Finished Dark Dreamers, which contains novellas by Christine Feehan and Marjorie M. Liu.

Feehan’s novella, Dark Dream, is one of her Carpathian (vampire) stories. I’d never read a Carpathian story before and was interested in trying one. Basically, Feehan’s vampires slowly go insane until their meet their lifemate, which is the only thing that can keep them from turning evil. In this one, warrior Falcon has to protect his lifemate Sara from a vampire who’s been stalking her for years.

Liu’s novella, A Dream of Stone and Shadow, is set in her Dirk & Steele world. In this one, Charlie, a gargoyle, has to convince D&S agent Aggie to rescue a girl who’s being abused. A bit of a problem, since Charlie is currently being held captive by an evil witch and can only appear as a shadowy form to Aggie.

Of the two stories, I liked Liu’s better. I actually think this shorter format worked better than some of her longer books that I’ve read. Liu got right down to the action, and Charlie was a great hero. Funny, warm, caring. He was just cool. I also liked Aggie, who kicked butt right alongside Liu’s other characters. The only quibble I had were the sex scenes. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how Charlie and Aggie could have sex while he was in shadow form, but oh well. Didn’t throw me off that much.

Feehan’s story felt very Gothic to me, with an old-fashioned voice to match. Nothing wrong with that, but I’ve never been a huge fan of Gothic stories. I’m probably the only person alive who doesn’t like Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, and that’s what Feehan’s story reminded me of. Also, I’m a little tired of the soulmate story line. It’s just not something that works for me. That being said, I did enjoy the last half of the story, as Sara and Falcon try to outwit the vampire stalking her.

If you’re a Feehan or Liu fan, you’ll want to pick up this book. Both stories are a nice, quick introduction to their larger worlds. Thumbs up.

Up next: Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur.

Books in my TBR pile: About 15.