Purchase at Kindle/Amazon

#11 in Immortals After Dark

Genre: Paranormal Romance

515 Pages

To say SHB was excited to read Dreams of Dark Warrior is a vast understatement (think rabid Justin Bieber fangirl). Regin the Radiant was one of the first IAD characters most of us fell in love when we read A Hunger Like No Other.  The last of her kind, Regin the sassy Valkyerie that glows like gold has been avoiding her berserker reincarnation lover for centuries. Cursed some say because of her kiss, Aidan the Fierce always manages to find his ‘Brightling’ but can never manage to stay alive. In Dreams of Dark Warrior we start off with the Order kidnapping beings of the Lore to ride humanity of the evil unnaturals.  Only Aidan the Fierce doesn’t come back quite right. Housed in Declan Chase, second in command of the Order and known for torturing Lore captives; Regin has to find a way for Declan to remember his past memories otherwise serious apocalyptic sh*t will go down.

Dreams of Dark Warrior has probably one of the best prologues I’ve read in a long time. Usually Cole’s IAD characters meet when they are older – Regin meets Aidan when she is 12 where their budding romance spans 9 years until his death.  Ok, that sounds bad; he doesn’t touch her until she is ‘of age’ think Jacob from Twilight peoples.

The bulk of the story takes place on the Island where the Order captures and tortures the Lore. I like how gritty, K. Cole got for this book. This is no light read with hugs and kisses and magic fairy dust; there is torture, vivsection (cut open Lore beings without Anastasia) and betrayal. This could have read really depressing, but this is Kresley  mother effin’ Cole and she knows how to write paranormal romance. If you’ve read the previous book, Demon from the Dark a lot of scenes overlap, but are retold in a keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of way. This is no Bad Moon Rising *coughs Ms. Kenyon*. Although this is 500 plus pages you’ll breeze right through it and ignore all your household chores, your family, and reality until you finish it.

Because SHB couldn’t even put our Kindles down to save quotes; check out some heart breaking quotes from Fiction Vixen’s Review (lump, in my throat!).

Dreams of Dark Warrior is by far one of my favorite IAD books – everything comes together really well and you can tell Kresely Cole loved writing this one.  This is one book that’ll have you staying up past your bed-i-bye time.

Other Reviews

Katiebabs A-

Smexybooks B+

IAD Chat

Who do we think Lotharie’s mate is going to be…..? (Cole confirmed Lotharie’s book is next).  à SBH thinks (her name rhymes with Blurrie)

If you could pick the next IAD book who would it be? à Lanthe and her winged demon torturer

If Cole is only contracted to write four more IAD books who do you think is going to be in the next 3…?

Ulleum and(someone we haven’t met yet)

Lanthie and Thornos

Annaka…? Wow, she like disappeared after book 3 O_o

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Genre: Paranormal Romance

Series: Immortals After Dark #10

Pages:384

Amazon

Kindle

Favorite Quote: ‘Why don’t you put me in a minivan, zip me up in mom jeans and shoot me in the head’ Lanthe says to Carrow

———–>    If you have not read previous book and don’t want to be spoiled look away right now.

Demon from the Dark introduces us to a new type of bad, an evil group of mortals who refer to themselves as the “Order”. The Order is not ‘in-hearts’ with anything or anyone who happens to be immortal and thus contrives a scheme to kidnap some of our fav Lorepeople. Carrow, bad ass witch extrodinaire, Regin-The Radiant, Lanthe (evil sorceress sissy to Sabine Queen of illusions aka Rysdrom’s wifey), Lotharie, the Lykae twins and a few of those that have been kidnapped. No one knows what the Order wants, least of all Carrow; but those trisky humans have got her by the short hairs. Do their bidding or they’ll kill someone very close to her. Nope, I’m not gonna tell you who that is, you’ll just have to read to find out. All Carrow knows is that she must descend into the demon realm, find a vemon (an abomination of demon and vampire), and convince him to come back and be taken by the Order.

Malkom

Malkom Slaine was born to a whore, sold as a child be be some sick vampire’s blood slave and was forced to kill his one and only friend in order to survive. Betrayed by his own kind and basically everyone else in his life, Malkom’s will has been forged by blood and torture, escaping and killing his his ‘vemon’ (demon/vampire) maker, he escapes to Oblivion where he lives like the beast he has become. Battered by life, hardened by betrayal, Malkom’s only connection to his humanity is through his thirst for vengeance.

