Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa C. Hardesty is a YA paranormal romance that completely caught my interest when I read the first line of the synopsis, “First kisses should be legendary- not deadly.”

Ms. Hardesty’s novel is about almost sixteen, hopeless romantic, Emmy Duivel who has a giant crush on her US History partner, Paul Andinn, ever since he sat next to her on the first day of class. However, after asking Paul out on a date only to be turned down, she ends up blindly accepting a rebound date from one of the school’s most popular guys. This one decision and her pending sixteenth birthday soon propel the story forward as the truth about her and her family come out…Emmy is a succubus!  Add in the forbidden love aspect between Emmy and Paul, who is supposed to only watch Emmy and make sure she doesn’t expose the supernatural world, not date her, or risk being punished by the Powers that Be (or worse), and Ms. Hardesty’s story just became a lot more interesting.

I found Kiss Me, Kill You to be a unique story on the succubus/incubus mythology. Ms. Hardesty does a great job in her writing, especially in her details and keeping the pace from getting too slow. I also adored her main characters of Emmy and Paul. I liked the chemistry between the two and the scenes with them together were my favorites.  I also liked how relatable the two characters were. My only issues came from the villains (too obvious) and lack of resolution. I had questions left unanswered so I hope there is a sequel!

Overall, Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa C. Hardesty is an enjoyable novel that combines both the usual and the unusual in a way that allows you to connect with the characters and is one I would happily recommend to read.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

Interesting concept, it was fun and quick to read, involving a teen succubae named Emmy and her best friend Paul. When Paul rejects her it sets her change into a succubae, but Paul is also an incubus to watch Emmy and report to the damon in charge. This new creative idea gives this story a plus, I recommend you give it a go and find out how their story continues.

Emmy loves romance novels, she's a firm believer in true love and happily ever after. She likes her classmate Paul, but he isn't interested in dating her. When Jake, the most popular guy at school, asks her out Emmy has no reason to refuse. However, her first kiss doesn't go as planned and Jake ends up in the hospital. Emmy had no idea she's a succubus and that she needs kisses to feed. Emmy is a romantic at heart and only wants to be with one person. What will she do?
 
Paul's job is to keep an eye on Emmy. She's a risk because she grew up not knowing she's a succubus and has a hard time adjusting to the idea. Paul instantly likes Emmy and when she kisses Jake he knows he can't watch her from afar without wanting to be with her. Emmy and Paul have a problem, will they be able to solve it?
 
Kiss Me, Kill You is a quick and entertaining story. Emmy is a sweetheart. She's a bit naïve and doesn't understand why boys are interested in her all of a sudden. That's why nearly killing Jake comes as a big shock. I felt bad for her that she has to do things she doesn't want to do because of what she is. She and Paul are an endearing couple. Paul is kind and he's always looking out for Emmy. He's willing to sacrifice himself for her, which is something I loved about his character. Finding out she's a supernatural being isn't easy for Emmy, especially not because she's in love with one person and doesn't have a choice but to be with many different partners to feed. It's a complex situation and a great theme for a book.
 
Larissa C. Hardesty's writing is easy to read. I flew through the pages of Kiss Me, Kill You. I would have loved this story to be longer. I liked reading about Emmy and Paul and wanted to see a little more depth here and there and read more about their world and their feelings. The story is fast-paced, but sometimes a little breathing space would have been nice. Kiss Me, Kill You is fun and lighthearted, it's a cute supernatural story and I hope it's the first part of a series as Emmy and Paul are an interesting couple and I would enjoy reading about them again.

in larissa c. hardesty's debut paranormal ya, kiss me, kill you, the supernatural beings at the heart of the story are succubi and incubi. not your usual paranormal heroes. at least, not the paranormal stuff i've read. anyway, a romance with a succubus is going to be a tragedy, right? 

poor emmy has no idea why people are starting to look at her funny. or why guys seem to give in to her every demand, well almost all guys. paul andinn, however, seems to have no problem saying no. and he's the only guy she is actually interested in. of course her mom and her best friend, lily, keep telling her there's no reason to settle for just one guy. and there is no such thing as love. 

