Review : Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen
Summary (from 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….
Personal Thoughts
Angel stories are slowly becoming a phenomenon in the YA paranormal genre. I would say that angels and demons are the new vampires. Michelle Rowen's addition to this genre was one I was really looking forward to reading since it sounded very exciting. However, I didn't feel completely satisfied with Dark Kiss because I found it to be a little lacking in certain areas.
Dark Kiss tells the story of Samantha. Samantha is kissed by her crush one night while clubbing with her friend. What she doesn't realize is that the kiss is one that will completely change her life. Around the same time, she meets Bishop, a mysterious street kid who is harboring his own secrets. Soon, Sam learns that the kiss has brought about changes in her and Bishop is the only one who can help her.
Samantha was an okay main character. She was a good-hearted and somewhat shy girl. There were some moments where her brave and rebellious nature shone through. At other times, she annoyed me with her reactions to certain situations. She wasn't exactly a bad character, but I had some difficulty identifying with her. Although, the book was written in her POV, I never felt the slightest connection to her. Because of this, I had a tough time getting through the book.
The love interest, Bishop, was a mysterious and intriguing guy. It wasn't very easy trying to figure out his character because he was always so quiet and secretive. His character was basically concealed with mystery. Bishop was, simply put, an enigma. Towards the middle of the book, the reader gets to see a somewhat more fragile and vulnerable angle of his character. Bishop was a perplexing character that I slowly grew to love as the story proceeded.
The secondary characters were very well fleshed out. Out of all of them, I preferred Kraven. He was funny, witty and a whole lot sarcastic. His character was very appealing, according to me. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Kraven's character was a lot more interesting than any of the main characters. Being a demon, he emanated a "bad-boy" vibe not bothering to show his hatred for certain people, but behind his tough exterior, he was, actually, someone who was sweet and caring. Although he tried very hard not to show his loving and sympathetic side for Bishop, it was very clear that he did care for him.
The romance in this book was unsatisfactory for the simple reason that the characters fell for each other a little too fast. I somehow felt like I didn't get enough time to appreciate and take in the growth in Bishop's and Sam's relationship. There were times when I also felt like there was no chemistry between them. Overall, the romance was just not to my liking.
The plot of Dark Kiss was interesting, but there was something missing to make it really captivating and keep me turning the pages of the book in the wee hours of the night. I really thought the idea of the angels, demons and grays could have been polished a little to make it really brilliant. I have no doubt that a lot of YA readers will enjoy Dark Kiss since Michelle Rowen's writing style was at times very captivating.
Dark Kiss was a book that had a little of everything : interesting characters, suspense, romance, engrossing mythology, action-scenes and a plot that has the potential to be very entertaining. I might not have enjoyed the story, but many YA readers will devour this book without hesitating. The Night Watchers series is one that is very promising and has the possibility to really excel.
Dark Kiss tells the story of Samantha. Samantha is kissed by her crush one night while clubbing with her friend. What she doesn't realize is that the kiss is one that will completely change her life. Around the same time, she meets Bishop, a mysterious street kid who is harboring his own secrets. Soon, Sam learns that the kiss has brought about changes in her and Bishop is the only one who can help her.
Samantha was an okay main character. She was a good-hearted and somewhat shy girl. There were some moments where her brave and rebellious nature shone through. At other times, she annoyed me with her reactions to certain situations. She wasn't exactly a bad character, but I had some difficulty identifying with her. Although, the book was written in her POV, I never felt the slightest connection to her. Because of this, I had a tough time getting through the book.
The love interest, Bishop, was a mysterious and intriguing guy. It wasn't very easy trying to figure out his character because he was always so quiet and secretive. His character was basically concealed with mystery. Bishop was, simply put, an enigma. Towards the middle of the book, the reader gets to see a somewhat more fragile and vulnerable angle of his character. Bishop was a perplexing character that I slowly grew to love as the story proceeded.
The secondary characters were very well fleshed out. Out of all of them, I preferred Kraven. He was funny, witty and a whole lot sarcastic. His character was very appealing, according to me. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Kraven's character was a lot more interesting than any of the main characters. Being a demon, he emanated a "bad-boy" vibe not bothering to show his hatred for certain people, but behind his tough exterior, he was, actually, someone who was sweet and caring. Although he tried very hard not to show his loving and sympathetic side for Bishop, it was very clear that he did care for him.
The romance in this book was unsatisfactory for the simple reason that the characters fell for each other a little too fast. I somehow felt like I didn't get enough time to appreciate and take in the growth in Bishop's and Sam's relationship. There were times when I also felt like there was no chemistry between them. Overall, the romance was just not to my liking.
The plot of Dark Kiss was interesting, but there was something missing to make it really captivating and keep me turning the pages of the book in the wee hours of the night. I really thought the idea of the angels, demons and grays could have been polished a little to make it really brilliant. I have no doubt that a lot of YA readers will enjoy Dark Kiss since Michelle Rowen's writing style was at times very captivating.
Dark Kiss was a book that had a little of everything : interesting characters, suspense, romance, engrossing mythology, action-scenes and a plot that has the potential to be very entertaining. I might not have enjoyed the story, but many YA readers will devour this book without hesitating. The Night Watchers series is one that is very promising and has the possibility to really excel.
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 3/5
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