Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, Vicki Petterson

Four short stories from the masters of bizarre, including two of my favorite writers (Harrison and Sands). Unfortunately some of these stories tend to be a bit on the dark side, but otherwise a great paranormal read.

Details: Harper, November 2007

Excellence Rating: Great

Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands

Lucian Argeneau has been tracking and killing rogue vampires for over two thousand years. But when a young girl manages to escape from Lucian's latest target he finds himself with a problem. After closing her bar for the evening, Leigh feels someone sink their teeth into her neck and she loses control of her body. When she wakes she’s in a strange place surrounded by strange people and she experiencing a brand new kind of hunger. Soon Lucian finds himself responsible for the girl and for the first time in over a thousand years, he wonders if it's time to end his lonely life. When Leigh realizes what she’s become, she’s not sure if she can become a bloodsucker like Lucian. But before Leigh and Lucian can come to terms with their relationship, the renegade vampire returns to claim what he believes is his rightful property. Now is Leigh ready to include Lucian in her new life or will the rogue manage to kill them both before she can make up her mind?

I miss the sense of humor and the playfulness from Lynsay Sand’s older books that she wrote before she started writing for Avon. That doesn’t mean that this story is bad, it just means that this story is different from her earlier stories. Otherwise this story continues the Argeneau family saga and if the family tree inside the book is right, we haven’t seen the last vampire book from Lynsay.

Details: Avon, January 2007

Excellence Rating: Very Good

Steaminess Factor: Yummy

A Bite to Remember by Lynsay Sands

So many accidents have happened around Vincent Argeneau lately that he decided to hire a private investigator. But when Jackie Morrisey arrives on the scene, he was doubly surprised, not only is Jackie a hot looking girl – she’s also a mortal. While Jackie frequently solves problems for immortals like Vincent, she’s had some bad experiences with them in the past, leaving her extra cautious when dealing with them. The danger escalates as Jackie and Vincent search for the guilty party, but so does her attraction to the 400 year old vampire. Now she must decide whether she should stick around to protect Vincent or run away and save herself from Vincent.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a bad Linsay Sands book. However since she switched to Avon, I think she’s lost some of the humor that I really loved. Still, I think if you’re a Linsay Sands fan or you’re into vampire stories, I think you’ll like this story.

Details: Avon, July 2006

Bottom line: A very good book

Dates From Hell by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong, Lori Handeland

This paranormal anthology contains four different stories that show women surviving their own dates from hell.

In Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil, by Kim Harrison, Ivy Tamwood – a homicide cop that just happens to be a living vampire – finds herself caught between a family responsibility to work her way up the corporate ladder and a boss who’s holding up her promotion until she has sex with him.

In The Claire Switch Project, by Linsay Sands, Clair Beckett unwittingly becomes part of a science experiment that gives her the ability to change her shape. But is changing her shape enough to help her attract the attention of her longtime friend, Kyle Lockhart?

In Chaotic, by Kelley Armstrong, a young girl named Hope, attempts to prevent a robbery only to find that the robber isn’t what he appears to be. Can her demon heritage help save her from an encounter with a werewolf?

In Dead Man Dating, Lori Handeland, tells the tale of Mara Naomi Elizabeth, aka Kit who not only finds that her date is dead, he’s also inhabited by a demon who wants to love her to death – literally. Her only hope is a rogue demon hunter who’s asking a price higher than she’s willing to pay.

I enjoyed reading this collection of stories. I really enjoyed Linsay’s sense of humor in her story and the fact that her story stands by itself. This isn’t true of Kelley’s story because it’s set in the same world as many of her other stories. Fortunately, I’ve read a few other stories she’s written, which made the story really enjoyable. The remaining stories were pretty good as they explored some different paranormal ideas that I haven’t seen before. All in all, I think if you love paranormal stories, you’ll love this book.

Details: Avon, April 2006

Bottom line: A very good book