Review: Serpent's Kiss

Let me start off by saying how much I love the Elder Races series.  Thea Harrison has created this rich, fascinating world, filled with Fae, Vampires, Wyr and a vast array of supernaturals in between.  And I just can't get enough.

We first met Rune, a Wyr-gryphon, back in Dragon Bound. He is one of Dragos' sentinals... his right hand.  During the events of Storm's Heart, he made a deal with the ancient vampyre Carling in order to save the life of fellow-sentinal Tiago.  As this story begins, it's time to repay that debt. 

Carling is having some serious problems.  She is reaching the end of her vampyre life and her decline is marked by periods of a disassociative state.  She zones out; her body is there, but her consciousness is somewhere else.  And it's happening with growing frequency.  When Rune shows up on her island to repay his favor, he becomes determined to help her solve the mystery of her condition.  As a result, he is drawn into her life in a way no one expected.

It took awhile for the story to rev up.  Maybe Carling's lack of passion had something to do with it.  It was really hard to connect with her as a heroine.  The very nature of her problem made her apart from most emotion.  The relationship was very slow to develop and so was my investment in the story.  I liked Rune and I liked the twist the author tied into Carling's "episodes," but I was firmly in the second half of the book before I really felt the excitement or passion I've come to expect from an Elder Races story.  And while the Carling disconnect was probably the biggest reason for that, it wasn't the only one.  One of the awesome things about the first two books was the great action and intrigue.  It's hard to have either one of those things when your main conflict in internal.  The problem is within Carling.

I don't want to sound too negative.  The book picked up steam in the second half, as Carling rediscovered her emotions and our couple finally started coming together.  It was great seeing Dragos and Pia, even if it was just a brief cameo.  And I'm really intrigued by Khalil.  I love this series and have absolute faith that Harrison will knock Oracle's Moon out of the park.  Almost 4 stars.

*ARC Provided by Berkley

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Serpent's Kiss

by Thea Harrison

Release Date: October 4, 2011

Publisher: Berkley