Blog Tour: Kiss of Surrender by Sandra Hill

Author: Sandra Hill
Publisher:HarperCollins
Date of Publication: November 2012

It’s not easy being a Vampire Angel

No one knows that better than Trond Sigurdsson. In the centuries since he last went out drinking and wenching with his Viking buds, Trond has been a gladiator, a cowboy, a ditch digger...even a sheik. But now he’s the baddest of them all: a kick-butt Navy SEAL.

It’s not easy being a Vangel’s lover

The “cop” part of Nicole  tells her there’s something bizarre about her gorgeous godlike teammate. But her “all-woman” side can’t help wondering how great it would be to have a virile Viking in her bed. Trond has secrets galore, but Nicole feels certain she can dig them out—and really get to the heart of this powerful, unnerving stranger whom she may be risking her soul to love.


Kiss of Surrender  is the second in the "Deadly Angels" series by Sandra Hill.  I definitely liked this one much better than the first one, Kiss of Pride.  Ms. Hill has created a unique take on vampires and angels by combining them into one.  Oh, and they are also vikings. In the 9th century, seven viking brothers are each guilty of one of the deadly sins.  In Trond's case, it is sloth.  The Archangel Michael intervened on their behalf and turned them into vampire angels (vangels). As penance, he has commissioned them to a 1000+ years of fighting against Lucifer's evil minions.  They are vampires as well (lucipires), but they feed off of the sins and evils of man.  There is more to the background, but that is the short version.

I enjoyed this fresh take on the vampire and angel genre.  The one thing I liked about the book is that there is a lot of humor packed into the story.  The romance was very steamy and believable. I loved Trond and Nicole together. Along with humor and romance, there is some intrigue and action in the book, so I think most readers will be interested.

The one thing I didn't like about the book (as well as in the first book) is all of the pop culture references. In general, I'm not a fan of books that constantly include these because I really think that they date the book.  In 20 years, readers may have to keep looking up things like I did to remind themselves about something from the past. In my case, I had to look up the dance from the movie "Michael".  I've never seen the movie, so had I not looked up the dance on YouTube, I don't think I would have seen the humor in the bar scene quite as much.

The next book, Kiss of Temptation, comes out in the spring of 2013.  I look forward to reading it!

About the author:
 
Sandra Hill is a graduate of Penn State and worked for more than 10 years as a features writer and education editor for publications in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Writing about serious issues taught her the merits of seeking the lighter side of even the darkest stories. She is the wife of a stockbroker and the mother of four sons.

'Twas The Night

Author: Sandra Hill, Kate Holmes, Trish Jensen
Publisher: Kindle edition, Bell Bridge Books

“Christmas or Bust!”What do a Blue Angels pilot, a bounty hunter and an ex-NFL football player have in common? The three bad-boy bachelors of Snowdon, Maine have to make a friend’s Christmas Eve wedding on time or die trying! They’re willing to risk anything to make that happen—even dashing through the snow in the goofiest bus on Earth, bright red and filled with a bunch of merry, meddling senior citizens known as the Santa Brigade. All too soon, these men will have met their matches in three special women: a woman from their past, a forest ranger so hot she ought to be declared a fire hazard, and a woman on the run. Ho, ho, OH!While serving up holiday cheer with the Santa Brigade, the guys will discover ‘tis the season for good will and folly. Wise men or not, they are well and truly caught, which means these roguish St. Nicks are willing to jingle a few bells along the way if that’s what it takes to find what they truly want for Christmas nestled in their beds after the stockings are stuffed and the gifts placed under the tree.

This was actually first published in 2001 as "Here Come Santa Claus" by Leisure Books. It has been re-released recently under the new name, 'Twas the night. This is not an ordinary anthology. The authors tried a different approach. Each author took one of the three men and told his point of view in the story; each taking place at the same time. Of the three couples in the book, the only one that I really bought into was Sam and Reba's relationship. They had a history and I could really buy into their reunion and subsequent love story. The other two couples, having only just met, seemed more like lust than the makings for long term love. Especially, Dana who had been infatuated with Stan during his football career and had posters of him in her bedroom. I would think that would creep out most guys. I can usually buy into the "love at first sight" story line, but this just didn't do it for me. Overall, however, I did enjoy the story as a whole. The peripheral characters are amusing and add a lot of life to book. I would recommend for a good, fast holiday read. I gave it 3 stars.

--Kari