Very well written! It was a quick read!

two quick easy reads with likable characters with different takes on vampires

from my review @ http://babblingbookreviews.com

This anthology features a story by one of my favorite Nocturne authors, Lori Devoti. In a departure from her other Nocturnes, this one is about a vampire, not shape-shifters. Though this is a Christmas anthology, the holiday has very little presence. If you’re looking for a book that’s doesn’t have all the trimmings (carols, gifts, decorating, etc.), then this book is a good choice.

“A Christmas Kiss” by Merline Lovelace
From the Back: Vampire Delilah Wentworth’s hunt for a dentist on Christmas Eve lands her in the arms of Sergeant Brett Cooper, a mortal who gave up on the Christmas spirit, and on love, years ago. Incapable of returning home by herself, Delilah needs Brett’s protection for the night — a night that leaves her aching for a forbidden mortal romance, and leaves Brett questioning whether he has truly given up on love after all.

I really liked Delilah. Born in 1888 to a career military officer, her only goals in life were to marry a dashing lieutenant and have lots of babies. She isn’t a sultry, bad girl vamp; she’s almost ordinary. Delilah only feeds on the willing and only takes what she needs — not a killer nor in the habit of creating more vampires. She’s also compassionate, going — with Brett –to the aid of a young, single mother with a case of food poisoning.

I wish the story had been longer. I thought Brett’s acceptance of Delilah was too quick. I also would have liked to have seen more of Delilah’s sire, Sebastian.

“The Vampire That Stole Christmas” by Lori Devoti
From the Back: On a mission for revenge against his adoptive family, vampire Drystan Hurst needs daemon Aimee Polk to help him put his plan into action. But Drystan doesn’t expect to fall in love with Aimee — especially when it means choosing between her affection and the ultimate family payback he has always dreamed of.

This is a story about two individuals — a vampire and a daemon — who must learn to accept themselves for who and what they are. Drystan has a lot of anger and resentment towards the Myhres. He’s bent on getting revenge and he sees his foster brother’s fiancée, Aimee, as the way to publicly humiliate them. Aimee, a daemon of light, has recently failed to save the life of her most recent charge. She’s decided that it’s best for her not to be one any longer, and will try to do good through Ben, who is politically ambitious. She senses the darkness in Drystan, and her first instinct is to absorb it, but she knows that won’t help him if he doesn’t take the first step.

This story was my favorite and I liked that both characters were supernatural. It made their acceptance of each other smoother. I also liked the twist on vampire mythology

Merline Lovelace's story is first in this book and is considerably shorter (about 112 pages). She's usually an auto-buy author for me but this story seemed to have too many details and the ending abrupt to be considered the HEA I want in a harlequin/silhouette. I got the feeling that maybe she's starting a new series and this was the intro. Not sure. Just was way too short to be tidied up. I almost didn't continue with the book but I'm glad I did because Lori Devoti's story was pretty good! It was also short but about 60 pages longer than Lovelace's and I thought the ending could've been tidied up a bit better the overall story was good and I could get a good picture of the characters in my mind. I wish she'd taken the 112 pages Lovelace took up and expanded her story a bit more to tell the truth. the 4 stars is strictly for Devoti's story and not 5 only because it was a bit short. I will definitely read more of Devoti's books in this line and watch for Lovelace's Codename:Danger books.this wasn't one of those!

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