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With these four tales of paranormal romance, it's never been hotter to be close to death...

Shadow of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Angelia has fought her entire life to make herself strong. Now, with her patria under fire, she has to protect her people from Fury and his werewolf clan. Vowing to bring him to justice, Angelia sets out alone... until the hunter becomes the hunted, and the only way for her to survive is to trust the very wolf she's sworn to kill.
NOTE: This story has been re-released in the Dark Bites anthology

The Story of Son by J.R. Ward
Claire Stroughton is a beautiful lawyer who would rather spend the night with a legal brief than the man of her dreams. Then a routine client meeting turns dangerous--and deeply sensual--when she is held captive by a gorgeous man with an unworldly hunger...

Beyond the Night by Susan Squires
When Drew Carlowe returns home to win back a lost love, he is quick to dismiss rumors that his estate is haunted by a stunning young ghost...until one passionate encounter leaves him mystified--and aching for more.

Midnight Kiss Goodbye by Dianna Love
Trey McCree possesses an insatiable desire for Sasha Armand--and supernatural powers that could endanger her life as a human. But when they team up to stop an evil warlord, Trey discovers that Sasha can do way more than drive men wild...

373 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 2, 2008

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About the author

Sherrilyn Kenyon

227 books28.6k followers
Official Author site
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New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series. Join her and her Paladins online at MySherrilyn.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn

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5 stars
5,206 (41%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 607 reviews
Profile Image for Auntee.
1,297 reviews1,393 followers
September 14, 2009
***This review is only for The Story of Son by JR Ward***

Now this is how you write a short story! I just read the most awesome short story by JR Ward, and I could just kick myself! I've had this book languishing on my TBR pile for 9 months! What was I thinking? Please, if you're a fan of Ward's BDB, do yourself a favor and read this little gem. It's only 90 pages long, but it packs a punch as only Ward can do. I was totally involved after the first few pages, and didn't want to put it down. I don't know what Ward's plans are, but I can totally see the characters from this book fitting into the BDB's world.

Part of the book actually takes place in Caldwell, NY (home of the BDB), and I kept expecting to see someone from that world make an appearance in this one, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. Briefly, this is a story about a high-powered attorney named Claire, who loves her job, is totally career oriented, has no desire for a husband and family, or even a relationship--it's all work, work, work. She has a quirky, elderly (91) female client (who she 'inherited' from her late father) who wants to meet with her in Caldwell over the Labor Day weekend to help her plan her estate. "Miss Leeds" lives in a huge, spooky looking Gothic stone mansion, employs an eerily strong old butler named "Fletcher", and seems verrry interested in Claire's personal life (or lack there of). When she keeps mentioning to Claire "I'd like you to meet my son" and "my son will like you", Claire gets the feeling that she's trying to set her up with him. But a son of Miss Leeds's has got to be...what...70? Uhh, no thank you...

Well, that's all I'm going to say about the plot, except to say that Claire is in for one doozy of a surprise, one big, massive, beautiful, innocent beefcake of a surprise, and this being Caldwell...well, you can sort of guess the surprise. This book is part sad horror story, part romance, part erotic romance, and it just may remind you a little bit of Lover Unbound--in a small way.

Loved this short story, and I hope somehow we see these characters again. I can imagine Claire using her lawerly skills to help the Brothers, and I can imagine the one thing/person who she never thought would happen to her fitting right in with the Brothers. There was also a large thread left dangling in this story, one unanswered question, that gives me hope that we haven't heard the last of Claire and company.
Great little short read, told by a master storyteller! 5 stars!
Profile Image for Sophia Triad.
2,239 reviews3,520 followers
February 11, 2018
●●●5 stars for The Shadow Of The Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon●●●

Fury Kattalakis (Katagaria Were-hunter) and Angelia (Arcadian Were-hunter)


We have met Fury and all the Kattalakis brothers in book Night Play. Initially Fang and Vane did not trust Fury because he was coming from a different time period and they thought that he was Arcadian. All Arcadians hate Katagaria wolves and they consider them animals. Fang anf Vane did not know that Fury was born Arcadian, but soon he changed and he become Katagaria. When the other Arcadians found out (including his other Arcadian brother Dare), he was treated very badly, thrown out of his village and he almost died. One of the Arcadians that took part in his 'timoria' was his childhood friend Angelia who really hates Katagaria because they brutally killed her parents.
After all these years, Fury still loves Angelia and he still tries to protect her. It doesn't matter that Angelia still thinks that he is a ruthless animal or that the Arcadian have discovered a weapon that destroys Katagaria.
This book tells their story and their HEA. I loved it!

●●●5 stars for The Story of Son by JR Ward●●●

Michael and Claire


He grabbed on to her in so tight her bones bent. As he buried his head in her hair, his voice dropped to a growl.
"Mine," he said."You are mine. Always."


A short story thar takes place in the same world as BDB, but it is not part of the main series or the spinoff. Maybe at some point in the future, we will have a connection with the Brothers, who knows? Ward has hinted that there might be something there that we will see again in the main series together with some answers.

Michael has been a prisoner of his own mother all his life. His only joy in life are women that his mother brings him as a present once per year. Michael is extremely innocent, gentle and nice...for a vampire.
Claire is an attorney who visits strange Miss Leeds for one of her cases. After a cup of tea, she will wake up at her client basement and she will become acquintant with Michael. She will spend 3 days with him before she is set free. But she will never forget him.

This is a really well-written short story. I wish it was longer, but I have the feeling that we will see again Michael and Claire.
Profile Image for Julie (jjmachshev).
1,069 reviews284 followers
December 2, 2008
Red Alert! Sexy supernaturals ahead!! If you're a paranormal fan, don't miss the "Dead After Dark" anthology with stories by a three well-known names in the paranormal romance genre and one newcomer to watch.

