Stroke of Midnight

Nightcreature #1.5 - Red Moon Rising

by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Contributor), Amanda Ashley (Contributor), L.A. Banks (Contributor)

In an unseen world that lurks in the shadows, they roam the night--feral, passionate, and dangerous. And when their world touches ours, a primitive desire takes hold, leaving mere mortals powerless in its wake...

Four of romance's most intriguing authors have come together to create a mesmerizing anthology--unforgettable tales of vampires, shapeshifters, and werewolves. At the heart of these deeply sensual tales are everyday people facing extraordinary events--men and women thrown together by fate and an irresistible desire. In this world, your eyes can betray you as myth becomes reality, curses are vanquished, and love is the only weapon that can stand in the face of evil. In this world, there is a moment when passion and forbidden desire collide at the... Stroke of Midnight.

Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Two enemy Were-Panthers discover that fate has destined they become lovers. Pandora must learn to trust Dante's foreign nature. But as she slowly succumbs to the truest passion she has ever known, dark forces have already set out to reclaim her...

NOTE: This story has been re-released in the Dark Bites anthology

Born of the Night by Amanda Ashley
When Lady Shanara Montiori is taken hostage, she learns that the rumors about her captor are true. Lord Reyes is afflicted with the dark curse of the werewolf. Still, Shanara can't fight the attraction they both feel. Will their love break the curse-or feed its powerful hold?

Make It Last Forever by L. A. Banks
An innocent mistake forces the beautiful Tara onto a mission to save herself from the dark fate that awaits her. Salvation comes in the form of a seductive biker with a heart of gold. But will surrendering to their ripe attraction unleash a danger even she cannot control?

Red Moon Rising by Lori Handeland
Novelist Maya Alexander's peace is shattered when she is stalked by a Navaho skinwalker who has taken on the guise of a wolf. Her only hope is the mysterious Clay Philips. In his arms, she seeks protection-but as the red moon rises, no one is safe from the danger that lurks nearby...

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Anthologies, Fantasy, Vampires, Urban Fantasy

368 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Official Author site
Official Nevermore site
Official Deadman's Cross site
Official Chronicles of Nick site
Official Silent Swans site
Official Hunter Legends site
Official Witch of Endor site
Official Lords of Avalon site
Official Facebook site

New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series. Join her and her Paladins online at MySherrilyn.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn

Fan Run International Sites:

Argentinian FB Page 

Fans de Sherrilyn Kenyon en Columbia 

Fans de Sherrilyn Kenyon en Chile 

Filipino Fans on FB 

France/French 

Italy/Italian 

Portugal 

Soy Fans de Sherrilyn Kenyon 

Dark-Hunter Spain 

Spanish

Reviews

[Sophia Triad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winder Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I just love stories with fated mates who both try to resist unsuccessfully the mating.

Pandora comes from the future. She was brought to the present by a group of were-panthers in order to be used by them. When she manages to escape, she cannot go back home. So, she visits a DragonCon science finction convection in order to find Acheron and ask for his help. She does not find Acheron straight away, but she discovers a very sexy were-panther and his three brothers.

Dante was invited at the convection by Acheron (naughty matchmaker Acheron) and the last thing he expected was to find his mate there. He simply does not want to get mated. But when he smells Pandora, he cannot escape the Fates.

This is a really good story. Acheron and Simi steal the show. 
And there is this science fiction convection full with sci-fi lovers, but also full with dark hunters, were hunters and true gods! 
And with this very hungry cute demon who likes to shop non-stop and who eats almost everything with barbeque sauce. 

[Monica **can't read fast enough** · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good background novella and it was nice to get Rider's back story before he came to be a guardian.

Where you can find me:
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Twitter: @monicaisreading
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Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon – Winter Born was another enjoyable story in the Dark-Hunter series. At only 75 pages, it is pretty short and very fast-paced. The whole story took place in just one day's time. As I've said many times before, I'm not usually a fan of instant hook-ups, but in this case it worked OK for me. That's because it all made sense within the context of the heroine being in heat and the way that the were-hunter mating rituals work. At least they did slow down a bit after the mating mark appeared and tried to get to know each other a little before making a lifetime commitment.

