the Hell hound pups. He made a promise to their mother that he would protect them years and years ago. This is a promise that he has kept even with their descendants. When someone comes and steals two of the pups it is his duty to find them before their power is used for evil. Tess Sirella is a witch werewolf whose duty is to clean up after the messes the vampires make and to keep the hellhounds from unleashing the evil on the world. Finding these pups is no easy task, and it is going to take the vampire, Conover, and the Werewolf, Sirella, to team up and put the hatred that each species harbors towards the other, behind them. This was a hard story to follow. I have never read any of Susan Sizemore's books so I have no back history with any of the characters. I would say that this book does stand alone. I did not understand the relationship between Valentine and Yevgeny, nor do I understand why the feud between the vamps and weres. To be honest I was completely grossed out at how the hellhounds came into existence. It is possible that if I had the knowledge of the other books that my opinion would have changed but based on this story alone I would not read any other stories by this author. Susan Sizemore is the author of the Laws of Blood, and Primes series. To find out more about her and her stories please visit her website at http://www.susansizemore.com/ Russian Roulette- Erin McCarthy 4.5 Enchantments Alistair Kirk knew his ex was evil but he never thought that she would be so evil enough that she would kidnap one of their kind and sell them to slayers. Sasha Chechikov hates vampires, thanks to the abuse of her horrible late vampire husband. So when one of them kidnaps her and plans to sell her to the slayers, she thinks that she is doomed. That is of course until one of them sneaks in to rescue her. He acts like he is just trying to help, but they are all evil right? I have never read anything by Erin McCarthy except for her YA series so this book shocked me. It was quite good. The story stood on its own and was a very great plot. The only thing I did not like was the end of the story. It felt a little rushed and I was quite disappointed that Cassandra just gave up. I felt that the whole story was leading up to a big encounter and then nothing. But if the other stories by Erin McCarthy are just as good as this one, then I will be definitely adding a new favorite author to my list. Erin McCarthy is the author if the Vegas Vampires and The Seven deadly Sins series. She also writes a YA series under the name Erin Lynn. To find out more about her and her books please visit her websites http://www.erinmccarthy.net/ and http://www.erinlynnbooks.com/ Double the Bite- Chris Marie Green 4 Enchantments Ben Tyree

First Blood by Susan Sizemore, Erin McCarthy Chris Marie Green and Meljean Brook **** 1/2 stars Usually with anthologies the reads are uneven or do not maintain a consistent theme. All of the authors wrote stories which were well thought out and got this reader involved! In this anthology all these stories were good to excellent reads. The theme of each involves vampires in the Urban Fantasy genre. Susan Sizemore's Cave Canem is a continuation of her vampire Enforcer series. This story mentions some of her previous characters but is really focused on the hero and heroine. Conover is a vampire and Tess is a werewolf. Since both groups have a history of animosity there is a lot of tension. To find a thief they must work together and they, of course, are strongly attracted to each other. Their relationship is very believable. This story was really interesting to read because it adds another layer to the history of Susan Sizemore's Enforcer series, back to Roman times when Conover was a gladiator. And for those who love the series, you won't be disappointed; it kinda reminded me of scenes of Russell Crowe in Gladiator. There are flashbacks to Rome and these glimpses of the past are always fascinating. In previous Enforcer stories between vampires the pairing is bittersweet but this one ends on a very high note. I enjoyed reading it and hope she continues writing more of this series! Russian Roulette by Erin McCarthy Erin McCarthy already has 2 vampire series out. This story is not as light-hearted like her Vegas series. Sasha is a beautiful woman who has been newly turned into a vampire. She has been abused by her vampire husband and being held against her will by more vampires. Suffice to say she really doesn't like them! However, who should come to her rescue her but another vampire that she is very attracted to.....These two have a very convincing relationship and Alistair (her rescuer) is very patient with her history of trauma. Both had a great chemistry but the ending seemed somewhat anticlimactic. I understand why the author wanted the heroine to stand up for herself but unfortunately it seemed somewhat tacked on. Double the Bite by Chris Marie Green This story is very solid read. I was a bit skeptical since I had read this author's previous book and not been able to involve myself in the storyline. In this book, that was not the case. Both characters are deadly hunters. Ginny is a vampire and Ben is part of a force determined to exterminate vampires. Ben is attracted to Ginny but doesn't know the human murders are not due to Ginny but her twin Geneva. They are able to overcome these misunderstandings during a fast and furious relationship. A very thrilling read. But as with many Urban fantasies there is always some plot twist that is unexpected. I won't give away the ending, it makes sense, but I had mixed feelings. Thicker Than Blood by Meljean Brooks Meljean Brook's books always have a lot of depth and insight. S