Sherrilyn Kenyon's story "Shadow of the Moon" is about the werewolf Fury and takes places in the Dark-Hunter world. Fury has never let himself get close to a woman because the only woman he ever loved turned on him when his heritage was revealed. Now that woman is back, but this time she's in Fury's power. ***My only beef? Not long enough! Well...and I really wanted Fury for my own :)

"The Story of Son" by J.R. Ward is NOT a BDB story, but it IS a smoking hot contemporary story about a normal woman who gets caught up in an abnormal situation and ends up loving and saving a creature she should, by human standards, hate. ***I think this was my favorite story and I actually had tears in my eyes at one point. I'd like to see more stories from Ward about/in this world. Well...as long as it doesn't delay more BDB stories:P

Susan Squires offers "Beyond the Night" set in her historical Companion series. A man searching for love and revenge instead encounters a vampire who is searching for her own choices after a life of service to the leader of the vampires. Together, they both find the good and bad of what they're looking for. ***A sure winner if you like Squires' series. If you haven't read her series, this will give you an idea of its flavor.

New author Dianna Love rounds out the anthology with "Midnight Kiss Goodbye". A reunion romance of a modern-day warrior and the witch he left behind in an effort to keep her safe. Neither knows about the other's 'special' abilities. But know she's hunting and being hunted by a malevolent entity who's looking to use her as a gateway to unleash unspeakable violence on the world. ***Definitely an author to watch. I really enjoyed this glimpse into Love's intricate, mythical world. Very sexy and very urban fantasy. Hope to see more from her soon.

All in all, well worth the price and the read!
Profile Image for Miss Kim.
535 reviews133 followers
February 8, 2009
Shadow of the Moon
Sherrilyn Kenyon

I loved this quote from the heroine:

“You and I should have had a lifetime together already. I allowed my stupidity to rob us of four hundred years. I don’t want to lose another minute of being with you.”

I really enjoyed going back to Kenyon’s world in this one. Fury is a were-hunter who crosses paths with a were from his past. The girl he loved for so long that betrayed him and tried kill him. The story is short and fast paced. We get to revisit Vane and Bride, and the Peltiers. A nice treat for the Dark Hunter fan.

The Story of Son
J.R. Ward

Wow! I loved this story. It was my first taste of Ms. Ward and I am impressed. An all –work-and-no-play female lawyer is held captive in the basement of a vampire--a virgin vampire. They have three days together. I don’t want to give anything away, but this story rocks! I almost wish she were creating a series with these people. Well, one can dream. :)

Beyond the Night
Susan Squires
This one is a historical in 19th century England. A little different in that the vampire is the woman. She says there is a parastie that lives inside her that she calls her Companian. it seemed this may have been one of a series, since there were some references to her past and the Elders. The hero comes back to town after 15 years looking for his lost love. He finds something else.

Midnight Kiss Goodbye
Dianne Love
The hero has supernatural powers and must save his love from an evil warlord. The heroine is a witch. Neither one knows about the other's special talents.


Profile Image for Buggy.
501 reviews682 followers
June 6, 2012
~A MIXED BAG WITH A HIT FOR WARD FANS~

DEAD AFTER DARK contains 4 paranormal romance stories, with two from a couple of heavy-weight authors in the genre. This anthology was really hard for me to rate because the stories varied from 5 big stars, to okay, to couldn’t even finish. I would definitely recommend this to fans of J.R. Ward though, her contribution was excellent and by far the most complete as a stand alone short story. (I also have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Michael) I’m sure Kenyon’s fans will appreciate her story too, however for myself without any knowledge of her long running series and world rules I was completely lost. Also enjoyable was the historical romance by Susan Squires, who transported me to another time and gave a different twist to the vampire genre.

Never having read anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon before (I know, I know she’s on the TBR shelf) I was a little surprised by her contribution SHADOW OF THE MOON. I guess I expected to be instantly blown away because Kenyon’s so popular, instead I struggled through a couple of very confusing chapters from a story that I still have no idea what it was all about. Kenyon obviously knows how to write the addictive alpha male but even a sexy shape shifter named Fury wasn’t enough to hold my interest here and I gave up. Sadly this was a bad introduction to Kenyon’s writing and you might have thought for an anthology she would have submitted a story more user friendly (or explained her world a bit more) in the hopes of gaining not excluding new readers. DNF 1 star

I have to admit that I bought this book exclusively for Ward’s STORY OF SON and even though its only 90 pages long it was worth the price of admission alone. This is a fantastic story that I became completely engrossed in within a couple of pages. Encompassing suspense, drama, heartache, romance and OH MY the love scenes are sexy as hell. No wonder theres such a huge following for Michael and Claire. It’s also complete in terms of a world anyone can understand and has a conclusive ending, albeit slightly sweet. Obviously I saw the beginning of the BDB here as it takes place in Ward's same Vampire world. In particular a little story arc that’s very similar to V’s story in Lover UnboundBut I won’t tell you why because that’s a major heartbreaking spoiler that I didn‘t see coming either time. Loved it 5 stars

Susan Squires was a new author for me and I really enjoyed her historical in SEIZE THE NIGHT. 1800’s England is captured perfectly here with the story of a man returning home after 15 long years, having made his fortune he hopes to win back his lost love. Scoffing at the rumours that his newly purchased estate may be haunted by a blood drinking ghost until a passionate encounter leaves some very real marks on his neck and a yearning in his soul. I will definitely be searching out more from this author. 4 stars

The last story, Diana Love’s MIDNIGHT KISS GOODBYE was unfortunately another one I couldn’t get into and ultimately just skimmed. A contemporary supernatural romance with a reunited lovers theme and a Hindu god named Ekkbar who keeps possessing the heroes love interest. For whatever reason this just didn’t do it for me. 2 stars
April 13, 2015
This review is for J.R. Ward's "The Story of Son" only

Orginally Read in Aug 2011

Reread Aug 2014


I first read this back in 2011, and I devoured so I decided to revisit Michael & Claire.

