Kiss of Darkness by Loribelle Hunt
Ebook: $4.99
Carina Press (January 2011)
ISBN: 9781426891120
Favorite Line: “She was bored, tired of the same old crap day after day, looking for a good fight, looking for something. Anything new and different, anything that would banish the sameness from her life.” (p. 23)
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.
Kiss of Darkness by Loribelle Hunt seems to be the first book in a series, but other than the unfinished plot lines introduced in the book, I haven’t found any information about additional books on either the author or publisher’s websites.
I really didn’t care too much for Kiss of Darkness when I started reading it because I didn’t like the heroine. Winter was a little bit too arrogant for my tastes, but not without reason. In 1955 she bonded her soul to a demon so she could better fight the demons invading the world. While being part demon makes her stronger and prevents her from aging, it also wears at her soul. The only way to avoid turning evil is to bond with a purer soul.
Even knowing this, Winter fought the ease her soul found with Marcus and it really bothered me. I don’t think she should have felt trust for the nightwalker (vampire). She knew nothing about his species or character, but she was very quick to disregard the peace being with him offered.
She also failed to learn from her mistakes. To be fair, that could be due to the pressure her soul was under. However that does nothing to provoke an ounce of empathy from me. That said, Kiss of Darkness grew on me and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
That’s true because I love the characters I met. It’s that simple. The secondary characters turned into real, interesting people. Winter’s best friends Gia and Dupree are intriguing and their love interests are enticing to the imagination. I could see the battles they faced just from the way they interacted in Kiss of Darkness. Those sneak-peeks into their lives made me want more. I want to know what adventures they take and how they react to accepting their mates.
Now that I know the world in which the story is set, I am ready to move on to the next installment. Bring on the vampires, werewolves, demon/human hybrids and fated love.
Scooper Speaks 