Review Detail

The premise of DARK KISS is very interesting to me--a new form of evil that requires Heaven and Hell to work together to defeat it? Sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite grab my attention the way the premise did. Part of what held me back was the fact that much of the important stuff that happens (or is supposed to happen) in the book is kept very vague for the reader. For example, it took over 100 pages before Bishop (the love interest) finally reveals his mission even though he's been dancing around the topic for a while. And he isn't dancing around the topic because they are in constant danger or conflict either. It seems to be simply to drag out the revelation as a pacing device, and it made me impatient with the story because I can't care about what I don't know about. And near the climax, Samantha comes up with a grand, heroic plan to save the day ... but she never tells us her plan. So when it starts to go awry, we really have no idea that's the case because we didn't know the plan in the first place. I found it hard to connect with the plot when things felt vague or thrown together at the last minute.

I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. Part of this was because while we are giving a constant stream of backstory details for the main character, we get very little about the others. The revelations are a long time coming, the gaps are still huge, and I found it hard to care as deeply as I wanted to.

Much of the writing style involves telling the reader something and then either repeating it or explaining it again in greater detail. I felt like this slowed the book down. I wanted more action and drama, more supernatural beings in conflict, and less repetitive introspection. Most of the exciting stuff happens either off page (like the angels and demons hunting down the new threat) or before the book starts (like the origin of the threat). I really wanted to be able to experience the exciting stuff for myself, not just be told about it after the fact.

I also felt the worldbuilding was a bit too vague. The author has a new theology built for how angels and demons are created and what their purpose is etc, but only some of it is given to us. That left me with questions and with comparisons against the more familiar Heaven vs. Hell theology, and I had a hard time really buying into the world as a result.

All of that being said, I think the new threat the author created is fascinating. I think what happens at the end of the book sets up a ton of very interesting conflict to be dealt with in future books. I'm hoping that the author gives us more excitment, more action, and a deeper look at the characters in the sequel.