Review: Kiss of Vengeance - S. Young

A standalone adult paranormal romance from New York Times Bestselling author Samantha Young writing as S. Young.

Fionn Mór was once a high king of Ireland; a fierce warrior who led his tribes against the invading fae. It was a war he couldn’t win and to save his family he turned consort for the Fae Queen. Fionn escaped as the thing he once despised, and the people he loved betrayed him for it. Now, centuries later, it’s time to reopen the gates to Faerie to take his revenge against the Faerie Queen.

At sixteen Rose Kelly discovered family secrets that changed her forever. Years after, she’s still lost, traveling across Europe in search of that elusive missing ‘something’. When she’s attacked by a vampire, not only is she wrenched into a supernatural underworld she never knew existed, a knock on the head releases a spell on her mind and unlocks powers beyond her wildest imaginings. And with them more questions. Questions Fionn Mór claims to have answers to.

Following the powerful and enigmatic Fionn to Ireland, Rose quickly realizes she’s a pawn in his plan for vengeance. What begins as a passionate battle of wills leads to an inexplicable but undeniable connection. One that will force them to face an impossible choice between the deepest love… and the darkest revenge.

True Immortality Series:
(These stories are all stand alone and can be read in any order but they're in the same universe)
War of Hearts
Kiss of Vengeance

Visit Samantha Young's website for more information

Review:
Fionn was an Irish warrior king who led his people in battle against the fae, when the war took a dangerous turn he sacrificed himself becoming consort to the Fae Queen to save his people. The queen turned Fionn fae as punishment, making him part of a race he despised, then, when he was finally able to escape and return home his people betrayed him. In the centuries since Fionn has had one goal in mind, finding a way to return to Faerie so that he can kill the Fae Queen and finally get the revenge he has been dreaming of.

Rose has never felt like she fitted in and she's never been able to settle in one place. For years she's wandered across Europe searching for something even though she's not really sure what she's looking for. Then one night she is attacked by a vampire and finds herself pulled into the world of the supernatural. Fionn offers to be her protection in this new world but Rose has no idea that he believes she is the key to opening the gates to Faerie and that he plans to use her to get his revenge.

While this story is set in the same world as War of Hearts, and Fionn did make a brief appearance in that book, Kiss of Vengeance also works well as a stand alone. Fans of the series will spot a few familiar faces along the way but I don't think it would be enough to make things confusing for new readers. They're great books though so I'd honestly recommend picking up both of them.

I really loved Rose as a character, she was new to the supernatural but she was by no means a push over. She'd been looking after herself for years and was more than capable of standing her ground when she needed to. She was really honest and open and definitely someone I could easily be friends with. Fionn was a strong and proud warrior who had been to hell and back. His backstory was tragic and he had been abused horribly at the hands of the Fae Queen so I had a lot of sympathy for him but I didn't like the fact that he was so willing to sacrifice an innocent just to get his revenge. Fionn and Rose had a spark and I found their bickering amusing but I found it hard to get on board with their relationship when he was keeping so many secrets and basically plotting to kill her for the majority of the book. You could see he was struggling with his feelings and that helped but I think I'd have liked him to be more upfront a little earlier in the story.

Overall I don't think I loved the romance quite as much as the first book but I still enjoyed the characters and the world building. I'm invested in this series and really hope that Niamh is going to be getting her own book soon.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Review: War of Hearts - S. Young

Thea Quinn has no idea what she is. All she knows is that her abilities have been a plague upon her life since she was a child. After years of suffering at the hands of a megalomaniac, Thea escaped and has been on the run ever since.

The leadership and protection of his pack are of the utmost importance to Conall MacLennan, Alpha and Chief of Clan MacLennan, the last werewolf pack in Scotland. Which is why watching his sister slowly die of a lycanthropic disease is emotional torture. When Conall is approached by a businessman who offers a cure for his sister in exchange for the use of Conall’s rare tracking ability, Conall forges an unbreakable contract with him. He has to find and retrieve the key to the cure: dangerous murderer, Thea Quinn.

Thea’s attempts to evade the ruthless werewolf are not only thwarted by the Alpha, but by outside dangers. With no choice but to rely on one another for survival, truths are revealed, intensifying a passionate connection they both fight to resist. At war with themselves and each other, Conall and Thea’s journey to Scotland forces them to face a heartrending choice between love and betrayal.

True Immortality Series:
(These stories are all stand alone and can be read in any order but they're in the same universe)
War of Hearts
Kiss of Vengeance

Visit Samantha Young's website for more information

Review:
Conall is the alpha werewolf and chief of a pack in Scotland, his family and his pack are his priorities and it's killing him having to watch his sister waste away from a disease with no known cure. When he's approached by a businessman who offering him a cure in exchange for Conall tracking down a murderer and bringing them to justice he jumps at the chance to save Callie's life.

Thea has always known she is different she just doesn't know why, despite being born to human parents she is faster and stronger than any human should be and her healing abilities are exceptional even compared to supernaturals. After her parents died she was taken in by a family friend but once he discovered her powers she spent years locked up and suffering through experiment after experiment. Escaping cost her everything and she's been on the run ever since trying to stay one step ahead of her enemies. Now Conall is on her trail and he always finds his target, he thinks he's hunting a murderer but Thea knows capture will lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering and she will do anything to escape that fate.

I love Samantha Young's contemporary romances but paranormal is where my heart lies so when I found out she was writing her first adult PNR story I knew I had to read it. War of Hearts was a brilliant slow build romance between two characters who both have everything to lose. They're both great characters and although I was a bit irritated by how easily Conall let himself be duped in the beginning I could understand his desperation to believe anything if it meant saving his sister. Thea has suffered so much but in spite of that she has a kind of charming innocence about her and she believes the best in the people she meets. She could so easily use her abilities to get whatever she wants but she prefers to work hard and make her own way in life, something that Conall quickly comes to respect too. I thought these two made a really well matched pair and I enjoyed watching them finally start to realise how deeply their feelings ran for each other.

The story is full of action as the chase takes them all across Europe as Thea tries to keep out of Conall's reach. Then when someone else starts targeting the pair they realise that they're going to have to work together if they both want to survive. Samantha Young has created an interesting world and while this story works perfectly as a stand alone I'm really excited that she plans to write more stories set in this universe. Kiss of Vengeance is definitely at the top of my wish list for when it publishes next year!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

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Paperback / Kindle: