Review: Demon from the Dark

Demon from the Dark
Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance
Immortals After Dark/Book 10
Pocket/August 31, 2010

*Spoilers for Previous Books*

From the back cover ~

A Dangerous Demon She Can't Resist...

Malkom Slaine: tormented by his sordid past and racked by vampiric hungers, he's pushed to the brink by the green-eyed beauty under his guard.

A Maddening Witch He Aches To Claim...

Carrow Graie: hiding her own sorrows, she lives only for the next party or prank. Until she meets a tortured warrior worth saving.

Trapped Together In A Savage Prison...

In order for Malkom and Carrow to survive, he must unleash both the demon and the vampire inside him. When Malkom becomes the nightmare his own people feared, will he lose the woman he craves body and soul?

After the cliff hanger ending of Pleasures of a Dark Prince, I had to start Demon from the Dark. And boy am I glad I did! Malkom Slaine has got to be one of my favorite heroes. Add in the wickedly smart Carrow and you have a couple who create a heroic team.

Carrow Graie is a powerful witch but like any witch, she gets her power from a specific source. Being imprisoned by a sadistic bastard isn't her idea of fun. She's desperate to get out and with little hope of escape for herself or her friends, she takes the one opportunity offered her. It's not much of a choice - it's either take the job or torture and death will follow, and not necessarily for just her. The story starts in a dark place, picking up where Pleasure of a Dark Prince left off. It's dark for both Carrow and Malkom but for different reasons. As I mentioned, Carrow is a witch and usually, I have little interest in witches but I liked Carrow a lot. She is a practical witch who deals in commerce and survival. She's also a modern witch and while she can be a little too self-absorbed at times, she is loyal to her coven. She's not perfect and makes some mistakes but her determination leaves you cheering for her.

Malkom Slaine - oh, lordy how I loved this tortured, wounded, fucked-up hero! Malkom has been through hell and back and still makes the occasional trip there. He is both demon and vampire but hates his vampire side, trying to suppress it as best he can. When he and Carrow first meet, they have trouble communicating because Malkom has forgotten how to speak the Vampire language aka English. Carrow's Demonish is rusty but they stumble along with Malkom giving orders and Carrow not always following them. Their interactions are humorous, with Carrow making fun of Malkom and Malkom being a typical male and not understanding Carrow, no matter the language! Malkom decides Carrow is his and he protects what is his. I loved how he was careful with her, wanting to take care of her while learning to trust her. He had been alone for so very long, it was difficult for him to trust.

Carrow and Malkom have a rocky start to their romance but they do get a romance. It's sweet and funny and sexy which is odd when they spend quite a bit of the time battling one enemy after another. And these battles are messy and bloody giving Carrow and Malkom all the more reason to enjoy getting clean. But Malkom hates the water so Carrow must gentle him to it. There is a scene where he goes into the water for her even though he has horrible memories of water. That for me, shows how much he is willing to do for her. But Cole makes these two work very hard for the HEA. Even though Malkom had decided early on that Carrow was his and you could certainly say he had a "mine" moment, it isn't that easy. They end up working together to survive and getting to know each other, making that mine moment believable. One minor irritant - Malkom biting off his claws so he could touch Carrow intimately. All I could visualize were jagged, broken fingers nails. Not something you want touching you intimately! I'm guessing he has strong, sharp teeth that worked more like heavy duty nail clippers but still, could get the imagine out of my mind. LOL

The plot and story arc move along at a decent pace. I never felt like there was too much action or too much down time. Cole does a great job at pacing the story, blending just he right amount of action and romance. I'm fascinated with the Order and want to know more about them - no doubt they will feature prominently as the Accession draws nearer.

There are many secondary characters and quite a few shouting out for their story to be told. Apparently Regin was shouting the loudest (hard to believe *snort*). Her story is next and while I like her, I'm not so sure about her hero. Dreams of a Dark Warrior is out now with Lothaire's book due out next year. Lots to look forward to, Nix - soon I hope! Demon from the Dark will be a hard one to top!

Rating: A

Books in the series ~

The Warlord Wants Forever (Novella in Playing Easy to Get)
A Hunger Like No Other
No Rest for the Wicked
Wicked Deeds on a Winters Night
Dark Needs at Night's Edge
Kiss of a Demon King
Untouchable (Novel in duology, Deep Kiss of Winter)
Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Demon from the Dark
Dreams of a Dark Warrior
Lothaire (January 10, 2012)

Review: Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance
Immortals After Dark/Book 9
Pocket/February 16, 2010

*Possible Spoilers for Previous Books*

From the author's website ~

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.

Finally started up this series again. I had let it fall by the wayside after having such a hard time finishing Kiss of a Demon King. That book just didn't work for me. I didn't like the hero or the heroine. So after a break, I came back with a vengeance! I flew through Pleasure of a Dark Prince and Demon from the Dark. Both reminded me why I enjoyed this series so much!

Lucia went through hell at a young age. She made a huge mistake while a teenager and is still paying for, centuries later. One thing I've always loved about this series is the camaraderie and sisterhood of the Valkyries. They can be real bitches but even at their bitchiest, they stick together. They've got each others' backs. Lucia is closest with Regin, they are cohorts in crime or at the very least, in finding trouble.

Garreth MacRieve is the heir to Lykae throne and has been looking for his brother, the king of the Lykae, who has been missing for almost two centuries. It's while Garreth is in New Orleans that he senses his mate nearby. Too bad she wants nothing to do with him. Garreth is easy to like. He's funny, with that smartass humor that I love. He's also relentless when it comes to pursuing his mate. It's in his lykae blood, to never give up. I liked how he did this kind of one step forward, two steps back, then run like crazy to catch up with Lucia. He's an alpha and while he does exert his alpha-ness, he also has this gentle side that he shows to his mate. And I loved how he pronounced Lucia "Lousha" with that sexy Scottish burr.

After misunderstandings and imprisonment, Lucia and Garreth find themselves on a quest, searching for something that is said to have the ability to kill a god. It had a very Indiana Jones feel with a journey through the Amazon, complete with dangerous terrain, monsters and enemies at every turn. Cole keeps things moving quickly with lots of action. Garreth and Lucia hold their own against their enemies and work together to defeat them. The one thing about the Valkyries - that don't play the "girl card" when it comes to a fight. They can kick-ass just as well as the boys.

The story takes place during the same time-line as previous books. While I knew what the outcome for some of the characters story lines, I didn't know what would happened to Garreth and Lucia and that's what kept my interest. I did find some of the repetition of the previous plots hard to get into since I knew the outcome. Like when Emma is hurt and dying, it was emotional for the characters but not so much for me. Lucia wasn't always an easy characters to like. She's loyal and honorable but continues to punish herself, and in turn, punishes Garreth, because of her one big mistake as a teen.

The ending leaves the reader standing on a cliff, just waiting to get pushed over the edge. I loved it and immediately started the next book, Demon From the Dark.

Rating: B+

Books in the series ~

The Warlord Wants Forever (Novella in Playing Easy to Get)
A Hunger Like No Other
No Rest for the Wicked
Wicked Deeds on a Winters Night
Dark Needs at Night's Edge
Kiss of a Demon King
Untouchable (Novel in duology, Deep Kiss of Winter)
Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Demon from the Dark
Dreams of a Dark Warrior
Lothaire (January 10, 2012)