My Reading Room: Oct 23, 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Book Review: Poisoned Kisses by Stephanie Draven

Poisoned Kisses by Stephanie Draven

Publisher: Harlequin

Publish Date: October 1, 2010

Paperback, 288 pages
Paranormal Romance (Mythology), Mythica series

My Review:
Why I read this: I was invited to be a part of the Poisoned Kisses blog tour and thought the book sounded very interesting.

How is the novel driven: It's a romance at heart so the characters are very important, but there is action and intrigue in this one as well. I would say it is very well-rounded with character development and plot development.

My thoughts: I had a slightly hard time getting into this book. To be honest I did not get Kyra. But then all of a sudden the book became one I couldn't put down. The hard part was about the first 35 pages. Then things started happening and I got a better glimpse of Kyra and very steamy hot Marco. Kyra changed and her motives became more evident. I learned more about Marco and why he does what he does as well.

After the first bit of set-up, the book really comes into it's own. Weaving the mythology of Kyra's world into the real world of war was fascinating. I loved getting the glimpse at different mythological entities. It's a fascinating world and I haven't visited many like this in books.

The romance is steamy in this one. The sparks fly between Kyra and Marco, but neither one can figure out what they are feeling or if the other one feels the same. This drives the book along with the plot line. I liked watching their relationship develop and each character develop as well. They were fascinating characters, both flawed, both hurting and both trying to find a purpose in life.

The plot is also exciting, war gods battling for Marco, Kyra battling for Marco and Marco battling himself. As the plot neared it's climax I was on the edge of my seat. Very exciting and different.

Two things - this one isn't for the faint of heart - violence and steamy sex abound, but if you don't mind those things then this book is a winner. My only complaint, the ending was slightly rushed but I hope to see more of these characters in future books.

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

About the Book:

Daughter of the war god Ares, Kyra had been born into darkness—a darkness she'd vowed to annihilate. Just as she'd destroy the notorious Greek arms dealer Marco Kaisiris for feeding the bloodlust she despised. She'd use her nymph's carnal powers to seduce him, then slay him. But Kyra wasn't prepared for Marco's secret weapon.

For millennia Kyra had avoided mortal men, but she couldn't resist Marco's magnetism, his raw sexuality. Time and again his sculpted body took her to heights to which only the gods soared. That he was a shape-shifting hydra she could forgive, but not his one fatal flaw—his poisoned blood could kill her. Kyra had fallen for the only being who could destroy her…. Yet how could she spend eternity without him?

About the Author:

Stephanie Draven is currently a denizen of Baltimore, that city of ravens and purple night skies. She lives there with her favorite nocturnal creatures-three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.

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FTC Information: I received this book for a blog tour and review. All opinions expressed are my own and they are my honest opinions, I am not compensated anything beyond receiving the book for review. I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws. I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Blog Tour and Interview: Stephanie Draven's Poisoned Kisses

Please join me today in welcoming author Stephanie Draven to My Reading Room. I have her interview here now and I will have a review up of Poisoned Kisses later today. Thank you so much Stephanie for agreeing to the interview.

How did you celebrate when you found out Poison Kisses would be published?

Actually, I was suffering from the stomach bug, so I actually toasted with shots of Pepto Bismol!

How would you describe Poison Kisses to others?

Neil Gaiman’s American Gods meets Love Story! Haha. More seriously, it’s about an ancient nymph who is struggling to find her way in the modern world, and falls in love with a war-forged hydra of a thousand faces. It’s a story about identity, and loss of it. About disguises. About war. And about rebelling against your father!

Where did the idea for Poison Kisses come from?

I liked the idea of a shapeshifting hero and heroine, two people who could wear disguises, but who must be themselves in order to find love. We all wear so many masks that it was a theme that resonated with me, so translating it into Greek mythology came naturally to me!

Did you plan this book out or do you just write and see where it took you?

This book was very carefully planned. I use a combination of the snowflake method and Karen Wisner’s First Draft in 30 Days. Admittedly, the final story almost never looks exactly like the outline because there are always problems that crop up that I hadn’t anticipated, but I knew where I was going when I wrote the story!

Do you get time to read? What are your favorite types of books to read?

These days I only have time to read when I’m on my elliptical trainer, and since I’m incapable of holding a book still, I use my electronic reader. I love my Nook because it allows me to blow up the text really large and keeps me occupied while working out. Of course, a lot of great books go unread by me because they are slower, more contemplative books that can’t quite cut through the pain of exercise. But if it’s a book that can pass that test, it’s great! I have very ecclectic tastes, but I love historical fiction, and right now I’m reading Susan Fraser King’s LADY MACBETH which is just about the most fabulous thing ever written.

