Customer Reviews

Stroke of Midnight (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series so I would never have missed the were-panther story in this book. I agree it was too short and the characters not fleshed out but I still liked it and am glad I read it. Even this short story gave me more information about were-panthers and a little more insight into Acheron. If you haven't read the rest of the series you are not going to get as much out of it, but you should still enjoy the story.

I have read a lot of Amanda Ashley's work and this, of course, was not her best. A little trite but still I enjoyed reading it.

L. A. Banks was not my cup of tea and I would have liked to give this one zero stars. I did not understand it, did not like it and found it quite depressing. Even after some of the reviews explained her seers and guardians I still didn't understand it nor could anything make me like this story. HATE is a more accurate description of how I felt about it and I should have listened to other reviewers and just not read this one. My advice is skip it.

Lori Handland wrote the best story even considering how much I loved reading Kenyon's Winter Born. This one had humor that made it an extremely enjoyable read. I loved Maya and even though I normally would not have liked the first person narrative, I began to really prefer it in this instance. I quickly appreciated Handland's decision to write it that way. A winning story that made me want to read more of this author.

I bought this book for Sherilyn Kenyon's story. It was fun but sadly felt a little too quick and a little bit lacking in depth even for a short story. I felt like I could have picked this book up in the bookstore, finished her story in 20 minutes and put the book back,

Amanda Ashley' story was so blah and unreadable. I trudged through it. The ended made little sense and I was left thinking Huh?

The L. A. Banks story I gave up trying to read. Perhaps it is me but for some reason I just cannot get into books that start off in 1979.

Lori Handeland's story I found a little better. Sort of interesting and I was able to read through it without looking at my watch.

Overall I felt like it was not worth the price of the book.

After reading a few of the previous reviews, I opted to not go into any great detail about this book because much of it would be repetitive. The best story in the book is the offering by Sherrilyn Kenyon, "Winter Born". I did not mind, as a previous reviewer did, that it was part of the Dark Hunter genre Ms. Kenyon writes about because it actually explained some points in it that I had previously been a little foggy on with these Were-Hunter creatures. It did kind of wrap up a little to cleanly, but since it was a novella, I guess it can't be too fleshed out.

"Born of the Night" but Amanda Ashley was a good story, but not nearly as sensual as I would have liked, and I thought it too bad that the werewolf change was considered a "curse" and a bad thing. Guess my fondness for the good guy werewolves prejudices me. But over all, a good story.

Lori Handeland's offering "Red Moon Rising" was an entertaining read, good sensuality, but again, werewolves as the bad guys disappointed me. However, the writing was fast paced, and while I prefer third person narratives, I did enjoy this one in the first person. I like our heroine's spunk.

Finally, L A Banks "Make It Last Forever" while the 3rd in the book, ranks last on my list. I couldn't even read it. As stated previously in the review by Emily Welsh, the 1979 time setting immediately turned me off. Combine that with a very slow start and confusing plotline, I just gave up after about 10 pages and moved on.

If you enjoy paranormal suspense/romance w/some good sensuality, then it is worth at least taking at look at, and if you can, buy it used or borrow from someone like me who thought it would be worth buying new. As much as I did enjoy Kenyon's story, I am not sure this one ranks among my keepers collection.

This is the third or fourth anthology of fantasy tales this year. But this one is not quite as good as the others.
1) Sherrilyn Kenyon can't write a bad story. So you know her story is good. I loved the story set in her Dark-Hunter Universe. Even Ash and Simi have a small part.
Dante Pontis is a werewolf, he and his brothers are at a Sci/Fi convention. When they sense a lady werewolf, the others are off to find her.
Pandora has escaped from a pack that takes females from the future. Those born in the winter, and chains them and forces them to serve their pack.
Dante finds her and saves her at the same time he finds his mate. Now he has to fight for her and stop this unlawful practice.

2) Lady Shanara is taken hostage by Lord Reyes who is cursed by her father's witch. They fall in love and the witch loves Shanara so much she lifts her spell and comes to live in Reye's Castle. (Yeah, Right) This is the witch who cursed his family because his father would not father her child. Then Shanara's father murdered his father while he was a wolf and wears his skin as a token.

