For the full book I give it 2.88 out of 5 stars. Too bad .. I hoped to like this book but I just couldn't get into it. There were some good parts, but just not good enough for me.

Enchanted By Blood by Laurie London - 3 out of 5 stars

Monsters Don't Do Christmas by Michele Hauf - 2.5 out of 5 stars

When Herald Angels Sing by Caridad Piñeiro - 2.5 out of 5 stars

All I Want For Christmas by Alexis Morgan - 3.5 out of 5 stars

Read more of my review(s) and FOUR TEASERS here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2011/11/vampire-for-christmas-by-lauri... ( )

A contemporary romance reading list pick from TRS for AReCafe. ( )

Enchanted by Blood by Laurie London: (3.5 stars)
(Sweetblood, #2.5)
Trace comes to the rescue when a woman is about to be attacked by some bad vampires in a parking lot. But it turns out that the woman he's saving is Charlotte -- his human ex-girlfriend who's memory he wiped for her own good. Seeing her again after a year, it's tough to resist the urge to be with her again, but all the same problems are still there -- he's a vampire and she's a human.

This was cute, I liked it. Trace was really sweet and Charlotte was pretty cool. I liked that she was an interior designer. I actually almost went into that field. But I liked them as a couple and since they had been together before off the page, it made their relationship more believable.

This story was the reason I picked up this anthology. The Sweetblood series isn't my favorite paranormal romance series, but it is starting to grow on me.

Monsters Don't Do Christmas by Michele Hauf: (2.5 stars)
Daniel is a fairly new vampire who's still trying to learn the ropes, the turfs, and the ways of this life. One night he meets Olivia -- a plain old mortal. Well, perhaps not plain old considering she has a few secrets of her own. They both fall pretty hard for each other, but need to decide if a relationship between them would work given who Daniel is, and who Olivia is as well.

This one started off pretty good. Olivia jumps on the page as this confident and strong heroine and I really liked her. Then it just starts to drag out unfortunately. I actually think this would've worked if it was a bit shorter. In addition, although I liked Olivia in the beginning, how she reacts to Daniel as a vampire is entirely unrealistic and makes her seem more ignorant than confident. Also, she gets a bit annoying as the tale goes on.

Overall, this one wasn't bad in the beginning, actually I kind of liked it in the beginning. But as the story went on I found myself less and less interested and just wanting it to be over.

When Herald Angels Sing by Caridad Pineiro: (2 stars)
This one was a little weird a confusing. Basically a vampire named Damien is seemingly cursed to watch his love, Anngelina, be killed by his arch rival over and over again every Christmas Eve. It wasn't really clear on the how or why though.

While this was definitely different and unique, it was a little too strange for me. I had a hard time following what was going on cause the writing style was a little weird. But not only that, the story was just pretty out there.

So unfortunately this one just isn't for me. I probably won't be looking into more works by this author anytime in the near future.

All I Want For Christmas by Alexis Morgan: (2.5 stars)
Eagan is an undercover cop on the lookout for some newbie vampires that have been wreaking havoc. His investigation brings him into a small diner where he meets Della.

This was...eh, pretty boring. Nothing really bad about it except the usual at the end of the story, their relationship got moving super duper fast while at the beginning they had a decent pace going. That's typical with short stories though so not much of a surprise.

But overall it was just kind of slow and not much really happened. The writing style was good though and flowed well. Despite not liking the story, the world seemed like it might be kind of interesting to dive into further. But I don't think this is a series, so oh well.

More of my reviews at I'm Loving ♥ Books. ( )

Full review posted at http://readersedyn.blogspot.com/

Book 1:
Enchanted By Blood by Laurie London
My favorite book in this anthology was Laurie London’s Enchanted by Blood, a Sweetblood Novel (more specifically 2.5). I tend to always want more in the stories I read and London delivers; no easy feat for a novella. I get it, short story, word count, but you can still have a very entertaining read in a novella if played right. Enchanted by Blood is indeed well played: brooding vamp, supportive heroine, self-inflicted misery, and hot ‘n steamy sex. Another treat within the story was the depth of character that sometimes is lacking in novellas. Trace’s internal struggle between rekindling a relationship with Charlotte and walking away from her a second time was convincing. Did I mention Angry Birds and mirrors? Needless to say, I will be obtaining copies of the rest of the Sweetblood series for my own reading pleasure.

Book 2:
Monsters Don’t Do Christmas by Michele Hauf
Monsters Don’t Do Christmas, was another quick and fun read. I liked that Olivia believed herself to be a monster in her own right. Consequently, both Olivia and Daniel had their own daemons to fight and come to terms with before there could be the slightest glimmer of hope for a future with the other. Personally, I had a little trouble believing that a vampire and famous pop star could have a lasting relationship; especially a vamp with zero tolerance for paparazzi – although Daniel does redeem his actions with a rather useful trick. Regardless, the story was still fun in its out-of-the-box approach to a vampire/human relationship.

