Dead After Dark is sure to attract a lot of fans with its inclusion of stories by paranomal romance heavyweights J. R. Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon. Rounding out the author quartet is Dianna Love, Kenyon's writing partner for her B.A.D. series, and Susan Squires who authors a long running vampire series.

'Story of Son' by J. R. Ward, Ward tells the story of a workaholic lawyer Claire who finds herself kidnapped and trapped with the inhumanly beautiful vampire son of a client. The son has been imprisoned alone in the basement for decades except for three days a year when mom provides a woman to feed upon, this time Claire's dinner.

Dianna Love's 'Midnight Kiss Goodbye'. Trey returns home to find Sasha, the woman he spurned but still loves, in danger from one of his magical enemies. Drew made the difficult decision to leave in order to spare Sasha the burden of his secret magical heritage, but Sasha has her own magical secrets and the attraction between them still burns bright. Now Drew must again choose and this time the fate of the world hangs in the balance, but how can he possibly give Sasha up again?

Susan Squires' 'Beyond the Night' - Andrew was framed for a crime as punishment for loving a women above his station, and left to rot on a prison ship, but fate stepped in and Andrew made his fortune as a pirate. Now as the gentleman `Drew' he returns to pursue vengeance. Acquiring a manor for his base of operations, Drew finds his new home haunted, but he is overcome not by fear, but by lust for the bloodsucking ghostly beauty who hides from her past.

'Shadow of the Moon' is Kenyon's story of were hunter wolf Fury - one of Vane's long suffering brothers - who had a significant supporting role in Night Play. When an attack leaves a lion shifter mysteriously trapped in his animal form, Fury sniffs out that the attackers were members of his old clan - including the best friend, Angelia, whose betrayal nearly cost him his life. Having learned his lesson the hard way , Fury has used his sarcastic attitude as protection to keep everyone at a distance, but now the acceptance by his brothers has put a chink in his armor, and memories of the woman he once trusted and loved again put his heart and life in danger.

jr ward's story "the story of son" was strange. ( )

Was a good book ,but to me it seems like when they put in 3 or 4 stories in one book that they rush through them to quickly. Like they just want to get it over with. Was ok stories but they all end abruptly. ( )

Red Alert! Sexy supernaturals ahead!! If you're a paranormal fan, don't miss the "Dead After Dark" anthology with stories by a three well-known names in the paranormal romance genre and one newcomer to watch.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's story "Shadow of the Moon" is about the werewolf Fury and takes places in the Dark-Hunter world. Fury has never let himself get close to a woman because the only woman he ever loved turned on him when his heritage was revealed. Now that woman is back, but this time she's in Fury's power. ***My only beef? Not long enough! Well...and I really wanted Fury for my own :)

"The Story of Son" by J.R. Ward is NOT a BDB story, but it IS a smoking hot contemporary story about a normal woman who gets caught up in an abnormal situation and ends up loving and saving a creature she should, by human standards, hate. ***I think this was my favorite story and I actually had tears in my eyes at one point. I'd like to see more stories from Ward about/in this world. Well...as long as it doesn't delay more BDB stories:P

Susan Squires offers "Beyond the Night" set in her historical Companion series. A man searching for love and revenge instead encounters a vampire who is searching for her own choices after a life of service to the leader of the vampires. Together, they both find the good and bad of what they're looking for. ***A sure winner if you like Squires' series. If you haven't read her series, this will give you an idea of its flavor.

New author Dianna Love rounds out the anthology with "Midnight Kiss Goodbye". A reunion romance of a modern-day warrior and the witch he left behind in an effort to keep her safe. Neither knows about the other's 'special' abilities. But know she's hunting and being hunted by a malevolent entity who's looking to use her as a gateway to unleash unspeakable violence on the world. ***Definitely an author to watch. I really enjoyed this glimpse into Love's intricate, mythical world. Very sexy and very urban fantasy. Hope to see more from her soon.

All in all, well worth the price and the read! ( )