I liked Dante and Pandora as the hero and heroine. Dante is a Katagari panther who first appeared in Kiss of the Night as the owner of a nightclub that the hero and heroine of that book visit. He reminded me of Vane, the hero of Night Play, because he has a similar personality and similar views on his race. Dante is proud of his heritage but still disdains their violent mating practices and prefers to remain unmated, taking his pleasure with human females instead. When he catches the scent of a female panther in heat, his body and instincts won't allow him to ignore her. Pandora is an Arcadian panther from the future who was brought to the present against her will. She doesn't really have a pack anymore and was seeking Acheron's help to return home when Dante showed up at her door. Her own mating instincts wouldn't allow her to refuse him, but she's never heard anything good about the Katagaria, just that they are vicious beasts which makes her afraid of him. I loved how tender and gentle Dante was with Pandora which was another thing about him that reminded me of Vane.

The only carry-over Dark-Hunter characters who appear in this novella are Acheron and Simi. They have some amusing scenes as they peruse the Dragon-Con convention where the story is set, and as always, Ash is a scene-stealer. With the story being so brief, there wasn't a lot of time for relationship building, so I didn't feel the connection between Dante and Pandora quite as strongly as I would have liked. Otherwise though, I really enjoyed this novella, and look forward to continuing with the series. Winter Born falls between Night Play and Seize the Night in the ordering of the Dark-Hunter series. There are currently a total of 19 full-length novels in the Dark-Hunter series and a number of related novellas and graphic novels as well, with more still to come. A complete list of all the books and their recommended reading order can be found on Sherrilyn Kenyon's website. Star Rating: ****

Born of the Night by Amanda Ashley - Born of the Night was a sweet paranormal romance about a young woman who falls in love with her captor. He has been cursed since birth to run with the wolves every full moon. The story takes place in an unspecified time and place that had a medieval feel to it. This novella had some very tender moments such as when Reyes saved Shanara from a would-be attacker, and when Shanara cut short her escape to help Reyes who had been wounded. Still, in the end, I couldn't help feeling that there was a little something missing. Maybe it was simply the short length of the story which didn't allow a great deal of room for character or plot development and which led to a fairly hasty wedding and declarations of love, but I just didn't feel the connection between this couple 100%.

I did like both Reyes and Shanara. Reyes had kidnapped Shanara in retribution for her father's misdeeds and initially was threatening to kill her if her father didn't consent to taking her place in his dungeon, but he became attached to her very quickly. After that he was pretty gentle and never truly harmed Shanara in any way. In fact, he saved her on more than one occasion. I liked that Reyes was a rare celibate hero, and if one reads between the lines, it might even be implied that he's a virgin, although it was never stated in so many words. It's just that he seemed to have no interest in sleeping with any of the loose women who followed their camp. He had also vowed not to marry because of his curse, so he was extremely cautious about passing that on to any offspring he might have. Shanara was a very nice heroine, but not a pushover. She bravely stood up to Reyes in the beginning, and once she began to fall for him, she would do anything to save him. It was rather sad that being the youngest in her family and a daughter at that, she was basically ignored, and her father was even willing to sacrifice her to get revenge on Reyes.

Even though I didn't fully connect with the characters, Born of the Night was a reasonably satisfying read. I really enjoyed the gentle kisses and embraces that Reyes and Shanara shared, and since this novella has no explicit love scenes, it should be suitable for most romance readers. Overall, I enjoyed the story and look forward to checking out more of Amanda Ashley's works soon. Star Rating: ****

Make It Last Forever by L. A. Banks - Make It Last Forever is a side-story in the Vampire Huntress Legends series. I'm not terribly familiar with L. A. Banks' work, but based on this novella, I would say that the series leans more toward urban fantasy than paranormal romance for a couple of reasons. First, even though the setting is completely rural, it had a much harder, edgier feel to it than other paranormal romances I've read. Second, by the RWA's definition, romance should have an HEA, but this story had a very bittersweet ending which left me feeling rather sad and unsatisfied.

I really liked the heroine, Tara. She is very sweet and has an air of innocence in spite of being on her way to transitioning into a vampire. Tara is a brave soul with a lot of self-control, refusing to feed from Rider and turn him into a vampire too even when she is dying. She was the one bright spot in an otherwise rather dark tale, but I wish that a little more of her background had been explained.

