Kiss at Your Own Risk [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephanie Rowe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2011

He needed a killer woman...

Blaine Underhill is one lucky man after having recently escaped a century and a half of imprisonment at the hands of an evil witch. Now he's determined to save his still-enslaved friend, but in order to do so, he'll need the help of one of the world's most lethal women.

She was drop dead gorgeous, literally...

Trinity Harpswell is sick and tired of being a Black Widow. Having managed to go three years without accidentally killing anyone she loves, she's one short week away from freeing herself from this killer curse forever.

When Blaine tracks her down and convinces her to help him, little does Trinity know that the next seven days are going to be murder!

Praise for Stephanie Rowe's paranormal Romances:

"A hilarious underworld romp filled with mayhem, sass, and romance to die for."
-Katie MacAlister, New York Times bestselling author of Love in the Time of Dragons

"Snappy patter, goofy good humor, and enormous imagination... [a] genre-twister that will make readers... rabid for more."
-Publishers Weekly

(20101116)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rowe's gift for ironic humor will make any reader's day. The cast of characters is unique and fun with a magical kind of romance the genre needs more of." RT Book Reviews Top Pick of the Month (RT Book Reviews 20101228)

Rowe has written a very entertaining tale, keeping the storyline light with her witty characters and the bizarre situations they keep finding themselves in. (Night Owl Reviews 20110103)

So absurd and funny throughout, you'll definitely have a good time with this one. (Fresh Fiction 20110103)

Funny and sexy and has plenty of action. (Michelle's Book Blog 20110103)

Kiss at Your Own Risk is a light, sweet story that was great fun to read. (That's What I'm Talking About 20110103)

Readers who appreciate humorous urban fantasy will know already Ms. Rowe is one of the best... (Midwest Book Review 20110105)

Sharp, wicked, and Hot!! Paranormal lovers won't want to miss this one!! (Wendy's Minding Spot 20110107)

What a great, action packed story full of powerful emotions that just drive the story forward. And the drive was WAY hot!!!! (Seriously Reviewed 20110107)

Stephanie Rowe has given us a comical situation with two deadly characters that is sure to give you a chuckle or two. (Yankee Romance Reviewers 20110107)

Hands-down the most highly energetic romance adventure I've ever read... Truly extraordinary. (The Long and Short of It 20110111)

Rowe's vivid imagination and intelligence continues to astound me... A well-told story you won't want to miss. (Dark Diva Reviews 20110111)

Stephanie Rowe's latest paranormal romance is one so full of action and passion that you won't be able to put it down. (Romance Fiction on Suite101.com 20110117)

Be warned...Kiss at Your Own Risk is addicting, hilarious, and will have you craving more! (Cheryl's Book Nook 20110121)

Sexy, funny... A great read if you need a laugh. (Debbie's World of Books 20110125)

Absolutely fresh and totally funny... a hugely imaginative world that will grab you the minute you open the pages. (Star-Crossed Romance 20110125)

A blazing adventure that will keep readers on the edge on their seats. (Debbie's Book Bag 20110125)

A downright funny paranormal adventure that grabs ahold of you and makes you want more. (Froggarita's Bookcase 20110125)

I thoroughly enjoyed this caper... funny, heartwarming, full of action and a page turner. (Book Chick City 20110127)

An excellent, fast paced, high energy read full of twisted and wild characters that end up in really weird situations. You'll love it! (Fang-tastic Books 20110127)

Snarky and abundant humor, constant no-time-to-rest action, and a whole lot of hunky man flesh... (Lovin' Me Some Romance 20110127)

Kiss At Your Own Risk takes everything you thought you knew about paranormal romance novels and turns it upside down... a wonderful, unique, hilarious novel. (Literary Escapism 20110207)

A very unique plot with lots of dangerous and twisted crazy characters. I will definitely be looking to read more by Ms. Rowe! (Book Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf 20110208)

Stephanie Rowe puts a whole new spin in the Black Widow myth, and the paranormal romance genre as we know it (Sizzling Hot Book Reviews )

