Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowan

Hello! Well as promised I'm going to zip through all the reviews of every book I read during my week in Cyprus (I read 12 haha) and to start us off here's DARK KISS by Michelle Rowan.

Title: Dark Kiss
Author: Michelle Rowen
Publisher: MIRA Ink (UK) | Harlequin Teen (US)
Release Date: 1st June 2012 (UK) | 22nd May 2012 (US)
Series: Nightwatchers series, book 1
Source: I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Goodreads:
I don't do dangerous.  Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back.
Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me....

Review:
First line: ' "This is going to hurt like hell." The grim thought was confirmed by the look on the Gatekeeper's face, but Bishop didn't want anyone's pity. After all, he'd volunteered for this.'
Set in the city of Trinity DARK KISS makes you wonder what could be lurking in the shadows of our world...and ensures you never look at a first kiss quite the same way. Angels, demons and soul sucking creatures known as Grays can be found here - and that can only mean one thing...a butt load of trouble for Samantha Day.
Sam was a normal 17 year old girl, that is until one kiss changed her life forever. Usually Cute guy + kissing = fun.... not Cute Guy + Kissing = becoming a soul sucking monster!! Well, that's what happened to Sam...and believe me, that was only the beginning. Suddenly Sam is always hungry but food can't satisfy her hunger, and she suddenly has the urge to kiss every boy she meets...including her best friends ex boyfriend.
The next day, Sam stumbles across Bishop...an angel sent from heaven to lead a team of angels and demons to find and deal with the Grays and their leader. There's only one problem, Bishop's head got messed up on the trip from heaven to earth. Now he can't see the searchlights to lead him to his other team members...and if he can't find them in the allotted time, they will be lost forever. So imagine his surprise when Sam can see the searchlights. Leading Bishop to the first member of his team (a demon called Kraven) Sam believes she has done a good thing. That is until Bishop pulls out a wicked golden dagger and stabs Kraven through the heart....and it only gets weirder from there! Family issues for both Sam and Bishop (yes, the angel does have family roaming the earth) along with one over excited team member and a corrupt angelic guard make sure this motley crew are always on their toes!

If I wasn’t feeling so flustered, I might have thought he was being cocky. I mean, please. A kiss that could change my life forever?But I kind of believed him. And after months of trying to be a perfect angel after the shoplifting incident, I wanted to push the edges of my comfort zone just a little bit.And this was special — a boy I liked who might like me in return. I couldn’t just walk away.This time I kissed him, tangling my fingers into his black hair and pulling his mouth toward mine as if I couldn’t resist. I hadn’t kissed many boys before, so I hoped I was doing it right. It felt right. In fact, it felt really right. My lips parted as the kiss deepened. His fingers dug into my waist. This felt like something out of a movie — one of the romantic ones I never watched because they made me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t want to try to relate to all of those emotions, those declarations of love and eternal devotion. I mean, spare me the drama.“You’re delicious,” Stephen whispered before he kissed me again and my heart felt like it was pounding right out of my chest.And then it got weird. *From Chapter 1*

Samantha is a good lead...despite her lack of a soul. Something has kept her from becoming like the other Grays, we have absolutely no idea what it is until about 50% of the way into the book. As it's often referenced (to the point where it began to get on my nerves), Sam is 'special'. Stephen says it (kissing guy), Natalie (leader of the Grays) repeatedly, Bishop and Kraven say it a lot too. All right, I got the point the first 3 times!! Until the kiss Sam was a normal girl, but apparently her soul was preventing her from reaching her full potential. Either way, she can now see the future, zap evil demons who get on her nerves...yes Kraven, I mean you...and many other cool things. The reason behind which is all explained and something I totally did not see coming. I was minding my own business, having a pleasant (if predictable) read and then WHAM! Curve-ball that shot the story way up. It certainly piqued my interest...and since it was not 100% resolved I'm now anxious to find out where that curve-ball will lead us! All I know is that Sam's life will never, ever be the same again!
Despite the fact that Sam makes some very stupid decisions, overall I was impressed by her character. Bishop you can't help but like, and Kraven...well...he's a mystery that I'll take pleasure unravelling ;)

In general I did quite like DARK KISS, but I'm going to take some points off for the overuse of the word 'special', that's the sort of thing that really bugs me. I'd still recommend it as it's a darn interesting last 50% and I certainly think this series has a lot of potential. As long as the word special doesn't crop any more...I think we'll get on just fine :)

My Rating: 3.5/5