As we all know, Dear Author can be a tough cookie so I held my breath while reading this review of Poisoned Kisses only to end up with a big grin on my face. The summary?

Part of the love relationship that develops between Marco and Kyra occurs during periods of deception. At one point, Kyra impersonates an old girlfriend of Marco’s. The fact that I didn’t have a huge problem with this is a testament to your skill as a writer. I didn’t believe that Marco still held a torch for the old girlfriend but rather he was hungry for acceptance and love. Kyra’s true identity is revealed to Marco about half way through and together they search for a solution that would not require Kyra to kill Marco.

Kyra is truly kick ass. She does what she thinks she has to do to achieve her end goals. I ended up caring quite a bit for Marco despite the fact that he was an arms dealer. For me, his path from UN peacekeeper to hardened war criminal made sense and I sympathized with him (within the safe confines of the book of course). Kyra and Marco were a good match. Neither of them wanted war but both used violence to try to tamp it down, not realizing that their own actions were contributing to the furtherance of war.

The plotting was very tight in this book. The sex scenes meaningful and hot. And the writing voice was strong.

A day will come when my books will be panned. I am ready for it. But this is not that day. Today a very thoughtful review of POISONED KISSES was published at Long & Short Reviews. It delighted me. My favorite part:

Poisoned Kisses isn’t a light and fluffy read. It’s hard edged, gritty, and serious. It even delves into the possibility of why war is so prevalent and dare I say, popular. Ms. Draven has provided this reader with a clever and intelligent story with an out of the ordinary romance that hooked me as soon as Kyra drew her knife. There is just something special about a tough woman who needs saving and a man who stays true to the course of honor and justice even when dark forces want to seduce him to their side. This is a book that made me think. I enjoyed how the author took a page out of real life and injected Greek mythology in a most entertaining way. Poisoned Kisses is a must read for anyone with a yen for a supernatural romantic suspense that is not only unusual but has a romance that survives extraordinary odds culminating in a terrific happily ever after. I am simply in awe of Ms. Draven’s talent and can’t wait to read more written by her soon.

Every now and then, a review will make me blush. This one from Chris Jones at Fresh Fiction certainly did:

Alright readers, find a quiet little spot, grab your favorite beverage, and prepare for a treat. Stephanie Draven is a very talented writer, and you will not want to put this book down. When you open POISONED KISSES, you are entering the rich world of mythical War Gods and their offspring… Kyra is a heroine with attitude, searching for meaning and a true purpose for her life… Stephanie Draven is fearless in her writing. She draws you in, leaving you at the crest of the wave wanting more…This book has everything, and I hope she has many more stories for us. She has a new twist on the paranormal, and I greatly enjoyed it. This will be the book you tell your friends about.

New review from Dirty, Sexy, Books. It might be my favorite so far.

Plot Summary:  Marco Kaisiris supplies guns to rebels in Africa, and an immortal nymph named Kyra is determined to bring him down.  Unfortunately it won’t be easy because Marco is a war-forged hydra, a mythical creature who can change his face and kill demigods with his toxic blood.  When Kyra’s assassination attempt backfires and she’s mortally wounded, Kyra decides to switch strategies and trap Marco instead.

I liked how this paranormal romance went a bit deeper than I had expected, and it wove together Greek mythology and the civil wars in Africa into a cohesive plot.  Poisoned Kisses was about more than the romance between Kyra and Marco, and that worked in its favor because it held my interest throughout.  Stephanie Draven chose some exotic supernatural creatures for her story as well.  Kyra is a nymph who is literally a torch for lost souls; she can light the way to the other side, and see through any artifice.  That’s why she’s uniquely suited to track Marco, who is a hydra with the power to wear a thousand faces.  His blood is deadly poison and his misguided sense of duty is helping to fuel a destructive war in the Congo.

Of the two leads, I thought Marco was far more interesting.  He knew that society counted him as a criminal, but he believed that gun-running gave the victims a way to fight back.  Even Marco’s own family back in the U.S. thinks he’s scum, and he doesn’t bother to explain himself to anyone.  He’s a bad man who thinks that he’s doing good, and when his illusions are shattered, he wants to do the right thing even if he has to sacrifice himself.  I found his relationship with Kyra believable, and even though the sex scenes were a little vanilla for my taste, I thought it was well done.

Poisoned Kisses is a tight little story at 229 pages, and I admire the Harlequin imprints for delivering stories that can be enjoyed in a single afternoon.