Hilarious, thrilling, incredibly interesting and very well thought-out. This is not your typical paranormal romance. (Read All Over Reviews )

Stephanie Rowe is to paranormal what Janet Evanovich is to mystery; laugh-out-loud fun and a non-stop tilt-a-whirl ride of excitement. (Cafe of Dreams )

About the Author

Four-time RITA Award nominee and Golden Heart Award winner Stephanie Rowe is a nationally bestselling author and has more than 25 contracted titles with major publishers such as HarperCollins, Dorchester and Harlequin. Stephanie has charmed reviewers with her unique blend of humor and otherworldly magic. She lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (January 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140224195X
• ISBN-13: 978-1402241956
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book! Read it!, January 6, 2011

By 

LAS Reviewer "The Long and the Short Of It Re... (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kiss at Your Own Risk (Mass Market Paperback)

Read this book if you crave something different, crazy, amazing, funny and totally not your average stereotypical romance. Kiss at Your Own Risk simply blew my mind with its off the wall humor, bizarre and astounding world building and a pace that kept me goggle-eyed.

With this story, Ms. Rowe has fried my neurons because I have no clue how she kept such an intricate, diabolical and convoluted story thread from exploding into chaos. Where do I even start?

Trinity, the heroine, is the most likely place to start. Her life is complicated. I mean totally and completely off the scale complicated. The poor woman can't ever hope to have a normal married life because something happened to her when she was a baby that changed the course of her life. And oh, didn't I get a big shocker about that later in the book. Just wait until readers get a load of that revelation. In the meantime I got to meet Trinity's friend, Reina. She's a friend only a black widow could have and love. That kind of friendship was a stroke of genius on Ms. Rowe's part because it in itself is tricky. It's all in who you know and Trinity is surrounded by some really freaky characters that will a delight a reader who appreciates a vivid imagination. This author delivers that in spades.

Trinity has some well documented conflicts that absolutely keep a reader interested. How in the world can she possibly ever have a happily ever after if every guy meets his demise? Sure puts a damper on her love life and yet, Ms. Rowe found the answer. It's unconventional, a bit morbid and totally perfect for this story. It's so twisted, it's funny.

Blaine is one hot hunk of a guy. Until I read the book through, I didn't realize how true that dishy adjective would be. He's also been tortured in inventive, creative and truly demented ways and yet his mind and strength of character and will has survived. He also does a mean cross-stitch. Sounds funny doesn't it? He's this big macho warrior with skills the military would envy and yet he has these moments where he says things out loud that simply mortified him. Of course, that had me laughing out loud and snickering because the dichotomy was simply genius. Blaine is also tortured from within with issues of trust and abandonment. In fact there's a heartfelt revelation with a righteous dark turn that has the last shattered shard of his heart healing which helped make the happily ever after that much more poignant. Blaine is complicated too. And a reader can see that the torture after all those years did break him in a way, but it remade him too and that added incredible depth to his character. It also added some very interesting talents far beyond the powers of mortal men. Go Blaine!

As for villains, there is more than one. The guy who smelled like bananas grossed me out. And here's the thing that threw me. Ms. Rowe tells the story from three people's point of view - Blaine's, Trinity's and the villainous treacherous witch, Angelica. Here's where I really got bowled over. At first I did what the author intended - I disliked the evil witch who has done some really bad things to Blaine and his buddies. Then the author pulled the rug out from under me and actually had me liking Angelica in a really macabre moment of genius mind play. How in the world can I possibly feel sympathy for a character that is totally without mercy? And yet I did, but by the same token I wanted her dead. How weird is that? Honestly, I never knew which way this book was going to go and it kept me on my toes trying to second guess the author. I never succeeded.

The happily ever after is unique to this story and it works for both Blaine and Trinity. It's romantic, happy, and true to the characters and very well done.

