Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost

 

I've been waiting for Eternal Kiss of Darkness for some time. I mean, really waiting for it. Mencheres fascinates me. The ultimate man of mystery. Right? And all of that power wielded without emotion. Someone that Bones, the ultimate bad ass, is in awe of.  He's supposed to be one of the good guys, but he was still scary.

I was a bit disappointed by First Drop of Crimson, and I was afraid I would feel the same way about Eternal Kiss of Darkness. How do you write a book about a strong man of mystery without blowing the whole reason everyone is fascinated by him? I mean, if you answer the questions, let us get to know him, he's not a mystery anymore. Right? Well, yes. Mostly. But after getting to know him, I still like him. And I have a feeling there is still much we (and Kira) don't know about him. Eternal Kiss of Darkness is much, much, much, better than First Drop of Crimson.

Here's the blurb:

An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness...and now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears - this fearless, beautiful....human who braved death to rescue him. Though her burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

Who makes an appearance in Eternal Kiss of Darkness? Well, obviously Mencheres is a big part of the action. We also see Vlad a decent amount, and Bones and Cat, of course. As well as a couple of the Law Guardians.

As for the writing elements breakdown: The plot was good, something a bit unexpected that worked well to give a lot of action around the budding romance. The pacing had some pretty big issues for me. Prose and dialogue were very well done, that's never a problem with Jeaniene Frost's writing. Character development was exceptionally well done, and the world building is consistent with what we've learned in earlier stories. There was something that bugged me (a world building continuity thing) when I was reading the book, but I've skimmed back through it to refresh my memory and I can't remember what it was, so it must not have been that big of a deal.

I'm going to give Eternal Kiss of Darkness a 9 of 10. It's a good story, but there were some pretty significant pacing issues, and some issues with the ending. I mean, the ending told us what we needed to know, but it was... well... we never really get to see how the couple interacts in a normal day, when there aren't people trying to kill them. The ending came faster than I realized, and I felt a bit cheated out of seeing what happens when the threat is removed.

Book Rating: Eternal Kiss of Darkness: 9 of 10



I loved the peek we got of This Side of the Grave. It looks like This Side of the Grave is going to happen in the same time frame as Eternal Kiss of Darkness.



Night Huntress Novels
1. Halfway to the Grave (2007)
2. One Foot in the Grave (April 2008)
3. At Grave's End (December 2008)
4. Destined for an Early Grave (July 2009)
5. This Side of the Grave (Feb 22, 2011)


Night Huntress Universe 
1. First Drop of Crimson (Feb 2010)
2. Eternal Kiss of Darkness (July 27, 2010)