ARC Review: Kiss of Darkness by Loribelle Hunt

Title: Kiss of Darkness
Author: Loribelle Hunt
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: Jan. 24, 2011
Received By: NetGalley

~ Blurb ~

Winter, a hybrid, has spent her life at war. A group of humans who are part demon, the hybrids, along with the lupines and nightwalkers, have dedicated their lives to defeating demons and protecting humanity. Yet, despite their united cause, the three groups share an uneasy alliance.

When hybrid military compounds come under attack from demon insurgents, Winter has no choice but to turn to the lupines and nightwalkers for assistance. It's a partnership based on necessity and she has no intention of letting down her guard with either group.

Marcus, the nightwalker Lord, has other plans. The immediate attraction between him and Winter promises a passion he can't ignore. To claim her as his own, he'll not only have to fight the demons who seem hell-bent on destroying her, but her own misconceptions about him and the nightwalker race. It's a battle he refuses to lose.

In this uniquely crafted world that is made up of a group of remarkably created supernatural creatures, you will get caught up in the action of an ongoing war between good and evil. Then again, what happens if evil has been fastened to good? Is there a fine line that can be crossed? A gray area that can't be defined? Absolutely! And that's part of the adventure Loribelle Hunt takes you on.

Winter Bennett, a demon-human hybrid, has found herself in the predicament of needing saved from a life-threatening poisoning while combating demons alone. The dark, very handsome, mysterious, nightwalker Marcus Black, Lord of the nightwalkers, just happens to be in the area during Winter's time of need. It's an instant connection for Marcus -- a feeling that is soul deep, something instinctual and primitive of his kind, to recognize his mate when he sees her. And Winter can't help but feel something towards her savior as well. It is especially telling with Winter when she's been mourning the loss of her husband for sixty-years.

The gift -- or curse in some cases -- of the varying psychic powers within the nightwalker species and the hybrids lead to the inevitability of bringing both Marcus and Winter together. For Winter has never met anyone strong enough to break through her psychic walls, and Marcus has never met anyone as strong as Winter to connect to him. Plus, he just wants her and uses the connection to his advantage!

"His voice whispered in her head that she was his, that her body belonged to him. She couldn't begin to guess why she heeded his warnings. She's never been good at following orders or giving in to coercion, but no matter how much she tried to talk herself around it she obeyed his.

It pissed her off."

The combination of the world-building and the plot makes for a unique thriller, where demons start to take out members of the Order -- the hybrid community of human-demon creatures created to destroy the full blooded demons. But, when the fight becomes to much for just one species to control, a shaky and uneasy alliance must be forged between the three species that have co-inhabited the area -- the hybrids, lupines, and nightwalkers -- to take out the evil that threatens to take them all out.

There's an air of mystery surrounding the demon attacks, and the powerful physical and mental resources of the three species will eventually have to come together to solve the puzzle surrounding the increase and targeting of attacks. What Winter is unaware of, is that she's the target of the demon warlord who wants her dead.  What she is aware of, however, is that Marcus just wants her for his own, and 'no' is not something he's willing to accept.

Because the story is the first in what can only be imagined as a series, there's a lot of 'setting the stage' in the area of world-building and character appearance. There's a handful of characters -- primarily pairings of interest -- that compete for presence among the hero and heroine. While it did walk the line of too much information of other relationships developing, I still felt as though it added to some of the characteristic traits of some of the key players, as well as added to the intermixing of events that took place that can be closely tied to the sub-plots of the story. 

I also may be in the minority of not feeling too overwhelmed with the amount of alpha testorone bathing the pages of the story. Yes, the men are all dominant, possessive, and borderline too much when it comes to the women in their lives. But, there's two reasons as to why I feel like it didn't bother me. First of all, Loribelle made it very clear in the development and explanation of the species that that was a character trait of the nightwalkers and lupines (although it isn't demonstrated as much in Mitchell, the alpha lupine character during this book). Where I did find confusion was in the character of Dupree. I know that the close friend and back-up of Winter was a 'closed-off' character, but I could never get a true sense of who he really was, what his intentions were, ect.. That also includes his need to feel supremely dominant towards his love interest.

On the flip side, I also interpreted the over-dominant behavior of the males as a symbol that both the men and woman of the book had to learn to give-and-take in order to have a relationship. The hero had to learn to let Winter be the newly appointed commander, and Winter had to learn to rely on Marcus, not to mention, it is stated in the story that she needed an alpha, dominant male. They needed each other in different ways which ultimately lead them to meeting-in-the-middle.

"She needed to burn off some of the excess energy, a task that was getting more difficult by the day. She set off into the woods. After checking up on her squad leaders, she'd swing by Mitchell's. A good fight always helped tame the beast. Sex would be an excellent alternative, but she couldn't even remember the last time she'd met a man she was interested in who was also strong enough to take her on. She needed an alpha, dominant type, but didn't know many who could share control of a relationship. Everyone else she eventually reduced to tears." 

The real catch is that Hybrids have to burn off that extra psychic energy more and more frequently the older that they get in order to keep the demon part of them in check and not able to take over the human side. Fighting helps, but its the need to bond to another that permanently keeps the sides from battling. Something that Winter is quite aware of, but trying so very hard to deny and avoid. 

The one thing that I do wish I could have seen more of is the role of Marcus as the Lord of the nightwalkers. We got to see Winter in action as she lead some of her people, but never did we get to see how Marcus lead his. I would have liked to see this so as to be able to compare their leadership styles, as well as to see him come to terms with understanding the importance of allowing Winter be independent and strong in her leadership. Obviously he would have to realize this right? I mean especially if he, too, was a leader of his people? I think that this could have been important additional information to make character evaluations.
 

However, the bottom line is that I really, really enjoyed the character development and world-building in this story! From the hero and heroine, to the secondary characters. It's obvious that consideration was taken in the development of it all - which is much appreciated. I think that my top appreciation of the book lies with world-building, however. Hunt has crafted a unique gathering of species that defies  some of the traditional characteristics of so many of the supernatural creatures that we know and love. A nightwalker who is essentially a vampire who feeds of psychic energy in place of blood, and a species of hybrids with a variety of psychic powers who willingly bind their souls with demons in order to defeat them.

It creates for such a dynamic mix of events and feelings within the plot and species creation. There's adventure, kick-butt fighting, grief over loss, and lots of super delicious, hot sex!

I'm looking forward to the next installment to find out the resolution of a couple of events -- relationships -- that we were left wondering about. The most important of them being the outcome of what happened to Gia - Winter's second in command and best friend -- who has gone missing and, unknown to Winter, taken by the demons. For the main antagonist of the story is still at large, and Winter is still a target.

~*~Final Thoughts~*~
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a uniquely crafted  and captivating world filled with remarkably created supernatural creatures that differentiate themselves from the norm. A world where a gray area is established in the Hybrid species -- a willing binding of demon souls with humans -- in order to fight the demon species.


Butt-kicking action, over-the-top dominant males that want nothing more than to protect their woman at all costs, and very delicious sex, is what you'll find between the covers. A strong, consistent plot and sub-plots carry the action along with only minor moments of 'slowness'. You'll find lots of characters all with some sort of conflict that needs to be worked through, and even be left with a little cliffy to carry another part of the story-arc into a subsequent book.


I am definitely looking forward to the next installment to find out what has happened to Winter's best friend and second in command, Gia, and just how a sexy someone will be finding her!

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