Vampyre Kisses

Title: Vampyre Kisses
Author: Elizabeth J. Kolodziej
Genre: Paranormal, romance
Source: A free copy of the e-book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Werewolves and vampires have settled into a comfortable, long standing, loathing of each other. Witches, while real, are no longer living. Right?  This is the general basis of the novel, Vampyre Kisses. There is quite a bit of intrigue and action, but it's very light on the romance....but that's not really a problem. Ms. Kolodziej tells an interesting tale.






What I like:
1. Oran. He's the pet / magical flying beast. He's a tinier than tiny kitten with wings. He's awesome! I want one.

2. There is just the right mix of tensions between the werewolf beau and the vampire suitor.
While the romance plays a very minimal part in the story, the character development of the main characters is crucial. These two boys need to know how to play well together, but it just wouldn't be the same without some of that delicious rivalry.

What I dislike:

1. The mythology is distracting. There is Christianity, there is paganism, there is Wiccanism, there is Hinduism, and even the Greek and Roman pantheons pop up...yet it's all jumbled and mixed up. More than half of the characters are named after well-known "people" with equally well-known mythos. But that's not what we are given. We are given confusion. For example: Within this novel Vampires are a descendant of Cain. Okay, not an issue...this isn't a first. But....only it's not Cain...it's Kane and while the author makes it very clear she is talking about Cain from the Christian Bible...his name is spelled incorrectly and the reason for his downfall is completely incorrect.**  This is a peeve of mine. I don't mind authors taking an existing mythos and shaping it or changing little bits to make it their own....this story, however, is just chock full of mixed up, mashed up, myths and legends.

2. There are silly grammar and content errors throughout the book. I have a reasonable tolerance for mistakes of this kind. No one is perfect. Maybe the author intended that word/sentence/phrase to be read differently than I did? However, I was caught stumbling over things like "I'd had had..." repeatedly though out the book. (BTW, I'd is equal to I had...so that makes three hads in a row) There were also some minor content things such as, blood coming from scars. Scars are a healing process. Blood comes from newly opened wounds. It's alright to use that word. Even if a scar is cut open, the blood is still coming from the wounded scar...it's a wound.



Overall:  I like the story. It was a fast and enjoyable read, but I was so distracted by the mythology mash-ups and the mistakes that I can't say it is a great read. I do, however, thank Ms. Kolodziej, for allowing me to read her novel.

** Since posting this review, I have had a conversation with the author. She was very gracious but wanted to point out that my example was incorrect. She hadn't intended for Kane to be the biblical Cain. This makes a bit of the story more easy to understand. I must have been reading that bit into the text.

However, I do still feel that the mythologies are confusing, and inconsistent within themselves. Maybe by the next installment things will be cleared up.**