A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark)

A Hunger Like No Other
by Kresley Cole
Release Date:  March 28, 2006
Publisher: Pocket Star
Book #1 in the Immortals After Dark series
Number of Pages:  384
Kindle
Source:  MCL
Paranormal Romance M/F
Rating:  NC-17
Read 6/9/20 to 6/10/20

 

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?

I’m sure many will say I’m late to the game on this one. I’ve been hearing a lot about the Immortals After Dark series the last couple of years, but never actually got around to reading any of the books until now. I’m kind of a Twitter lurker. I don’t say a lot, but I keep up quite a bit on what’s happening in the book world (and the world in general) by scrolling through my feed, which is filled with authors I follow. I don’t remember how or through who I would see the posts from Jen and Sarah of the Fated Mates podcast, but I kept thinking it sounded like a podcast I’d enjoy. I’m one of those that can’t start things from the middle, not even podcasts, so I started from the beginning (Oct 2018)…and realized they would be discussing this series which I hadn’t read.  Oops! I hate spoilers! So, of course I got my hands on a copy of the first book (they recommend starting with this story as opposed to book .5) in order to read along. And here we are…

A few years ago, I would have said I wasn’t much of a fan of paranormal romance. I enjoyed many things about Twilight (the books, not so much the movies), but oddly enough those stories turned me off of the vampire thing. I’m glad that changed a couple years back when I gave in and started reading some of the paranormal romance that was being recommended to me. Why did I ever think I wouldn’t like this genre? It’s sexy and exciting and so much fun! I love how different authors have different lore for their vampires and shapeshifters and witches. 

A Hunger Like No Other is a perfect introduction to this Immortal After Dark world. Not only did I get some of the lore about the various “creatures”, there were also a lot of characters introduced that have me looking forward to more. Really, all of the Valkyrie have me intrigued. And, from what I gather, there are even more races of mystical beings out there that we’ll learn about as the series goes along.

As for the main characters, oh boy they had their ups and downs. The way this story starts had me absolutely loving Lachlain. He was swoony to the nth degree! But then he actually meets up with his mate, Emma, and I’m ready to give Lachlain a piece of my mind. That’s partly the era this was written (well before the Me Too movement) and partly so we, the readers, can see his growth. To be fair, Lachlain was last out and about among other people more than 150 years ago.  Times they are a-changing. Don’t fret, he will redeem himself and learn from his mistakes. And then I couldn’t get enough of him.

Emma is a bit of a milquetoast in the beginning. At least to my eyes. That can become grating after a while when it’s a main character. Again, I believe this was by design. Not only to show how much Emma was sheltered growing up, but to show how she also experiences her own personal growth right alongside Lachlain.

These two have phenomenal chemistry. While I was rooting for them to “mate”, I was also enjoying the tease and the way Emma (eventually) took control of the situation. There’s something about seeing an alpha male in the grips of restraint in order to be the man his partner deserves that just does it for me.

There is a lot these two need to work out, and things take a bit of an unexpected turn in order for them to both realize their true worth and what they can and will mean to each other. I love the way the author takes care of the problem in this story (no spoilers!) and it made me excited to see where else she can take all of these characters. I love when an author can surprise me once in a while.

4 stars

Note: I wrote the above review before listening to the previously mentioned Fated Mates podcast so their opinions wouldn’t sway my impressions of this story. I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of the same opinions, as well as a deeper dive into the story. If you’ve read these books, or are planning on reading them, I so far would highly recommend you check the podcast out.