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A review by lezreadalot
Deadly Kiss by Ariel Marie
3.0
“I find I’m making more promises now than ever before.”
3.5 stars. I'm Marge Simpson hiding my face about this one. The fact is that this is a pretty imperfect book and it has a lot of the very specific flaws that usually cause me to become a little fed up or rate books low. The writing isn't great, it feels like it wasn't edited, and the plot isn't anything to write home about. All of that is true. But is it also true that some parts of this made me giggle like a teenager? Yes! And see, because I'm such a picky, bitchy reader, and because I'm usually quick to spot flaws in books, and because they usually have a negative impact on the way I feel about the book as a whole, when a book like this comes along where I still really like the characters and romance despite everything else going on with it? I'm inclined to be a little lenient in my rating. Maybe one day I'll reread this when I'm not in such a good mood and I'll adjust my rating to suit. But for now, I really can't deny that I actually kinda liked this.
We're in a paranormal world where vampires have made themselves known, and after a long and bloody war, they now live in the open. A draft is instituted so that vampires can find their mates, who can sometimes be humans. Quinn is terrified of vampires, because they ruthlessly rule the town that she lives in, and she's dismayed to find out that she's the mate of one of the powerful vampire princesses. Velika, said vampire princess, is also not pleased to find out that she's been matched, because she's too busy with work and has no interest in finding love at the moment. But as soon as they meet, everything changes for the both of them, and they have this instant irresistible bond.
In any other book, this is where I would start rolling my eyes. I love slow burn, and it's often my favorite thing to see characters gradually come together. But in this case, I actually really liked how the fated mate bond just bulldozed both their expectations and they were immediately all in for one another and had this instant devotion that was kinda delicious. Velika especially. She became so protective, so fierce in her longing, and I ate it up. Quinn took a little longer to let go of her fear and her prejudice against vampires, but there was just this pull and attraction between them that I really believed. Maybe it was easier for me to swallow because the source of the instant connection was magical in nature. Fated mates doesn't always work for me, because I feel like it replaces the actual character building and relationship building that I love to see in romance. But for whatever reason, I really liked this. Velika was super patient and kind, obsessive and protective, which I loved. Quinn was determined to learn, and I love that she was protective of Velika as well. The plot was, uh, lacklustre at best (something something rogue vampires) but it also provided a bunch of "touch her and you die" situations, which, again. Did they make me giggle and swoon? Yes. Who am I??
I really wish that this had been given a close edit and just a bit of doctoring. A lot of the dialogue didn't seem quite natural, and I wish the characters sounded a little more distinct. There were a lot of typos and just errors that really shouldn't make their way into the final copy of a book.
Listened to the audiobook read by Ann Vaughn and Xenia Willacey and it was okay? I didn't particularly love the narrator for Quinn; she was choppy and breathy at the same time. I think there was also some random head-hopping within the book as well, because at some points, each narrator would end up reading passages from the other main character's point of view, and that was very distracting. I didn't have an e-book to follow along with, but I could hear all of those typos and errors that I mentioned before, as if no one noticed them, which isn't the best endorsement of the production of this audiobook.
But still, I've definitely listened to worse. I just had a good time with this, so I'm just going to stop trying to justify myself, haha. Like I said, it's far from perfect but it was hot and had a lot of good tropes that apparently brought my lizard brain out to play. It's definitely my favourite thing I've read from this author so far, and I could see myself continuing the series at some point. I definitely need to read more f/f vampire romance. I feel like this unlocked something in me, lmao. Don't look at me.
Content warnings: