Kresley Cole - Immortals after Dark Series:

Immortals after Dark Series:







immortals after dark.... passion is power


 

This series as a whole is exciting, funny, and a quick read you won’t be able to get enough! Kresely Cole really knows how to grab within the first chapter. She is quick witted and exceedingly good at incorporating young modern dialect, current technology and humor into her books.  A lot of pop culture of today will appear in the book which adds a bit of familiar in a mythical world.

The basic concept is that there are mythical beings that are not so mythical and are mostly immortal. These beings are a part of the “Lore” which is what they call their world and themselves as “Loriens”.  You will meet Vampires, Demons, Vemons, Valkyrie, Witches, Lykae, and more! Each race has its own strengths and weakness’, some have fated mates and others don’t. They are approaching the Accession which occurs roughly every 500 years.  What this is, is that it pits good factions against evil factions, there is no one huge battle but more of smaller but very deadly skirmishes. This acts as a sort of checks and balances for the immortals so they don’t as a group get to large and start drawing attention of the humans! As you will also see that fate also throws fated mates together and many of different species so it’s great fun to watch them struggle with each other!

So of the things I LOVE about this series is the women are often as strong in their own way as their male counter parts. There are no meek little ladies in this series. They can wield a sword or a spell as well as the men and they don’t need them to protect them; although, the overbearing men usually can’t help themselves from trying! Also, the characters reappear in each other’s books so you don’t have to say good bye once the book is over because you will likely see them again. Kresely Cole does this beautifully, where as the books may set up other books the books themselves can stand on their own. You can skip around and not miss a beat; I actually started with the last one and skipped around picking up each book as it interested me. This can be hard to achieve.  Also I love Kresely Coles humor, it is used perfectly the books don’t take themselves too seriously and you will find yourself laughing in the most random places. The character Nix who appears in each of the books is especially humorous! Once you start reading this series you won’t stop, I got several of my co-workers HOOKED! They can thank me later. J

Book 1:

Playing Easy to Get: Nikolai Wroth and Myst the Coveted

 
From the beginning the battle between Myst and Nikolai is exciting.  Myst is a not so mythical Valkyrie warrior also rumored to the most beautiful of her species. Nikolai is a former Estonian war lord turned Vampire. Nikolai is not seeking his “Bride” when he takes Myst captive.  From the beginning he is intrigued by the beautiful valkyrie not knowing what she truly is, Myst plays with Nikolai seeking an end to her captivity.  As it turns out Myst is Nikolai’s “Bride” and she bloods him.  Myst soon escapes from Nikolai leaving him in great agony.  As mortal enemies Myst refuses to be a vampires “Bride” but 5 years later she is still thinking of her handsome warlord vampire.

After 5 years of searching for Myst, Nikolai finds her and again takes her captive. This is where the excitement really begins, Myst and Nikolai engage in a fierce battle of wills.  Nikolai determined to extract his revenge as well as win his “Bride” and Myst just as determined to avoid being her enemies “Bride”.  He might not have a choice in the matter but she sure does!

Get ready for a roller coaster ride of clashing wills and sensuality as Kresely Cole lures you in to the Lore of mythical creatures that are not so mythical. As these two characters battle it out you find yourself engrossed to see who wins, you will be introduce to new and even more engaging battles of wit, lust and passion in the Immortals after Dark Series.

Book 2:

A Hunger Like No Other: Lachlain MacRieve and Emmaline Troy

Lachlain is the long lost king of the Lykae Clan, taken captive by the Horde Vampire Clan for the last 150 years tortured endlessly in the fire pits below the city of Paris, France.  Emma the Timid is the cherished, sheltered and protected half vampire and half valkyrie raised by her valkyrie aunts.  Emma has never seen another Vampire and certainly not one of those animalistic Lykae. Emma is in Paris looking for information on the father she never knew, Lachlain is chained to the fire below the city when he scents Emma and knows she’s his mate. Lachlain severs his leg to escape the pits to get to his fated mate.  Emma is alone and hungry in the city when an enraged beast grabs her and forces her to take him back to her hotel.  Lachlain is enraged that fate would give him a vampire as his fated mate! He decides then and there he will make her pay for all the years that he was held captive by her kind.  Will Emma the Timid’s gentle nature tame the wild beast?

