I love, love, LOVE the "From Hell" anthologies! They all contain great short stories and this one didn't disappoint - for the most part. It wasn't as great as some of the other From Hells, but still read-worthy. Since this had multiple stories, I'll give a quick review of each one.
"Sunshine" by Richelle Mead: This is a short story that is part of her Vampire Academy series. It is told from Eric Dragomir's point of view (Lissa's brother) and was very engaging. I couldn't stop reading once I started! Richelle Mead always does a fabulous job with her stories, but I feel like this really needed to be a full length book. As soon as it picked up in action, it was over. The VA series is so complicated, I don't feel any character's story can be told in approximately 40 pages. Fabulous read, just not long enough, or detailed enough.
"Bring Me To Life" by Alyson Noel: This was a welcome break from her Immortals Series (which I adore - review coming soon on her newest novel in the series, "Radiance"). A young girl Danika is sent to a creepy art school in the UK where nothing is as it seems...the school, the people, nothing. She tries to capture her dreams in paintings, only to see them become a reality. Best story in the book in my opinion. It was amazing. It had a good beginning, good climax, and good ending.
"Above" by Kristin Cast: I had unrealistically high expectations for this one. Kristin Cast writes with her mother, P.C. Cast in the outrageously popular House of Night series (amazing and addictive - one of my all-time favorites), so I was most looking forward to this one. I wish I could tell you what it was about. I have no clue. Random lyrical prose was inserted. The story was disjointed and I never got a good feel for the characters. Not good at all. I can't believe I read 40+ pages and all I can say is "BAD". I will from now on only read her work when she writes with her mother. Sorry to be so brutal!! I feel bad, but its the truth.
"Hunting Kat" by Kelley Armstrong: A young girl named Kat, is hiding from a group doing experiments on vampires. She is involved in a car accident and ends up on the run with two boys and has no idea who she should ally herself with in this race for her life. This short story had an amazing amount of action! It really grabbed my attention and didn't let go. Like Kat, I kept changing my mind on who was the Good Guy and Bad Guy in the story. It was so good, I would love to see it become a full-length story sometime with Kat as the heroine!
"Lilith" by Francesca Lia Block: This story centers around a young boy who had created a fantasy alternate world for himself to live in so he can escape the cruelty of school. Somehow, he meets Lilith, who lures him into the world of vampirism. It was a little too sci-fi for my tastes and the ending was a little too open-ended, so I wouldn't really rave too much about this one. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It kind of was just there.
Overall, I enjoyed this anthology - and it definitely gave me some new perspective on authors!!
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