Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love

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Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love (13 Tales)

by Trisha Telep (Editor), Maggie Stiefvater (Goodreads Author), Becca Fitzpatrick (Goodreads Author), Rachel Vincent (Goodreads Author), Karen Mahoney (Goodreads Author), Diana Peterfreund (Goodreads Author), Daniel Waters (Goodreads Author), Carrie Ryan (Goodreads Author) , more…

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 1,885 ratings · 276 reviews

For those who thirst for accounts of paranormal romance, Trisha Telep has compiled some of the most thrilling takes of forbidden love in this collection. First crushes and last rites; dark spells and bright magic; forbidden lovers and enchanted beings -- and always, always the hungry games of desire. Pucker up for a darkly sweet collection of ghosts, shape shifters, fairie...more

Paperback, 430 pages

Published August 3rd 2010 by Running Press Teens (first published July 27th 2010)

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Aug 09, 2010 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of paranormal romance (as the title suggests)

Shelves: paranormal-supernatural-books, covers-i-love, titles-i-love, 2010-reads, reviewed

Initial thoughts before I read the book: Okay, I'll be honest: I have read many of the books from the authors included in this anthology. That being said. . .why are quite a few of the stories actually spin-off tales from these authors' series? It kinda makes me mad because, while I get the whole self-promotion angle for their books, it makes ME think that they can't write beyond the worlds they have thus far created. I don't want to think that about any of these authors. I know they're all tale...more Initial thoughts before I read the book: Okay, I'll be honest: I have read many of the books from the authors included in this anthology. That being said. . .why are quite a few of the stories actually spin-off tales from these authors' series? It kinda makes me mad because, while I get the whole self-promotion angle for their books, it makes ME think that they can't write beyond the worlds they have thus far created. I don't want to think that about any of these authors. I know they're all talented in their own rights for different reasons -- but show me what NEW THINGS they can come up with. It's a challenge, I know. I want them to prove me wrong by going from writing unicorns to Yeti or zombies to Frankenstein. I don't know. I just want something deadly yet beautiful, wonderful yet terrible. Is that so much to ask, ladies (and gents as well)?

Thoughts AFTER I read the book: I will admit that it was easier to get into the stories where I knew the worlds beforehand from the written novels (i.e. Rampant, Hush, Hush, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, etc.). Others, like Daniel Marks's "Vermillion" (with no novel OR short story for me to have read beforehand to compare the writing or world towards), were harder to get into. . .but I enjoyed all the stories for different reasons.

Story I loved the most: "The Hounds of Ulster" by Maggie Stiefvater, hands down. I loved Bryant and Sullivan as characters even though I knew them for only about twenty pages. They felt like real people to me, and that's always a plus when I'm reading any type of story.

Story I wish would be expanded to a novel someday: "The Spirit Jar" by Karen Mahoney simply because Moth has made TWO appearances in short stories ("Falling to Ash" from The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire, the sister anthology to this one) and I am intrigued by what other adventures she may have in the future.

The best KISS in the book: The one in Sarah Rees Brennan's "The Spy Who Never Grew Up" amused me very much. (Yep, that's me: I enjoy humor during the moments that are meant to be swoon-worthy.)

Overall: I didn't dislike any of the stories, but not all of them were hits with me. I would say I only loved about three of them, really liked about three of them, and just plain liked the rest of them. I would say that this book should only be picked up if you, as a reader, know that either (a) you are fans of one or many of the authors featured within this anthology or (b) you are really just a paranormal romance fan in general. If you are either (or both) of those things, then chances are that you will enjoy Kiss Me Deadly. As for me -- well, I enjoyed most of it. ;)(less)

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Jan 26, 2011 Nixy Snow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

***SPOILER ALERT!!!***

The Assassin's Apprentice by Michelle Zink - This was actually one of my favorites stories. It deals with vengeance, danger and love. I really hope Ms. Zink will endeavor in creating a series or even a stand-alone about these characters. I'm definitely interested in learning more about them.

