3.5 StarsHmmm...not sure. I wonder if being Korean-American was a benefit or a hindrance in reading this book. For all intents and purposes, I think I should have loved Dirty Kiss. It's the first fiction, let alone M/M romance, that I've ever seen with a Korean MC. Rhys Ford does a really great job of capturing life and culture of Koreans in Los Angeles/Orange County. I feel like I knew the Kims personally. I even felt it was a bit of an inside joke since 99.9% of all Korean girls are named Grace Kim (a character in this book)!!! The author drops Korean terminology randomly (w/o interpretation) throughout and I wondered if this made it tough for those who don't speak Korean. There's a great murder plot, likable-enough characters, some action and intensity, some steam...BUT...I was...bored...at times. I didn't connect with either of the lead characters (though I'm intrigued by Cole). And I didn't feel like we got enough of their time together in the book to validate the strength of their feelings for one another. It's one thing to have insta-love, but follow it up with some relationship building. It all felt very loose and lacked substance for me. And, I want to know what the F*CK happened to Rick and Ben and why!!!!! TELL ME!!!!I enjoyed it enough that I'm interested in reading the second book. I think book 1 is good and the series has the potential to be really good. Just not there yet for me...
