Saturday, June 11, 2011

Review: Storm Kissed by Jessica Andersen

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Title: Storm Kissed
Series: Final Prophecy
Author: Jessica Andersen
Read copy: eBook
Published: June 7, 2011
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
ISBN: 1101515635
ISBN-13: 9781101515631

When sexy Nightkeeper Dez goes rogue, the bounty hunter enlisted to catch him is Reese, his former lover. The sexual energy between them is hotter than ever-but the life-and-death stakes attached to the chase may pull them apart for good.

My rating:

Ten years ago, she knew she loved him and she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Then everything went to hell. Literally. And they drifted apart. He toward perdition as the leader of a street gang, she toward salvation as a bounty-hunter.
Three years ago she put him in jail to save his life and he hated her for it.
One year ago she learned he was dead. Killed by a rival street gang.

Now, she learns he’s alive. A changed man. A good man. He’s been helping the Nightkeepers, a race of magi she always thought were just fantasy, to save the world from the Mayan Doomsday prophecy. But he’s gone now, vanished without a trace and they need her help in locating him.

So much for him being good and on a straight path, huh?

She finds him, though. It’s what she does. It’s what she’s good at. What she’s not good at is dealing with him the way he is now. A good man, a penitent man, a changed man. Or is he? Because she’s getting vibes, and not good ones. He’s hiding something, something big, something dark that belies everybody’s conviction of his sudden goodness.

So she decides to stick around, see how things pan out. See if she can prevent the shit from hitting the fan. See what the hell is going on. Little does she know she’s about to enter into the world war to vanquish all world wars. A world-saving war.

Yep, their timing always sucked.


I was eagerly awaiting “Snake’s” story ever since he showed his mug in the main arc, but I never thought I’d enjoy it that much, immerse myself in it that much. I never thought it would become my favorite Nightkeeper story to date.

But it is. I thought Michael’s story was awesome, but Dez’s journey from gang leader to... (read the story!) beat it fair and square. Like the guy himself, this story went out guns blazing, not pulling punches, fought dirty, fought fair, it was down-and-dirty, gritty and dark. And it delivered on all counts.

The first half of the story arc is done, one big bad vanquished, many questions were answered, and it all sort of came full-circle. The story was reborn, the Nightkeepers were reborn, along with the winikin, ready, willing, and able to continue their fight, now that the cards have been dealt anew, and the Fate finally seems to be on their side.
And I cannot wait to see how that one goes. I’ll be right alongside them for the ride. Because I want to know how it ends. (Well for the good guys, I hope.)

But though this story was firmly rooted into the Nightkeeper universe, it was a bit more detached than the rest of the books. Yes, it was a Nightkeeper story, but most of all it was Dez’s story, Dez and Reese’s story. Of how they came to be what they are, how they overcome all the obstacles in their path, how they rose above it all to become...(read the story!).

Though I didn’t overly much care for the dream-sequence flashbacks, they helped paint the back-story of these two characters, Dez’s trials and tribulations, his slow descend into darkness, and his slow resurrection into the light.
At times I felt he deserved better in terms of heroine, but somehow all Reese’s flaws and setbacks made her perfect for him. Though I still cannot “forgive” her inability to trust him, despite everything she saw, all the changes. She wanted a future with him, she loved him (though she didn’t admit it to herself), but there could not be a future for them without trust. He trusted her while she didn’t trust him. And I wanted to smack her silly. I didn’t get her reservations, despite reading all the flashbacks. I still don’t get it. Thankfully she saw reason, also thanks to Lucius explaining a few details about the various bonds between Nightkeepers.
Anyway, Dez and Reese’s story was pure Nightkeeper fare—dramatic, angsty, painful, angry, sexy, hot, sad, bitter-sweet etc. And I loved it.

It was also great to see the past characters and actually appreciate their involvement in the story, when in the previous book they mostly got on my nerves. And I’m more than glad the Nightkeeper lore, mythos, and legends were better blended into the plot than in the previous books when parts of the story read more like a Doomsday prophecy manual than urban-fantasy fiction. And I’m double glad the winikin are getting new leadership, because Jox was an ass with a megalomaniac complex, telling the Nightkeepers what to do while claiming to be a mere servant in the same breath. I really cannot get over that oxymoron from the beginning of the series.

And with this new leadership there’s also the groundwork for the next book—Sven’s book. Which, judging for the sparkage and bits and pieces of info gained from this book, will be another must-not-miss book in the series.

This books was everything I came to expect from Ms. Andersen’s Final Prophecy series and more. An integral part of the series and main-series-arc, with great characters, wonderful story, amazing action scenes, major drama, imminent-death looming just around the corner, hot sex, hotter guys, tough-as-nails chicks, and amazing pacing.
And a kick-ass, no-hold-bared, major-plot-twist-y final-battle ending. Because I didn’t see it coming until it was “on top of me”. A great move on Ms. Andersen’s part, something to keep the reader buzzing for quite a while, thinking what is in store for us next.

Loved the story, but most of all loved the big twist.

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