"Very interesting futuristic read!"
In a not too distant future, Angel is a certified
Retribution Specialist (CRS), which means that when the law
fails to bring justice, the victims can hire a CRS to bring
in the perpetrator of the crime to them to enact their own
justice. When a closed case is reopened, Angel is again
under investigation for "what happened" the night policeman
Danny Black died. On top of dealing with this, her mother,
Lola, gets kidnapped, and Angel knows that if she doesn't
rescue Lola herself, she might die. Because she has Detective Marco following her and
questioning her movements -- from the past as well as
during the events he witnesses personally, she starts
finding things out about herself she really didn't want to
know... like her exceptionally good luck. It may not be
luck after all; the physic abilities Lola has may actually
be genuine and she inherited them. KISS OF THE BLUE DRAGON is the second story I've read by
Julie Beard, and I actually like her writing style better
here. The story is written in first person, which can drive
readers batty (me too upon occasion); however, it works
here. There is a different "feel" to KISS completely. For
me, I can "hear" a narrator filling in the details of
Angels' activities. So even though we, as a reader, only
get to know her thoughts and impressions of what she sees,
we still get to know what is going on around her. You get
to know Angel, what motivates her and see how she thinks
very well. I also really liked the fact that a lot of
simple details of her life are included. I will admit it was a close call as to whether I would like
Angel or not. She almost doesn't seem feminine. However, if
you read a little further into the book, you learn what her
logic is, how she thinks but more importantly WHY. Angel is
tough, spunky, kick-butt heroine and out to help those
unable to help themselves. She is fearless and makes her
decisions based on what is right rather than whether she
will get hurt or not. Angel is one busy lady. She has cases
that she maintains during the process of rescuing Lola and
I liked the fact that Julie Beard didn't drop some of these
issues, therefore the story stays three dimensional. While the reopened investigation is secondary to what is
going on in her life, it is what brings our hero and
heroine together. I was happy with the chemistry between
her and Detective Marco even if the bedroom scenes take
place off of the books pages. I like the fact that even though KISS is a science- fiction
romance, the author doesn't go out of her way to create
objects that will stump the reader, or throw off the flow
of the novel. For an example: in a time where DNA left
behind is what would keep you in jail, rather than using a
hollow-tip bullet, a criminal would use a bullet filled
with acid therefore destroying the evidence. KISS is technically supposed to be a romance, but with the
way this story ends, we don't have our heroine hooking up
with the hero. Because Lola was kidnapped by one of the
Chicago mobs there are still some unresolved issues that
its sequel might wrap up. Regardless, I didn't feel like
major details were left out or the story wasn't well
developed. As a reader I didn't find myself
wondering, "what just happened"? I found KISS OF THE BLUE DRAGON very interesting, and look
forward to reading the further adventures of Angel in its
sequel TOUCH OF THE WHITE TIGER. So, if you are looking for
something a little different, check out this story! Reviewed by Cynthia Eckert
Posted October 21, 2005
Reviewed by Cynthia Eckert
Posted November 22, 2006
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