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Wings in the Night #3.5
Strangers in the Night
These three spooky love stories include:
Anne Stuart's Dark Journey--Cloaked in the form of a stranger, he lived a lie with the one woman he couldn't deny himself.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Catching Dreams--He existed only in her dreams, until she found him in the flesh, and herself in a nightmare.
And Maggie Shayne's Beyond Twilight--He was a vengeful vampire hunter--fated for a forbidden love to last an eternity. Part of the Wings in the Night series.
Anne Stuart's Dark Journey--Cloaked in the form of a stranger, he lived a lie with the one woman he couldn't deny himself.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Catching Dreams--He existed only in her dreams, until she found him in the flesh, and herself in a nightmare.
And Maggie Shayne's Beyond Twilight--He was a vengeful vampire hunter--fated for a forbidden love to last an eternity. Part of the Wings in the Night series.
377 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1995
3 people are currently reading
573 people want to read
About the author
Anne Stuart
206 books2,062 followersAnne Stuart is a grandmaster of the genre, winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of more than thirty-five years in the romance business, and still just keeps getting better.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 1, 2023
Now I can finally move on in the Maggie Shayne's Wing's of the Night/Immortals series (it's only been forever)
July 3, 2017
Contains Book 4 "Beyond Twilight" in Ms. Shayne's Wings in the Night vampire series. Contains the story of Cuyler Jade and Stephen "Ramsey" Bachman. This is where the original short story is found, it was later re-issued with "Born in Twilight" in At Twilight.
"Beyond Twilight" book 4 in the series. 5 stars. It is a short story that was (when first published) part of an anthology. This story is about Cuyler Jade (vampire) and Stephen "Ramsey" Bachman (a Chosen). We met Ramsey from Twilight Illusions he is a DPI agent. Damien makes an appearance at the end of this story. I do like the short story very much. Short and oh so sweet!
"Beyond Twilight" book 4 in the series. 5 stars. It is a short story that was (when first published) part of an anthology. This story is about Cuyler Jade (vampire) and Stephen "Ramsey" Bachman (a Chosen). We met Ramsey from Twilight Illusions he is a DPI agent. Damien makes an appearance at the end of this story. I do like the short story very much. Short and oh so sweet!
August 19, 2021
I've been interested in reading more short stories lately so I picked this up on a whim from a used book store, and overall, it did not disappoint. It was a lot of fun. Here are my thoughts on each story in the collection.
Dark Journey by Anne Stuart
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was my favorite in the collection. Death in human form longs to end his eternal loneliness and finally experience the passion he longs for with a terminally-ill woman he watches over. Laura is instantly drawn to him in ways she can't explain. All she knows is that she finds herself able to do things in his company that her heart condition would normally prevent her from doing.
I loved this play on the relationship between life and death, dark and light, and the sacrifices that the two ultimately make were perfection. The added drama with Laura's family was over the top at times, and I loved it. It was like the best kind of soap opera. The twist of it added a lot to the development of the main characters and made the ending so much sweeter.
Chasing Dreams by Chelsea Quinn Yarbo
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This was my least favorite of the three and a bit of a slog to get through. Recently out of an abusive relationship, our main character Dana, makes a wish on a wooden effigy for the perfect man and begins having sensual dreams of just that. However after she finds out that the man she's dreaming of is real and is having dreams of his own about her, it becomes apparent that this effigy might not have their best intentions in mind.
This one was okay. It was the longest and you could really tell. I flew through the other two stories but this one dragged so bad. This story just wasn't for me. It was interesting, but by the end, it became more of a suspenseful mystery than romance. The main character and her love interest barely interact. The majority of the story deals with Dana's job, the effects of the wish, and how their dreams turn from delicious fantasies to unsettling nightmares. However, the author never describes what any of these dreams entailed, so where is the romance aspect? I was a little bored by the end and glad it ended.
Beyond Twilight by Maggie Shayne
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This was so good but didn't quite win the grand prize. This was your classic tale of forbidden love with an enemies-to-lovers trope featuring a vampire and the man who hunts her. Although this wasn't exactly what I pictured when I thought of vampires. The author puts a different spin on it: vampires have an antigen in their blood that makes them different from humans and vampire hunters are part of a government agency that seeks them out to do experiments on them. Vampires are more human in this world, and the tendency to sleep during the day and the need for blood to survive were never really a focus for the main character Cuyler.
