Customer Reviews

His Immortal Embrace

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are looking for deadly vamps that are often more monster than man, these tales might seem tame to you. But if you are looking for troubled souls and woman that will risk all to be with the man they love, then you will find all these tales very heartwarming.

These are not dark and deadly vamps, but romantic ones. All the tales were very well written and special.

I especially loved Lynsay Sands' tale. I have been a long time reader of her works so I come to expect things about her writing that are very familiar. Lynsay's fans, who expect her typical brand of hysterical historicals will be in for a treat as she shows yet another new side along with her recent contemporary The Loving Daylights and followed by the Smash Hit Single White Vampire. She offers a much more tender and intensely romance Lynsay. Though I love her magic humour, this tale surprised me and touched my heart. In her "Bitten" we have a tale of a Emily Collins lass who is rescued from drowning when her ship sinks in a storm. Keeran MacKay, a Scots Laird, is her rescuer and offers her shelter and so much more. But it she who offers the ultimate gift.

Hannah Howell's "The Yearning" is an interesting tale. For four centuries of the male of Clan MacCordy must walk by night.
Alpin MacCordy lives with the curse, but he also must marry for money. Lady Sophie Hay is the "bank" but she is more than just a blood bank or a money bank for her love might just be the cure for the curse.

Sara Blayne offer us "Strangers in the Night." Georgina Thornbury loves things ancient; digging for treasures in ruins is her cup of tea. Then she meets the mysterious Julius Lathron. What a find for a gal who digs old things?!

In "The Awakening" by Kate Huntington. Set in 1800s Her aunt is ailing, so Thalis Cordelia rushes to her side. Once there, she meets her aunt's very strange company who is talk, dark and vampish.

Perfect for a raining afternoon.

"The Yearning" by Hannah Howell. In Scotland, for over four centuries the males of Clan MacCordy seek blood for nourishment as they walk the night. By 1435 Alpin MacCordy lives with the curse, but also must marry for needed money. However, Lady Sophie Hay fires up a different thirst, making him wonder if love can conquer the curse.

"Bitten" by Lynsay Sands. When her ship goes down from the storm Emily Wentworth Collins nearly drowns, but Keeran MacKay saves her from the sea. The reclusive nightwalker offers her shelter. Though in some ways his castle feels like a cage, Emily finds the vampire's kiss quite enticing.

"Stranger in the Night" by Sara Blayne. Though a male occupation, Georgina Thornberry relishes digs for ancient treasures as the antiquities fascinate her. While working at a ruin, she meets enigmatic Julius Lathrop. One glance and they just about fall in love but will their embrace lead to his moon-darkened world or her sun shining realm?

"The Awakening" by Kate Huntington. In 1814 Thalia Layton rushes to Lancaster to nurture her beloved ailing Aunt Cordelia. At her relative's estate she meets Cordelia's strange companion who introduces Thalia to the dark side of love.

These four vampire romance novellas are a treat as each contains a strong bite of a plot starring delectable lead male vampires and charming innocent females. The story lines are cleverly designed so that the audience embraces the four immortals and desire replacing the women they cherish.

The first story in this collection is The Yearning, by Hannah Howell. I found this story profoundly irritating, largely because of the very distracting use of dialect. When American writers set out to write Scots, they seem to take it as a challenge to prove that they can write phonetic dialect - but it's never consistent and always distracting. I was also bored because the characters aroused no interest at all in me. They seemed one-dimensional and boring. I found myself counting the pages remaining until it was over.

Lynsay Sands' Bitten was somewhat better, though not up to the standard of her new vampire series. Emily, shipwrecked, is saved from drowning and wakes up in a strange castle. Her host is the man who rescued her, but he keeps some very strange habits, such as never appearing before dark, never eating with her, never appearing to socialise... and when she figures out the truth about him she is first shocked, but later intrigued. Does she have the courage to spend eternity with Keeran?

Sara Blayne's Stranger in the Night suffers greatly from telling rather than showing. It had the potential to be an interesting and even romantic story - Georgiana is attracted to the ruined castle which is her ancestral home. She is convinced, as she explores, that she's being watched - and so she is, by Julian Lathrop, who seems to know rather too much about the history of the area and of her family. By the time she realises who and what he is, she is deeply in love with her. The problem is that Blayne fails to show the reader why she loves Julian and why he loves her - we're just told. There is far too much telling, far too much description, in this novella, and not enough dialogue and introspection. Even an important, climactic moment, which should be terrifying for Georgiana, is ruined by insufficient showing of her fear.

