Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires by Rayne Hall Review

Title: Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires
Genre: Horror
Pages: 148
Price: $0.99
Rating: 4 out 5 stars

Book Synopsis:

Do you like the traditional, blood-sucking, dangerous type of vampire? Then this story collection is for you.

Ten authors have created creepy, chilling, funny, thought-provoking and scary stories about dark suckers.

Are vampires to be pitied for their vulnerabilities, or envied for their powers? How do we know who is a vampire? How do we know what vampires want from us? What if they are expressions of our own forbidden desires?

What if the victims give their blood willingly, in return for a boon? What if they drain from their victims not blood, but something more precious - their courage, their faith, their ability to love?

Is what they offer a fair exchange for what they take? Do you yearn for thrills, for immortality, for everlasting youth? Would you be willing to pay for this with your blood, your life, your soul?

Ten authors probe these questions in their tales. Each story in this book explores a different concept of vampires, a different question, a different danger. To reflect the authors' individual voices, you will find both American and British words and spellings in this book.

Review:

I wasn't a vampire fan until I stumbled across A Girl's Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister. Soon, I was reading more and more vampire fiction and couldn't get enough. Something that always intrigued me was that many stories had different elements. Some vampires could venture out in the daylight (Twilight), while others were cruel, vicious creatures. I must say that I enjoyed Bites, edited by Rayne Hall, because it was a nice mixture of alluring vampires versus pure evil. I also enjoyed the mix between stories set in modern day and those set long ago.

As with any collection, I had my favorites. Winter Flower by Jonathan Broughton was a beautifully constructed story, set long ago, in which a young woman falls for a servant, but finds much more than she expected. My next favorite was Exile by April Grey. The story didn't focus on young victims, but a middle-aged woman who is offered immortality, an immortality that will allow her to forever focus on her passion of dancing.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys vampires and paranormal romance. With ten stories to choose from, you're bound to find at least one story that captures your attention and feeds your love of vampires.