In this book Emma really grows as a character going from Emma the Timid to Emma the King Killer.  Throughout the book you watch as Emma develops a back bone and starts living up to both sides of her heritage.  Using the training her aunts forced on that she never excelled at, no longer is Emma the Timid running from sword practice and avoiding conflict but a true valkyrie in the flesh with silver in her eyes and passion in her heart. By the end of the book you kind of feel like a proud momma watching your little girl grow up and become a woman as she stands up not only to her fierce man but her exceedingly difficult aunts.

Lachlain as a character I am somewhat torn.  As a male that was tortured for 150 years I expected him to be more tortured in mind and spirit. I tend to like my “tortured” males to be more brittle and haunted in spirit except for a couple of rages he seems to keep it together better than you would expect of a man/beast that was kept in the pits of hell for over a century.  As an overbearing over protective lykae he plays the part perfectly. You can’t help but like him and keep hoping he is able to win over Emma in his botched attempts to win her heart. Kresely Cole really helps you get into Lachlain’s character while writing with the Scottish brogue. It is absolutely delicious!

Overall this is a great read; there is plenty of action in and out of bedroom.  You get to watch Emma grow as a women and Lachlain struggle not only to win Emma over but to acclimate to the 21st century that he has been thrust into, having never seen a TV or a car. You are introduced to new characters that you will be seeing in several books to come. And as always you find yourself laughing from Kresley Cole’s humor. I love a book that can make both your heart race from the steamy passion and then turn around and make you laugh.

Book 3:

No Rest for the Wicked: Sebastian Wroth and Kaderin the Cold Hearted

Sebastian is an unwilling Vampire ready to end his existence; Kaderin is a Valkyrie willing to make that happen.  Sebastian is a warrior scholar turned Vampire by his brother against his will over 300 years ago and has been in seclusion ever since then. Kaderin is over 2000 years old and has been killing vampires her entire existence, called the Cold Hearted after she was “blessed” with no feelings for over 1000 years since a vampire killed her two sisters in battle. She has two reasons for living: the first to kill vampires and the second to compete in the Talisman's Hie which is an immortal competition every 250 years in which she has been the victor for the last 5 competitions.  Kaderin is sent to kill a rumored vampire.  When she gets there she finds herself attracted to someone for the first time in over 1000 years which means she is feeling again, in her confusion and Sebastian’s hot embrace she forgets she is supposed to be killing him not kissing him! Sebastian’s first site of Kaderin makes him believe that maybe there is something to live for after all.

Sebastian as a character is endearing! In his mortal life he was a warrior with the mind and heart of a scholar and as an immortal vampire all he has is his books to get him through each day until Kaderin barges into his life looking to kill him. He is willing to let her until he suddenly feels his heart beat for the first time in over 300 years. Now more than anything he wants to make Kaderin his! You really feel for his plight to win Kaderin. He is reentering the world after 300 years and has no idea that they should be mortal enemies.  He is just the right amount of sensitive scholar and warrior and his awkwardness really makes you open your heart to his character. 

Kaderin is one of the most feared warriors in the Lore, she is an assassin who knows how to do her job and do it well.  Blessed with no emotion at all for the last 1000 years she is confused why this one vampire can make her feel again... I think I would have liked the feeling of feeling again to be explored a little deeper. I would have liked to know more about how she felt about feeling again rather than just knowing the emotion that she was feeling.  As a feared Valkyrie assassin I totally buy it, she goes through the Hie contests with an iron will and a single minded determination to win, for if she wins it changes EVERYTHING! I really feel for her with the loss of her sisters this you can tell hurt her deeply and anybody who has lost someone will relate.

