First Time Read: December 2013
Second Time Read (Listened To): November 2018
Third Time Read: September 2022
I’m going through another re-read of one of my favorite series by Felicity Heaton because I realized I have some books I never got a chance to read that she released from this series. It’s an excellent excuse to start from the beginning and fall in love again with characters I’ve already met and fallen in love with, which is what happened in Kissed by a Dark Prince.
Storyline/My Thoughts: Kissed by a Dark Prince is the first book from Felicity Heaton’s Eternal Mates Romance series. It was a very addicting, page-turning paranormal romance story, especially after reading it a third time.
Felicity Heaton did a fantastic job of starting this series with some very sexy characters (who are elves) that definitely will make your heart skip a beat or two. At least, that is what Prince Loren did for me because he had already claimed a piece of my heart while reading Kissed by a Dark Prince. I already have plenty of fictional MMCs in my heart, and Loren will forever have a piece of mine.
Here it is, the Elf Prince, Loren has been searching for his eternal mate for centuries now, and he meets his lovely mate in the worst possible way. He’s unconscious when he meets his mate, Olivia, who is due to inspect the unconscious Prince. She has no idea what he is and is determined to learn about him. Unfortunately, her world will change when Loren suddenly wakes up and bites her. Loren knows he is in the wrong for biting her and doesn’t want to inflict the bond on her if she doesn’t want it.
What I loved most about Loren was how he did not push Olivia to continue being his mate. He was ready to give her up to make her happy. It was difficult for him because he was determined to protect her from his crazy, chaotic world. He stole my heart the minute he was willing to give up on his bond with her, especially after Olivia told him about her traumatic past.
Olivia was a fascinating character the minute she was introduced. I loved that she was a scientist intrigued by paranormal beings like Loren. After what happened to her brother, she is determined to find some good within the paranormal beings that share the world with humans. Unfortunately, she is about to discover firsthand how some paranormal creatures are just too malicious to have good in them. I did find her annoying with how she reacted to specific situations in the book, but she didn’t always react the same way, so she grew on me in the end.
The biggest twist came towards the end of the book, and it involved how Loren ended up in the care of Archangel and Olivia. Poor Loren has been battling with his brother, who has turned evil. Loren is trying to rectify what he did to his brother, but it’s no use when his brother wants him unalived. Now that Loren has found his fated mate, he knows that his brother will target her, and he will do anything to protect her.
Let’s go into the romance between Loren and Olivia now. It wasn’t instant love like fated mates typically are in books. It’s more of a slow-burn romance, especially with Olivia. She had a physical attraction to Loren, but it took her a while for the loving part to come. Usually, I’m not too fond of slow-burn romances, but Felicity writes her spicy scenes so well with her characters that I forget it took some time to get to the romance. She had Loren and Olivia gain chemistry with each other first, and she may even have made them jealous/possessive towards each other. For instance, Olivia could not even look at another male without Loren going berserk. This was before Olivia even realized what was going on with him ultimately.
I could go on and on about this book, but my review would be too long. When I first read this book in 2013, I was eager to read Bleu’s story, which Felicity does give his book later. He was one Elf I immediately loved in the series because of how protective he was of a particular secondary character introduced in this book. I love when Felicity introduces other characters in her books and later gives them their own books. She reminds me of Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter, who have been my auto-buy authors for years, just like Felicity Heaton.
I give this book 4.5 stars and will continue my re-read of the next book after I read some other books first. I’m so glad to be back in this world that Felicity Heaton has created.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Eternal Mates Romance Series, and I recommend reading in order.
Steam/Spice: 🌶 🌶
Trope(s)/Element(s): Fated Mates. Forbidden Love. Fae Royalty Hero. Scientist/Doctor Heroine. Traumatic Past. Slow Burn.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of Felicity Heaton’s other books and a fan of Paranormal Romance, you will enjoy this book. If you have not read any of Felicity’s books yet, why haven’t you? Get to it! =)