Review: The Darkest Passion (#5)

The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the story of Aeron and Olivia. Aeron - possessed by the demon of Wrath and Olivia - a warrior angel sent to kill Aeron. Only, she can't do it. She sees the good in him and can't make herself kill him. Instead, she chooses to fall from the heavens to be with him.

OK - so....what I liked: I enjoy the relationships between the couples and the characters. That's never a problem with any of the Lords of the Underworld books.

What I didn't like: Everything is always tied up so neatly....in the span of just a few pages. I don't mind the resolutions, but sometimes....I would like to see a better explanation. I don't need the conflict resolution tied up and presented to me in a neat 3-page package.

One more thing.....the relationship between Aeron and his demon "pet", Legion. Let's just say it got creepy. It didn't go too far, thankfully, but it did go creepy. Just sayin'.

But as with all of the LOTU books, they are quick reads and are always entertaining and enjoyable. I think Showalter's writing style is better suited for YA books (that's how they sometimes read to me....other than the hot sexy parts). But as long as she keeps writing for this series, I will keep reading them.

Review: The Darkest Angel (#4.5)

Heart of Darkness: The Darkest Angel\Love Me to Death\Lady of the Nile by Gena Showalter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK - I only read "The Darkest Angel" by Gena Showalter. It's the first story/Novella in the book. So my rating is based only on that.

So far in the LOTU series - I have not been a fan of the novellas. They seem to take away from the main focus of the story - although I'm sure there is a higher purpose to them that will be revealed at some point.

But this book was an exception. It DOES keep inline with the current progress of the story. And I quite enjoyed it. Granted, my expectations were low....but it was a good (albeit quick) read.

This one focuses on Lysander and Bianka. Lysander is an angel from Heaven who kidnaps Bianka, a Harpy, and he is determined to turn around her wicked ways. But of course, he soon finds himself falling for her....blah blah blah....you know the rest. It's a romance novel, right?

The one thing about Gena Showalter's books and stories that sort of irk me....her characters constantly hiss. Not like snakes hiss....but it's always "he's hissed in a breath" or whatever. Surely there is another word that can be used occasionally. Does it always have to be hiss? Just an observation.

But at the end of the day - this was a good story - and definitely worth the time.

Oh - and I have to mention.....it does set up the storyline that is featured in the next book, The Darkest Passion. So don't skip this one just because it's a novella

Review: The Darkest Whisper (#4)

The Darkest Whisper by Gena Showalter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVED this one! I truly did not expect to to enjoy Sabin's story as much as I did - since he wasn't one of the Lords that I considered a favorite. In fact, I really didn't consider him at all.

The strength of this series is the fact that each book continues to keep you updated on other couples, even though each book has one couple as it's primary focus. I think it gives the entire LOTU universe more depth.

Gwen the Harpy and Sabin, the Lord possessed by the demon of Doubt. Who knew they would make such a perfect couple?

Review: The Darkest Prison (#3.5)

The Darkest Prison by Gena Showalter

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The story of Nike and Atlas.....

I'm going to guess this little novella was written to introduce the characters because they'll appear in some of the other books....and the author couldn't think of any other way to introduce them.

I'm not a big fan of just kind of slapping a story together and throwing it out there - and The Darkest Prison gives off that vibe.

I mean - go ahead and read it...it's short....it will only take you an hour or so....but really, Gena....you can do better.

Review: The Darkest Pleasure (#3)

The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reyes and Danika - Lord of the Underworld, possessed by the Demon of Pain and human female who is desperately fighting the attraction to the very entity she should fear and hate.

I really didn't think I was going to end up loving this book as much as I did. I loved that Reyes wants Danika so badly, but more than that, he wants to spare her the pain of having to hurt him in order for him to feel sexually satisfied....although that does change eventually.

One thing about this series that I love most is that storyline continues book after book. All of the players are (essentially) on the same mission and each book tells a different point of view of the journey. Also, beloved characters and couples appear frequently and you get to know what's going on with them.

