On Monday we posted part 1 of our Vampires Never Get Old review. Today we’re back with part 2 to talk about the last five stories of this anthology. As you could tell some of the short stories have been hit or miss for us. What about the last five? Keep on reading to find out!
Eleven fresh vampire stories from young adult fiction’s leading voices!
In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out―and going out for their first kill―and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night.
Welcome to the evolution of the vampire―and a revolution on the page.
Vampires Never Get Old includes stories by authors both bestselling and acclaimed, including Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley.
Review
Now it’s time for the last few stories and our conclusion to talk about our thoughts after finishing this anthology!
Vampires Never Say Die – Zoraida Cordova & Natalie C. Parker
“The Brittany I share online is not real, and the truly wondrous thing about this era of social media us that no one expects that she is anything but a myth.”
Candyce: Vampires never say die is an example of a short story I would want to know more about. Brittany uses social media as a sense of normalcy and Theo for support and not to feel lonely. It shows us we influence each other more than we realize. I would’ve loved to have known more about how this world with vampires works. (3 stars)
Isabelle: I thought this short story was really enjoyable, and like Candyce I would love to know more. More about the characters and more about the world. But at the same time I don’t think the message the authors were trying to tell came across that way, at least not for me. (3,5 stars)
Bestiary – Laura Ruby
“She was nothing but a rabbit, nothing but pret, beautiful in her sacrifice.”
Candyce: In all honesty this story didn’t make much sense to me. It’s clear Jude is working through things and was changed against her will. Yet I didn’t quite get the rest of the story and how it fit in. This one wasn’t for me. (1 star)
Isabelle: I thought this concept was so cool! It had amazing potential and I wanted to love it so badly. But I had no clue what was going on, there wasn’t a clear plot and it just didn’t work. I think this could’ve been a great story if only it was developed a bit more. (2 stars)
Mirrors, Windows & Selfies – Mark Oshiro
“I shouldn’t exist. Isn’t that a fucked-up thought?”
Candyce: Wow, I’m really impressed by this story and I love that it was told through blog posts. I don’t think I’ve really read stories where two vampires have a child together. I totally understand Cisco’s need to know more and see the world his parents were trying to keep him from. That has to be so lonely. I would love to know how Cisco’s story continues. (5 stars)
Isabelle: I enjoyed this so much! The concept was once again really cool but I’m so mad at the authors haha. I can’t believe we are left hanging like that. Cisco needs his own full length novel and I need to know what will happen to him and the other vampires. (4,5 stars)
The House of Black Sapphires – Dhonielle Clayton
“They say if you love an Eternal woman and get her to love you back, you have good fortune for a thousand lifetimes.”
Candyce:This story is hard to rate, because while I love the mysterious world and the characters seem interesting, I don’t know if we really learned much. Bea is definitely a character craving adventure. She’s bound to her family that moves every once in awhile and it seems her mother keeps a lot of secrets. I would love a full book to get to know this world and character a lot better. (4 stars)
Isabelle: I loved this story so much! But I did feel a bit cheated at the end haha. The story just stopped and I wanted so much more. We got a really interesting take on immortals and I loved the worldbuilding. The characters were very interesting and I need to read more about them. I saw it mention somewhere that Dhonielle is going to make this into an adult full length novel and you can bet I’m reading that! (4 stars)
First Kill – V.E. Schwab
“Her teeth find skin. It breaks so easily, and she tastes the first sweet drops of blood before she feels the tip of a wooden stake drive up between her ribs.”
Candyce: I have to say this was the story that had me interested in this anthology. Especially knowing it’s going to be adapted. I like the perspective of vampire and slayer. It seems like this would be a cat and mouse game with a full book. While not much hapoens during this novella there’s plenty of things thar caught my attention. I would love to learn more about these charcaters. (5 stars)
Isabelle: I was so interested in this story. It was basically the reason I picked up this anthology. There was a twist in this story I didn’t see coming until right before it actually happened. And that is the most satisfying feeling ever. Knowing this is being turned into a tv-show definitely helped because I know I’ll get a more satisfactory ‘ending’ then we got now. This is truly the start of a story and I think it’ll be a story I’ll love. (4,5 stars)
Conclusion
Candyce: Vampires Never Get Old was actually really a lot of fun to read. I read a story at a time and it was a fun adventure to see what kind of story I would get that day. I enjoyed a lot of these stories even though a few just weren’t for me. I really hope that a few of these get their own full books. I think I need to look up some more anthologies.
Isabelle: This was a lot of fun! Like Candyce I read one story at a time, it felt a bit like an advent calendar. Every day a new story! Most of the stories were very enjoyable, and a few just weren’t my taste. I can’t wait for the full length novels (and tv shows) we’re (hopefully) getting! And I definitely want to read some more anthologies now.
All in all, this was an interesting read. Vampires really will never get old. Do you have any favorite books about vampires? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to chat!