When reading every new BDB book that is released, Michael is always in the back of my mind, I somehow always wish he will make an appearance somewhere in the series (perhaps when we learn more of the missing Brother Murhder, since they seem to resemble each other with the black & red hair).

This was a (too short) stand alone novella, I loooooved Michael, and Claire was freaking awesome! Great storyline, great characters, and nice epilogue. My only complaint is that I wish it were longer!!



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Update: This tasty little morsel will be released as a stand alone Novella. Scheduled release date 4/14/15 ($3.99). Originally published in the Dead After Dark anthology.

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Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Story-Son-Dark-...
Profile Image for  ~*~Princess Nya~*~.
1,034 reviews7 followers
April 18, 2014
AWESOME! AWESOME READ!

I am so in love with Michael it is not even funny.

This brief Novella was obviously a test run for Ms Ward, for what we know today to be "The Black Dagger Brotherhood" but it was still an engaging, sexy, erotic & touching read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

And all I keep thinking about is red & black hair, and deep set neon blue eyes... *sighs*

Yup, I would recommend this read.
Profile Image for Mel.
330 reviews523 followers
March 22, 2015
Dead After Dark is an anthology with four PNR short stories by Sherrilyn Kenyon, JR Ward, Susan Squires and Dianna Love. Here’s my review for all the stories:

Shadow of the Moon – Sherrilyn Kenyon 1 star

Aaargggh what can I say? I'm really trying hard but miss Kenyon is doing a damn good job to make me NOT love her.
The story started out great. I liked the premise, I liked the bantering between the two clans. But then it all went downhill...
I want to tell Miss Kenyon two things:
First of all: when writing a short story for an anthology, make sure your world is explained so that non-followers of your series (yes miss Kenyon, they do exist) understand what the hell you're writing about.
Second: please don’t take your readers for morons! The hero and heroine go from love to hate in about two seconds. She tried to kill him twice, stood by while he was being tortured and calls him 'a filthy animal' every other sentence, but one good meal with the scary werewolf (...or whatever the hell they may be)- clan and she wants to mate and bond with him. What?!?!


The Story of Son - J.R. Ward 3,5 stars

This story made me realize how much I appreciate Ward's male POVs . The fact that she writes the BDB stories mainly from the point of view of tougher than tough males gives the stories an edge. It doesn’t get overly romantic or sappy. I was very much missing that edge here.
And please: somebody has to tell this woman not to write epilogues! She tends to sap out when she does them. And this one must be the sappiest of them all! It was just too perfect, too cheesy, too everything! I almost needed a bucket…

Beyond the Night – Susan Squires 3 stars

This was an okay story. There were a few things I wasn't all that keen on. I don't like the writer's take on vampirism (a parasite-like creature called The Companion). I also couldn't appreciate the sudden change of heart in the hero. He was fighting for his love and his revenge for fifteen years and he was over it in pretty much one day. This being said it was a nicely written cute little story.

Midnight Kiss Goodbye – Dianna Love 2,5 stars

Note to author: please don’t try to stuff all that world building involving several Celtic and Hindu Gods into so little pages, it tends to get confusing.
The story started out okay but soon it got annoying. If I ever read the words ‘trembling little body’ again, I’m going to throw up. God, the male POV was such a sap! The heroine (a.k.a. the trembling little body) wasn’t much better: she was a walking talking add for TSTL.
The only person I liked in this story was Lucien Solis. He was arrogant, rude, grumpy but had something really interesting buried underneath that hard exterior. (Totally made me think of Pritkin *sigh*). The story gets an extra star just for Lucien.
Profile Image for UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish.
1,166 reviews1,636 followers
November 20, 2015


Note: As I read and review each story, I will update this review and rate each one separately.


The Story of Son - 5 stars - contains some spoilers:

The Story of Son was my introduction into the Black Dagger Brotherhood world a few years ago. After reading Michael and Claire’s story, I had to run out and buy the entire series and it turned out to be my favorite PNR series of all time.

There’s something so compelling about the race of vampires that the WARDen, J.R. Ward, has created. They are incredibly strong males and females, both physically and emotionally, though sometimes it takes awhile for them to find and accept that inner strength.

In the story of Son, we meet Son, a 68 year old male who is half human, half vampire. We learn that he has been imprisoned in the basement of the estate they live on by his mother, Miss Eliza Leeds, since he was 12 years old. Once a year, his mother, has a female brought to the house and held captive for a few days so Son can feed.

Claire Stroughton, Miss Leeds’ family attorney, is the latest “victim” brought to the house to feed Son, then be released like all the other women who have been brought to him over the years. She finds such tenderness, such innocence and such passion in Son that she can’t help but want to rescue him from the heartache and imprisonment he’s endured for so long and spend the rest of her life loving him.

I was so very happy when Claire took the first step toward making him feel like a real person and not just an animal meant to be caged up when she gave him a real name; Michael.

One thing that readers of the BDB series will likely question immediately is Michael being able to survive off of feeding only once a year, when we know the warrior vampires require feeding much more often. There’s no indication that Michael is, or will ever be, a Brother. As I said before, he’s a civilian vampire and a half human one at that. I’ve never seen it addressed anywhere by the WARDen as to how often a half human, civilian vampire needs to feed, so it might be very possible that this isn’t an inconsistency at all.

