Title: Dark Kiss
Author: Michelle Rowen
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: May 29th 2012
Source: NetGalley
My rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by: Rachel
Dark
Kiss is one of the latest in the string of angel books we see hitting the YA
category. While I was hoping for a
little more, this was a quick, easy and fairly enjoyable story
to read.
As the
story opens up we are introduced to Sam and her best friend Carly as they are going
to the town's popular teenage club. Right away Sam's long-time crush, Stephen, singles Sam out and kisses her. This kiss is different than any she's
experienced, drastically changing her and opening up a new world and new
powers. This change comes with a huge
drawback, a hunger that can't be satisfied with food. Soon
she learns that she is part of a bigger world, one of angels, demons and others and now she's on their radar. She finds out there are angels and demons
working together to stem the tide of "grays," growing in number
fast. Grays pose a threat to humans because they can
suck the souls out of them. Bishop is an
angel in charge of this mission but ever since he's been back on earth he has
had trouble finding and gathering his team and focusing at all. His mental status is hovering around
crazy. Sam, seeing Bishop and mistaking
him for a homeless, vulnerable teen in need of help, stops to assist him and
touches him, clearing his mental fog. Not only is she able to do that, but she is also able to see where the
other team members are and leads Bishop to them. No one knows why she's able to do this but she
has just become an unwelcome member to this team. Most of the members are not too pleased.
I enjoyed the author's original take on the
whole angel and demon lore and her vivid descriptions and imagery made the
scenes come alive. Unfortunately, for me the story felt a little
lacking in depth. Bishop was a main
character yet I didn't feel we got much on his back story to help us understand
his motivations. I admired Sam's loyalty
to her best friend and her desire to help ones in need however, her actions and
reasoning had me shaking my head in disbelief. Her naïve trusting of other characters, even with little information or
answers, made want to pull my hair. Her ping-pong feelings towards Bishop were
also an irritation for me. The romance
felt a bit forced and while it wasn't technically an insta-love, it certainly
had some of the identifying marks of one.
This
story took a positive turn for me though, in the last twenty-five percent. Sam seemed to smarten up and finally got her
feelings sorted out and the story pace picked up considerably. Another plus for me was the fact that this
didn't leave off on a cliffhanger. The
story wraps up nicely while leaving you wanting more. I will be picking up the sequel to find out
what happens next.
Thank
you to Netgalley and Harlequin Teen for allowing me to read this story.
12 comments:
It's a shame this was a little lacking in depth but I'm glad to hear you thought the take on angel lore was original enough. I'm reading an angel book at the moment - it's good but not great, which seems to be the case for me for lots of angel books, and I think Dark Kiss might fall under that category. Anyway, great review, Rachel! I'm glad to hear the book wrapped up well and has you looking forward to the sequel. :)
I think because it was angels, I started this one with more trepidation than it warranted. Rowen is a fairly fun writer and that's why I completed the novel but they use the word "soul mate" at the end. !!! I hate that word. A lot. Haha. Anyway, great review.
The beginning of this sounds pretty formulaic, but I get what you saying about the original take on angels and demons, and I want to meet Bishop so badly it hurts. Too bad that the romance felt forced to you and that it wasn't convincing enough. You're the expert after all.
BUT, despite my initial reluctance, my friends (you included, obviously), have finally convinced me to read this, just to satisfy my curiosity.
Same here, Rachel! I really liked this book, but sometimes I wished that we could get more out of the characters too -- by the end, I ended up being the girl who completely fell in love with Kraven even though he wasn't even a love interest LOL x) But oh my gosh, as much as I adored this book the first time around, I just got to chat with Bishop and Kraven for the blog tour for Friday and they made me laugh so much that I promise a lot more character fleshing out will probably be in the second book!! :D
Thanks so much for the awesome honest review, Rachel! The last bit of the book WAS the best, wasn't it? I wanted to give it hugs! x) <3
I love stores with no cliffhangers! So glad to hear that this one doesn't end in one!
On the other hand, I really like real romance that is not forced.
Still, this sounds like a fun book!
Wonderful critical review Rachel! :)
I totally agree with what you say here Rachel. There could have been a lot more depth to this story, and I really didn't enjoy the romance at all. I would probably read the next instalment aswell though, just out of morbid curiosity lol. Awesome review
I finished this recently too! I agree with what you said, there could've definitely been more development. However, I think it was a pretty good book to set things up for future books.
I'm glad you enjoyed this, Rach! The beginning sounded a lot like Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments to me and I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of angel-themed books as I haven't enjoyed any of the ones that I've read, yet!
But seeing as you're willing to read the sequel, I might give this a go!
I agree, this book has a great ending! The story wraps up nicely and the main character, Sam, becomes much more likable toward the end. She annoyed me sometimes, but I'm glad that she becomes more mature throughout the story. I actually found Dark Angel very romantic LOL! x)
Amazing and honest review, Rachel! <3
This one sounds like an okay read - not one that I'd rush out and buy, but one I will definitely try to get to before my Netgalley copy expires!
Mandee, if you're looking for an amazing angel story, you might want to try the Unearthy series or Angelfall. Those are wonderful! :)
I read Dark Kiss some time back and I didn't enjoy it too much either.
I agree about the main character being too trusting at times. I also felt that the romance was flat too. :/
Great review, Rachel. :)
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