Kiss Me Deadly edited by Trisha Telep

Kiss Me Deadly is a new young adult paranormal romance anthology containing 13 new stories. It is, sort of, the follow up to 'The Eternal Kiss' YA vampire romance anthology that was out last summer. TEK was awesome and completely worth the money, which not all anthos are, and this one had another great line up of authors so I was really looking forward to it.

It is a decent anthology. Lots of different tales, different styles and some interesting romance options. Probably not the best anthology I've read, or rather not the one I've most enjoyed. I actually liked the majority of the stories, but it was more a case of them being great and loving them, or not thinking much of them at all, no real in-between stories. I still think its well worth owning, for the stories from Rachel Vincent, Karen Mahoney and Maggie Stiefvater alone!

The stories in order:
1. The Assassin's Apprentice by Michelle Zink - 8/10 - descendants of angels hunting demons on earth. Nice short, wish it had been longer, liked the characters and the ideas a lot.
2. Errant by Diana Peterfreund - 4/10 - strange story featuring odd unicorns. Not much paranormal love to it, mostly just strange. Just didn't really work for me.
3. The Spirit Jar by Karen Mahoney - 9/10 - Moth, the vampire girl from Karen's short 'Falling To Ash' in TEK, is back and this time in London after a rare book for her maker, and she's not the only one after it. Great short story, I completely love Moth and really hope there is a full book from her POV in the future!
4. Lost by Justine Musk - 9/10 - fantastic short about a girl good at finding lost things, who meets a guy who's not quite human in an abandoned house.
5. The Spy Who Never Grew Up by Sarah Rees Brennan - 5/10 - Peter Pan working for Her Majesty's secret service. Bit strange, but fun as well. Liked it.
6. The Dungeons of Langeais by Becca Fitzpatrick - 5/10 - short set in her Hush, Hush world. An angel, the man tied to him, and the two women who they try to protect. Okay, but nothing great.
7. Behind The Red Door by Caitlin Kittredge - 5/10 - girl meets ghost who is not as great as first appears. Not bad, but felt quite detached. Wasn't too bothered which way things would go.
8. Hare Moon by Carrie Ryan - 8/10 - focuses on Sister Tabitha from The Forest of Hands and Teeth as a teenager, showing where she came from. Great story explaining how she came to be the way she is. Really liked it.
9. Familiar by Michelle Rowen - 8/10 - a reluctant witch has to pick out a familiar. She chooses a little runt of a kitten, who turns out to be a shifter and not a kitten at all. Fun and sweet. Loved it.
10. Fearless by Rachel Vincent - 9/10 - set in Rachel's Soul Screamers world, this story introduces us to Sabine Campbell, in a short set before the SS series begins. Sabine is a mara, someone who feeds off of nightmares to survive, but finds herself somewhere that's oddly empty of them. Really great short and I love Sabine. Looking forward to seeing more of her in SS #4 My Soul To Steal (out Jan 1st 2011), even if she and Kaylee are going to be enemies.
11. Vermillion by Daniel Marks - 4/10 - ghosts causing chaos, or not causing it. Basic idea was fine, but I didn't like the main character. The girl was just too volatile, going from calm happy to enraged too quickly and she wasn't too smart either, though she was meant to be. Could have been better.
12. The Hounds of Ulster by Maggie Stiefvater - 9/10 - beautiful, sad tale of two best friends and the fey girl who comes between them. Wish it had been longer! Loved the characters and the story and would have loved more about all of it.
13. Many Happy Returns by Daniel Waters - 8/10 - very sad tale of a father hoping, wishing, his daughter will rise again as a zombie after she and her boyfriend, and other friends, are killed in a car accident. Not often a zombie fan, but like the ideas and it's enough for me to look in to his Generation Dead series which is the same world as this short.

Overall, 7/10 but like I said, few of the stories would be worth owning the whole antho for on their own!

Reign Check by Michelle Rowen

"Nikki Donovan has had a lot to deal with since learning she was half human, half demon. But things take a darker turn when Rhys, a gorgeous -- but potentially dangerous -- faery king enrolls at her high school to investigate Nikki's potential for fulfilling an apocalyptic prophesy. Nikki knows she'd never turn violent, and she certainly couldn't destroy the world...could she?

Of course, all Nikki really wants is to be reunited with Michael, a Shadow creature whose status as her personal servant is further complicated by their undeniable attraction to each other. Even though the rules of the Shadowlands strictly forbid their romance, Nikki is determined not to let Michael go. But when she is summoned to the Underworld to appear before a demon council, it will take all her courage -- and perhaps a bit of demon-level strength -- to get herself out again."

Reign Check is the second book in the Demon Princess series from Michelle Rowen. I really liked the first book, a lot more than I thought I would I have to admit. But I loved this one more. It picks up right where Reign or Shine (book 1) left off and like book 1, covers just a week or so. And it's a very eventful week. It's one thing after another for Nikki and nothing is quite as it seems. I had a really tough job putting this book down. Nikki had thought that maybe now her father wasn't about to die, that maybe being a demon princess wouldn't be so bad. But then faery king Rhys (who I maybe fell a little bit in love with) appears as a new student at her school and suddenly things take a turn for the worse. It's one thing after another going wrong for Nikki after that as she learns more about the Shadowlands, the demon world and certain other things going on.

