Sunday, March 26, 2017

Review: Blood Red Kiss by Kresley Cole, Larissa Ione, Gena Showalter


Book Description

Good things always come in threes--and this paranormal romance anthology featuring steamy stories from New York Times bestselling authors Kresley Cole, Larissa Ione, and Gena Showalter is no exception!

Get ready for a collection chock full of vamps, demons, aliens, and plenty of sizzle!

In Kresley Cole's remastered story "The Warlord Wants Forever," the first in her scorching Immortals After Dark series, vampire warlord Nikolai Wroth will stop at nothing to claim his Bride, the one woman who can make his heart beat again. But can beautiful Myst the Coveted accept an enemy vampire as her own?

Tehya has spent the last twelve years as an accidental wolf, but is truly a vampire at heart. When she gets injured, Lobo sneaks her inside MoonBound's headquarters and nurses her back to health...with potentially deadly consequences. Desire collides with danger in "Forsaken by Night," a MoonBound Clan novella from Larissa Ione!

In Gena Showalter's Otherworld Assassins novella, Dark Swan, Lilica Swan isn't quite human or otherworlder; she is the best--and worst--of both. She is willing to do whatever proves necessary to save her sister from the seductive and deadly Alien Investigation and Removal agent, Dallas Gutierrez, even bond her life to his...effectively wedding him. But without consummation, the bond will fade. Can Dallas resist his insatiable desire for the powerful beauty? Or will she lead to his ultimate downfall?


My Review

My brother and sister in law got this book for me last month as part of a birthday present. It has 3 of my favorite authors all in the same book and that's always a great thing. 

The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole- This is the first book in the Immortals After Dark series and since I hadn't read this series yet I was glad to read the first book. Myst is a Valkyrie and has been captured and is found by Nikolai Wroth as she's being held in a dungeon. He has no idea what she is but when his heart starts beating and blood rushes to places that haven't had blood in them for many years, he knows he's found his bride. He's a vampire, his kind know they have found their mate when they are 'blooded' and their blood starts pumping again. The only problem is that Myst is much, much older than he is and she isn't looking to settle down anytime soon, especially to a vampire. So she arouses him and leaves. Leaving him to stay that way until he can find her and they mate. They finally do meet back up and the sparks fly, seriously. This was a great story and the misunderstandings just make this more fun to read. 


Forsaken By Night by Larissa Ione- Lobo was pretty much enslaved by a clan of vampires when he was a kid. They never trusted him, in fact were scared of him because he's a skinwalker and can take on the look of anyone he wants. He is exiled from his clan, the only family he's ever know when he's accused of breaking clan law. But then he finds a wolf that is in really bad shape. He helps nurse her back to health and for years they live together, helping each other live again. What Lobo doesn't know is Tehya has been stuck in her wolf form for years and it's only when she is hurt and he risks everything to save her that she reverts back to her human/vampire form. Things get very interesting after that and some secrets even come out and get a resolution. 


Dark Swan by Gena Showalter- Lilica, Jade and Tiffany are sisters who were created in a lab. Their DNA is part human and part alien. They grew up being experimented on, tortured and degraded until one day they escape. But not before one sister becomes infected with a disease that she passes along to others and that makes her hunted and feared. Lilica has powers but she doesn't know how to control all of them. She's never been shown love by anyone but what little bit her sisters were able to show her. So when one sister is in trouble she tries whatever she has to in order to keep her safe even if that means being captured again. This time though things are going to be different she just doesn't realize how different things will be. Dallas Guttierez is hunting the sister who is infecting people with a horrible disease and wants to kill her. So when he meets Lilica, he thinks he has a way to bring the diseased sister out in the open but things don't always work out the way we want them to and he finds that out quickly. This was a lot of fun to read and if I had to pick a favorite of the three stories it would be this one. 

I loved this entire book. All three stories ere great. Each one was written well, had a great story and ended in a way that didn't feel rushed. Often times in anthologies the stories will feel rushed or unfinished but all three of these stories felt like solid stories. The book was 545 pages long, which isn't a quick read but well worth time time it takes to read especially if you like these authors which I do. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

18 comments:

  1. I don't usually read this genre, but this sounds great. And I'm glad you enjoyed all 545 pages of it!

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  2. Thanks for the review, belated Happy B'day! Glad you enjoyed the stories.

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    1. Thank you. They were great stories.

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  3. Oh yes, I loved this one, too. I agree that the stories felt finished and developed well. I already loved the Cole and Showalter series, but the Ione was new to me and now I want to read the rest.

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    1. I already loved all three of these authors so this was a treat.

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  4. 3 for 1 is sure a win. Yeah, even better when they don't feel rushed too.

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  5. For some reason I thought you got this for Christmas, but I am so happy you loved it and started Immortal Guardians!

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    1. That's ok, lol the birthday and Christmas were too close together. It was a good book and I just finished another book so that'll be getting reviewed as well.

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  6. oh that's fun! I'm glad you had such a great time! I remember seeing it but can't remember if I had read it or not

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    1. It was so much fun. If you haven't read it I hope you do.

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  7. I love all three of these authors too. Kresley Cole is my favorite here. I love the Immortals After Dark series. So much fun and snark. I really want to tackle Larissa Ione's vampire books. I read book one years ago, but I can't tell you anything about it. I need to try reading it again, from the beginning. I've only read Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series. Glad you enjoyed this.

    Melanie @ Hot Listens & Rabid Reads

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    1. I've only read Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series too. It was a great book.

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  8. This one has been sitting on my shelf since way before Halloween; it was a surprise arrival. Now your review makes me what to bump it up on my tbr list!

    Simply Angela

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    1. Oh thank you. I hope you like it as much as I did.

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  9. What a great gift! They are all wonderful authors. Glad to see you loved it. I still need to get this one read.

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    1. It was really good. I really enjoyed this one.

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