M. J. Davidson's "Dead Girls Don't Dance", was great. You have to read it. If for no other reason than the line about the "Incredible Journey". What a hoot. Ms. Davidson's Undead series about Vampire Queen Betsy is just fabulous. Ms. Davidson's sense of humor has had me LOL for hours.

"Burning Moon" by R. York was a good read, but couldn't compare to the other two offerings mentioned above. In the past Ms. York has wrote much better books, leading me to believe that the short story format is not her cup of tea. Trust me, her past novels are very good, and well worth buying.

As for the lead off story, "Beyond the Ardeur", it is quite simply a waste. Now before all the LKH fans get ready to hang me, let me explain that I am a rabid LKH fan also. I LOVE LKH. She and Nora Roberts' "In Death" series are the ONLY books I will buy in hardback and paperback both. However, the expectation from anyone who is not a hardcore LKH fan is that "Beyond the Ardeur" is a new short story. It's not. It is several chapters of the new LKH book, "Incubus Dreams", which will be published in hardback in September. Ms. Hamilton took 3 or 4 chapters of the new book and slammed them together to create this so-called "short story". Personally, I think this is misleading and slightly unethical to represent a story in an anthology as a new short story by an author, but it is really a mismatch of chapters from a new book coming out in the fall. I realize in the publishing business "it's all about the money", but I think Ms. Hamilton has more integrity than this, and I wish she would quit letting herself be used in this manner. Anyway, the "short story" was very confusing, had no flow and only left you hanging. If you were a big fan like myself, you found the four marks that Damien got from Anita to be VERY interesting, and I can't wait to see where the story goes from here. I think the solution is that Ms. Hamilton needs to just write faster. Two books a year are not nearly enough! *grin*


It satisfied my Cravings for paranormal romantica...   August 2, 2004
 39 out of 40 found this review helpful

I couldn't wait to pick up this paranormal romantica anthology because two of my favorite authors of said genres, Laurell K. Hamilton and MaryJanice Davidson, are featured in it. However, I was disappointed when I found out that Hamilton's "Blood Upon My Lips" is actually some sample chapters of the upcoming novel Incubus Dreams -- the twelfth Anita Blake installment. I haven't read Narcissus in Chains and Cerulean Sins, and so I decided not to read the new novel's excerpts. My disappointment was short-lived because I absolutely loved MaryJanice Davidson's "Dead Girls Don't Dance," and Rebecca York's "Burning Moon." Davidson's novella is an in-between story of the hilarious Undead series. It's about a depressed vampire who runs into her old high school crush. After her crush discovers that his old schoolmate is now a nocturnal babe on a liquid diet, he agrees to take her to meet the new vampire queen (Undead and Unwed's Betsy Taylor). What transpires is a novella full of Davidson's signature wit and hilarious dialogue. I loved it! I also loved York's "Burning Moon." This is a sweet and sensual story about a werewolf's quest for revenge. He wants to find and kill the serial killer who has murdered several women, including his wife. However, a beautiful and blind tarot card reader could well change all of that. This is a very well-told story. The characterization is excellent for such a short novella. And I loved the fact that there is some mystery in the story as well. Eileen Wilks's "Originally Human" is truly remarkable. The whole guess-what-supernatural-species-the-hero-is enthralled me from beginning to end. "Originally Human" is definitely the most creative story in the book.

This is a wonderful anthology. I've become a big fan of paranormal fiction, and this book has the perfect blend of fantasy, erotica and romance that I love. I give it four stars instead of five because Ms. Hamilton has truly disappointed me. This anthology could have been the perfect opportunity for her to write a separate story about one of Anita Blake's characters. A prequel of the Anita Blake novels centered on Jean-Claude, Asher and Julianne's love triangle would've been excellent. Well, all isn't lost. At least I discovered the works of Rebecca York and Eileen Wilks. "Burning Moon" is part of a series, and I look forward to reading said series. All in all, Cravings is a very fun anthology that's perfect for the beach. Enjoy...



Research Before You Buy...   July 4, 2004
 25 out of 32 found this review helpful

First off, I bought the book for Laurell K Hamilton's work. Before reading it, I knew it was not indeed a short story, but an sample of her book that is due out in September (Incubus Dreams). I found the sample extremely frustrating, but at the same time it was excellent. Frustrating because I need to know what happens next, and excellent because it managed to develop two characters who have been two-dimensional so far. It's a must read for Anita fans who are as impatient as I am.

Dead Girls Don't Dance was the other story that I also enjoyed, mostly because it is quite similiar to Hamilton's style of writing. However, I found the main characters somewhat boring. The story itself was interesting: the emotional struggles of a young vampire.

This anthology was definitely worth the 8 dollars, but you have to know what to expect before buying it.


Overall enjoyable   August 1, 2004
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

To this anthology of supernatural romances, each author brings her own particular flavor. Laurell K. Hamilton, headliner because of her wildly popular Anita Blake series, brings fetish sex without much by way of plot. Rebecca York offers a romance thriller in miniature--complete with mystery and damsel in distress. MaryJanice Davidson provides a light-hearted contemporary romance of the vampire kind. Eileen Wilks presents...well, I don't know what to call what Eileen Wilks presents, other than good. It was my favorite of the four stories.

The only cohesion between the stories was the supernatural element. Werewolves, vampires, demons...they do represent how very differently such things can be handled. The plus side of that, obviously, is the diversity. Whether you want `em steamy or silly, you're going to get something to satisfy. The downside is that they don't necessarily mesh that well. York's story was quite good, but I had to put the book aside for a full day before I could get out of Wilks' vision enough to get into it. A minor drawback at worst.

While I'm sure there are some readers who will feel differently, the only story in the anthology that did not please my particular tastes was the Hamilton story. I truly enjoyed her early Anita Blake novels but have found recently that the kink seems to matter more than the plot. I prefer more of a blending of the two, and there was less plot than usual in her entry here--possibly because this "short story" is a mashed excerpt from her latest novel. For those who find the sex in those stories more compelling than the mysteries, this may be a nice little sampler. Personally, it doesn't really whet my appetite.

Wilks upcoming novel in this new series, Tempting Danger, on the other hand, is already on my list.



Dirty Pool   July 31, 2004
 12 out of 17 found this review helpful

I love LKH and will definitely be buying her next Anita novel. But I bought THIS book expecting to get a short story about my favorite characters. A short story has a beginning, a middle, and an END. Nowhere on this book does it say one word about her offering being an excerpt from the upcoming Incubus Dreams. Her story is called "Blood Upon My Lips" and is presented in a short story anthology, but it isn't a short story at all. I think that is a gross misrepresentation and dirty pool on Ms. Hamilton's part. If she wanted to advertise for her newest novel that's fine, but we should have been able to make an informed choice before spending eight bucks. Instead we are just left hanging and got as little satisfaction from our encounter with Anita, Nathaniel, and Damian as they did.

Hopefully, the other stories will make up for being rooked by LKH. I haven't read them yet because I was so mad after reading her story I pitched the book over the back of the couch.