If cocks could speak, his would be singing Hallelujahs.

Redonk Nutshell: Viking turned Vampire-Angel finds himself falling for a mortal journalist

First off, if the quote above didn’t make you snicker, you need to reread it again.  Because that had me (and Mr. Raunchy Ryan, and my friends) giggling for days.  But before I get ahead of myself, here’s a general idea of what to expect from Sandra Hill’s Kiss of Pride:

Alexandra Kelly is sent to a rural town in Pennsylvania that has renamed itself Transylvania. Why you ask?  Because a new mysterious resident has moved in and purchased the derelict castle on the mountain and is rumored to be turning it into a hotel. It’s dark. It’s mysterious.  And, hey, vampires are all the rage so let’s go hog wild!  When Alex shows up to meet aforementioned new resident, Vikar Sigurdsson, he’s not at all what she expected. He’s no Bela Lugosi, but more a young Kevin Costner.  With board shorts and flip flops.

Vikar Sigurdsson is a several hundred year old Viking-turned-vampire angel (takes deep breath), who is on God’s mission to redeem the souls of those close to succumbing to sin, specifically at the hands of Lucipires, i.e. vampires made through Lucifer.  He’s renovating the large castle estate specifically because of the upcoming Reckoning – not to be confused with The Rapture – a meeting of archangels, vangels, and other supernatural beings doing the work of God.  There’s serious sparkage between Vikar and Alex, but Vikar is so close to redemption that he doesn’t want to screw it up by giving in to the temptations this woman poses to him.  So they find ways around it.

The biggest problem I had with this book was trying to figure out if I was supposed to take it seriously.  It’s really funny at times, purposefully so, and other times it’s hysterical for the sole reason that it’s just ridiculous.  The way Vikar speaks (he takes my loathing of pet names to a new extreme)…the whole Viking/Vampire/Angel thing (pick one already, gah!)…Archangel Michael being called “Mike,” (really?)…a “sin cruise” where our villain hopes to lure in a slew of potential souls…it’s just…downright ridiculous.

I really struggled to finish this book, though finish it I did!  I had to read it lightheartedly. There were times I started to take seriously what was unfolding on the page and had to stop myself at risk of throwing the thing across the room.  I’d take a deep breath and remind myself to think of it as a parody.  I can only really hope that this was the intent Ms. Hill had.  Otherwise, well, I kind of feel a bit like an arse.  Oh well.  I suppose it’s bound to happen at some point, eh?

Anyone else read anything by Ms. Hill? Are her other books like this, heavy on the sarcasm and outlandish plot?

Rating: D /Shelf of Doom

Romance: 2/5          Raunch: 4/5