Devil's Kiss

Title: Devil's Kiss
Author: Sarwat Chadda
Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Chadda

Billi Sangreal longs for a normal teenage life of dating, friendship and even homework. But Billi is the only female member of the Knights Templar so her days normally involve dismembering ghuls (the undead/vampires), exorcising demons and nursing the frequent injuries that come with it. She’s tired of the constant responsibility of fighting creatures that no one knows exists and dealing with the demands of her father, the head of the Templars. Then she meets Mike. He’s totally hot and seems to understand the stress of all Billi's responsibilities and her issues with her controlling, emotionally absent dad. Mike is perfect, but is he too good to be true? Or does Billi have feelings for Kay, her childhood best friend and the Templars new oracle? Nothing in Billi’s life comes easy and with a new threat surfacing from the Grigori (fallen angels) is Mike the wrong guy to trust?

I was not even going to pick up this book at first. I thought it would be like every other paranormal fantasy romance all wrapped up in a neat little package. Boy, was I wrong about this title! Billi is a great character, a tough girl who just wants to be a girl, instead of fighting for her life every other night. Disappointingly, the other characters are rather stock but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story. Billi’s father and Kay, do have fleeting moments of depth but the reader really does not get much insight on their feelings and motivations. This was really my only complaint with this title as I would have loved to learn more about Kay. Aside from the lack of characterization, I loved the plot and the heart-pounding action sequences it produced. With this book, Chadda creates a truly unique fantasy tale by interweaving Templar myth with religious tales, like that of the Grigori and the angels. He allows the romance to take a backseat to the action which fit with Billi’s character and the demands of her life. In all, this was a great book with a compelling main character and an original, fantasy storyline.

The Bottom Line: If you are tired of the typical fantasy plot recycled in numerous YA books out right now, try Devil’s Kiss. The story is wholly original with plenty of action to keep both male and female readers interested. Plus, the vampires are *gasp* actually evil! If you give it a shot, I guarantee you won’t regret it. I didn’t :)