I’m hopeful that this is a question someone can get an answer to either on her own Message Boards or during a BDB chat.
Profile Image for K..
96 reviews16 followers
Want to read
December 22, 2009
Review of J.R. Ward's entry - "The Story of Son"

4 stars for "The Story of Son." Had all the J.R. Ward flavor to it. The setting is in Caldwell, home of the BDB, so the scenario seemed appropriate and likely for Michael being held captive under his crazy mother and family butler's plan to "protect" the world from him. Ward could not have created a more empathetic hero than Michael. Sentenced to an imprisoned life of solitude at the age of 12, his only contact is a once per year abduction of a female by his mother in order to feed his blood-needs, of which Michael is extremely ashamed. He thinks he's the "only one." (Any of us who've read the BDB know a lot better!!) Michael treats his mother's victims with the utmost care for the 3 days they are held imprisoned with him in his dungeon cell, and their overwhelming fear of him just confirms to himself that he's surely a monster. When Claire, his mother's latest kidnapping victim is thrown into his cell, Michael's mating instict kicks in, and he and Claire face the confusing chemistry of being each other's "one and only." Not explainable on a logical level, yet completely unignorable on a physical level.

There were a few points about the heroine that annoyed me, but extremely aggressive heroines tend to turn me off here and there in their behavior most times (too domineering sometimes to their men, and this one was certainly no exception). Overall though, I was okay with her and she didn't ruin the story for me.

Michael, the hero, was truly loveable, and I enjoyed seeing his vulnerability, and who can resist a virgin hero who wants to "please." ;) Ward did leave a couple of unanswered questions in the story on a couple of mentions Michael makes about his reluctance to escape his captors, but overall, for a short story, it was pretty complete. Great Ward love scene (as usual), and a nice epilogue to wrap up Michael and Clare's HEA. For a quick fix on Ward while we all wait impatiently for "Lover Mine," . . . this was a nice snack. :)

Since I'm not inclined to read the other short stories in the anthology at this point . . . it goes back to my TBR shelf for another day!
K.
Profile Image for CC.
1,761 reviews213 followers
January 23, 2016
Only read Shadow of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Worst heroine ever! Maybe Fury is a bit of an ass, but no way does he deserve a freaking bitch mate who tried to kill him - twice! And continues to call him a dirty animal basically the entire story. I HATED her!
Profile Image for Kathrynn.
1,170 reviews
September 23, 2009
There were four short stories in this paranormal anthology. Two I didn't care for and two I enjoyed.

1. Shadow of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon wasn't for me. I looked on the author's Site to get the series order for this short story and she changed her Dark series order around--again. She moved some that used to be included in her numbering to a secondary column entitled "Related Books." Great. I've tried to order her blasted series here on GRs and have printouts that I've used in the past. Egads! Frankly, I view the utter disorganization of her series order with the same disdain that I had reading this short story. It doesn't/didn't make sense to me. Too much prior knowledge must be necessary in order to understand the plot/theme. It was rambling. I struggled to get through it, got the jest: something was going around turning shifters into their animal form--permanently. By page 18, I'd had enough and stopped reading this one. Unfinished

2. The Story of Son by J.R. Ward was EXCELLENT and made buying this book well worth the time and effort. Ms. Ward can sure weave a tale! I enjoy her humor and writing style. Excellent job with a short story in getting the character's emotions "out there." What a tale it was. Michael and Claire. Wish that something more could have happened to "mother" and would like to have learned what Fletcher was.... Hope there is a spin-off to other stories along this theme. Perhaps the children or family tree will open up? 5 Stars

3. Beyond the Night by Susan Squires. Bleh. This is part of her "Companion series," which I don't care for. Her twist on the vampire tale is that vampires are infected with parasites. They have to be controlled/trained via sex. I read "The Burning" (Companion, #3) and hated it. The whole plot bothers me. I enjoy a hot romance, but this Companion series is just so wrong for me. This one was about one of the three daughters of the leader of whatever species they are. He used his three daughters to train "warriors" using sex. So they were sex slaves. This daughter ran away and was haunting a castle. She was a horny vampire. The setting is 1800's. Unfinished

4. Midnight Kiss Goodbye by Dianna Love was a pleasant experience. This author has a lot of potential. There were some minor facts that started one way then went another, time period, clothing worn, etc that should have been caught by anyone proofing or editing... The plot was good. Warrior and witch. Neither knew each other for what they truly were. They had a hot and heavy affair and the warrior, Trey, decided to commit himself to his "duty" and left Sasha. Ten years or five, depending on which portion you read, went by and they reconnect. Sasha is trying to master her witch powers to save her sister who is possessed. Trey is trying to "save the world" by stopping a powerful being/demon from springing from his prison below ground. 4 Stars
Profile Image for Yz the Whyz.
186 reviews128 followers
August 22, 2010
Kenyon's novella: Meh!
Ward's novella: Wow!
Squires' novella: Hmmm...okay, I guess.
Love's novel: Has some potential.

Overall, a decent anthology. Except for Kenyon's work, I thought it was worth the time reading. Actually, it should be read just for Ward's The Story of Son. : )
Profile Image for Tarsis.
1,047 reviews81 followers
March 7, 2018
Ella le dio la espalda cuando él la necesitó. Ahora nuevamente lo traiciona...

Me gusta la realidad de sus palabras, la maldad no está en los animales, LOS HUMANOS actúan más como animales, movidos por motivos mucho más egoístas y absurdos.
Profile Image for Continuum.
37 reviews9 followers
June 5, 2017
Originally I was thinking on reading just Fury's story. I really liked him in Vane's book, but when I saw that there's a story of J.R. Ward, I couldn't pass it.

So, 5 HUGE STARS go to J. R. Ward's The Story of Son. The story is amazing. Emotional. And thrilling. A rare author can make such a wonderful thing in so little words.

As for Fury's story - unfortunately I can only give it 3 stars.
And all of them for Fury. I simply love him. But Angelia... she's a small-minded, judgmental bi*ch whom I wanted to slap around a bit. Okay, a lot.
I couldn't understand why Fury loves her.
More importantly, I couldn't understand her change. One moment she was all 'get away from me you stinging animals, I hate you, and the next... 'I love you, Fury. I want to be yours.'
No buildup, no ... nothing to show how this could be possible.
And the end... I think someone replaced Dare with a pod-person. It's the only thing that explains his sudden change. That just doesn't happen. Even in fictional world. Or at least it shouldn't.

