Reaper's Dark Kiss by Ryssa Edwards

SkyLynne Jordan is a tough, street-savvy reporter for an online journal. She’s interviewed drug lords and assassins—and lived. But Julian, the tall, dark and slightly frightening stranger who shows up in Central Park when she’s stalking the mysterious Fang Killer, is like nobody she’s ever met before. It’s not so much his warning that the killer is too much for her Taser as the way this man’s very presence sends a jolt of lust through her demanding, “Take him!”

Julian has spent millennia as a Shadow World Reaper, standing against vampire rogues to protect humans from destruction. His kind mate for life, and his heightened senses tell him that Sky is his forever mate. Her body haunts his dreams. Making Sky his mate drives Julian to take risks he’s never taken, and in the end he’ll battle the worst of the worst for the woman he's grown to love.

I found Reaper’s Dark Kiss to be a very enjoyable paranormal romance. It’s a difficult book for me to review because so much happened that I fear revealing any details that might be a spoiler for a future reader (something I absolutely hate). So let’s keep this short and sweet.

As you know from the title and blurb, Julian is a Reaper. What isn’t clear is how reapers play into the vampire world in Ms. Edwards’ book. And this is where the book’s rating went from 3 stars to 4 stars for me. The author combined classic vampire elements and added her own twist in fashion that I quite liked and it worked for me. I liked both of the main characters, Sky and Julian, as well as all of the peripheral characters (yes, even the bad guys). Their interactions felt real and Sky and Julian definitely had chemistry. The sex scenes were quite steamy without being overly graphic. The storyline was well-paced and action-packed without leaving the reader feeling as if obstacles were being thrown in the characters’ way just for entertainment value.

Ms. Edwards has produced a well-written novel that I enjoyed thoroughly and I found myself getting annoyed at others for interrupting me. I look forward to reading more of her work, especially if she were to continue this storyline as a series so that we could learn more about the peripheral characters, especially Viper and Marek.