Kissed By Darkness
(Sunwalker Saga, #1)
By: Shea Macleod
Publisher: Self-published
Published: June 28, 2011
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
Three years ago, Morgan Bailey narrowly survived a vampire attack that left her with heightened senses, uncanny speed, and a new calling: supernatural bounty hunter. Since that day, sexy, street-smart Morgan hasn’t met a vampire she couldn’t dust or a demon she couldn’t kill — until she’s hired to hunt down a priceless amulet and the sunwalker who stole it. Sunwalkers — powerful vampires immune to sunlight — are notoriously difficult to find, let alone kill. Still, a job’s a job, and Morgan’s never been one to shy away from a challenge. So bring it on… right?
But the sunwalker ends up tracking her down. And not only that, he turns out to be cunning, charming — and undeniably gorgeous. Nevertheless, she can’t ignore the destruction he is capable of: the sunwalker possesses an ancient secret which, if unleashed, could destroy the human world. Captivating and fantastical, Kissed by Darkness introduces a kick-ass new heroine and an addictive new series for fans of urban fantasy.
Morgan is the person who chases down the things that go bump in the night. After being bit by a vampire and not turning, Morgan gained some new abilities. Abilities that allowed her to be faster, stronger and heal quicker than a human. Making her one of the best bounty hunters out there. However, her latest job has her questioning everything. She’s not overly convinced that the guy she’s hunting is the one who deserves her attention. In fact, as it turns out the guy who hired her is the real danger.
This was the first book by Shea’s I’ve read. I liked that she took a normal vampire story and mixed Atlantean mythology into it. That little adjustment made the story more enjoyable. I felt like I was reading something completely new. Which is kind of a rare thing when you read as much as I do. So not only do we have vampires, psychics, and fey. We also get the priests, priestesses and Templar Knights.
The story moves at a good pace but I did find myself getting a little restless at times. The author does a lot of beating around the bush. There was a lot of talk in the story. Now normally I’m not against dialogue but there was so much telling but not enough showing, if you know what I mean. There were a lot of times where the characters sat around discussing what it all could mean and what was really going on, instead of getting out there and doing stuff, they just talked a lot. I just with there was more action.
I know that you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but can we take a second to look at this one? The cover leaves a lot to be desired. The ho-hum look on the models face, the bored looking sitting position, the make-up job that would make a drag queen cringe, and that god awful wig. Goodness, the cover is just awful and I’m sad to see that it doesn’t change any in the upcoming novels either. However, the story inside is pretty good. So in this case, just don’t look at the cover before reading it.
Aside from the lack of action and the less than stellar cover this was a pretty good read. It had a lot of elements to it that kept me interested. Sure, there were times where I would skim along a little to get back to the good stuff but the story as a whole was good. I just wish there was more oomph in the story. It’s a book about a hunter afterall.
“I love my job. There is something do immensely satisfying about going to work and hacking someone or something’s head off. They don’t usually let you do that at, say, a pharmaceutical company or the post office, even if that someone really deserves it. They kind of frown on it, actually.”
