• Mass Market Paperback: 431 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (February 16, 2010)
• List Price: $ 7.99 US
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416580956
• ISBN-13: 978-1416580959

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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