Customer Reviews

The Forever Kiss

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Angela Knight has to be one of the brightest stars hitting the Romance market today. Her Jane's Warlord was in the top 100 sales for Amazon and Barnes & Nobles, and top 10 in Romance sales. A pretty nifty hat trick for a writer's first time novel. She has been collecting a devoted following for her Red Sage Secret's novellas (Secrets #2 "Roarke's Prisoner; Secrets #3 "Blood and Kisses"; Secrets #6 "A Candidate for a Kiss"; Secrets #7 "Kissing the Hunter"). She also writes for Ellora's Cave. This full novel, The Forever Kiss, is her first full novel vampire tale, but another comes out in October 1, 2004 for Berkley Publishing, Master of the Night.

Warning to little old ladies and those faint of heart: move along lil' doggie, for Knight is a sizzling red-hot writer! For those with a more daring soul, Knight is what the doctor ordered. She is a savvy writer that can weave a tale that keeps her reader hooked the whole way. Small wonder this full novel is the first Red Sage non-anthology. Knight came up through Red Sage; they gave her the break, now it's her turn to shine. Since several of her Red Sage Novella's were vampire themes, it's not surprising she leads us into the vampire realm once again.

Edward Ridgemont, a sadistic vampire who loves the hunt and the kill, turned Cade McKinnon. For years, Cade has served as a shadowy protector for Valerie Chase. Vampires killed her family and would have killed her, too, but "The Cowboy" came to her rescue.

At seventeen, she begins to experience flashback nightmares. Anytime her dreams were too troubled "The Cowboy" was there to reassure her. Now, twenty-nine, a full-grown woman, "The Cowboy" still haunts her adult dreams, but as a seductive lover, giving her nights of erotic pleasure. Only, Cade is forced to move to protect her. Edward Ridgemont has decided to take Valerie for his own. and has hired her to ghost his biography, as a means to lure her to him. Cade tries to warn Valerie through her dreams. When that does not work, he tries to call her sister, but since Valerie believes Cade only exists in her nightmares and fantasy, she will not believe it. In order to save her, Cade abducts her. At first, Valerie is not too alarmed by this, until she learns Cade is a vampire, too. Now Valerie is caught between her passion for Cade, the real man, and her revulsion for vampires. She must learn to trust Cade and make the ultimate choice to save both their lives.

I especially enjoy Knights' "remaking" of the vampire. I have always had problems with the evil killers who slurp blood nightly, always found it strange a woman would love a man who went out and "necked" with other women constantly! But Knight wisely addresses these and makes the vamp a much more enjoyable character.

This book bites - sorry for the pun - but it's right on target. Proving Knight is one of the strongest writers in red-hot romance today. She has a strong voice, is able to take old tales and make them fresh. So if you are an Angela Knight fan, you must have this one. If you are a vampire fan, you need to order this stylish tale. Not a Knight a fan yet, and have a daring soul, then don't hesitate to get acquainted with this Southern Belle who eschews fiddliedees and goes straight to
erotic with a capital E.

Prepare yourself for a violent ride in Angela Knight's latest book, THE FOREVER KISS. This romantic title actually yields a gritty vampire tale that chills you to the bone.

Valerie Chase's family was brutally murdered by a group of vampires when she was a young child. Her mother was savagely raped and killed, and her father's life sucked from him. Only herself and her younger sister survived, thanks to Cade McKinnon, another vampire on the scene who refused to kill her, even though his vampire master commanded that he do so.

Years later, Valerie is visited in her dreams by the man she knows as Cowboy. The Cowboy is her hero, who protects her as a child and later makes love to her.

As Edward Ridgeont, the diabolical vampire master, begins his pursuit of Valerie again and draws her to his mansion, Cade steps in to protect her. Though not as strong as his old vampire master, he is determined to protect Valerie.

This story is intriguing, however if you are looking for an erotica romance, this really isn't the book for you. Drawing away from the initial sensual nature this story begins with, this book is riddled with very gloomy and very graphic violence. Cade, the hero of the story, also has sex (I wouldn't say makes love though he seems to satisy the lady well enough) to an other woman and Valerie "sees" this in her dreams. For those of us who like monogamous stories once the hero and heroine meet, this is a real turn off.

