The Eternal Kiss

The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire

by Trisha Telep (Editor) 

There’s an allure to vampire tales that have seduced readers for generations. From Bram Stoker to Stephenie Meyer and beyond, vampire stories are here to stay. For those fresh-blooded fans of paranormal romance or for those whose hunt and hunger never dies, these stories have what readers want!

This collection of original tales comes from some of the hottest, most popular, and best-selling YA writers, including: Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Tithe), Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty), Melissa De La Cruz (Blue Blood), Cassandra Clare (City of Bones), Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires), Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie (Wicked), Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof, Queen of Cool), Kelley Armstrong (Women of Otherworld), Maria V. Snyder, Sarah Rees Brennan, Lili St. Crow, Karen Mahoney, Dina James. They will make everyone a sucker for eternal kisses.

(summary from goodreads.com)

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This is not a book I would normally pick up to read, but look at the authors! This is quite the collection, so I had to give it a try. I'm not a huge vampire lover - in paranormal YA books, vampires can range from evil to good, from idiots to geniuses, from sexy to repulsive, and I'm fine with it all. I don't need vampires in a paranormal book and I certainly don't need them romanticized, which turned out to be a very good thing. This book does NOT romanticize vampires. Each story is different - some are funny, some are gruesome, some are heartbreaking. But in general they are pretty realistic as far as vampires go - no sparkly pretty boys in this book, and these are not happy stories.

My brother once commented that only a special kind of author can successfully pull off a short story. I think it would be hard to write a story that is full and interesting and not leave you completely hanging on for more. Some of these authors did it well, some not so well. Some of the short stories read more like chapters in a book, with too many questions left unanswered. So frustrating! But others were excellent - vignettes in well written world. It was fun to read some of my favorite authors writing about vampires, knowing that wasn't their normal fare, and some authors were engaging enough to make me want to read one of their full length novels. Not a book I would reread, but I don't regret reading it once.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. Violence: yes. Profanity: yes, of a PG-13 variety. Sex: depending on the story - some nothing, some teetering on the very edge of what is appropriate for YA.