Limecello’s review of A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark, Book 1) by Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance released by Pocket Star Books 28 Mar 06

I heard a lot of good things about Kresley Cole, and decided to hunt up her backlist, especially because I had her new book coming to me. I don’t mind reading books in a series out of order (blasphemous!) but I prefer not to if I can help it.

The prologue grips you, even as you realize you’re reading sentence fragments. A lot of repeated sentence fragments. Also, as someone who was taken to see Underworld too many times in too short a period in theatres, I was very conscious of similarities. In fact, a chapter or so in, I quickly flipped to the copyright date to check. Yup – postdating Underworld. Luckily, other than the race conflict, Emmaline and Lachlain in no way reminded me of Beckensdale as “Selene” or Carpenter as “Michael.”

Something unique about Cole’s writing is that her heroines have a tight knit safety net, while the heroes are the loners. I loved how serious the plot was, but the irreverent humor and pop culture woven throughout the book. Of course, there’s also a lot of hot and heavy scenes, after all, Lachlan has been looking for Emma for more than a millennium. He’s a bit, um, eager.

It’s been a long time since I so enjoyed reading about two characters. Their stories were fun and involved, but not saccharine. The secondary characters were zany and stood out, but didn’t distract from the main story. Various themes were developed, but each fed into the other, weaving together an extremely well written story. There was no point where I thought “that doesn’t fit” or “this is just too much.” Emma and Lachlain continued to develop and surprise me.

If you’re looking for a new and fresh paranormal that has substance but isn’t too heavy, this is the perfect book for you. I strongly recommend reading it.

Grade: A-

Summary:

A mythic warrior who’ll stop at nothing to possess her… After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he’s waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/ half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.

A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy… Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents-until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae -and their notorious dark desires-ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.

An all consuming desire… Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?

Read an excerpt here.