For those of you who love vampire stories, this one is a fantastic one. The paranormal elements in this book are top notch. Angela Knight is an extremely profienct and talented writer.

So looking at this book from several angles, it fails as a "feel good" romance and even strips the fun out of the sensual nature however as a paranormal story it's one of the best I've read in a while. Not one to enjoy gratitious violence I think I'll read something a bit lighter next. I would not want to read several stories like this in succession. This is just a personal preference.

Warning -- extremely graphic violence and strong sexual content

The Forever Kiss is about Cade McKinnon's wish to kill his former Master and free those in thrall to him. But he needs more power than what he's got and the only one that can help him is the woman who's dreams he share's. Now he must convince her that the only way they can both survive is to join together to defeat the evil Master, otherwise, nothing may stop him.

Cade is a vampire, but known only as "Cowboy" to Valerie, now he'll do everything he can to protect her and her sister.

Valerie Chase is a reporter who has lost her job. She is given an opportunity to ghost write for a eccentric businessman, unknown to her, it is the man who killed her parents and now he wants her for himself.

Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. It was great, there was plenty of action both physical and mental. I really enjoyed the way they both joined together to achieve what they wanted. And their love for each other shone through to the end. If you want a vampire story with some great romance then do not pass this book by.

Ms. Knight's full-length vampire novel is hot and full of great characters that jump right off the pages and pulls you into her make believe world. The action if fast, and the romance between Cade and Valerie is hot. Secondary characters are truly essential to the storyline and a great addition.

This was a fast-paced read that showcases Ms. Knight's incredible talent as an author. Be aware this is a hot read and that this may not be a read for the faint of heart. The chemistry between Cade and Valerie is important to the story is in no way gratuitous or used as filler. Ms. Knight has taken a myth and has made it her own. I highly recommend this talented author if you like your reads spicy and dangerous!

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Yes, this is a vampire book, but it is a new and better slant on the old fables. I esspecially enjoyed the new cause of vampirism.
It is a virus, and only a few humans can be turned. Also the vampires don't need alot of blood, just a pint or so. They don't have to be evil or killers.

This book starts quickly and doesn't let up. The pace is fast and furious, with great love scenes and a good love story.

Cade McKinnon was a Texas Ranger who was turned a few years after the civil war. He has been the spawn of his sire, Ridgemont, until 5 years ago when he was able to cut the ties to his 800 year old master.

Valarie Chase has nightmares about the night 3 vampires killed her parents. One of the vampires managed to hold off his master's will long enough for her to escape with her baby sister.
Valarie was 12 and after many sessions with her therapist was able to forget most of that night.

When Valarie reached 17 she started to have nightmares about the killings. At that time a person she calls Cowboy, entered her dreams and killed the bad people. As years go on they become lovers in her dreams. Now at 29 she has been hired to ghost-write Ridgemont's memoires.

Cade knows Ridgemont has plans for Valarie, he trys to warn her in a dream, when that doesn't work, he calls her home and warns her sister. Valarie beleiving he is a dream will not beleive.

Cade decides to kill Ridgemont, Hirsh (another spawn, ex-nazi) and himself by blowing up their car. Cade is not strong enough to kill Ridgemont. His sister Abigail, a ghost, warns Ridgemont to keep Cade from killing himself.

Cade has no choice but to kidnap the woman he has grown to love. He doesn't realize that Ridgemont has planned this whole thing for all these years.

The tension and growing love between cade and Valarie must be strong enough to face the fate Ridgemont has decreed for them.

This was a good read and a new focus on vampires for us who are tired of the old Bela Lugosi type of vampires.

THE FOREVER KISS is a raw, sexually charged paranormal romance about a vampire desperate to protect an innocent girl from being raped and killed by a stronger, exceedingly evil vampire and his minions. From page one, this book jumps right into the sex. Lots of it. There's sex between the hero and heroine - both regular and vampire-style. There's also a heck of a lot of sexual deviancy and rape in this book, all surrounding the evil characters. In fact, rape is all they seem to think about. Luckily, the rape scenes are not graphic. But they're there, so this book is most definitely not for the squeamish.