This book is action packed as it takes you through the different contests of the Hie which are no normal contests but deadly contests that the immortals are encourages to do anything within their powers to win so as you can imagine there is a lot of dirty fighting among competitors!  Sebastian is determined to help Kaderin win the Hie and she is just as determined that he not which makes for some interesting interaction between characters.  There are great fights between these two as things heat up.

Book 4:

Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night: Bowen MacRieve and Mariketa the Awaited

 

Bowen is third in line for the crown of the Lykae Clan, never of a sunny disposition he grew even surlier after the death of his mate one winter night close to 200 years before. Mariketa the Awaited is awaiting something foretold but no one knows what exactly.  She is a witch of unspeakable power but can’t seem to quite tap into it without blowing something up!  Bowen and Mariketa both entered the incredibly dangerous Talisman's Hie, for reasons of their own. Mariketa has something to prove as the “Awaited One” and most powerful witch in existence who can’t seem to cast a successful spell and Bowen will do anything to bring back his deceased mate.  Bowen’s lykae “Instinct” recognizes Mariketa as his own true mate which causes an internal battle within of guilt and outrage and an external battle with Mariketa filled with conflicting fervor.  When Bowen traps Mariketa in a cavern all bets are off!  At the last minute and for once successful, Mariketa cast a spell rendering Bowens regenerative powers useless.

For almost 200 years the only thing that has been keeping Bowen alive is his burning drive to find a way to bring back his mate from the dead and with a clever hint from Nucking Futs Nix about entering the Hie he has found a way to finally do that if only he can win! All during the competition Bowen’s thoughts keep returning to the little witch Mariketa, there is nothing that Bowen hates more than a witch. He is convinced that she has hexed him into believing that she is his mate.  You can feel Bowens anger seething through the pages of Kresely’s Coles writing, his internal turmoil is utterly believable!  Upon meeting Mariketa he doesn’t know what to believe anymore, his “instinct” tells him she’s his mate but you only get one and she’s dead and fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to give him a witch of all things especially one that took his immortality.  After losing the Hie to a vampire he vows that he will get his revenge from Mariketa and get her to lift both hexes’ now all he has to do is rescue her from the cavern he trapped her in!

Mariketa is pissed! She was left to die in this cavern with cursed suicidal Succubi by the man who had just kissed her senseless. You can relate to her feelings hurt and betrayal and worry because Mariketa has yet to reach her immortality so she could die in that cavern. After weeks of being trapped Bowen makes it back to rescue her and the others left in the cavern.  Instead of an apology from the surly lykae she gets a demand to remove the two curses she laid on him.( just like a man!!) Mariketa can barely cast one successful spell let alone two very powerful spells, though being in the handsome Lykae’s presence does seem to focus her spells more than ever before.  Throughout the book you root for Mariketa as she struggles with controlling her extraordinary powers and her powerful attraction to a stubborn lykae who is convinced she hexed him.  I have a soft spot for Mariketa and pride for her as she struggles with her powers and feelings but never gives up on herself or apologizes for being who she is!  More female heroines should be like that, a strong women confidant in whom and what she is and does not apologize for it.

This book is full of internal and external conflicts as both characters struggle with themselves and each other.  Despite their mistrust of each other and the circumstances that brought them together there’s plenty of passion and power struggles to keep things interesting and to keep you turning the pages.  And again Bowen’s sexy Scottish brogue doesn’t hurt!

Book 5:

Dark Needs at a Night’s Edge - Conrad Wroth and Néomi Laress

Conrad Worth is a fallen vampire and a Lore assassin who is riding that fine line to turning fully insane and is hunted daily by his many enemies. Conrad’s three brothers have been searching for him for 300 years and now he is ready to take them out for turning him into the one thing he was sworn to destroy. Néomi Laress was a prima ballerina in the 1920’s, who is brutally murdered and is now a ghost haunting her home called Elancourt.  Conrad’s brothers manage to find him and capture him determined to bring him back from the brink of insanity and to join them on the side of good.  The brothers bring Conrad to Elancourt to try to bring him back; Néomi is instantly intrigued when it appears that Conrad may have seen her in her ghostly form, which has never happened before. As Conrad comes in and out of his madness he is convinced that he is seeing things again but this time he can actually hear and smell the vision which has never happened before. As he starts recovering from his madness he realizes that the vision is really a beautiful ghost trapped at Elancourt with him and she seems to be the only thing that is able to focus him.