but she's read enough books to know that no one would spend as much time writing about love if it wasn't something real. when she asks paul out and he declines she is so mortified that when the school playboy asks her out on a date she says yes. and suddenly, even though everyone in her life had been telling her to play the field, they all warn her against kissing. 

paul knows she should be kissing anyone. she's untrained, she doesn't know or understand their heritage. she is a succubus, he is the incubus in charge of watching her. and the demonic powers that require they collect souls as payment for their very existence on the mortal plane, are watching both of them. because when paul kisses a girl to feed his own hunger, emmy kisses jake. and when he passes out mid-kiss because she has no idea what her power does, paul has to help her fix things. 

once emmy is finally clued into her heritage the action really picks up. paul has to admit that he has strong feelings for emmy. but they both have to get away from the powers all-seeing eyes. they learn that they can't trust anyone but each other. the journey that they take, the danger that they are in, the stakes are so high. because neither of them is a killer, it doesn't matter that their very existence demands they kill humans. somehow they will make things work. because what they feel for one another means more than everything else. 

the story closes and their future isn't clear and the danger is real. there's no cliffhanger, but this does have series potential.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Teen for a copy of this eARC in exchange for a fair review.

Emily is a romantic at heart and her best friend Lilly is pushing her to start dating. So when she works up the nerve to ask Paul out she is humiliated and embarrassed when he says no. Paul didn't say no because he doesn't want too, Paul has a secret. He is Emily's watcher and he knows what she is, even if she doesn't.

Things are changing for Emily, no one has noticed her until but when Jake the hottest guy in school asks her out she knows she can't say no. When he kisses her, he ends up passing out and Emily is confused. When Lily tells her that they are Succubi and they feed on men, Emily thinks she is just playing with her. However, when her mom freaks out on her about Jake, Emily thinks they have all gone crazy.

Plus there is this thing with Paul, he is who she really wants and he doesn't seem to affected when she kisses him. True love isn't for Succubi though, Emily finds out that Paul is her watcher and her mom and everyone is being threatened if she doesn't comply with what the Powers want. 
 
This is was a cute easy read, and I felt for Emily she wasn't raised to understand any of that world despite the fact that her best friend, her mother and her best friend's mother are Succubi. I think anyone would have a hard time coming to terms with having to turn in souls to the Powers. 

I did like Emily and Paul, but they were a little too much back and forth and all over the place for me to really love them. However, I love that he seemed to embrace how she felt even though he was raised differently than her and he knew what they had to do. In the end, he really did have her back. I kind of feel like that ending was a little too much of a cliffhanger for my tastes especially it appears to be a standalone.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book.  Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa C. Hardesty!  Emmy is a succubus but she has no idea that she is because her mother has kept her in the dark, even though it's her job to teach and train Emmy. Emmy feels like an awkward teenager and the only guy she's interested in, (Paul), turned her down when she asked him on a date.  Emmy is changing due to being a succubus and guys are noticing. She goes on a date with Jake, has her first kiss and he ends up in the hospital. Emmy is freaked out and her mom and best friend, Lily, are finally telling her the truth. She fights against her succubus duties and struggles with her feelings for Paul. There is a boost in the amount of swearing in the last part of the book, so I give it a rating of 4.5 stars. Kiss Me, Kill You fits in the supernatural genre and it's fun and fast moving and kept me so entertained that I didn't want to put it down; I read it straight through.

The first half of the book seemed to be all centered on a kiss.  Emmy has no true friends or family that seems to really care about her.  I felt no relationship chemistry between any of the characters.  They were trying to make Emmy into something she did want to be or do.  Didn't like the idea of going around making out with random guys.   I guess what I am saying is that I'm not a succubus fan.  I received a free ebook for an honest review.

Kiss Me, Kill You is the story of Emmy and how she comes into her succubus inheritance. Emmy is a normal teenager who’s world changes when a boy she kisses ends up in a coma. It is then that she learns that she and her best friend are succubi and she needs to understand who she is so she can live her life.

