Prom Nights from Hell (2007)

PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL is a collection of five paranormal stories that are set, obviously, around prom night. I was really looking forwards to reading the book, but it did not totally live up to my expectations and most of the stories left me disappointed. Like many anthologies, there were good and not so good stories; unfortunately in this book there were more not so good stories for me.

The Exterminator’s Daughter by Meg Cabot: This is the tale of Mary, who is a vampire slayer trying to save her best girlfriend from being entranced into becoming a vampire on prom night. The story is told from two perspectives, Mary’s and a classmate called Adam. This was an OK read but had a few loose ends left at the end

The Corsage by Lauren Myracle: This was the shortest story in the anthology and was poignant, deliciously creepy, and kept me hooked even though it was predictable. Frankie wants her best male friend, Will, to ask her to the prom. In order to get him to ask her she drags Will to visit a fortune-teller. The idea is that the fortune-teller will announce that Will is Frankie’s one true love, and he will then ask Frankie to the prom. When this doesn’t happen, Frankie manages to coerce a dried corsage reputed to grant three wishes. Of course Frankie makes a wish – then has two more to try and rectify the problem.

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper by Kim Harrison: This was the story I enjoyed the most, but it had the least satisfying ending, it was very abrupt. I felt as thought the story had stopped before the end. I have since found out that author Kim Harrison has moved the star of the story, Madison, into a whole book of her own. I really don’t think that this excuses leaving this short story unfinished. When Madison ends up at her prom with a drop-kick of a date, she’s finds herself attracted to a stranger who seems very interested in her. Seth isn’t like anyone she’s ever met before and soon ignores all the stranger danger warnings and accepts a life home with him. Unfortunately for her she finds out that there is a grim reaper, sort of. In fact there are white reapers, black reapers and this dim reaper who is driving her home.

Kiss and Tell by Michele Jaffe: Took a long time to get into this one at which is not good for a short story, but it was ok once it got going the only thing in its favour is that all the threads were wrapped up by the end. Miranda is a student who works part-time as a chauffeur; she also fights crime in her spare time as she has special ‘super’ abilities. This day she picks up a passenger named Sibby, a very strange girl who has a weird habit of kissing every boy she can find, unfortunately when she does bizarre things start to happen and Miranda’s day turns into an action packed adventure.

Hell on Earth by Stephenie Meyer: So many characters for such a short story, and I wish she had stuck to one point of view or at least made it clearer when she jumped between points of view. The ending seemed rushed but there was closure and no loose ends. Sheba is a demon who loves bringing misery to everyone around her – she is at a prom and has been pretty successful except for Gabe. Gabe remains happy and upbeat despite everyone around him having an awful time. Sheba needs to find out why Gabe is so happy and stop it so she can have a successful mission

I probably could have taken a pass on this one. I enjoy YA, and fantasy, and short stories, but this collection fell flat. Each offering was very much a presentation by each author to draw the reader into a new series. I don't feel any urge to pick up the new full-length books. ( )

The Exterminator's Daughter by Meg Cabot:

The Corsage by Lauren Myracle:

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper by Kim Harrison:

Kiss and Tell by Michele Jaffe:

Hell on Earth by Stephenie Meyer:

Read Madison Avery & the Dim Reaper. It's book 0.5 of Kim Harrison's Madison Avery series and I'd recommend reading it before book 1! I'm now reading book 1. So far I'd give this series 4 stars. Grace reminds me of Jinx from The Hollows series. Which is one of my fave series :)

The Exterminator's Daughter was cool but I was kinda begging hoping for more.

The Corsage freaked the hell out of me, especially that I was reading it at night. I was totally creeped out by the part wherein fresh-from-the-grave Will was trying to enter Frankie's house.

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper was kinda okay, but it was the one I liked the least.

Kiss and Tell was also cool. I totally loved Miranda being some kind of a teen Wonder Woman. Not only was she a kick-ass babe but also a smart one.

Hell on Earth was the best. It was kinda cliche, a demon falling for an angel blah blah. Except that the guy in the story was not a full angel but just an offspring of one. But still, it was a good read. ( )