Kiss at Your Own Risk is hands-down the most highly energetic romance adventure I've ever read with twists and turns a roller coaster would envy. Did I forget to mention the dangerous Schnoodles? I had to re-read that twice when I first came upon it and even after reading this book I still dissolve into horrified giggles. Truly, where in the world did Ms. Rowe come up with such fiendish delights? I have to give this story a Best Book because the sheer scope of the world building, creative characters and the fact that I really do want to read about Blaine's three companions has me thinking beyond this one tale. Whoever's story the author comes out with next, Nigel, or Jarvis or poor Christian, will be an auto-buy for me. It has to be. If the quality of writing is as good as what's in Kiss at Your Own Risk then it will be money well spent. I am a very satisfied reader. Thank you, Ms. Rowe for a reading experience that truly was extraordinary.

Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read!! A very talented author!, February 8, 2011

By 

A. Pohren (IA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss at Your Own Risk (Mass Market Paperback)

Devilishly divine. Kiss At Your Own Risk is brilliantly fun, fast-paced and delightful.

Stephanie Rowe is to paranormal what Janet Evanovich is to mystery; laugh-out-loud fun and a non-stop tilt-a-whirl ride of excitement. I cannot express how much enjoyment Kiss At Your Own Risk brought to me. I literally found myself laughing out loud in the nice quiet library, while I read. Yes, for me, it was that humorous. I do have to admit that when I began reading the first few pages, I was thinking to myself "What in the world is this?!" The idea of men obsessed with cross-stitching and all things girly was a bit out there, even for me. However, once I read a bit further, I had no doubts that I was going to love this book. So, be warned, the very beginning may make you step back, but hold on, it is awesome.

Men, sex slaves, torture, the goal to make every one of the male species perfect and worthy of a woman. Yes, that is the goal of Angelica (the wicked witch, if you will). This is what Blaine Underhill and his friends have had to endure for the past century and a half. After coming together with a plan to escape, they finally find themselves free from the torture chamber of hell. However one thing went terribly wrong, Blaine's best friend did not make it out and is still left enslaved by the diva witch of all things unholy. Blaine will stop at nothing until he is able to rescue his friend and set him free.

Trinity Harpswell has had to live with a curse her entire life - if she falls in love, she has to kill the man she loves. Not such a great thing for a long term relationship. Trinity is a Black Widow and will remain so permanently after her fifth kill. However, she has managed not to kill a man for three years and if she can hang on another week, the curse will be broken and she will be free. Little did she know that final week would test every one her skills in resistance.

When Blaine realizes the the only way to kill Angelica is with the use of a Black Widow, he goes in search of Trinity. Trinity, however has problems of her own - her father has been turned into pink dust and will die if she doesn't kill the Smut Monster. However, if she kills Smutty, her soul will be lost forever. This doesn't stop her, however, and she will do anything to save her father.

Needless to say, Blaine and Trinity strike up a bargain - and what a bargain it is. These two characters are fiery, feisty and combustible. I have to say that I think they are one of my favorite character couples. Blaine is hot - literary and figuratively. Trinity is saucy and a spitfire - though very human in terms of insecurities and worries (she reminds me a lot of Stephanie Plum in the Evanovich series). The secondary characters are also great - Reina, Trinity's best friend, is delightful and it would be great to see her with a story of her own.

Overflowing with dark underworldly fun, Kiss At Your Own Risk is a book that I highly recommend to readers who enjoy paranormal and just want to lose themselves in laughter, a bit of romance and a whole lot of fun. Excellent writing and storytelling, great character development; Stephanie Rowe is an author I can't wait to read more of!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars misses the mark...by miles, July 25, 2011

By 

Jerry Hill "veriatousreader1" (West Coast, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kiss at Your Own Risk (Kindle Edition)

Let me start by saying I have read a lot of paranormal romance. With this book I felt like the writing was all over the place and the plot was just plain stupid. One of the other reviews said the plot was so stupid it works....That should be your first sign. The story line is strange in too many ways to list and the writing is subpar. This is one paranormal romance I wish I would have skipped and I am glad it was free.