Errant by Diana Peterfreund - If you've read Ms. Peterfreund's Rampant, then you'll definitely recognize this world. It's a story about two very different individuals who can find a comm...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Reading Vacation's Mom rated it 3 of 5 stars

REVIEW
A collection of paranormal short stories by popular authors sounds like a good idea. In reality, the stories were hit or miss for me. Some of them were REALLY good, some were just okay, and one just plain did not make any sense at all.
My favorite story was Familiar by Michelle Rowen. Oh my gosh, it was a perfectly written short story. LOVED it! This is an awesome story about a witch who befriends a werecat. Yeah, super unique and fun to read! I enjoyed this story so much that I wish it we...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Sarah Dizon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, young-adult, read-in-2011

I don't read very many anthologies because for some reason they take me longer to read than novels.

Anyways, here's what I thought:

"The Assassin's Apprentice" by Michelle Zink:

I have the first book for her Sisters of the Prophecy series but I have not read it yet. I have no idea if this short story has anything to do with the series but I enjoyed it! It makes me want to read her novel as soon as I can! There wasn't a lot of explanation on what Descendants are or Assassins except that they have so...more

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May 11, 2011 Punkrider0207 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I thought this was a decent collection. I had my favorites and ones that I just skip over.

The Assassin's Apprentice -- Michelle Zink, 3.5/5. This was ok. Decent idea about how the Descendants have to hide from demons and the only way to kill the demons was with a special Blade. If made into a novel, I might read it.

Errant -- Diana Peterfreund, 3/5. Again, another OK story. Killer unicorns are somewhat standard when it comes to literature these days so I feel like they should return to the unicor...more I thought this was a decent collection. I had my favorites and ones that I just skip over.

The Assassin's Apprentice -- Michelle Zink, 3.5/5. This was ok. Decent idea about how the Descendants have to hide from demons and the only way to kill the demons was with a special Blade. If made into a novel, I might read it.

Errant -- Diana Peterfreund, 3/5. Again, another OK story. Killer unicorns are somewhat standard when it comes to literature these days so I feel like they should return to the unicorn's purity. Not bad but not good enough t make a novel.

The Spirit Jar -- Karen Mahoney. 4/5. I really liked this story. I read this book before I read the other one so this was my first story with Moth. I liked how Adam's supernatural part was an unusual thing, a Djinn. I would so read this if where a novel!

Lost -- Justine Musk, 5/5. My favorite of the book. I love how it is not the usual Greek god, but Hades or Haiden. It is rare to see Hades outside the standard myth. It was also good to see that he had learned his lesson and didn't make Sasha eat the fruit. I hope there is a novel coming so I can read more!

The Spy That Never Grew Up -- Sarah Rees Brennan, 2/5. I just did not like this story. Slow pacing, bad characters. The only thing I did like was the idea. Original but still classic.

Dungeon of Langeais -- Becca Fitzpartick, 4/5. I really like this one too because it is clear of the conflict that that main character is going through. Who knew angels can be such villians?

Behind the Red Door -- Caitlin Kittredge, 5/5. My other favorite because it is very new. The characters are well written and the pacing is just right. It was also good to see Jo deal with her friends problems as well as her own.

Hare Moon -- Carrie Ryan, 3.5/5. I thought is was ok as a short story but when I tried to read the book, it got very boring. Nothing really happened so it was best to keep it as a short story.

Familiar -- Michelle Rowan, 4.5/5. I really like this one too. A witch who doesn't want to be a witch. So new and refreshing. And the fact that Owen is very hot helps too.

Fearless -- Rachel Vincent, 4/5 TO BE CONTINUED!(less)

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Apr 26, 2011 Kayt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Despite the title, there are several stories that are not straight romance, or the main focus is something besides the romance relationship. In fact, I'd recommend this for YA fantasy lovers, because few of the stories are romantic; rather, they have an average amount of romance which may or may not be related to the plot at all.

