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Kissing with Teeth #1
Kissing With Teeth
Kyle Amos's new life was about to begin. All he had to do was die first.
Kyle should have known better than to fall in love with a monster.
Now he's paid the ultimate price to become what he is
and the greatest betrayal imaginable has left him stranded and alone,
everyone he loved reduced to a pile of ashes in his past.
Now he lives with his dark secret
in the middle of a cursed town that keeps plenty of its own,
determined to live a normal life, to make new friends,
to find peace in a place where no one knows his true name
or his true nature.
All hope for a normal life is shattered one fateful morning, moments before dawn
by the ill-timed arrival of a handsome young man named Elias,
shrouded in mystery, sexy as sin,
with eyes as intense as the sun itself ...
A man with a mission of his own.
Kyle's long-buried past makes a savage return. Old foes threaten his newfound peace.
How can Kyle hope to live a normal life when his demons refuse to stay dead and gone where they belong?
Kissing With Teeth is an intense, page-turning M/M paranormal romance by Daryl Banner, USA Today bestselling author of When I See You Again and Raising Hell. This is the first book in a series. The main character's storyline contains no cliffhanger.
NOTE: This book contains potentially disturbing subject matter. It is advised to check the disclaimer at the beginning of the book (use the "read sample" feature) and exercise discretion in determining whether this book is suitable for you.
Kyle should have known better than to fall in love with a monster.
Now he's paid the ultimate price to become what he is
and the greatest betrayal imaginable has left him stranded and alone,
everyone he loved reduced to a pile of ashes in his past.
Now he lives with his dark secret
in the middle of a cursed town that keeps plenty of its own,
determined to live a normal life, to make new friends,
to find peace in a place where no one knows his true name
or his true nature.
All hope for a normal life is shattered one fateful morning, moments before dawn
by the ill-timed arrival of a handsome young man named Elias,
shrouded in mystery, sexy as sin,
with eyes as intense as the sun itself ...
A man with a mission of his own.
Kyle's long-buried past makes a savage return. Old foes threaten his newfound peace.
How can Kyle hope to live a normal life when his demons refuse to stay dead and gone where they belong?
Kissing With Teeth is an intense, page-turning M/M paranormal romance by Daryl Banner, USA Today bestselling author of When I See You Again and Raising Hell. This is the first book in a series. The main character's storyline contains no cliffhanger.
NOTE: This book contains potentially disturbing subject matter. It is advised to check the disclaimer at the beginning of the book (use the "read sample" feature) and exercise discretion in determining whether this book is suitable for you.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 9, 2023
204 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Daryl Banner
96 books1,992 followersDaryl Banner is a USA Today Bestselling author, composer, and performer. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Houston Honors College with a degree in Theatre and Psychology. He is happily married to his piano. Theory suggests this is why he writes romance.
During Daryl Banner's time in college, he wrote, composed, and produced a musical under Tony Award-winning musical and Theatre producer Stuart Ostrow, as well as two original plays produced under the mentorship of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, who also mentored Daryl through the writing of his very first novel. In addition to new adult and M/M romance, Daryl also writes post-apocalyptic fantasy as well as dystopian.
Join his mailing list here to be the first to hear about his new releases! He awards an Amazon gift card every newsletter:
https://www.darylbanner.com/subscribe...
Follow him on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/author/darylba...
Like him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DarylBannerW...
Connect with fellow readers in Daryl's Doorway:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Daryl...
Fun facts about Daryl Banner:
- He is an obsessive self-taught pianist.
- He is a huge video game enthusiast.
- He left his day job of 10 years to tour with a 2-woman-1-man original musical.
- He's been remixing video game music for over 20 years. One of his remixes is featured in the major motion picture "The Spy Who Dumped Me". Check out his work here: http://www.youtube.com/DarylBanner
- He composes original soundtracks that accompany his books and series, including The Beautiful Dead and OUTLIER. He is also the award-winning composer of the audio drama Janus Descending, as well as several films, games, podcasts, and other media. You can enjoy his music here: http://darylbanner.bandcamp.com
During Daryl Banner's time in college, he wrote, composed, and produced a musical under Tony Award-winning musical and Theatre producer Stuart Ostrow, as well as two original plays produced under the mentorship of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, who also mentored Daryl through the writing of his very first novel. In addition to new adult and M/M romance, Daryl also writes post-apocalyptic fantasy as well as dystopian.
Join his mailing list here to be the first to hear about his new releases! He awards an Amazon gift card every newsletter:
https://www.darylbanner.com/subscribe...
Follow him on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/author/darylba...
Like him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DarylBannerW...
Connect with fellow readers in Daryl's Doorway:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Daryl...
Fun facts about Daryl Banner:
- He is an obsessive self-taught pianist.
- He is a huge video game enthusiast.
- He left his day job of 10 years to tour with a 2-woman-1-man original musical.
- He's been remixing video game music for over 20 years. One of his remixes is featured in the major motion picture "The Spy Who Dumped Me". Check out his work here: http://www.youtube.com/DarylBanner
- He composes original soundtracks that accompany his books and series, including The Beautiful Dead and OUTLIER. He is also the award-winning composer of the audio drama Janus Descending, as well as several films, games, podcasts, and other media. You can enjoy his music here: http://darylbanner.bandcamp.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
October 10, 2023
WOW!!!!!!! What a fantastic story from Daryl Banner. This is a completely different direction of writing than what I've been used to, and all I can say is: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!!!!!! This book does have some triggers, so, please read the trigger warning in the front of the book...But, if you want an amazing story, and completely amazing characters in an ALWAYS changing background, you are in for a RIDE OF YOUR LIFE!!!! I can hardly wait as this series unfolds, expands, reveals, and surprises....The SHOCKING reveal at the end of this book had my face in total shock and unexpected surprise.....After I read this book I had to just sit in the quiet, reflecting on the story I just read, thinking about what happened, and wondering what the next book would reveal, what lives would be resurrected, what issues would be solved, what love will happen, and how author Daryl Banner, in his AMAZING writing style, will do next in this future series!!!!! WELL WORTH THE READ & PURCHASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5 SHOOTING STARS!!!!!! You did it again!!!!