Rider was not exactly the typical romantic hero. To say that he is a diamond in the rough would probably be an understatement. In the beginning, he is described as somewhat scruffy and unkempt, but I guess he cleaned up pretty well. He is also into the hard living biker lifestyle, doing a lot of drinking, smoking and womanizing. In these respects, Rider just wasn't the sexy hero that I would normally expect. However, Tara calls him “man with a good heart,” and that was definitely true. He protected Tara and treated her with tenderness. I loved when he went out and bought all sorts of feminine things for her even though he didn't really know what women needed, and it was great how he kept his promise to her in the end.

The scene where Rider washed Tara's hair was a lovely combination of sweetness and sensuousness. Even though the love scenes lacked that little extra bit of detail that would have really made them emotionally spark for me, they still conveyed a certain intensity of feeling. Somehow, in spite of the brevity of the story both in length and time-frame, the author managed to make me believe that Tara and Rider had fallen in love which often doesn't happen in a novella and was also why the ending was so depressing for me. I have to give the author kudos for writing an inter-racial romance between a white hero and a heroine who was half-Black/half-Indian. I've never read this combination in an I/R romance before, and it was set in the 1970's South which made it all the more interesting. Another thing that I loved about Rider is that he always saw Tara as a beautiful woman and not just the color of her skin.

Make It Last Forever falls in between books 3 and 4 of the Vampire Huntress Legends, and was meant to tell the back-story of Jake Rider, who apparently is a prominent character in the series, and how he became a Guardian. I normally don't read series books out of order, but after doing a bit of research on the Vampire Huntress Legends, I can't say that it jumped out at me as a series that I knew for certain I would enjoy. Since I had never read L. A. Banks before either, I decided to take this as an opportunity to test out her writing skills and the series. Make It Last Forever stood pretty well on it's own, but it might have been helpful if I had read the other books first to get a better understanding of the world building and maybe know a little more about Rider and the other characters whose names were dropped.

Overall, I found Ms. Banks' writing style to be pretty solid. The plot was tight for such a short story, and other than it being a little narrative-heavy in places, it certainly engaged my attention which is why I was able to give it 4 stars. Normally, when I give a new-to-me author this high of a rating, it is a given that I will read more of their work at some point, but with Ms. Banks, I will have to give it some thought first. I wouldn't necessarily be averse to reading another of her stories, but I'm just not entirely sure that the dark, edgy tone of her writing is quite to my taste, nor do I know if my tender heart can take another melancholy ending like this one had. However, I can't deny that there was something rather enthralling about her storytelling which at the moment, leaves me on the fence, so I may pick up another of her books in the future after some careful consideration. Star Rating: ****

Red Moon Rising by Lori Handeland - Red Moon Rising is only the second paranormal story I've read that centers around Native American skinwalker legends which made it very interesting to me. Oddly enough, neither the hero nor the heroine is a supernatural creature, but instead are hunting and running from them respectively, which made it a unique read to the paranormal romance world. In my opinion though, this novella leans more toward urban fantasy than paranormal romance anyway. The combination of the heroine's first-person narration and the edgier tone, along with some dry, black humor seems more consistent with urban fantasy, even though the story is almost entirely set in a rural area.

Both the hero and heroine seemed more cerebral than emotional to me which made it a little difficult to connect with them. Maya is a best-selling author of action-adventure novels who is experiencing writer's block. She moved to the wilds of northern Arizona for some peace and quiet and to try to get in touch with her muse, but finds herself being stalked by a skinwalker. Maya was never an adventure type girl until she finds herself virtually kidnapped by Clay and running for her life. I have to give her credit though for being brave and toughing it out. In the end, I guess she was a kick-butt heroine. Clay is part of a secret government organization that hunts down supernatural creatures. He's been searching for the skinwalker who is after Maya, and when Clay finally finds him, they nearly get blown to smithereens not once but twice. Clay is an uber-alpha hero who doesn't have much of a softer side to speak of. I suppose in his defense, he had lost everyone he ever cared about to the creatures of the night. As a result, he had dedicated his life to hunting them, yet even when he spoke of the past he seemed more like a hardened warrior who had shut down all of his emotions than the vulnerable man I would have preferred.

