Stroke of Midnight

If you are awaiting LA Banks latest novel, read her short story "Make it Last Forever" in the collection of Stroke of Midnight. We finally are allowed a glimpse into the past life of Rider and are introduced to Tara his lost love. I think it was brilliantly written and made me crave for more. I think we will see Tara in the upcoming story of Damali and Carlos, and we now understand why Rider is so sympathetic and understanding of the Neteru's forbidden love. I hope that Banks continues to build on the integrity of characters and the story, and make her series "last forever".

This is a Great intro to Paranormal/Dark Romance. IT gives you a taste of whats out there. I Originally bought the book for the L.A. Banks Story "Make It Last Forever" linked to her multicultural Vampire Huntress Series. I walked a way a fan of all the other authors. The stories very sensual and filled with intriguing characters and plots. You get pulled into an exciting world of Were-creatures, vampires and shapeshifters. All though I enjoyed all the stories my favorite after L.A. Bank's" Make it Last Forever" was Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Winter Born" I ran right out and got her Dark Hunter Series. Enjoy

The first story by Kenyon is the best and makes this whole book worthwhile. I can not understand why other critics would complain that the story is too short. It is SUPPOSED to be a short story and it was WONDERFUL! I read it several times. Dante and Pandora's story is fantastic, sensual, exciting and characters from other books are in this. The following stories were not so good. I read them all -- from boring to sad to strange. Buy this for Kenyon's story and skip the rest.

While I've only read the stories by Sherrilyn Kenyon and L.A. Banks so far, I can understand why this book received the highest rating from Romantic Times and why it made the New York Times. Sherrilyn's story made me laugh, made me sad, made me "warm," and left me with a feeling of satisfaction with the outcome of the main characters. A few surprising twists made this romance enjoyable for me. That different species could find each other and ultimately understand one another gave the story a sense of oneness among individuals, a feeling of warmth in the "happily ever after" of the story. L.A. Banks' story sent me on an adventure while delicately exploring a romance. Since I'm familiar with her vampire huntress legends series and some of her other works, I was already well in tune with her writing style. Her detailed descriptions made me feel as though I was there. I could see the drama; I could feel the love... and that love, though seemingly sad, had a never-ending feel. One love for life -- regardless of the circumstances. Both these stories showed that different types of beings can discover, explore and enjoy one another. And isn't that what love is supposed to be about?

I give this anthology 5 stars because of Winterborn. The other stories I barely noticed. Winterborn had the complexity and energy that I've come to expect from Sherrilyn Kenyon's DarkHunter novels. Dante is a werepanther, the Katagari kind (animal). Pandora is a werepantheress, the Arcadian kind (human). We learn more about Katagari werepanthers, like the fact that once mated, the men are tied for life, while the women are not, and the men stay home and raise the kids while the women only visit fo 2 days/year. Arcadian women are human, though, and stay with their children. Anyway, Dante is less tortured than Kenyon's usual heroes, and reveals himself to be a werepanther of much honour and integrity. Dante and Pandora are in a science fiction convention place, and Archeron and Simi and some other gods are there too. The thing is, Pandora is in heat, Dante is not mated, Dante's twin unmated brothers are there too, and there is an entire Katigari pack of werepanthers out to re-capture Pandora. We get introduced to werepanther culture, Dante's large family, and another side of Archeron. Very cool. Most of the Darkhunter novels are full of Greek culture and tortured Romans. So I really enjoyed this werepanther story, even more than the other Drakos and Oneroi short stories and Night Play. Dante is very edgey and hard, more convincingly than many of Kenyon's heroes. Amanda Ashley's story was a medieval werewolf story, sweet and gentle. L.A.Banks story was typically urban and slightly empty/depressingly practical. I've only read part of Handeland's story, but it's an urban werewolf story, fairly humorous. But for me, Winterborn just put them all in the shade.