The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance

I HAVEN'T FINISHED THE BOOK IM HALF WAY THROUGH BUT I CAN SAY SOME OF THESE STORY ARE REALLY GOOD IM FINDING MYSELF LOOKING UP THE AUTHORS TO SEE IF ITS SOME TYPE OF POINT OF VIEW FROM ANOTHER VAMP OR AN ON GOING STORY!!!! THE REASON I BOUGHT THIS BOOK IS BECAUSE OF QUINN'S SHORT STORY BY KERI ARTHUR AND IM GLAD I DID NOW IM LOOKING UP SO MANY NEW AUTHORS.

A savory collection of vampire tales of love and lust, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF VAMPIRE ROMANCE, is a terrific sampler for fans of both the paranormal romance and urban fantasy genres. With offerings from some of the new big names in the vampire sub I highly recommend this for other readers who are seeking a taste of new authors. Others, not looking for new authors, might enjoy the few that tie into current series. To keep things brief let me offer information on each short story... [FADE TO BLACK] by Sherri Erwin, When a vampire obsessed professor finds out one of her students is one of the undead their tryst forces choices on her she never saw coming. --While I liked the whole professor-has-vampire-as-student concept the story felt like it came out of another book and just didn't do it for me. 2/5 stars [ODE TO EDVARD MUNCH] by Caitlin R. Kiernan, Our narrorator is a musician passing through Central Park each night where he befriends a mysterious young female vampire, one whom he dreams of in so many ways. --I loved the narration but this story was very short and poetic, not really romantic. 3/5 stars [FANGS FOR HIRE] by Jenna Black, Gemma is a vampire hitwoman who is good at her job and when a client hires her to kill his step-father over an inheritance she gets a lot more than she bargained for. --I didn't think I'd like this one but the step-father character pulled the story together and would have made an excellent hero for a longer book. 4/5 stars [THE RIGHTEOUS] by Jenna Mclaine, In this historical, when a vampire who is charged with weeding out the bad seeds of his race meets a human slayer who stirs his blood will they remain foes, or could he prove to her not all his kind are evil? --This tale was too cliched and sloppy for my tastes but fans who love historical vampire stories might like it. 1/5 stars [KNOWLEDGE OF EVIL] by Raven Hart, Vampire Nick Manos has sought out a chance to study at the University of Georgia just to meet Professor Victoria Lennox, an expert on vampires... and they are both seeking forbidden knowledge. --A fluffy little tale with very little conflict, was a fun romp but not a real stand-out from the collection. 4/5 stars [VIPER'S BITE] by Delilah Devlin, Viper is a vampire with an interest in Mariah, but just how deeply does tha interest go? --I feel like anything I can say about this story would be spoilery but it was very romantic and I loved it. 5/5 stars [DREAMS] by Keri Arthur, Set around characters from Arthur's Riley Jenson series. --I feel bad cause I've never read any of the series so I was completely confused by the story and hence did not like it, my guess is fans of the series will love the extra 'screentime' with these characters. 2/5 stars [LOVE BITES] by Kimberly Raye, Another offering that ties into the author's series, Danielle Blue is a newly minted SOB (Sniper of Otherworldy Beings) and she's due to make her first kill, but is sleeping with the enemy really breaking the rules? --I've got on

This is a great read for any/all fans of the Twilight series or any of the other vampire book series (especially for those of us that may enjoy the tension buildup in those young adult books, but are adult enough to desire the "pay-off" as well). ;o) Do keep in mind that this IS a collection of short stories... some of them wrap it all up in a perfect short story format, while others may leave you wishing for more. And, you can definitely sense the different writing styles of the authors, which will have you favoring some more than others. This definitely IS NOT a book to get for the young teen or tween readers though... probably a little too graphic for them. Otherwise, it was a nice escape from reality and a good blend of stories incorporating humor, horror, romance, lust, historical legends, and modern day references. I will say this... the very last story left me with chills; very disturbing! All of the rest are more of the page-turner style we all know and love. :o) Read it!

Yes, the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romances is truly MAMMOTH containing 25 short stories. You'll recognize the names of the most of the 23 well known authors as the writers of your favorite paranormal romance and popular urban fantasy series. Despite the title, only about half of the stories in the book are `romances' though most have some sex, but they do all have vampires and most all have a key element of the story associated with the vampire's bite: bringing a transformation, granting immortality, unlocking or stealing memories, sealing a bond or, with the refusal of the acceptance of its offer, breaking a heart. Together the stories pretty much cover most of the niches of the PNR and UF genres, one little tidbit at a time. Since these are truly short stories some of the endings are a bit abrupt. A few of the entries tied into the authors' existing series, Gleason's and Arthur's read like deleted scenes from early books, and Devlin's, Holder's, Raye's, Chance's and Saintcrow's (the first of her two) explore other characters/pieces of their worlds. It's my first time with authors Kiernan, Devlin, Hart and Walker, but I suspect Walker's was a connected story too. My favorites were the ones from Chance, Black, Devlin, Emrys, and Morgan, they did the best with their characters and stories in the very short space. My least favorite were both of Kiernan's entries and Pettersson's - the vague poetic style of these stories left me unconnected to their characters. *** "Fade to Black" - Sherri Erwin - A professor's tryst with a gorgeous student brings a whole new meaning to `unsafe sex' when he infects her with the `vampire' virus. (3 stars - This one was pointless and not a romance, it was all set up and then a too abrupt ending.) *** "Ode to Evdard Munch" - Caitlin Kiernan - A man shares his blood with a mysterious vamp for a piece of her dreams. (3 stars - no romance and the connection between the leads was odd) *** "Fangs for Hire" - Jenna Black - When a vampire hit woman finds her oh so sexy prey is not what he seems, she just might have to consider rewritting her `contract'. (4 stars - both the leads were interesting and I like the way they found to feed their hungers) *** "The Righteous" - Jenna Maclaine - A sorceress and a King put events in play to establish a group of vampires to police their own, which is the catalyst to bring a vampire and a woman who stakes them together in Paris. (4 stars - I liked the huntress and the vamp - added 12/6 this is a prequel to MacLaine's Cin Craven series) *** "Knowledge of Evil" - Ravent Hart - An ancient vampire with a passion for learning meets a gorgeous professor who shares his thirst for knowledge. (3.5 stars ) *** "Viper's Bite" - Delilah Devlin - A solitary vampire and a lonely woman connect but he must steal her memories to keep her safe. (5 stars -the story was bittersweet but hopeful ) *** "Dreams" - Kerri Arthur - Arthur's Riley Jensen and her sometimes lover vampire Quinn share drea