Kiss of Death by Heather Hildenbrand – A Book Review

Posted May 19, 2020 by Booksandblurbs in Reviews, Urban Fantasy / 1 Comment

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Kiss of Death

(Supernatural Security Force – Book 1)

by Heather Hildenbrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Urban Fantasy
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down & Dirty

Exciting, dangerous and unique – this is an introduction to a dicey universe filled with myths, legends and plenty of blood. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

Drag racing champion Gem Hawkins is a true badass… until she’s redefined by a monumental loss.

The night Gem’s father is killed in the line of duty, her happy existence implodes. Gutted by grief, Gem is on the hunt for answers. Answers even her fae magic can’t detect.

Despite countless promises from the agency her father worked for, the investigation remains unsolved, with the trail too cold to follow. Or so the Supernatural Security Force claims.

To uncover the truth, Gem must follow in her father’s footsteps and infiltrate the very organization she believes is behind his death. But becoming an agent isn’t as easy as she thought. Between the demons she faces and professors with their own twisted agendas, Gem’s not sure she’ll make it out of the training academy with her sanity—or her life.

Note:

**This is a full length adult urban fantasy novel. Please be advised there is adult sexual content and language. Fae are notoriously mouthy creatures.

Thoughts on Kiss of Death

I was pretty entranced with the concept and general flow of this book, though there were events and some timing issues that made it a 4 star, instead of a 5 star, read. That said, I fully expect the next book in this explosive series to garner that extra star from me – it feels like it’s going that way.

With an almost BootCamp type feel, while still allowing that Academy ambiance to bleed through, Kiss of Death weaves a tale of supernatural government deception, and the ramifications of such. I liked that the author allowed the events that lead up to Gem joining SSF to really stew and develop, we didn’t just get dropped into the next stage – we learned and even FELT why.

Overall, this was fast paced and a decent start to a promising Urban Fantasy. I’ll definitely be picking up Book 2.

Pros:

Character Development.
Friendships at the Academy.
Her Gran… how awesome is that?!
The Ball…. I’m obsessed.

Cons:

Certain timing issues don’t add up.
The loss of friendships, to assignment and circumstance.
We don’t even get to know what that final message was till the book is over half done!

Perspective

First Person, Single POV

Ending Type

Episodic

Rating

Mature for sexual content , language and violence.

Romantic Dynamic

M/F… but this is a UF, so romance is not the main plot, just a subplot brewing.

Character Age Range

Adult

My Final Verdict on Kiss of Death

A kickass Female Main Character with a secret agenda….what’s not to love? Exciting, dangerous and brutal, Gem is playing the long game – and it’s free on Kindle Unlimited.

Published November 19th, 2019
294 Pages