Red Moon Rising was my first read by Lori Handeland, and based on this experience, I'd say that her writing itself is pretty solid. From an action-adventure perspective, the story was good, and I generally enjoyed that part, however, the romance, in my opinion, was rather weak. The story takes place over a mere two days time, and I'm afraid I just couldn't buy the idea of Maya and Clay falling in love and wanting to make a lifetime commitment in that short of a time. I didn't really feel any chemistry between them, and the love scenes happened far too quickly for my taste. There was very little tension leading up to them, and to me, the scenes themselves felt like virtually emotionless casual sex. If I didn't know any better, I'd think a man had written them. Overall, Red Moon Rising was a decent novella. I just didn't connect with the story or characters in the way I would have liked.

Red Moon Rising is part of Lori Handeland's Nightcreature series. It falls between Blue Moon and Hunter's Moon, the first and second full-length novels of the series. Normally, I don't read series books out of order, but I can't say that I was particularly drawn to this series and decided to take a chance in order to finish the anthology. Perhaps reading the first book might have enhanced my knowledge of the mythology and the world that Ms. Handeland has created, but I never felt lost at any point. After doing some research, I don't believe there are any carryover characters either, so I think readers should be fine with treating it as a stand-alone story. However, there is one thread that is left hanging at the end of the novella, which I suspect may be resolved in future books and might tempt readers to continue with the series. Even with that in mind, I can't say that I'm any more eager to read on than I was before starting Red Moon Rising, but I might give the author another try at some point. Star Rating: ***1/2

[Exina]

I've read only Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
2 stars

Winter Born is the story of Dante Pontis and Pandora Kouti.

The story is too hasty, with too much animalistic qualities of the characters. It looks like Pandora is motivated by the amazing sex, and the safety Dante is willing to give to her. May the love come too one day. Hopefully.

There were some great moments though, thanks to Ash and Simi (again).

The tall “demon” handed the man a credit card. “It’s broke again, akri,” she said, pouting around a pair of vampirelike fangs. “The man downstairs done said that the Simi can’t charge nothing else until I’m not over my limit no more. I don’t know what that means, but I don’t like it. Fix it, akri, or else I might eat him. The Simi gots needs and I needs my plastic to work.”
The man laughed as he took it from her and pulled out his wallet. He handed her three more credit cards.

Originally posted on my blog.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Liked all the short stories from the authors. All were very good. Really liked the one by Sherrilyn Kenyon though. That's the reason why I got the book for the Dark Hunter Universe short story. The other stories were also good as well.

Can't wait to read more stories from the authors!!!!!

[Ivanne Hoepelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí esta novela en menos de tres horas !!!!! Y estaba bastante buena !!! Me gustó 😂😂😂😂 no es el final pero estoy tierna 😻😻💕💕

[Fangirl Musings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Read: November 4th, 2013
Read: May 3rd, 2010
Read: March 2007
Read: April 2005
Read: February 1st, 2004

Short, simple, and sweet! Three adjectives that are entirely apropos for this Panther tale by Sherrilyn Kenyon! While the book is a collection of short stories, I am guilty of having only read Winter Born. Shocking, I know, but considering the fact that I bought this exclusively for Sherri's stories, I figure; go figure. Read all the other short stories in this collection you say? Pfft.



(Hehe.) One day, perhaps, but I'm happy because THIS STORY WINS! Winter Born, while short because, duh, short story, it is so damn good! Dante and Pandora are really compelling and interesting characters, and though their time on page is too little (I want a full-length story, damn it!) I loved them nonetheless. And, my jokingly complaining aside, I found their story did work epic-good for a short format. The plot is entirely emotionally driven, with only one fight scene that cinches the love story between our two leads.



It was basically that! But to a very controlled, well managed degree. The tension was short but understandable, what with Pandora's and Dante's personal hang-ups about their relationship, as well as the background tension noted by our heroine's experiences, but overall it's a quick read with really likable characters. If you don't complete the reading of this nice little fated-to-be-mated story feeling book-happy, well, then...



