Book Review: “Eternal Kiss of Darkness” by Jeanine Frost

“Eternal Kiss of Darkness” by Jeaniene Frost, published by Avon Books, 9780061783166. To browse inside before you buy, click here. To buy the book, click here.

Plot Synopsis:
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 he 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.

Review:

Content Advisory: 18+: This novel contains graphic sexual content and nudity.

Make sure you’re sitting down when you’re reading this one, ladies–it’s intense! Jeaniene Frost introduces us to the characters of Kira and Menecheres, a sizzling millennia-old Egyptian vampire (bonus points for the coolness factor of making him Egyptian, although I would have liked more introspections into his past) in the second book of her Night Huntress World series (Book 1, First Drop of Crimson, can be previewed here.) Whereas the first book focuses on Spade and Denise, I found Kira to be a nice change of pace. Sure, we’ve seen the female P.I. who gets mixed up in the paranormal world she isn’t meant to see, and Frost is no stranger to dark, alluring vampire men (Bones, anyone?) but the way that the characters engaged with each other was very enticing right off the bat.

The story involves Kira getting tangled up with Menecheres once she sees him fighting some ghouls–it gets more complicated when he tries to wipe her memory of the encounter, but finds that he can’t because she has a genetic immunity to his powers/influence, also not something entirely unseen, but here it makes for an interesting dynamic between the headstrong Kira and equally obstinate Menecheres.

Overall, I found the pace to be heart-pounding and exhilarating. It moves fairly quickly, and you will get into the story without being able to put the book down just from the first few pages. Fans of Bones and Cat will also be happy to see a cameo appearance from the husband and wife team from the Night Huntress series (not to be confused with this series, the newest, which is the Night Huntress World series).

It has equal measures of action, intensity, great dialogue, a fast pace, and as I mentioned earlier, this one is a blazing inferno when it comes to the love scenes. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will love this volume, and will bond with the characters instantly. Definitely one to check out.

~*~