Book Review: Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions by Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions
Author: Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong (Editors)
Publication: HarperCollins (September 20, 2011)

Description: A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved.

My Thoughts: This anthology has a theme of journeys, both actual and virtual. The idea of the anthology came from an author tour including quite a group of YA authors. I like anthologies because they give me a chance to sample authors I haven't yet read and also get new peeks into the world of authors I do read.

New to me authors in this anthology were Claudia Gray who wrote a story about twins who discover that they have psychic gifts, Carrie Ryan who writes a story about sisters trying to survive after an event ends life as they know it, and Jessica Verday who writes a story that includes defanged vampires on their way to a Rocky Horror Picture Show convention.

Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Vincent and Rachel Caine write episodes in their long-running series. Jeri Smith-Ready's story takes the form of a poem about a ghost who needs to make things right before he can move on.

I enjoyed all of the stories in the anthology. I liked that they each had interesting takes on the idea of journeys and that they each had their own emotional signature from funny to scary to romantic.

Favorite Quote:

I kept my grip firm. Little hiccups of sounds filled the car and I realized that the big, bad vampire was crying.

"Please," he said. "I swear, we won't hurt you. We're just going to a --"

"Oh, stop it. Like I'm going to believe a vampire."
           --At the Late Night, Double Feature, Picture Show by Jessica Verday.                                                      

I bought this one Oct. 12, 2011. You can buy your copy here.