Book 3:
When Herald Angels Sing by Caridad Pineiro
When Fallen Angels Sing has a bit of a message to it. Well, two actually: to learn from your mistakes and trust in love to conquer all. Sounds sappy, I know. But this story is far removed from sappiness. At first I was a bit annoyed that the Angel was all perfect and glowing: in love with Damien and making a final appearance to teach him the error of his ways. My attitude changed when Angelina ended up having a bit to learn about her misplayed hands as well. Tarnished Angels are much more intriguing to read about. Well played by Pineiro who drew me back in with that interesting sequence of events. Yes, love may ultimately have the upper hand in a lot of instances, but in Damien and Angelina’s case, their actions are the final factors that decide if that love is allowed a chance to flourish. Based on the past transgressions of the hero/heroine, the story could easily have gone in either direction. Damien’s selfless response in the final pages may have been just a bit over the top, but also necessary if Angelina had any hope of completing her mission.

Book 4:
All I Want For Christmas by Alexis Morgan
All I Want For Christmas, I did not care for as much. Eagan is an undercover detective, but comes off a bit stalkerish in his bid to catch glimpses of Della. Likewise, Della seems a bit nutty to be staring out in the darkness hoping to see this guy she knows next to nothing about. The one time she does, she encourages his kooky behavior by sending out hot chocolate. Really? I would have called the cops – oh wait, he is the cops. Yikes! But my real issue with this story is a personal belief: novellas do not have to end with those three little words for the reader to be happy. Simply hinting toward an HEA can be enough for the reader to feel satisfied without forcing such a confession. I felt like Eagan was left completely unpunished for his action with Della just because he says he loves her. I get it, wrap it up all quick and pretty, but if I was Della I would be wondering just exactly why I could suddenly “hear” Eagan in my thoughts and you can be sure I would have demanded answers. But these are personal preferences and readers who like to see those three little words for the HEA will likely love the story and be completely happy with it. In any case, I did really like that Della’s “family” was not what she thought. The idea that we have “others” around us at all times is a whimsical fantasy of mine. Despite my “win” attitude towards anthologies, there are a few instances when the author is not showcased with her best work. And in all fairness, I would give Morgan another shot to see what her novels are like.

(Paperback received from author Laurie London for review) ( )

Wednesday, October 5, 2011A Vampire for Christmas by Laurie London,Caridad Pineiro,Michele Hauf, Alexis Morgan
3 STARS
Enchanted by Blood by Laurie London.
Trace is a vampire and he used to be a guardian. Like a policeman for vampires, but he quit. His father died last year and he was a council member. The seat usually pass from father to son, but the council keeps puting the vote off.
Charlotte got ditched at a dance club by her friend. As she is walking to her car alone she falls and see shadow of a man. She is scared and then a third guy who is bigger comes from the other direction and tells her to get in car lock it and wait for him. Charlotte does that. Trace gets her to have coffee and takes her home and spends the night.
But Charlotte does not remember that they were lovers last year but she found out about vampires and had erased her memories of him.
Trace hires her to decorate his mansion and help with a party.
she feels like she has been their before and thats how they met as she decorating for Christmas last year. They became lovers again and does have lot of sex scenes
When Herald Angels Sing by Caridad Pineiro
Damien was a vampire and twice in his life on Christmas eve a hundred years apart Angelina his lover was killed because of him. Angelina was an angel sent to him to change. Damien has not killed in all his years as a vampire. But the devil wanted his soul. Captain Pedro Ramirez the vampire turned him and promised to get Damien to kill him. He trapped Angelina and took her wings she would die if did not get back.

Monsters Don't Do Christmas by Michele Hauf
Daniel started fighting with 2 werewolfs till a women broke up the fight and invited him into her apartment.
Oliva could not believe she saw 2 werewolfs and a vampire. She kissed the vampire and invited him to ice rink the next night promising him another kiss.
Daniel discovered she was the star singer performing. They became lovers.
Oliva found out Daniel was helping a homeless mother of 2 girls who drank was bitten that if she could hold without biting and drinking blood for one month she could stop turning into vampire.
All I Want for Christmas by Alexis Morgan
Eagan is a undercover cop and a vampire.
Della was working at a diner she owned and lived above it in apartment.
Their are a lot of boys disappearing some found dead. Eagan was walking around the 8 block area and trying not to be noticed. Della noticed. Eagan went to diner to drink coffee and warm up. Their was a werewolf in their. Two punks tried to rob the tip jar and wanted the money in cashier drawer. Eagan stopped them. He decided to keep comming back and use diner to help search for who ever was killing boys. Eagan noticed that the dishwasher Daniel was in the company of young vampires.
My favorite one is the last one All I want for Christmas. I like that their was more than vampires. Plus I like that Eagen was a cop who cared. I had a hard time getting into these shorts stories.I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.
10/24/2011 PUB Harlequin HQNBooks ( )