The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 6): A Riley Jenson Guardian Novel

I have read all of the popular, and many not so popular, series in urban fantasy and Riley Jensen is my favorite heroine. It took me a long time to decide to read the first book of the series because the favorite reviews are poor. I usually rely on fellow fans and their reviews to pick a series to read, but after how they really let me down with this series I don't trust reviews anymore. For example the most popular reviewer is..."113 of 133 people found the following review helpful:2.0 out of 5 stars Meh. Disappointing., May 9, 2006 By Circejane (Michigan) - This review is from: Full Moon Rising (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 1) (Hardcover) As an avid Kim Harrison fan, I read this book when she recommended it on her website. Her other recommendation, Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, was an excellent read, so I dug into Full Moon Rising with high hopes, but was disappointed."Who is this Circejane and why are 113 people listening to her????!!!! She is so far off the mark that I question her taste in books, especially in Urban Fantasy. I am also a big fan of Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison, and this series by Keri Arthur more than measures up to the series by those authors. I also love Karen Chance, Lara Adrian, Charlaine Harris, Jeaniene Frost, J.R. Ward (earlier BDB) Kresley Cole,... so Riley Jensen's place as my favorite Heroine means she is one kick ***, entertaining, and well written character.If you do not thoroughly enjoy each and every Riley Jensen book from 1 to 8 and can't wait for the next, then you obviously don't like urban fantasy. The world building, plots, characters, dialogue, and especially the character of Riley made this series un-put-down-able!!!! It is truly impressive that there are 8 books and each is better than the last. The character devlopment is great, and unlike some authors (like J.R. Ward) Keri Arthur does not make any drastic or odd changes that kill the series for the fans. I read the 8th novel right after it came out in April 2009 and have read tons of books since then. That it is Feburary 2010 and I am still excited for the 9th novel, and this series is still my favorite, should tell you to read this series.

I think our heroine is finally growing up. The last two books showed her maturing and the series is getting better, no more sex constantly and the story line keeps improving. I'm glad Quinn is back in the picture . Maybe her vampire half and his will make them sola mates. Looking forward to the next book

Overall, this was a good addition to the series, but the constant shift in focus between two plots slowed down the action a little too much. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with what was happening. The author showed us yet another side of Riley, so much so that I almost didn't recognize her. Seeing Quinn again was nice, and the overall story was good, but the more sluggish pace, as well as less tension between the main characters, made it less enjoyable than other books in the series.

This book was rather poignant for me. It had a clear message about living life. You have to take chances and risk things even if you can't be sure of things because life is unsure itself and you can't always forego doing something simply to control what happens later. That's simply because as much as we humans try, we can't contol things that "happen later". I love this series, but this is the first book that I felt had a clear message above the details aside from Riley's life not being what she wanted and her having to come to terms with that. I won't bore you with a plot summary as I know other reviewers are fond of doing that. If you loved the previous books, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this series. If you love this genre, I say give this series a shot. It's quite a ride and worth the time and effort. Have at it!

This series is great and this book just adds to it. i love how Quinn is back in the picture, I think he and her will make a great couple if they ever fully get serious. And finally upping Lianders and Rhoans relationship has finally come!!! Its not alot but hey its something. This was a great add on to the series, i couldn't put it down. So many things going on there was never a dull moment.

