Book Review: Kiss of Death

Kiss of Death

By:  Seleste deLaney

Publisher:  Mundania Press

Publish Date:  August 2012

Format:  207pgs

Genre:  Romance, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

Series:  1st in Blood Kissed series; Prequel #1 ~ Of Course I Try, Prequel #2 ~ The Ghost of Vampire Present, Short Stories ~ 0.1 ~ Christmas in Chains, 0.2 ~ Devil's Bargain, Short Story 0.3 ~ What Have I Done, 0.4 ~ The Cost of Love

Recommendation:  Mmm, Yes, a complicated romance with vampires and action.  There is something very special about Jocelyn...

Synopsis:
Too many years of killer vamps have triggered the curse of the Blood Kissed.  They've awakened the bloodline that can alter their world, because her blood has the power to control them all - even make them destroy each other.

Jocelyn thought her troubles with vampires were over when she drove a stake through her boyfriend Max's heart two years ago.  Even though she's engaged to Chad, she's never really forgotten him.  Now Max is back, and Chad is taking her into the heart of the vamp community - and they're the ones trying to keep her alive.  The ones who love her and each seek to claim her for their own.  Because once the elders know who she is, they're going to want her...or want her dead.

First Sentence:
The alley wasn't the cleanest place in the world, but none of the women tonight had seemed to mind.

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My Thoughts and Summary:
Max is watching over Jocelyn, his love, who "killed" him.  At Christmas he made a promise to not bother her but to only come when she was in danger and needed him.  Max knows Jocelyn is in trouble with the vampire world, eventually they will find her.  And she doesn't know it.  Max keeps to the shadows, watching and learning about her new boyfriend, until the day Chad takes her openly into a vampire club that could be her death.   Jocelyn feels she is losing her mind since Christmas with the ghost of her grandma visited, and still visiting, and the strange dreams of three vampires visiting.  But she still dreams of it in her nightmares and worries.  Kidnapped by her past love, thought to be dead, Jocelyn's mind breaks down and tries to put the pieces together, which is dangerous to her as well as who is after her.  Jocelyn doesn't realize how powerful she is and by coming out in the open she has vampires, vampire hunters, and a magic yielder after her before the weeks out.

First, this is a romance read with a story full of paranormal happenings.  There are a few intimate scenes as well.  So if you like romance and love with a story line  this one is it.  Definitely an adult read with sex scenes present.  And there is a love triangle as well.

Max is a curious one to me.  For some reason he's stronger than others his age, like elder strong.  And for this he has to be careful the Elders don't find out.  Oh when I read the one novella, I thought his and Jocelyn's relationship might have been a touch abusive, but in this story I see it in a whole new light.  And I think he's my favorite of them all.  Chad...well, he's a keeper too, but he's still a little young yet.  Young in the way of knowledge of vampires ways, naive in a way.  Then there's Remy.  Ahh, he is powerful and flamboyant   The other elders don't much care for him.  But, I get a feel he has a bigger plan in the making here.  He is gently pushing people into things by helping in other ways.  No magic there, but he is a manipulator and very talented at it.  And we have Jocelyn, who is a bit close-minded for a while.  Her grandmother even comments on it while giving her cryptic hints to what she needs to know.

We get to see different sides of the story with point of views from Max, Jocelyn, Chad, and the elder Dominik.  And I like getting all this information to know what and why things are happening.

I really enjoyed this story and meeting these characters.  These characters really stood out to me.  So different.  And I felt they really blended and clashed in a genuine manner.  I really was taken by them all!  There is a blend of action and romance here.  My only thing is I'm not sure how Jocelyn is to 'control' the vampires yet.  We learned about her blood and the history, but I'm not sure how it will work to take control.  Making a stronger soldier, yes, but I think she might have something else that she's not aware of yet.

I do look forward to reading more of Jocelyn, Max (sigh), Chad, and Remy as well.  Great combination of characters and personalities.  Really enjoyed relaxing with this one, and flipping the pages.

Do you have to read the short stories and novellas before reading this?  No, I don't think so.  But you will learn all the back story that leads into this and why things are so confusing to Jocelyn.  The poor girls mind has been scrambled more than a few times.  The relationship connections that you read in the short stories and novellas are made here, but you could get the feeling up front and get to see more of those events transpire if you read them.  At least the short stories are free, go ahead and give them a try.



***I read this book for an honest review from the publisher.
***This review is a collection of my person thoughts while reading.