The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire in Q&A with Cassandra Clare

Feb 16, 2011 Allify rated it liked it

A mixed bag anthology with some gems that made it worth the read.

1. Falling to Ash - Moth receives a mission from her master and runs into complications. Kind of a weak start to the anthology, but it still manages a hot scene in between.

2. Shelter Island - Hannah is disturbed by a mysterious presence in her room, evidenced at first by a blinking light. This story felt very disjointed, like it had been rushed through. The characters felt very wooden. Meh.

3. Sword Point - Ava goes to a school that A mixed bag anthology with some gems that made it worth the read.

1. Falling to Ash - Moth receives a mission from her master and runs into complications. Kind of a weak start to the anthology, but it still manages a hot scene in between.

2. Shelter Island - Hannah is disturbed by a mysterious presence in her room, evidenced at first by a blinking light. This story felt very disjointed, like it had been rushed through. The characters felt very wooden. Meh.

3. Sword Point - Ava goes to a school that teaches fencing, among other things. This had many more characters and would've been nicer if it had been fleshed out more. Still, I appreciate the definite beginning, definite conflict, and decisive end (despite the end seeming kind of, uhm, simple. Why didn't they just do that from the beginning?!) I'm really big on the "definite" parts of the story because other stories in this anthology felt like they cheated me.

4. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - while not my favorite, this was one of the best stories. Great character development, surprising turns in such a short story, and the BEST ending. So well deserved. ;)

5. Undead is very hot right now - I'm a Sarah Rees Brennan fan but I didn't particularly like this story, apart from it being funny. So for a funny and awkward look at what it's like being different, this is a good one.

6. Kat - Kat's on the run with her vampire protector, and at last discovers what her secret power is. I've never heard of this author but based on other reviewers, seems like this is set in an existing universe? Still, the story stands on its own.

7. The Thirteenth Step - Lauren volunteers at a teen shelter and learns their dark secret. This is a well done, fully fleshed out story. Some people will find how it ends disturbing, but it was leading up to it the whole time, so I thought the ending fit. I never liked Johannes though, he was much too smug. I can't see why Lauren liked him other than for shallow reasons, like his hotness.

8. All Hallows - Eve rescues her boyfriend on Halloween. Tough female protagonist, distinct characters, but some of them seemed kind of weird. Waaay too many characters in this one, actually. Didn't care for this story.

9. Wet Teeth - Miles meets a girl in the park. Pretty tragic story. I didn't like it because well, I like happy endings!

10. Other Boys - Jen isn't allowed to date other boys, but one night she breaks the rules and sneaks out. What you expect from the story gets flipped around, so read this if you want a surprise! Otherwise, I did not like this story. I felt like there was an agenda to it, and I don't like books that have hidden agendas. In this case: disobey your parents coz they're totally wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. -_-

11. Passing - Jenn is a vampire hunter about to take her last test, but she has a secret that might be her undoing. THIS story is my favorite! I loved the romance and how I was pleasantly surprised by it. I learned that there is a full book for these characters, which I am putting on my To Read list. I will admit that some things went a little too fast - like a realization when the argument wasn't very convincing - but I will forgive that considering it's a short story.

12. Ambition - Unlikeable characters, all of them. I did not enjoy this story, especially since the non-end felt like such a cheat. ...more

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Apr 27, 2010 Len rated it really liked it

Consisting of action-packed, sexy, and haunting vampire stories, Eternal Kiss is an anthology of short stories of vampire lovers shouldn't miss. Because not all vampire stories are always about the romance. Always with a hint of danger and that temptation of immortality - in exchange of exploring your darker side.

What actually got me interested to read the story are the list of authors contributing in the anthology. Black, Brennan & Clare? Those three are enough to get me buying it! Just don't e ...more

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Aug 27, 2009 Elyzia rated it it was amazing

So far I really like this book, I don't usually like anthologies, but this one has been great, I am almost finished with the book, a few more stories to go.....

I finally finished it...not that it was a struggle to read, I have just been so busy.
I loved the book. So many good stories, also introduced me to some new authors.
Each story captivated me, and I could relate to the main characters. The authors were great, capturing your attention right away and holding it.
I would recommend this book to ...more

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