Conrad is an almost insane vampire done right! He is just the right amount of crazy to sanity ratio.  He is crazy enough to make you believe that he really is insane but sane enough to make you really believe that he can be brought back from the brink by Néomi.  Néomi acts like a focusing tool for Conrad and he is able to hold it together so that he can function and maybe truly be reformed. You also find that Conrad for all of his power and aggression is surprisingly vulnerable and it really makes him a real character for me of all the male heroes in the first 5 books so far Conrad is my favorite male at this point.

Néomi is a ghost trapped to the grounds of her house she cannot leave Elancourt and for the last 81 years she has been lonely as family after family comes and goes from her home. No one has been able to see or hear her until Conrad the crazy fallen vampire arrives. At first she sticks around his room to see if he can see her again but then as she finds out more about him she finds herself feeling more and more connected and attracted to him. Néomi’s loneliness and vulnerability is clear in this story, your heart breaks for Néomi and all the years she has spent wondering her estate with no one to talk to, so when she finds someone that she can communicate with you are thrilled for her. Now if only she wasn’t dead so she could get on with making a life with Conrad.

This truly is a book of opposites attracting!  Néomi is everything that is laughter and fun as a dancer from the roaring 20’s. Conrad is everything serious and cold and all he has known is war and killing.  You wonder if the tiny ballerina can tame the half crazy wild beast and if she even can will it be too late for them?

Book 6:

Dark Desires after Dusk - Cade Woede the Kingmaker and Holly Ashwin

Cade has spent his entire 1000 years waiting for his mate and cannot believe his luck when his fated one is a human! Humans are the one faction forbidden to demons because they are just so breakable.  Holly has spent her entire life as a human and a self proclaimed math geek. Left on the doorstep of her adopted parents house she has never suspected that she could be anything but human but when she is abducted by these strange beings with horns she begins to suspect that there is more out there then humans. When Cades human is abducted he is shocked to find out that she is the “Vessel” and half valkyrie and now his utmost priority is to get her to safety seeing as how every fraction of the Lore is now hunting her! Every 500 years a woman of the Lore is the Vessel and the first born child of her will be a warrior either of pure good or pure evil depending on the father of the child.  So the Lore factions that are considered good cannot let evil get a hold of the Vessel and the evil want her to make a child of pure evil!

Cade is thrilled and yet dismayed that his fated mate Holly is actually half valkyrie so now he can have her but fate has other plans.  Cade must retrieve the Vessel and hand her over to Groot the Metallurgist a creature of true evil to right a wrong that Cade has been paying for his entire life; the mistake that cost his brother his crown to their kingdom. Cade will do anything to right that wrong even if it means giving up his mate. Cades frustration is so palpable you can almost feel his frustration as he is put in a catch 22 of mythical proportions!. How can he give up and betray the one women given to him to protect yet how can he betray his brother yet again, it is made clear that this is the last chance to win back the crown of the Rage Demons. As Holly and Cade race around the country on their mission Cades emotions become more and more turmoil and his only option is to betray someone -- But the question he cannot seem to answer is who?

Holly is less than thrilled to find out that she is half valkyrie she will do anything to reverse this transformation that is occurring to her including race around the country with this obnoxious demon who keeps pushing her buttons. She is getting stronger and stronger, she no longer needs her glasses and everything in her orderly life is in an uproar.  Everything that Holly has been avoiding her entire life is being thrust onto her and she doesn’t quite know how to cope except hold onto the only thing that is stable in her life at the moment, Cade. Everyone is trying to kill her and she doesn’t want to be the Vessel or be part of this strange new world called the Lore. It is fun to watch Holly try to adapt to everything new and be thrust into the new life. Everything is new to her, you see her get drunk for the first time and you can’t help but remember the first time you yourself got drunk.  Anything sexual is new to her having avoided it for so long, even her computer had blocks to make sure she wouldn’t run across anything sexual! But worry no, Holly is defiantly full passion and that passion is directed at Cade on more than one occasion.

