Kiss of darkness

Kiss of darkness, by Heather Graham

Published by, Mira September 2006

Grade: D

Back cover reads:

The woods have always been full of whispers in
Transylvania, of terrors that go back centuries to the legendary Vlad Dracul
himself. Ignoring their professor's grave warning -- beware those who would prey
upon the innocent -- several visintg students travel into the forest . . . and
disappear. Now their professor, Bryan McAllister, believes that a dark cult is
at work -- and that their next gathering will happen in
America.

When psychologist Jessica Fraser is approached by
Bryan for her assistance, she is hesitant. Something about Bryan unnerves
Jessica deeply, yet she cannot ignore the incredible pull she feels toward him.
Now, as reluctant allies, they unite to seek the truth. The search takes them
from the forested mountains to dimly lit clubs in New Orleans' French Quarter,
where perversion goes beyond sexual to life-threatening.

And everywhere, whispering on the wind, is the
dreaded word . . . vampyr.

Kiss of Darkness was very repetitive. By the 6'th description of the 'red night', 'dark whisper' and the two main characters thinking about how the other is familiar, I was ready to scream.

Jessica and Bryan cross paths after a party in Transylvania when a bunch of people are attacked by Vampires. Jessica is trying to help a set of teens who got away unscathed, as well as one teen girl who was bitten by a Vamp. Bryan is a professor staying at Jessica's house that doubles as a bed & breakfast.

Jess and Bry have like two conversations, they don't trust each other because they can tell the other is lying about something, yet they jump into the sack so fast it made my head spin. Not only was the love scene boring, but I felt like it was added just for the sake of the book having a sex scene. There was zero sexual tension, no chemistry. Nothing that you would expect before the hero and heroine have sex. There was one more love scene and I am just as disappointed with it as I was the first one.

My biggest issue is out of nowhere..more than halfway through the book, we find out that Jessica is a Vampire. A good Vampire. She is trying to stop the big bad ass Vampyr, The Master. Bryan is not a Vampire, but he is a Warrior. A man who spends eternity killing Vampires. They are both after This Master Vampyr guy.

We also find out that the reason Jess and Bry are familiar to each other is because they were lovers almost 400 years ago. She was bitten by The Master, and Bryan was killed trying to save her. Bryan woke up 100 years later and started fighting Vamps. Jessica was turned into a Vampire, but somehow got away from the Master and turned good.

I am left with many questions. Why doesn't garlic, holy water and crosses hurt Jessica when it does other Vampires. How did she meet her Vampire friends. How is it possible that one of her friends used to be a Vampire. How did she get away from The Master?

There are no sweet words of love, no tender heartfelt moments. Not even a good sex scene to save me from tossing Kiss of Darkness into the recycle bin.