This story is the most well thought out in plot and characters. Although I wish it didn't have the magical dream element because it came a little too close to the previous entry, but it was also done so much better so I can't complain too much. I just like variety. This is also part of Maggie Shayne's Wings in the Night series that I was not aware of prior to reading this, but it makes sense with how well established the world felt. After a quick glance at her backlog, there are some characters seen and mentioned that are relevant to her other books so I love how that is all connected and intend to look into the rest of the series.
Dark Journey by Anne Stuart
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was my favorite in the collection. Death in human form longs to end his eternal loneliness and finally experience the passion he longs for with a terminally-ill woman he watches over. Laura is instantly drawn to him in ways she can't explain. All she knows is that she finds herself able to do things in his company that her heart condition would normally prevent her from doing.
I loved this play on the relationship between life and death, dark and light, and the sacrifices that the two ultimately make were perfection. The added drama with Laura's family was over the top at times, and I loved it. It was like the best kind of soap opera. The twist of it added a lot to the development of the main characters and made the ending so much sweeter.
Chasing Dreams by Chelsea Quinn Yarbo
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This was my least favorite of the three and a bit of a slog to get through. Recently out of an abusive relationship, our main character Dana, makes a wish on a wooden effigy for the perfect man and begins having sensual dreams of just that. However after she finds out that the man she's dreaming of is real and is having dreams of his own about her, it becomes apparent that this effigy might not have their best intentions in mind.
This one was okay. It was the longest and you could really tell. I flew through the other two stories but this one dragged so bad. This story just wasn't for me. It was interesting, but by the end, it became more of a suspenseful mystery than romance. The main character and her love interest barely interact. The majority of the story deals with Dana's job, the effects of the wish, and how their dreams turn from delicious fantasies to unsettling nightmares. However, the author never describes what any of these dreams entailed, so where is the romance aspect? I was a little bored by the end and glad it ended.
Beyond Twilight by Maggie Shayne
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This was so good but didn't quite win the grand prize. This was your classic tale of forbidden love with an enemies-to-lovers trope featuring a vampire and the man who hunts her. Although this wasn't exactly what I pictured when I thought of vampires. The author puts a different spin on it: vampires have an antigen in their blood that makes them different from humans and vampire hunters are part of a government agency that seeks them out to do experiments on them. Vampires are more human in this world, and the tendency to sleep during the day and the need for blood to survive were never really a focus for the main character Cuyler.
This story is the most well thought out in plot and characters. Although I wish it didn't have the magical dream element because it came a little too close to the previous entry, but it was also done so much better so I can't complain too much. I just like variety. This is also part of Maggie Shayne's Wings in the Night series that I was not aware of prior to reading this, but it makes sense with how well established the world felt. After a quick glance at her backlog, there are some characters seen and mentioned that are relevant to her other books so I love how that is all connected and intend to look into the rest of the series.
August 6, 2016
**Anne Stuart's story**
I was in the mood to read something by Anne Stuart and the short story, DARK JOURNEY, fulfilled my needs. It could have easily been renamed 'Meet Joe Black With Sunglasses'. I was curious to see if this story came out before the movie but apparently the 1998 film was loosely based on 'Death Takes A Holiday' issued in 1934.
'Death' comes to visit Laura while he is on a two-day reprieve from his duties. The entity comes in the human form of Alex Monmort. He had been drawn to this young woman since she was five years old. Diagnosed with a faulty heart, Laura always knew every day was special and could be her last. Alex visited her over the years but it was never her time. Her innocence and sweetness showed him a side of humanity that he hadn't witnessed in hundreds of years. He has returned once again; her father is dying now.
Alex needs her. And wants her. It has been a compulsion but not something he entirely understands.
Laura is surrounded by family at her father's gloomy estate. They were a group of odd ducks with secrets of their own. And one is a murderer and it isn't Alex. Like most stories in an anthology, it suffers from the main characters' lack of development but I knew that would happen before I started reading. At 108 pages, this romantic mystery can easily be read in a short time.