There are lots of familiar names among the authors, and many have set their stories in the worlds of their books. Off the top of my head, I can recall Carrie Ryan (Fores...more

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Mar 19, 2011 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Got this from the library solely to read Carrie Ryan's Hare Moon, which is the story of Sister Tabitha from The Forest of Hands and Teeth when she was young and how she came to be the person she is in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. While I enjoyed Hare Moon and how it revealed a little more about The Forest of Hands and Teeth world, I thought the story was too short and too rushed. Many of the other short stories which I didn't read were much longer. Fortunately, the third book in The...more

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Nov 08, 2010 Dark Readers rated it 2 of 5 stars

Kiss Me Deadly is a new young adult paranormal romance anthology containing 13 new stories. It is, sort of, the follow up to 'The Eternal Kiss' YA vampire romance anthology that was out last summer. TEK was awesome and completely worth the money, which not all anthos are, and this one had another great line up of authors so I was really looking forward to it.

It is a decent anthology. Lots of different tales, different styles and some interesting romance options. Probably not the best anthology...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Lydia Presley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fantasy, fiction, short_stories

You know, I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. There really aren't any "bad" stories in it, more like.. "okay" stories and "better" stories. I intended to write a short review of each one, but then I realized that was a lot of writing and getting up and down and... yeah, so instead I'll give you a few reviews of the stories I liked best.

Errant - Diane Peterfreund

I'm not a big unicorn fan, I admit it. I think I got burned out when unicorns were all over the cartoons when I w...more You know, I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. There really aren't any "bad" stories in it, more like.. "okay" stories and "better" stories. I intended to write a short review of each one, but then I realized that was a lot of writing and getting up and down and... yeah, so instead I'll give you a few reviews of the stories I liked best.

Errant - Diane Peterfreund

I'm not a big unicorn fan, I admit it. I think I got burned out when unicorns were all over the cartoons when I was a little girl. Then of course there was more recent youtube videos with unicorns that made them feel.. cheesy and hokey. That said, this short story was interesting and finally made them out to be a little more bloodthirsty and not quite all rainbows and ponies. Enjoyable story and I'll be looking into more of Peterfruend's writing.

Lost – Justine Musk

I really enjoyed this story about a girl who can find things that are “lost”. I love mythology, though, so it isn't really a surprise that I enjoyed this as much as I did. Unlike some of the other stories in this book, this one had a definite beginning, middle and the perfect ending so, while I wish it had been longer, I was satisfied with what I read.

The Spy Who Never Grew Up – Sarah Rees Brennan

Hands down, my favorite story of the book. Okay, so I admit to rolling my eyes a little at the introduction of 69 the Spy, but the story got better from there, I promise! Such a fun and interesting take on an old story. I'm laughing remembering the introduction to the Queen even as I type this. This story alone is worth picking up this collection.

Hare Moon – Carrie Ryan

Oh Carrie Ryan, how I love you. Carrie has this way of turning zombies into something even more terrifying than zombies! Just the mere mention of the “unconsecrated” and I shiver and get cold chills. In this short story about Tabitha she gives you a small, perfect taste of her longer books and has me remembering I still need to read that second one – soon!

A few surprises - I'm not a big Hush, Hush fan but the Becca Fitzpatrick story kind of blew me away with how good it was. Also, I think I'm done with vampires. Way too many vampire stories out there and when you start mixing them with other fantastical creatures (such as Djinn), it's too much.

Overall enjoyable set of short stories and not nearly as mushy as I thought it would be!(less)

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Aug 25, 2010 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, anthology, urban-fantasy, 4-stars, read-in-2010, pn-romance

Strongest YA paranormal anthology I've read

Pulling together thirteen short stories by authors both new and well-known in the young adult genre, KISS ME DEADLY: 13 TALES OF PARANORMAL LOVE broadly covers the subject, including stories about vampires, faeries, ghosts, zombies, unicorns, and mythological gods.

Compared to other paranormal romance anthologies, KISS ME DEADLY is the strongest I've read so far. In addition to being a great way to sample the writing style of thirteen different authors,...more Strongest YA paranormal anthology I've read

Pulling together thirteen short stories by authors both new and well-known in the young adult genre, KISS ME DEADLY: 13 TALES OF PARANORMAL LOVE broadly covers the subject, including stories about vampires, faeries, ghosts, zombies, unicorns, and mythological gods.

