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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9780553588460
ISBN: 055358846X
Label: Dell
Manufacturer: Dell
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: January 30, 2007
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: January 30, 2007
Studio: Dell
Features:
Related Items:- Tempting Evil (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 3)
- Dangerous Games (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 4)
- Full Moon Rising (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 1)
- Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 5)
- The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 6)
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
From Melbourne’s gleaming skyscrapers to its throbbing nightclubs, Riley Jenson’s world is raging with danger and desire. A drop-dead-gorgeous werewolf–with a touch of vamp coursing in her blood–Riley works for an organization created to police the supernatural races. But when she wakes up naked and bruised in a barren alley, she knows only that she must run for her life.
Within moments Riley collides with the sexiest man she’s ever seen: steely, seductive Kade, who is fighting a life-and-death battle of his own. With old lovers and enemies gathering around her, Riley knows she is being pursued by a new kind of criminal. Because in Riley’s blood is a secret that could create the ultimate warrior–if only she can survive her own dangerous desires….
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I am writing this from the Kindle, so it will be brief. I found the series to be interesting, since it was designed as a multi-book arc. I would surmise that the reason why the author has the main character engage in so much sex is to be true to the nature of werewolves. Riley often states that she must have sex to avoid going into a killing and sex rampage. I don't mind it so much, since it provides a motivating force for her character. I like the confusion over her relationship with Quinn, since it provides some depth to the character. a good book to read for pleasure. (something Riley works on having!)
Rating:  -
Riley Jensen is a half-werewolf, half-vampire dhampir with a love of her wolf heritage and overall contempt for most vampires. She's a liaison for Melbourne's Directorate of Other Races - an aussie equivalent of the FBI for supernaturals. Or she was. Now she's being pulled closer and closer to the one job she's never wanted - being a guardian. Kissing Sin begins with Riley waking up next to a dead body, and her life takes another horrified spin when she realizes she's been caught and experimented on in the continuing conspiracy to get her pregnant.
The plot of Kissing Sin is a continuation of the one begun in Full Moon Rising, so I'd recommend you start there if you're so inclined. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm not feeling remarkably charitable about recommending this series so far. It's not bad, really, it's just...while I've never thought of myself as particularly prudish, Riley's sexual promiscuity in Kissing Sin has crossed the line - from a species-centric celebration into pathetically gratuitous. I understood the reason behind having SO much sex in Full Moon Rising - we were told over and over and over that the full moon almost completely commands a werewolf's sexual needs for the seven days preceding the full moon. I didn't like it, as it always seemed like sort of a flimsy excuse and I personally believe the survival need supersedes sexual ones, but at least there was a reason for it. That reason was no longer relevant in Kissing Sin and yet I couldn't see any difference AT ALL between Riley's sexual behavior in this book versus the previous one (other than the names of the partners) - and that IS a failing. I'm sorry, but when the sexuality of a heroine of a book doesn't just become the plot, but completely obliterates the plot (like LKH's Anita Blake series) there's something wrong.
Not to mention the vampire mogul Quinn is back and in a COMPLETE about-face, is now clamoring for an exclusive relationship with the werewolf who just last book he had made no bones about leaving behind. There's a very flimsy and unbelievable reason given for that abrupt about-face that never quite works. That's a shame, actually, because I like Quinn. More so than Riley. Unfortunately, Kissing Sin suffers from some of the same issues that Full Moon Rising does. Both are at times muddy and plodding, and other times frenetic and confused. Both are flawed.
Still, not all is bad. Riley is a competent, intelligent protagonist who stands on her own two feet (or four paws) and doesn't walk around waiting for a male to save her. She's a bit saucy and a bit wicked and she tends to get into trouble...I sure wouldn't let her drive my car...but when she isn't "celebrating" her sexuality with every interested male, she's a solid heroine. Quinn, the ubersexy and ultrarich vamp, is less layered and complex in this one, but still a favorite character, and I sincerely hope to see more of him in future books. Riley is still supported by a solid group of secondary characters - Riley's vampire boss (Jack) and one of Rhoan's mates (Liander) in particular - who are interesting and sympathetic with a lot of development potential, and the bad guys are still really repugnant.
I think I'll be giving Riley one more try, but unless the sex in the next book is either toned down or given a more believable connection to the plot, I doubt I'll stick around for more than that.
Warning: The Riley Jensen series is NOT a romance series - it's an erotic urban fantasy. If you expect that going in, maybe you won't have the negative reactions that I did.
Rating: -
I was hooked from book 1 and I couldn't wait to get into this second one. The storyline develops well and keeps you informed by answering questions you didn't know to think to know about these characters. Very well put together and has you dancing for the next one.
Rating: -
I was introduced to this series by downloading the first book (Full Moon Rising) as a Kindle freebie. Although it's not my usual style (multiple & random sex partners), the lifestyle does make sense in the context of the story. It's much more urban fantasy than romance (although I have to admit I'm always rooting for the romance with Quinn), so keep that in mind before you begin reading.
That said, the author has done a great job of world-building, and the plot is interesting, with fast-paced action. I read this book in one day, so it was definitely a page-turner. It was great seeing the growth in the characters (in their interactions with each other, in their skills, etc. The only negative is sometimes the plot points get confusing (I lose track of what's really going with the cloning, cross-breeding, who's who, what their motivations are, why they're after whoever they're after, etc).
It eventually seemed to make a little more sense, but it wasn't written clearly enough to keep that extra star in this review. Overall, though, it was a great read and I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series.
Rating:  -
Buried deep among the pages of random, casual sex with strangers and enemies, is a story that actually has a plot. Its this plot, as few pages as it actually fills, that keeps me reading Keri Arthur's "Riley Jensen, Guardian" series. Riley is not a likable character. I understand that Riley is a werewolf and werewolves haven't go the same `moral boundaries" as humans, but that just feels like an `excuse' for being able to put Riley into these casual sex with anything willing situations. (Much like Anita Blake's `ardeur' gave L.K. Hamilton a straight pass to porn). In this book alone Riley does it with a stranger, who is a shapeshifter, Kellen, a werewolf she `ran into' at a club awhile back, her kinda boyfriend Quinn (annoying beyond belief in his own right), and her ex who is now her enemy. I'm not a complete prude and I don't mind some hot! Hot! To my books, but these scenes aren't hot, often they are just gross. Women in general dislike easy women and so it should come as no surprise that I find Riley unlikeable. But the plot, once you go through all the muck to get to it, is interesting. The action is intense, sometimes thrilling. Someone (or group) has kidnapped Riley for cross breeding and gene research. She escapes and works with her government run agency to attempt to figure out who took her and how deep these labs go. Bodies start showing up and Riley always finds herself in the middle. I enjoyed Riley's disguises, and watching her try to figure out all the mysteries. It is fun seeing her try to outwit and banter with enemies. I enjoy seeing all the glimpses of information exchange between them. When they get to exchanging bodily fluid instead, I go from excited to bored in about two seconds flat. The action in "Kissing Sin" is much better than in the first book. There are a lot of gems in this story. Keri Arthur has done a great job in that I really want to know who is behind these labs and what `baddies' they have created along the way. Since I already have the next several books (bought them as a lot somewhere), I know I will continue reading. But this is coming from a reader who still hasn't quite given up on Anita Blake either.
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