I was in the mood to read something by Anne Stuart and the short story, DARK JOURNEY, fulfilled my needs. It could have easily been renamed 'Meet Joe Black With Sunglasses'. I was curious to see if this story came out before the movie but apparently the 1998 film was loosely based on 'Death Takes A Holiday' issued in 1934.
'Death' comes to visit Laura while he is on a two-day reprieve from his duties. The entity comes in the human form of Alex Monmort. He had been drawn to this young woman since she was five years old. Diagnosed with a faulty heart, Laura always knew every day was special and could be her last. Alex visited her over the years but it was never her time. Her innocence and sweetness showed him a side of humanity that he hadn't witnessed in hundreds of years. He has returned once again; her father is dying now.
Alex needs her. And wants her. It has been a compulsion but not something he entirely understands.
Laura is surrounded by family at her father's gloomy estate. They were a group of odd ducks with secrets of their own. And one is a murderer and it isn't Alex. Like most stories in an anthology, it suffers from the main characters' lack of development but I knew that would happen before I started reading. At 108 pages, this romantic mystery can easily be read in a short time.
July 2, 2024
3 stories:
Anne Stuart writes about falling in love with Death. Cool concept. Main character was a little lacking in development, but it was a short story. Clever and unique idea. Not sure really what the point of having a murderous step brother was, but I guess it kept things exciting.
Chelsea Quinn Yarboro writes about a sldesigner, a meddling art dealer, and an artist from Polynesian who are caught up in with an evil dream spirit.
While interesting concepts, the story dragged. We hear about Dreams, but no details or the good or the bad. The H/h never really have time to develop a real relationship, and the side characters dominate the story. Hero doesn't really have much dimension to him other than to represent her ideal man.
This story was a bit of a miss for me.
Maggie Shayne: An interesting twist on a vampire dynamic. More dreaming of each other vs. A real relationship, but H/h had good chemistry, banter, and reasons for interacting together. Suspenseful and fun, I liked the world that was created and believed in these two and their HEA.
Anne Stuart writes about falling in love with Death. Cool concept. Main character was a little lacking in development, but it was a short story. Clever and unique idea. Not sure really what the point of having a murderous step brother was, but I guess it kept things exciting.
Chelsea Quinn Yarboro writes about a sldesigner, a meddling art dealer, and an artist from Polynesian who are caught up in with an evil dream spirit.
While interesting concepts, the story dragged. We hear about Dreams, but no details or the good or the bad. The H/h never really have time to develop a real relationship, and the side characters dominate the story. Hero doesn't really have much dimension to him other than to represent her ideal man.
This story was a bit of a miss for me.
Maggie Shayne: An interesting twist on a vampire dynamic. More dreaming of each other vs. A real relationship, but H/h had good chemistry, banter, and reasons for interacting together. Suspenseful and fun, I liked the world that was created and believed in these two and their HEA.
January 11, 2022
This was not at all what I was expecting, having picked it up because of Anne Stuart I was probably expecting historical romance or 'contemporary'. This was in fact a collection of paranormal romances, I have read a few in my time so I gave these three a shot but I admittedly struggled.
I read the first in full, skimmed through the second and gave up with the third. They were all a bit clichéd and wishy washy.
I read the first in full, skimmed through the second and gave up with the third. They were all a bit clichéd and wishy washy.
June 12, 2017
Quick read with offerings that make me want to read more of these authors - I always love an anthology!
January 15, 2010
I only really cared for the Anne Stuart story: it was like Meeting Joe Black -- the hero was Death. Yes, a traditionally dark Stuart!
May 17, 2013
I absolutely loved both Maggie Shayne's and Anne Stuart's stories.
August 28, 2015
Good read. Surprising characters. Interesting plot.
October 5, 2013
Beyond Twilight by Maggie Shayne - 3.25 stars
Currently reading
March 27, 2019Beyound Twilight by Maggie Shayne
A very short love story between Cuyler Jade and Stephen "Ramsey" Bachman. Written well, but too short for me. ****
A very short love story between Cuyler Jade and Stephen "Ramsey" Bachman. Written well, but too short for me. ****
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews