Marjorie M. Liu
Urban Fantasy
Penguin Group (USA) / June 2008
Mass Market / 320 pages
Hunter Kiss Series, #1
Silver smoke winds around my torso, peeling away from my ribs and back, stealing the dark mist covering my hands and lower extremities . . . tattoos dissolving into demon flesh, coalescing into small dark bodies. My boys. The only friends I have in this world. Demons.
I am a demon hunter. I am a demon. I am Hunter Kiss.
By day, her tattoos are her armor. By night, they unwind from her body to take on forms of their own. Demons of the flesh, turned into flesh. This is the only family demon hunter Maxine Kiss has ever known. The only way to live-and the very way she'll die. For one day, her demons will abandon her for her daughter to assure their own survival-leaving Maxine helpless against her enemies.
But such is the way of Earth's last protector-the only one standing between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veils. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment-and one man-changes everything . . .
I picked this book up because LOL. My husband picked it for a challenge & said damn she's hot.
What I liked the Most? Tattoos - her armor/her friends
What I liked the Least? The confusion.
Review: The writing style seemed to be way more complex than the story warranted. Mysteries were thrown out randomly just so they could be either explained within a few sentences or left completely unanswered. Okay - benefit of the doubt, there is to be another story, so you would expect some things to continue, but COME ON.
I, for one really enjoy a good intellectual story but this book required entirely too much wading. Through the writing style. Through the character developement (or lack there of). Through the unanswered BS. To even get close to the meat of the story and I had to keep rereading sections just to keep up with all the characters, many of whom are playing at being dark & mysterious, or are dark & mysterious, AND they refuse to answer any questions. It's too frustrating. Hell, personally I would have smacked the meddling man & walked away.
And with that said, I did like some of the characters. I'm just not certain that I like the characters enough to attempt a trip through the story line the next time.
Recommended to:Someone with more patience than I
Best Quote: Someone pushed. And a bus hit me.
Challenges: 100+, Para999, TAC
Well, the lesson seems to be: Never let your husband pick a book because the woman on the cover is hot!!! I like the idea of the tattoos coming alive ... that is kind of creepy. But even the book description seems a bit confusing. It is not a book I would have liked. Enjoyed your review! Hope the rest of the books in this challenge work out a little better for you!
ReplyDeleteJenners - You may have a point but most of the time he's better at picking out books. I love the creepy concept of the living tattoos, but just couldn't handle the clutter this story has. I'm enjoying the challenge so far.
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