This is a book of passion, new experiences and betrayal! The characters are put in an impossible situation and you hope that it works out for the two of them.  Will Cade turn her over to save his brothers crown or will he save her and let his brother lose his only chance at his crown?  You are kept in suspense of the final decision; have fun reading this new exciting tale in the Immortals after Dark series!

Book 7:

Kiss of a Demon King- Rydstrom Woede and Sabine, the Queen of Illusions

There is only one thing that Rydstrom wants more then to meet his mate and that is to get his crown back!  Sabine just wants to be free to make her own decisions and to have her own place with no one to answer to oh yeah and gold!!.  Rydstrom is considered by all to be level headed and always reasons things out before acting. Sabine is anything but level headed and reasonable, she has no problems letting out her wrath, and having died many times she knows life can be short and feels the line between good and evil is “flexible”.  It is foretold that Sabine is Rydstrom’s mate so she sets out to capture her man! Literally! Sabine captures Rydstrom using her powerful illusions and sticks him in the dungeon of his own castle! Here is where the battle of wills begins…

Rydstrom is the rightful King of the Rage Demons and for almost 1000 years Omort the Deathless has been perched on HIS throne terrorizing his people and destroying the lands. The only way to get back his throne is to kill Omort, but how do you kill someone who can’t be killed?  Finally he has the means to get his throne back only to get abducted by Sabine and thrown in his own dungeon and she is determined to get pregnant by him.  Rydstrom is just as determined to claim her as his on his terms not hers. With Sabine he loses all of his reasoning skills and patience, he starts acting before thinking and starts to consider there may be more important things then his crown.

Sabine has died many times over but thanks to her sister Melanthe she is always saved. To her there is nothing more precious than gold and freedom for her and her sister.  As Omort’s sister she is kept at his side by the threat of her life and her sisters, she sees the only way to gain freedom is as Rydstrom’s queen and mother of his child.  Sabine is strong willed and determined that Rydstrom will submit to her on her terms not his!

This is a book of clashing wills! There are power struggles galore and you don’t know who will come out on top literally.  Just when one of them gets the upper hand the tides switch and the other now is on top.  Sabine and Rydstrom drive each other crazy and neither trusts the other. Rydstrom tries to reform Sabine and she is just as determined to not be reformed -- she likes who she is!  This book has just the right amount of tension and suspense waiting to see who will do what next! And will Rydstrom ever get his kingdom back?!

Book 8:

Deep Kiss of Winter- Murdoch Wroth and Daniela the Ice Maiden

Murdoch Wroth was a playboy warrior who never met a woman he couldn’t seduce as a human now as a forbearer vampire he has no desire for women until he meets the untouchable Daniela. Daniela is a Valkyrie who is part Ice Fey, her skin cannot be touched except by someone of the Ice Fey.  Murdoch saves Daniela’s life and in return she bloods him for the first time in 300 years.  Scarred of Murdoch’s playboy past and the assassins out to kill her Daniela swears Murdoch to secrecy.  Daniela has been hunted for 2000 years by the King of the Ice Fey because he knows Daniela is the rightful heir to the throne and should be there rather than him. When Murdoch and Daniela meet she is running from the assassins that have found her once again, she needs to get out of town and fast and Murdoch has just the spot!

A relationship is nothing Murdoch has any experience with; he was always free with his loving and he is not having an easy time of it. You almost feel for Murdoch as he tries to figure out how to handle all of this relationship stuff... Almost but not completely!  Not being able to touch Daniela is killing him you can only do so much creative problem solving before he starts to feel defeated, like they’ll never find away to touch for real.

