Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 348pgs

The Story

I don't do dangerous. Smart, uber-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 good. 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 change 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 . . .

The Review

A big thanks to the publisher on netGalley for accepting my request in reading this book early!

DARK KISS is the first installment of Michelle Rowen's new YA series the Nightwatchers. While I was hoping for more oomph from the storyline and even with some things inside the book offering nothing particularly new to the angel and demon genre, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this book. And to think, it all started with a deadly kiss. I mean, who doesn't love deadly kisses to take over the storyline?

While parts of the plot were predictable, I admit, but I was so immersed by the author's own take on her gangs of angels and demons, and even the small but very vivid descriptions and imagery helped make each and every scene come alive. They were SO entertaining to say the least. Now I won't reveal too much of the plot because I want you to find out for yourselves about what happens, but basically this book is all about how Heaven and Hell is co-existing with each other, and where human souls are being captured and are smack bang in the middle of everything that's going on between upstairs and downstairs. But the question is: How do the soulless humans continue to live on in their world of angels and demons? What happens to them once their soul has left their bodies and has been collected? Do they die? Do they live on? Do they change? Well, that my friends is the one question that will be answered in this book and you'll get a great explanation to such a question too. A great, great one.

Concerning the characters I thought DARK KISS's main female protagonist, Sam, wasn't a very likable person at first. She really wasn't. But as I went through the pages I soon changed my mind about her, especially when her character arc began to get more fleshed out in the book, and then once you begin to understand her situation some more she (eventually) becomes someone you can easily identify with and you soon care about her too which is good. Out of everything I read about Sam, probably what I loved most about her character despite her naive side, was how she struggled with where her loyalities lies and she doesn't sit back either . . . she strives to try and get her soul back. Yes, her soul was stolen. *shakes head* And no, I can't tell you more than that. You'll have to read the book to find out!

As for the two boys whom are supposedly Sam's love interests (though do we really need another love triangle here?), we have Kraven who is your typical bad boy with his devil-may-care attitude, and the other being Bishop, the tall, blonde and blue-eyed boy whom captures Sam's attention in a very, very good way. Unlike Sam, I couldn't really warm up to these two boys (sad but true), though I can imagine how they could be easy on the eyes judging by their looks department if you know what I mean. Now the only complaint I have about this book was the romantic side of things. Like what I felt about the two boys, I just couldn't see the attraction nor the connection Sam felt with them . . . more so with Sam and Bishop's relationship. I love Bishop - don't get me wrong here - because he added this sexy mystery to the storyline but . . . for them to have such strong feelings for one another, I just can't see how that was developed in the shortest amount of time. I guess it's insta-love once again. But hey, what can you do? Still, the boys are hot and readers will swoon over them in no time. Trust me - that's the honest truth lying here.

Overall, DARK KISS was something I thought I wouldn't like but ended up loving! Fast-paced, action-packed and very hard to put down, Michelle Rowen offers up yet another fun start to a YA series and I'm so eager to read the next sequel!

The Rating

4/5 stars

Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen with Richelle Mead

Release Date: 22nd December, 2011

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 272pgs

The Story

Discover the history of St. Vladimir's Academy, explore the dark psychology behind Rose and Lissa's spirit bond, and find out even more illicit secrets about Moroi society. This ultimate guide will feature everything readers want and need to go even deeper into the world of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice . . . every heartache, every betrayl, every sacrifice, and so much more!

The Review

If you're a fan of Richelle Mead's bestselling young adult series Vampire Academy, then this ultimate guide is a must-have!

Like you didn't already know, I'm a huge Vampire Academy fan. The series alone is written with pretty much everything you love, and within each and every book the plot unfolds with just the right amount of adventure, deceit, danger, and romance that sends all of Mead's fans into a wild frenzy. When I first heard about this book, I was pretty excited to get my hands on this ultimate guide considering it's written by Michelle Rowen, whom I've read a few books of hers, and it seemed like a sweet deal since little "secrets" of the VA world were to be released. I mean, it's another VA book! Unfortunately, it was a major disappointment to me.

The majority of the guide has about 75% or so of pointless recaps of each Vampire Academy book and most of the information I'd already known about. Kind of a bummer there you guys. Since remembering the books so very well, I didn't necessarily see why this book was needed. But I still bought it anyway and I'm still adding it to my VA collection. Despite the recaps, I did enjoy the character biographies featured in the guide, along with Richelle Mead's personal views on the whole Rose, Dimitri and Adrian relationships, and a couple of pages entirely devoted to the Guardian tattoo marks and elemental magics. That was a cool aspect to the guide.

For fans who love VA as much as I do, you will definitely enjoy this book. It may have been a disappointment to me - being a huge fan of the series and all - but since I own every single Richelle Mead book, it's a must to have sitting on your bookshelf!

The Rating

3/5 stars