When Carrow Graie had awakened from her abduction a week ago, she’d had a raging headache, cotton mouth, and a metal collar affixed around her neck.

Things had only gone downhill from there.

Tonight I might be hitting rock bottom, she thought as warden Fegley—a billyclub-carrying, no-balled loser—forced her down the corridor of cells to her doom.

“Dead Wicca walking,” the centaurs’ leader sneered from their cell as Carrow passed. He, like every other Lore creature imprisoned here in the immortal menagerie, suspected she was about to be offed.

“Shut the fuck up, Mr. Ed,” she said, earning a harsh yank on her collar from Fegley. Glaring at the mortal, she struggled against her cuffs. “Once I get my powers back, Fugley, I’ll curse you to fall in love. With your own bodily functions. If it comes out of your body, your heart will long for it.”

“Then I guess I’m lucky you’ve got this on.” Another jerk on the band at her neck—the mortals called it a torque. It mystically nullified her abilities and weakened her physically. Every species here had been hobbled in some way, making them controllable, even by mortals like Fegley. “Besides, witch, what makes you so sure you’re going to make it past the next hour?”

If these people execute me, I’m going to be sooo pissed. Unfortunately, that appeared to be in the cards. At the very least, she was about to be tortured or experimented on.

Hell, maybe then she could find out why anyone would have gone to the trouble of abducting her.

Will Carrow betray Malkom….

I knew I fell in love with Demon from the Dark when Carrow asked herself, What would Ripley do? As in bad-ass, ‘I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure’, alien ass-kicker Lt. Ripley. Instead of WWJD it is WWRD (and yes I’d buy the bumper sticker and matching bracelet is someone made one). This is by far, is my new favorite book of the series. Malkom’s story is not a pretty one, yet even in the guise of all that pain, he manages to still retain a shred of humanity when it comes to Carrow. I liked the fact that Carrow and Malkom spoke different languages. It added an interesting dynamic coupled with a great backstory, this book was by far the most riveting. And this is why I couldn’t put this book down. Hell, I even called my girls night out short so I could finish this book. I also confess to sneaking away during work hours and reading on my iphone in the bathroom stall. I’m not proud of myself.

This is one of the best IAD books of the series and if you haven’t picked up this book I WILL UNFRIEND YOU. I kid. I joke. Well…maybe, I might give you a bit of stink eye but I’m working on my passive aggressive tendencies. Smokinhotbooks says “Don’t miss out on this book” or she might be forced make you listen to the Barney Clean-Up song, with the matching dances.

Books in the Series I heart:

A Hunger Like No Other #1

Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night #3

Dark Desires After Dusk #5

Kiss of a Demon King #6

Pleasure of a Dark Prince #7

View Complete IAD List on Cole’s Website

Other Reviews:

Penelope’s Romance Reviews A+

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Genre: Paranormal Romance (448 pages)

Series: Immortals After Dark #9

Amazon 

A DANGEROUS BEAUTY…

Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her — and those she loves.

AN UNCONTROLLABLE NEED…

Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own.

THAT LEAD TO A PLEASURE SO WICKED….

From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia’s greatest weakness — her wanton desire for him.

It feels like we’ve all been waiting for Garreth and Lucia story’s since Hunger Like No Other (Lachlan & Emma). Well, at least I have. I was this close (pinches fingers) to becoming a stalker. I’m sure Kresely Cole is overjoyed with my exuberance, because let’s face it, isn’t stalking  the most complimentary form of flattery? Or is that copying? I’m sure it says something in my parole papers. Just kidding, or not… Muwhahahaha. Ok, now I’m scaring myself and my cat.    

Back to Garreth and Lucia. Folks, I’ve fallen hard for the brooding, delicious Scottish werewolves, or Scottie Wolves, as I fondly call them and Garreth is one more wolfy Scotsman I can add to my list. It’s not everyday that fictional characters with husky brogues beat out red wine and chocolate on my desert island survival list, but somehow they have. 

