Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark)

Dark Desires After Dusk
by Kresley Cole
Release Date:  May 20, 2008
Publisher: Pocket Books
Book #5 in the Immortals After Dark series
Number of Pages:  369
Kindle
Source:  MCL
Paranormal Romance M/F
Rating:  NC-17
Read 12/22/20 to 12/25/20

A seductive beauty he can never have. Yet can’t resist…Cadeon Woede will stop at nothing to atone for the one wrong that will haunt him forever. But once he secures the key to his redemption, the halfling Holly Ashwin, Cade finds that the woman he thought we could use for his own ends and then forget haunts him as much as his past.

A tormented warrior she should fear, but can’t deny…Raised as a human, Holly never knew that some frightening legends are real until she encounters a brutal demon who inexplicably guards her like a treasure. Thrust into a sensual new world of myth and power, with him as her protector, she begins to crave the demon’s wicked touch.

Surrender to dark desires…Yet just when he earns Holly’s trust, will Cade be forced to betray the only woman who can state his wildest needs–and claim his heart?

Straight talk: I was never really a fan of Cadeon’s. Sometimes it was just a feeling of meh, other times I really disliked him. But I never felt we got to know him enough to really have a strong feeling one way or another, so I knew Kresley Cole would pull out the stops with him when it came to his story. Of course, after reading this story, I love Cadeon.

I’m one of those readers that really hates secret keeping in stories. Especially when there are so many opportunities for a character to fess up. The fact that, in this case, it really is for the best for all involved for Cadeon to keep his secrets helped. On top of that, he hated his secret keeping way more than even I ever did. It was tearing him up inside. In the beginning, there were things that drove me crazy about Cade. His is, after all, an extremely good looking and charismatic demon. After living for over 900 years it’s only natural he’s a cocky man. And I felt there was a disregard for Holly’s issues, although I had a feeling his indifference would have a reason eventually. While he dismissed her need for her medication, he was also very aware of her idiosyncrasies and made sure to work within her parameters as much as possible as she went through her change.

Often in paranormal romance the “human” can be annoying while coming to terms with the fact that there are things in this world that are supernatural. For once, I didn’t feel that way. Holly didn’t immediately accept everything, but she also didn’t discount what happened in front of her face, which made her transition into the world of the Lore so much more palatable. She is a smart and caring woman who, unfortunately, had things happen in her life that nobody truly understood since she was adopted. Her adoptive parents were wonderful and only wanted what was best for her. Not being of the Lore, they didn’t realize they weren’t handling things properly. Watching Holly discover this new world on top of really getting to experience her emotions fully was a joy.

The comradery Holly and Cade have is wonderful with the added bonus of smoking hot chemistry. There is no fighting the pull, no matter how hard they try.

One sticky issue for me is Michigan. I’m from Michigan and the description of our topography threw me out of the story. Very inaccurate. I know this is fantasy, but it just took me by surprise. Not only do we not have anything I would consider a mountain, there is also no crossing by car into Canada from the Upper Peninsula. But whatever, I have to let that go because everything else I loved.

And what’s up with Rydstrom? From the start, when Cade references Rydstrom’s secret weakness I was intrigued. I guess I’ll have to wait for his story, which is thankfully next. The beginning and end of this story has me panting for Rydstrom’s HEA.

4 stars