October 15, 2023
When I saw that Daryl Banner had written a paranormal romance I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. I have never read anything Daryl has written I didn’t like, and Kissing With Teeth did not disappoint.
Kissing With Teeth follows the journey of Kyle Amos after losing everything, being betrayed and finding himself alone in a small town in Arizona. I loved Kyle and Tristan from the beginning, there is something about Daryls writing that draws the reader into his characters lives, and meeting Elias drew me in even more.
This book is a heart-stopping page turner, full of unexpected twists and turns and emotions I was not expecting to feel. I cried, more than once.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Daryl has added a trigger warning to this book as it does cover sensitive topics but I think they are done well, however you should be mindful of this if certain content triggers you.
Kissing With Teeth follows the journey of Kyle Amos after losing everything, being betrayed and finding himself alone in a small town in Arizona. I loved Kyle and Tristan from the beginning, there is something about Daryls writing that draws the reader into his characters lives, and meeting Elias drew me in even more.
This book is a heart-stopping page turner, full of unexpected twists and turns and emotions I was not expecting to feel. I cried, more than once.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Daryl has added a trigger warning to this book as it does cover sensitive topics but I think they are done well, however you should be mindful of this if certain content triggers you.
November 4, 2024
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Kyle & Tristan & Elias
(not it’s not an MMM)
I am starting with the narration because it was fantastic. This was the first Daryl Banner book I have picked up and I loved it. I loved the voice of Tristan it was creep without being creeping if that makes any sense. (No, just to me lol okay. 😂)
I feel like we need more of his narration in MM books the few narrators I like just don’t do enough books!
The story oh my I was sucked in (no pun intended 😉) it is a long one but so interesting. I really enjoyed the dynamic and the plot of all the characters. The fact that we know it’s a vampire book without it not once being mentioned was kinda epic.
I feel like Kyle must be protected at all costs. He is so sweet and so intriguing of a character that I really didn’t want to press stop.
Oh man, and the epilogue I NEED more ASAP! What a way to keep us invested.
It’s a must-listen audiobook for sure.
Kyle & Tristan & Elias
(not it’s not an MMM)
I am starting with the narration because it was fantastic. This was the first Daryl Banner book I have picked up and I loved it. I loved the voice of Tristan it was creep without being creeping if that makes any sense. (No, just to me lol okay. 😂)
I feel like we need more of his narration in MM books the few narrators I like just don’t do enough books!
The story oh my I was sucked in (no pun intended 😉) it is a long one but so interesting. I really enjoyed the dynamic and the plot of all the characters. The fact that we know it’s a vampire book without it not once being mentioned was kinda epic.
I feel like Kyle must be protected at all costs. He is so sweet and so intriguing of a character that I really didn’t want to press stop.
Oh man, and the epilogue I NEED more ASAP! What a way to keep us invested.
It’s a must-listen audiobook for sure.
October 12, 2023
Kissing With Teeth is unlike anything I have read from this author. I have not read his previous PNR/Sci fi stuff but this felt like the perfect place to jump in, and I have no regrets. Trying not to spoil the story for other readers isn't easy. I will say that this is not your typical vampire story. Yes, it has difficult, horror filled situations, and yes, it has some nice spicy moments. But, it also is beautifully written with some amazingly lyrical prose
"We are all just tiny sparks in the football stadium of the universe, existing for a little moment, then gone, no one cares, like the breeze erodes a mighty mountain to dust, one great civilization falls, another built on top of it, over and over, our little world keeps turning like rotisserie chicken around the great oven of the sun"
Oh, and that ending? WOW!!
"We are all just tiny sparks in the football stadium of the universe, existing for a little moment, then gone, no one cares, like the breeze erodes a mighty mountain to dust, one great civilization falls, another built on top of it, over and over, our little world keeps turning like rotisserie chicken around the great oven of the sun"
Oh, and that ending? WOW!!
October 7, 2023
I loved this book. I loved the complexity of the characters and story. The things I loved most about are also the things that will spoil the book if you haven't read it. I loved how the book spanned several years so we got to know these characters on a deep level.
I had to put the book down when I went to work and all I could think about was this book and characters until I able to pick it back up and finish reading it. Then with the ending of this book has I think I will continue to think about it until I can get my hands on the next book!
I had to put the book down when I went to work and all I could think about was this book and characters until I able to pick it back up and finish reading it. Then with the ending of this book has I think I will continue to think about it until I can get my hands on the next book!
October 12, 2023
I was not expecting such a dark story. The emotions in this story are front and center; loss, love, abandonment, jealousy, acceptance you name it and you will feel it at some point in Kyle's story. Living or dead-ish everyone is deserving of love. That Kyle finds it both the Tristan and Elias is a testament to the man he is. This story is intense and steamy with complex characters and an intriguing, deep story line
I recommend paying attention to the triggers at the beginning of the story as things are front and center throughout.
I recommend paying attention to the triggers at the beginning of the story as things are front and center throughout.
October 11, 2023
What another great story by this awesome author. You will fall in the love with the characters and this kooky little town. I read a lot of PNR books and this was such an interesting take on vampires. I do believe the "V" word was never mentioned in the book. The story flowed well and I really can not wait to see what he brings to the table with the next book in this series!
October 11, 2023
Intriguing Story
This story is a little bit different than what I'm used to from this author but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There are twists and turns in this and it only makes things more intriguing as well as interesting to read. I'm anxious for more.
I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion
This story is a little bit different than what I'm used to from this author but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There are twists and turns in this and it only makes things more intriguing as well as interesting to read. I'm anxious for more.
I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion
Read
October 15, 2023Not just another vampire book.
I’ve read all of Daryl’s books, and this is definitely one of my favorites. He’s crafted a unique take on the genre that I haven’t read before. The characters are fantastic. I couldn’t put it down and read it all in one day. The only thing I didn’t like is that the sequel didn’t come out the same time, because there’s a huge cliffhanger at the end. A must read!
I’ve read all of Daryl’s books, and this is definitely one of my favorites. He’s crafted a unique take on the genre that I haven’t read before. The characters are fantastic. I couldn’t put it down and read it all in one day. The only thing I didn’t like is that the sequel didn’t come out the same time, because there’s a huge cliffhanger at the end. A must read!
