I enjoyed the setting of the first in the "Gods of Midnight" series by Deidre Knight, Red Fire: a group of seven Spartan warriors who fought at Thermopylae are then given immortality by the god Ares to help protect humanity.

Red Kiss: A Gods of Midnight Novel, the second in the series, focuses on River Kassandros, the warrior who can become a dagger or sword to help his partner Ari fight. As the story opens, River is lost in his dagger form in the ocean, having been thrown there at the end of the last book by an enemy of the Spartans. On an uninhabited island with her kayak, Emma Lowery can hear someone calling to her from the water. When she rescues River and enables him to return briefly to his human form, she realizes that their future is linked together. As Emma is drawn into the world of the Spartans alongside her cousin Shay, she learns more about this strange group of warriors and what River might mean to her.

A fair bit of action colors this story - battles and visits to Ares - as well as a great deal of discussions between various characters. In some places the story drags a bit, and the romance side seems fairly perfunctory. Keeping the large cast of characters separate isn't always easy, particularly some of the other Spartan warriors who don't seem to have much in the way of distinguishing personalities. Hints of a gay storyline in the future, as well as more between King Leonidas and the Oracle, lends a transitional feel to this installment. Emma and River appear to fall in love very quickly, and there isn't that much tension in their relationship.

Overall this is a reasonable read, if not particularly special and somewhat lacking in a gripping plot.