Midnight Hunger
After years of wait, Kensington Publishing is releasing a third volume of their vampire anthology series. (Masters of Midnight and Midnight Thirsts were the first two… I’m sensing a theme in the titles.) With only three vampire stories in the anthology this time, Midnight Hunger is also one of best in the series. As with the two previous books, these stories are long, each around 100 pages in length, so we are treated to thorough character development and proper storytelling.
Blood on the Moon and Land of the Midnight Sun were my two favorite tales from the anthology. In Land of the Midnight Sun, Jacob follows farm hand and crush Marcus to Los Angeles and together they discover vampires are real and some are threatening. Cord, our hero in Blood on the Moon meets a vampire on his trip to New Orleans and in fulfilling his desire with the stranger he stumbles into danger. I felt there was more to hear from Cord, as well as the characters from Land of the Midnight Sun. (Spoiler: We see Cord return to New Orleans in the 2011 gay vampire collection, Blood Sacraments).Both stories held enjoyable endings, were paced well and left lasting impressions, though no particular passages were utterly unforgettable (I blame Greg Herren’s The Nightwatchers from the second Midnight series, Midnight Thirsts.)
Sean Wolfe’s The Dark Heart was not as much a let down compared to the other two tales, but wasn’t as memorable; its’ suspenseful conclusion was great but left me wanting closure. Sean is an excellent writer and has appeared in all three of the Midnight series. His story Bradon’s Bite in Masters of Midnight was one of the two best tales from the collection, though I had hoped for a better ending. However like the two previous anthologies, I highly recommend them as some of the best in gay vampire fiction.
Synopsis
They’re beautiful and dangerous. Mysterious and merciless. One kiss can awaken a hunger that will leave you craving for all eternity. Succumb to every dark longing, every illicit temptation, in a trio of erotic vampire tales that dare to go beyond the limits of desire.
Blood on the Moon by Todd Gregory
Till now Cord Logan has kept his forbidden lust hidden, but he’s hoping that a trip to New Orleans with his frat brothers will give him a chance to break free at last. And inside a crowded Bourbon Street bar, Cord meets a charismatic stranger who’ll fulfill all of Cord’s deepest fantasies, and transform him in ways he never could have imagined.
Todd Gregory continued Cord Logan’s story into a full novel, Need.
Land of the Midnight Sun by Chase Masters
When Pennsylvania farm boy Jacob Cameron stows away in a pickup truck owned by a gorgeous hired hand, he begins a journey of sensual exploration that leads to the bright lights of West Hollywood. Now, in L.A.’s seductive netherworld, Jacob will discover the heights of carnal bliss, and the terrible price of success.
The Dark Heart by Sean Wolfe
Kayden Ridvan’s ancestry has condemned him to spend part of his life consumed by a blood lust that both repels and excites him. But a chance encounter with handsome Nathaniel unleashes an orgy of pleasure that gives Kayden everything to live for, and everything to lose.