Unwrapping: SOUL KISSED, a Shadow Kissed Novel by Erin Kellison

I was so excited about reading SOUL KISSED, book two in the Shadow Kissed series by Erin Kellison that I actually entered a contest to win an ARC copy of the book before it was released. Now, I very seldom enter contests anymore since I’ve got more than enough reading to keep me busy and not enough hours in the day to do it, but now and then I do – if it’s a book I just have to read. SOUL KISSED by Erin Kellison was one of those books. Well, I guess she wanted me to read it too because as soon as I entered, she contacted me and asked if she could send me a copy. Wow, did that make my day! If you love urban fantasy with a paranormal romance twist, you’re going to want to read this one!

***Print ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for SOUL KISSED:

While the world slumbers in Shadow, a fatal plague has swept through magekind. No one is immune to its ravages, and now that her father is dead, Cari Dolan must wield the fearful magic of her House to save innocent lives.

At the mage Council's bidding, dangerous outsider Mason Stray joins forces with Cari to hunt down the fiend responsible. But can he trust the daughter of wealth and privilege, especially when his own son is at risk?

The princess will always welcome to her bed the warrior, even if one must pay the ultimate price...

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Mason Stray is a man of independence, a man with skills that only some have witnessed and known how to utilize. Most of all, Mason is a father. His son Fletcher is his life, his world, and when a plague among the Mage threatens him, he does what any good father would do – gives him up to protect him.

Cari Dolan has survived the plague when many others haven’t, including her father. Now the head of Dolan House, she has the weight of the world on her shoulders and is determined to find the fiend responsible for bringing this race-ending plague to magekind. Soon she discovers that her Shadow has grown stronger and nearly out of control, a voice in her head becomes clear. The voice belongs to Maeve, a fae queen who isn’t there for good.

Cari and Mason work together to find the villain that threatens not only their lives, but their world. With the plague, Shadow is in the open and the humans are not happy about it. Danger lurks in every turn of their investigation and the question of who to trust becomes first, and foremost, in their minds. Second, perhaps, to their growing attraction that by mage rules can't happen.

SOUL KISSED by Erin Kellison is action upon action from the first page straight on through to the end. If you read the first book in the series, FIRE KISSED, you will already know some of the characters and their stories. Whereas with some series, you must read from the beginning, and in order, and although I do recommend reading the first before the second, it’s not imperative that you do because they work well as stand-alones.

SOUL KISSED is powerful, action-packed, and Erin has created a world that intermingles with human lives in such a way as to believe it could very possibly exist just the way she’s written it. The character relationships, such as that between Mason and Fletcher, are believable, sensitive, and loving when they need to be and powerful, aggressive, and protective when needed to survive. The characters are three dimensional, easily related to even with their extraordinary abilities, and long lasting. I have no doubt that we’ll see more of Mason, Cari, and Fletcher in the books to come.

I highly recommend SOUL KISSED by Erin Kellison if you’re a lover of dark and dangerous, magic seeping from every corner of the page, good versus evil plot lines, and urban fantasy with enough paranormal romance heat that you’ll be begging for more as soon as you close this book.

Happy Reading Everyone!

SOUL KISSED, a Shadow Kissed novel by Erin Kellison, Zebra Books by Kensington Publishing Corp., release date – September 3, 2013, available in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on the links or cover below for purchasing information.