STROKE OF MIDNIGHT

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon, Amanda Ashley, L.A. Banks and Lori Handeland ISBN: 0312998767 11/2004 PARANORMAL Publisher: ST. MARTIN'S PRESS

Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon Two enemy Were-Panthers discover that fate has destined they become lovers. Pandora must learn to trust Dante's foreign nature. But as she slowly succumbs to the truest passion she has ever known, dark forces have already set out to reclaim her... Born of the Night by Amanda Ashley When Lady Shanara Montiori is taken hostage, she learns that the rumors about her captor are true. Lord Reyes is afflicted with the dark curse of the werewolf. Still, Shanara can't fight the attraction they both feel. Will their love break the curse-or feed its powerful hold? Make It Last Forever by L. A. Banks An innocent mistake forces the beautiful Tara onto a mission to save herself from the dark fate that awaits her. Salvation comes in the form of a seductive biker with a heart of gold. But will surrendering to their ripe attraction unleash a danger even she cannot control? Red Moon Rising by Lori Handeland Novelist Maya Alexander's peace is shattered when she is stalked by a Navaho skinwalker who has taken on the guise of a wolf. Her only hope is the mysterious Clay Philips. In his arms, she seeks protection-but as the red moon rises, no one is safe from the danger that lurks nearby...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

For those of you that see my favorite authors' names listed above, but don't see the expected Top Pick Award, take heart. It is good, but it isn't long enough for me.

That is the problem with anthologies. You really get into a story, and even though it's summed up nice and tidy at the end, you know that there could have been so much more to it! Some of the parts that are glossed over to give you some background, would have made an interesting scene to read about. Especially in the case of Lori Handeland and Sherrilyn Kenyon's stories. Both could have made their stories stand on their own as books, though I have to hand it to them for being able to condense them so well. But man, is there a lot of room for expansion on their terrific tales!

It could be that I just enjoy the Dark-Hunter novels and my newly found appetite for Handeland writings a bit too much to just put them into a few chapters. Or, it could be that the two other stories by Amanda Ashley and L.A. Banks did fit better into the anthology, yet made me yearn for more background on their characters. Whatever it is, I hope all of them put out a full book of their own soon.

Shannon Johnson