October 10, 2023
So many twists
Intense emotional heartstopping broken insta love story of Kyle and Elias
Grabbed my heart and Squeezed
Need book 2
Intense emotional heartstopping broken insta love story of Kyle and Elias
Grabbed my heart and Squeezed
Need book 2
October 21, 2023
This story was quite a surprising departure from what Daryl normally writes.
It is quite the emotional rollercoaster of a ride from beginning to end. You can't help
but deeply feel the emotions of the three main characters. I am interested to see how Daryl
tops his writing in the next book. Way to go. I would love to see this on the big screen!
It is quite the emotional rollercoaster of a ride from beginning to end. You can't help
but deeply feel the emotions of the three main characters. I am interested to see how Daryl
tops his writing in the next book. Way to go. I would love to see this on the big screen!
October 19, 2023
Uncomfortable, heartbreaking, angry this book makes you feel them all. Banner takes you through the wringer. The twists and turns continue through out the book. This is not your usual Banner Fair. This book will take you through the gamut of emotions. Banhas led us into the paranormal world with a bang! I can’t wait to see what he brings us next!
October 16, 2023
Not your usual Daryl Banner book.
Uncomfortable, heartbreaking, angry this book makes you feel them all. Banner takes you through the wringer. The twists and turns continue through out the book. This is not your usual Banner Fair. This book will take you through the gamut of emotions. Banhas led us into the paranormal world with a bang! I can’t wait to see what he brings us next!
Uncomfortable, heartbreaking, angry this book makes you feel them all. Banner takes you through the wringer. The twists and turns continue through out the book. This is not your usual Banner Fair. This book will take you through the gamut of emotions. Banhas led us into the paranormal world with a bang! I can’t wait to see what he brings us next!
October 17, 2023
I really really hope there is a sequel. I need more of Elias and Kyle.
February 26, 2025
Tristan is vile.
October 12, 2023
Good start to a new series. There were so many twists and turns... I just needed to keep reading until the end. Now, I'm invested and super curious about Book 2.
December 7, 2024
This is a whole series review for book 1 and book 2. Ratings are not per-book since this series is really just one very long running singular book.
For fucks sake. Alright, look. I like Daryl Banner books, generally speaking. He's one of the few male authors in the genre, and I feel his writing reflects some of those underlying differences from a lot of other authors (primarily women) in MM romance. Banner is definitely capable of creating an intricate plot. This series has that, certainly, but it also comes with some fucking problems. Big problems, at least to me.
Before I get into this, a quick note: this is NOT like most of Banner's books. This is a gritty and sometimes uneasy story. There's violence and gore, strong feelings of hopelessness. So, do not go into this series thinking this is going to be like a paranormal Football Sundae or something. It's not, at all.
---
✅️ The Good
An intricate plot. There's a lot of pieces at play, and it's clear that Banner spent a good amount of effort on creating this story. Don't get me wrong, it's not Game of Thrones or The Expanse levels of deep, but it's not your average MM formulaic storyline. Some parts are easily predictable, but I think that was mostly intentional foreshadowing.
Unique take on the paranormal. Obviously, this series is about vampires. But, it involves other paranormal aspects too. While those aspects on a whole aren't shockingly new for the paranormal genre, how they are weaved together in this story is more interesting than most.
Vampire/human pairing. Who doesn't like a little blood sucking "I could drain you dry if I wanted, but I'll never hurt you" man/man romance? Am I right? 😉
---
👎 The Not Good
Lacking emotional depth. Like I said, this series has some heavy stuff in it. For example (minor spoiler that you find out in literally chapter one), Kyle killed his parents when he first turned into a vampire. His emotions from that are handled in the book in a variety of ways, underpinning a lot of stuff to some degree. But the issue is that... it just doesn't seem very real? Like, it seems as if Kyle should have been expressing a lot more than he did. It's clear that he did feel things like remorse and all that, but the books didn't really make me feel the weight of his emotions. I guess you could say it was a bit too much "tell" rather than "show" (or "feel" in this case).
The same thing happened when one of Kyle's friends was killed. Sure, there was a moment of shock and outrage from Kyle... but it didn't resonate. It was just like something that happened, a caricature of what we should really be feeling as readers of that event.
This series failed to provide a deep emotional resonance relative to its subject matter. In Banner's lighter books, that's alright. But here, it's a big missing piece, I think. It makes the story a bit bland when it should be vibrant.
Too many characters and plot lines. This story is romance, no doubt, but it's wider than that. It's somewhat of a fantasy adventure (mixed with horror). There are a lot of different characters and moving pieces. That makes the romance feel secondary sometimes, especially given what I just said about shallow emotional depth. I got bored with some of the non-romance aspects, but I probably wouldn't have if it were trimmed down a bit, and/or the romance was made to shine bright in the fewer moments we were given for it. But again, it felt bland.
Dull sex. This issue surprised me a bit, coming from Daryl Banner. Perhaps I'm spoiled on vampire/human pairings by series like Alice Winters' Vampire Related Crimes (VRC), but I just didn't feel that enticed by Kyle and Elias' sexual relationship. With vampires, obviously there's the blood aspect. In VRC, a lot of the blood play is very well described. For example, in that series, when Marcus bites Finn, he always makes sure Finn doesn't feel much pain from it. And we get the feeling that Marcus actually drinking/feeding from him is a big deal, a huge intimate moment between them. You feel as if you are right there in the scene. But with this series, all of that feels really dull, once again, a caricature.
Obviously some of the vampire abilities and such are different between those two series, but that's not my point. From a sexual and chemistry standpoint, Kyle and Elias didn't seem all that different from two normal human guys simply because the books didn't make us feel much relevance of the blood sucking intimacy. Why bother making Kyle a vampire if you're not going to cash in on that fairly unique intimacy potential?
(I guess I'm really just coming back to the same point: a decent amount of shit in this series felt dull.)
---
❌️❌️❌️ The "What the actual fuck? Fuck you, book."
Surprise poly. Yep, you heard it here first, folks. All that good MM that builds up in book 1? That becomes MMM in book 2. Kyle and Elias become Kyle, Elias, and (other person). It's not just one time, and not just for sex. They are emotionally engaged with each other, despite Kyle and Elias feeling like they have a partial spotlight sometimes. It doesn't work, not that late in the game. It's fucking weird.