I like Emma’s character. She behaves like a proper sixteen year old where everything seems like the end of the world. She is sweet and smart and a nice person. She is quirky and awkward and I like that. Not all girls are prim and proper and cheerleaders. Yes, she was very whiny in parts but I think that that was a given for a girl her age. In fact, that made me relate to her character as a teenager even more because I remember whining about every little thing when I was that age.

The romance in this book is forbidden and cute. Paul is Emmy’s bodyguard and an incubus. So, of course, when she first asks him out, he turns her down. But, he can’t stay away from her because he’s her bodyguard. And, surprise, surprise. He has  feelings for her too. Though it seemed like insta love, it was not because these two had crushes on each other since before the story even began. I would have liked to see how their feelings came to be, but just as well. They were really cute together.

What I don’t understand is why Emmy’s mom never told her about this. It seems stupid. She should have known from the get go. That way, she could have been careful and not brought harm upon others. Did her mom really think she wouldn’t even kiss someone before she was 16? Seems far fetched. It seems even more stupid when you look at the fact that Emmy’s best friend, who is also a succubus, has known forever.

It was a cute book, but nothing to drive home about. I enjoyed it a decent amount, but it wasn’t all that great.

I liked the thought that love conquers everything and that Paul and Emmy fight for their love. But it felt a little rushed towards the end of the book. It can’t be that easy to get away and hide from the evil, that’s determined to get them in line or destroy them. And how can Emmy not mourn her mother’s death? I understand that she felt betrayed, getting lied to her whole life, but she loved her mother. She have to be devastated and angry. But there is just acceptance that her mom is gone. That just doesn’t feel right and it’s why I don’t give a higher rating. The writing was good and I liked most of the characters and I would love to read more about Paul and Emmy and get some questions answered. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing!

Emmy has always been lonely, she’s not the girl on whom the boys turn. After her first kiss with Jake, he finds himself in the hospital and doubts settles in her. Her best friend, Lili is a magnet to boy, she attracts everything that moves. Emmy’s mother never told her she was a succubus and Emmy will struggle with the truth.

Emmy is not attracted to Jake but by Paul, she went out with Jake partly through disappointment and also to make him jealous. Which works pretty well.

The succubus and incubus must feed every day from the age of 16 years. Then they must give the Power a minimum soul per month. Emmy is going to have a lot to learn and she’s going to have a hard time digesting all this information.

Emmy is young and naive; she has confidence in everyone and isn’t suspicious of anything. I sympathize with her because she discovers what she is and it doesn’t enchant her at all. I don’t know what to think of Emmy, she doesn’t always make the right decisions but it’s also due to her being a succubus.

Paul is an incubus, he’s kind and caring, unfortunately he’s a servant of Power and the demon Z is not friendly to him. He’s doing all he can to protect Emmy and not fall in love with her but feelings are hard to restrain.

The story is interesting and reads rather quickly, I didn’t necessarily hang on to the character of Emmy, I liked Paul and Aunikah. The world of succubus and incubus could have been a little more developed but we still understand the story.

I don’t know if there will be a second book but that door remains definitively open.

Quick word: An interesting story that deserves more deepening on the subject.

2.5 stars.

This story was ok - it didn't really grab me.

I'm not a big fan of stories where everyone (including me) seems to know what is going on, except the main character. 

This isn't a bad book - if you really enjoy reading about Incubi and Succubi then definitely give this book a go.

This one just wasn't for me.  I am an adult who enjoys YA, but this was so juvenile I can't imagine even a teenager relating to it.  Em is one of the most immature and,one dimensional characters ever.  There is good and evil, black and white, not just for Em, but but for the book.

This book ended up not being for me. I have it a chance, but I unfortunately DNF'd it after chapter 6. 

I felt like the book was too juvenile for me, and the character were one dimensional.

I was interested in reading Kiss Me, Kill You because it is a young adult book that involved succubae’s. Succubae are defined as seducers of men through sexual intercourse. How was the author going to use that type of creature but still keep this story for the intended young adult audience? I have to say that in that regards this book is quite successful. There was a definite sexual element but it was kept pretty clean. The main focus is really more about Emmy’s newness to the feelings of attraction and the all accompanying complications that come with it. Especially for a succubus who had been kept ignorant of her powers and what could go wrong with something as simple as a kiss.