As for the other two stories. Well, maybe one day. I want Xypher now :)
Profile Image for Mojca.
2,133 reviews148 followers
January 29, 2009
There’s a love-hate sort of “thing” I have going for Sherrilyn Kenyon’s novella Shadow of the Moon. On one hand there’s Fury, my (currently) favorite wolf of the Were-Hunter bunch. I have a thing for tall, dark, handsome, and brooding, so sue me. I have a bone to pick (excuse the pun) with Angelia. For the better part of the story I just wanted someone to kick her judgmental, arrogant, narrow-minded butt. In the end, she finally seemed to see reason, but still, she takes second place on my least-favorite Kenyon’s character list (Artemis still reigns supreme)...Angelia aside, this was a good story, with Kenyon revisiting her past (and loved) characters – it’s always a pleasurable hoot to see good ol’ Z again.

J.R.Ward’s The Story of Son literally blew me away. I have only read half of this book so far, but I think this will be the best of the four. I mean, how can you top this?! It was as close to perfect as it could get. The heroine was a hoot to read. A no-nonsense, board-room killer lawyer with a sense of humor to die for and a level head on her shoulders. I absolutely adored her. And her hero…Yum, yum. The perfect guy. Gentle, incredibly polite, Old-World air (thanks to his books), yet when he “let loose” – yowza! I could have done with a little shorter hair, though.
This story indeed has it all going for it. There’s romance, drama, action, mystery, some chills and thrills...And most important of all, great characters (even the supporting cast left an impression). An amazing story.
This is the first story by this author for me and if BDB series is half this good, I’m itching to sink my teeth into it (again, no pun intended).

Susan Squire's Beyond the Night is yet another of her "Companion" stories. I can't seem to escape those. I only have her stories in novellas and each and every one of them is a "Companion". I'm not fond of that parasitic critter. I always get this nasty mental picture of the alien who ate crazy people in an episode of Buffy and I cringe. Vampires are supposed to be sexy, that mental picture isn't sexy...Ugh.

And now to Dianna Love's Midnight Kiss Goodbye. Somewhere in the middle I think my brain simply shorted out. The whole universe she's concocted was so complex, with mages, witches, gods, Hindu tribes yadda yadda, I just couldn't follow anymore without taking out a pad and pencil (and I was too bored and too lazy to get those). Maybe this is part of a series, or start of one, I don't know, but it was a little too much info to cram into a novella. Also, something must have rub off her friend and co-author Sherrilyn Kenyon, because the fighting scene and subsequent quasi-reunion of all the above mentioned fantasy critters was a little too similar to Kenyon's Hunters, complete with the Big Boss of the some sorts that could've been Ash or Savitar in disguise.



Again, the first two novellas earn this compilation that nice grade you see up there. Out of those two, J.R.Ward's is the best, Fury's story is a far second, while the other two are not worth the deteriorated brain cells.
Profile Image for P .
691 reviews327 followers
November 6, 2014
ด้วยความที่เรากระโดดข้ามไปอ่านเรื่อง The Story of Son ของ J.R.Ward ก่อน พอย้อนกลับมาอ่าน Shadow of the Moon ของ Sherrilyn กลายเป็นว่าเรื่องของเชอร์ริลีนด้อยกว่าไปเลย และเมื่อรู้ว่าเป็นเรื่องสั้นทั้งคู่ทำให้เราต้องทำใจไว้ก่อนว่า การแก้ไขปัญหาต้องง่ายและไม่ซับซ้อนเพื่อประหยัดเนื้อที่ในการเขียนอย่างแน่นอน

แต่เมื่อนำเรื่องของนักเขียนทั้งสองคนมาเทียบกันจริงๆ เห็นได้ชัดเลยว่า The Story of Son ทำได้ดีกว่า ทั้งในด้านการใช้พื้นที่ไม่กี่ร้อยหน้าในการถ่ายทอดเรื่องราวออกมาได้ละเมียดละไมและมีจุดให้ติน้อยกว่า Shadow of the Moon ที่ผูกปมความรู้สึกของตัวละครมาซะอย่างที แต่การจัดการปัญหาของพระนางกลับง่ายและดูไม่ค่อยน่าเชื่อถือเท่าไร แต่ก็เอาเป็นว่าเราก็พยายามมองข้ามๆไปละกัน เพราะเล่มนี้ก็เป็นรวมเรื่องสั้น จะให้ไปเทียบกับเวอร์-ฮันเตอร์เล่มหลักแล้วหวังว่าจะสนุกเหมือนกันก็ใช่เรื่องเนอะ ^^

เราอ่านแค่ 2 เรื่องนะสำหรับเล่มนี้ ของ Sherrilyn กับ J.R.Ward เท่านั้น ส่วนนักเขียนอีกสองคนเราไม่รู้จัก ก็ว่ารอว่างๆและถ้าไม่ลืมจะหยิบมาอ่านเรื่องที่เหลือ สรุปว่าอ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้ได้อะไรมากกว่าที่เราคิดมากๆโดยเฉพาะเรื่องของ J.R.Ward ที่แหละที่ทำให้เราประทับใจสุดๆ ถ้าเทียบกับสไตล์พระเอกชุด BDB ที่ J.R.Ward สร้างขึ้นมา ถือว่าไมเคิลนี่ฉีกแนวบุคลิกของพระเอกทั้งหมดทั้งมวลไปเลยนะ ส่วนมากพระเอกชุด BDB จะออกแนวห่ามๆเถื่อนๆทั้งนั้น แต่พระเอกเล่มนี้กลับอ่อนโยนน่าปกป้องมากๆ อ่านแล้วถูกใจสุดๆ >.<

Profile Image for mlady_rebecca.
2,228 reviews97 followers
February 25, 2010
Technically, I only read the Kenyon story, but seeing as I have no desire to tackle the other contributions, I'm calling this book read. Enjoyed Fury's story. Of the WereHunters, the wolves have always been my favorites. This was a nice complement to Vane and Bride's story. I think Fang's story is coming soon. My only complaint is that the shorts always seem to be over before you get into them.

