This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
My Initial Reaction...
Felicity Heaton is an author I've had on my TBR for quite some time (owning several of her books even), and I'm so glad I finally made time to read one of her books! Kissed By A Dark Prince delivered unexpected twists, sexual tension, sizzling romance, incredible word building and great fantasy characters.
The Characters...
Kissed By A Dark Prince is told from two points of view, that of Olivia and Loren. I was a fan of Olivia's from the start; she's an independent woman not looking for a man to save her. When she gets into a pickle, she wants to save herself - and she has the intelligence to make a go of it. Olivia is a doctor/scientist at the Demon hunting organization called Archangel. It took me a while (a little longer than I would have liked actually) to realize that in this world, only a select few humans know about the supernatural world and Olivia is one of them. Her back story is an interesting part of the plot progression within Kissed By A Dark Prince and made for a beautifully complex character. As I got to know her better, I was thrilled to see that she has this incredible heart and is really motivated by loyalty and caring for others (human, demon, fae, etc alike).
Loren, who turns out to be an elf prince, was also one of my favorite leading male characters. He's so damned noble, I think it's impossible not to melt just a little when you get to know him. He's been at war for eons with his brother and it torments him that he may have to kill his brother to protect his people. And he's prepared to make incredible sacrifices - including Olivia, who he's been searching for as long as he's been at war - just to do the right thing. When we first meet him though, this isn't what I was thinking. Much like Olivia, who had him stretched out, unconscious on an examination table, I was thinking who are you and why are you so sexy!?!
While I tend to really dislike insta-love scenarios, I actually really enjoyed Felicity's twist on it. Loren, as an elf, has 1 fated female (soul mate basically) and Olivia is it. But just because they have this instant attraction through their bond, doesn't mean they both just fall madly in love. Instead they both fight the physical attraction, not to mention the fact that they actually can feel what the other one is feeling through the bond, with the intent of breaking the bond. It made for a great twist, left me uncertain of their relationship, and provided some great sexual tension.
The Story...
Although Kissed By A Dark Prince is definitely what I would categorize as a Paranormal Romance, I love that it had a bit more of a story and incredible world building. Before the book opens, Loren was dropped basically on Archangel's doorstep, unconscious, by his brother, in what Loren suspects was a deliberate plan to introduce him to Olivia, who would be a weakness for him. So he determines that he must break the bond, giving up his one and only mate for the good of his people. As we get to understand the way the bond works, we also grow to understand more about the elves, other fae and demons, shifters and vampires. Felicity has added some really neat twists to the traditional paranormal characters to make them very interesting and unique. Elves & vampires were most especially different - in really fun, interesting ways.
Olivia's world is a bit different from Loren's, since she lives in our human realm. Archangel, the company she works for, is an organization that I would really like to get to know better. They seem to be made up of humans who, for whatever reason, know about the supernatural world and both study it and hunt the bad elements in it. Olivia is one of many doctor/scientists working at Archangel, studying demons and fae - and although we do learn Olivia's reason for doing so, I'm curious to understand a bit better what Archangel is all about. I personally suspect that there's more to them than just being the good guys hunting the bad guys; this is my speculation though, and there isn't much to hint one way or the other in Kissed By A Dark Prince. I guess I'll just have to read the rest to see!
Concluding Sentiments...
So, I do have to admit that it took me a little bit to get fully invested in the characters and plot of Kissed By A Dark Prince, but I eventually became thoroughly enthralled. It's rare that I pick up a series so early on and I'm thrilled I did, even though I hate that I'll have to wait for book 2!!