Compared to other paranormal romance anthologies, KISS ME DEADLY is the strongest I've read so far. In addition to being a great way to sample the writing style of thirteen different authors, this collection excels in its inclusion of a wide diversity of paranormal creatures, the length of the stories, and the overall writing quality. Of the thirteen stories, I enjoyed eight of them, which is a higher proportion than I usually experience with an anthology. Among the stories, standouts included Karen Mahoney's "The Spirit Jar" about a grieving djinn and the vampire that helps him, Justine Musk's "Lost" about a girl's connection to the dead and the otherworld she's never known, Carrie Ryan's "Hare Moon" about a young nun in the Forest of Hands and Teeth and her internal battle between tradition and love, Maggie Stiefvater's "The Hounds of Ulster" about two lifelong friends and the unearthly woman who comes between them, and Daniel Waters' "Many Happy Returns" about parental love that never dies, even when a child does. While I was already a huge fan of Ryan and Stiefvater, this volume gave me two to three new authors to follow. Many people may also enjoy that six of the stories are linked to authors' existing works. At the very reasonable cover price of $9.95, this collection can't be beaten for quality for the price.

However, like any anthology, there were weak stories mixed in among the outstanding ones. Five stories fell flat for me, and outside of the stories noted above, even the other enjoyable ones didn't stick with me for very long. Very few of the entries were love stories in the traditional sense, which may be misleading to some readers based on the subtitle of the book. Multiple editing or typo errors also popped up in one story that was otherwise strong, and a word was missing in the blurb on the back cover. Both instances had me wishing for a more careful editor.

Even with these flaws, KISS ME DEADLY now ranks as the best young adult paranormal anthology I've read. Hopefully, other publishers will put out volumes similar to it, especially those that look outside vampires to include other creatures and mythologies like this book did. If you're looking for something similar until then, I would recommend LOVE IS HELL.(less)

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Jul 03, 2011 Sam is currently reading it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I found this at my local bookstore in the clearance section. Now, I'm a sucker for paranormal romance, but I wasn't sold until I saw one of my favorite authors, Maggie Stievater was writing a story. When I saw it was about Irish pub bands, who i feel particularly akin to, I had to nab it. I will have a review about each individual story.

The Assassins Apprentice: I think this woman knows some good prose. The visuals were lovely, but...I was sorta lost at first. Now, this could be because I have...more I found this at my local bookstore in the clearance section. Now, I'm a sucker for paranormal romance, but I wasn't sold until I saw one of my favorite authors, Maggie Stievater was writing a story. When I saw it was about Irish pub bands, who i feel particularly akin to, I had to nab it. I will have a review about each individual story.

The Assassins Apprentice: I think this woman knows some good prose. The visuals were lovely, but...I was sorta lost at first. Now, this could be because I have never read any of her other books, but I don't know. I found the romance a little...lacking. I mean, the basic premise was that he excited her, than, BAM! Next scene, they're waking up together. I wasn't too fond of that.

Errant: I think the plot was interesting enough. I think it was poorly executed. The thought of the unicorn hunt and everything, it sounded good. Really good. But. Everything else seemed SO cliched. One girl, prim and proper, the other, a tomboy of sorts. I wrote like this when I first started writing. Also...where was the romance? I certainly didn't see any. Once again, one character was brought face to face with lust, and it explained how she felt, but it's not like they fell in love or something. There was nothing romantic here, and this is supposed to be a collection of paranormal romances.

