Publication Date - 5th January 2012
Paperback - 320 pages
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Source - Received from publisher for review
Rating - 3 out of 5: I liked it
Book Info - His father unknown, his mother dead, Nicholas Roman was raised by the vampire Breed with one wish: to live as a normal vampire. But when he's transformed against his will into a gifted immortal, Nicholas has one goal: to stop the Eternal Order of vampires from controlling his life. Then comes a beautiful stranger with a startling secret.
Vampire Kate Everborne claims she's sheltering Nicholas's long lost son. If this is true, then who is the mother? And how endangered are they if, indeed, Nicholas does possess the bloodline so coveted by the Order? These are questions that with every seductive whisper and every silken touch draw Nicholas and Kate intimately closer, and nearer still to the truth.
Review - I hadn't heard of this author or series before being sent this book for review, and I became very intrigued by it after reading the blurb. And I will admit that Eternal Kiss provides a fairly unique take on a subject that has been done a lot.
I really enjoyed the world building in this book around the different classes of vampire. There are Purebloods and Impurebloods (human/vampire halfbreeds) and they are all controlled by the Eternal Order - a group of ten Purebloods who punish any vampires who break the rules and who keep their existence hidden from the humans. Also there is a breeding male who can impregnate any female vampire at will and who is kept in a cage at all times as his desire to reproduce is uncontrollable.
I instantly fell into the world that the author describes but I did have a bit of trouble with some of the language. The author has created some words in a new language that the vampires use and it isn't always necessarily clear what they mean during reading (eg. Balas = vampire child / Paven = male vampire of pureblood / Veana = female vampire of Pureblood. And this is just a small selection). A glossary is provided at the start of the book but it can definitely affect the flow of reading when you have to keep flicking to the front of the book to find out what a word means. But I got to grips with these words after the first few chapters so I was then able read on quite happily and I felt that it did add to the world created by the author.
I really liked the two main characters. Kate is fearless and always does the right thing even if it brings trouble to her doorstep. And Nicholas is very sexy in an overbearing Alpha male kind of way. There are descriptions of some tragic things that happened in his past and, although they made for uncomfortable reading and added a very dark tone to the story, it made me understand him so much better.
There is a lot of chemistry between the two of them which doesn't feel forced at all like it can in some paranormal romance novels. Vampires each have a True Mate who they are destined to be with and they share the same mark somewhere on their bodies. Kate and Nicholas are True Mates but I loved the fact that their feelings started to develop before they even realised they were destined for each other. It just made the romance feel a lot more real to me.
My biggest problem with the book was the overuse of a certain four lettered C-word during some of the more intimate moments. This is a personal peeve as it is a word that I really don't like and it kept on distracting me from what was happening on the page. I can see how it fit in with the tone of the story, which is very dark, but I just wish the author could have occasionally used another word for that part of the body.
Summary - Despite this complaint, I am still very intrigued by the world of the Roman brothers and I am hoping to read the next book in the series, Eternal Captive, very soon and I may even go back and read the first book that I missed, Eternal Hunger.
Other books in this series:
1. Eternal Hunger
2. Eternal Kiss
2.5. Eternal Blood
3. Eternal Captive
Other reviews of this book:
A Bookworm's Haven / Good Choice Reading / Leontine's Book Realm
4 comments:
Hmmm, I think the made up language thing would drive me nuts. Still, the premise sounds interesting.
You do get used to the language they use and it isn't like it's every word. It was a bit frustrating at first but after a while it didn't bother me at all. Definitely worth breaking through that annoying first bit to get to the great story :)
Great review Chrissie.
I like it when an author adds phrases or words that are unique to the world. For me it adds depth and realism. But the trade-off is that the reader spends the first couple of chapters getting used to it all and may not bother to carry on. There is nothing sexy about that particular word and it is a HUGE turn-off for me when I read/hear it. (More similarities?)
Shelagh - I'm glad somebody else agrees with me about that word.
We've uncovered so many similarities since we met that I'm beginning to wonder if we're actually twins seperated at birth!!!
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