Devil's Kiss by Sarwad Chadda

"Killing him should be easy; he's only six." 
With a disturbing, but riveting, beginning like this, a story about the Knights Templar should be a compelling read.  The folklore, the legends, the history...well, those parts were interesting.
I stayed up late reading, trying desperately to like this book.
And there were passages that were truly enjoyable.  But, pieced together...it felt pieced together.  Billi resents being a Templar too realistically.  And Kay is an inconsistent ally. The teenage angst is a bit too angsty.  Feelings were either superficial or overdramatic.  And the first few chapters were spent trying to decide how to direct the characters instead of leading the reader deeper into the thralls of their lives. 

There's a lot of blood, and the ending isn't exactly happy.  The story itself was infused with bitter feelings, so even good things felt bittersweet. 

There were sections that flowed really well, where you could see the author truly felt the characters taking life under her pen.  The problems came in between those sections, when the characters had to bring the story together.  Although the research was sound and the mythology was really fascinating, it was really hard to stay 'into' the book. 


I'd recommend it for reluctant readers who really want a gritty novel including knights templar.  But it's not one to stumble into and fall in love with.  (And I wanted to love a book that combined supernatural forces with biblical mythology.  I really did.)