Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

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...

The cover of Dark Kiss is what initially prompted me to request it from NetGalley because, let's face it, that model is ridiculously attractive and no matter how hard I try to avoid judging a book by its cover, I always do. I was intrigued to say the least and by the end fairly pleased with my decision to pick it up.

Dark Kiss presents a unique, suspenseful approach to creating demons--it all starts with a kiss. In this novel, a kiss is no longer just a kiss; it's enough to rid you of your soul. This is what happens to adolescent protagonist Samantha after she is kissed by her number one crush. A chain of mysterious events take place, including Samantha's fateful encounter with a gorgeous blue-eyed fellow by the name of Bishop. As you may have already guessed, there is nothing remotely mundane about Bishop, and his presence on Earth will have a far greater impact on Samantha's life than she ever thought possible.

I wasn't particularly a fan of Samantha's character due to several of the choices she made. She put herself in situations that were questionable, including the one that first led to the change in her. Likewise, looks aside, Bishop was just another somewhat-broody, unearthly love interest. I felt that I didn't know much about him even by the end, so I'm hoping for more focus on Bishop's background in book two. What kept my interest throughout the book was the secondary set of characters, such as the other angels and demons that formed Bishop's "team" including one demon who was actually far more significant than he seemed.

Overall, the plot of Dark Kiss balanced out some of my issues with the main characters through originality. Looking forward to the sequel Wicked Kiss, which is currently slated to release sometime in 2013.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars