Spaz Reviews: Pleasure of a Dark Prince – Kresley Cole
August 13, 2010 in Reviews
- Mass Market Paperback: 431 pages
- Publisher: Pocket (February 16, 2010)
- List Price: $ 7.99 US
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1416580956
- ISBN-13: 978-1416580959
Buy Pleasure of a Dark Prince at:
Lykae… valkyries… kobolds… Oh my!
So I have a confession to make. I am a complete Kresley Cole Immortals After Dark series über Fan Girl. Pleasure of a Dark Prince is the 9th story in the series, and it fully delivers everything us hardcore fans were anticipating. This series is original, hot, action-packed, and hilarious. Like all of Ms. Cole’s other IAD novels, once you open to the first page of this story, it is a a constant battle with yourself to put it down until the last page. There is passion, awesomely snarky and strong females, and incomparable characters of lore such as the kick-ass valkyries.
Pleasure of a Dark Prince starts out just before events of the first (full-length) IAD book Hunger Like No Other, which is when we are first introduced to the mysterious Garreth the Lykae Prince, and Lucia the bow-wielding valkyrie Huntress. Lucia is on a mission to hunt down a special relic that will help free her from a curse laid upon her 1,000 years ago. This curse forces her to remain chaste, and anytime she misses a shot with her bow she feels horrible unimaginable pain. Lucia first spots Garreth at a rugby game while she is hunting a mythical kobold. Garreth notices her and immediately recognizes her as the one he has been long looking for – his mate. He cannot let her go. He follows her on her journey all over the world, from the swamps of Louisiana to Inquitos, Amazonia.
What makes this story so awesome, like the stories previously, are the complexity of the characters. Garreth does not have the tortured past that many of us love in our alpha males, but his deep loyalty, perseverance, and sense of purpose are just as alluring. He follows and protects Lucia for over a year, and instead of it turning out to be incredibly creepy and stalker-ish, it is somewhat sexy and even sweet. He is such a contradiction in that he is an arrogant and smart-mouthed Scot, but is also a true gentleman and is hell-bound and determined to court Lucia (he says her name “Loosha”… swoon).
Lucia is one of the female characters we know the least from the series. She is not necessarily boring, just not as over-the-top as other of Ms. Cole’s heroines, such as Regin the Radiant, and Nucking Futs Nix. We discover that unlike Garreth, Lucia does have quite the tortured past and the trauma of her past presents some of the biggest hurdles in their relationship. With Garreth, Lucia has to fight overwhelming fervor in order to stay true to her vows and her entire reason for being. This creates excellent nail-biting tension.
For paranormal romance fans, this series is a MUST-READ. Pleasure of a Dark Prince is another fantastic addition to one of the best paranormal romance series published. We meet again many of the characters we got to know and love in earlier books – Lachlain, Emma, Nucking Futs Nix, Regin the Radiant, and my faaaaaaaavorite Bowen. I loved how Ms. Cole visits earlier activities and events from the series in this one, tying them all together. This book has a great mix of mix of edge-of-your-set action, suspense, humor, and hot romance. Many surprises are unveiled as the plot unfolds and there is quite a climactic ending! The Epilogue will leave you counting down the days for the next book in the series out later this month, Demon From The Dark.
Immortals After Dark series reading order:
- Playing Easy to Get (anthology)
- A Hunger Like No Other
- No Rest For The Wicked
- Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night
- Dark Needs at Night’s Edge
- Dark Desires After Dusk
- Kiss of a Demon King
- Deep Kiss of Winter (anthology)
- Pleasure of a Dark Prince
- Demon From The Dark – scheduled release for August 31, 2010
OMG I love Kresley Cole’s IAD series too. GAH I can’t wait to get the next one. Great review. Glad I am not the only obsessed one
Oh the next one is going to be sooo good, with Carrow “The Incarcerated”, Mariketa’s best friend!
This is one of my favorite series. Kresley Cole is my hero. She’s managed to do something wonderful. She’s got the snark, and the funny, but she’s also got the heavy plot and the intense action, and that wrist slitting angst. I haven’t yet managed to blend the two in my own work. I admire her like cake.
I could not agree with you more. The more I think about why I love this series, the more it comes down to her female characters. I think she writes some of the best female characters in the genre, hands down. The woman has got some serious freaking TALENT.
I adore Cole’s IAD series. Fab review Pam.
ME TOO! Thanks! Can’t wait for Carrow The Incarcerated’s book in 2 weeks
Loosha, Oh, Loosha!!! This is one of my fave IAD books. And Garreth is one magnificent hunk of lykae meat
Great review. Thanks!
Thanks!! While Garreth isn’t my most favorite Hero in this series (my heart belongs to Bowen) he was definitely second in line. LOVED!
I could never get into the IAD series, as hard as I tried. I think the heroes with the Scottish accent always wore me out. But that has not stopped me from trying to read them. I am definitely trying Demon from the Dark that releases next month. Hopefully the hero will not have the doona, canna, dialect and I will love it! Great review Pamela!
Doona fash yerself, Lass! I admit the first one was hard to get the Scottish stuff, I had nooooooooo idea what he was saying half the time, but the female characters are why I returned for the 2nd bk in the series and I was hooked from them on. In Demon From The Dark, neither main character are Scots, so maybe you’ll get in to it more!
Thanks for stopping by!
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[...] novel in the Immortals After Dark series and as I’ve mentioned previously in my review of Pleasure of a Dark Prince, this is one of my most cherished Paranormal Romance series. We are quickly approaching The [...]