Emmy is a fifteen-year-old girl who is more interested in reading her YA romance novels than meeting boys in real life. Unless that boy is her best friend Paul. In his case, she would be all in. Alas, so far, he has clearly put her in the friend zone. On the other hand, her best friend Lily is all about the boys and has been pestering Emmy to get out and live a little. Lily even went so far as to encourage Emmy to *gulp* ask out Paul. Which she did and he turned her down flat, yikes!

At this point in the story all hell starts to break loose. Something about the humiliation of Paul turning her down started a chemical reaction in Emmy. Without her knowledge, she begins to start her change into a succubus and starts to release pheromones intermittently. Completely unaware as to what her body is doing Emmy is caught off-guard when boys start paying attention to her, close attention. She has never been on anyone’s radar and now that she is she doesn’t know what to do.

Paul is an incubus and he was sent to the school for one reason only. He is to watch Emmy and report back to the demon in charge with updates on Emmy’s change. Having to watch Emmy is actually a punishment that has been placed on Paul and he is terrified to make a mistake. Unfortunately, he can’t stop his heart from wanting her for himself. It was that inner war that made him careless and allowed Emmy to make a near fatal mistake that started a series of events that would affect their lives forever.

Emmy did not understand what she was as her mother had kept her ignorant to her true nature. Her mother may have done this out of love but her failure to educate Emmy has put everyone that Emmy cares for at risk. As the truth is revealed Emmy is forced to admit that what she thought she understood about those around her was, in fact, deception. Now she must do what she has been called to do or suffer a fate worse than death.

I loved the idea of the succubae, incubus, and demons but I wish that there had been more story development there. I understand that they all exist together, one serving the other, but it was not truly explained. Left me with unanswered questions as to why some served, why are souls needed, was torture the only answer for disobedience? These really cool elements were introduced but not developed and I wanted that.

I did find the scenes where Emmy was sending out pheromones and others reacting to it pretty hilarious because she had just no clue what was going on. The angst that Paul felt regarding his feelings about Emmy seeing other guys was also quite funny and endearing. This story is told from alternating points of view and I did find that I looked forward to reading Paul’s points of view more than reading Emmy’s. He was conflicted and had inner turmoil as he struggled between what he wanted versus doing his job, he gave me all the feels. Emmy really just came across as a little girl having a crush with all the insecurities that came with it, no real feels there.

Kiss Me, Kill You is an amusing read with a little bit of forbidden love woven in. The relationship building is adorable and the story is filled with romantic moments between the two characters. Definitely made me smile! This is a story that will appeal to fans of young adult literature who want some romance with a supernatural twist.

This review is based on a complimentary book I received from NetGalley. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.

For Emmy, your firsts should be special and be with the ones you love and care about. All Emmy wanted was to be normal and one of the popular girls. She had a crush on a classmate as any normal sixteen-year-old girl would. Emmy decided to brave it and ask him out with the help of her best friend. Emmy is rejected and takes it to heart, but what she doesn't realize is that she is not human and is about to come into her powers and with that comes great responsibility. Emmy and her best friend are Succubi, just like their mothers - the only difference between them though is that Emmy has no idea whereas her friend has been raised this way since birth.  Paul has been sent to watch over Emmy but what happens when Emmy turns sixteen, and her first kiss ends deadly with Jake ending up in a coma? Now Emmy must decide to follow the succubus way of life otherwise she will discover that there are dire consequences ahead in store for those she loves the most. I have to admit; I found Emmy's character frustrating as she was so whiny and it's like seriously just accept who you are and work it out and get over it as you can't change it. I have to admit I wasn't keen on Melinda either as HELLO; she should have told her daughter from the start and that way her daughter might have known what to expect and not be so anti who she is. 
If you loved Richelle Mead's Succubus series and wanting a similar book but aimed more at the YA Audience, then check out Larissa Hardesty's Kiss Me, Kill You.

