Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love »

Trisha Telep was the romance & fantasy book buyer at Murder One, the UK’s premier crime and romance bookstore, before its sad closure after 21 years of bookselling on the Charing Cross Road. She has recently re-launched this classic bookshop online, however. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she completed the Master of Publishing program at Simon Fraser University before moving to London. She lives in Hackney with her boyfriend, filmmaker Christopher Joseph.

If you can possibly thirst for more mysterious metaphysical accounts of love, Trisha Telep has organized some of the greatest and most thrilling tales of paranormal paramours since The Eternal Kiss. She presents the acclaimed literary talent of thirteen unique authors, creating a collection of stories that will undoubtedly capture the imagination of every soul who dares to read them. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and fallen angels drive the plot of these riveting romances.

Kiss Me Deadly includes the exceptional writings of several authors, including:

• Sarah Rees Brennan (faeries)
• Becca Fitzpatrick (angels)
• Caitlin Kittredge (witches)
• Karen Mahoney (vampires: sequel to story from The Eternal Kiss)
• Daniel Marks (ghost kids)
• Justine Musk (sorcerers)
• Diana Peterfreund (unicorns)
• Michelle Rowen (demons)
• Carrie Ryan (zombies)
• Maggie Stiefvater (werewolves)
• Rachel Vincent (banshees)
• Daniel Waters (zombies)
• Michelle Zink (gothic ghosts)

Publishers Weekly

"Paranormal love" may be the subtitle, but it's better to approach this anthology as paranormal, period. Most of the writers are more occupied with communicating the otherworldly apparatus of their tales than with supernaturally inflected romance. Daniel Marks's story about purgatory, "Vermillion," overstuffed with cultures, time periods, and genres, is perhaps the most extreme of these. In a few cases, such as Sarah Rees Brennan's Peter Pan/James Bond mashup, "The Spy Who Never Grew Up," a potentially cool concept misfires. It's notable that several stories tease their authors' series: "Errant" by Diana Peterfreund (Rampant) is a harsh and poignant take on the unicorn myth; Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush) delves into the angelic possession of Chauncey Langeais; and Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) offers a story about devastating decisions in villages threatened by the Unconsecrated. The most successful stories come from authors willing to forgo the happy ending. Maggie Stiefvater captures the agony of first loss in "The Hounds of Ulster." And Daniel Waters, in a companion to his Generation Dead books, looks at the tragedy of "differently biotic" children through the eyes of an anguished father. Ages 14-up. (Aug.)