We get to explore a lot more of the world Michelle has created in this book, right alongside Nikki. We get our first look in to the demon world, get to know the characters we've already met better, and meet some very interesting new ones as well. This book had a bit of a darker feel to it than book 1, which I liked. But it still had some very funny moments as well (a certain character being drunk being my favourite, but I won't say who). As well as expanding what we see of the worlds in this book, there is also some really good character development. Nikki's learnt a lot in a short space of time and I love seeing how she's dealing with it all. But she isn't the only one who finds out some dark secrets in this book.

As well as the main plot there are several little side plots going on. We get more on some than others, some are just little things going on in the background, but they all add to the depth of the book. Of the side plots, I really hope the ones with Nikki's best friend Melinda and Rhys' are explored more. My only real complaint about this book, is that there isn't enough of Rhys (I did say I maybe fell a little in love with him...). Overall, Reign Check a really good follow up to Reign or Shine. I loved it, the characters and I can't wait for the next one. 8/10

The Demon in Me by Michelle Rowen

Eden Riley is little bit psychic, and thanks to a lucky (or possibly unlucky) psychic moment, Eden finds herself working as a psychic consultant for the police. Working one such scene Eden comes face to face with a serial killer, who is quickly gunned down by the very hot detective Ben. But when the killer dies, a black 'smoke' comes from him and heads for Eden. The next thing Eden knows, there is a voice in her head claiming to be that of a demon.

Eden's psychic power works in the demon, Darrak's, favor, giving him the ability to take physical form in daylight hours. He tells Eden he lost his body 300 years ago and that this is the first time since then he's been able to take physical form again. But it doesn't change that he's cursed. With Eden's help he hopes to track down the witch responsible for his curse and break it. And like it or not, Eden has no choice but to help.

This is the first book in Michelle's new Living In Eden paranormal romance series. Normally, I'm not overly fond of PNR, I prefer urban fantasy with romantic subplots. But some times PNR makes a nice change, and this a great change. I loved this book. I could barely put it down and read it in a day easily. Eden has the hots for Detective Ben Hanson, but having Darrak living inside of her complicates things. She may be psychic but she's unaware of the rest of the supernatural world around her and Darrak's about to give her a crash course.

I love Eden's character. She's strong, but vulnerable. She's been hurt before and she's trying both to move on, and protect herself from being hurt again. She's smart and funny and easy to like. I wasn't so quick to like Darrak, but there was always something new to find out about him which I really enjoyed. The side characters weren't quite so well rounded, but they worked just fine and added to the story.

While romance is a big part of this story, there is more to it than only the romance and I think that's why I enjoyed this so much. It's not a straight forward romance either. One complication after another makes for entertaining reading. There were some good laugh out loud moments as well as some serious and painful ones, and some twists that took me by surprise. A really good read and I'll be looking out for the second book, Something Wicked, in October. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next for Eden and Darrak. 8/10

Reign or Shine by Michelle Rowan

"As if trying to fit in at a new school isn't stressful enough, sixteen-year-old Nikki Donovan just found out that her long-lost father is, in fact, the demon king of the Shadowlands—the world that separates and protects us from the Underworld. When she is brought there by the mysterious—and surprisingly cute—messenger Michael, she learns that her father is dying, and he wants her to assume the throne. To complicate matters, a war is brewing between the Shadowlands and the Underworld, her half-demon qualities are manifesting, and her growing feelings for Michael are completely forbidden. Ruling a kingdom, navigating a secret crush, and still making it home by curfew—what's a teenage demon princess to do?"

Nikki has moved around a lot, her mom is on her fourth marriage, and she's always been an outcast. But to her surprise, life in the latest small town is not so bad. Things are going well at school, her best friend is the most popular girl and the hottest guy in school is interested in her. But then she meets Michael who starts telling her all this crazy stuff about other worlds and demons. And that she's a half demon princess. Nikki doesn't believe him at first, but it doesn't take her long to realise that he's not lying to her, although there is a lot he won't say. And as she begins to crush on him, she wishes things weren't as complicated as they are. The longer she spends around Michael and in the Shadowlands, the more Nikki realises that everything is not as it seems. But is there anything she can do to make things better?

This is the first book in the Demon Princess series, and it's the first book by Michelle I've read. I wasn't sure before hand if it was something I'd like, but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved this book. It's lighter YA than some out there, with plenty of humor. But it doesn't stop the characters from having depth and for me, that's what makes this book a winner. Nikki's view of high school, and the way she crushes on Chris, is familiar and something I think most readers will be able to relate with. There is a good balance between the humor and the darker aspects of the book, and I love Nikki's character. The secondary characters have a good depth to them as well and make for fun reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the second book! 8/10