Kiss of Revenge is a fairly satisfying conclusion of the trilogy. Though, is it
actually the conclusion? I understood going in that it is the end of the
story, yet there are allusions to a continuation by a couple of the
characters at the end. It really should be the end of the story. The
characters who make references to continuing on are some of the least
developed and least interesting; I do not think another story focused on
them would be very interesting at all. I would much rather follow
Gabriel and Paul in the future.
Consistent with the previous two
installments, the most interesting parts are the flashback episodes to
the story of Carissa and Fleur, cousins and ancestors of present-day
cousins Susan and Wendy. You finally find out what makes that cross
necklace so darn interesting and powerful, why Raphael and Gabriel are
at such odds, and what finally happened to Carissa (though that
revelation was anti-climactic, in my opinion). A couple of other twists
are revealed as well, but I was left again with the distinct impression
that all the present-day humans were just flat and uninteresting. I
really didn't feel connected to them at all, and their love for their
respective significant others just didn't seem authentic.
The
plot was a bit hard to follow, mostly because there were so many
different lines and because it kept jumping back and forth in time. By
the end, the whole Richelieu plot line seemed superfluous, and I
wondered if it might not have been a better book if he hadn't even been a
part of it. I still never figured out what exactly would happen if his
plan had succeeded.
What I do like about this series, however,
is the creativity of the premise -- that vampires are cursed to their
existence because they were terrible humans, and the extra long life
gives them more of a chance to see their depraved state and finally turn
to God, thereby redeeming themselves. While this idea does bring up
other issues, and it's obviously not Biblical, what is appealing is the
idea that no one is beyond redemption, and that God does not
desire that anyone should perish. So try not to think about it beyond
that, and you will enjoy the story. Enjoy the what if? of it.
Something that the author made more specific in this book that wasn't
said explicitly in the previous two is the idea that vampires we're
actually created by God himself, and that Cain, upon killing his
brother, Abel, was the first vampire. Because a vampire is cursed -
created - by ingesting the blood of the sire vampire, all vamps have the
blood of Cain in them. I found this to be a very entertaining idea, and
wait until you find out what Cain's alleged sacrifice to God was, the
sacrifice that was found unacceptable. Little things such as these were
what made the book even more enjoyable to me. I just wonder why this
particular point was not made earlier in the series; it would have added
a bit more interest to them.
I give this book 3 stars for plot,
human character development, and writing; and 4 stars on creativity,
uniqueness, and vampire character development. I hope Viguié
will consider writing more about Gabriel and Paul, and even the other
vampires. Gabriel continues to be my favorite, though I still do not see
why he terrifies everyone.
Get a copy of this book on Amazon.
Read about the author, Debbie Viguié, on Goodreads.
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