The Spirit Jar: Probably the longest story in the book. It's about 40 pages as compared to the others, and yes, I didn't want it to end. It was really good. I've heard a lot about Djin before, but never expanded on it. I was really happy to see that in here. With how popular everything paranormal is at the moment, it's cool to see something other than vampires. Well...I guess that's not totally true, seeing as the girl here was a vampire. But she was well written, feral. Now, I don't know if this author has ever done anything else with this setup, because a few things confused me. A) Who is her friend Holly? She's mentioned once. And also, the bits about Theo are interesting, but also left me scratching my head. lastly...who the crap is Jason? I really have no clue. Only that he did something bad to her. However, I did find Adam's story really touching. It was sweet, and so very sad. I loved it. Though once more, which I seem to say in every review here...the romance seemed really out of place. He just kissed her out of the blue, when less than a week ago, his love was slain.

Lost: By far, my favorite story so far. From the start of it, I really liked it. I felt drawn to Haiden myself (this cold be because I just got a black kitten, and named him Haden though). This story is of Hades and Persephone. Which is my all time favorite myth. I mean, I LOVE Irish mythology the most, and Icelandic is good, Greek, eh, I'm okay with, but Hades and Persephone...it tops all my favorite stories. Always. So, when I read that Haiden IS Hades, YEEEOW! I'm in love. And scolding her for not going with him that bloody instant!!! This one felt a little short though. Possible because I loved it so much. If anyone knows of any stories similar to this (Like, The Hollow Kingdom, for example) please let me know!

The Spy That Never Grew Up: This writing style is amazing! She has a major was with words, and it's so comical! Like Pan fighting with The Taj Mahal to the death! It's grand! And the thimble Ashley bestowed upon him...priceless!!! I LOVED this!!!

The Hounds of Ulster: I want to do these in order, but this was the first I read, so I'll post the review now. Alrighty...now, I love Maggie. I do. But. The plot here kinda confused me. It may not have if I had read her books on fairies, and I want to. The writing again was beautiful, and Maggie's sarcasm always peaks through her writing, and I love that. At first, once again, i was wondering "Where is the romance?" then I found it. And it SHOCKED me. It was good. Only one tiny complaint.

I follow Maggie's blogs, I think she's a hoot. But, when writing her teen lit stories, it seems she has one issue. That issue being that she thinks it must have cussing and sex. Now, this particular story had no sex, but it did have cussing. A whole platoon of it. And I don't really like that. No, I'm not some old bttie writing this all up, I'm a teenager, I swear. But other than that. It's grand.

(less)

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Aug 24, 2010 Caitlin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Errant” By Diana Peterfruend is set in her unicorn world but does not need to be read in any order for her series. It’s a interesting story with two girls who don’t understand each other: Gitta, a hunter and Elise, a noble lady. They soon work together to get what they want.

“The Spiritual Jar” By Karen Mahoney gives a second short story about Moth an 18-year-old vampire sent to London to receive a book for her sire, Theo. Who knew a book could cause so many problems. I really like Moth and her...more

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Aug 07, 2010 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Assassin's Apprentice by Michelle Zink: I liked the story a lot. I liked that if Michelle wants to she can pick it right back up and make a whole series out of it. She can back up to before this short story took place, or she can do a follow up after the story.

Errant by Diana Peterfreund: I have so missed my unicorns. If you've read Rampant and you're waiting on Ascendent then I think you should pick this up. It isn't a whole book filled with people killing unicorns. It's more of how 2 peopl...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) by: goodchoicereadin@aol.com

Shelves: for-review

My Review:

A couple of days ago I received an e-mail from someone at Running Press Book Publishers asking me if I would be interested in doing a review and giveaway of Kiss Me Deadly. So I said yes and I was very excited because some of my favorite authors have a short story in Kiss Me Deadly.

Anyway, I finished reading today and I have to say that this is another first for me. I don't normally read short stories. No reason really, but I just never did. However, I did enjoy reading Kiss Me Deadly....more

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Jun 27, 2012 Vorbis rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really liked this. Much more so than the previous anthology which left me a bit cold, I enjoyed most of the books in this collection.

Sarah Rees Brennan is the author I know best, I'm not sure how I felt about her story. It didn't fit the theme particularly well, so it stood out a little awkwardly. I think it was a good story in its own right but in context I didn't enjoy it even though I appreciated it.

I enjoyed the authors I'd read previously, they all put in very solid efforts writing what I...more

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Oct 15, 2010 ambyr rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: acquiredㅡfree-arc, authorㅡfemale, authorㅡmale, genreㅡfantasyㅡcontemporary, genreㅡfantasyㅡpast, genreㅡfantasyㅡfuture, genreㅡdystopia, characterㅡlgbt, protagonistㅡmultiple-genders, short-stories, ageㅡya, ownㅡpreviously, thrown-with-great-force

I'm never really sure how to rate anthologies. There were stories in this one I liked, but also stories I hated--including, unfortunately, the opening story, which almost made me throw the rest of the book away unread. Fortunately I'd picked it up originally to read Peterfreund's story, which was the second one in, so I kept going. And things got better.

I am fundamentally the wrong audience for this book: I'm not a huge short story fan, and paranormal romance as a genre leaves me cold. So I'm ac...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Catalina Sennett rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Assassin's Apprentice By Michelle Zink
Interesting!! I would read this if it were a longer book, filled with more of the demon hunting adventures! The romance was too rushed, but it is a short story, so...kinda expected right?

Errant by Diana Peterfreund
Unicorns! This wasn't really a romance story, but it had unicorns so it was good.

The Spirit Jar by Karen Mahoney
I didn't get into this one much, I skipped through it mostly. Done with vampires I swear...

Lost by Justine Musk
Cute story based on...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Stacy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I couldn't get into this book. I read the first 3 1/2 stories and didn't really like them. Some of them were based on characters from published books and that alone was a bit of a turn off because I like short stories to be original and not a spinoff of something else.

Of the 3 1/2 stories I read, I liked Lost the most. The mystery kept me intrested. The problem I had with it was that the author assumed the read knew what Hades was and who Persephone is. I don't, and I'm not going to waste time...more

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Aug 17, 2010 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010

What an amazing array of authors in one book! Some of my favorite writers have been included in here and I really liked what I read. Some featured new couples, some established relationships never appreciated, and others held the promise of something new but dangerous or even deadly. There were some stories I enjoyed so much I wanted to keep reading more. Some of my favorites included: Michelle Zink's story, The Assassin's Apprentice. Her story started off the anthology with an intriguing story....more What an amazing array of authors in one book! Some of my favorite writers have been included in here and I really liked what I read. Some featured new couples, some established relationships never appreciated, and others held the promise of something new but dangerous or even deadly. There were some stories I enjoyed so much I wanted to keep reading more. Some of my favorites included: Michelle Zink's story, The Assassin's Apprentice. Her story started off the anthology with an intriguing story. Rose is newly orphaned, bent on seeking revenge on the demon who caused her world to drastically change, and just as she's close to getting her wish she is stopped by an unusual stranger. I liked the whole Rose and Asher dynamic and I would like to read more of Zink's world of Descendants (the offspring of angels) and the Assassins sent to protect them.

The Spirit Jar made me an instant fan of Karen Mahoney's writing. A newbie vamp named Moth has her sights set on a magical book and during her robbery attempt she comes face-to-face with a good looking guy who is half Djinn. Fearless by Rachel Vincent featured Nash (pre-Kaylee), one of my favorite characters from her Soul Screamers series. This time around he's with someone new, a young woman named Sabine with a scary ability. Let's just say I wouldn't want her roaming around inside my head.

I was pleasantly surprised by Daniel Water's Many Happy Returns, and loved how this story of human loss and zombies ended. Caitlin Kitteridge's Behind the Red Door had my eyes racing across the page. LuvLuvLuv ghost stories and creepy houses inhabited by mysterious spirits. Maggie Stiefvater's story, The Hounds of Ulster, had a nice surprise ending. And Carrie Ryan returned us to the Forest of Hands and Teeth with Hare Moon. There was a cool world of unicorns and sacrificial ceremonies in Errant by Diana Peterfreund, and an interesting spiritual world in Daniel Marks' Vermillion. Michelle Rowan's Familiar was incredibly sweet and featured a cute couple, the witch-in-training Brenda and her new familiar, the shapeshifting Owen. Sarah Rees Brennan has updated Peter Pan in the amusing The Spy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and Becca Fitzpatrick's closing story, Dungeons of Langeais (a Hush, Hush story) had me reaching for my copy of Crescendo.(less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Kira rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthologies-short-stories, favorites, library-books

