Madeline Baker

Holy shit! Where the hell did this come from?! I have to keep pinching myself to believe that this was written by a 2 star max author! The hero, cursed by his mother in law to become the rutting beast she thinks he is, is slowly and painfully losing his humanity and transforming into a beast. It started with his face, than his arms until his entire left side is covered in hair and becoming an animal. In order to fulfill his fathers wish that the estate birth an heir, the hero marries a death show more row prisoner for the soul purpose of getting her with child. At first he's very distant and military in his goals to get his new wife pregnant but slowly her innocence and kindness towards him dare him to hope for the chance to experience love before he dies. The heroine is plucked from her cell and married to a total stranger in the span of a day. Her new husband never showed her his face and only comes to her late at night when it's complete darkness and her candles are extinguished. She's a very dutiful wife and eager to please him. She accepts his demands and caters to his quirks because she knows it's painful for him to talk about his affliction. Slowly she begins to crake away his walls and briefly they are about to live a semi normal happy married life, with a baby on the way. Then the curse begins to change the right side of his body and he distances himself from her again so the heroine chooses that she must defy him this one time and seek out the woman to break his curse. I really have no freaking clue why so many readers disliked this book. I found it poetic and sad and an epic take of beauty and the beast. Funny that most of this authors books I found to be lacking in the passion department received such high rates when this book, an absolute gem was paned. I can see why many woman who think this heroine to be weak and the hero to be chauvinistic but I actually found it to be the most realistic marriage set in historical times. I'm sorry to all you feminist out there but it's not normal for a woman to be sassy or disobey her husband. I loved the fact that this heroine was obedient because her compliance allowed for them to be happy! The only time she went against his wishes was to attempt to save his life. The hero did start out as just a rutting beast. He did his husbandly duty without joy or caring if she enjoyed it or not but that's how things were. Eventually, once he grows to love her, he takes his time to show her that love but never once did I cry rape or anything like that. Some women readers just need to lighten up. Oh my god. Hell has frozen over-I liked-no LOVED-an Amanda Ashley novel....end of days are upon us. show less

I bought this book strictly for the Dark-Hunter story from Sherrilyn Kenyon, and that story was easily five stars. Pandora is an Arcadian Were Panther. She was sent to mate with and care for a Katagaria panther pack, but escapes. She is told Acheron may be able to help her get home, and she goes to Atlanta to track him down. And she finds him at Dragoncon. Now, to anyone who has never been to Dragoncon (or any convention), this story may not resonate as strongly. However, I have been there show more (and so has the author obviosuly) and the descriptions had me rolling! First off, Simi can walk around as herself because everyone thinks she is in costume. And Ash blends in just as well. These two characters are hands down Kenyons' greatest creations, and I cannot get enough of them. Still, the romance between Dante and Pandora was also excellent. It isn't often that the "hero" wants nothing to do with the woman!

Overall, this story alone was worth the purchase. Highly recommended to D-H fans especially! show less

In the first section by Amanda Ashley, there are some serious plot and timeline flaws. The characters literally manage to set off on a short quest one day and by the following page, we've spanned three seasons. In this story especially, the brevity is jarring and unpleasant. I'm still scratching my head at how these two came to love each other in about 20 pages of descriptive narrative and I have no idea what Darkfest is supposed to actually be. Reading this, you will have many questions - show more don't bother looking for the answers in the story, they're not there

Maggie Shayne's story is confusing, not particularly sensual or interesting and I was mostly glad that it wasn't longer. The heightened tension was completely forced and the quickie ending was just strange.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's story is the only one of the four that I would have loved to read in longer form. I liked her heroine and liked that the hero was seriously flawed. There's an attention to detail that Ms. Kenyon uses that makes you forget you're reading a short story, and I found everything she said about witchcraft to be plausible. This would have been an outstanding long book and encourages me to look for more books by this author.

The final story by Ronda Thompson was just strange. I know the point of these stories was that they're full of "otherworldly" characters, but the writing doesn't have to be bad, does it? So many words are crammed into each paragraph, it's frustrating when there's still no storyline advancement a dozen pages later. This may have been included because of the werewolf angle, but it really is not any kind of otherworldly romance, it's just a poorly written short story that is unsatisfying.

Finally, overall I was left with a feeling of, "and that's it?" when I finished this book. show less

In a small town in the heart of America, the heroine waitresses in the local diner when the hansom and mysterious hero begins showing up. He sits in the furthest corner, in the shadows and doesn't order anything other then coffee but never drinks it. He tells the heroine that he's there for her pleasant company and is sure to see her home safety after every shift, whether she's aware of him or not. In fact, he spent every available moment either with the heroine or watching her in the show more shadows to protect her from the crazy serial vampire. I kind of liked the fact that he wasn't entirely good at protecting himself as he almost always came away with a serious wound after every battle. I doubt know. I found that to be humbling that though he's immortal, he wasn't all powerful. The heroine has a small town mentality so I didn't much mind her naivety or willingness to let strangers into her house. She's trusting to most people and is generally calm and okay with a lot of things that would have put up red flags with me and any normal girl. I was even willing to ignore the fact that she lets the hero watch over her in her sleep, though he's a total stranger and it's uber creepy. The fact is that's she young and ignorant of the dangers of strangers. I couldn't imagine inviting a man into my house when I catch him watching me through the window or stalking me where I work but the heroine was very open and welcoming regardless of the fact that a man is killing people in her small town and the hero was last seen with them. But like I said, it's sort of forgivable for the heroine not to freak out and call the cops because she comes from a place where you don't lock your doors and will give a stranger the clothes of your back in good faith. I did enjoy this book and I think it was because the hero wasn't obnoxiously angsty or depressed. Yes, he's the traditional dark and brooding vampire of lore but he's charming and protective and able to laugh at himself and enjoy life as much as he can. (He enjoys watching bad vampire movies-just a hint into his character). One thing I really and truly grew to hate was the fact that he shrugged after question posed to him but hey, it's not his fault he was written to have that annoying habit. Overall I will say it was an ok book. I liked the fact that though the heroine is extremely religious, she's not judgmental and never thinks the hero is evil being what he is. It's typical to have that religious belief be a condemning factor and I was happy to see that wasn't the case here. The pacing was just exciting enough to keep things interesting and I liked both the main character and the supporting cast. show less