Seriously? Such a great idea but very awkward execution.

First of all, I was lured by the cover. That man looks wicked, the clothes are yummy and the font is delicious.

The idea behind the book is wonderful. Vampirism is a curse bestowed upon those who were monsters and didn't have a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of God during their life. When they are turned to vampires they have centuries to change and become good men.

Raphael is one of them. Turned during Crusades he was a true monster, killing for the sake of killing, - men, women, children, friends or enemies, he wouldn't stop. Fast forward to present, we get flashbacks of his past. Now he fights a war against those vampires who didn't change their wicked ways and who plan to rule the world.

Susan is an American girl who comes to Prague for her granny's funeral. She belongs to the old bloodlines of Bryas, sensitive to vampires and strong in her faith which is her weapon. Although she doesn't know that vampires exist until one of them preys upon her younger cousin Wendy.

David is another American, who comes to Prague for business and gets mixed up in Susan and Wendy's affairs being unfortunate enough to live next door to the girls in the hotel.

Somehow Raphael stalks Susan because he believes that she possesses an artifact which can help him to win the war. Between weird vampire attacks, mysterious Paul, who is a monk and a vampire(!), also a lawyer with his own agenda, Susan and Raphael start to work together to unravel the mystery of the artifact, and David ends up training to be a vampire killer.

This book was AWKWARD. Not enough explanation and background. Although Paul was particularly interesting.

There is an unnecessary attraction between Raphael and Susan. Sorry, I just couldn't believe it. One moment she is terrified of him, next they are passionately kissing each other and admitting their love. There is not enough story to their enemies. Too many things left unsaid for the sequel.

Wendy going back and forth between US and Prague, or Susan flying to France on a whim. No mention of such pesky things like visas or huge amount of money for the tickets across the Atlantic... Locals all speaking perfect English, David deciding not to work but kill vampires... Again, how would he support himself without doing his job?

I know it's all make believe, but make it a bit more real, more difficult for the characters. Again, we have 900 year-old vampire, who just seems... incompetent. Everyone helps him and even saves his butt.

Apart from all this, the book strongly reminded me of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova which I love. ( )

Good start to the series. Nice intros to the characters. Trying to be a Christian slant to vampire stories. Paul is Saul? ( )

I picked this book up cause it intrigued me so much! A christian vampire? Now, that is something new. I had never read anything like this before and was excited to read it. I can tell you that right from the start, I was hooked!

What I liked most about this book is the plot. Paced perfectly, Ms. Viguie snags the reader with her brilliant writing, holding on to the reader tight. I loved the pacing of the book flowed well with the back round history of it. There was no confusion, just good writing that lead you further in the history of vampires.

I adored all the characters. Both characters went through a lot of change but did not hold back feelings. I love how the characters were immediately passionate, fierce, and loyal. Ms. Viguie makes it easy to slip into the characters shoes. The reader is able to go back in time and see things from a whole new point of view.

I loved the biblical references. Ms. Viguie did a great job in capturing the essence of The Knights Templar, Christian history as well as God. It may seem a little weird at first, but with the way Ms. Viguie mixes it all together, the reader has no problem reading it.

Kiss of Night is a great book that I can read over and over again. Filled with non-stop action, fierce love, and great writing, Ms. Viguie created a world that I thought could never be done. ( )

Kiss of Night puts a whole new spin on the classic vampire story. Vampirism, it turns out, is a curse bestowed on men and women who are so depraved, they need more than a standard lifetime to turn from wickedness and be redeemed. Raphael is one of those men. A crusader who killed everyone in his path, Raphael killed for the joy and thrill of killing. Now a 700-year-old vampire, Raphael wants the help of Susan, descendant from a line of humans who can sense the supernatural, to defeat a group of vampires that have resisted redemption and have only become more evil as they age.

Kiss of Night is good supernatural Christian fiction, a genre that’s relatively new to me but one that I absolutely love. Along with the idea that no one is beyond redemption, the story effortlessly weaves in themes of sacrifice, love and prayer that flows well and is never preachy.

Raphael is swoon worthy and the budding relationship between him and Susan, though a bit quick, is still well done. I was (very pleasantly) surprised that the couple kiss passionately on more than one occasion, you don’t usually find that in Christian fiction. I loved the vampire mythology and Raphael’s flashbacks to times before and after he was turned.

While I enjoyed Kiss of Night, the book does have some minor flaws. The story is told from alternating character perspectives and I found the constant change a bit jarring. Additionally, as I mentioned before, the romances in the story develop quickly.

The story is fast paced, thrilling and leaves mysteries that will hopefully be unfolded in upcoming sequels. The book does end in a wicked cliffhanger but that’s what keeps us coming back, right? I will definitely be reading upcoming books in this series. I recommend this for anyone who is looking for something a little different in supernatural/paranormal fiction.

Content: Kissing and violence. ( )

Susan Lambert is in the city of Prague because her beloved grandmothers funeral is being held there. Raised by her grandmother since the age of twelve when her parents were killed in a car accident, an accident that Susan had a feeling about, and that's the thing, Susan had always had a feeling of discernment. The ability to sense when something wasn't right and that was a feeling she got when she decided to visit St. Vitus Cathedral. Even though she was alone in the Cathedral she felt as if someone was there with her, and even glimpsed what she thought was a man. She sees the same man a few more times, and when her cousin Wendy decides to go partying with a stranger that oozes evil, she feels compelled to find her cousin and get her away from this man.The man that Susan glimpsed in the Cathedral,(Raphael) approaches Susan and offers to help her find Wendy, but in return he tells Susan he will need her help. Susan is soon introduced to things she would have never imagined, and learns that vampires do exist and Raphael is a vampire set to fight a war against an evil vampire who wants to rule the world.

I love vampire fiction and I was quite excited to read a vampire tale that was woven into christian fiction. I enjoyed getting to know the characters especially Raphael. Thru flashbacks we learn why he was cursed to be a vampire. The way the author explains why some people become vampires was quite different from most vampire tales. Her take was that some people are so inherently evil that they are cursed as vampires thus living longer in the hopes that they will eventually learn their mistakes and accept God, which was something that Raphael was still struggling with even after 900 years. While Raphael is a vampire it was easy to sense a goodness in him, although when Susan's life was in jeopardy we certainly saw his dark side.The forbidden feel of the attraction between Susan and Raphael kept me turning the pages to see if a romance would develop.The secondary character of David added to the story for me, a reluctant hero, who was only in Prague for three months on a job assignment staying in the same hotel as Wendy and Susan, when he hears on of the women cry out he tries to help them and learns the hard way that vampires exist and soon finds himself being trained as a vampire slayer. The relationship between David and Wendy was sweet.
I really hated to see this book end, and left me wanting to read a sequel. I really can't wait to see how the relationship between Raphael and Susan goes. A vampire tale woven together with a christian theme, and a fight of good versus evil, the perfect October read! On a scale of one to five I would easily give this one a six because it's just that good! ( )