Review: Dark Kiss

Title:  Dark Kiss
Series:  Nightwatchers #1
Author:  Michelle Rowen
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Pages:  348
Format:  eBook


Summary:  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....

Warning:  Mild spoilers throughout.  

My Review:  I truthfully wasn't sure what to think of this book when I first began reading.  It took me a while to really get into the story line and get a feel for all the characters.  

Unfortunately, I had many problems with this book.  It quite upsetting because I had been very excited to get my hands on this one.  

First of all, I felt like this story was almost trying to be cliche.  We had the mean girl, we had the "love triangle", and we had the best friend who was more out spoken than the main character.  And all of these things, except the best friend, were pointless.  We didn't need the mean girl in the plot line.  She really did nothing to push the plot forward.  The "other man" only served the purpose of showing how much Samantha wanted to kiss someone and also to create the love triangle all YA books seem to have nowadays.  

And, truthfully, I felt like Sam and Bishops's relationship progressively got more and more forced as the story went on.  We didn't know anything about him other than "what" he was and that Sam felt a connection to him.  We knew more about Kraven, Bishop's team member, than we knew about Bishop!  And I enjoyed parts with Kraven more than those scenes with Bishop and Sam.  I really thought that Kraven had much more depth than Bishop.  He was witty and sarcastic and prickly on the outside but on the inside he was caring and concerned about Samantha.  That really won him a place in my heart.  

Carly, Sam's best friend, also set me off in this book.  I saw it coming when she was turned in the middle of the book and it really didn't have that much of an impact on me as I think the author thought it would.  Before she changed, we really didn't know much about her.  She was just Samantha's friend who went to Crave with her.  So, when Carly started going all crazy and wanting to "kiss" a bunch of guys, the only thing I really felt was annoyance.  Also, when Carly sort of turned her back on Sam, I really didn't feel for their relationship like Sam did because I didn't know Carly's character.  

This book did have it's positives though.  I really enjoyed the writing style and the unique twist on an angel story.  I felt like this could have been a very successful story had there been a little more detail and less forced relationships between all the characters. 

DARK KISS, by Michelle Rowen, was a good idea and I think with a little more work, it could be very successful.  I'd like to see where Michelle takes us in the second book.

Two Feathers