Bite

I rang in the new year by reading Bite, a vampire anthology with stories from Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight, and Vickie Taylor. All in all, an excellent collection: 4 out of 5.

"The Girl Who Was Infatuated with Death" by Laurell K. Hamilton
I confess: I didn't read it. I haven't read any of the Anita Blake series, and since this short story takes place between two books in the series, I figured this wouldn't be a good place to start. (As long as I'm confessing, I'll also add that I don't think I will read any of her books. They don't sound like my thing.)

"One Word Answer" by Charlaine Harris
It was nice to see Sookie again. I enjoyed this story, but it wouldn't be the best introduction to the series. There's simply not enough room to do justice to the characters. I'm impressed with Harris's ability to write an interesting little mystery in so few pages, though. It also made me excited to read the next full-length book in the series, Dead As a Doornail. But I have to wait until May . . .

"Biting in Plain Sight" by MaryJanice Davidson
This story revisits the world of Betsy and Sinclair, though they are secondary characters. The main characters are refreshingly different from Davidson's usual snarky heroine and hero, which isn't to say they are short on pluck. Sophie and Liam go on the hunt for a vampire who enjoys breaking women's hearts and driving them to suicide.

"Galahad" by Angela Knight
Finally, a story I really, really like by Angela Knight. I was beginning to think she was one of those writers that I just wasn't getting. This story is beautiful. I think it's partly because Caroline is already a Maja when the story starts. Readers who are familiar with Knight's work will know what I mean when I say that skipping this part gives the story and the characters a bit more freedom. Caroline and Galahad are well matched. This is my favorite story in the book.

"Blood Lust" by Vickie Taylor
This is the first time I've read a story by Vickie Taylor, and it's a strong and interesting one. Daniel needs the help of vampire Deadre to fulfill his plot of revenge. In the process, they fall in love.

If you enjoy vampire stories, you'll find a lot to like here.

Alyssa