Dead After Dark (Anthology)

Dead After Dark includes paranormal stories by Sherrilyn Kenyon, J.R. Ward, Susan Squires and Dianna Love. They offer a good introduction to each author's style, and to different types of paranormal creatures.

My favorite story was The Story of Son by J.R. Ward. It was a very emotional book, with a strong and brave heroine and a vampire hero who has been chained up and locked away since he was a boy. He is quite a change from the usual strong heroes we see and watching him discover hope and love is deeply affecting. Although this story could fit into her Black Dagger Brotherhood world, it is without the wisecracking usual in those books and is simpler, fitting the story length. I think it showcases what Ward does best--get into the head of her characters and let us feel what they feel. I'd rate it 8.5 out of 10.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's story, Shadow of the Moon, was also very good. It is Fury's story and I was glad to see him get his happy ending after such a difficult life. It's a fast-paced story full of action and a lot of the characters we've grown to love, but I wonder if readers who were not familiar with Kenyon's series would be lost. I also did not like the heroine very much, although she did redeem herself in the end. I'd rate it 7.5 out of 10.

The Susan Squires story, Beyond the Night, is a historical paranormal so had quite a different feel to it. The author developed a nicely eerie atmosphere and the main characters were intriguing because they both had so much baggage. It was nice to see the heroine as the vampire, since it is usually the other way around, and it was gratifying to see both characters grow during the story and work out their issues. I'd rate it 7.5 out of 10.

The weakest story in the book is Midnight Kiss Goodbye by Dianna Love. It has a hero and heroine who both have supernatural powers they've been hiding from each other. Once they find out about each other's abilities, it seemed like the story petered out. I found myself more interested in a couple of the secondary characters than in the main characters. I'd rate this story 6.0 out of 10.