Dead After Dark by Sherrilyn Kenyon, J.R. Ward, Susan Squires and Dianna Love

This is an anthology of paranormal Romance, based around Vampires and other Creatures of the Night.

"Shadow of the Moon" is a a WereHunter story from Sherrilyn Kenyon. Fury Kattalakis is a Katagaria Were-Hunter raised among the Arcadians- who then nearly killed him when he turned out to be Katagarian. When he was young, his best friend was Angelia, and she promised him that they would always be friends- until he changed at the age of 12.

Since then, her clan has cast down scorn on her for her former relationship with Fury. So, she's finally decided to do something about it-track him down and kill him herself to get back her honor. But when she sees the man she once loved after so long, can she bring herself to do the deed and kill him? Or will she find out that her prejudices might not have any basis in reality after all?

"The Story of Son" by J.R. Ward follows Claire Stroughton, a lawyer whose father was the family lawyer for a rich woman named Miss Leeds. Now that her father is dead and Miss Leeds is dying, Claire is the one who handles the tasks of redoing her will- often, it seems, on a monthly basis. But when one last trip turns into Claire being abducted to serve as a blood source for Miss Leeds' offspring, known only as "Son", Claire finds much more than she bargained for at the Leeds estate.

Perhaps she should feel panicked by being turned into a meal for a vampire, but Claire finds herself growing angry at the way "Son" is being and has been treated all his life- not even being given a name. But when Miss Leeds dies and the man she calls Michael has been abandoned by those who kept him imprisoned all his life, can she recover her memories of her time within and save him from being abandoned all over again?

"Beyond the Night" by Susan Squires tells the story of Drew Carlowe, a man who has lived his entire adult life to come back to and marry the daughter of a man he was once a horse-boy to. When he fell in love with the daughter of the estate, and she with him, her father had Drew beaten and cast off his land. After making his money on the sea, Drew is back to purchase the old man's estate and marry the woman he once loved more than life.

But rumors of the old estate being haunted don't turn him off, until he meets Freya, the woman who has actually been living in his new house. Freya has pretended to be a ghost to scare off anyone who might try to evict her- but she's not a ghost, she's a vampire who carries a virus called "The Companion", which keeps her alive and allows her to live and have supernatural powers. Drew is no callow boy or credulous fool to be scared off- but when she starts to have feelings for Drew, can she keep him alive when it seems she might lose him to the Influenza?

"Magical Kiss Goodbye" introduces Trey McCree, a member of the Celtic Belador tribe who is no longer quite human. For years, he's loved Sasha Armand, but his duties as a Belador made him leave her to keep her safe. But even so, he's never forgotten her, or stopped loving her. Now on the track of a Hindu demon-tribe man named Ekkbar, he's returned home, and finds Sasha also looking for Ekkbar.

But Sasha is no longer the powerless girl he remembers. She is now a witch, and her sister is tied to Ekkbar, who is slowly trying to drag her over the line into active evil so he can escape his imprisonment under a mountain along with the rest of his clan. Even so, she remembers the pain when Trey left her and wouldn't tell her why he was leaving- so can she forgive him now when she still loves him, and is still attracted to him?

I liked this anthology. Vampires are the protagonists in two of the stories, but there is enough variety that it isn't "All Vampires, All the time". And each story is an excellent one. Even though J.R. Ward is known for her "Black Dagger Brotherhood" stories, the story she contributed here is just as compelling as that series without having the (to me) annoying Gangsta/Hip-Hop vibe, and so it was an entirely refreshing change from the BDB series.

I would love to pick one favorite out of the anthology, but I really can't. Each story was good in its own way, and I was surprised at how good each story was individually- even the one by Dianna Love, who I had never read before reading the story in this anthology (at least not on her own- she did write two books with Sherrilyn Kenyon). But after having read it, I would certainly read more of her books- she's good, and I was wondering if this story was part of an ongoing series or just a one-off for this volume.

I would definitely suggest this book for readers who love Paranormal Romance and Paranormal Suspense. All the stories are fantastic and instantly whisk you away to the places you encounter in the story. These stories may be guilty pleasure reads, but the word to remember here is "Pleasure". You will enjoy reading these stories like nothing else, and for that reason, I highly recommend this anthology.