We begin Pleassure of A Dark Prince  with a bit of backtracking…all the way to  Lachlan and Emma’s story . Cole does a magnificent job of reiterating the pertinent points without completely re-copying scenes we have read from previous books (cough Bad Moon Rising cough). My hat is off to her, she must have a steel trap for a memory and one amazing timeline cheat-sheet. We learn just how Garreth becomes smitten with the frosty Lucia and what better way to have two characters meet than at a battle of man muscles and testosterone. Otherwise known as a Rugby match. 

We also learn a bit more about my favorite, character Regin, and how closely tied her past is with Lucia’s. And how Lucia’s gift for archery came at the price of her own sacrifice and free will. Left for broken and left for dead, a fifteen year old Regin carries Lucia to the Goddess and pleads with her to “fix” Lucia at any cost.  The Goddess agrees to this bargain but Lucia must devote her life to becoming the greatest warrior/Archer to ever live. Oh, and she must remain pure. i.e. no funny business. Now, if that isn’t a deal with the devil I don’t know what is. 

“I hope they’re in town. I want to face them!”Regin stood and brandished one of the two swords that she usually wore in sheaths crisscrossed her back. “I’ll lunch on their balls!”

That was Regin’s new threat : to lunch on enemies’ balls. “Reege, when you threaten males with that, I don’t think it has the result you intend. They think less Lunchables, more tea bag.” (Lucia)

What I liked:

Garreth’s awesome prowess on the Rugby field, and his first meeting with Lucia. I’ve even re-imagined the story with myself as the earnest towel-boy wiping the dripping sweat off their brows. I’m wearing peekaboo booty shorts, minus the cellulite, with a perky C-bust (no need to be greedy) and a cropped shirt that says “Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy”. 

I also, thought Cole did a great job of making Lucia’s ‘born again’ approach to sex, realistic and fun, without sounding preachy or distracting from their relationship. Sometimes when authors have these insurmountable obstacles, they are so believable that when the character of interest finally overcomes them it seems impossible and too forced. 

What I didn’t like

I found at some points I had a hard time connecting with Lucia. I’ve so enjoyed her previous femme fatals that I missed her other female’s character’s humorous side. I know not to expect each character to be the same, but Cole’s humor is so witty that I kept wanting Lucia to lighten-up a bit. Then again, not having sex for thousands of years would have made me a bit bitchtastic too. 

Questions:

Usually Kresley Cole will have a excerpt to her newest IAD book, instead we are given a very interesting epilogue with hints for her next book. Who do we think is next? Carrow (kick ass friend of Mari from Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night), Regin, (finally… will we get a Berserker story), or Lothaire…god anyone else having a Karen Marie Moning flash back here? Hint Click Link If You Want to Know. Hint: Don’t Click Link If You Don’t Want to Know.

Was anyone else imagining Michael Sheen shouting… “We can be slaves, or we can be… LYCANS!  Sorry, was that tacky?

What Cole character’s HEA (Happily Ever After) are you foaming at the mouth for?

KC: I really want the story of Sabine’s sister *mumbles* whatshername (from Kiss of a Demon King) and that scary winged dude that has been chasing after them. He kind of reminds me of one of the character’s from a Jaid Black book *trips down erotic memory lane*

K-Khan: I’m for Regin or Carrow’s story. Anyone who quotes the movie Aliens is worth reading about. Nuff’ said.

Rating

Favorite IAD Reads

Hunger Like No Other (Book 1) – Amazon 

Wicked Deeds On A Winter’s Night  (Book 3) – Amazon 

Dark Desires After Dusk 

Other Reviews

Queen B –  B 

Katiebabs-  A- 

Smexy Books  4.5/5 

Kresley Cole’s Website | Purchase From Amazon 

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 Untouchabe by Kresely Cole

Tempt me Eternally by Gena Showalter

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: October 2009

Rating: 4 Smokin’ Smooches

This book was purchased by moi

Kresley Cole: Murdock and Danielas Story IAD

I found Cole’s imagery of the Icere world to be fantastic! What’s not to love about a Viking-like race that thrives in a winter wonderland of constant subzero temperatures.

