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Red Kiss (2009)

by Deidre Knight(Favorite Author)

3.99 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0451226615 (ISBN13: 9780451226617)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Signet

series

Gods of Midnight

review 1: The story of River Kassandros, the faithful servant of the Spartan warrior Ajax Petrakos from Red Fire who has been given the gift of being able to shapeshift into any weapon. At the end of Red Fire, River was in dagger form and got into the hands of the Spartan warriors enemy and was thrown into the deepest part of the Wilmington River. His Sparatan warriors are looking for him, as are the demons who cast him to the sea as the God Ares wants him back. However, someone else is going to be the one to find him. A woman named Emma Lowery.I liked this one a lot--even better than the first book in this series, Red Fire. I've seen some feedback from other readers who didn't like it so much. The hero grated their nerves, but I didn't find that at all. I thought the romance was go... moreod as was the plot. The components contributing to the whole series story arc were even better.
review 2: The main players: River Kassandros has the ability to shapeshift into any weapon. He's not of the same caste as the Spartans; he's one of the Spartan's servant/slave. Emma Lowery is a Daughter of Delphi who suppressed her talents because of a tragedy when she was younger.Set up:The series is very similar to Ward's BDB books. A tight group of warriors on mankind's side battling the evils that ordinary humans know nothing of. And features a romance.But its different in that, instead of vampires, you have Spartan warriors who gained immortality (and special individual abilities) when they made a pact with the Olympian God, Ares - the God of War. These Spartans (7 of them), including King Leonidas (re Gerard Butler in 300), are basically humankind's protectors.Plot summary:From the previous book, River had been in dagger-form when he was cast into the ocean by the grotesque demon, Sable, and was trapped and lost for 4 months. Unfortunately, he had never been in weapon-form for more than a day and there is a danger that he will no longer have the ability to shape-shift back to normal. Ares however wanted to capture and use River against the Spartan warriors as River is seemingly the only weapon able to destroy them. Although Ares had created the warriors, he realized he had lost control over them and will not be able to use them to gain more power. The Spartan warriors have also come to a decision to honor the Highest God instead of Ares when they could no longer cope with the War God's cruel ways.On a beach, Emma is suddenly drawn to cries of help from a mysterious entity and comes across River's blade. (I couldn't help laugh at the double entendres I read - although I'm not quite sure if it was meant to be one...) She is able to free him by using her blood, and in doing so, creates a blood bond which sounds a lot like being fated to be mated. It appears that Emma's talent is no longer able to be suppressed and helps the Spartans in their war for their freedom. What I thought:I loved the story involving the Spartans, the strong, independent female characters and the developing romances between the secondary characters. Unlike Ward, Knight does not shy away from homosexual lurve and the love story is actually one of the more interesting ones. I can't wait for the story with the tortured hero, or the little teaser dealing with another character. Unfortunately, I didn't much care for the main romance between River and Emma. There wasn't any real character or emotional growth and I never saw/felt the spark between the two. Plus, it seemed like they were in love just because they were the main h/h and therefore had to be which was disappointing as I usually enjoy reading Lady of the manor/stable boy romances. River was a very endearing hero suffering from the hero syndrome of 'woe me, the lady is too good for me' but the secondary characters are what will keep me reading this particular series.Grade C+ less

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