Daniela is a Valkyrie Ice Fey, she has not been really touched in 2000 years since her mother the Queen of the Ice Fey was murdered by the current King.  Any physical contact by someone outside her Ice Fey race will result in terrible pain and the one thing that Daniela truly craves like nothing else is to be touched. It’s almost heart breaking, you take being touched by those you love for granted and Daniela not being able to be touched one of the basics in life kind of reminds you of those things you take for granted. This novella also fills in a lot of the gaps from Conrad and Nikolai’s novels so those little parts that are mentioned in those books are filled in on this book! I would actually read this book before Book 6, I think it fits in better there as far as timeline goes.

Book 9:

Pleasure of a Dark Prince - Garreth MacRieve and Lucia the Huntress

Garreth MacRieve is the current reluctant King of the Lykae. He is convinced his missing brother Lachlain is still alive somewhere. He is in the middle of a good brood when he scents his mate who turns out to be the Valkyrie Lucia the Huntress.  Lucia is as secretive as she is deadly.  Lachlain returns from the dead and captures Lucia’s niece Emma, to get her back the Valkyrie decide to capture Garreth and use Lucia as bait.

Garreth does not want to be King and has been resisting the Kinghood for 150 years but after years of searching for a new location for his clan he selects New Orleans which also happens to be the home of a coven of Valkyrie. When he scents Lucia he knows she is his mate and stalks her relentlessly from a far because she made it clear she does not return the feelings.  When Garreth senses Lucia is in trouble he runs to her rescue of course! As it turns out it’s a trap that he walks right into. Now he’s captured and in the dungeon on the Lucia’s home and he is thrilled! Now he can be closer to Lucia who with his endearing accent sounds like Loosha. Too cute! Got to love an accent! It is also here in this dungeon that he finds out his beloved brother is in fact alive and taken Lucia’s niece captive.  Once all that is worked out and he is released he finds that Lucia has run from him! And typical of the Lykae he runs after her chasing after her for a year before he finally catches up to her but not before she attempts to kill him several times.  Who doesn’t love a good stalker story, his stalking isn’t to creepy since he also saves her life several times.  When he finally catches up to her in the Amazon basin here is where things really heat up.

When Lucia is 16 she makes a HUGE mistake that affects the rest of her life! And of course it involves a man aren’t all the biggest mistakes in a women’s life involving a man? Lucia does not have the time or the inclination to deal with an over bearing man at this time! She is on a time sensitive mission and if she is not successful it could mean the apocalypse.  Garreth turns up right on time with information that she needs for her mission but she is determined that this is her mission and he CANNOT be involved. He is just as determined that he will take care of it for her. Of course a man wouldn’t think a woman is capable of handling it on her own. Lucia is the greatest archer in all of the lore and one of the best hunters so she is indeed insulted that a man wants to take over her duty! You find yourself agreeing with Lucia I mean who needs a man to take over anyway, why send a man for a women’s job anyway!  Garreth demand that she give up of her secrets and beliefs for him and after her mistake at 16 Lucia just isnt ready to do that and I can’t blame her. It was one doozy of a mistake!

This book spans over a year time frame and will fill in some gaps from Lachlain and Emma’s book which is great! I love how all the books tie in together but you can read them on their own without being lost.  This may be a little blood thirsty but you kind of chuckle a little every time Lucia tries to half heartedly take out Garreth, I mean it’s no more than the stalker deserves. J  Once Garreth does catch up it turns hot and sultry just like the Amazon itself. In the end the women has to save the man which will have feminists everywhere cheering!

Book 10:

Demon from the Dark: Malkom Slaine and Carrow Graie

 Malkom is a Vemon which is supposed to be a Lore myth and not a reality! He is a Demon turned Vampire with the strengths of both. Exiled on a demon hell plane he has been alone for 300 years.  Carrow is a rare three cast witch who had been abducted for the sole reason to bring Malkom back.  Carrow is sent to the demon plane without really knowing what she is getting herself into only knowing that she has to succeed or the life of a small child is in jeopardy.  Alone in a hell plane Carrow is at the mercy of any of the creatures that live there, many of which were exiled to those harsh conditions; and  Malkom is the biggest and badest of them all!  Malkom immediately recognizes Carrow as both his “Bride” and “Mate” for both parts of his nature and doesn’t understand why Carrow wouldn’t recognize him as the same. Carrow is a witch and doesn’t have the same reaction in fact she is terrified but knows she must suceed and if she is going to be protected it might as well as be the biggest and badest creature around.

