Kiss Me Deadly anthology

Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love

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Source: Gifted by Tiff from Mostly YA Lit (thank you! <3)
Publisher: Running Press Teens
Format: Paperback, 430 pages
Release Date: August 3, 2010

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, fairies, unicorns, vampires, and demons in tales from today's biggest writers of the paranormal persuasion.

I've written down a couple of notes on each story so here's a snapshot of my thoughts.

The Assassin's Apprentice by Michelle Zink

This story was a bit of a disappointing start to the anthology for me. The aspect of the main character Rose dealing with the loss of her family was probably my favourite one but I didn't care much at all for the romance. Granted, this IS a short story but the sudden love story didn't hold my attention. I did think the ending was sweet though, it's a nice conclusion. Overall, it was an okay story.

Errant by Diana Peterfreund

I loved this story! The dual POVs worked very well... It was interesting to see the pre-conceived notions that both girls started off with evolve as the story progressed. All of the characters were well-developed and I liked the relationships presented, especially between the girls and with the unicorn. I'm so much more interested in reading the Killer Unicorn books now; the mythology was awesome.

The Spirit Jar by Karen Mahoney

This story was a lot of fun... spooky and dramatic! I also really liked the romantic aspect. It was executed very well and it felt compelling and believable to me. A lot of this had to do with the characters of Moth and Adam who were great but also the mythology. I wouldn't mind reading more on this story! And woohoo, now I'll be able to!

Lost by Justine Musk

This story had a very interesting concept! I just wish it was a bit longer so that I could have seen certain elements further explored. There was a cool twist (by 'twist' I mean total point of the story that I msised) and it was a nice 'oooh!' moment. Overall, well-written.

The Spy Who Never Grew Up by Sarah Rees Brennan

SRB can do no wrong. This was an absolutely delightful twist on Peter Pan. It was just so fun and imaginative! I loved the humour that was always present in the story and the character of Peter Pan was a great way to channel it. The story features brilliant pacing and storytelling and is just heaps and heaps of fun.

Dungeons of Langeais by Becca Fitzpatrick

Pretty creepy! No really. It freaked me the heck out. This wasn't helped by the fact that I just re-watched that Criminal Minds episode with the rats in the basement and then there were RATS IN THE BASEMENT. I was also kind of confused about the characters as I tried to relate it back to Hush, Hush (my memory is fuzzy). But then I went online and felt pretty stupid since it's pretty obvious, haha. All in all though, I wasn't really feeling this story.

Behind the Red Door by Caitlin Kittredge

To tell you the truth, I was hating this story when I started off. It talks about Southern kids drinking slushies with vodka and I was like yawn yawn yawn. But then... bam. BAM. Easily the most freaky story in the anthology. I'm not sure how much I 'liked' it but it was definitely a good and scary ghost tale.

Hare Moon by Carrie Ryan

This is a nice backstory to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. If you ever felt curious about Sister Tabitha and her life before the events of the novel, this is the story for you! The emotions came through loud and clear and I really enjoyed (appreciated?) the conflicting feelings that Tabitha felt. One thing though... So okay, I've read Carrie Ryan's series and her short story in the Enthralled anthology and while I've really liked them all, I want to read something BESIDES ZOMBIES now.

Familiar by Michelle Rowen

Aww, I loved this story! It was so adorable and reading it gave me the biggest smile. I was impressed with the character development for a short story especially since it manages to remain relatively light-hearted. I mean really though... witches!! How could I not love this? So fun. (And whaaat? Michelle Rowen is Morgan Rhodes? I so didn't know this!)

Fearless by Rachel Vincent

I must read the Soul Screamers series. This was a great story and I thought the writing was excellent. I really enjoyed the romance between Sabine and Nash and just the overall feel of the story. This is my second short story from Rachel Vincent and it's a huge push to actually read a full novel (especially since I have 3 sitting on my shelf...).

Vermillion by Daniel Marks

I wanted to like this story but I just found it long and confusing to tell the truth. I thought a couple times about DNFing it because it just couldn't hold my attention. There was this rivalry (intense rivalry!) between characters that had just met and it just seemed so random to me, I couldn't understand or appreciate it.

The Hounds of Ulster by Maggie Stiefvater

I loved this one! I just read Lament about a month ago and it was great to jump back into the faerie world. It had that same whimsical feel and was as well-written as I hoped it would be. There was a twist in this one that had me re-reading about five times to make sure I'd gotten it right and I loved that.

Many Happy Returns by Daniel Waters

Oh, this story was so sad. The author does a nice job of showing different reactions that a lot of characters had to the same event so kudos for that. It was written well enough but I just don't think it was my kind of story. I liked it but didn't love it.

Conclusion? I need to read more anthologies!

4 Golden Crowns!

Cover Comments: Ehhh, it's alright. I like the font!