Really Ravishing Review (Eternal Kiss of Darkness)

 Review of Eternal Kiss of Darkness, by Jeaniene Frost.

Quickie: Such a sweet, romantic story, even if one of the characters is a creepy old guy.

Full: I've always kind of liked Mencheres. Call me crazy, but he's cool in that creepy-old-dude-with-too-much-power-for-his-own-good kind of way. He's always been one of the most interesting and mysterious characters in the Night Huntress world, and I was really glad to get a insiders look at him.

Mencheres is old. Really, really old. He claims to be older than dirt, and in his case, it's nearly true. He's a Master Vampire and has an unprecedented amount of power. (You learn this in the Cat and Bones books, but you really get a taste for the vastness of his power in Eternal Kiss of Darkness.) Being so old and living through so much has made Mencheres tired. His visions of the future have dried up and all he sees is darkness looming. His centuries-old war with Radjedef, another powerful vamp has been rekindled and Mencheres knows this will be their final battle.

Mencheres has something sinister planned to thwart Radjedef, when in walks Kira, gun drawn. Kira is a human, who chances upon Mencheres and a group of ghouls as they are tearing Mencheres to bits. Kira calls the police, but before they get there, Kira is fatally wounded by the ghouls. Mencheres is touched by her bravery- a human saving his life. He swoops her up and flies her away before the police can see them and takes her back to one of his houses to heal her. He plans to heal her body, erase her memory of him and his kind, and return to normal. But things don't go exactly according to plan.

Suddenly Mencheres and Kira find themselves on the run from Radjedef and his powerful allies, and amidst all the terror and confusion, they might even find love.

I'll say it outright- I love Jeaniene's books. The romances are always slow and passionate but not excessive or obnoxious.

Mencheres has always fascinated me, and I wanted to know his history. I got that wish fulfilled in Eternal Kiss of Darkness. (yay!) Melissa Marr has said that you never really know the full story until you see it from multiple points of view, and that point is proven here. In the Night Huntress novels we see Mencheres as Cat sees him- old, intimidating, and cold. But that's just how one person views him, and it's completely different from how Kira sees him, which is guarded, but gentle and good and loving.

Kira. Loved her! She was smart, funny, and able to kick serious butt without being manly. She was a woman and not afraid to say so. I can't help but love heroines like her!

4 out of 5 stars.