Liviania’s review of Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Immortals After Dark, Book 8 ) by Kresley Cole
Paranormal romance released by Pocket 16 Feb 10

Kresley Cole earned her place as one of those authors that I buy immediately.  (Well, that I buy the paperback immediately.)  With Pleasure of a Dark Prince, there were some unforeseen complications (also known as blatant lies on the Barnes & Noble site) that led to me telling far too many people I wanted Pleasure of a Dark Prince before I got my hands on the novel. 

Although I forgot the title the first time, prompting the clerk to ask me for a different title.  I came up with Winter’s Wicked Kiss.  Not an actual Cole title.  Given that the next cover is also black and white, it’s going to be even harder to keep the books apart.

While knowing the titles is a daunting task, the Immortals After Dark series has been fairly welcoming to newcomers.  However, Cole is starting to elaborate on couples first mentioned in earlier books.  First, the novella in Deep Kiss of Winter, “Untouchable,” tells about the last Wroth brother and his heroine, Daniela. Now, Pleasure of a Dark Prince explores Lucia and Garreth’s relationship, which was originally mentioned in A Hunger Like No Other.  (Yes, I did have to look that title up.)  I enjoyed seeing Emma and Lachlain’s relationship from the valkyrie point of view – and that a werewolf agreed Emma’s family had a right to interfere.  However, I wonder how a new reader would feel about that subplot, which moves fairly quickly.

Though the books are becoming less welcoming to new readers, the romance is still enjoyable.  I did have more problems with Garreth and Lucia than some of her other couples. Garreth’s determination is attractive, as is his desire to aid Lucia.  But he ignores her ability to take care of herself too often, and he’s dismissive of what she obviously considers an important vow.  On the other hand, Lucia seemed too reluctant to tell him why the vow is important.  Yes, it was a shameful part of her past and might make Garreth angry, but Garreth would understand her vow more if she at least told him, “If we have sex together I’ll be defenseless.”

That doesn’t mean I didn’t love them together.  It was fun to watch Garreth work his way into Lucia’s heart – and to see them figure out how to get off together without penetration.  Also, the opening scene where she keeps shooting him and he keeps flirting?  It’s awesome in a very strange way.

For fans of Regin or Lothaire, they show up a decent amount in Pleasure of a Dark Prince and it looks like they will be in Demon from the Dark, though neither will be the hero or heroine.  (For a few brief, shining moments I thought the next book would be Regin and Aiden’s.  Alas.)  Overall, this isn’t going to replace my favorites in the series.  But Cole definitely left me wanting more of the Immortals After Dark.

Grade: B-

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Summary:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole enraptures again with this seductive tale of a fierce werewolf prince who will stop at nothing to protect the lovely archer he covets from afar.

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.

Read an excerpt here.

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