Review: Last Kiss Goodnight – Gena Showalter

THE SWEETEST TEMPTATION…
Black ops agent Solomon Judah awakens caged and bound in a twisted zoo where otherworlders are the main attraction. Vika Lukas, the owner’s daughter, is tasked with Solo’s care and feeding. The monster inside him yearns to kill her on sight, even though she holds the key to his escape. But the human side of him realizes the beautiful deaf girl is more than she seems—she’s his.
THE ULTIMATE PRICE…
Vika endures the captives’ taunts and loathing, hoping to keep them alive even if she can’t free them. Only, Solo is different—he protects her. But as hostility turns to forbidden romance, his feelings for her will be used against him…and he’ll be put to a killer test.

Last Kiss Goodnight is very melancholy in some ways, and it also truly angered me in other ways! Well written, with multi-faceted characters and an overall plot that was masterfully executed.

I’m not sure why I haven’t read Last Kiss Goodnight until now – it’s been on my kindle more or less since it was released, and I was a huge fan of the Alien Huntress series, and I knew that this is a sort of spin-off series set in the same universe with some characters showing up. And wow, I was completely transported to another place, where aliens and humans live together, but not necessarily in harmony. I was both elated by the romance and the pure heart some of the characters shared with me, and extremely angry at the exclusion and utter evil others showed. The way some characters had no respect for life, no empathy, and only their own personal gain as guidance made me shake my head – both because I hate that kind of thinking, and because it’s something that exists in the real world as well.

Both Solo and Vika had reason to not trust anyone, to be aloof and distant, to not share anything with anyone. However, they managed to be bigger than what had been done to them, and able to see beyond their own hurt and fear throughout Last Kiss Goodnight. I was amazed by how Solo never even thought about giving up – freeing himself and possibly the other enslaved aliens as well as Vika was always on his mind, no matter the hardships he had to go through. And Vika was truly badass! Her father was the one in charge of everything at the circus, and he treated her no better than any other person working there. In some ways, her treatment was almost worse, because he was supposed to keep her safe and loved.

The universe in Last Kiss Goodnight is so well done, too. It does build on Alien Huntress, but the world building here is explained, and it is definitely possible to read this without prior knowledge of the universe. The different kinds of aliens are intriguing, and it always feels so realistic to read about someone with blue skin or horns when it’s Showalter who tells the story! The layers are well done, too, as there is suspense, mystery, romance, and character development, and I was enchanted from start to finish!

Written in third person point of view, past tense, with plenty of dialogues and some inner musings as well, Last Kiss Goodnight is quite fast paced, even during the times the action unfolds with Solo inside a cage, there is a certain urgency to everything that happens that makes the story flow and move forward without any obstacles apart from those appearing thanks to the tight plot.

What had happened to the man he used to be? The one who had carried her on his shoulders and tickled her feet? Wait. She already knew the answer. Greed had killed him.

But… his eyes. He had such lovely eyes. They were large, and the most glorious shade of baby blue, like the sky on the brightest of mornings, fringed by a thick black fan of lashes. For a moment, she had lost herself in those eyes, and oh, that had been the most amazing feat.

She had treated his mouth as if it were a treasure, and she an explorer. She had been gentle, and oh, so tender. She had lifted her head, then once again fit her lips over his, and the second time, she had tasted him. 

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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