:)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Sherrilyn Kenyon's short stories. They are very predictable but in a good way...every one of them has a great happy ending. "Winter Born" was about 2 were-panthers who are mated, but pandora was stolen from the future, and Dante (with help from Acheron-woot!) saved her and pounded on the pack that tried to enslave her. a quick read and SK's usual sense of humor. 5 Stars

Amanda Ashley's "Born of the Night" was good, sweet really. He's a cursed lord who takes revenge on her family for slaughtering his father in his wolf-form...a form cursed upon his family by a witch from her family. she's been abducted and forced into the dungeon, but he falls for her and decides to marry her. shanara's father comes and the witch lifts the curse, and bam! happily ever after. 4 stars

LA Banks' story "Make it Last Forever" was not my taste at all. In 1979 a young half black/half Cherokee girl gets infected by a vampire, takes a bus to New Mexico to find her Cherokee grandma, and meets her hero. He helps her through her transition and her death, and then she can apparantly only see him once a year from then on. 1 star

"Red Moon Rising" by Lori Handeland is about a writer who is roughing it in the AZ desert when she is attacked and stalked by a Navajo skin walker (any Mercy Thompson fans know). Clay Philips rescues her and they live in hiding happily ever after...I think it's a part of a series. 3 stars

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

STROKE OF MIDNIGHT 4.7 out of 5 STARS

"Winter Born" by Sherrilyn Kenyon - 5 Stars
This is not the first time I have read Kenyon's "Winter Born" and I can say with certainty that Pandora is not my favorite female in this series. I hate that she always assumes the worst about Dante because he is Katagaria and she's Arcadian. Even after they sleep together, and he's totally sweet with her, she judges him. Then she blames him for the mating mark, which he had no choice over. And it really irks me when she tells him he could be a little less negative about it when she's been a bitch to him this whole time! Yet, despite all that, I still like her. Am I demented or what?

Now, Dante I love. He's so adorable and I love how he takes care of those he loves, no matter the expense towards his personal happiness. He is so strong and fierce when he fights that large group of panthers all by himself before calling for Romeo. That story about what happened to him when he was little still makes me teary-eyed every time I read it. Also, I love when he goes to the pack Pandora was given to and scares them before taking all the females that the pack had forced to stay with them.

I love Romeo, Mike, and Leo. I wish Mike and Leo would get their own stories. Also, I love that Acheron and Simi make a couple appearances.

"Born of the Night" by Amanda Ashley - 5 Stars
This story had an interesting take on werewolves. I didn't even mind the time period. Usually I don't like paranormals that take place in the past but I liked this one; it made the circumstances seem more authentic to me.

I thought Reyes was sexy as hell. And I felt bad for the poor guy because he wasn't sleeping with anyone, let alone Shahara, because of the curse.

I liked Shahara's character and I loved when she helped Reyes when he was hurt.

I loved that they got married and fell in love. Also that love broke Reyes' curse. Although, it kinda sucked that the curse was broken because now he can't change into a sexy werewolf anymore.

"Make It Last Forever" by L.A. Banks - 4 Stars
I loved Jake and I loved the fact that he was a biker; that was pretty sexy to me, but also that he was a tenderhearted biker. He actually cared about Tara and I was glad that he didn't freak out too much when she finally told him about herself.

I really liked Tara so I hated when she turned completely. I was teary-eyed and she "died".

I didn't like hte ending too much. I liked that they still had each other but it wasn't a real HEA to me since they weren't able to be totally together.

Oh, and that sex marathon...fan-freaking-tastic. And when he washed her hair? Oh man, erotic.

"Red Moon Rising" by Lori Handeland - 5 Stars
I love how Maya and Clay met: he grabs her when she's naked and "kidnaps" her.

Clay was an interesting character but I felt he was somewhat underdeveloped. I felt he would have been more developed in a full length novel.

I love how sarcastic Maya was.

The Skinwalker thing was odd but interesting. I wish this story was a full-length story so that it could have been longer and more developed.

[Saleema Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stroke of Midnight was a very interesting and good book. It held my attention through the whole book. This book has four different authors, with four wonderful stories about the supernatural worlds.

The first story was by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This story was called Winter Born. It was about Were-Panthers. The way she put this together it was very good and creative. It had drama, romance, action, violence everything she hit everything. This is my first time reading this authors book and by this it makes me want to pick up another one.

Amanda Ashley was another author in this with her story Born of the Night. This a very good story too. It took place back in the day, about a lord named Reyes who has a curse that turns him into a wolf when there's a full moon out. He fell in love with the enemies daughter it was a love-hate thing but it was very well put together. I like this book a lot.

