Angela Knight

I celebrated my Friday off by taking a four-hour nap. Yikes! I enjoy napping on weekends and vacations, but I don't typically nap for four hours. I guess I needed it.

I've been reading some of Angela Knight's short stories from the Secrets anthologies. I tried Knight last year, when I heard lots of positive buzz about her work on different websites. First I read Master of the Night, which I liked with some reservations. Then I read "A Candidate for the Kiss" (from Secrets 6) which I liked even more. I've read several of her books and short stories since then. Last week I read "Roarke's Prisoner" (Secrets 2) and "Kissing the Hunter" (Secrets 7).

"Roarke's Prisoner" is a futuristic featuring two strong captains on opposite sides of a war. Elise's last encounter ended with Roarke being captured and tortured. Since he escaped, Roarke has dreamed of revenge.

While I like Knight's world building and was interested in the conflict between Roarke and Elise, this story uses too much forced seduction for my taste. It was difficult to believe that these characters were destined to live happily ever after. They needed more time together. I wish the story had been a bit longer: 3.5 out of 5.

"Kissing the Hunter" was terrific. Navy SEAL Logan makes it a mission to track down and kill the vampires who had a part in the murder of his wife. Virginia is his latest quarry, but he's attracted to her even as he thinks she's a monster.

Knight creates incredibly vivid characters in Virginia and Logan, and while they don't spend much more time together than the couple in "Roarke's Prisoner," the longer length of "Kissing the Hunter" and the fact that these characters spend more time getting to know each other makes it a stronger read: 4.5 out of 5. Its main drawback is that there's almost too much at work here; the reincarnation aspect seemed unnecessary.

So, I enjoyed both stories and I'll probably track down the other ones. I just wish I could get her stories without having to buy the trade-size anthologies.

Alyssa