Rating: 
Summary: less entrancing than the previous collection
Review: a few gems, but in general a weak collection. my standouts: "...wineskins" by brian hodge; "dusting the flowers" by david schow, and pat califia (who is just good at erotica period)... this book seems like too many of brite's friends called in a favour.
Rating: 
Summary: The first one was infinitely better
Review: After reading "Love in Vein", I was very pumped for the next set of stories but was very disappointed. Overall, there wasn't an interesting story in the bunch and some of them just went nowhere.The first book really delved into interesting storylines. Not every story was great, but it was fresh, erotic, with storylines that were interesting and focused on the vampire figure as a being.
Rating:
Summary: The first one was infinitely better
Review: After reading "Love in Vein", I was very pumped for the next set of stories but was very disappointed. Overall, there wasn't an interesting story in the bunch and some of them just went nowhere.
The first book really delved into interesting storylines. Not every story was great, but it was fresh, erotic, with storylines that were interesting and focused on the vampire figure as a being.
Rating:
Summary: Stronger collection than the first Love in Vein anthology
Review: After reading Love in Vein, I approached Love in Vein II with trepidation. I was pleased to find that this was a collection of strong, imaginative stories. A few of the stories weren't really my taste, but they were all well written. I do have to say that while the stories were almost always about sex in one way or another, I only found a couple slightly erotic. In fact several of the stories are not suited for the squemish -- or the less open-minded. Ignoring the lack of erotica, the collection was quite strong. The opening story, in particular, was brilliant. I won't give the plot away, but it was a clever re-telling of a classic story. If you like vampire stories and you are willing to stretch your definition of 'vampire' you'll probably enjoy these short stories, but don't expect a 'can't put it down' read.
Rating:
Summary: Stronger collection than the first Love in Vein anthology
Review: After reading Love in Vein, I approached Love in Vein II with trepidation. I was pleased to find that this was a collection of strong, imaginative stories. A few of the stories weren't really my taste, but they were all well written. I do have to say that while the stories were almost always about sex in one way or another, I only found a couple slightly erotic. In fact several of the stories are not suited for the squemish -- or the less open-minded. Ignoring the lack of erotica, the collection was quite strong. The opening story, in particular, was brilliant. I won't give the plot away, but it was a clever re-telling of a classic story. If you like vampire stories and you are willing to stretch your definition of 'vampire' you'll probably enjoy these short stories, but don't expect a 'can't put it down' read.
Rating:
Summary: 5 + 1 / 2 = 3 stars
Review: All of the stories in this collection are highly original, which is rare when it comes to the hackneyed subject of vampires. I loved approximately half of the stories in this anthology. The other half was a bit too much, too taboo for my tastes.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the most twisted books ever. absolutly beautiful.
Review: At first i was unsure if i would like it, because Poppy Z. Brite had only edited it and i was really looking forward to reading some more of her stuff after reading Lost Souls, Wormwood and Drawing Blood, but as i started to read it i realized that since she did edit it, that the work was very similar to hers. there were a few stories in the however that were VERY bad and i would recomend skipping them, some being "kinyo no fun"-icky. and hmmm.....the really long one something "sundering wineskins..." or something. horrible. but as a HUGE poppy fan, i was impressed overall and really look forward to the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely spine-tingling, not as erotic as expected
Review: Brite has done an excellent job of collecting a number of vampire and vampire-like short stories to keep readers both entertained and thinking. I especially enjoyed the "Sundered Wineskins" story, which made me think about the nature of God and worship. (Plus, that short story tied in with a short story by the same author in the original "Love in Vein" collection -- how clever!) Not all the stories were as enjoyable; "Dusting the Flowers," for example, was a turn-off and made little sense, since we never got to see precisely what motivated the characters. I did expect more sex, but on the other hand, the physical sensuousness, in its broader term, was there in abundance. Overall an enjoyable book.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely spine-tingling, not as erotic as expected
Review: Brite has done an excellent job of collecting a number of vampire and vampire-like short stories to keep readers both entertained and thinking. I especially enjoyed the "Sundered Wineskins" story, which made me think about the nature of God and worship. (Plus, that short story tied in with a short story by the same author in the original "Love in Vein" collection -- how clever!) Not all the stories were as enjoyable; "Dusting the Flowers," for example, was a turn-off and made little sense, since we never got to see precisely what motivated the characters. I did expect more sex, but on the other hand, the physical sensuousness, in its broader term, was there in abundance. Overall an enjoyable book.
Rating:
Summary: An okay vampire anthology
Review: Firstly, the book wasn't bad, but it wasn't exceptional either. Its claim of being "erotic" are a little premature. Sure, some of the stories are sexy, but not too many are erotic, and some are just borderline crude (as in bad sex crude, not stimulating crude). I even had to skip over one story (but I came back to it eventually) because it was just that bad. There are some exceptional stories in the book such as Gaiman's short story and Brian Hodge's novella The Dripping of Sundered Wineskin, but most of the stories are only mediocre, and while they're not completely horrible, they're nothing to call home about. If you collect vampire stories as I do, then this isn't a bad addition to the collection, but if you're looking for good vampire erotica, I suggest looking elsewhere.
| 