I don’t know what it is about Vikings, the metal-horned helmets, tall Nordic features or supreme alpha presence but I can’t get enough of them. I was so utterly enraptured by this aspect of the story that I almost felt let down by Daniela’s chosen mate. I guess I had come to expect the typical male/female paradigm of Cole’s earlier books, male lusts after female, female makes the male work for it and then ka-boom, fireworks! For the most part I enjoyed this story but I couldn’t help feeling that Murdoch just didn’t deserve Daniela. He was a commitment-phobic ladies’ man that couldn’t be tied down by the trappings of love or bounded to someone who he couldn’t touch.  This dynamic was so shatteringly realistic of real relationships that I felt a bit put off. Where was the unsung hero of the lore to come in and swoop me off my feet? He’s no hunky lykae that’s for sure! 

The richness of Daniele’s Icere background and unique aspects of her own race made me wonder what the story would have been like if she had ended up with someone from her homeland. I felt that Daniela’s story was so enriched by this mysterious race of lore-folk that I kept wanting more to happen. Murdoch was such an ass for most of the book that I for one, wanted to stand up for Daniela! She deserved better! Had I been her matchmaker I would have set her up with the Icere male that found her and brought her back to her homeland. Alas, everything did work out in the long run and the book was still great but Murdoch, you better watch yourself. One wondering eye or thought of giving up on your commitment and I’ll petition Cole fans to have your ass sent back to N’awlins!  

(Murdock dialing Daniela’s  number, 867-5309)

A woman’s voice said, “If you’ve reached this message and you weren’t trying to contact Regin the Radiant” –

Regin?

Then I know three things about you. 

One of my half sisters just tooled your ass and never wants to see you again.

B. You’re pop-culturally illiterate not to know that this number is a song. 

And three, you’ll never tell another male about this humiliating prank, so the number trick can be continued indefinitely. 

If, however, you called for moi, then say something to amuse me after the beep.”

That little witch…

Gena Showalter: Aleaha Love (Shapeshifter) and Breean’s Story- Alien Huntress Series 

The Rakans are back! Ms. Showalter hit one out of the park with this short story.  She melded the fun, flirty dialogue that I so loved from Devyn in Seduce the Darkness and piqued my interest with a new shape-shifter species.  We go back in time in a bit to before Devyn’s story and we meet Macy/aka Aleaha Love. Aleaha the long lost friend of the vampire Bride.  I don’t know why I am so fascinated with the Rakans but I just can’t get enough of these guy’s: golden skin, honeyed-smell/taste, washboard abs, a warrior’ strength and a libido that promises to never have a headache. If you’re looking for an entertaining yet heart-felt read I recommend this series, you won’t be disappointed.

Should’ve stayed home, Aleaha Love thought.  ‘Cause we’re gonna get spanked. Hard. And not in a good way. 

“What. Ignoring me?” Devyn said with another of those snarky laughs. “Wasn’t like I was going to ask to feel you up or anything, I mean, I was just gonna surprise you with my handsiness.”

Aleaha: “ Can you take nothing seriously?”

Devyn: “Hello, have you met me? I take making out very seriously.”

I think if you’re like me and can’t wait to get your hands on anything written by Gena Showalter and Kresley Cole – this should be on your shelf immediately.  If your not I would suggest you wait until this comes out in paperback unless you don’t mind the hardback pricing.  Target and Borders were selling this book A LOT cheaper than Barnes and Noble – don’t make the mistake I did, I’m still “not over” my $6.00 B&N pout. 

Related Posts:  Seduce the Darkness by Gena Showalter Devyn’s  Story – Alien Huntress Series    

Kresley Cole’s IAD Series – Favorite Books in This Series

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My favorite books in her series so far: A Hunger Like No Other (1st full book – she has a short story Playing Easy to Get), Wicked Deeds on a Wicked Night, and Dark Desires After Dusk.  To quote my favorite show The Office, “Well, you always left me satisfied and smiling.”     

If you’ve  read Kresely Cole’s IAD series let us know what you think!

P.S.  You just have to love someone that quotes the movie Aliens, only the best movie ever.

Possibly Related Posts:

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• Demon From the Dark by Kresley Cole – What Would Ripley Do? (WWRD)
• Pleasure Of A Dark Prince by Kresley Cole & My Love For Scottish Wolfies
• Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter, There Hasn’t Been This Good of A Match Since Vodka Found Orange Juice