Customer Reviews

Cravings

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I eagerly awaited this book because of Eileen Wilks and Mary J. Davidson. I was not disappointed! Eileen Wilks' "Originally Human" was simply great, and kept me guessing until the very end as to what kind of creature the hero really was - talk about inventive. Ms. Wilks has been writing long-winded, boring contemporaries for years. Thank Heavens she finally happened on to her true genre - romantic fantasy. After reading about Lily and Rule in another anthology, I just knew I had to buy Cravings.

M. J. Davidson's "Dead Girls Don't Dance", was great. You have to read it. If for no other reason than the line about the "Incredible Journey". What a hoot. Ms. Davidson's Undead series about Vampire Queen Betsy is just fabulous. Ms. Davidson's sense of humor has had me LOL for hours.

"Burning Moon" by R. York was a good read, but couldn't compare to the other two offerings mentioned above. In the past Ms. York has wrote much better books, leading me to believe that the short story format is not her cup of tea. Trust me, her past novels are very good, and well worth buying.

As for the lead off story, "Beyond the Ardeur", it is quite simply a waste. Now before all the LKH fans get ready to hang me, let me explain that I am a rabid LKH fan also. I LOVE LKH. She and Nora Roberts' "In Death" series are the ONLY books I will buy in hardback and paperback both. However, the expectation from anyone who is not a hardcore LKH fan is that "Beyond the Ardeur" is a new short story. It's not. It is several chapters of the new LKH book, "Incubus Dreams", which will be published in hardback in September. Ms. Hamilton took 3 or 4 chapters of the new book and slammed them together to create this so-called "short story". Personally, I think this is misleading and slightly unethical to represent a story in an anthology as a new short story by an author, but it is really a mismatch of chapters from a new book coming out in the fall. I realize in the publishing business "it's all about the money", but I think Ms. Hamilton has more integrity than this, and I wish she would quit letting herself be used in this manner. Anyway, the "short story" was very confusing, had no flow and only left you hanging. If you were a big fan like myself, you found the four marks that Damien got from Anita to be VERY interesting, and I can't wait to see where the story goes from here. I think the solution is that Ms. Hamilton needs to just write faster. Two books a year are not nearly enough! *grin*

I couldn't wait to pick up this paranormal romantica anthology because two of my favorite authors of said genres, Laurell K. Hamilton and MaryJanice Davidson, are featured in it. However, I was disappointed when I found out that Hamilton's "Blood Upon My Lips" is actually some sample chapters of the upcoming novel Incubus Dreams -- the twelfth Anita Blake installment. I haven't read Narcissus in Chains and Cerulean Sins, and so I decided not to read the new novel's excerpts. My disappointment was short-lived because I absolutely loved MaryJanice Davidson's "Dead Girls Don't Dance," and Rebecca York's "Burning Moon." Davidson's novella is an in-between story of the hilarious Undead series. It's about a depressed vampire who runs into her old high school crush. After her crush discovers that his old schoolmate is now a nocturnal babe on a liquid diet, he agrees to take her to meet the new vampire queen (Undead and Unwed's Betsy Taylor). What transpires is a novella full of Davidson's signature wit and hilarious dialogue. I loved it! I also loved York's "Burning Moon." This is a sweet and sensual story about a werewolf's quest for revenge. He wants to find and kill the serial killer who has murdered several women, including his wife. However, a beautiful and blind tarot card reader could well change all of that. This is a very well-told story. The characterization is excellent for such a short novella. And I loved the fact that there is some mystery in the story as well. Eileen Wilks's "Originally Human" is truly remarkable. The whole guess-what-supernatural-species-the-hero-is enthralled me from beginning to end. "Originally Human" is definitely the most creative story in the book.

