The eternal kiss. Vampire tales of blood and desire. Ed. by Trisha Telep

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Random House, 2009. ISBN 9781864719413.
(Age 14+) Thirteen vampire stories by some of the leading authors in this genre are sure to be a crowd pleaser with those who enjoy their stories with blood and fangs.
Certainly not of the girl falls in love with a vampire variety, this collection of short stories contains some very well written and quite compulsive stories by authors like Cassandra Clare, Kelley Armstrong, Holly Black, Cecil Castellucci and Rachel Caine. One tale that stood out for me was Cassandra Clare's Other boys, which has a terrifying twist when Jennifer decides that she will go out the boy who says he is a vampire. Wet teeth, the short story by Cecil Castellucci, leaves a very nasty aftertaste as does All Hallows by Rachel Caine.
For readers who are looking for more authors in the vampire genre, these short stories will introduce them to many more authors that they may like to try. An author biography section at the back of the book contains a brief introduction to each of the authors and a description of some of their books. I was already a fan of Holly Black and Cassandra Clare but I have decided to try other books by Melissa de la Cruz whose story Shelter Island about Dylan Ward inspired me to get one of her Blue Blood series. The thirteenth step by Libba Bray will thrill readers and totally surprise them with an unexpected ending. Her book, A great and terrible beauty, has been on my list to find for some time and I will certainly read it now after such a compelling short story.
Pat Pledger

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