Amazon Price: $11.16
List Price: $13.95
Usually ships in 24 hours
By: Running Press
Amazon Marketplace: 27
new & used starting at $8.06
|
Buy at Amazon.com
|
Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Anthologies
Subjects -> Romance -> Anthologies
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance - BIG Book, Big Name Authors, Short stories - not all are romances 4 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.
Yes, the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romances is truly MAMMOTH containing 25 short stories. You'll recognize the names most 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)
*** "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 dreams and danger. (4 stars - seemed like deleted scene from an early book but has the feel of the series)
*** "Love Bites" - Kimberly Raye - From her Dead End Dating world, a hereditary vampire slayer flunks her final test when instead of finishing off the vampire she's staked she takes him her home to heal. (3.5 stars -humorous but a bit on the cutesy side)
*** "What's at Stake" - Alexis Morgan - A legal enforcer must either prove the innocence of the vampire she's secretly loved or she must put him to death. (4 stars - more on the fantasy side, I liked this one a lot)
*** "Coming Home" - Lilith Saintcrow - Dante Valentine's foster daughter Liana is hired by the Nichtvahren who broke her teenage heart to kill his maker. (3.5 stars - Even though the heroine is Liana, her internal dialog feels very much like Dante - who make a brief appearance. Though with Saintcrow's writing style, it took two reads to understand everything that was going on.)
*** "To Ease the Rage" - CT Adams & Cathy Clamp - A police officer will join with her undead partner to find the strength to protect her city from vamps that threaten the peace. (4 stars - good chemistry between the leads)
*** "Dancing with the Star" - Susan Sizemore - A vampire's dreams of a dancing movie star may signal the end of her loneliness. (3.5 stars - a long dream sequence, not a fan of those, and the italics bugged me after a few pages)
*** "Play Dead" - Dina James - A vampire finds his soulmate and challenges the leaders of his clan for the right to choose his own bride. (3 stars - okay, but the most interesting character was not one of the leads. But well enough done that I would check this out if it were the start of a series.)
*** "In Which a Masquerade Ball Unmasks an Undead" - Colleen Gleason - Gleason's vampire hunting debutante Victoria tries to persue her attraction to Rockley while fighting off vamps at a masquerade ball with a little help and snide remarks from Max. (3.5 stars - One of the few historicals, this felt like a deleted scene from the first book, but missing the more serious events from the books which play against lighter scenes like this one)
*** "A Temporary Vampire" - Barbara Emrys - A vampire discovers a captivating `vampire' actress in New Orleans. (4.5 stars - Liked the vamp & it had a nice feel to it, but it should have been longer since it offers the promise of romance but ends before it can be fulfilled)
*** "Overbite" - Savannah Russe - A vampire patient gives a dentist a chance to expand his practice to the undead and to pursue his secret fantasies. (4 stars - Almost humorous)
*** "Hunter's Choice" - Shiloh Walker - Seems like a spinoff from her series the leading man is a vampire and a 'hunter'. A grieving/vengeful woman turned vamp-slayer must reexamine her beliefs about vamps to keep the star of her passionate dreams when they meet again. (4.5 stars - I liked the hero and because these two had an established connection from a previous tryst the romance worked even as a short. )
*** "The Sacrifice" - Rebecca York - A princess becomes a willing sacrifice to a `monster' to save her father's kingdom under seige and gains not only her kingdom's freedom but her own salvation. (4 stars - beauty and the beast theme, with a brave heroine and the noble sacrificing hero)
*** "Remember the Blood" - Vicki Petterson - Two vampires are reborn without memories each year but strive to bring forward clues to `remember' each other and their love. (2.5 stars - didn't like any of the characters and the style was too vague to be engaging)
*** "The Midday Mangler Meets his Match" - Rachel Vincent - An ordinary everyday vampire teen and her younger sister discover a use for their vestigal fangs when they have a run in with a killer. (3 stars - on the humorous side but a bit overboard on the `normal vamp' slice of life bits)
*** "The Music of the Night" - Amanda Ashley - A phantom of the opera obssesed woman gets a chance to star in her favorite fantasy when she meets her own phantom. (4 stars - I like the tragic phantom theme in this pleasant story)
*** "The Day of the Dead" - Karen Chance - From the Cassandra Palmer series, vampire Thomas seeks to rid the world of his evil former master and to aide a magical mercenary with a forbidden power to save her missing brother from the evil vamps yearly human hunt. (4 stars - Thomas is a favorite of mine and it was fun to see a bit more of him)
*** "Vampire Unchained" - Nancy Holder - A return to Holder's House of the Blood/Shadows/Flame/Phoenix world. Vampire Liam's secret negotiations with the House of Phoenix cause him to be accused of treason against his clan, his punishment is imprisonment with his human lover as the only source of blood, but their love holds the key that may free them. (4 stars - a nice little carve out from her series, Holder does a good job of developing Liam and his history)
*** "A Stand-up Dame" - Lilith Saintcrow - A soft touch for a dame in danger, this PI returns from the dead to solve his case. (3 stars - Sort of a Bogart with fangs, this one was okay but didn't feel very original, sort of like a P.N Elrod knock off.)
*** "Untitled 12" - Cailtlin R. Kiernan - A sick woman searches until a vampire finds her. (1 star - I detested this one. More on the horror side, the vampire and the turning were truly icky, though I debated giving an extra star to the author for inspiring such strong negative feelings with so few words.)
Editorial Review:
The biggest names in paranormal romance have created a fascinating array of 30 short stories of hot blood and inhuman passions that will leave you thirsting for more. Authors include Sherri Erwin, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Jenna Black, Jenna Maclaine, Raven Hart, Delilah Devlin, Keri Arthur, Kimberly Raye, Alexis Morgan, Lilith Saintcrow, C.T. Adams, Cathy Clamp, Susan Sizemore, Dina James, Colleen Gleason, Barbara Emrys, Savannah Russe, Shiloh Walker, Vicki Pettersson, Rebecca York, Rachel Vincent, Amanda Ashley, Karen Chance, and Nancy Holder. These ain’t your mother’s vampires!
