Dark Kiss (Harlequin Teen) [Paperback]

Michelle Rowen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2012 | Series: Harlequin Teen (Book 1)

I don't do dangerious,  

Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back. 

Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me.... 

NIGHTWATCHERS 

When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michelle Rowen is an award-winning, national bestselling author of paranormal books for both teens and adults. She lives in Southern Ontario. Visit www.michellerowen.com for more information about Michelle and her books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin Teen; Original edition (May 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780373210473
• ISBN-13: 978-0373210473
• ASIN: 0373210477
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michelle Rowen writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and young adult fantasy. She has been on the Waldenbooks/Borders Group romance bestseller list and was the winner of the 2007 Holt Medallion for Best First Book and the 2009 Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance.

Please visit www.michellerowen.com to learn more about Michelle and her books.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Loved the background characters, but just more Twilight teen romance May 22, 2012

By Gretchen @ My Life is a Notebook

Format:Paperback

This review is of an ARC received from NetGalley.

So, I should probably start this off with a disclaimer: This review will be tempered with a LOT of my personal opinions about books. If you don't already know (and I've been very loud about this) I hate insta-love. I hate love triangles. I really, really don't like Twilight. That's just the way I roll.

The mythology Rowen used was excellent. The angels aren't (entirely) models for perfection and the demons aren't rampaging and/or sexy monsters. They work TOGETHER against these new entities (to me anyways) called "grays," which are humans who are kissed by a demon or another gray, and the being eats their soul. These new grays then have the unavoidable urge to kiss other humans for their souls. It goes on from there, but I don't want to give too much away, but let me tell you it goes UP. It was fairly new twist on another fad, which was very nice to read.

For me, however, the story didn't get off on such great footing. Even though I KNEW the kiss that turns Sam into a gray was coming, it read ... awkwardly. Actually, every status update I made while reading included the word "awkward" until about page 60. I know to some of you that doesn't seem like even giving the book a chance, but other people I know would stop reading at page 10 so ... you've been warned.

Once the book levels out, though, it's pretty cool-especially when they start bringing in the angels and demon team. Even though they aren't given huge parts to play, the majority of them-angel and demon alike-are excellently done. They're all very different, enjoyable to read and some of them are even given the chance to have round back stories, which isn't often done when you're dealing with so many characters in a team.

Now, here comes a tricky part. See, this book never really stops moving, but it isn't action like you'd expect it to be, i.e., huge flashy celestial beings fighting each other with swords and wings aglow. Rather, it's more of a personal struggle for Samantha, as she tries to figure out who is telling her the truth as the two sides try to fight for her and her special abilities. Things start happening to her, her best friends, and to Bishop, but none of it action action. Most of that doesn't come until the end, where it is also punctured with a lot of talking and is very brief.

Samantha and Bishop are what really irked me about this book. In places, they were a pretty great team, but as a couple? ...sigh. Insta-love, for one, was awkwardly thrown at them, and even a love triangle with Bishop's demon brother. It was the insta-love that really got me, though, because I just really don't like it. I really don't like it. Samantha even said multiple times that they had this mysterious connection that bound them in ways she didn't understand. Personally, if there has to be insta-love, I'd rather the characters didn't acknowledge it's insta-love. Throw in Samantha constantly bemoaning the fact that she can't read Bishop's mind and I was having a few Twilight flashbacks.

Also irking me: The TRUST ISSUES. So many things in this book could have been avoided if people had just told others what was going on. This especially became prevalent in the last scene, when even SAM is questioning why she didn't tell someone something that could have saved lives. If you're going to have your MC make a horrible decision like that, don't make the character regret it! It's a facepalm moment for the reader.

Anyways! Besides issues that were mostly contained to one moment in time, I actually did enjoy this book. If you enjoyed the Fallen series by Lauren Kate or Unearthly and Hallowed by Cynthia Hand, then I certainly recommend this. If your brand of angels and demons is more like Angelfire and Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton, I'd be a bit more wary, but hey-I've read all of these and not hated any of them! If you want romance, angels, demons and some more romance, this is for you!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars So-so paranormal romance redeemed by a great cover and ending! June 2, 2012

By BookcaseLaura

Format:Paperback

I admit, I read this book because I fell in love with the cover. Which is funny, because I read it as an e-book, but I still chose it because of that cover. I had a bit of trouble getting into it at first. I didn't really connect with the heroine Samantha (Sam), and actually found her decision making process to be extremely frustrating to read. It took about 2/3 of the book for her to actually make some GOOD choices (and stop being so freakin' gullible) and that's when I feel like the book came into it's own. I also didn't care about what happened to her best friend who plays a pretty important role in the book - I think I even hoped she died at some point which shows how annoying she was to me. The saving grace (literally?) of this book is the men, specifically the angel Bishop, but I found myself liking his demon counterpart Kraven more and more as the story went on too. Once things started picking up and moving, the book was quite engrossing -- I only hope that book 2 picks up that way and doesn't start out like this one did or I might not make it through it.

3/5 stars. (first two-thirds: 2/5, last third 4/5) :)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay book, but not too high on my to read list. July 5, 2012

By Step Into Fiction

Format:Paperback

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it well enough, the story was good, the characters were good and I thought the pacing was rather good but I'm not jumping up and down with excitement.

I love angel books but I think I've become more critical on them lately because I've read so many? I'm not really sure. But, with angel books, there are always the opposite side of the spectrum, demons. What's so different about this book (there are actually two things, actually) is you actually have a group of angels and demons working together toward one common goal. But also, the element they're trying to get rid of are grays...which play a huge role in the book. What are grays, you ask? Well, they are humans who no longer have their soul as it was taken from them (usually unwillingly).

Samantha is a normal, plain teenage girl who is thrown in to this supernatural world unwillingly. Her entire world is turned upside down and all she wants is to go back to the way things used to be. The real question is, can it ever go back to how it once was once you've witnessed what she has? I really don't think it could but it will be interesting to see. She has teamed up with the angel and demon team and found herself fiercely attracted to its leader, Bishop. Kraven, the second in command who is also a demon makes this book highly entertaining. He behaves a bit nicer than what you'd expect from a demon but his behavior is exactly what I pictured. He's like a demon with a good heart...if that's even possible.

I can't tell you what this book is missing that didn't make it exciting but it's certainly missing something. I enjoyed the characters (most of the time), the story, the idea of angels and demons working together...but will I read the next book? Yes, I will. I want to know what happens now...with the way things were left. Absolutely. Dark Kiss wasn't a bad book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves angel or paranormal books. It's just not one I'd put high up to my 'to read' list, is all...