Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on May 12, 2012 | 1 Comment

Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen
Series: Nightwatchers #1
Published by Harlequin Teen (5.22.2012)
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: eARC, 348 pages
Source: NetGalley
Buy on Amazon

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....

NIGHTWATCHERS

When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

My thoughts

To be honest, I’ve been dreading writing this review. These are the hardest to write for me, reviews for those books that don’t spark any passion toward love or hate at all. It’s not that I thought this was a bad book…it’s still 3 starfish for me, but I guess I just couldn’t connect. The plot was decent and the ideas were fresh – I haven’t read anything else like it before. The ideas such as the Hollow, Grays, nexus, and the point of human souls were interesting. I really don’t know what it was, to be honest – but I was disappointed. I’ve read Rowen’s work before and loved it (Nightshade and Bloodlust), so I was sure I was going to love this one. I’m quite saddened and disappointed that I didn’t! I’m not real big on angel stories, so I’ve been hoping to find one that I could love.

The lead, Sam, was alright but I just couldn’t make a connection. She was sarcastic and stubborn, so ideally I should have loved her…yet I didn’t. More disappointment. I didn’t feel anything for Bishop either – he seemed a bit one-dimensional to me.

The “romance” between Sam and Bishop was a little creepy. They have an ‘instant connection’ (coughcough*instaluv*coughcough) and they’re drawn to each other. To Sam’s credit, she does (somewhat) try to fight the pull. But it just came off a bit too mushy for me. There wasn’t really any conflict between them, and what little complications there were seemed unnecessary and too much like plain drama.

There were a few character twists I never saw coming, though. Rowen sure knows how to make the reader doubt who to put trust in! It still held some of her signature surprises, but lacked the excitement that I thought it would have. Even when something terrible happened at the end involving a main character, I couldn’t muster up much feeling.

Favorite character: Kraven. He was the only character I felt anything for. He’s a snide asshat but I liked him for some strange reason!

Basically it meant that what happened in the past was over and what might happen in the future was not worth thinking about yet if it was only going to cause anxiety. Live in the now. Right here. Right now. Nowhere else.