L.A. Banks with Make it Last Forever. Oh man this is everything put together in one. I loved it. It was about vampires and how Rider was trying to save his love Tara from becoming a full vampire. It was so romantic, dangerous, everything. She wrote with story with care. Had everything down right. She did a very good job, I really enjoyed this story.

Last but not least Lori Handeland with Red Moon Rising. This story talked about Skinwalkers. This had everything in it to romance, drama, violence. This story was to me like a hero story when the man saves the woman in trouble and fall madly in love. It was very beautiful. I like this story a lot one of my favorites from the book. She really did well. I hope all her other books are like this because I would read them.

Overall I loved all the stories in this book. They all had supernatural things in it. But the way they put them together really impressed me the most because sometimes book like this don't do so well, because there not put together very well, but these lady's held theirs and in the end their stories were wonderful, very good. I liked it.

[~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm only giving this book 3 stars based on the 1st & 2nd story alone. "Winter Born" Dante and Pandora's story of course was short, but it was detailed enough to keep my interest. Had alot of funny moments in my opinion, and the love scenes were GREAT! But I felt the chemistry between them and it was believable. So if you want a quick interesting read this story is for you.

"Born Of Night"
was a pretty good one as well. Good romance novella. Lord Reyes I really like his character. But that was pretty much it.

"Make it Last Forever"

NO.. This one Sucked.. not even 1* for this one. This one was the most difficult to get through. Half the time it was hard to follow as far as who was saying what, and what the heck was actually going on. Very poorly written. I found myself saying "what?" constantly while reading this one. Of all the short stories they could have put in this book, why this one was chosen I have no idea.

"Red Moon Rising"
I stopped reading after the 3rd page in chapter 5 cuz I just could not take it anymore. It was much better than "make it last forever" as far as understanding what was going on, but it just wasn't interesting enough for me so I stopped. So if you are a big Kenyon and Ashley fan then I recommend this one.

[Selenity Jade (Coffee Addicts Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished it, but didn't really like it. Plot holes, illogical reasonings, lack of satisfying conflict resolution, etc led me to be annoyed through most of the story.

Merged review:

The best story of this collection was Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The worst was Amanda Ashley’s contribution. The other two were very good as well.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read the Winter Born story, I had it as an e-read.Loved it as expected. there was a couple of Ash scenes that I read loved. Pandora and Dante's story was really sweet and I enjoyed it.

[Vanessa theJeepDiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am gonna break down my rating of the stories.
Winter Born 4 stars
Born of the Night 4 stars
Make it Last Forever 1 star
Red Moon Rising 3 stars

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for the Sherrilyn Kenyon story

A lovely tale of two shifters avoiding their mates yet finding each other anyway

[Rachael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of these anthologies. I prefer the slower burn of a full novel or a series. But I pull them out occasionally in wave of nostalgia. Remember being a kid and sneaking a romance novel into the cart and thinking you pulled a fast one on your parent? Ha.

Winter Born is ok. Their relationship isn't based on a whole lot. I get the feeling she could have waited around a bit longer and found someone just as handsome to marry, but whatever.

Born of the Night- skipped. Basic boring abduction turned romance. He didn't even wait until the second time he tackled her to spring a boner. Hard pass.

Make It Last Forever is my real issue. L.A. Banks almost snagged a fan out of me. I fell in love with Tara as quickly as Rider did. She has the mystical side of a Seer with gentle words and kind eyes. Too bad she was fridged for Rider's destiny. Hey female writers, how about we stop pulling this sh**?

Sorry Red Moon Rising. You get the short end of the stick for being at the end. I'm throwing this book out and not reading you.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon *****
Loved it! For me, everything that happened was logical and expected. I enjoy that in the book :)

Born of the Night by Amanda Ashley ****
The first part was great and I thought this would be the second 5* story but it went downhill. The hero knows his enemy, the heroine knows her father and for some mysterious reason, they both expect him to act unlike himself. Of course, the villain of the story doesn't and just dumb luck saves the day (or rather some miraculous circumstances created by the author :)))) )

Make It Last Forever by L. A. Banks**
I didn't get this one at all. Something happens before this story. Then there are glimpses of the story. Then again something happens. She dies. But she's not dead. He's turned into a vampire (or not). And then he isn't one. Then a huge jump into the future.