What is your favorite room in your house?

I’m actually quite fond of my kitchen, both because it’s where I’ve made many delicious things, but also because it adjoins to a lovely sun room that overlooks the woods. We painted it a butter yellow, and I like to sit there sometimes and watch the deer and bunnies that sometimes visit the backyard.

What is your favorite spot to read in?

Bed, actually. But since I don’t sleep much lately...

What is your favorite snack food?

Oh, my. Delicious food of all kinds is a vice for me, but I’m going to go with ice cream because it’s got it all. And I love it filled with chocolate and nuts and every kind of thing you can imagine.

What is your favorite season?

I love every season except winter. I loathe winter. The holidays are all that get me through winter. This may be because I grew up in New York, went to college in Massachusetts, and law school in Chicago. I’ve seen more than my fair share of snow. In fact, if I never saw snow again, it would be too soon!

Do you have a schedule for writing each day or do you just do it when you can?

For the past nine months I’ve been writing about 10-14 days a week, every day of the week, with only rare divergences from that schedule. This is so that I could meet a deadline for the sequel to my big historical, LILY OF THE NILE: A Novel of Cleopatra’s Daughter. This isn’t really a healthy or sustainable schedule, so I’m not sure what a normal schedule for me would be like!

Completely random question for you: Since you live in Baltimore, have you ever watched any of the TV series Homicide? Just curious - it’s one of my favorite all-time tv shows and I loved it’s setting and the sites around Baltimore (and I want to visit one day).

I’m afraid I never saw Homicide, but one of my law school friends was an extra in that series. I’m a huge fan of the HBO series, The Wire. Baltimore is called Charm City, though, because even though it has its scary parts, it’s really very...well...charming. So don’t let the television scare you away!

Do you have a new book in the works?

Always! I have three books and two novellas coming out in 2011, so things are a whirlwind. Some time in February, SIREN SONG, another installment in the Mythica series, will be available. At the end of the year, I’ll have a paranormal romance about a modern day minotaur and the sphinx he falls in love with. As my alter-ego, I’ll be promoting LILY OF THE NILE and its sequel as well. After that, there is likely to be a third book in the Nile trilogy and I’m playing with two new paranormal ideas as well, including one based on Arthurian legend, and another one based on witchcraft, but time will tell. I never have enough time to write all the ideas I come up with.

Anything else you would like to say?

Yes, I’d like to thank you for having me, and also recommend that aspiring young writers check out a literary award that I’m sponsoring and spread the word because it’s a great opportunity!

About the Book
Daughter of the war god Ares, Kyra had been born into darkness—a darkness she'd vowed to annihilate. Just as she'd destroy the notorious Greek arms dealer Marco Kaisiris for feeding the bloodlust she despised. She'd use her nymph's carnal powers to seduce him, then slay him. But Kyra wasn't prepared for Marco's secret weapon.

For millennia Kyra had avoided mortal men, but she couldn't resist Marco's magnetism, his raw sexuality. Time and again his sculpted body took her to heights to which only the gods soared. That he was a shape-shifting hydra she could forgive, but not his one fatal flaw—his poisoned blood could kill her. Kyra had fallen for the only being who could destroy her…. Yet how could she spend eternity without him?

About The Author:

Stephanie Draven is currently a denizen of Baltimore, that city of ravens and purple night skies. She lives there with her favorite nocturnal creatures–three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.

Stephanie has always been a storyteller. In elementary school, she channeled Scheherazade, weaving a series of stories to charm children into sitting with her each day at the lunch table. When she was a little older, Stephanie scared all the girls at her sleepovers with ghost stories.

She should have known she was born to hold an audience in her thrall, but Stephanie resisted her writerly urges and graduated from college with a B.A. in Government. Then she went to Law School, where she learned how to convincingly tell the tallest tales of all!

A longtime lover of ancient lore, Stephanie enjoys re-imagining myths for the modern age. She doesn’t believe that true love is ever simple or without struggle so her work tends to explore the sacred within the profane, the light under the loss and the virtue hidden in vice. She counts it amongst her greatest pleasures when, from her books, her readers learn something new about the world or about themselves. Stephanie also writes historical fiction as Stephanie Dray and has a series of forthcoming novels from Berkley Books featuring Cleopatra’s daughter.

Website: http://www.stephaniedraven.com