Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness

Eternal Kiss of Darkness
Night Huntress World, #2
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (7/27/10)
Available on Amazon (Paperback or Kindle)

Summary: Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears - this fearless, beautiful....human who braved death to rescue him. Though her burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

I have a soft spot for Jeaniene Frost's books. I bought Eternal Kiss of Darkness last week, breaking my self-imposed book buying freeze. (Due to a TBR shelf that's exploding with books.) I have every book Ms. Frost has written, and I've read them so often that I can flip open to a favorite page or chapter if I need a pick me up after a bad day. I often choose the first time Bones and Cat dance from her first book or the infamous Chapter 32 in One Foot in the Grave. There are so many other favorite scenes that I can't possibly name them all here.

Eternal Kiss of Darkness is Mencheres' book. It's the second book in The Night Huntress World, which focus on characters from her Night Huntress series, giving us a more in depth look at them. Right off I want to say that Mencheres had not been one of my favorite characters. I know many of her fans were chanting "Vlad, Vlad, Vlad" over and over. Yes, quietly in my head I joined them, but I thought to myself "Jeaniene has her reasons. She knows things we don't. I can't wait to find out what.". Let me put your scepticism to rest. Mencheres rocks in so many ways I can't count them. Seriously folks, he's THAT awesome. I feel the need to kiss Jeaniene's feet and say "Forgive me for not seeing Mencheres' awesomeness sooner."

Eternal Kiss of Darkness is a compelling tale of a vampire who is over 4,000 years old and the human who challenges him at every turn. Mencheres is powerful beyond anything we can imagine and could have any woman he wants, yet he knows they are attracted to his power, wealth and position, never looking deeper. I loved this book for its depth of emotion. I've read many books with scorching hot love scenes. It's always fascinating to note the spin each author puts on their sexy moments. Jeaniene Frost builds up to that ultimate moment with a combination of sexual tension, humor, and emotion. When Mencheres and Kira finally get their moment, it literally had me holding my breath; it was that emotional.

While the romance and sexiness is abound in Eternal Kiss of Darkness I would be remiss to the action and suspense. Since Mencheres is "older than dirt" we expect him to kick ass with the best of them, but Jeaniene is never one for giving us weak heroines. Kira rocks. She's strong, smart, stubborn, compassionate and has an awesome sense of right and wrong. I love her character, and certainly hope she makes an appearance in more of the author's books.

If you haven't read any of Jeaniene's books you could easily start with Eternal Kiss of Darkness for a taste of the Night Huntress World. After reading it, I can't imagine a reader not going out and picking up every one of her other books. They are every bit as compelling, fast paced and riveting. Eternal Kiss of Darkness takes the reader through a hodge podge of emotions including sadness, fear, surprise, joy, righteous anger and titillation. What more can a reader ask for?

TEASER WORDS
As promised, I'm going to start giving teaser words at the end of each review. These are words from Eternal Kiss of Darkness that give you hints to my favorite parts of the book.

underwater
hospital
exploding doors
bubbles
Big Thunder Mountain
Grand Canyon
akhs
jungle
Symphony Tower

The trailer below is amazing. I love the people portraying the main characters.


~Moonsanity