Malkom is one of my favorite males in this series, he’s had a tortured past betrayed by everyone that he ever cared about starting with his own mother who sold him to the Vampires to be a blood slave where every imaginable atrocity was committed against him.  Next came his best and only friend, then his people because of he was turned vampire and will Carrow his mate, his everything be the last?  Malkom is interesting because he is so incredibly hard due to the live he has lead, he can’t trust anyone yet when he meets Carrow he is so incredibly gentle with her and he wants to so badly believe that things will be different this time, even after everything he still has the ability to love and hope, he doesn’t know what’s to come.

Carrow knows she is going to betray Malkom and it is tearing her apart.  Malkom has been so kind and gentle with her and she can tell he has a troubled past but doesn’t know the specifics. Even if she wanted to get Malkom’s help she can’t, they don’t speak the same language and she can’t explain that she needs his help to save Ruby. Ruby is Carrow’s newly adopted daughter and if she can’t get Malkom back to her world Ruby will very likely be killed. Carrow knows what she has to do but it is breaking her heart, she doesn’t know how all this has happened not 3 weeks before she was living the good life as “the Party Girl” of New Orleans! Carrows party girl routine is really a way to cope with her so very lonely unloving childhood.  She was basically cast aside by her parents when she was child. You can really feel her loneliness, you get some flash backs to the way she was treated before her parents abandoned her and it is heartbreaking, no child should be treated that way. 

Malkom and Carrow are perfect for each other with both of their troubled pasts you wonder if they can in fact heal each other.  One of the most interesting parts of the book is how they communicate since they cannot actually talk to each other, so they kind of their own communication and it’s almost deeper since they have to use non-vocal methods.  Does Carrow betray Malkom and if she does can he ever forgive her? 

This book will also set up what you can tell will be the next couple of books and it really makes you crave the next book! I know I am in suspense waiting for the next one.  Almost all of the characters of previous books appear in this book so if you were missing them, they make their cameos!  This is a must read and one of my favs of this series!!!

Book 11:

Dreams of a Dark Warrior- Aidan the Fierce and Regin the Radiant

Coming in February 15, 2011

From kreselycole.com

Installment 11 in the bestselling Immortals After Dark series

From #1 New York Times bestseller Kresley Cole comes this gripping tale of a battle-maddenend warrior driven by revenge and the Valkyrie temptress who haunts his dreams.

He vowed he'd come for her. . .

Murdered before he could wed Regin the Radiant, warlord Aidan the Fierce seeks his beloved through eternity, reborn again and again into new identities, yet with no memory of his past lives—only an endless yearning.

She awaits his return. . .

When Regin encounters Declan Chase, a brutal Celtic soldier, she recognizes her proud warlord reincarnated. But Declan takes her captive, intending retribution against all immortals, unaware that he belongs to their world.

To sate a desire more powerful than death. . .

Yet every reincarnation comes with a price, for Aidan is doomed to die when he remembers his past. To save herself from Declan's torments, will Regin rekindle memories of the passion they once shared—even if it means once again losing the only man she could ever love?