To be clear, poly itself is not weird. I don't read a whole lot of it, but sometimes. Here's my issue, though: I expect to be fucking told when a romance is going to be poly. Front and center, so I know what I'm getting into. Authors can hide it inside a content warning, that's fine. I get some people want to discover the book without knowing in advance. But I do want to know in advance. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to read about three or more guys loving each other. In fact, I read this series when I was definitely not in the mood for poly. If the author was upfront about it, then I wouldn't have started this series right now.
I'm so put off by it that I'm not sure if I'll read further in the series when Banner releases more. I'm so pissed that I spent my time with like 500-600 pages of content only to discover that it wasn't just gonna be Kyle and Elias. Fuck you, book. Fuck. You.
I usually give 1 star ratings for this kind of surprise bullshit, but Banner did create a decent story and world so I didn't want to be overly harsh. Still, this pisses me off to no end.
Cliffhangers. Seriously, fucking authors and cliffhangers. I don't know about most people, but I tend to read to relax, to escape. To lower my overall anxiety of life. So, you know what I hate? When a fucking book increases my anxiety because it ends on a fucking cliffhanger and the next book isn't available. Both of these books end on a very significant cliffhanger (though the cliffhanger in book #1 you can see from a mile away)
To Banner's credit, he does give a somewhat HFN, although it's fairly tainted in book #2. So, here we are, forced to wait for another however many months or years.
I will not knock stars off for this in particular just because Daryl Banner (to my knowledge) has never abandoned his readers on any series. I just hope it stays that way. And I'd prefer to just not to have cliffhangers in the first place.
---
Overall, I'm very disappointed with this series. The surprise poly ruined my enjoyment, and the lack of depth in various places made it boring. I'm not going to DNR Banner over it (I do most authors that introduce stuff like that) because he's a good author with other good books, but I'll be far more wary of his non-fluffy books from now on. I don't know if I'll bother reading book #3 or not. I guess it depends where it goes, so I'll have to skim it if I decide to give it any attention at all.
Regardless, I don't recommend reading this series until all the books are published. The cliffhangers will annoy you. And, if you hate surprise poly relationships that spontaneously sprout later in the series for not much reason, skip this series entirely. Otherwise, if these issues don't seem important to you, then maybe this series is worth your time.
For fucks sake. Alright, look. I like Daryl Banner books, generally speaking. He's one of the few male authors in the genre, and I feel his writing reflects some of those underlying differences from a lot of other authors (primarily women) in MM romance. Banner is definitely capable of creating an intricate plot. This series has that, certainly, but it also comes with some fucking problems. Big problems, at least to me.
Before I get into this, a quick note: this is NOT like most of Banner's books. This is a gritty and sometimes uneasy story. There's violence and gore, strong feelings of hopelessness. So, do not go into this series thinking this is going to be like a paranormal Football Sundae or something. It's not, at all.
---
✅️ The Good
An intricate plot. There's a lot of pieces at play, and it's clear that Banner spent a good amount of effort on creating this story. Don't get me wrong, it's not Game of Thrones or The Expanse levels of deep, but it's not your average MM formulaic storyline. Some parts are easily predictable, but I think that was mostly intentional foreshadowing.
Unique take on the paranormal. Obviously, this series is about vampires. But, it involves other paranormal aspects too. While those aspects on a whole aren't shockingly new for the paranormal genre, how they are weaved together in this story is more interesting than most.
Vampire/human pairing. Who doesn't like a little blood sucking "I could drain you dry if I wanted, but I'll never hurt you" man/man romance? Am I right? 😉
---
👎 The Not Good
Lacking emotional depth. Like I said, this series has some heavy stuff in it. For example (minor spoiler that you find out in literally chapter one), Kyle killed his parents when he first turned into a vampire. His emotions from that are handled in the book in a variety of ways, underpinning a lot of stuff to some degree. But the issue is that... it just doesn't seem very real? Like, it seems as if Kyle should have been expressing a lot more than he did. It's clear that he did feel things like remorse and all that, but the books didn't really make me feel the weight of his emotions. I guess you could say it was a bit too much "tell" rather than "show" (or "feel" in this case).
The same thing happened when one of Kyle's friends was killed. Sure, there was a moment of shock and outrage from Kyle... but it didn't resonate. It was just like something that happened, a caricature of what we should really be feeling as readers of that event.
This series failed to provide a deep emotional resonance relative to its subject matter. In Banner's lighter books, that's alright. But here, it's a big missing piece, I think. It makes the story a bit bland when it should be vibrant.
Too many characters and plot lines. This story is romance, no doubt, but it's wider than that. It's somewhat of a fantasy adventure (mixed with horror). There are a lot of different characters and moving pieces. That makes the romance feel secondary sometimes, especially given what I just said about shallow emotional depth. I got bored with some of the non-romance aspects, but I probably wouldn't have if it were trimmed down a bit, and/or the romance was made to shine bright in the fewer moments we were given for it. But again, it felt bland.
Dull sex. This issue surprised me a bit, coming from Daryl Banner. Perhaps I'm spoiled on vampire/human pairings by series like Alice Winters' Vampire Related Crimes (VRC), but I just didn't feel that enticed by Kyle and Elias' sexual relationship. With vampires, obviously there's the blood aspect. In VRC, a lot of the blood play is very well described. For example, in that series, when Marcus bites Finn, he always makes sure Finn doesn't feel much pain from it. And we get the feeling that Marcus actually drinking/feeding from him is a big deal, a huge intimate moment between them. You feel as if you are right there in the scene. But with this series, all of that feels really dull, once again, a caricature.
Obviously some of the vampire abilities and such are different between those two series, but that's not my point. From a sexual and chemistry standpoint, Kyle and Elias didn't seem all that different from two normal human guys simply because the books didn't make us feel much relevance of the blood sucking intimacy. Why bother making Kyle a vampire if you're not going to cash in on that fairly unique intimacy potential?
(I guess I'm really just coming back to the same point: a decent amount of shit in this series felt dull.)
---
❌️❌️❌️ The "What the actual fuck? Fuck you, book."
