Review: Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love

Ed. by Trisha Telep

Publication date: August 3, 2010

My review:

Kiss Me Deadly features a who's who list of YA paranormal authors including Maggie Stiefvater, Rachel Vincent, Carrie Ryan, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Becca Fitzpatrick. Despite the title, not all of the tales feature romance.  Several of the authors wrote about characters from their other books or set the stories within those fictional worlds which is a treat for fans. All of the short stories in the anthology are new and never previously published.

I do not always enjoy short stories but there were some hidden gems in this anthology. My favorites by far were Hare Moon by Carrie Ryan, Many Happy Returns by Daniel Waters, and The Hounds of Ulster by Maggie Stiefvater. Hare Moon is set in Mary's village from The Forest of Hands and Teeth and the main character is a young woman we meet in that book. It gave some insightful backstory that illuminated the character's motivations later on and added dimension to her character which is why it is one of my favorites from the anthology. The Hounds of Ulster features two young and talented musicians who draw the dangerous attention of the Fae. Maggie Stiefvater has a gift for making even characters in a short story come alive. While I have never read Generation Dead or its sequels I was most impressed with Many Happy Returns. It was a surprisingly sad and moving story that makes me want to pick up the author's other books.

Other short stories that stood out were Fearless by Rachel Vincent and Familiar by Michelle Rowen. Fearless is set before the events of My Soul to Take and features Nash Hudson and a new character, Sabine, who will be a major character in My Soul to Steal and shake things up between Nash and Kayleigh. Based on what we see in the short story, I have a feeling that Sabine will be quite an interesting character. I haven't read any of Michelle Rowen's books but I thought Familiar was a fun and cute story about a handsome shapeshifter and a would-be witch who gets more than she bargained for when she brings home her new pet kitten.

There were a couple of stories that disappointed me such as Becca Fitzgerald's story about the horrid Chauncey in Dungeons of Langeais but my least favorite story, the one I couldn't finish, was Vermillion by Daniel Marks. I found it to be incredibly bizarre. Overall, however I thought Kiss Me Deadly was a good collection of YA paranormal romance short stories. Reading it was a bit like a cake tasting where you get  just enough to leave you wanting more of the story.

Thanks to Star Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.