The Darkest Kiss is book six of the Riley Jensen, Guardian series by Keri Arthur.The high-class strumpets, the Trollops, are being murdered for crimes unknown. A strange new almost-vampire is killing in revenge for a twenty year old crime. And Quinn walks back into her life, a force she is unable to resist. Riley's got her hands full with two unrelated, or mostly so, cases where lots of people are dying really fast.And somehow, Riley has to keep hold of herself and stay true to who she is, even with Quinn back in the picture. She's ready to risk her heart again, if he's ready to accept her as she is.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Keri Arthur has an amazing talent for building tension and creating amazing pacing in her writing. There are so many tense moments and dramatic points that I really appreciate and love and I honestly don't know how she packs so much action into books. I think the only thing missing in this book and the previous few was the overarching plot from the first three books. I really enjoyed (and hated) those cliff hangers. But I get that it's now her love life that is the cliff hanger. And as much as I miss Kellen, he never felt right.I do however have some spoiler type thoughts which are plot related. As much as I love the character of Quinn, I think he's a dangerous path and I hate how manipulative he was in the past. I can't trust him and I don't like him, even if he wants to change. I definitely do not ship Riley and Quinn, even if he is sexy and amazing. I am also confused by her missing left pinky, I thought (and now I'm thinking it's wishful thinking) that it was regrowing as a stump or a deformed form when she changed back from her wolf shape after killing the god? No? I'm confused. It wasn't mentioned at all in the last book and it was brought up many times now. Currently theories In my head include Riley having two would mates, that could be fun! One wolf one vamp? Although I also hate that theory because of my aforementioned dislike of Quinn. I do think there is a spark I am DESPERATE for Riley to pursue with Cole... Maybe a tiny bit of foreshadowing by Ben on that one?Overall another enjoyable action packed book, even if I don't like the current love interest.

la série des "riley jenson" est très distrayante et gagne énormément à être lue en anglais, la traduction française est vraiment épouvantable (le tome 1 est sorti) et à la limite de la vulgarité...une bon moment sans prétention

The Darkest Kiss is the 6th book in the Riley Jenson series by Keri Arthur, and it's my favourite so far (including Deadly Desire which follows it). It's a much more subdued Riley we find here, still hurting from her split from Kellen a couple of months before, and more than a little wary of being involved with anyone else, new or old. But Riley still has her smart mouth on her, and she's getting on with her job. She doesn't spend a lot of time whining as can happen in other books, so she's still a great character to read.The plots through this had me hooked and it moved at a great pace. I guessed who the person within her group that got hurt was early fairly early on, but it didn't detract much from the tension. There isn't much seen of Rhoan, Riley's brother, until near the end which is a little unusual, but again, it didn't take anything away from the story. I've never been a big fan of Quinn, and I wasn't sure about having him reappear in Riley's life, but I actually found myself almost warming to him by the end. But Riley's desire to not have her heartbroken again has her staying away from the wolf clubs, and it means there isn't any sex in this book til near the end, and much less flirtation than normal as well. The book almost felt lacking for it, but down to it being unusual for there to be so little in a Riley book rather than it being odd for there to be so little sex in a book.For me, the development of Riley through this book is what's made her a favourite for me, something she hasn't been until now. She's developed slowly to a more serious person, without losing her sense of humor or desire for fun. She's still talking back to those she shouldn't and doing things her own way to others frustration, stopping the books from becoming too dark. Overall, a really great read and the series is worth the not so good first few books to get here.

Absolutes Muss! Sehr gut geschrieben, absolut spannend mit schwarzem Humor - unverzichtbar in meinem Bücherregal.Zur Story: Riley ist halb Vampir, halb Werwolf die zu Beginn des Buches mit ihrer neuer Fähigkeit zu fliegen ein paar Schwierigkeiten hat - tja hat sich herausgestellt dass sie sich in eine Taube (! "gg") verwandeln kann. Sie lernt schnell: sich zu verwandeln können heißt nicht automatisch auch fliegen zu können. ;)Im Beruf hat sie alle Hände voll zu tun um einen Serienkiller zu schnappen der mit jedem Tod stärker wird und zu allem Übel steht last but not least Liander - der Geliebte ihres Bruders Rhoan - auf der Liste.Spannend bis zum Schluss mit jede Menge Turbulunzen - beruflich u privat.Freue mich schon auf die Fortsetzung.

Brilliant, addictive, and so well written. Love the characters and how the book is written. I just feel part of the story and shut off the outside world when reading. Love it!!