Kiss of Temptation

Hill's third Deadly Angels paranormal (after Kiss of Surrender) strays from the humorous into the ridiculous. Viking Ivak Sigurdsson was turned into a "vangel," a vampire angel, so he could atone for years of raping women and cuckolding men. In the present day, 1,200 years later, he poses as a "spiritual advisor" within the notorious Angola Prison. Despite a millennium of life experience and a job that requires constant contact with people, Ivak reacts to the modern world with a cluelessness that feels contrived and puerile. Equally absurd is his treatment of the heroine, attorney Gabrielle Sonnier, whom he manhandles, orders about, and otherwise attempts to dominate. Her outward offense is inexplicably overwhelmed by her inner feelings of desire as she reluctantly accepts Ivak's help with freeing her wrongly convicted brother from prison. Occasional jokes can't redeem the clumsy premise, repellent hero, and flimsy heroine. Agent: Jenny Bent, the Bent Agency. (Apr.)