Early this past January Mania took a look at Full Moon Rising, the first book of Keri Arthur’s new paranormal romance Riley Jensen Guardian series. Arthur dishes out the second installment, Kissing Sin, as a precursor to Tempting Evil’s release later on this month (which already has its own contest here). Although FMR got off to a bit of a rocky start, let’s see how this second volume in the series fairs.
Kissing Sin picks up a few months after the events in FMR, although the reintroduction to Riley Jensen’s world is anything but smooth. Inside a strange research compound Riley wakes up naked on the street next to a dead man… with no recollection of why or how she got there. Scouting out the area she realizes she’s been imprisoned for gene research and sedated since her arrival. Using her dhampire skills she makes her way toward a barn where more than a dozen horse shifters are being kept and milked for DNA samples.
Here we are introduced to Kade, an attractive horse shifter with telekinetic powers. Together Riley and Kade flee the site and meet up with FMR familiars Rhoan, Quinn, and Riley’s Guardian boss Jack. After their narrow escape, however, the attacks on Riley don’t let up, and more importantly are being carried out by genetically altered shifters, wolves, and vampires the likes of which no one has ever seen.
While investigating the origin of the mysterious research labs Riley encounters an unlikely ally in Misha. Riley found out in the last novel that Misha is also involved in the clone research yet now has his own motives for dissent. In order to find out who the mastermind behind the genetic research is, and for Riley to protect her own valuable DNA from harm, the Guardian group must risk using Riley as bait to get to the top of the conspiratorial ladder.
I commented on the review of Keri Arthur’s last novel that it was setting up a decent story despite the plot stalls for undifferentiated erotic spectacle. I was hoping Kissing Sin would really propel the story in a new direction but Arthur seems to have settled on a particular narrative structure, and it shows. Although some of the characters may be new, they are by no means different. Kade seemed to have promise in the beginning but later in the book acts as a mere contrivance to keep the plot moving. I liked the idea of new kinds of shifters added into the universe but Kade having telekinetic ability came from straight out of left field… and even worse Arthur never fully discussed or utilized it despite its unique addition to the group.
The novel is, boiled down to brass tacks, an erotic detective story where clues are found and puzzle pieces put together to solve the clone conundrum. However, this story lacks actual mysteries. You won’t end a chapter and think, “Whoa, I never saw that coming,” because most of the stuff is so unbelievable and so sketchily articulated you take it in stride. The characters follow the information (which comes from interchangeably generic sources) and then proclaim some new conclusion without ever really inviting the reader to participate.
As a pure romance novel Kissing Sin would probably merit a higher grade than a C, but as an ongoing romance story (requiring multiple books to tell) this second installment fell way short of hopeful expectation.
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