Defy The Dark by Saundra Mitchell, Book Review & Giveaway

Edited by: Saundra Mitchell
Stories by:Saundra Mitchell, Malinda Lo, Myra McEntire, Sarah Ockler, Jackson Pearce, Dia Reeves, Jon Skovron, Courtney Summers, Aprilynne Pike, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan, Rachel Hawkins, Sarah Rees Brennan, Tessa Gratton, Christine Johnson, Valerie Kemp 
Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: June 18th, 2013
Source: arc from the author to review
4.5 Stars: I REALLY Enjoyed It!
Purchase it from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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Defy the Dark, an all-new anthology edited by Saundra Mitchell. Coming Summer 2013 from HarperTeen!

It features 16 stories by critically-acclaimed and bestselling YA authors as they explore things that can only happen in the dark. Authors include Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Hawkins, Carrie Ryan, Aprilynne Pike, Malinda Lo, Courtney Summers, Beth Revis, Sarah Ockler, and more.

Contemporary, genre, these stories will explore every corner of our world- and so many others. What will be the final story that defies the dark? Who will the author be?

Being afraid of the dark just got exciting!

What happens when you have one book that has a ton of your favorite authors in it? You get on seriously awesome anthology full of must read paranormal short stories. Defy the Dark has it all! Romance, danger, paranormal elements, hauntings, and stories that will leave you wanting so much more. Not to mention there's a few short stories that take you back into the worlds we first fell in love with. 

Talk about some power house story tellers. When you include stories from Sarah Rees Brennan, Saundra Mitchell, Carrie Ryan, Beth Revis, Jon Skovron, Tessa Gratton, Rachel Hawkins, Myra McEntire, Malinda Lo, Sarah Ockler, Christine Johnson, Valerie Kemp, Aprilynne Pike, Jackson Pearce, Courtney Summers, and Dia Reeves, you know you're going to have one heck of a read that will have clinging to each page. Do not be fooled that the size of this book. This one book that once you pick it up, you will not be able to put it down. I read this one in one sitting. Believe me, when you're done with each story you'll be wishing there were more stories to read from. 

There's a little something for everyone in each story. There's paranormal short stories, stories that will haunt you, a physiological thriller, and stories with the right amount of romance that will either leave your heartbroken, or sighing, or of course hopeful. Or you could be like me and when you read the title of Myra McEntire's Naughty or Nice, immediately think of Kaleb. *snort laughs* What?! You know you did too. Though Kaleb has nothing to do with this story, it was one of my favorites. Young love, Bavaria, and monsters.... perfection. 

My absolute favorite story was Saundra Mitchell's Now Bid Time Return. Seriously, please make this into a book. A trip to Norway, the northern lights, time travel, romance, and Kristian. This short story was fabulous!! As in I seriously want more of this story. I loved it. If you're in the mood for something paranormal, you'll enjoy Sarah Rees Brennan's I Gave You My Love by the Light of the Moon. Oh yes, a fabulous tale of love between a vampire and a werewolf. If you're the Sci-Fi fan, then you'll love Beth Revis's Night Swimming. Ooh this one was good. This story take you right back to that that spaceship we've come to love and all I can say is Eldest. No he's not the main character in this one, but he's definitely part of the story.

Okay, let's talk about the monsters. Yes, there are some in this book, and Rachel Hawkins's Eyes in the Dark and The Dark Side of the Moon by Dia Reeves take the cake with those. Like if these were 300 page stories, I would not have read them at night. Thanks to Rachel, the next time I'm camping in the woods I'll be scanning the trees for red eyes. 

If you twisted stories, then you'll enjoy Sleepstalk by Courtney Summers and The Moth and the Spider by Sarah Ockler. Yeah, these two stories definitely had me rereading them again. To date this is by far my favorite collection of short stories. In addition to the ones I've mentioned, Nature by Aprilynne Pike, Ghost Town by Malinda Lo, Stillwater by Valerie Kemp, Almost Normal by Carrie Ryan, There's Nowhere Else by Joh Skovron, Shadowed by Christine Johnson Where The Light Is by Jackson Pearce and This Was Ophelia by Tessa Gratton are all fabulous reads. Every short story that makes up Defy The Dark complimented the others perfectly. If these stories were turned into lengthier books, I'd read each one of them. 

Defy the Dark is truly one of those must have reads. It's thrilling, addicting, and makes being a afraid of the dark that much more exciting. How could it not be when you have 16 mesmerizing stories from 16 spellbinding story tellers. Definitely go and pick up your copy of DEFY THE DARK!  

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I've got a little something extra for you guys today. THANK YOU to Saundra Mitchell, you can now read two stories! AFTER ILLUME by Emily Skrutskie, and BOGWATER by Taure Shimp. 

To celebrate the recent release of DEFY THE DARK, we've got an awesome giveaway! THANK YOU to Saundra Mitchell, one lucky reader will win a DEFY THE DARK prize pack featuring a hardcover of Defy the Dark, a couple of glow in the dark wristbands and some shiny bookmarks! To enter, please fill out the form below (US/Canada residents only):

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