Book Recap: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen (ARC)

Cover Inspection:
The cover is probably the thing I liked the most about this book...

SUMMARY (book description based on GoodReads):
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....


BOOK REPORT CARD:

Cover	3.0
Plot	2.5
Writing	3.0
Characters	2.5
Ending	2.5
Overall Rating	2.5 Good! (85% to 88%) * highest rating possible is 4.0

LOCATION/SETTING:
The story is set in New York,

MAIN CHARACTERS:
The main character is Sam. Her parents are divorced. She doesn't have that many friends. She's independent, snarky and sarcastic.

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
Sam was finally kissed by her long time crush. Then suddenly, she feels this hunger, but she's never sated by food. It appears that she lost her soul and she needs souls to sate her hunger. Then meets this guy named Bishop who can't seem to fulfill his angelic mission without touching her. So she made a deal with him - Bishop will get her soul back, and in turn, she will help Bishop with the mission. But there is more to it than that, and Bishop may just be using her.

LOVE:
Okay... what did I like about this book? Hmm... Let me think.

Well, I thought it was funny the first time they met. Bishop was acting weird and disoriented. I also love the snappy and snarky exchanges between these two characters. The book has its funny parts too. Bishop is just so evasive in answering questions. I thought it was entertaining (and annoying at the same time) that getting relevant information out of Bishop is like pulling a tooth. It's that hard to get straight answers from him. And when he does answer, he gives cryptic statements that makes you all the more confused. It's both charming and frustrating. I also like the the way souls are presented in this book - that the soul feed heaven and hell. It's the original thing about the story. Oh! And the kissing scenes! Oh my goodness! Those scenes are my favorite. Scorching. Hot. Need a sample?

Here...

I pulled him even closer, changing our positions so he was the one against the wall. I had to stand on my tiptoes to keep kissing him, my hands now sliding up into his hair.

*This line is from an advance copy.

NO LOVE:
While reading the book, I felt like the story is something I've read before - angels, demons, souls, and a girl who is special. While the concept about souls is unique, the story as a whole is not entirely original. Plus, there were corny clichés all over the book. Also, the chemistry between Bishop and Sam is not strong. It takes so much more than passionate banter and kissing to establish an amazing chemistry between the characters. Their coupling lacks something that would make them stand out. In a rate of one to ten, with ten being the strongest, Sam and Bishop's connection would have a rating of two.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
Out of all the characters, I liked Kraven the most. He's only a secondary character - the demon in the story. He intrigues me. He's the practical one in the bunch.

MUSINGS:
All in all, Dark Kiss is very typical angel story. The blurb sounded amazing and interesting, but somehow, there was a failure in the execution. It cannot be denied that there are a lot of angel books nowadays, and this just adds to that ever growing pile. This is not to say that the book is not good at all. Dark Kiss is entertaining. All I am saying is that this book is average. It's not at bottom because its not a disgrace at all, but it's also not on top because there is nothing spectacular about it. It's just somewhere in the middle.

DOODLES:
Read the FIRST CHAPTER.

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:
Michelle Rowen

SIMILAR READS:
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

CONTENT REVIEW:
profanity: moderate
violence: moderate
sexual content: moderate
mature themes: moderate
age recommendation: 13+