Surprise poly. Yep, you heard it here first, folks. All that good MM that builds up in book 1? That becomes MMM in book 2. Kyle and Elias become Kyle, Elias, and (other person). It's not just one time, and not just for sex. They are emotionally engaged with each other, despite Kyle and Elias feeling like they have a partial spotlight sometimes. It doesn't work, not that late in the game. It's fucking weird.
To be clear, poly itself is not weird. I don't read a whole lot of it, but sometimes. Here's my issue, though: I expect to be fucking told when a romance is going to be poly. Front and center, so I know what I'm getting into. Authors can hide it inside a content warning, that's fine. I get some people want to discover the book without knowing in advance. But I do want to know in advance. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to read about three or more guys loving each other. In fact, I read this series when I was definitely not in the mood for poly. If the author was upfront about it, then I wouldn't have started this series right now.
I'm so put off by it that I'm not sure if I'll read further in the series when Banner releases more. I'm so pissed that I spent my time with like 500-600 pages of content only to discover that it wasn't just gonna be Kyle and Elias. Fuck you, book. Fuck. You.
I usually give 1 star ratings for this kind of surprise bullshit, but Banner did create a decent story and world so I didn't want to be overly harsh. Still, this pisses me off to no end.
Cliffhangers. Seriously, fucking authors and cliffhangers. I don't know about most people, but I tend to read to relax, to escape. To lower my overall anxiety of life. So, you know what I hate? When a fucking book increases my anxiety because it ends on a fucking cliffhanger and the next book isn't available. Both of these books end on a very significant cliffhanger (though the cliffhanger in book #1 you can see from a mile away)
To Banner's credit, he does give a somewhat HFN, although it's fairly tainted in book #2. So, here we are, forced to wait for another however many months or years.
I will not knock stars off for this in particular just because Daryl Banner (to my knowledge) has never abandoned his readers on any series. I just hope it stays that way. And I'd prefer to just not to have cliffhangers in the first place.
---
Overall, I'm very disappointed with this series. The surprise poly ruined my enjoyment, and the lack of depth in various places made it boring. I'm not going to DNR Banner over it (I do most authors that introduce stuff like that) because he's a good author with other good books, but I'll be far more wary of his non-fluffy books from now on. I don't know if I'll bother reading book #3 or not. I guess it depends where it goes, so I'll have to skim it if I decide to give it any attention at all.
Regardless, I don't recommend reading this series until all the books are published. The cliffhangers will annoy you. And, if you hate surprise poly relationships that spontaneously sprout later in the series for not much reason, skip this series entirely. Otherwise, if these issues don't seem important to you, then maybe this series is worth your time.
September 15, 2024
Seventeen year old Texas high school student Kyle has been drifting. His parents ignore him to favor his younger brother Kaleb, he's an okay student, and he's being increasingly isolated from his team mates on the football team which is lead by his former best friend Brock. Brock is a bully who uses his father's wealth and connections to get what he wants, to be big man on campus. Kyle is slowly figuring out he's gay, and he's terrified what Brock will do when he finds out. Then one day Tristan shows up at school and isn't scared of Brock. In fact, Tristan seems defiant and almost laughs at Brock. Kyle is fascinated by Tristan, his big blue eyes, his unusual behavior, and the things he knows. The word is never used, but Tristan is a vampire, and Kyle is certain he wants to be transformed into one. The pair begin spending a lot of time together, so much so that Brock and his boys cut Kyle cold, but not before he hears of plans to "get Tristan." Then everything goes horrifyingly wrong and Kyle finds himself on the run with Tristan, with only a silver ring and bloody fragmented memories of his slaughtered family.
Twenty seven years later Kyle is Henry, working a bar in Nowhere, Arizona. He's been there for almost a year. He has barely aged in the years. Six months ago Tristan walked into the sun, leaving him the silver ring and letter warning him to stay quiet to not be noticed by other vampires. But then Kyle meets Elias, a new face in town, who quirky figures out what Kyle is and... really likes him. Between Elias, a shadowy figure stalking him, and a local break-in that draws intense media scrutiny on Kyle, his cover is quickly blown. He must now decide what he wants to do, go on the run and hide again, or fight for a man he barely knows.
This wasn't great. There were things I kind of liked - the dance around not naming vampires, the slow build to revealing Tristan's nature, the weird alternate Las Vegas... but there's a lot more I didn't like. The prose was very basic, such as "Kyle did this. Tristan did that. Elias was." Or it was overdramatic and dragged out the point for paragraphs. The dialogue was clunky. I'd also like to point out that Tristan's speech was in italics throughout, an element that grew obnoxious really fast. The characters were flatter than the paper they were written on, no real growth for them.
Also, the epilogue contains a massive cliffhanger. Which if you paid attention at all during the book, you knew was coming. This barely deserves what I'm rating it, I really struggled to stay interested in this and forced myself to keep reading. Disappointing effort from an author I usually enjoy.
Two stars.
Twenty seven years later Kyle is Henry, working a bar in Nowhere, Arizona. He's been there for almost a year. He has barely aged in the years. Six months ago Tristan walked into the sun, leaving him the silver ring and letter warning him to stay quiet to not be noticed by other vampires. But then Kyle meets Elias, a new face in town, who quirky figures out what Kyle is and... really likes him. Between Elias, a shadowy figure stalking him, and a local break-in that draws intense media scrutiny on Kyle, his cover is quickly blown. He must now decide what he wants to do, go on the run and hide again, or fight for a man he barely knows.
This wasn't great. There were things I kind of liked - the dance around not naming vampires, the slow build to revealing Tristan's nature, the weird alternate Las Vegas... but there's a lot more I didn't like. The prose was very basic, such as "Kyle did this. Tristan did that. Elias was." Or it was overdramatic and dragged out the point for paragraphs. The dialogue was clunky. I'd also like to point out that Tristan's speech was in italics throughout, an element that grew obnoxious really fast. The characters were flatter than the paper they were written on, no real growth for them.
Also, the epilogue contains a massive cliffhanger. Which if you paid attention at all during the book, you knew was coming. This barely deserves what I'm rating it, I really struggled to stay interested in this and forced myself to keep reading. Disappointing effort from an author I usually enjoy.
Two stars.