Reviewed January 3, 2009

******

Re-read Fury's story again after we got Fang's story in "Bad Moon Rising". Reading Fang, Vane, and Fury's stories back to back enhanced each story. Although, I guess there was some twisting in the timeline.

Vane's story, written first, was the most standalone. Excluding the intro and the epilogue, it took place over about a month.

Fury's story, a short, covered an even shorter period. Although Fury and Lia knew each other as children, long before Fury flipped from Arcadian to Kattagaria and was kicked out of his mother's patria. So the romance had longer legs than the span of the book. Love - betrayal - love again.

The Fang's story is the longest book wise. And his romance the slowest to build.

Let's see Vane w/ Bride is Prince Charming w/ Cinderella. Not sure the literary equivalent, but Fury and Lia were the childhood friends who didn't find true love till much later in life. And Fang and Aimee, clearly Romeo and Juliette, without the tragic ending.

Nice balance there. *g* See, I swear these books would be even better as urban fantasy. Spread among the Dark-Hunter books, they weren't as good as they were back-to-back.

You know, I'm even thinking of family trees and timelines, so you know the wolves hooked me in a way the series as a whole didn't.

Reviewed 08/09/2009

******

Finally read the J.R. Ward contribution, my first ... well, anything ... by her. Good short. Not sure if I'd like a whole series of the ultra alpha male, though. I've got a particular fondness for other male archetypes - the artist, the intellectual, the submissive. *g* Alpha males don't rock every woman's world.

Reviewed 09/25/2009

******

Read the Susan Squires contribution. Decent read. Boy meets girl vampire in a historical setting. It's part of her "Companions" series. I think I own, but have never read, the first book in that series. Probably 3 or 3 1/2 stars for this short alone. The "full book" 5 star rating actually applies to the Kenyon contribution.

Reviewed 02/24/2010
Profile Image for MelissaB.
725 reviews326 followers
March 9, 2009
I only read Fury's story by Sherrilyn Kenyon and The Story of Son by J.R. Ward.

Fury's story - the heroine was not likable in this story, she betrayed the hero twice in only a little over 100 pages. She spent centuries hating Fury's type of Were Hunter to the point of trying to kill Fury when she found out then allowing him to be tortured - then I am supposed to believe the last 10 pages where she suddenly realizes he is a good person and all Katagaria are not bad. Sorry but I needed a bit more time to believe that plus I don't buy 180 degree turns in attitude from small causes. Overall, the best part of the story was seeing Vane, Bride and their small son - that was awesome!

The Story of Son - great little story, but I expect nothing else from J.R. Ward
Profile Image for Raven.
115 reviews13 followers
April 7, 2014
Short and sweet, just what I needed to past a leisure evening. I'm hoping we will get to see more of this vampire in the future books of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I really want to know who Micheal's father is and how everyone will react to him and his family. Really good short story.
Profile Image for Misspharaoh.
694 reviews75 followers
July 27, 2019
เป็นหนังสือรวมเรื่องสั้นของนข. 4 ท่าน
ทั้งนี้เล่มนี้เป็นเรื่องราวของ Were-hunter 3.5 ในจักรวาลของ Sherrilyn Kenyon ที่ตามอยู่ด้วย เลยเอาซะหน่อย

เรื่องแรก
เป็นของ ฟิวรี่-ลีอา หมาป่าที่เคยเป็นเพื่อนเล่นกันตั้งแต่เด็ก แต่พอความลับของฟิวรี่ถูกเปิดเผย เขากลับโดนเพื่อนที่รักและสาบานว่าจะปกป้องดูแลทรยศหักหลังจนต้องหนีตาย 400 กว่าปีผ่านไป ทั้งสองเจอกันอีกครั้งด้วยทัศนคติของลีอาที่ยังคงคิดว่าเผ่าพันธุ์แบบพระเอกมีแต่ความโหดร้าย มีแต่ความเป็นสัตว์ เป็นสิ่งมีชีวิตที่พักพวกของนางต้องกำจัดเลยจับพระเอกมาทรมาน แต่สุดท้ายด้วยเยื่อใยในอดีตหล่อนได้ปล่อยพระเอกให้หนีไป หลังจากนั้นก็ไปปรับทัศนคติกันบลาๆ ทั้งคู่ค้นพบตัวเองว่าต่างก็รักกันมาตลอดเลยตัดสินใจครองคู่กัน

เป็นเรื่องสั้นๆแต่กินใจมากๆเลยค่ะ ทำให้ซึ้งน้ำตาคลอด้วยประโยคจี๊ดๆเข้าหัวใจตามเคย

เรื่องนี้มีตัวละครในจักวาล Dark-hunter ที่โผล่มาให้หายคิดถึงมากมายเลย ไม่ว่าจะเป็น ชาวหมีแซงชัวรีย์ เวน-ไบรด์ แฟ็ง-เอมมี่ ซาช่า ซาเร็ค(ยังคงความเถื่อนผู้ตามเอาใจเมีย❤️) ซาวิทาร์

