Title: Kiss of Darkness
Author: Loribelle Hunt
Release Date: January 24th, 2011
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Winter, a hybrid, has spent her life at war. A group of humans who are part demon, the hybrids, along with the lupines and nightwalkers, have dedicated their lives to defeating demons and protecting humanity. Yet, despite their united cause, the three groups share an uneasy alliance.
When hybrid military compounds come under attack from demon insurgents, Winter has no choice but to turn to the lupines and nightwalkers for assistance. It’s a partnership based on necessity and she has no intention of letting down her guard with either group.
Marcus, the nightwalker Lord, has other plans. The immediate attraction between him and Winter promises a passion he can’t ignore. To claim her as his own, he’ll not only have to fight the demons who seem hell-bent on destroying her, but her own misconceptions about him and the nightwalker race. It’s a battle he refuses to lose.
Summary from Goodreads.com
My Review: Kiss of Darkness takes place in the paranormal world with a couple of well-known species running around: demons, nightwalkers (very much like vampires) and lupines (very much like werewolves). The new kids on the block would be the hybrids, humans who willingly take a demon’s soul and merge it with theirs. The human is in control for a while, but eventually the demon begins to strengthen and the human needs to find a mate to stay stable.
Enter our main characters, Winter and Marcus. Winter would be the hybrid and Marcus is a nightwalker Lord. The chemistry between these two is definitely there but I was happy to see Winter not give in right off the bat to the attraction. She made Marcus work for it, which was refreshing. The only downside of their relationship to me was the feeling of being rushed. The tender moments between them seemed to be to brief where I would have liked to see more of a bond formed between them.
The story had great build-up, the plot was developed, the characters were intriguing and I was hooked, right until about the last 10% of the book. It felt flat at the end which was a little disappointing since the rest of the story really had me engaged. Some of the events towards the end seemed to play out in fast forward but, that might have something to do with how short this book is. I was surprised when I downloaded it onto my Kindle and it was about half the length of other books I read. This would be one instance when I actually wanted the author to add more to the story and make it longer.
All that said, the Kiss of Darkness is a great read! There were enough questions left unanswered at the end of the book to keep me wanting more. Plus, I really enjoyed the characters and want to see how their stories unfold. I am hoping there is another book in this series. I could not find any information about it online and I really would like to see the story develop further. If you are looking for a quick read filled with passion and some series action than you should give this book a try.
FTC: I received an ARC of this through NetGalley
