Kiss of Surrender

November 1, 2012
Trond Sigurdsson, a Viking vampire angel, has been sent to train as a Navy SEAL in order to save some misguided servicemen targeted by the devil's legions; falling for Nicole Tasso is a decidedly unwelcome side effect, even if she is the woman he's been searching for across a millennium. For their sinful, violent ways, Viking Trond Sigurdsson and his brothers have been sentenced to serve as Viking vampire angels, fighting against the devil's newest demon form, the Lucipire, a vampire who sucks the blood of humans just as they commit a mortal sin, forcing them into an eternity of suffering. Trond's most recent mission is to train and serve as a Navy SEAL, saving two tainted colleagues and rooting out a diabolical plan that will wreak global havoc. But Trond is distracted by his growing attraction to Lt. Nicole Tasso, who is determined to overcome a wounded past. As the mission gets more complex and Nicole is placed in real danger, Trond discovers emotions he's never felt, and he must question everything he's ever known about good and evil, love and sin and what it truly means to be a hero. Hill has created an intriguing new series with the Deadly Angels books, but her reach may be too long in this effort. There is too much going on, too many competing ideas and too many inconsistencies to carry a cohesive, powerful storyline. (Consider: Viking vampire angels.) Trond often comes across as a moronic goofball, and while there is some growth by the end of the book, it's hard to be completely persuaded that he's a hero. What develops between Nicole and Trond is more sexual than romantic, and an awkwardly leveraged Trond-pretends-to-be-gay-to-cover-for-all-the-other-things-he's-hiding plot twist makes little sense, while undermining Nicole's credibility. Toss in hot-and-steamy sexual tension and bad language that will make some readers uncomfortable and maladroit discourses on spiritual and religious concepts that will confuse many paranormal fans expecting a lighthearted read, and you have a book with an undefined audience, a shaky narrative core and two main characters who don't quite sell the high-stakes romance. A confusing combination of too many elements without a commanding storyline or deeply convincing characters to pull it all together.

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