The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson) Mass Market Paperback – April 29, 2008

I have read all of the popular, and many not so popular, series in urban fantasy and Riley Jensen is my favorite heroine. It took me a long time to decide to read the first book of the series because the favorite reviews are poor. I usually rely on fellow fans and their reviews to pick a series to read, but after how they really let me down with this series I don't trust reviews anymore. For example the most popular reviewer is..."113 of 133 people found the following review helpful:2.0 out of 5 stars Meh. Disappointing., May 9, 2006 By Circejane (Michigan) - This review is from: Full Moon Rising (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 1) (Hardcover) As an avid Kim Harrison fan, I read this book when she recommended it on her website. Her other recommendation, Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, was an excellent read, so I dug into Full Moon Rising with high hopes, but was disappointed."Who is this Circejane and why are 113 people listening to her????!!!! She is so far off the mark that I question her taste in books, especially in Urban Fantasy. I am also a big fan of Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison, and this series by Keri Arthur more than measures up to the series by those authors. I also love Karen Chance, Lara Adrian, Charlaine Harris, Jeaniene Frost, J.R. Ward (earlier BDB) Kresley Cole,... so Riley Jensen's place as my favorite Heroine means she is one kick ***, entertaining, and well written character.If you do not thoroughly enjoy each and every Riley Jensen book from 1 to 8 and can't wait for the next, then you obviously don't like urban fantasy. The world building, plots, characters, dialogue, and especially the character of Riley made this series un-put-down-able!!!! It is truly impressive that there are 8 books and each is better than the last. The character devlopment is great, and unlike some authors (like J.R. Ward) Keri Arthur does not make any drastic or odd changes that kill the series for the fans. I read the 8th novel right after it came out in April 2009 and have read tons of books since then. That it is Feburary 2010 and I am still excited for the 9th novel, and this series is still my favorite, should tell you to read this series.

This book was rather poignant for me. It had a clear message about living life. You have to take chances and risk things even if you can't be sure of things because life is unsure itself and you can't always forego doing something simply to control what happens later. That's simply because as much as we humans try, we can't contol things that "happen later". I love this series, but this is the first book that I felt had a clear message above the details aside from Riley's life not being what she wanted and her having to come to terms with that. I won't bore you with a plot summary as I know other reviewers are fond of doing that. If you loved the previous books, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this series. If you love this genre, I say give this series a shot. It's quite a ride and worth the time and effort. Have at it!

The characters are well defined and the story is always different. New places where you can start to live in the characters place.

This series is great and this book just adds to it. i love how Quinn is back in the picture, I think he and her will make a great couple if they ever fully get serious. And finally upping Lianders and Rhoans relationship has finally come!!! Its not alot but hey its something. This was a great add on to the series, i couldn't put it down. So many things going on there was never a dull moment.

I think our heroine is finally growing up. The last two books showed her maturing and the series is getting better, no more sex constantly and the story line keeps improving. I'm glad Quinn is back in the picture . Maybe her vampire half and his will make them sola mates. Looking forward to the next book

The Darkest Kiss is book six of the Riley Jensen, Guardian series by Keri Arthur.The high-class strumpets, the Trollops, are being murdered for crimes unknown. A strange new almost-vampire is killing in revenge for a twenty year old crime. And Quinn walks back into her life, a force she is unable to resist. Riley's got her hands full with two unrelated, or mostly so, cases where lots of people are dying really fast.And somehow, Riley has to keep hold of herself and stay true to who she is, even with Quinn back in the picture. She's ready to risk her heart again, if he's ready to accept her as she is.