This is a wonderful anthology. I've become a big fan of paranormal fiction, and this book has the perfect blend of fantasy, erotica and romance that I love. I give it four stars instead of five because Ms. Hamilton has truly disappointed me. This anthology could have been the perfect opportunity for her to write a separate story about one of Anita Blake's characters. A prequel of the Anita Blake novels centered on Jean-Claude, Asher and Julianne's love triangle would've been excellent. Well, all isn't lost. At least I discovered the works of Rebecca York and Eileen Wilks. "Burning Moon" is part of a series, and I look forward to reading said series. All in all, Cravings is a very fun anthology that's perfect for the beach. Enjoy...

To this anthology of supernatural romances, each author brings her own particular flavor. Laurell K. Hamilton, headliner because of her wildly popular Anita Blake series, brings fetish sex without much by way of plot. Rebecca York offers a romance thriller in miniature--complete with mystery and damsel in distress. MaryJanice Davidson provides a light-hearted contemporary romance of the vampire kind. Eileen Wilks presents...well, I don't know what to call what Eileen Wilks presents, other than good. It was my favorite of the four stories.

The only cohesion between the stories was the supernatural element. Werewolves, vampires, demons...they do represent how very differently such things can be handled. The plus side of that, obviously, is the diversity. Whether you want `em steamy or silly, you're going to get something to satisfy. The downside is that they don't necessarily mesh that well. York's story was quite good, but I had to put the book aside for a full day before I could get out of Wilks' vision enough to get into it. A minor drawback at worst.

While I'm sure there are some readers who will feel differently, the only story in the anthology that did not please my particular tastes was the Hamilton story. I truly enjoyed her early Anita Blake novels but have found recently that the kink seems to matter more than the plot. I prefer more of a blending of the two, and there was less plot than usual in her entry here--possibly because this "short story" is a mashed excerpt from her latest novel. For those who find the sex in those stories more compelling than the mysteries, this may be a nice little sampler. Personally, it doesn't really whet my appetite.

Wilks upcoming novel in this new series, Tempting Danger, on the other hand, is already on my list.

I purchased this book as a big Anita Blake fan after finishing I am now also a fan of Wilks and Davidson, I am not saying that Hamilton's submission was a bad one but as other reviewers stated it is only a few chapters of her new novel coming out, York's story was indeed good but not nearly as intriguing or well written as Wilks and Davidson's.

Wilks - Original Human actually made me run out a buy a couple of her novels very well written with a number of wrong guesses leading to the end.

I also enjoyed Davidson's Dead Girls Don't Dance I found it had a nice blend or witty humor and intrigue.

As I've said the other two submissions were good I just did not enjoy them as much as the two mentioned above and I really would have rather waited for LKM's novel to get released rather than reading part of it now.

I found this collection well worth my time and money

Great read! Three wonderful authors: MaryJanice Davidson, Eileen Wilks and Rebecca York. Also, the late great Laurell K. Hamilton whose name alone used to make us want to pick up the book. Alas, that is so not the case anymore.

In "Dead Girls Don't Dance" (MaryJanice Davidson) you have a young vampire who has just run into the man of her teenage dreams. It's cute, funny, you fall in love with the folks in this story. I want to see more of Ms. Andrea Mercer. I hope she writes another story about her.

"Originally Human" (Eileen Wilks) is a bit different. Once again we have characters we can identify with and like. A very likeable Molly finds an injured man and tries to help. Not much of a hook but I don't want to give away the surprises in this very good story.

"Burning Moon" (Rebecca York) has a werewolf tracking his wife's killer and finding a lot more than he bargained for. Some good (new) werewolf family information. This is another one I hope with be continued.

Oh, let's face it: all three of these stories (especially the first two) are just so darn good you don't want them to end. I truly hope the authors read this review some day and it encourages them to write more on the characters. I just loved 'em all.

Guess I should say something about Hamilton's "Blood Upon My Lips". Let's see, it's the new and extremely UNimproved Anita Blake wanting to have sex. (Yawn) Oh wait. When DOESN'T the new and UNimproved Anita Blake want to have sex? With anybody. Or anything. Lordy, the family pets won't be safe if this keeps up. "Hide the collie, maw, that freak Blake is hanging around outside again." If Hamilton insists on Blake screwing ANYthing available I wish she'd be a little quieter about it. The constant screaming has got to be getting on everyone's nerves. It's certainly getting on mine. Oh, and if there are any of the OLD Blake fans out there -- you remember Anita Blake VAMPIRE HUNTER? Well, that Blake died a couple of books ago and some unattractive, whiney, Valley girl from Hell has taken her place.

Please God. Let "Edward" show up fully armed and take us all out of our misery. Also, make sure he shoots first and asks questions later. If not, the Valley Girl will certainly attempt to molest him and anyone he has with him. Where the heck is Otto when you need him?


Finally, yes buy or borrow the book. It is well worth it. Just skip the first story and enjoy yourself with the remaining three.

This is a handy little compendium if you're interested in sampling the works of these four authors, but I suspect that their best works can be found elsewhere. These stories can be considered examples of the modern trend among women writers to treat vampires, werewolves, and other stock horror creatures not as embodiments of pure evil and the dark side, but as representations of forbidden passion, and as lust objects that are more exciting and dangerous than boring human men. So of course this is not horror, or at least it's the watered down and lusted up current excuse for that genre.

Out of the four novellas here, I most enjoyed MaryJanice Davidson's "Dead Girls Don't Dance," which presents a romance between a dumb jock and a cranky undead young woman that's about as believable as you could hope for, with a good amount of sarcastic humor. Meanwhile, Rebecca York's "Burning Moon" is a pretty good suspense tale with interestingly complex characters. "Originally Human" by Eileen Wilks is so-so on the supernatural elements and tiresome in the plot, leading to a pretty indifferent impression. And finally, this book is supposed to be built around the lead story by the famous Laurell K. Hamilton, but fans have complained that the "novella" contained here is merely an excerpt from one of her Anita Blake novels. That's painfully obvious here, as the "story" begins and ends inconclusively, and features characters and plot elements that are so under-defined that they have obviously been introduced more fully elsewhere. That damages the true usefulness of this compilation, which ends up being half good when all is said and done. [~doomsdayer520~]

I read the book in one sitting--as my husband would say I inhaled it. All four of the authors are some of my favorite.

I am a big Laurell K Hamilton fan, but was a little disappointed in her contribution to this book. If you had never read any of her Anita Blake Series this story would not make any sense to you. I got to the end and thought --- AND????. It must be a lead in to her new book that is coming out but this did not make a good anthology story at all.

MaryJanice Davidson's story "Dead Girls Don't Dance" was funny, warm, and romantic. It tied in with her book "Undead & Unwed" which was also very witty, fun read.

Eileen Wilks' "Originally Human" was a sensual, imaginative story.

Rebecca York's "Burning Moon" was super. I have not read one of her books yet that I didn't like.

i just got this book today and i did not put it down once during the time i had read it. i think that is a great book b/c it had the differences between different writers or different visionares. these are great writers and i cant wait to read move.. b/c it has now put me in suspense for their next releases

The Laurell K. Hamilton contribution to this collection is taken directly from her book Incubus Dreams. What a rip off for Anita Blake fans.

First off, I bought the book for Laurell K Hamilton's work. Before reading it, I knew it was not indeed a short story, but an sample of her book that is due out in September (Incubus Dreams). I found the sample extremely frustrating, but at the same time it was excellent. Frustrating because I need to know what happens next, and excellent because it managed to develop two characters who have been two-dimensional so far. It's a must read for Anita fans who are as impatient as I am.

Dead Girls Don't Dance was the other story that I also enjoyed, mostly because it is quite similiar to Hamilton's style of writing. However, I found the main characters somewhat boring. The story itself was interesting: the emotional struggles of a young vampire.

This anthology was definitely worth the 8 dollars, but you have to know what to expect before buying it.