April 17, 2024
I love Daryl Banner, but this one fell flat for me. Many times I wanted to quit but I forced myself to finish the book and I don't know if it was worth the time. I did not connect with any of the characters and did not really care what happened to them. I also didn't really feel much of a connection between the characters. There were parts of the story that sparked my interest, but then the story would fall flat again. I also felt that there were many plot holes and parts of the story did not live up to its potential. For example, the presence of other vampires was made to feel very ominous, but when they finally appeared it was very anticlimactic. This book was supposed to be dark, but I didn't really find it dark at all. Sure some bad things happened, but that does not make a story dark to me. Dark books evoke strong emotions and this story caused me to feel nothing but bored. The last chapter caught my interest a bit making me just curious enough to want to see what the next book in the series will be like, but I have a feeling that it too will not be worth the time to read.
December 18, 2025
2 stars
- possible spoilers-
Meh, this book was somewhat of a disappointment. I didn't like Tristan and Elias, and I couldn't connect with any of the supporting characters either.
Also, why would no one speak the word 'vampire'? That's just silly.
The ending almost made me want to read the next part in the series.
Poor Kaleb.
- possible spoilers-
Meh, this book was somewhat of a disappointment. I didn't like Tristan and Elias, and I couldn't connect with any of the supporting characters either.
Also, why would no one speak the word 'vampire'? That's just silly.
The ending almost made me want to read the next part in the series.
Poor Kaleb.
March 11, 2024
Kissing with Teeth
By Daryl Banner
Published by Frozenfire Publishing, 2023
Five stars
When I wrote my first vampire novel back in 1988, my raison d’etre was to make the vampire a good guy. Not necessarily a hero, but a man with integrity, not a predator, looking for nothing more than a happy life (over and over again).
Needless to say, I’m a little jumpy about contemporary gay vampire fiction, because people still love to make vampires bad guys. Something about Daryl Banner’s “Kissing with Teeth” attracted me (including the picture on the cover, which is intriguing rather than erotic). Indeed, while some of the blood-drinkers (the word vampire is never once uttered) are highly malevolent, the central characters in the book, Tristan, Kyle, and Elias, are desperately trying to be good. To be human.
The whole book is like something by Albert Camus that I read in college—surprisingly existential, morally complicated, and at its core, painfully human. It makes you think as well as feel, and its thrills are not cheap. It is also a rather wonderfully perverse twist on the LGBT Young Adult trope of nerd-meets-jock and falls in love (something Albert Camus never dealt with). A strong theme running through the storyline is the corrupting influence of power, and how having power leads to moral carelessness and cruelty.
Kyle is a small-town Texas football star, gradually realizing he’s gay and growing more and more distanced from his once-close jock friends. At the same time, he is the clear runner-up in his own family, less well-loved than his younger, violin-playing brother Kaleb. His strained relationship with his parents and with his teammates in high school make him especially open to the quiet approaches of the eccentric outsider at school, Tristan.
In fact, this book is filled with trauma, punctuated with a few points of bloody violence; but it is also filled with tenderness and yearning (which, oddly enough, is also rather bloody). Kyle’s journey from loneliness to something like community is tortuous, but the quiet appeal of his character, the fundamental goodness of his nature, provides an anchor in the midst of all of the moral confusion that drives the narrative’s three major parts.
This was enough for me. Banner writes well, and his characters are appealing, however flawed. There is a second book promised, and I really want to read it.
By Daryl Banner
Published by Frozenfire Publishing, 2023
Five stars
When I wrote my first vampire novel back in 1988, my raison d’etre was to make the vampire a good guy. Not necessarily a hero, but a man with integrity, not a predator, looking for nothing more than a happy life (over and over again).
Needless to say, I’m a little jumpy about contemporary gay vampire fiction, because people still love to make vampires bad guys. Something about Daryl Banner’s “Kissing with Teeth” attracted me (including the picture on the cover, which is intriguing rather than erotic). Indeed, while some of the blood-drinkers (the word vampire is never once uttered) are highly malevolent, the central characters in the book, Tristan, Kyle, and Elias, are desperately trying to be good. To be human.
The whole book is like something by Albert Camus that I read in college—surprisingly existential, morally complicated, and at its core, painfully human. It makes you think as well as feel, and its thrills are not cheap. It is also a rather wonderfully perverse twist on the LGBT Young Adult trope of nerd-meets-jock and falls in love (something Albert Camus never dealt with). A strong theme running through the storyline is the corrupting influence of power, and how having power leads to moral carelessness and cruelty.
Kyle is a small-town Texas football star, gradually realizing he’s gay and growing more and more distanced from his once-close jock friends. At the same time, he is the clear runner-up in his own family, less well-loved than his younger, violin-playing brother Kaleb. His strained relationship with his parents and with his teammates in high school make him especially open to the quiet approaches of the eccentric outsider at school, Tristan.
In fact, this book is filled with trauma, punctuated with a few points of bloody violence; but it is also filled with tenderness and yearning (which, oddly enough, is also rather bloody). Kyle’s journey from loneliness to something like community is tortuous, but the quiet appeal of his character, the fundamental goodness of his nature, provides an anchor in the midst of all of the moral confusion that drives the narrative’s three major parts.
This was enough for me. Banner writes well, and his characters are appealing, however flawed. There is a second book promised, and I really want to read it.
November 27, 2023
I am kind of waffling about this book. I liked it and I kind of loved it, but I did find it fascinatingly creative in its depiction of vampires (or Them) in the book.
The story of Tristan and his falling in love with Kyle in high school in Texas is at time sweet and at other times disturbing because Tristan is an old Vamp and Banner does a great job of leaving us feeling like Tristan is lying 9 out of 10 times--but not necessarily about how he feels about Kyle.
When things get out of hand and Kyle "thinks" he killed his entire family after being turned, Tristan is his whole world and controls Kyle for twenty-six years to then take himself outside into the sun to turn into ashes. This of the story was kind of dull and not very romantic or even at times, interesting.
Well, another lie and when Kyle finally decides that he has had enough he takes himself to the desert of off himself only to be saved by Elias who was also there to kill himself and FINALLY I felt the story started to be more deserving of being read.
Then Elias disappears on the day that Kyle gets outed in a video that goes viral about his being a bloodsucker. All hell breaks loose and his old high school friend, Brock, who was humiliated by Tristan, shows up to see if Kyle is still alive--believing he had died in a fire with the rest of his family only to give information about the possible whereabouts of Elias---Of course Sin City --- Vegas.
