Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
www.allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com

As a paranormal romance, DEADLY IS THE KISS made me terribly nostalgic. Despite the gloss of vampires and otherworldly politics, this book is an brand of novel that I haven't read in while. With the merest fringe of plot, the hero and heroine conjure up trope after trope as they sex their way to happily ever after. Unfortunately, none of the many plot devices that were presented were in a new or clever incarnation and the characters themselves were not any brand of archetype that I found appealing, leaving me finishing DEADLY IS THE KISS with a shrug and a sigh.

Though not apart of the Primal Instinct series arc, DEADLY IS THE KISS references characters and events from that world. As a stand alone, I had no trouble jumping into the setting, but there may have been character development from prior books that would have helped me bond with Ashe and Julianna. As is, neither one of them did anything for me. Ashe is unbearably attracted yet doesn't want to settle down with his soul mate, and his plan to get her out of his system is a classic excuse for lots of sex scenes while maintaining the "we don't like each other" melodrama. Watching him slip "I can't help respecting you" moments into the story was neither surprising nor interesting, especially considering his Mary Sue soul mate. Julianna is a sweet, uncomplaining, virgin-enough martyr who plays strictly by the romance book. The worst of both of these character extremes comes to ahead when Ashe and Julianna confront their feelings and between that moment and the end of the book they never redeemed themselves in my eyes. To readers who have anticipated Ashe and Julianna through past books, this wham-bam relationship was probably a thrill fest. As for myself, with little or no emotional interest in this pair, DEADLY IS THE KISS was a mechanical survey of the who-where-how of sex scenes interspersed with low self esteem and emotional missteps. The only trope spin came in the epilogue, where Byrd takes a new tact with the “surprise we’re having a baby” moment, but that attempt at a touching scene had me more worried about the laxity of vampire social services than feeling any closer to these two.

Don't let my litany of dislikes fool you, however, this book is well written despite the shallow content. There were a few instances where one of the characters has to announce a piece of lore for those of us that are new (Ashe pausing at a critical moment to explain why he didn't need a condom being my favorite ridiculous example), but on the whole Byrd does a good job with pacing, dialogue, and back-story. I'm a little interested in the Primal Instinct series that established this world to see if the characters get more development (and therefore I enjoy it more), but I'm definitely in no hurry.

Sexual Content: Several sex scenes. ( )

Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson - LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
Primal Instinct is one of my favorite series, but this spin-off installment was by far my favorite book yet.

I’ve been a fan of the Granger brothers all along and there’s just something about Ashe that set my heart a pitter pat, so when I heard that Deadly is the Kiss was his book I was beyond excited.
After reading the captivating conclusions to Rush of Darkness and Rush of Pleasure, I knew we were in for something special with Ashe and Juliana’s book was released. Boy was that an understatement.

Deadly is the Kiss throws Ashe and Juliana together under unusual circumstances and forces them to confront the undeniable attraction they have had for one another since they met back in the Wasteland. With danger lurking around every corner the story is a non-stop adrenaline rush and keeps the characters (and the reader) on alert and hypersensitive, which makes for some amazing moments.

Ashe is everything you want in an alpha male – gorgeous, strong, deadly, protective, stubborn, and take no prisoners. He can be intimidating, and I wanted to smack him a few times for so vehemently denying his feelings for Juliana and then turning around and using them (and her obvious attraction to him) to taunt or blackmail her, but all of it together made him what I always knew he was but found out in spades in this book… SEXY AS SIN.

Juliana was a great heroine – smart, funny & resourceful. I loved uncovering her insecurities in this book as well as it made her even more ‘real’ to me.

Together, they are dynamite. There was no instant perfect chemistry and things that ‘just worked’, they went through a lot to get where they ended up and it was a ride that I never wanted to end.

As usual, Rhyannon’s world building was superb. Her Primal Instinct world has always been ingenious, but there was something about the set up of this book and the additional treasures she provided for us readers. I was captivated throughout. It excites me to think that there may be additional books following Deadly is the Kiss (hopefully Gideon’s and a few others!?) that are set up like this one was with bucket loads of intrigue, romance, action, intensity and so much more.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Deadly is the Kiss 5 Skulls and would give it more if there were more to give. I whole heartedly recommend this to all Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Vampire, Shifter and all around Fantasy readers who want a grab you by the seat and not let go read. While this book can be read as a stand alone I would highly recommend reading the books in the Primal Instinct series beforehand to get the history and get properly introduced to Ashe in all of his glory.

I cannot wait for more from Rhyannon Byrd and while I know that it will be a bit before I get another of these books, I know that I have her BloodRunner’s series installment to look forward to and I am very excited for that. ( )

Loved the book. Unique twist on vampires. ( )