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Title: Stroke of Midnight
ISBN: 0312998767
Author:
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Amanda Ashley
L. A. Banks
Lori Handeland
Publicate Date: 2004-11-02
Publish: 2004-11-02
List Price: $7.99
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.63
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.65
Amazon Merchant Price: $7.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Not up to par
I've recently become a big fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon. Her writing is spectacular and her character's are vivid and interesting. I purchased this book in the hopes that not only would I get a good story from Ms. Kenyon, but also read other authors of the same genre who I might find interesting. I must say that I was disappointed by these stories. While Ms. Kenyon's full length books tend to enthrall the reader (except for most dream hunter ones, but that's for another time) I found her story and the others in this compilation lacking something. Perhaps the genre does not lend itself to the short story as well as the full length novel and those who haven't read the full length novels might like it. I personally found them lacking.
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2: Lori Handeland is the bright shining star here...
I like paranormal romance, but not ordinarily stuff that involves werewolves or vampires, etc. In paranormal romance I usually prefer faeries and mostly urban fantasy fiction. I picked up this book at the library on a whim - Lori Handeland made me a convert, mainly to her fiction.
Her story "Red Moon Rising" is a tale about a super secret group of government agents called the Jager-Sucher - they hunt down and kill monsters. Mix that with a writer suffering a terrible bout of writer's block living in an isolated cabin and a skin walker/werewolf who wants her dead and you have one suspense loaded tale.
What I most enjoyed, however, was the first person snappy, sarcastic writing. I don't normally like first person stories, but Ms. Handeland pulls it off with such skill that you can picture the witty main character with great clarity. I actually laughed out loud quite a few times over the sarcasm and witty dialog.
While I didn't enjoy all the stories in this book as a whole, I enjoyed this one story so much that I looked at her Moon series (more Jager-Sucher tales) and read excerpts here on Amazon. Having found that they are written the same way, I straight up ordered the first two books in the series. I can't wait to read those books and will likely order and read the entire series in the near future.
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3: I liked only one of the four stories....
I picked up this anthology in the hopes of exploring the talents of a few of the more popular paranormal romance authors. Sadly, I really only liked one of the four stories.
Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon
I thought this story was a bit rushed and not very enticing. Although the sexual tension between the two leading characters was undeniably HOT, the story just didn't hold my interest. Although I had never read anything about were-panthers prior to this story, I found all the details about the different clans a bit boring. All in all, aside from the steamy sex scenes, this one was not a fav.
Born of the Night by Amanda Ashley
I have actually read a few books by this author and have to admit, this was my favorite story of the four. It is set in medieval times, so the castles and scenery were quite fun to read about. It's basically a historical romance that includes a wolf curse - how can you beat that?! I appreciated that the romance between the two leading characters took a little time to develop -that just seems more realistic than seeing two people hop into bed two minutes after meeting. Overall, the story was a bit predictable for me, but I found myself enjoying it and watching the characters develop. This was by far the best of the four in my opinion.
Make It Last Forever by L A Banks
This one was another story about a vampire who meets her "protector" and finds that she is completely in love with him. I found the characters inconsistent and a little boring. First off, the male lead comments on how the female lead is unlike anyone he has ever been attracted to prior. He also says that he would never find her kind of beauty attractive, but a few short pages later claims she is the most beautiful person he has ever seen. Not consistent. Also, the story was just really boring. All this running around to stop something that has already happened - seemed a bit fruitless to me. Also, the ending was completely dull. All in all, not a story I really cared about.
Red Moon Rising by Lori Handeland
I really like that this story included an atypical female lead. Instead of those perfect hard body brunettes, we see a bit softer average red head - who has quite the mouth on her. I found that bit interesting. However, the found the leading male a bit dull. He never really explains much about himself aside from a few details of his horrid past that set him out on a blood vendetta. Yawn. I would say this story had a lot of potential, but no follow through.
All in all, I really didn't find myself drawn to any new authors. Since the only story I really enjoyed was by an author I was already pretty familiar with, I have yet to discover any NEW talent that truly wets my appetite. For me, this one is a pass.
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4: Stroke of Midnight
I purchased this book mainly for the L.A. Banks story "Make It Last Forever". If you follow the VHL series then you have to read this story. It gives you the history of Tara and Rider, before I read Make It Last Forever I wanted Tara and Yonnie together. This story also gives you a little history of Rider and Jose'. The story explains how Rider and Tara met, how Tara became a vampire and how Rider came to build their special cabin. This is a good love story with some steamy love scenes. This story also stands on its own so if you have not read the Vampire Huntress Series you will still enjoy this story.
I also liked Winter Born and Born of the Night both of these stories mix paranormal with romance and finding your life mate. Both of these stories have everything I like; romance, love, sex, mystery, wolves and a good flow.
I liked Red Moon Rising the least. It had mystery, love, sex etc...I just did not like the idea of a person wearing animal skin and then becoming the animal. This story was sort of boring... but the other stories made the book a good purchase.Stroke of Midnight
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5: Bought it to find out about Tara and Rider from the Vampire Huntress series
This book was such a quick read! I loved each story but by far the one about Rider and Tara touched me the most because I have been reading the L.A. Banks Vampire Huntress series. If you love her books you will LOVE this one, it is a must for people following the series or want to start!
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