This quartet of vampire `quickies' take advantage of the authors' established universes. My favorites were the stories by McCarthy and Brook. I admit I might be a bit biased because I follow both McCarthy's Vegas Vamps and Brook's Guardian series, but I thought that they did the best job of telling their stories in the novella length space. "Cave Canem" - when two Hellhound pups are stolen, Dan, who for centuries has been the protector of the Hellhounds after making a vow to their mother, will need his skills as vampire enforcer to find the pups. Werewolf Tess' duty is also tied to the missing hounds, it is the job of her clan to make sure their full demonic potential is never unleashed on the world. Though at odds on how to resolve the hellhound problem -- at least one of the pups is living up to its evil potential and killing humans and drinking their souls -- Dan and Tess experience an unexpected connection even though werewolves and vampires are normally not attracted to each other and they do not become mates. 3.5 stars - This was an okay story, the hellhound history was interesting though some readers may find it squicky. But Dan and Tess' hookup and a secondary romance worked into the story really would have benefited from a bit more space than what's allotted here. I haven't read Susan Sizemore's Laws of the Blood series, but I suspect that fans may recognise Valentine and Olympias who have cameo roles -- they have the feel of characters that the reader is expected to know -- which will likely make this story more fun for you if you follow the series. "Russian Roulette" - New Orleans vampire musician and bar owner Alistar, takes a risk to rescue a kidnapped newbie vampire Sasha from certain death. A vampire slayer before her turning, Sasha is slated to be given over to her former allies. Alistar soon discovers that he's not getting any gushing gratitude for his efforts to save Sasha. Sasha has not had a easy or pleasant life and doesn't trust easily but Alistar is a truly nice and decent guy and takes care with this damaged, attractive, intelligent survivor. 4.5 stars - A spin off from Erin McCarthy's Vegas vampire series, I really liked this story. The relationship between the pair is grown nicely and I loved both Sasha and Alistar. But I do wish it had been a bit longer because the extremely short time frame, only two days, is really too short for Alistar to have overcome the weight of Sasha's abusive past. "Double the Bite" - Disillusioned police detective Ben heads to the Big Apple to try and get closure on the exsanguination murder of his idealized older brother. Ben is haunted by the final image of his dead sibling and the blissful expression so out of sync with the violent death. Ben's search for the killer leads him to twin vampiresses and knowledge of a world that he never expected existed. Ben fascinates the eldest twin Ginny who is drawn to his noble core as she invades his innermost thoughts and he is equally ench

"Cave Cane" by Susan Sizemore. In the Laws of the Blood universe, vampire law enforcer Dan Conover and werewolf Tess Sirella form a reluctant team seeking to rescue kidnapped pups. "Russian Roulette" by Erin McCarthy. After losing her "day" job, former vampire slayer born again vampire Sasha Checkikov flees Vegas for New Orleans in order to jump start her undead life, but needs rescuing by vampire Alistair Kirk. "Double the Bite," by Chris Marie Green. In the Vampire Babylon world, twin vampires stalk mortal Ben Tyree until one of the siblings Ginny falls in love while her sister claims ownership of the human. "Thicker Than Blood" by Meljean Brook. When Annie Gallagher was human she loved FBI Agent Jack Harrington; but when she became a vampire she gave him up though she still loves him. Now they team up to rescue an abducted young girl. Vampire romantic suspense fans will enjoy biting into these four well written novellas; with the added treat of the return visits by fans of Ms. Sizemore and Ms. Green to their renowned realms. Harriet Klausner