gothmomlite's review

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5.0

I don't necessarily reach for YA but I DO enjoy vampire tales and I was interested in learning how contemporary writers are exploring the (supposed) myth, especially in the short story format. And I'm really glad I picked up this anthology!

There was a range of settings and eras, from possibly medieval times to a hopefully-this-will-never-happen future, which made for enjoyable shifts as I read along. Of course, I wasn't expecting to love them all, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I did *like* them all.

My favorites were:

Unholy Night: a girl must decide whether she can brave the terrors of her vampire-haunted village at night to save her mother's life.

Me and My Shadow -and- A Quiet Weekend: in both stories you learn to think twice before helping a little girl in distress.

Into Dust: does the heroine suffer from Stockholm Syndrome or is she merely choosing to survive?

Allured: when there's a vengeful vamp around, being a popular kid ain't what it's cracked up to be...

Hideous Beauty: in this apocalyptic, dark fairy tale, nuclear war survivors face yet another threat from a compellingly creepy source.

Sometimes funny, sometimes sweet, and sometimes downright chilling, Fangtales kept me turning eagerly to the next story and left me thirsting for more by the time I was done. I only wish I hadn't read the bulk of it a few hours before bedtime.
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