And finally, there is Kate Huntington's The Awakening, which I did like for the most part, with one rather large exception. Thalia Layton's aunt, her only relative, is very sick, and so Thalia has journeyed north to visit her - Cordelia was shunned by Society years ago for running off to live with her lover, Adrian Lucerne. However, Thalia finds that Cordelia wishes she hadn't come - and that Adrian Lucerne seems to be at least 30 years younger than she had expected. And she is very, very drawn to Lucerne, despite his obviously still being her aunt's lover. What I really found distasteful about this book was Thalia and Lucerne acting on their attraction while Cordelia, whom both of them loved and who was jealous of their feelings for each other, was lying on her deathbed - and how they made love within an hour of her death.

Not a keeper, this collection.

wmr-uk

The Yearning by Hannah Howell left me just that...yearning for more...all the needed elements were there for this to work as a short story HOWEVER, once again, Hannah has the reader so engrossed in her characters that you truly want more of them...a full length novel would have been thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the Scottish language and felt it added immensely. An age old curse forcing two families to live tragically until at last, one sees a possible end to it...but will it happen in time? Read on and find out if love can indeed conquer all.

Bitten by Lynsay Sands is my first read by this author and I must say, I again found the short story too short when so many other facets of the characters could have come to life and easily allowed this story to continue on in a much longer version. Keeran is such a wonderful leading man...a man not eager to be the creature he was made in to who falls in love with a woman only too eager to join him for an eternity. I found myself wanting more of Keeran and Emily together and for even a bit more of their lives before they met. However, Ms. Sands did the story justice for a short story format.

Stranger in the Night by Sara Blayne was overwhelming in the treasure hunting and historical detailing (it seemed the author really wanted this to be a full length novel but since she was writing a short story format, she decided to squeeze in too much information that almost made me forget it was a romance afterall) that by the time the Georgiana and Julius took over, I found myself a bit befuddled. I found myself wanting to throw the book every time "the Devil" was said as it was said far too often. This was a story that truly needed a longer format. I actually skipped over several passages as the mundane blandness of the details bored me to tears. I almost skipped over the whole story but forced myself to read on. In the end (or close to it) I found Georgiana and Julius a wonderful couple and the gripping ending worth hanging for. Ms. Blayne should have made this a full novel...in doing so, she would have gained a new reader.

The Awakening by Kate Huntington absolutely would make a welcome full length novel read. There were basically two romances taking place...one old and one new and both deserve to be told in their entirety. Adrian is torn by his vampire lifestyle...hating to constantly see his lovers die off but not hating it enough to end it all. Then his mate Thalia is revealed and while short, it held me enthralled and again, had me wanting much more. While this short version works, a longer and more in depth story would be awesome.

Overall, I rated this 4 stars because 3 of the 4 stories were well written as short stories even if I personally would have preferred longer versions.

My love for the dark side and for the love of good these short stories were some of the best I've ever read when it comes to vampires. The magic in the air with is book was sizzling good. hope all who reads it enjoys has much as I did

the first story was great. Second? Good not great. Third? Oh my word! talk about all over the place and I just could not get into it. I finally quit tryimg at chapter four.

two of the storys in this book are also in two other books I own other wise the book was good. if I didnt all ready have these two storys I would buy it again.

Can't go wrong with two stories from both Hannah Howell and Lynsay Sands. I enjoy all their books. Fun stories.

I'm an avid reader and I'm always able to find what I'm looking for on Amazon. Their shippers are the best! Always fast shipping and accurate descriptions. Thank you.

If you are looking for deadly vamps that are often more monster than man, these tales might seem tame to you. But if you are looking for troubled souls and woman that will risk all to be with the man they love, then you will find all these tales very heartwarming. These are not dark and deadly vamps, but romantic ones. All the tales were very well written and special.

I especially loved Lynsay Sands' tale. I have been a long time reader of her works so I come to expect things about her writing that are very familiar. Lynsay's fans, who expect her typical brand of hysterical historicals will be in for a treat as she shows yet another new side along with her recent contemporary The Loving Daylights and followed by the Smash Hit Single White Vampire. She offers a much more tender and intensely romance Lynsay. Though I love her magic humour, this tale surprised me and touched my heart. In her "Bitten" we have a tale of a Emily Collins lass who is rescued from drowning when her ship sinks in a storm. Keeran MacKay, a Scots Laird, is her rescuer and offers her shelter and so much more. But it she who offers the ultimate gift.

Hannah Howell's "The Yearning" is an interesting tale. For four centuries of the male of Clan MacCordy must walk by night.
Alpin MacCordy lives with the curse, but he also must marry for money. Lady Sophie Hay is the "bank" but she is more than just a blood bank or a money bank for her love might just be the cure for the curse.

Sara Blayne offer us "Strangers in the Night." Georgina Thornbury loves things ancient; digging for treasures in ruins is her cup of tea. Then she meets the mysterious Julius Lathron. What a find for a gal who digs old things?!

In "The Awakening" by Kate Huntington. Set in 1800s Her aunt is ailing, so Thalis Cordelia rushes to her side. Once there, she meets her aunt's very strange company who is talk, dark and vampish.

Perfect for a raining afternoon.