Kiss of Pride by Sandra Hill

Kiss of Pride by Sandra Hill

Book stats:
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Release date: April 24th 2012

Series: Deadly Angels #1

Source: Edelweiss

Reviewed by: Christine

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

SOME MEN ARE TOO BAD TO BE TRUE...
Is he really a Viking with a vampire’s bit? An angel with the body of a thunder god? A lone wolf with love on his mind? Alexandra Kelly, his prey, thinks Vikar Sigurdsson is either flat-out crazy or he’s trying to maneuver her into his bed--which is hardly where a professional reporter should conduct an interview, tempting as that prospect might be.

SOME MEN ARE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...
Until Vikar does something a teensy bit unexpected, and Alex begins to wonder whether her mystery man could really be everything he says he is: a Viking Vampire Angel on a thousand-year-long mission with his pack of sinful brothers—and a man who’s finally found the woman of his dreams. By then, Vikar is already wrapping his chiseled arms around Alex’s body...and sinking his wicked fangs right into her neck. If this is sin, why does it feel so good?

Kiss of Pride was not what I expected. I thought I would get a steamy romance with sexy Viking vampires.
Well, there are Vikings in Kiss of Pride but the tone of the whole story is very lighthearted, bordering on silly sometimes. Right at the beginning, there's a conversation between God and the archangel Michael and even that conversation is written in that slightly silly tone.

I found it very hard to take the characters seriously. Vikar is a vampire/Viking/angel or simply called vangel. He is also one of the VIK, along with his six brothers. They've been punished for their wicked amoral ways, sentenced to save innocent humans from committing sins. Right from the beginning, he comes of a bit grumpy, but changes his behavior rather quickly. His fondness for snuggling with Alex doesn't really make him seem very dangerous.

I also had problems with Alex. She is supposed to be a clever young woman, yet she denies for the better part of the book that Vikar might be anything he claims. Even though he bites her, tries to cleanse her blood. Even I know denial is not just a river in Egypt... Also, for someone that hell-bent on revenge like her, she falls awfully easy for Vikar. So, with two not-so-good main characters, I couldn't really make myself care for them much.

The villain of the book is also rather pale. In his most memorable scene, he is ranting about Twilight and a wussy vampire Bill while watching Buffy re-runs in his La-Zboy. Unfortunately, that doesn't really inspire fear in me nor does it help me to take him serious.

I have a feeling that everything about this book is a little bit over the top. Tone itself with the too many references to vampires and even some of the characters (like a vangel teenager with a lisp obsessing over Michael Jackson). Even the parts meant to be funny felt a bit too forced.

The world building is solid though, if not overly surprising and new. I think the author should have sticked to one name for her gang of Viking vampire angels/vangels/VIKs. The pacing of the story was good. Only the rather easy solution at end irked me a little bit.

Well, all in all, I had a hard time with this book. I wanted to like it, but I expected something different, something more serious. That doesn't mean that others won't like Kiss of Pride.

Find out if Kiss of Pride is for you by reading an excerpt!

Posted by Christine at 07:14

 Harper Collins, Review, Sandra Hill, Vampire  6 People left their mark

Christine lives in Munich and studies psychology to find out what makes people tick. Hopelessly addicted to books, she can often be found reading the latest urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels. When she´s not reading, you can find her going to concerts, at a swimming pool or riding horseback through Andalusia with her older sister.