เรื่องที่สอง
เป็นเรื่องสั้นของ J.R. Ward เกี่ยวกับแวมไพร์หนุ่มที่ถูกกักขังไว้ใต้คฤหาสน์ โดยมีหญิงสาวคนหนึ่งมาปลดปล่อย เอาเป็นว่าเป็นแนวถนัดของนข.เลยค่ะถ้าใครได้อ่านชุด Back Dagger Brotherhood มาก่อน แต่เรื่องนี้จะเป็นแบบเบาๆง่ายๆไม่ได้มีอะไรซับซ้อน ตอนจบก็เป็นครอบครัวสุขสันต์

เรื่องสาม-สี่
ขอสารภาพว่ายังไม่ได้อ่าน 555 ด้วยความที่ไม่รู้จักนข. เลยทำให้ไม่มีกำลังใจเท่าไหร่ กองดองก็เยอะเหลือเกิน งั้นขอติดไว้ก่อนนะคะ😂😂
Profile Image for Alex is The Romance Fox.
1,461 reviews1,122 followers
April 7, 2012
Dead After Dark is anthology of novellas written by 4 different authors. I am not a fan of short stories but purchased this book solely for my ultimate all time favorite paranormal romance authors, JR WARD and SHERRILYN KENYON’s names on the cover.
Of course I read their novellas first and struggled through the other two – not crazy about historical/futuristic books so I skimmed over quite a lot of pages, so it would be unfair for me to give a true review on those as I did not get totally into them.

The Story of Son by J.R Ward – my favorite
Blurb: Claire Stroughton is a beautiful lawyer who would rather spend the night with a legal brief than the man of her dreams. Then a routine client meeting turns dangerous—and deeply sensual—when she is held captive by a gorgeous man with an unworldly hunger…

I loved the story of Claire, the workaholic, career-orientated lawyer , who does not need a man in her life to define who she is and not for her the marriage, children thing, though she has nothing against that but just not for her.
Visiting one of her elderly clients who lives in a creepy Gothic mansion just outside Caldwell, NY (aha…BlackDaggerBrothehood I thought…but no, no link to those vampire males!!!), she is drugged and wakes up to find herself in a dark room with the most gorgeous male who tells her that his mother (her client, Mrs Leeds) has brought her to him so he can feed…yikes…a vampire!!! But hey, Claire is not your usual damsel in distress, believe me!!!!! She will spend 3 days with him and then she will be let go not remembering anything about the incident.
Yet, as Claire learns about the cruelty and pain he has endured since he was 12 years old, when he was imprisoned by his wicked mother and her evil butler and discovering his tenderness, innocence and goodness and of course an unexplainable attraction she feels towards him, makes a decision that she will rescue Michael (the name she has given him as he reminds her of Archangel Michael) and get him away from the prison that has caused him such heartache and pain.

I was so touched by Michael…this kind, honorable, confused and tender person who never wants to hurt or cause pain to others despite the cruelty he has endured for the last 56 years …totally isolated from everything. He has never felt warmth and love until he meets Claire. A true virgin, romantic, tender hero who slowly learns that he is not the monster he has been led to believe.
The sex scenes (they do it a lot of times!!!!!) are so poignant, tender, sweet and so so HOT HOT….I knew they were meant to be together..real soul mates and could understand Claire’s determination to rescue Michael so that they could be together for eternity…whatever obstacles lay ahead, she never gives up.

Wished that this could have been a full length novel. There was so much more that I wanted to know about their lives but I was so so happy to see how Michael and Claire found their happiness together in the end. Talk about pulling my heartstrings!!!!!!
Romance

J.R Ward has created a vampire world, including the beyond popular BDB Series that is compelling, addictive, drawing you into this place of incredibly gorgeous, strong males and females like no other author has in the paranormal romance genre. Her writing is vivid, believable, so now!!!! Whilst this story is not part of that series, I could easily see Michael and Claire with the brothers. Who knows…maybe one day!!!! I think they would fit in very nicely.

There is one thing that really bothered me though…..JR Ward is amazing in creating the ultimate alpha-male…but I find her woman characters are a bit off-putting at times….I mean, Claire has felt like a “man in a woman’s body” when having sex with men until she meets Michael!!!!! What, because she’s career-orientated!!!!! The women in the BDB Series fare no better…they either doormats who stay in the shadows of their alpha-males or like Xhex, who is a warrior, is described as having a muscled body like a male with short, crew cut!!!!! Are there any in-between kinds of females who can be strong without thinking or looking like a man!!!! But this little gripe did not stop me from engaging with Claire.

I loved this touching and romantic story…a great plot, interesting and endearing characters.

Blurb: Shadow of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Angelia has fought her entire life to make herself strong. Now, with her patria under fire, she has to protect her people from Fury and his werewolf clan. Vowing to bring him to justice, Angelia sets out alone…until the hunter becomes the hunted, and the only way for her to survive is to trust the very wolf she’s sworn to kill.

I love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series and have read most of most of the books. I was glad that I finally found Fury’s book….he’s part of the Kattalakis pack and I have always wanted to know more about him.
I would have preferred to read a full length book on him but half way through the story I changed my mind. Why???
The beginning is really great. I liked meeting up again at Sanctuary with Dev, Vane (Fury’s brother? And his wife Bride and son………they are such an awesome couple… but after meeting Angelia, a human-wolf who hates wolf-humans even though she and Fury had been such close friends when they were younger. I hated her!!!!! How could she allow Fury to be tortured the way he was by members of her team????
I thought Fury was a great male/wolf….he experienced rejection, cruelty, pain not only from the Arcadians but he was despised and rejected by his own mother. I couldn’t believe how he could have gone through when he had been attacked and left for dead by Angelia, that he could still forgive her and protect her from danger!!!! A true loyal friend who has always loved her!!!!!
She infuriated me even more as she blew hot and cold towards Fury….I hate you, I love you, I want you, I don’t want you!!!!!!! Make up your mind girl!!!!! Maybe if it had been a longer story and I discovered more things about her, I might have been more inclined to like and think her as being Fury’s true mate

Despite this moan, I did enjoy the story and if you are a fan of the series you should read it.