3)I have to say this next one was pretty dumb. Or maybe I just didn't like it. Tara is a medicine woman's daughter and she has been bitten by a vampire. She is trying to hold on until she can find her grandmother who can save her. Rider is a biker who saves her at a bus stop. Naturally they fall in love. So he rushes to take her to her grandmother, but when they get there her grandmother has moved to Arizona. We are told that it was never meant that she would be saved, only that she would help Rider to become a Guardian (one who destroys vampires). (Poor Tara, yeah, right)

4)A Navajo Skinwalker is after Maya Alexander, her only hope is Clay Phillips, a member of an x-files type force. Not bad and this one has some interesting information on Indian beliefs.

I liked Ms. Kenyon and Ms. Bank's story the best. LA Bank's story on Rider and Tara was the best, because it gave the background story to one of her characters in the Vampire Huntress Legend. Pick up Ms. Bank's Minion, The Awakening, The Hunted, The Bitten and the Forbidden and fall in love with all of the characters.

This book earned three stars from me only, and exlusively because of Dante Pontis, the hero of Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Winter Born". What can I do, I'm a sucker for Hunters - Were, Dream, and specially Dark ones.
The L.A. Banks' story just made me skip pages, but the other two were passable.
Nothing to miss, there.

Kenyon's stories as usual continues to provide entertainment and very addictive vampire plots that leaves you wanting more and more. I just hope she doesn't get a writer block like feehan's Dark Destiny and Hamilton very disappointing "Incubus Dreams".

Favourite part of the book is SIMI's shopping spree. Ahhh if I had endless line of credit card with no worry about the payment I be in heaven.

HOWEVER... and I mean HOWEVER, the rest of the collection of short stories is........ dull. Ashley's stories was suprisely not here best or even average usual stories. The other two authors left me falling asleep. I started skipping pages which equates "BLEH".

Since I'm an avid reader of Kenyon, I'll be keeping it for the sake of ONE short story to be added to my collection of vamp bks. OR I would have returned the book.

I give this anthology 5 stars because of Winterborn. The other stories I barely noticed. Winterborn had the complexity and energy that I've come to expect from Sherrilyn Kenyon's DarkHunter novels. Dante is a werepanther, the Katagari kind (animal). Pandora is a werepantheress, the Arcadian kind (human). We learn more about Katagari werepanthers, like the fact that once mated, the men are tied for life, while the women are not, and the men stay home and raise the kids while the women only visit fo 2 days/year. Arcadian women are human, though, and stay with their children.

Anyway, Dante is less tortured than Kenyon's usual heroes, and reveals himself to be a werepanther of much honour and integrity. Dante and Pandora are in a science fiction convention place, and Archeron and Simi and some other gods are there too. The thing is, Pandora is in heat, Dante is not mated, Dante's twin unmated brothers are there too, and there is an entire Katigari pack of werepanthers out to re-capture Pandora. We get introduced to werepanther culture, Dante's large family, and another side of Archeron. Very cool.

Most of the Darkhunter novels are full of Greek culture and tortured Romans. So I really enjoyed this werepanther story, even more than the other Drakos and Oneroi short stories and Night Play. Dante is very edgey and hard, more convincingly than many of Kenyon's heroes.

Amanda Ashley's story was a medieval werewolf story, sweet and gentle. L.A.Banks story was typically urban and slightly empty/depressingly practical. I've only read part of Handeland's story, but it's an urban werewolf story, fairly humorous. But for me, Winterborn just put them all in the shade.

If you are awaiting LA Banks latest novel, read her short story "Make it Last Forever" in the collection of Stroke of Midnight. We finally are allowed a glimpse into the past life of Rider and are introduced to Tara his lost love. I think it was brilliantly written and made me crave for more. I think we will see Tara in the upcoming story of Damali and Carlos, and we now understand why Rider is so sympathetic and understanding of the Neteru's forbidden love. I hope that Banks continues to build on the integrity of characters and the story, and make her series "last forever".

This is a Great intro to Paranormal/Dark Romance. IT gives you a taste of whats out there. I Originally bought the book for the L.A. Banks Story "Make It Last Forever" linked to her multicultural Vampire Huntress Series. I walked a way a fan of all the other authors. The stories very sensual and filled with intriguing characters and plots. You get pulled into an exciting world of Were-creatures, vampires and shapeshifters. All though I enjoyed all the stories my favorite after L.A. Bank's" Make it Last Forever" was Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Winter Born" I ran right out and got her Dark Hunter Series.

Enjoy