Sherrilyn Kenyon, L.A. Banks, Susan Squires, & Ronda Thompson: Love At First Bite

Review by Vicky London

Love At First Bite is a collection of four novellas of otherworldly desire. Until Death Do Us Part by Sherrilyn Kenyon tells the story of the only married Dark Hunter, Velkan. 500 years ago Velkan bound his wife Esperetta’s soul to him so that they would never be parted, even in death. Unfortunately, her father Vlad Dracula had other plans, leaving both of them dead. When Velkan became a Dark Hunter, Esperetta went along for the ride and became immortal too. Sadly, it’s not all marital bliss but an old enemy who would see them finally dead, just might bring these two soul mates back together.

Ride the Night Wind by L.A. Banks is the back story of Jose Ciponte, know from the Vampire Huntress series. This is the story of Jose before he became a guardian and how his powers were awakened with the help of a lovely young Latina. Dark, disturbing dreams haunt Jose of a beautiful woman and demons chasing him. The real world is much more mundane with a nagging mother and dreams of art school. Until one night his reality is shattered by a terrifying evil. The girl of his dreams is real too and they must run for their lives toward the warrior destiny awaiting them.

The Gift by Susan Squires is set in London and Casablanca in the 1820’s. Major Davis Ware wants to forget about the torture he experienced at the hands of an evil vampiress. He made it home from North Africa and now all he wants to do is settle down and marry the beautiful Emma Fairchild. Instead he is called back into battle to help a friend who desperately needs him. His very life and immortal soul are in danger and Emma will do anything to save him.

The Forgotten One by Ronda Thompson is part of her Wild Wulfs of London series. The Lady Anne Baldwin wants to be a rebel and break out of her proper staid life. She gets a chance to do just that when a midnight ride turns into more than she bargained for with the new stable master Merrick. His dark hair and glowing blue eyes remind her of someone and she is helpless to resist his masculine allure.

I’m usually not crazy about anthologies because they often seem to be left over short stories that get scraped together to sell another book. The trend seems to be shifting however, towards authors who have a series and want to share some of the characters’ back stories or expand on a minor character who otherwise wouldn’t get much attention. Each story is very good and different in it’s own way. There’s a nice mix of historical, urban, and contemporary paranormal in this one.

Love At First Bite is available in the US, Canada and UK. You can click on the Amazon link above to order. For UK readers you can order the book in our Vampire Genre UK Shop.

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