This being the second Angela Knight book I've read, I've noticed it's a theme of hers to have a modern-day reporter heroine put in mortal danger by a sexually perverted killer, with the damaged (and otherwordly) warrior-hero being the only one who can save her. Read JANE'S WARLORD and compare it to this book, and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, I'm kind of uncertain about how I feel about THE FOREVER KISS. I read it in 4 hours straight, so it kept my attention. But all the sexual violence grossed me out a little bit. It wasn't exactly a feel-good type of romance. Would I re-read it? Honestly, I'm not sure.

Valerie Chase is a single journalist who is also caring for her sister. Their parents were brutally killed when they were children and they lived with their Grandmother until her death. Valerie has been haunted by dreams of a man she knows only as Cowboy. When she was a child her Cowboy rescued her from the nightmare vampires who murdered her parents. Now that she is an adult the dreams have taken a more seductive and erotic angle.

Cade "Cowboy" McKinnon is not only real; he is a vampire and has protected Valerie from Edward Ridgemont, the sadistic vampire who "turned" him. After all these years Ridgemont is determined to take her for his own, and Cade is the only one who can protect her. Cade determines the only way he can do this is to kidnap her. When Val finds herself abducted by her handsome dream man, she's terrified to discover he's one of the vampires she fears, and fears for her life.

While running from Ridgemont, Valerie and Cade learn to love and trust each other.

This is a good fast paced tale but not the best offering from Knight. I thoroughly enjoyed "Jane's Warlord" but I thought the characters in this one didn't live up to that book.

This novel is sure to have steam rising out of its pages with its passionate & sexually explicit dialogue. The main storyline of the book will capture readers' hearts as it is romantic - the tale of how a vampire protects his human lover since she was a child. Cade McKinnon, aka Cowboy,saved Valerie Chase from himself when she was a child where he was ordered to drink her blood, and kill her. Enslaved from a diabolically cruel vampire back then, he regained his freedom 5 years ago but now this powerful vampire is after Valerie again and he must protect her from him. Cowboy had been visiting Valerie in her dreams since she was a child unbeknowst to her that he was a vampire. Vampires had murdered her parents but now to her dismay she finds that her hero, Cowboy is in fact one of them. Together they struggle to work through their feelings as they try to defeat this powerful vampire who has haunted their pasts and threatens their future. The storyline is wonderful and the tender scenes are heartwarming. There's a little humour and the sexual tension just sizzles. However, it is a bit amateurish at times - the characteristics of the vampires and the reactions. Having read Christine Feehan's novels (another "vampire' romance author), this novel is uncomparable to the smooth plot and more 'realistic' characteristics of the vampires in Feehan's books. It seems to be more stereotypical though it negates the overused vampire traits (mirror reflections etc.) and a bit tacky (learning how to use the fangs, deriving power from having sex and drinking blood simultaneously). The bad characters, particularly the 'henchmen' seem incompetent and clumsy and the only real threat is the powerful vampire villain. It would've been more of a challenge if those characters were improved. However, it is a good read.

As strictly a "reader", I can't find the words to describe how much I loved this story!!

Angela tells such a wonderful vampire tale. The emotions between Valerie and "Cowboy" jump off the page, grab on and don't let go. I'm very much looking forward to visiting with more of Angela's vamps.

I am became a fan of Angela Knight after reading Kissing the Hunter and Roarke's Prisoner from the Secrets volumes. I ordered this book with high hopes but was a little disappointed. I think that Valerie and "Cowboy" had great sexual chemistry but little else. They had this connection through thier dreams but to me it wasn't enough. Other than a hero and lover from her dreams Valerie really didn't know Cade. When they did meet there was no time relationship development. They were forced together by the vampire who was responsible for the death of her parents. Ms. Knight writes hot sex scenes and the plot was good. I just expected more character development from a longer novel.