Liviania‘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
Kresley Cole’s popular Immortals After Dark series begins with A Hunger Like No Other. The book opens as Lachlain, King of the Lykae, escapes a torture chamber to pursue the scent of his mate. He’s waited centuries for her to appear. His mate, to his displeasure, turns out to be recent Tulane grad Emmaline Troy, a half-vampire, half-valkyrie. She’s a bit of a coward instead of the warrior she has the potential to be, and Lachlain scares her when he abducts her in Paris.
I expected to love A Hunger Like No Other since it’s a favorite with fans of the series and I greatly enjoyed Dark Need’s At Night’s Edge. However, the hero-almost-rapes-the-heroine-but-she-falls-in-love-anyway storyline just does not work for me. I felt like I was reading a novel from the eighties, rather than 2006. Cole did it well; because of the book’s events, Emma becomes stronger and embraces her heritage. In the end, she kicks butt and takes names. I wish she had more significant cameos in the following books.
Lachlain, though . . . as soon as he redeemed himself to me, he would do something else to piss me off. First it’s the old, “You’re saying no but your body wants me,” line. Then it’s lying to Emma at a point when the truth would clearly work better. (Actually, he lies to Emma almost constantly. That’s a great basis for a relationship.) Then it’s getting Emma drunk so she’ll be easy. He manages to be enough of a man to not take advantage of her, which I liked, but I did not like that he did these things continually.
While the overall premise did not work for me, I enjoyed the interracial relationship aspects of the book. Cole achieved a comfortable blend of the real world and the paranormal. Lachlain has a strong hatred of vampires due to his past with them, but he only knows of the Fallen. He also does not realize Emma is part valkyrie and judges her completely by her vampire heritage. Emma knows almost nothing about the Lore. The two learn about each other’s culture and move past their initial prejudices. Lachlain must also gain the approval of her family. (So must Nikolai Wroth, who became the vampire lover of Emma’s aunt in Cole’s story in the anthology Playing Easy to Get.) To me, the mechanics of their developing a lasting relationship are far more interesting and plausible than the “I’m falling in love with the guy who kidnapped and abused me!” part.
I found myself reading A Hunger Like No Other for the antics of the other valkyrie and for the subplot dealing with Emma’s discovery of her father’s identity. The romance just did not interest me. Cole did the well with her premise, but I still found it too off-putting.
Grade: C
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.
Click on the Immortals After Dark series tag for more excerpts, more reviews, and more everything on this series.
LOL he gets her drunk [in a very creative way, I might add] to make the claiming easier! I think my sympathy for him after being burnt alive for 900 (?) years helped a lot. My friends and I are gruesome, and have discussed the worst way to die. Crucifixion is really bad- not only are you nailed down and hung up, but you suffocate to death… and being burnt explodes your veins.
Ok ew.
I liked Lachlain, he was tormented, and a product of his time.
I read a short story by Ms Cole related to that series a few years ago and it didn’t grab my attention enough to make me want to read the actual series. Yet last year I found A Hunger Like No Other in a used books store and bought it anyway since it had received such great reviews everywhere. I figured maybe Ms Cole was one of those authors who did better with a longer format. But I never felt the urge to read it and considering this review, I think it’s going to wait at least a few months longer :).
Personally, I think drowning would be less enjoyable than burning to death. For one thing, in usual circumstances you would suffocate before you burned to death.
Mary M. – Don’t let me put you off the series! I’m lukewarm about AHLNO, but the two latest are both terrific.
I LOVED this book. I thought Lachlain was by turns dishonorable and selfish until he figured out who he was dealing with, and yet I still had sympathy for him – a difficult thing for an author to balance.
It was an amazing read.
I love this book and both books 2 and 3-which I’m re-reading now.
This is a fantastic series, makes up for the F** up of Lover Enshrined.
I think I’m going to stay away from Ward. I don’t need to get addicted to a series that suffers from a drastic decline in quality. There’s only so many times I can do that to myself.
I like this book and love the rest of the series!!!
I’m always so surprised when people say they love this one. To each their own but I find it by faf the weakest of Cole’s work. I’d give it a C- and only grade it that well because of the Valkyrie and the scene of Emma confronting her legacy.
You know, I actually liked Lover Enshrined more than I thought – and more than the one previous [sad/it says something I can’t remember the previous title.]
I liked this book a lot. Fun and funny how vastly tastes vary.
Oh! Right – I had another reason for commenting. p.s. – the book link doesn’t work. Maybe someone should check it out.
Yay, another person who thought it was the weakest!
It would be boring if everyone’s tastes coincided. I though AHLNO was okay, but if I’d read it first I likely wouldn’t have tried the rest of the series.
Lime – I checked all the hyperlinks in the post and they all spawned browser windows to the right data. Which one didn’t work for you and which browser do you use?
I loved this book it is simply magnificent.