'Kiss Me, Kill You' is a very young Paranormal YA about a teenage succubus coming into her powers and the young incubus charged with overseeing her transition and keeping her out of trouble.

The main character was entirely too whiny and annoying. She sacrificed her mom, the woman who gave birth to her and raised her for some human she didn't even like or really know and also sacrificed everything for some notion of love with a boy who was stalking her for his "masters".  I guess I just couldn't relate since I actually love my mom and would do just about anything for her.

Kiss Me, Kill You was a fun and intriguing read! I thought the author did a great job at introducing a fun and unique world of succubus and incubus. The beginning of the book was a little light on the paranormal aspect, but once the author delved deeper into the paranormal side, the book got a lot more interesting! 

Emmy was a sweet and funny main character. What I liked about her character was that she truly felt her age. She was quirky and a bit socially awkward, which was very charming. Her denial of the paranormal world was funny and believable at first, but it did get a little repetitive and annoying after a while. I liked that she didn't accept it right away, but it just felt a tad dragged out. 

The romance in this book was a story of forbidden love. There were some extremely swoon-worthy moments and heart-stopping kisses in this book. I thought Emmy and Paul made a really cute couple! However, I did feel like the build up to their relationship was a bit rushed. It felt a bit sudden and not well explained how they started to have crushes on each other. I would have liked to see them interact as friends a little bit more before they jumped into the romance. 

Overall, this was a fast and unique read! 

3 / 5 Fangs

*This ebook was given to me in exchange for an honest review. *

Kiss Me, Kill You is Emmy’s and Paul’s story. 
Emmy is a succubus but she doesn’t know. She’s a few weeks shy of turning 16 and her mother decided not to tell her until she absolutely had to.
Paul is an incubus and his job is to watch Emmy and tell on her to “the Powers”...
 
I found the idea of a YA succubus book quite interesting and that part didn’t really disappoint but most of this book felt incomplete in a way. The Powers were a very blurry concept which lacked something, just like the relationships… It felt like we were just getting it on the way and we didn’t have enough background info. Like, how we are told in the beginning that Paul and Emmy have feelings for each others but we don’t really get why and how it happened. It just is. And that kept me from fully getting involved in their relationship, at least for a long while.
I still liked the characters and found them interesting. The story was a classic forbidden romance but the whole succubus added an interesting layer to the story.
I really hope this was the first book of a series though cause I have many questions that need answers and it didn’t feel complete. I’ll be anxiously waiting for a sequel.

Fifteen year old Emmy Duivel wants to find a romance that will live up to the ones in the books she secretly reads from the library. What Emmy doesn’t know though is that her promiscuous best friend, her mother and her friend’s mother are all in on a secret that will change Emmy’s life forever. Emmy, her mother and friends are actually Succubi but Emmy has been raised as human with her mother holding off until her sixteenth birthday to explain her background to her.

Paul Andinn is an incubus that has been assigned to look over Emmy and Emmy certainly isn’t making his job easy. Emmy not knowing who or what she is accidentally releases pheromones attracting the most popular boy in school. The advice given to her before her big date, not to kiss anyone. The romantic in Emmy can’t possibly understand what a little kiss would hurt that is until her date ends up in the hospital.

Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa C. Hardesty is a young adult paranormal fantasy romance read that features succubi and incubus which amazingly enough kept the read a fairly clean one for the age group it intended. There’s sexy/skimpy clothing worn while trying to pick up “food” or in other words males to feed off of. There’s mention of obtaining energy through sex but not elaborated upon. Mostly just a young girl experimenting with kissing boys for the first time so considering the subject matter it’s done tastefully in my opinion.

The story itself was reading more along the lines of a contemporary read with the inexperienced Emmy trying to date and find her way with the bit of paranormal in the background in the beginning. I have to say when Emmy is finally told I found her absolutely hilarious in her denial that they were all crazy and messing with her. But the second half more or less picks up a bit more on the paranormal side which is where I wish the author had expanded further, it just seemed as we were getting into the more intense fantasy part of the book the story ends. But still a fun read overall for those who are fans of young adult reads.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.