Book Review: YA Anthology, Kisses from Hell

Today’s review is for Harper Teen’s anthology series, Kisses from Hell. The short stories are a compilation of Richelle Mead’s Sunshine, Alyson Noel’s Bring Me To Life, Kristin Cast’s Above, Kelley Armstrong’s Hunting Kat and Francesca Lia Block’s Lilith.

Remember, my FREE Book Contest for

Kisses From Hell ends Sept. 20th eod.

 (Click here to enter.)

.

And now for my review...

Richelle Mead’s Sunshine – 3.5

What can I say about reading anything Vampire Academy? Sunshine sucks you in as soon as royal Eric Dragomir is introduced and then suspends you with an immediate attack from Strigoi. This story is all about Lissa’s parent’s romance, Eric and Rhea Dragomir. Since his mother’s death – killed by a recent Strigoi attack - Eric's father’s been pressuring his son to marry. Although Eric doesn’t really want to, he knows he must. And when he’s almost done convincing himself to settle, he meets Rhea.


I really liked the story. There were only two faults I had with it. First, I wanted more. Second, because I wanted more, I felt cheated. No worries, though, it’s the best read of the book – even if it’s only 66 pages.


Alyson Noel’s Bring Me To Life – 2.75


Sometimes when I read Alyson Noel it takes me a few pages to get used to her present tense style of writing. That might sound strange but that’s me. Anyway, I really liked this story in the beginning. Danika’s quest to submerge herself in her art, traveling to England – I thought was cool. The fog or mist aspect along with the spooky house was also intriguing. Where the tale began to lose me was with the plot. The house has creepy characters, Violet, Camilla etc… and then there are the dreams Dani has. When reading this I get there’s more to the story but as it unfolds, I just kept getting more and more lost. Bram, Dani’s boy interest, is equally interesting but his explanation of things at the end left me feeling, huh?


Kristin Cast’s Above - 2

I’m not sure how fair it is to rate this one. To be honest, I found it hard to understand. Aside from the writing style, the story was confusing. Rheena is underground – some sort of being or creature, I suppose. I wasn’t sure. Her abusive family releases her (or kicks her out rather) and she goes above. She meets another being, Sol – a vampire - and the two become close. An evil being from her home goes hunting for her to kill her. The rest is what it is. You’ll have to read it for yourself. Good luck. For the record, I’ve read other Kristin Cast novels and really do enjoy her books. This short story for me…fell short.


Kelley Armstrong’s Hunting Kat - 3

This is the first time I read anything by Kelley Armstrong. I really liked the characters, even if there wasn’t much to the story. Katrina is a new vampire – 6 months back from a science experiment. Since then, she’s been mentored by another vampire and is set to meet in New York for a vampire conference. I liked Kat and couldn’t help but feel bad for her, especially when she goes for a drive and is ran off the road. Badly injured, she’s being hunted by people who want to imprison her. She befriends two boys, Neil and Chad - both who are supposed genetic vampires. With a few more twists and turns, Kat unearths deception, while trying to run for her life.


Francesca Lia Block’s Lilith - 2


This story started out interesting and then went stale. I like Paul Michael - the awkward teen that nobody liked. But then there was Lilith. She came to town and gifted the social outcast. That’s about it. I had more questions at the end of this one like “You mean that’s it?”


Overall this probably ranked total as a 3 and I’d have to say it’s because of Mead’s tale.

Until next time....read, breathe, eat/drink (repeat) in that order.

Mina B.