Overall: 3.5 Stars
I was really surprised with this anthology. I expected a bunch of Twilight knock-off vampire stories, but most were good stories about different kinds of love - romantic, friendship, familial - involving various paranormal entites - ghosts, zombies, angels, mythological creatures, etc. and yes, even a vampire and a werewolf (in different stories). I was actually impressed by the different paranormal creatures offered. Most stories revolved around the themes of loss and self-dis...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Liz Gaska rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books

Reading a book of short stories is always a mixded bag, however there were a ton of stories in this book that I actually, really enjoyed. That is particularly unusual for me. Usually, when it comes to short stories, I dislike as many as I like. It's a weird form of writing and even the best authors have put out some stinkers (seriously). It must be noted that I bought this particular book for the sole purpose of reading Rachel Vincent's "Fearless". It did not dissapoint and may I just say that...more Reading a book of short stories is always a mixded bag, however there were a ton of stories in this book that I actually, really enjoyed. That is particularly unusual for me. Usually, when it comes to short stories, I dislike as many as I like. It's a weird form of writing and even the best authors have put out some stinkers (seriously). It must be noted that I bought this particular book for the sole purpose of reading Rachel Vincent's "Fearless". It did not dissapoint and may I just say that I already dislike Sabine and this is pre "My Soul To Take". Her excuses for causing such terror were weak. I could be biased though, I am a Kaylee fan. Anyway, the story was excellent and now I'm prepped for the next Soul Screamers novel.

That all being said, the BEST short story in the book was "The Assassin's Apprentice" by Michelle Zink. Wow, I was blown away. Sometime in the near future, I have every intention of sitting down and writing one of those embarrassing fan letters to Michelle Zink begging her to continue Rose and Asher's story. I have a feeling it is very interesting. Other notable stories that made me exceptionally glad included Karen Mahoney's "The Spirit Jar" (I love the heroine and look forward to reading more about her), "Lost" by Justine Musk (A new twist on an old myth. I loved it. I would definately buy a book about Sasha's continued story), "Dungeons of Langeais" (This story literally made me yell, "Alright, that's it. I need to move 'Hush-Hush' up on my list of books to read!" Which I will, particularly because this was a very passionate story and the world she created felt very real), "Behind The Red Door" by Caitlin Kitttredge (I would be interested in seeing what other eventful things befall Jo Ryan. You know this isn't the end. It just can't be.), "Hare Moon" by Carrie Ryan (This is another one that sucked me into it's world and now I will be reading "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" shortly. Also, I feel like I might have a unique perspective when I read it, because I got to read this first. A story that is even able to make me feel like that is note worthy in my book.), and "Familiar" by Michelle Rowen (I loved it. I just loved it. This is another one that if I get the time I will write the author an embarrassingly long note guishing about how I absoluely NEED to know what happens to Brenda and Owen.) Like I said, typically a mixed bag, but this time it was an exceptionally good mixed bag. (Like the gift bags that they give out at the Oscars)... (less)

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Sep 11, 2010 Lizzy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

Kiss Me Deadly contains 13 short stories involving paranormal romance. There are quite a few recgonizable names among the contributing authors. Michelle Zink, Sarah Reese Brennan, Carrie Ryan, and Daniel Waters were just a few that drew me to the book. Of course, I also love a good paranormal romance.