Profile Image for Grecia Robles.
1,526 reviews366 followers
July 26, 2017
Este relato me ENCANTÓ es que en esta serie mi guilty pleasure son los libros de los were hunters me encantan.

Aunque es muy cortito y no permite que te enamores mucho del protagonista , si hace que sientas un poco de pena por todas las cosas que le pasaron aunque igualmente ya sabíamos un poco de Fury en el libro Night play, en cuanto a la protagonista lo odieee, es cuando pienso que el libro tenía que ser un poco más largo para que se arrastrara por el perdón de Fury la tuvo muy fácil y yo NO LA PERDONO.

¿Saben lo que más disfruté de este libro? Vaneeeee, y verlo junto a Bride y su hijo y luego cuando sale Zarek fue genial, es que sus libro son de mis favoritos hubiera sido AMAZING si Ash hubiera aparecido.
Profile Image for Redd77 .
26 reviews3 followers
September 12, 2009
I'm giving this book the 5 stars because I really liked three out of the four stories in the book. I might have likes Susan Squires a little more, but for some reason it didn't grab me from the beginning. With short stories you have so little time to get into the story before it is ending and her story just didn't grab me soon enough!

"Midnights Kiss Goodnight" was great. Fast paced as a shorty story should be and I really felt like I couldn't put the book down while reading it. This is the first time I have read anything by this author, but I am ready to start adding her other books to my TBR pile now.

"Shadow of the Moon" is a continuing addition to her Dark Hunter series. This was a side story about the Werehunters. I have read her Dark Hunters to the current book and these characters are not a huge part of the entire series. Still wonderful and great ending!! Of course there was a glimpse of Acheron in it. Wonderful in my opinion.

"Story of Son" a side story of J.R. Ward. Don't expect the same rules to apply here as they do in her Brothers series. I really enjoyed this one and once I realized the differences it made the story so much better!!

"Beyond the Night" by Susan Squires. I will say I enjoyed the ending but the story seemed to start out to slow. I put it down at least twice, but I was determined to finish the book so I picked it up again.
I am one of those people that expects by the first two or three chapters of a regular book to be interested. Considering the length short stories usually are I expect that feel after the first chapter and it wasn't there.

I look forward to future stories by all the authors and maybe with time I'll find a favorite by Susan Squires.


Profile Image for Holly.
1,670 reviews86 followers
February 26, 2010
After re-reading Night Play the other day, I was curious to know who Fury's heroine was and how his story played out. I'm sorry to report this was one of the worst novellas I've ever read.

Angelia, Fury's heroine, is a small minded, judgmental bitch. She treated Fury abominably and refused to accept the responsibility for her actions. She was his best friend as they were growing up, yet as soon as she realized Fury was Katagaria (his base form is wolf) instead of Arcadia (human base form) she stabbed him and left him for dead.

Now, 400 years later, she and her cohorts have a weapon that will keep weres from changing forms and make their magic useless. They kidnap Fury to find out what he knows about it, and begin torturing him when he won't tell them. This goes on for hours. Angelia doesn't actually participate in the torture, but she sees and hears it. After they brand him, she finally steps in and takes Fury away.

Not my idea of a good heroine.

Fury was his same adorable self throughout the book, but the fact that he was paired with someone who betrayed him so badly really makes me angry. Fury had never known love or acceptance. I find it really hard to believe he's going to get it from this backstabbing, self-righteous bitch.

Profile Image for Iva.
629 reviews100 followers
April 13, 2012
This review is only about The Story of Son by J.R Ward. The other stories are connected to series I don't follow so I didn't read those.

Oh hell. When I found out there's an anthology with a story by J.R.Ward I didn't even had time to blink before I found it. And I don't have to mention that I devoured it in a single evening. And it was ah-mazing!!
I just realized I became such an addict. A J.R.Ward addict. Seriously. Her books are a guilty pleasure and a fix of the best drug on the market!

This story is about 80-90 pages long and WHY, oh why wasn't it a full length book? But hell, even this long it was so good. Claire was very cool and Michael... *thoughts going back to the big hotter-than-hell vampire in a red silk robe with bright blue eyes and waist-long red and black hair* *a moment passes* *major swoon* *drops to the floor, nosebleed, eyes rolling back in the head* GOD!
Dear Ward. Woman, you're doing it right!!!
Michael was a sweet guy straight from the Victorian era, even an amazing artist, and I want moreeeeee!
I just hope you put them in BDB one day. Pretty pleeeease!
Profile Image for Amanda.
202 reviews21 followers
February 10, 2017
I got this book for the J R Ward story, and I was not disappointed at all, It was a mesmerizing tale and love and self discovery, for both of the main characters. I was truly amazed at how J R was able to pack so much into such a short story. She has yet to not amaze me with her writing. My heart jump right into the pages of her story and fell in love with main character because he was so fragile even though in so many ways he wasn't. I love how Claire opened herself to him and was so soft and loving with him. I recommend this book to anyone who loves J R Ward!!!!
Profile Image for Ruth Ellen.
1,458 reviews
May 17, 2012
although I have read my Lia and Fury's story...I don't think I finished this book. So I am going to read it today, I am curious about a character I read about on the Fan Pages named Michael. I will update when I am done.

Done with the book. I liked all the stories...they were good and some had humor. I like humor.
Profile Image for ↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝.
1,298 reviews141 followers
June 1, 2013
★★★★★ Dead After Dark(Shadow of the Moon) by Sherrilyn Kenyon book 15.6 in Dark Hunter Series

The story of the son written in the style of BDB, but not actually part of that series. Would be nice to see them brought in though. The story of the gylmera, money and secrets.
Shadow of the moon, another short story from the dark hunters series, always good

Shadow of the Moon
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