DNF & skimmed. I finished a few stories, but many I tried for several pages and then lost interest.
This really is a personal rating, I definitely think readers should give these stories a try if they have Kindle Unlimited. I'm personally glad I didn't pay $6.99. Out of all the authors in this anthology I liked Eris Adderly & Livia Bourne's the most. To be brutally honest, I'm not going to read any of these series. They just weren't that good.
edit: lol I'm going to be watching to see what other anthologies these authors partake in again. Basically the same authors do the same anthologies over and over and over again. It's how many of them got their "USA Today Bestselling author" titles. Here it looks like they were trying to set a 'vampire pnr' trend which, vampires are so overdone at this point. I'm wondering how many more alien and fairy tale anthologies there will be too.
Original review:
This review is subjective, simply my personal thoughts. I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying this anthology.
I actively seek vampire tales that suit my own tastes. What I've noticed is that I tend to gravitate towards vintage vamps from the 80s & 90s. The Vampire Lestat is an all time fave, dear to my heart book, that I will always treasure. Interview With A Vampire is what got me out of a fiction reading slump in 2018. I adore Tanith Lee's vampires. The Night Inside by Nancy Baker deserves a honorable mention. All of these books contain a subtle writing style, elements of horror and darkness, and what I describe as 'subtle sexuality.' It's hard to explain but there's an element of seduction in these books. Also the writing style slowly gives hints to the vampire's abilities in a way I like. In many of these stories the word vampire isn't even used at all or until the middle of the book. I'm going to try to think more on this style of writing vampires and may come back and add since I understand the word 'subtlety' may not adequately describe it. Ultimately, I felt this style was completely lacking in this anthology. All the short stories felt two-dimensional to me, and I was never fully immersed. I quickly lost interest in all the short stories. The ones I did finish really dragged and were not fun for me to read. I'm not bothered by the depraved acts, it's how they were written. Often I felt the writing style was too 'in my face' or trying too hard to be edgy. Other times I was simply bored.
At first, I thought, is it because they're all short stories? The answer is no, that is not an excuse, because Addison Cain achieved this (subtle world building, element of seduction) in Catacombs. Catacombs is an artfully written vampire horror novella, and because of that I came to this anthology with high hopes.
The biggest letdown for me was Addison Cain's novella, Cathedral. It came no where near being as good as Catacombs IMO. I liked her short story, Immaculate, more too. In Cathedral the sex was gross, the characters unlikable (I'm ok with unlikable characters but I have to like to dislike them), and I hated the Trump reference. I read to escape reality. I didn't find the reference clever, and it bothered me even though it was only a small couple of sentences. I really hope this doesn't become a trend. I don't want Trump references in my vampire tales.
Jennifer Bene's story (Cassandra Faye) was well-written, but I was left unimpressed and became bored. All the authors here are dark erotica/romance writers, and it's like they wrote edgy dark erotica stories, but then made the characters vampires. Catacombs felt different because I really felt like I was reading an old school vampire horror story. Addison Cain really created a scary world in Catacombs. Everything about that short story was excellent. The structure of the plot, how the vampire mythology was slowly revealed, the mystery....I loved it. Nothing in this anthology came close to being as good imo.
Look, I recognize I have specific tastes when it comes to vampires, and my opinion is in the minority. I feel like fans of these authors will like this anthology and that's great. I really wish I enjoyed it too.