Each story offers something different to lovers of the paranormal. There were angels, werewolves, Mara (parasitic empaths), zombies, unicorns, witches, djinns, and so much more. As with all antholog...more

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Dec 29, 2010 qingling rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a collection of short love stories between humans and paranormal creatures of the night. Most of the stories have happy endings, but some don't. Each author writes a different stories about the forbidden love between humans and other creatures. I have chose to read this book because I want to read about the different love stories that the authors have to offer. By reading this book, I can learn which authors can write very catching stories that I can read. This is like a preview to...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Bryer Cole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-paperback

The collections of stories were from phenomenal authors. Each one, I thought, was well written, original, fascinating and true to itself. Short stories are harder to write in my opinion because there's so much you want to say about the character development or scenery. However I feel these stories wrapped themselves up rather nicely. The person that assembled this book knew a thing or two about which stories worked well together and what short story writing entails. Very nice variety, wonderful...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Elise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-packed, bad-in-a-good-way-romance, fantasy, intriguing, extremely-sexy

I liked this collection of short stories. Here are the stories in order of preference and my thoughts:

1. Fearless by Rachel Vincent: One of my favorites; it's very different from the other stories. 5/5 stars.
2. Behind the Red Door by Caitlin Kittredge: Very creepy! Loved it! 5/5 stars.
3. Familiar by Michelle Rowen: Interesting and probably one of the best romances in the whole book. 5/5 stars.
4. Lost by Justine Musk: This one was slightly confusing in the beginning, but still very good. 4/5 s...more

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Jun 24, 2011 Amber Dawn rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked up "Kiss Me Deadly" mainly because it came up in a search result for Maggie Stiefvater whose werewolf books are totally amazing. I admit, I wasn't expecting all that much from a book of "Tales of Paranormal Love" for young adults. However, I was wrong. These stories aren't stupid or sappy, and though all of them have a boy and a girl and some romance, many of them don't turn out how you'd expect. The book would have been totally worth reading just for Diana Peterfreund's "Errant" about...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, audiobook, teen-romance, novella, teen

These were fun. I enjoyed some of the short stories more than others. Here were my favorites:

The Spirit Jar by Karen Mahoney - Moth, a vampire girl is in London after a rare book for her maker, and she's not the only one after it.

Lost by Justine Musk - A girl finds hidden psychic talents when she meets a guy who's not quite human in an abandoned house.

Hare moon by Carrie Ryan - A story about Sister Tabitha, a character from the book The Forest of Hands and Teeth, showing her as a young girl and...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Karlie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was left feeling generally underwhelmed by this anthology, I'm fairly sure the only reason I was able to finish it was because it was a compilation of short stories and I didn't feel like it was too much to get through. A couple of the stories had redeeming features that made me like them, but not enough to save my opinion on the entire book. I enjoyed Telep's previous Anthology, The Eternal Kiss, a lot more than this one.

The Assassin's Apprentice By Michelle Zink (2.5/5)
I enjoyed the idea of...more

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Sep 19, 2010 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was one of the better anthologies that I have read. In fact, there was only one story that I didn't like--the one by Daniel Marks, a pseudonym of an adult urban fantasy author. I just couldn't follow that story. It confused me and I never really connected with it.

I think my favorite story was Familiar by Michelle Rown. I liked the main character and the plot. And I love the way she writes.

And I liked Fearless by Rachel Vincent. I'm not positive, but pretty sure that this was sort of a prequ...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Nikki rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, anthologies, fiction, paranormal-romance, short-stories, 2012

1.5 stars to The Assassin's Apprentice by Michelle Zink. Overall I felt the story was unsatisfying. You were dumped into the story with an unclear setting and limited characterization. The story also did not meet the "paranormal love" element in my opinion since that was out of NOWHERE and weak. A sudden kiss for no explicable reason isn't good enough Ms. Zink. Yes it is a short story but a lot can be done in a brief period of time, I've seen it done. I did like the demon element but too little...more

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About Trisha Telep

Trisha Telep was the romance and fantasy book buyer at Murder One, a London crime, mystery, and romance bookstore; she's now co-owner of the virtual bookstore www.murderone.co.uk and an editor of romance and supernatural anthologies for Mammoth. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she now lives in London.

More about Trisha Telep...

Books by Trisha Telep

The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire

Corsets & Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances

The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2: Love Bites

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“She prays to God, but He's silent. She searches for guidance, but the forest only moans.” — 21 people liked it

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