I should come clean and admit now that I don't like anthologies. However, several of the big name authors on the cover caught my eye, and I figured it was time to rethink my whole "I hate anthologies" philosophy. I thought reading this book would be like going to Baskin-Robbins, and I'd get to try over 25 different flavors of vampire romance in small bites. My plan was to read a few stories each night just before bed, and it worked beautifully as a cure for insomnia. I wish I was kidding, but most of the stories contained herein were not strong enough to capture my attention.
Here's my criticism with anthologies... only a truly top shelf writer can carve out a satisfying story within a scanty amount of space, and since this book isn't packed exclusively with superstar writers, I knew there'd be a lot of so-so to so-sucky stories. I think anthologies work best when 1) they include novella length stories, and 2) the author is writing their story based on a well-loved series.
Overall I was disappointed with this book, but that's not to say that all the entries are crap. There are definitely a few that stand out in my mind for their quality, but if you read all the stories in order (like I did), then it feels like an interminable wait between goodies. It reminded me of trick-or-treating as a kid, and how frustrating it'd be to encounter a long stretch of dark, empty houses. I should have just skipped around the book, but the reviewer in me said I had to read it all or nothing.
Anyway, I did enjoy both of Lilith Saintcrow's entries in particular, and the stories by Shiloh Walker, Delilah Devlin, Barbara Emrys, and Jenna Maclaine all deserve special mention.Get more detail about The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance (Mammoth Books).
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