Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Book:  Dark Kiss (Nightwatchers #1)

Author:Michelle Rowen

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Date:  May 22, 2012

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A

I don't do dangerous.  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...

MY REVIEW

Initial impression:  Wait a second…..I need to catch my breath!!

Title and Cover

Ok, I was really glad that I was reading this on my Nook.  The cover and the title both scream cheesy romance, when in reality this book was a paranormal thriller with a healthy sprinkling of romance.  I mean, kissing someone to suck out their soul is not really romantic, right?

The plot

This was another whirlwind plot.  It was non-stop and I didn’t want to put the book down.  I almost took it with me when I had to go chaperone Prom on Saturday night.  I mean, my Nook does have backlighting, so I could have read it in the dark.

I loved being able to try and figure things out with Sam and Bishop as they moved through the story.  Also, the twists with Samantha’s origins and the story behind Bishop and Kraven just added more depth to an already interesting plot and story premise.  This was paranormal at its best:  a fast-paced, mysterious thriller with hot boys and plenty of unresolved romantic tension!

The characters

I liked the characters in this book.  Sam was a very believable teen heroine.  She wasn’t too whiny and her insecurities were believable.  Carly, her best friend, was also very believable.  The angels and demons were wonderful and ran the gamut from just plain evil to almost saintly.  Bishop and Kraven were both characters that seemed at turns wonderful or mean.  I loved Bishop but I also found myself loving Kraven, especially after the revelation about the two of them near the end of the novel.  They both were just so good and so bad!

There were some minor characters that were a little flat, but they didn’t really take away from the overall storyline. 

The final grade

My grade for this book is a solid A.  This book starts off a new series with a bang.  I highly recommend it.  I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough on this one and it left me with an insatiable hunger too—for the next book in the series!