Then again the book turns on its ear and becomes like something out of science fiction/thriller/mafia . . . I don't know . . . just strange.
And unless I start giving away too much, I end with ... again, I liked it, I thought it was okay, I loved it a little bit. Not sure I'll read the second book, but who knows? I might because the epilogue was intriguing enough I wanted to learn more about Blood 1025 and his story.
The story of Tristan and his falling in love with Kyle in high school in Texas is at time sweet and at other times disturbing because Tristan is an old Vamp and Banner does a great job of leaving us feeling like Tristan is lying 9 out of 10 times--but not necessarily about how he feels about Kyle.
When things get out of hand and Kyle "thinks" he killed his entire family after being turned, Tristan is his whole world and controls Kyle for twenty-six years to then take himself outside into the sun to turn into ashes. This of the story was kind of dull and not very romantic or even at times, interesting.
Well, another lie and when Kyle finally decides that he has had enough he takes himself to the desert of off himself only to be saved by Elias who was also there to kill himself and FINALLY I felt the story started to be more deserving of being read.
Then Elias disappears on the day that Kyle gets outed in a video that goes viral about his being a bloodsucker. All hell breaks loose and his old high school friend, Brock, who was humiliated by Tristan, shows up to see if Kyle is still alive--believing he had died in a fire with the rest of his family only to give information about the possible whereabouts of Elias---Of course Sin City --- Vegas.
Then again the book turns on its ear and becomes like something out of science fiction/thriller/mafia . . . I don't know . . . just strange.
And unless I start giving away too much, I end with ... again, I liked it, I thought it was okay, I loved it a little bit. Not sure I'll read the second book, but who knows? I might because the epilogue was intriguing enough I wanted to learn more about Blood 1025 and his story.
October 18, 2023
Daryl has outdone himself. When you hear PRN some people go into a book with preconceived notions of what it's going to be like and never even give the book a chance. If you have ever read one of his books, you DEFINITELY want to read this one. It's a vampire love story that NEVER uses the word vampire. Tristan and Kyle's beginning is one that every couple can only hope to have. You laugh with them, you cry with them and you even go AHHHH with them!!! I laughed at the puppies & butt worms part, though. Then you meet Elias, and you now have Elias & "Henry", it kinda gave off True Blood vibes to me...I was totally there for this. Elias has fallen so far for Henry that he is willing to do anything for him, but then you start to question who he is, where he cam from all of a sudden, why is he so secretive and what's he hiding from, or who? You will fall in love with the way he wants to protect Henry/Kyle and vice versa. At the beginning of the book you met Brock, you meet him again later on. He is the character you either love or hate, he might even be the one you love to hate.
The love, friendship, support, energy & light this book gives is phenomenal!!! I promise, reading this is not your normal PRN, it might even want you begging for more like this. This book made me laugh, had me almost in tears (I'm not a crier), and definitely had me yelling out WTF!!! There are surprises around every corner, so get ready to not be able to put the book down!!! You will fall in LOVE with Daryl and our little Texas towns!!!
The love, friendship, support, energy & light this book gives is phenomenal!!! I promise, reading this is not your normal PRN, it might even want you begging for more like this. This book made me laugh, had me almost in tears (I'm not a crier), and definitely had me yelling out WTF!!! There are surprises around every corner, so get ready to not be able to put the book down!!! You will fall in LOVE with Daryl and our little Texas towns!!!
September 1, 2024
‘You are a hundred times more alive now than you ever were’ – One solid new novel!
Author/composer Daryl Banner graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Theatre and Psychology. His writing includes new adult romance, M/M romance, post-apocalyptic fantasy, and dystopian. According to his brief biography he is ‘most inspired by the smart and unlikely hero, but urges you (the reader) not to fall in love with them; they may deceive you with their innocence.’ This ‘warning’ is well placed with this novel KISSING WITH TEETH, a new venture for Daryl and a most successful one!
Early in life experiences creating a testy adult life is a focus in this novel: Kyle Amos is smitten with the handsome Tristan only to become aware that ‘kissing with teeth’ has consequences – especially when that ‘blood exchange’ results in a transformation that proves to be a challenge later in life. The ‘altered’ Amos moves to Nowhere, Arizona, avoiding crises such as exposure to sunlight (and more of the ‘dark side’ elements) until the ‘normal’ human man Elias enters his life. How to keep his secret and the accompanying threats poses a fine struggle for romantic love – and Daryl pulls it off splendidly!
With every new work that Daryl Banner pens his stature in the literary world rises another step. Excellent prose renders this dark toned romance credible and involving. Highly recommended
Author/composer Daryl Banner graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Theatre and Psychology. His writing includes new adult romance, M/M romance, post-apocalyptic fantasy, and dystopian. According to his brief biography he is ‘most inspired by the smart and unlikely hero, but urges you (the reader) not to fall in love with them; they may deceive you with their innocence.’ This ‘warning’ is well placed with this novel KISSING WITH TEETH, a new venture for Daryl and a most successful one!
Early in life experiences creating a testy adult life is a focus in this novel: Kyle Amos is smitten with the handsome Tristan only to become aware that ‘kissing with teeth’ has consequences – especially when that ‘blood exchange’ results in a transformation that proves to be a challenge later in life. The ‘altered’ Amos moves to Nowhere, Arizona, avoiding crises such as exposure to sunlight (and more of the ‘dark side’ elements) until the ‘normal’ human man Elias enters his life. How to keep his secret and the accompanying threats poses a fine struggle for romantic love – and Daryl pulls it off splendidly!
With every new work that Daryl Banner pens his stature in the literary world rises another step. Excellent prose renders this dark toned romance credible and involving. Highly recommended
October 30, 2023
Rough start... the first 100 pages was a mess. The writing style and pacing was wacked. And their was to many missing details; character and plot development. If I was a proof reader or beta tester, I would have voted for him to rework or rewrite it. Once you get to the time jump, it was way better!!!
I do give DB a ton of credit for trying something new. Bloodsuckers, suspense, murder and death is a very far cry from his normal romance genre he has mastered.