Red Moon Rising by Lori Handeland****
At least this one was logical again :) Enjoyed it. But there was no chemistry between H and h in my opinion. But it was not necessary for the storyline.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this sensual, shapeshifting paranormal romance collection. There was just something about it that was completely impossible to put down. That got my heart pumping. That made me want to run to the nearest book shop and buy all the books. And spend days on end just reading. There was just something that made me fall head over heels with this collection.

The stroke of midnight is an eerie point, a tweening time when you’re kind of between times. The four novellas in this collection perfectly reflected that eerie feeling you get when you happen to be conscious at midnight. Not that the things that begin at midnight in this collection are necessarily good… they’re actually kind of concerning and dark. A little worrying. But still… they’re kind of mystical and great.

This entire collection is fantastic. If you like paranormal romance and things that go bump in the night… it’s the collection that you’re going to want to add to your shelves. It’s definitely one that I’m going to want to read again and again.

For individual reviews, head to: https://earthandskye.org/stroke-of-mi...

[Guisela Barría · Rating 3 out of 5]

En este libro conocemos a Pandora Kouti, una arcadia pantera quien fue robada desde el futuro para convertirse en esclava de una manada katagaria que tiene un trato con su propia manada y a Dante Ponti un katagario pantera, el mayor de una camada de 8.
Cuando una mujer pantera cumple 24 llega a su madurez completa y entra en celo, su cuerpo sucumbe ante los encantos de algún hombre pantera a diferencia de las katagarias quienes son pura fiereza salvaje, Pandora se ve encantada con Dante y se convierten en pareja dado que las moiras los "emparejan"
Lo que no me gusta es el desarrollo apresurado del final de la historia, siento que la autora se quedó sin ideas y no supo como darle un buen término, y recurrió al simple "Te amo, nunca volveré a dejarte". Típico cliché.

[Angie Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only read the LA Banks story as a long time fan of the vampire huntress series. I held off reading this back story for well over a decade, as my heart already knew it couldn't EVER be ready for the angst in the storyline, and I was right. Rider and Tara's story is what good romance stories aim for, and suspense series keeps you engaged in. These two are the side characters you live for and its with a sad smile, that the passing of Ms Banks means no extraordinary storylines from the gruff Kentucky brawler and his boho beauty. Still weeping and will be re reading the series this year for sure.

[Jeanie's Kindle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bleach! Hated it from beginning to end! Let’s read about a older virgin high school senior whose father decides to remarry a former starlet. In the process he sells his daughter to her new step brother as a sex toy! A they all live happily ever after! Too much sex, too little plot. Took about 10 minutes to dream this one up.

[Jenni Mesa-Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story was ok, but so unbelievable. The second story was not entertaining at all. The third story was really good and introduced me to L. A. Banks. I will definitely try another one of her books. The fourth story was awesome, like most of Lori Handeland's stories usually are. I loved that Edward Mandenaur made an appearance in a short story, being his usual grouchy self.

[Eurus · Rating 3 out of 5]

La trama es interesante pero es bastante corto, siento que pudo tener más desarrollo tanto la historia como los personajes.

Son entretenidos además la actitud de Pandora es muy linda y podría tener más desarrollo su personaje además de que Dante es lindo y encantador.

Es muy corto pero interesante, bueno para pasar el rato y leer algo diferente.

[Polly Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Releyendo toda la saga camino al libro de Simi
La historia de los Were Hunter me parece bastante interesante ,especialmente cuando trata de personajes que aparecen en el libro de Wulf
El cameo de los dioses al final no lo recordaba y no estoy segura si esos dioses son creación de SK o de alguna otr autora

[Carmen Davalos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sexy!

[Sandy Carmichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this adventure into paranormal romance.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four beautiful tales of romance, four very accomplished authors, four ordinary (?) people become involved with the supernatural. Loved each of the stories.

[Libary of Aj Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only like Sherrilyn kenyon part and Amanda Ashley so that's it.

[Myra Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread. Again I found a good read in this book. I would not mind more stories in this series.

[H. A reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three stories were quite good, the last one dumb as hell with forced romance.