Kiss At Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe (Soulfire #1) 
Paranormal Romance
January 4, 2011
Paperback, 384 Pages
Sourcebooks Casablanca

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “What kind of man eats your fish when you won’t sleep with him?”

Blaine Underhill has survived centuries of torture under the control of an insane witch. He and his team has escaped but were forced to leave one man behind. Now he needs the help of a lethal woman to save his friend.

All Trinity Harpswell needs is to make it through the next 7 days without killing anyone. Easy right? Wrong. Not when you’re cursed as a Black Widow who kills what you love.

When Blaine tracks Trinity down and convinces her to help, Trinity just knows the next 7 days are going to be murder.

Meet Blaine, Jarvis, and Nigel. All kidnapped as boys, these smexy men have been living in The Den Of Womanly Pursuits; run by the very beautiful and very insane Angelica. Angelica, who also happens to be the grandmother of Death, decided when her husband traded her in on a newer younger model that men need to learn how to please a woman through whatever means necessary. Torture, extreme enhancements, and needlepoint.

When the boys decide enough is enough and make a break for it, their friend Christian is caught and they are forced to leave him behind. But their research has shown them that one person can help them get back their friend and kill Angelica-A Black Widow.

When Blaine finds Trinity he is surprised by his attraction to her; considering what he’s lived through the last 150 years. But attractive or not, Blaine needs Trinity to kill Angelica and he’s not taking no for an answer.

Trinity doesn’t want to kill anyone. As the Black Widow she’s killed enough to last a lifetime and she only needs to stay kill free for 7 days and the curse lifts. But when her dad is targeted by an assassin who pink dusts him, she is tricked into agreeing to kill a monster terrorizing the city in order to save her dad’s soul. When Blaine appears demanding her help she strikes a deal with him; help her and she’ll help him.

And that’s the simple part.

This is my first time reading Stephanie Rowe and a sillier book I have yet to find. But silly in a fun “you don’t have to think much” kind of way. Our cast of characters includes needlepointing, water-coloring manly men. A slightly dingy Black Widow and her bff- Death’s assistant. A crazy black witch and her wandering nympho narcissist husband. Killer schnoodles, Death himself, and an assassin who kills you by turning you into pink dust and then stores you in a ziplock bag.

This is one wild mixed up story. Fast pacing, funny dialogue, and volatile characters makes for a crazy rambunctious story with constantly changing points of view and scene changes. Rather like a comedy of errors. Everyone is running around doing something that will screw someone else’s plans up. The main plot line is full of action and a bit of suspense. There is plenty of misdirection and plot changing that really keeps you on your toes. Too much in fact. While I enjoyed the story overall, at times I found the constant POV changes and character updates bogged the story down. I found my attention wandering in the middle of the book when all we do is watch plans being made.

Blaine, our hero, is uber sexy and is hilarious as he maintains his macho manly ‘tude all the while giving color and technique advice on needle pointing. Trinity is a sweetheart but not a push over. She has no problem letting her feelings be known. I did have a problem with her not having a problem with some of Blaine’s plans. While I understood his whole “woman are evil” tirade, I don’t think I would have been so accommodating towards him in some aspects.

The romance between them is hot and you can feel the chemistry brewing throughout the book.

The secondary characters are just plain crazy. Trinity’s bff, Renia is a trip. Always there for Trinity, she has a comment for everybody and everything. Death is true chauvinistic yet watching him defend his psycho grandma Angelica is nice. Angelica’s errant husband is a tool and you love to hate him. Angelica herself is insane but you can’t help but feel sorry for her. Her original plan was good but she took it wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off into left field. I have to say that even though we don’t see a lot of him, Christian has to be one of my favorites from the book.

The ending is interesting in its resolution and I like how Ms. Rowe wraps things up nicely for our protagonists. All in all a very light weight humorous paranormal romance with some wild characters. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Rowe and seeing what she has in store for Jarvis, Nigel, and Christian.

Rating: C+

Recent Reviews
Michelle’s Book Blog – 4/5
Goodreads

This Series Includes:
Kiss At Your Own Risk
Touch If You Dare – July 2011

Author’s Website.