After meeting a mysterious boy in school Kyle goes through a series of traumatizing events from losing friends, family and going on the run. 27 years later, the reason for all of this goes up in dust. On his own, he has to live with his past without truly being himself around anyone. That is, until he is save by a cutie and his past comes knocking on his door. There isn't much spice, just depression and blood.
I liked that there is a lot of mystery in this and no one was safe. Disappearances, murder and death is always knocking on life's door. Constantly losing the ones you loved breaks you down until you think know hope is left until hope comes from the one you least expect.
The ending really throws a wrench into it all. Can't wait until book 2 comes out to find out how that all came to be.
I do give DB a ton of credit for trying something new. Bloodsuckers, suspense, murder and death is a very far cry from his normal romance genre he has mastered.
After meeting a mysterious boy in school Kyle goes through a series of traumatizing events from losing friends, family and going on the run. 27 years later, the reason for all of this goes up in dust. On his own, he has to live with his past without truly being himself around anyone. That is, until he is save by a cutie and his past comes knocking on his door. There isn't much spice, just depression and blood.
I liked that there is a lot of mystery in this and no one was safe. Disappearances, murder and death is always knocking on life's door. Constantly losing the ones you loved breaks you down until you think know hope is left until hope comes from the one you least expect.
The ending really throws a wrench into it all. Can't wait until book 2 comes out to find out how that all came to be.
October 23, 2023
All of these words…
And I’m still confused. That whole 355-page book, and I still have no friggin’ idea what’s going on.
There was no lore, there was no world building, there was…nothing. There was nothing. The whole thing was confusing. There were no answers, just questions. Sometimes there weren’t any questions, but the lack of questions led to more questions.
I get that they’re vampires, because that’s implied and understood, but how these vampires work is still a mystery. I genuinely feel bad for Kyle because that poor dude has no idea about himself and not a single other person in the world wants to help him understand. They just lie to him a whole lot and then get mad at him when he doesn’t know anything.
I could seriously write one of my review essays on the issues this book has. And it’s not just the wonky mechanics and inconsistent bits this time, so that should say something.
Tristan is an awful character, for a start. Just…absolutely awful.
3/5. I don’t feel like I read a first book in a series. There wasn’t enough information to make it a book meant to build a series.
And I’m still confused. That whole 355-page book, and I still have no friggin’ idea what’s going on.
There was no lore, there was no world building, there was…nothing. There was nothing. The whole thing was confusing. There were no answers, just questions. Sometimes there weren’t any questions, but the lack of questions led to more questions.
I get that they’re vampires, because that’s implied and understood, but how these vampires work is still a mystery. I genuinely feel bad for Kyle because that poor dude has no idea about himself and not a single other person in the world wants to help him understand. They just lie to him a whole lot and then get mad at him when he doesn’t know anything.
I could seriously write one of my review essays on the issues this book has. And it’s not just the wonky mechanics and inconsistent bits this time, so that should say something.
Tristan is an awful character, for a start. Just…absolutely awful.
3/5. I don’t feel like I read a first book in a series. There wasn’t enough information to make it a book meant to build a series.
October 7, 2023
Wow. I don't even know how to start except to say this book is so very different from anything else this author has written. Yes, he has dabbled in PNR before (The Beautiful Dead and Outlier) but never blood-sucking demons who walk around looking like cover models.... but have a darkness within them. I don't usually cry or audibly gasp when reading his books either, but I definitely did both of those things this time and yet, as shocking and upsetting as some of the events were, I have total faith that there is a bigger picture than what we're seeing and more will be revealed in the next book. An intriguing start to a new series with some exciting new characters to be discovered as well as some heartbreaking reveals. Loved it...even while I was tearing up inside.
***** 5 ***** "the most beautiful things in life can be the deadliest" stars
***** 5 ***** "the most beautiful things in life can be the deadliest" stars
October 8, 2023
Have you ever wondered what a true gay vampire romance would be like? Including the excitement, the realization and then the regret of it all? Kissing with Teeth the answer! Daryl takes you on an incredible journey through the world of darkness that you will not soon forget. We meet Kyle and follow him as he discovers many things about himself and everyone around him. Daryl has created a world that is terrifying, sexy and emotional. I did not know what to expect when I started reading Kissing with Teeth but by the end I was so incredibly happy when I read the words “To be Continued”. I seriously can not wait to return to this world of night creatures and I hope the others will be as riveting as the first. Very well done!!! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 10, 2024
Well...
I read this based on a book group recommendation... I loved the blurb... That's where the love really ends... I finished this train wreck??? I feel like that doesn't entirely convey my feelings but, gets the point across... Too much all at once??? Or, spoon fed to me??? I genuinely don't know how to describe what I read... I feel like I read 5 books... With no satisfying ending... 🤔🤔🤔 There's Kyle, Tristan, Elias, Kaleb, and Brock... All fighting to show up in a big way in the book... It was just not my cup of tea... The writing style didn't do anything for me... I personally would not recommend... Truthfully the most captivating part of the book... Was the very last chapter... I wish I could have read that story...
HEA
MM/MM
VERS?
Vampire/Human
High Angst
2 outta 5 in the 🔥🔥🔥 Department
I read this based on a book group recommendation... I loved the blurb... That's where the love really ends... I finished this train wreck??? I feel like that doesn't entirely convey my feelings but, gets the point across... Too much all at once??? Or, spoon fed to me??? I genuinely don't know how to describe what I read... I feel like I read 5 books... With no satisfying ending... 🤔🤔🤔 There's Kyle, Tristan, Elias, Kaleb, and Brock... All fighting to show up in a big way in the book... It was just not my cup of tea... The writing style didn't do anything for me... I personally would not recommend... Truthfully the most captivating part of the book... Was the very last chapter... I wish I could have read that story...
HEA
MM/MM
VERS?
Vampire/Human
High Angst
2 outta 5 in the 🔥🔥🔥 Department
October 12, 2023
This story was much darker than I expected it to be. It still has plenty of the Daryl Banner snark liberally sprinkled throughout but there was so much more to this one. It was a perfect example of the range that this author is capable of. Lots of serious issues, lots of love and loss, lots of gore. Also, lots of courage and forgiveness and plenty of surprises. The characters are so well written. I love how I can relate to the good and the bad in both of the MC's personas. It makes them feel kinda human. This new world that Daryl has created is flawless with all its imperfections.
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