Blood Claim [Paperback]

Laura Baumbach (Author), Angela Fiddler (Author), Jet Mykles (Author)

Book Description

Series: Blood | Publication Date: March 3, 2008

This volume features a trio of M/M tales from three of the genre's hottest authors. Winner Takes All by Laura Baumbach -- Two vampires face off in a deadly bet that has the winner claiming everything the loser owns--including the loser's innocent, unaware human offspring. Gift of the Raven by Angela Fiddler -- Cory has always been mercurial; passionate one second and frozen the next, but when he was hot, he was scorching. Luke had brought him up as a vampire but couldn't keep him the first time around. But now evil's come on an arctic wind, and they'll need each other to fight it. Wolfe's Recluse by Jet Mykles -- Can Wolfe lure Matt out of his apartment for the first time in two years? Is the gorgeous Wolfe temptation enough for Matt to overcome his fear of vampires?

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: MLR Press (March 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934531162
• ISBN-13: 978-1934531167
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,496,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BLOOD CLAIM, April 14, 2008

By 

JenB99 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Claim (Paperback)

WINNER TAKES ALL by Laura Baumbach - Flawless. I don't even know where to begin. This story is absolutely perfect from beginning to end. An ancient vampire wins a battle with a younger vampire and claims everything the younger vampire leaves behind, including his unsuspecting son. Malcolm (the vampire) is dark, sexy, and powerful. Hunter (the human) is sexy, spirited, and fearless. The chemistry here is spectacular, the relationship development while Malcolm stalks his prey is suspenseful and intriguing, and the story is just amazing. The sex...oh my goodness...the sex is incredible. The darkness and eroticism of this story is haunting and captivating. This story left me in a state of absolute awe. I haven't had a story affect me like that in a long time. I cannot think of one negative thing to say about this story.
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WOLFE'S RECLUSE by Jet Mykles - Matthew has been holed up in his apartment for two years, afraid to leave the safety of his tiny home because of a horrible encounter with a vampire. His employer, Wolfe, allows him to work from home as a programmer. They correspond electronically and by telephone. Matt is infatuated with Wolfe, even though he's never met the man in person...until one night when Wolfe shows up at his door with dinner.

This is a sweet love story about learning to trust and letting go of fears and prejudices. The tone is very light despite the dark subject matter. Matt is sweet and Wolfe is sexy yet sensitive. The emotions both men express are relevant and appropriate to the story.

This is Jet's first published vampire novel, and she writes vampires very well. I see influences from other writers and a bit of the commonly accepted folklore, but the rest is uniquely Jet's. I'd love to see more vampire romance from Jet Mykles, hopefully much longer stories with more exploration into the mythology and nature of her vampires.
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GIFT OF THE RAVEN by Angela Fiddler - This is the longest and most complex story in the BLOOD CLAIM anthology. The writing is beautiful, the characters are interesting, the mythology deep and complex.

Because of the amount of mythology here, I think GIFT OF THE RAVEN would have made a better full-length novel than short story. I felt like I had picked up a book and started reading somewhere in the middle. It appears this story is loosely related to Ms. Fiddler's MASTER OF THE LINES series through Loose Id, and I probably would have appreciated it more if I'd already been introduced to the world and the mythology through those other stories. The mythology is unlike any other vampire mythology I've read, and the life force concept in this story is fascinating.

I think horror fans and fans of gothic novels will really appreciate GIFT OF THE RAVEN.
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All in all, this is an excellent anthology. I recommend this book to any and all fans of M/M vampire romance. Well done, ladies!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blood Claim (Blood Series 2) by Laura Baumbach, Angela Fiddler & Jet Mykles, March 23, 2008

By 

Elisa (Italy) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Blood Claim (Paperback)

Three stories of old vampires and of the young ones they turn for love.

