general
| » mark of the lion ... |
| « kiss me while i sle... |
| SERCountTM Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Popularity | 2,160 |
Kiss of the Night
The following report compares books using the SERCount Rating (base on the result count from the search engine).
Rating: 4/5 from 51 reviews Good, but...Another Winner from Kenyon!I've been waiting for Wulf's story since Night Pleasures and I am pleased to say Kenyon did him justice in the newest installment of the Dark Hunter saga. Wulf is a Viking who came into being a Dark Hunter by trickery rather than voluntarily. As such, he's different from most Dark Hunters and part of his curse is that most people, all humans except for those of his blood, cannot remember him five minutes after they meet him. Of course this makes him incredibly lonely and overprotective of his last living relative and squire Chris. There's some great stuff there between Wulf and Chris and I hope that we can hear more about the Squires as the books go forward. In walks Cassandra, a 26 year old Appolite who will die a horrible painful death on her 27th birthday like all other cursed Appolites if she doesn't choose to become a soul sucking Daimon instead. Bingo, they meet when he saves her life (did I mention that she's the last of her bloodline and if she dies the world ends so the Spathi Demons are trying to kill her and bring on armageddon?) and she remembers him. Hot sex dreams ensue and they fall in love (and a bunch of other stuff that would be spoilers so I'll refrain). A strong leading female character is so nice to see in a romance book. Smart, tough and yet very soft and a nice foil for the uber tough barbarian Wulf. Great sexy chemistry makes them a good couple. I enjoyed hearing more of the backstory of how the Appolites and the Daimons came into existence and as always, it's a pleasure to read anything featuring Ash. I also enjoyed a more complete portrayal of the Appolites and Daimons, creating a more complex view, rather than Dark Hunters good and Daimons bad. Loads of hanging story threads for future books too. All in all, quite enjoyable, although I must admit to not seeing a single "matrix style" fight scene as is described in one review. Glad the next one's a Were HunterWell, you ever notice how you watch Dracula and Return of Dracula, and it's the same? Then you rent Son of Dracula and it's a little different, then you get Dracula 1975 and you can't understand how it fits the series? Welcom to the equivalent. The first two Dark Hunter novels were very identical but good. The third was wildly different and imaginative. The fourth is a mess. Sure, we have yummy Wulf who no one can remember but his only living much beleagured kinsman/squire. But who's his heroine? She's an Appollite Princess hunted by Spathi warriors to bring about... well that Ms. Kenyon never quite makes clear. Cassandra makes you want to weep for the Appollites. She's almost to her dying day and she screams in her mind how she wants to live. Your heart aches for her. The feelings between Cass and Wulf are nonexistent. They have hot, hot HOT sex in their mutual dreams, but in person the sexual chemistry is so that you half expect him to adopt her. They must run from the most fearsome Spathi warrior and his son and so they escape to an Appollite town underground. Here's where it gets bizarre. Cass's sister is alive and a Daimon. And the big bad Spathi's son Urian is her Daimon lover. Kenyon makes you really feel for the Appollities and the Daimons. So at the end you're wondering "how can I read more Dark Hunter novels now? I like the Appollites!" Add to that an ending that makes you roll your eyes, and well, this seems like a half hearted effort. Ms. Kenyon could you PLEASE stop giving us Dark Hunter's who A: actually have a soul and are too dumb to walk out in the sunlight to test it (like Zarek) and B: get a chance to take revenge on the people who wronged them, and yet the forgo it(Like, well, all of the nancy boys)? Talk about wimps! I'll definitely be reading her were-hunter story but when the next DH novel comes out with Valerius, I will be very wary, you should be too. | ||||||||||||||||||||
However, I've been a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon for a while now due to her many helpful books for writers, including "The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook" and "A Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages". Both of which I use religiously. So when I was browsing Amazon one day and found out she actually wrote vampire romances (my favorite) I couldn't resist!
That said, I decided to start with "Kiss of the Night" because it won me over as soon as I read the synopsis. What a great idea for a dark romance! A gorgeous, brooding (they're always brooding haha), immortal Viking warrior named Wulf Tryggvason (still can't figure out how to pronounce the last name LOL) no one can remember five minutes after he leaves the room ends up saving an Apollite princess, Cassandra Peters, from a gang of soul-sucking vampire thugs (it took a while for me to realize what Daimons actually were LOL). The thing that blew me away is that Cassandra, being an Apollite, is destined to die on her 27th birthday like the rest of her accursed race. The problem with that is since she is a direct descendant of the God Apollo himself if she dies without heirs so does the Sun and obviously the rest of the world.
OK, now that I had the basic stuff down I dived into the book with relish. Unfortunately the first few pages did more to confuse me than anything else. I have to admit I am a mythology buff and some of the back-story Sherri reveals about the gods and how the curse came about could have used a bit more detail. I actually had to reread it several times before I got it all straight; partly because I kept comparing it to other myths I've read. Granted they didn't make much sense either (most myths never do) but let me assure you if you're still confused after a few rereads then just go on with the rest of the book. Like me, you'll eventually pick up enough to catch on.
**WARNING: SMALL SPOILERS AHEAD**
The writing style also threw me off at first. It's so in your face today -- with modern slang and references included -- that it honestly took a minute for me to get use to but once I did I found it very refreshing and fun. The fight scenes were good too. Very Matrix/Buffy/Angel style. Especially the drag down, knock out fight between Acheron and Stryker. Talk about edge of your seat action! I've become an instant Ash fan! Which also leads to one of my complaints. Ash seems way too convenient to have in this series. Especially when he helps Cassandra at the very end. It felt more like a cheat to me than a true happy ending. Not to mention, I really didn't feel it made much sense but maybe that's because I'm unclear on exactly what Cassandra becomes. Because, as far as I know, once the lips turn blue a body's dead. If that happens the system shuts down and having babies for the undead womb is literally impossible. However, it seems to me Ash has the power to grant a lot of things. I'm starting to wonder if he's some form of Death incarnate or a God himself, which would really explain his scenes with Artemis and the whole Simi thing. The problem is it breaks the rules Sherri sets for the series in my opinion. If Ash can just set things right whenever they go wrong then all the struggling and angst Wulf and Cassandra went through seems rather pointless to me, if not downright unkind. However, she did do a very good job exploring their angst at losing each other and Cassandra's fear of dying. I shed a tear a few times.
**END OF SMALL SPOILERS**
The only other complaints I have are the Dark-Hunter.com web site name dropping every five minutes (which seemed more like shameless self-promotion to me and got annoying after a while) and the sex scenes. I know -- what? I hate to say this but I'm afraid they just didn't turn me on much at all and that's bad for a romance novel. Honestly the sex always felt kind of dumped in there between the main plot and the rest of the story. Of course, the dream sequences were part of the main plot but even they left me high and dry. I never got to focus on them long enough to get involved. There was no lingering, teasing passion building to a climax. Basically, it never felt like they were making love. It always felt like they just... I dunno... f@#$ked. In fact, I actually found myself skimming sex a few times just to get back to the main story which, now that I look back, is a bit disappointing. A romance novel is supposed to make you hot and I have a few novels I've read in the past that had no problem turning my crank so to speak. This one just... didn't.
I'm still very excited about the series and can't wait for the other books to arrive. I have a feeling they'll become my favorite in vampire romance. This book is a light, fun read but BUYER BEWARE -- this is not Anne Rice so if you're a Rice fan and looking for the next Queen of Darkness you'll probably do better elsewhere. However, if you love Buffy and Angel then this series will definitely do something for you. I, personally, can't wait to find out what Ash is!