Sherrilyn Kenyon once again entertains us with a world filled with amazing creatures and a myriad of gods. A fantasy filled with ancient curses, prophecies, Greek gods and mythical creatures, Kiss of the Night is an action-packed and exciting book.
The god Apollo has set his own downfall in motion when he cursed all Apollites, for the death of his son and mistress by the Apollite queen. Since they try to hide their crime by making it appear as if they have been killed by beasts, Apollo has given all Apollites the features of beasts: long canine teeth, speed, strength, and predator’s eyes. He has cursed them with the need to feed off each other’s blood to survive and has banished them from daylight so he never has to see them again. Their life spans are shortened to twenty-seven years, the same age of his mistress at her death.
Apollo’s mistake, in his moment of anger, is forgetting that he has another son, an Apollite. In cursing all Apollites, he also curses his only surviving son to whom his future is linked. Apollo’s blood is linked with his son and his son’s descendants. When the last descendant of his son’s bloodline dies, so, too, does Apollo die, and with him the sun and his sister, Artemis, the moon, thus bringing to an end the entire world and all life upon it.
Cassandra Peters is the last living descendant of Apollo’s son. She has been on the run her entire life as both Apollites and Daimons want her dead. Daimons are a vicious breed of Apollite who have chosen to prolong their lives past twenty-seven years and do so by killing humans and stealing their souls. The myth exists that, at her death, as the last heir of Apollo’s bloodline, the curse will be lifted. The myth is true, but will also bring the destruction of the world.
Half Apollite and half human, Cassandra’s life is almost over as her twenty-seventh birthday is just eight months away. Her mother and her four sisters have already been murdered by Daimons and now they are searching for her. One night while at a bar, she is attacked by Daimons and saved by an unexpected defender. A Dark-Hunter.
Wulf Tryggvason is a twelve-hundred year-old immortal Dark-Hunter. He is the protector and defender of mankind who lives to hunt and execute the Daimons who feed off human souls. As with Daimons, sunlight is Wulf’s enemy. He himself is cursed as no human can remember him five minutes after he has left them, except one of his own bloodline, of which there is one surviving member. It is a long, lonely life, and Wulf exists to hunt Daimons.
Wulf, at six and a half feet tall, with his shoulder length black hair, perfectly sculpted face and cold black eyes, is the consumate predator. In his long black leather coat and pants and biker boots, he is pure temptation to women. He saves Cassandra from the Daimons and then disappears out into the night, never expecting that she is the only person on the face of the planet who will remember him. It is ironic that, as Dark-Hunter and Apollite, they are natural enemies.
Cassandra and Wulf are drawn together in a relationship much against their natures. Wulf must protect Cassandra in order to protect the world, and when she becomes pregnant with their child, he must keep both of them safe. Neither one knows what will happen on her birthday. Will she die, or somehow defy the curse of her people and live?
Sherrilyn Kenyon brings back other characters from her previous four books in this series. Kiss Of The Night is a welcome addition to the series as Kenyon uses an intriguing cast of characters, snappy dialogue, and a sensual love story to keep you turning pages until the end. The only problem is that readers who have not read the earlier books may get bogged down in the mythology and may not understand the significance of some of the references. There is a large amount of detail included about the history of all the various factions: Apollites, Daimons, Dark-Hunters, Spathi Daimons, and various gods of Greek and Atlantean pantheons. Some of this information is necessary to the plot and some of it is obviously for future books.
An excellent read that leaves you wanting the next in the series, but doesn’t stand on its own as well as some of the earlier books. Still, if you read and enjoy the latest tale in the Dark-Hunter series, it will leave you scrambling to find all the other books in the series, which are all well worth the read.