Winner Takes All by Laura Baumbach: Malcom Crane is a celtic warrior turned vampire more than a thousand years ago. He is in love with William Pray, but the newly made vampire is still mourning the loss of his beloved wife and has no other desire in life to see his son safe. But he looses a bet with Malcom and then Malcom kills him and since winner takes all, William's son, Hunter, is now in his power. Thinking to kill the son as he has killed the father he tracks down the young man only to find out that he is not the boy to be enthralled by the vampire but exactly the other way. And Hunter has no problem to accept what his father has refused.

Of the three stories, this one is maybe the more erotic, being almost all a long and very sexy seduction scene.

Wolfe's Recluse by Jet Mykles: Matt has seen the death of his lover at hand of a rogue vampire, and now, two years later, he lives like an hermit in his house, and never ever again he has the courage to go out by night. But on his work as software programmer he meets online Wolfe, his boss, and now Wolfe wants to meet for real Matt. Matt is pretty alone and being a natural submissive lover he yearns the strong hand of a man in his life. But he will have to face all his fears to have a chance with Wolfe.

In Wolfe's Recluse the real main character is Matt. Even if he is the submissive partner in the relationship, and also the more weak, almost all the story is about him and his journey to be free to love again and this time forever.

The Gift of the Raven by Angela Fiddler: Luke has turned Cory, but both of them seem to have the idea to belong to another vampire, Luke to Marcus, his master, and Cory to Lathe, the first vampire he has ever met. In a city that seems to be populate only by vampires, the two have to fight for being together, not only with outside forces, but also with their own fears and beliefs.

Angela Fiddler has a very original vision on the M/M romance vampire's world that it's clear in every one of her last production, like in the Master of the Lines series.

The first two stories are almost "classical", with the usual image of the strong vampire who can allure the weak human, using an enthralling supernatural power and also the sex. The third instead shows us very unusual vampires, driven by feelings that weaken them, make the vampire almost like an human.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is a winning combination of three stories: one hot, one sweet and one dark - sort of like a chocolate lava cake, February 4, 2009

By 

Rachel P. Smith "BittenbyBooks.com" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Claim (Paperback)

Although this anthology is book two in the Blood Series, it is a stand-alone read with believable gay vampires. It is a winning combination of three stories: one hot, one sweet and one dark - sort of like a chocolate lava cake to be read instead of eaten. Book one, Blood Desires, which contains three stories by Laura Baumbach, is now on my must-read list.

"Winner Takes All" by Laura Baumbach - 5: During his few years as a vampire, William Pray has rejected the advances of Malcolm Crane, a vampire who is still the brutal warrior he was thousands of years ago. William is losing their final battle, which will give Malcolm the right to take everything he has, so William makes one last dying request. Will the merciless Malcolm honor it? This story nailed me to my seat as I finished it in one sitting. It is amazing how well Ms. Baumbach describes scenes, develops characters and their relationships, and conveys emotions in such a few pages. The gay sex, while graphic, is an integral part of the story.

"Wolfe's Recluse" by Jet Mykles - 4.5: Matthew rarely leaves his apartment, and never at night, because he knows vampires exist. He watched his lover die two years ago after being drained by one, so he has been taking no chances - that is until his hot boss, Wolfe, wants to celebrate Matt's latest programming project by treating him to dinner. Wolfe cannot be a vampire, can he? Ms. Mykles does a good job of integrating past events into the story and paints a convincing picture of Matthew as a geeky recluse who learns how to deal with his fears.

"Gift of the Raven" by Angela Fiddler - 4: Luke and Cory had a rocky relationship even before Luke turned Cory vampire. Their split was inevitable when all they did was argue, but Luke cannot refuse to take Cory back. Now there is something else out there that wants Cory; something very powerful. Is there anything strong enough to stop it? Ms. Fiddler has included several paranormal twists that make this story unique. I have to admit she lost me a few times, but by backing up, I was able to get back on track.

Reviewed at Bitten by Books Paranormal Fiction Review Site by Shirley
The Bitten by Books review score for this book was 4.5 Tombstones