Having read the books one to three in Keri Arthur’s Nikki and Michael vampire romance series, I had to read book four, even though I had been a little disappointed by the third book, Chasing the Shadows.
So here’s my candid review of this paranormal romance book by Keri Arthur.
Kiss the Night Goodbye
Keri Arthur
Nikki James wants nothing more than to pass the Circle’s strict entry exams so she can get on with the business of planning her wedding to Michael. But when one of the testers attempts to kill her, she realises buying a wedding dress is the least of her worries.
Especially when Michael is shot and kidnapped.
The trail leads her to the ghost town where Michael had once killed a madman. She’s not surprised to discover that Weylin Dunleavy, the brother of that long ago murderer, has set in place events that will mirror the past in order to raise his brother’s spirit from hell. Nor is she truly surprised to discover that a barrier of magic surrounds the old town, leaving her to battle Weylin with only her wits, strength and the one psychic gift she cannot fully control.
The one thing that does surprise, the one thing she cannot accept, is the fact that Michael no longer remembers who she is…
Review
Nikki and Michael are back in the final story in Keri Arthur’s vampire romance series. Nikki has been busting her backside improving her fitness and her control of her psychic abilities since Michael has done the decent thing and not only asked Nikki to marry him, but has allowed her into the darker and more dangerous side of his life.
The story opens with Nikki once again trying to pass the Circle’s entry exams and gets more than she bargained for in her latest attempt—someone trying to kill her. Thanks to the link forged between her and Michael that has increased not only her powers but Michael’s too, Nikki escapes without much trouble. The only problem is that her bad luck isn’t about to end there. Someone shoots and kidnaps the lovely slice of vampire that is Michael and it’s down to Nikki, masquerading as Seline because the bad guy is fairly intent on getting some payback for an event that happened in the past involving Seline and Michael, goes out to save the day.
Nikki’s problems get worse from there. The town where she must go is surrounded by a magical barrier and everyone is acting as they had a few hundred years back. Michael doesn’t remember her, and she certainly doesn’t look like herself, and she has to be careful because while the barrier has put a stop to most of her powers, her “personal magic†that comes in the form of pyrokinetic abilities given to her by the people she met in book two of the series, is still active. If Mr Bad Guy finds out that she’s got some tricks up her sleeve, he’ll kill her and Michael, and probably most of the town. Michael has a fairly hefty spell tattooed into his back that Nikki needs to wash off, but it isn’t going to be easy when he can’t remember her. It takes all of her wits to convince him to help her and to make him remember her, and to defeat the bad guy in this one.
It was good to see another new location, although caves did creep back in as there’s plenty of mine shafts in the area to cause Nikki’s usual panic attacks and Michael’s worry (when he starts remembering her). I enjoyed the difference in their relationship in this one, although found it a bit questionable in parts since she basically seduces Michael whilst looking like someone else. Talk about psychologically damaging the guy when he eventually remembers and realises that he’s been messing around with Seline… well, Nikki looking like Seline, but the outside package is the physical attractant in sexual relationships. That must have disturbed him.
I liked the bad guys in this one. They’re nice and sinister and have a nasty objective, although I think they could have put up more fight. Repetition was back again, and Michael is going to need to get stronger bones because I swear he’s broken his arm in the past two books! My only real downer on this one was the repetition, and some very horrendous editing that drove me insane. The author breaks one of the cardinal rules of writing – remember what you called things! She goes from calling the town “Hartwood†in the first few chapters, to “Hartwellâ€, and eventually back to “Hartwood†for the final few chapters. There’s also other glaring editing errors. Again, the book dropped marks for poor editing. In fact, it was so bad in parts that I was cringing as I read it. This means that yet again my reading enjoyment was spoiled. It could have been a wonderful book with a better editor on hand to fix the errors and point out all the repetition. There’s also some amazing spelling problems like the word “wlndowsill†in chapter 15. Nice. The relationship does grow nicely in this book though, and at least Nikki isn’t moaning at Michael all the time. I liked the progression in their powers and how tied to each other they were, but I had hoped for a stronger ending too. Call me an old romantic, but I want to see a wedding, not just be teased about it. Definitely read this book if you’ve read the first three. Definitely read them in order.
Read reviews of Kiss the Night Goodbye by Keri Arthur on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6076368-kiss-the-night-goodbye
