Kiss of Life is a very short addition
to the trilogy, telling a bit of the back story of the Baron. It was too
short, however, and really didn't answer any questions. It was
interesting to see a bit of where he came from, but the glimpse was so
tiny that I didn't feel it really added much to my overall understanding
of the characters or the story. In fact, it took me the entire reading
to even remember who the Baron was and why I was even reading about him.
I wish it had been longer.
I tend to dislike these sorts of publications because they seem to be just ploys for more money. Even at $.99 on Kindle, I felt like it was a bit much for just a 40-or-so-page read that didn't add anything to the story. If you really fee compelled to tell a tiny tidbit of a minor character's story, why not put it in the epilogue of the previous book? Or even the prologue of the next one? I couldn't get it out of the library so I just paid my dollar and read it. Whatever.
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.
Kiss of Death is definitely
better than Kiss of Night. I absolutely LOVED the flashback/diary scenes
to 1198, where you learn more of the origins of Raphael and Gabriel,
and their connection with Carissa and Fleur (the ancestors of
present-day cousins, Susan and Wendy). However, I found even more that I
just do not care about Susan, Wendy, and David (could they have more
boring names?). I didn't like any of them in the first book, mostly
because I didn't get to know them; there was just no character
development. The majority of Kiss of Death (book 2) is flashback, so
there is really very little you have to trudge through with the
present-day folks, and that is why I loved it so much.
I cannot
figure out why everyone is so terrified of Gabriel. He doesn't seem
scary in the least. I actually think he's the most interesting character
of them all and I can't wait to find out more about him in the third
book. I hope it doesn't disappoint.
What does disappoint,
however, is that we STILL do not have a clue why that cross necklace is
so important. And just what exactly will happen if Richelieu's plans
succeed? The story keeps telling us that it will be awful, horrible,
terrible, but I'm not buying it. It's just not convincing enough.
While
we're on the subject of Richelieu, tell me again how he has managed to
survive 400+ years without someone recognizing him as THE Cardinal
Richelieu? The author tells us that he doesn't have to have an all-out
war to gain ultimate power because he has spent centuries putting his
own men in very powerful places. Whaaaa? And just HOW has he done this
without someone noticing that he keeps on living century after century
without aging? This is just one teeny tiny example of my "huh?" moments
throughout this series. I realize it's a vampire book, so of course NOT
REAL, but sometimes I feel the author asks a bit much in the way of
suspending disbelief.
What I do love about this series, however,
is the author's premise that no one is beyond redemption, that the blood
of Christ is sufficient for anyone, no matter what they have done. The
letter from the author at the beginning of this book was very helpful to
me in further understanding her reasons for writing this sort of story,
and I wish I had read it first, before reading book one. If you happen
to be reading my review and you've never read this series before, I urge
you to pick up a copy of Kiss of Death and read the author's letter at
the very beginning FIRST, before you read any of the books in this
series. "Every person, no matter their circumstances, past, or the evil
they have done can be redeemed by God through the blood of Christ. In
the end, that blood is all that matters." Love that! As I mentioned in
my review of Kiss of Night, I do worry that the intended audience will
miss out on this book and the series. Devout Christians will probably
avoid the series altogether because, how could a book about vampires be
anything a devout Christian should read? It can't be good, right? And
non-Christians might be drawn to it because of the vampire craze, but
may be left even more confused about Christianity than they were before
picking it up. It is considered "Christian fiction," but there isn't a
whole lot of true Christianity throughout (minus a few references to
prayer and not wanting to kill people, and a Bible verse to begin each
chapter), and some things, albeit small, are even in error. (For
instance, the cup from which Christ drank at The Last Supper, the "holy
grail," never actually held His blood. It only held wine, which represented
His blood in the new covenant. But the characters at one point believe
that Richelieu is pursuing The Holy Grail because of the fact that it
once held Christ's blood.) Things like these may seem small, but they
can become huge stumbling blocks for those who are seeking or who have
questions about Christianity.
I know I sound harsh but I still
give it 4 stars because it's just so unique, well-written, and not
preachy. The writing is sound, and the story is compelling (even if you
don't particularly care for the present-day human characters). There is
plenty of action to keep the pages turning quickly. I will definitely be
reading book three in this series. I can't wait to learn more about
Gabriel and Raphael!
Get your copy of this book from Amazon.
Read about the author, Debbie Viguié, on Goodreads.
I wanted to love this book.
Christian vampires? What? The cover is so beautiful - that man, the
darkness, the hair, the red scarf, the gorgeous font, the tantalizing
title. But I was disappointed. The entire thing was just so clunky and
awkward. I didn't like any of the human characters at all; they were all
just as boring as their names - Susan, Wendy, David. Too much forced
interaction, too little authenticity, too many unanswered questions. It
reminded me of those years of my life I wasted watching the TV series
LOST. Remember that? Every episode ended with more questions than were
answered. Sheesh! If I didn't already have book two and hadn't already
been told that book two is the stronger of the two in this series, I probably would not read on.
Although I must
say that I love the idea of Christian vampires, those souls finally
redeemed. In Viguié's vampire world, vampirism is a curse bestowed upon
the most terrible, most inhumane humans so that they will live long
enough to see the error of their ways and become redeemed. Brilliant. I
just wish the author had gone a little farther with that in this book;
the execution of that idea is a little flat. There's really not a whole
lot of "Christian-y stuff" in this book. Maybe that will change with
Kiss of Death, book two. I worry that non-Christians will be drawn to
this story because it is about vampires (and has such a beautiful
cover), but will be left even more confused about Christianity. I also
worry that Christians won't read it because they think it can't be good
if it has sexy vampires in it.
Get a copy of this book from Amazon.
Read about the author, Debbie Viguié, on Goodreads.
