The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance

I have yet to enjoy a "Monster Book of..." as much as this one. The writers outdid themselves bringing the supernatural into believable. I especially liked how Carrie Vaughn brought the inmates of the Center for the Study of Paranormal Biology to life in realistic detail in "The Temptation of Robin Green." I laughed my way through Michelle Rowen's heroine's reactions in "Second Bite". And loved the ending scene in "The Lighthouse Keeper and His Wife" when an ancient sea god runs head on into implacable female stubborness!. Fun, sometimes touching, tales of ancient magical creatures and the modern women who love them...

I got this just because Jim Butcher and Kelley Armstrong had stories in here. I read each and every single one, then went and bought more books by different authors I'd never read before.

Twenty-four, that's right. Count 'em, twenty-four short stories from some of the big names in current paranormal romance...all in one fairly heavy trade paperback! "The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance" is a mammoth undertaking edited by Trisha Telep with stories by Carrie Vaughn, Cheyenne McCray, Kelley Armstrong, Anna Windsor, Anya Bast, Jean Johnson, CT Adams & Cathy Clamp, Holly Lisle, Mary Jo Putney, Eve Silver, Ilona Andrews, Maria V Snyder, Catherine Mulvany, Jeaniene Frost, Lori Devoti, Sara Mackenzie, Lynda Hilburn, Alyssa Day, Michelle Rowen, Rachel Caine, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Meljean Brook, Allyson James, & Dina James...whew! I hadn't planned to include every author, but who on that list would you leave out? Now at 528 pages divided by 24 authors...ummm, OK you do the math. None of the stories are long , but each is just enough to give you a quickie taste of your favorite, or give you an idea of whether or not you'd like the author. Since I'd read at least one book by all the authors with the exception of Dina James, this was more of a 'quickie read before bed' book than a 'sit down and power read book'. Some of the stories are set in worlds I already knew from other books by that author with familiar characters. Others were something new and different. All but a couple left me wanting more and hoping that respective author would expand in a full-length novel soon. Since there are so many stories, it would be difficult for any paranormal reader NOT to find some gems. The heroes and heroines run the gamut from human to vampire to gargoyle to shifters to witches and on and on. "The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance" will stay on my keeper shelf.