Summary:

Declan watched his entire family massacred by immortals and then was taken captive to have his flesh dined upon and his blood consumed.  Declan hates immortals with a fierce loathing and has manifested itself into an obsession.  He has made it his life’s work to exterminate all immortals.  When the “Order” (a mortal organization that captures, experiments on and kills immortals) rescues Declan he immediately joins the group and for the next 20 years is merciless in his destruction of immortals... until... Regin has always been the fun loving prankster of the Valkyrie, as well as one of the most feared immortals of the Lore.  At the young age of 12 Regin meets Aiden the Fierce when she needs help finding her half sister Lucia whom she fears is in mortal danger. Aiden is the fiercest Berserker in the history of the Berserkers, Aiden recognizes the proud young Regin as “his” from the moment they met. Knowing her tender years he tells Regin that he will wait until she is grown before claiming her as his, which is the wrong thing to say to Regin. Regin is not about to belong to anyone so she leaves Aiden to set out on her own. Years later Regin is about to go through her change into immortality and seeks out Aiden, as he said she would do to help her through some of the “side effects” of the change. When Aiden is killed in Regins arms by a Vampire he vows that he will find a way to return to her; and he does 4 other times throughout history as reincarnations of himself. However, he is cursed each time “Aiden” remembers his former self his is violently killed with Regin as witness within hours.  Declan is a reincarnation of Aiden the Fierce and has no idea of his former self.

Declan/Aiden:

As a kid Declan always knew there was something different about himself. It was like he had a beast within himself trying to get out and nothing seemed to ease the restlessness. He turned to drugs at a young age in attempt to curb the feelings with not much success.  Even his attempts with woman made him feel sick and empty. When he returns home, he finds his entire family dead and himself taken captive. Declan soon realizes that his family were the lucky ones, for days the immortals peeled flesh from his torso and arms eating his skin and drinking his blood, he begged to die, death would have been preferable to the torture he endured.  Immediately following his rescue Declan cleans up and joins the “Order”.  When he captures Regin the Radiant it should have been just another routine capture but his entire being recognizes her as.. what???  While Regin is in captivity over and over he found himself watching her with confusion, recognition and desire, and then she tells him that he is her dead lover reincarnated. If he was to believe that it would rock his entire belief system to the core there is no way he could be one of them, as a Berserker. Yet, it would explain so much....

Regin:

Over and over Aiden has been returned to her only to die within hours of remembering everything about his past lives. For 1000 years Regin has remained faithful to her proud Berserker, only to lose him all too soon. As soon as Regin sees Declan she recognizes him as her Aiden reincarnated but what she can’t believe is how he turned out. None of the past Aiden’s have been able to inflict her with pain, yet this A-Hole has tortured her! Regin’s heart aches for her man but soon realizes that he must die if she is going to get herself and her friends out of this facility alive. Now all she has to do is seduce him and get him to remember. But in seducing him she finds herself seduced, can she bring an end to this proud warrior to save herself, to save her friends....

Review:

As usual Kresley Cole DELIVERS! This book is fantastic! I could not put it down, I was sitting there at work trying to work and read at the same time (let me tell you it didnt go so well) and I wished I could tell my customers to leave me alone so I could read. LOL! Since that didn’t go so well I was up until 4 am finishing the book.  Declan and Regin are portrayed to perfection. I found myself tearing up in places, which is an ultimate compliment to an author. You really feel for Regin and Declan and root for them, hoping they can bridge the whole Aiden torturing Regin “misunderstanding”.  You will see another side to Regin, you see a vulnerable side to her that you have not seen in any of the other books leading up to this one. (Regin has been a regular in previous books in this series.) She has always been so confident and dare I say obnoxious but in a fun, reminds you of your favorite younger sister sort of way. Declan is heartbreaking, the way he hides his internal and external scars, never even allowing himself a friend in his stark existence.


Lothaire Enemy of Old plays a fairly large role in this novel, which is going to set up the next book which K. Cole has already announced will be her next novel. Many new Lore beings are introduced in this book as new alliances are made in the confines of their cells. Also, as with previous novels this one is part of a series but if you haven’t read any of the previous books that is ok, you could pick this one up without having previously read any of the rest of the series. It can stand on its own, but I would suggest at least reading the book prior to this one Demon from the Dark, it will fill in a few gaps here and there. Kresley Cole just gets better and better with each book she puts out. I for one cannot wait until the next one.

Rating:

5 moons out of 5