I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Kisses from Hell
by
Alyson Noël, Francesca Lia Block, Kelley Armstrong, Kristin Cast, Richelle Mead
It is part of the Short Stories from Hell, series and is a paranormal romance in Paperback edition that was published by HarperTeen on August 24, 2010 and has 262 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Broken, Personal Demon , Living with the Dead, Men of the Otherworld, Tales of the Otherworld, Frostbitten, Dates from Hell, Exit Strategy, Made to Be Broken, The Reckoning, Spell Bound, The Gathering, The Awakening, "Hidden", The Calling, Aftertaste, The Rising, Omens, Wild Justice, Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions, Visions, Deceptions, The Masked Truth, City of the Lost, Empire of Night, Forest of Ruin, Betrayals, A Darkness Absolute, Indigo, Rituals, The Unquiet Past, This Fallen Prey, Stolen, Rough Justice, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, Haunted, Broken, Waking the Witch, Portents, Missing, Alone in the Wild, Watcher in the Woods, Otherworld Secrets, Wherever She Goes, "The Case of the Half-Demon Spy", "Escape", Otherworld Chills, A Stranger in Town, "Bargain", Hex on the Beach, "Recruit", "Checkmate", "Framed", Cursed Luck, High Jinx, Bitten, Driven, "Forsaken", The Deepest of Secrets, "Dead Letter Days", Men of the Otherworld, The Boy Who Cried Bear, Amber Smoke, Succubus Blues, Succubus on Top, Succubus Dreams, Succubus Heat, Vampire Academy, Succubus Shadows, Frostbite, Succubus Revealed, Shadow Kiss, Richelle Mead, Blood Promise, Storm Born, Spirit Bound, Iron Crowned, Last Sacrifice, Eternal Lover, Thorn Queen, Shadow Heir, Bloodlines, Indigo Spell, Gameboard of the Gods, The Fiery Heart, The Immortal Crown, Silver Shadows, Soundless, The Ruby Circle
Series:
“Sunshine” (Vampire Academy, 0.5)
“Hunting Kat” (Darkest Powers, 3.5)
Fourth in the Hell anthology series with a theme of paranormal romance for young adults.
I would be remiss in not mentioning that “a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this collection will be donated to College Summit” to aid in college enrollment for all students, and especially those from low-income backgrounds. Proceed at your own risk.
My Take
Yeah, it was reading from hell as well! I’d suspect that part of the mandate was to write as poorly as possible and see how many suckers got taken.
The Stories
Richelle Mead‘s “Sunshine” was sweet and provides background on Vasilisa’s parents. How they met and the inspiration for their daughter’s name. The writing is okay, a bit dorky.
Alyson Noël’s‘s “Bring Me to Life” was icky creepy and probably the best of the five in terms of originality. It’s a deep-laid plot enticing a young, unhappy art student into its snare. And rather condescending in the writing.
Kristin Cast‘s “Above” was the worst. It’s set as a long poem with the words offset to indicate the agony its protagonist is suffering. The best part was all this offsetting made the pages fly by. It rather reminded me of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine with its Morlocks and Eloi. I have only a vague idea of what happened. If anyone else can make any sense of it…please let me know.
Kelley Armstrong‘s “Hunting Kat” is a quick peek into the challenges of staying free of the clutches of the Edison Group when Katiana, a young vampire is captured and escapes. Can she trust the two young men with whom she was imprisoned?
It’s a bit of background on Kat, the dramatic capture, and then the “young adult” interaction of two teens who have been hurt before. It’s okay. It’s best feature is rounding out the general theme of this series.
Francesca Lia Block‘s “Lilith” is a dorky teen’s fantasy in which he saves and gets the girl, winning out against the bullies, er, evil forces. It seems as if there may be something to his fantasy after all until it all goes wrong (at least in my mind!). It’s actually well written even if I did dislike it. The saddest of them all, Block portrayed the school misfit very well.
The Cover and Title
The cover is pretty with its subdued black-on-purple brocaded background and the rich purplish pink flowers in varying stages of life. Very classy. If you want to retain that sense of class, don’t open the book.
The title is a convenient catch-all — Kisses from Hell doesn’t actually apply to Mead’s or Armstrong’s stories although it certainly does to the other three.
