Review: Once Bitten, Forever Burned

Synopsis:

A mini anthology containing:

DEVON'S REDEMPTION by Eve Langlais

Bethany lost her one and only love to a war overseas. As if that weren’t bad enough, a brutal attack and claiming by a Lycan makes her life a living hell. She lives only for revenge until the day love comes back into her life and promises to rescue her from her misery. However, the mate who forced her isn’t about to let her go.

Devon died on the battlefield only to be reborn as a creature of the night. He fights to stay away from his one true love, but when he caves to his desire and sees her again, he discovers redemption is possible even for one who walks in darkness.

CRUZ'S SALVATION by Stacey Kennedy

Cruz understands torment. A mortal turned vampire in the war, he has suffered untold loneliness and despair. That is until he meets Kiara—a werewolf he’s forbidden to love.

Though Kiara needs Cruz, and wants him forever, werewolves and vampires are bitter enemies. To make matters worse, her Alpha, also her father, suspects that Kiara pines for a mate. Mistaking her sadness for the longing she feels for Cruz, he sets out to give her all the happiness he can provide.

Together, Kiara and Cruz will have to fight against the rules placed upon them to hold onto their love. But an unwanted visitor creates a complication neither of them planned for. Milo, Kiara’s chosen mate, has come to stake his claim. Now, not only are lives at risk, but hearts are threatened and dreams hang in the balance.



Review:


What a wonderful anthology! This is a quick paced novella containing 2 paranormal stories. Even though the stories are by different authors, they share some similarities. Both are about forbidden love between werewolves and vampires, and the heroes in both stories are friends. I love how the stories are linked, and these authors have a similar writing style.

The first story, written by Eve Langlais, is a little more emotional in the fact that it deals with abuse and rape. These issues don't take away from the sweet romance this couple shares though. I really liked the hero's protectiveness and the need to avenge the wrongs that have been done to his one true love.

The second story, written by Stacey Kennedy, is a sweet tale of forbidden love that stems from prejudices. The couple in this story is so cute. They already knew each other when this story started, but I would have liked to have read about when they first met. Of course with being a short story, I realize there was no time for that.

Both of these stories are not only romantic, but also very steamy - as in don't read while your kids are in the same room because you will just feel plain weird! So yeah - a lot of passion, and also some heartache too. Both authors do a wonderful job at making you feel the character's emotions. Also, the characters are extremely likeable. I would love to see these stories in a series, with different characters in each book (but linked like they are in this anthology). I love the pairing of vampires and werewolves - there isn't really too much of that out there (not that I have read anyway). I would also like to read more about Kiara's dad (featured in Stacey's story). He is such a nice, caring man that deserves to find another love. In Eve's story, I'd like to read more about the vampires. I really liked the head vampire in this story, and I think it would be interesting to find out more about the other vampires that live in his home.