Book Review: Kisses from Hell

Title: Kisses from Hell
Author(s): Richelle Mead, Alyson Noël, Kristen Cast, Kelley Armstrong, Francesca Lia Block
Publisher: Harper Teen, 2010
Page Total: 272 pages
Date read: September 16th, 2010
Genre(s): Young Adult; Urban Fantasy; Romance(??)

Reviewed by Ginny

Kisses from Hell was the first anthology I've ever read. And as anthologies go, there were some good stories as well as bad ones.
In my opinion, the authors forced their stories in some kind of end just to have a complete story. Which kind of sucks, because the end doesn't feel like a real end. All of them had some kind of loose end, leaving the readers wanting for more.
Sadly, I can’t tell you much of plot without spoiling it.


Sunshine by Richelle Mead

Emma wasn’t Eric Dragomir’s first girlfriend. Nor was she likely to be his last.

It's about how Lissa Dragomir's parents -meaning Eric Dragomir and Rhea Daniels- met when they were teenagers. It was interesting to see the world of Vampire Academy through Moroi’s eyes, but it wasn’t as good as expected. Plus, if you haven't read Vampire Academy books, you wouldn't understand what’s going on.
3.5 Kisses


Bring Me to Life by Alyson Noel

I stop.

It was surprisingly good. Nothing like Evermore. At first I thought the plot was predictable, but as it turned out, it wasn't. I really can’t say anything about this book without spoiling it! If I can ever find a way around it, I’ll edit it as soon as possible.
4 Kisses


Above by Kristen Cast

Earth.
She sits in her belly, swallowed by dirt,
desolate
bruised
broken.

…. No offense, but there is a reason why I stopped reading House of Night series in the middle of the second book. I’d love to tell you what the plot is, but since I didn’t get it, I guess I can’t tell you after all.
1 Kiss, if any


Hunting Kat by Kelley Armstrong

I stretched out on the lounge chair in front of our motel room.

It was good, although I'd recommend it to the readers who have read the Darkest Powers series. It isn’t necessary if you insist on reading it, but some things may confuse you if you haven’t read the series yet. It’s about a girl who has been genetically modified when she was a baby. At the age of 16, she turns into a vampire - and the people from the Madison Group are determined to have her.
4 Kisses


Lillith by Francesca Lia Block


Paul Michael had always wanted to escape.

I think she's the kind of author who likes lots of mystery. My first acquaintance with her, and I liked her ending. There isn’t much of a plot… Just a guy meets a vampire girl and, uh, I’ll let you imagine the rest. I think the author more wanted to share the atmosphere of her story.
3 Kisses

3.5 + 4 + 1 + 4 + 3 = 3.1 Kisses






Quotes:
"But here’s the thing, does anyone care about you? Who worries about you or asks how you feel? Not enough people do," Eric replied. "Somehow I just… know. I can see it all over you. You don’t let people worry about you enough."
And then, doing what was probably one of the stupidest things ever, he pulled her to him and kissed her. He fully expected her to jerk away or maybe even punch or kick him. Instead she pressed closer, kissing him with an intensity that surpassed his own."
-Sunshine (Richelle Mead)

"Reminds me of the stories from Russia my grandmother used to tell me. You know any of them? Vasilisa the Brave?"
"Nope. My family’s from Romania. Never heard of any Vasilisa." Looking up, Rhea stared up at the sky thoughtfully. "But I kind of like that name."
-Sunshine (Richelle Mead)

"Can you see?" I asked.
"Well enough." He tossed the glasses aside, retrieved the gun, and held it out. “You may want to be in charge of this, though.”
"Can you still shoot?"
He shrugged. "Sure, but- "
"Can you avoid shooting figures with brown hair, blue jeans, denim jackets, and" -I looked down at my feet- "dirty white sneakers?"
A genuine smile. "I can."
-Hunting Kat (Kelley Armstrong)