Review: The Darkest Kiss (#2)

The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The 2nd book of the LOTU series - the story of Anya and Lucien. Goddess of Anarchy and Demon of Death. What could be hotter, right? I love that Anya is wild and crazy free spirit while Lucien is oh so serious. But opposites attract and you can guess the rest.

The thing I love most about this whole series is that there is a continuous storyline through all the books. All of the characters are working for the same goal and each books gives you a different perspective on the LOTU universe, while keeping you updated on characters from previous books.

Review: The Darkest Night (#1)

The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok, so Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series got me hooked on the paranormal romance genre. That being said - I don't expect any other books to come close to those.

But Lords of the Underworld does come kinda close. While I don't enjoy Showalter's style of writing as much as I do Cole's....the books are fascinating....the LOTU universe is deep and well defined....and they are super-quick reads. (I average one about every 24 hours.) I think Showalter is more suited to writing young adult fiction....which I think she does also do, although I haven't read any of it. I don't know, maybe that's just a personal preference thing.

Anyway....

This is the first book of the series. (Let'd just pretend the HORRIBLE prequel didn't exist, ok?)

The story of sweet Ashlyn, a human with some very unhuman abilities, and Maddox, the most dangerous and violent of all the Lords.

More of the tortured man - woman who saves him stuff. Gah. I can't get enough of it.

Review: The Darkest Fire (#0.5)

The Darkest Fire by Gena Showalter

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book is terrible! I would give it negative stars if I could. I'm glad I had friends that told me that this book is NOTHING like the rest of the series - otherwise I would have stopped with this one.

Skip it and just go straight to the next book. Trust me. You won't be lost....this book isn't important in the grand scheme of the rest of the series.

Review: If You Deceive (#3)

If You Deceive by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the final book of the MacCarrick brothers trilogy.

The story of Ethan and Maddy.....by far, my favorite book of the trilogy. I read it in one six-hour sitting.

Ethan was once a handsome ladies man, but his face was horribly disfigured when was punished for something he didn't actually do. This alone was enough to rip out your heart. Not only does Ethan live under his family's curse.....he's also cursed with (what he considers) a physical deformity as well.

One night Ethan goes with his brother Hugh (from book #2) to a masked ball and he meets the lovely Madeline van Rowen. Sparks fly, they have a bit of passion in a carriage, and Maddy goes back home to France.

I won't say any more, because there are a lot of twists and turns in this book.....and I don't like to give out spoilers. Especially with books that I loved as much as this one. And I did love this book so very much.

Kresley Cole Books = guaranteed HOT SEX

And again with the tortured men finding redemption with the right woman. This is a theme in many Kresley Cole books. But I'm a sucker for them - so keep bringin' it, Cole.

Review: If You Desire (#2)

If You Desire by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The 2nd book in the MacCarrick brothers trilogy.

This is the story of Hugh and Jane. Hugh has been in love with Jane for as long as he can remember, but he won't pursue her because of his family's curse. They parted ways and haven't seen each other for years. But Hugh still works for her father, and he's called in to protect Jane when her father believe's that he has some enemies that wish to harm her.

Hugh takes Jane away - to protect her - both the love and passion that both of them still feel for each other can't stay hidden for long.

And, well, you know the rest.

As will all of Cole's books - the sex is oh so hot. And do I really have to mention the Scottish brogue?

Hot Scottish man who will do anything to protect the woman he loves. *sigh* What else do you need to know other than that? I mean, really.

Review: If You Dare (#1)

If You Dare by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first of the MacCarrick brothers trilogy - the story of Anna and Court.

The MacCarrick brothers believe they are cursed and can never marry or have children due to an ancient book that predicted the futures of everyone in their clan. Unfortunately for them, all predictions have come true, so they have no reason not to believe that they are indeed cursed.

As with all of Kresley Cole's books - the sex is incredibly hot, and the Scottish brogue is even hotter.

I will give Cole credit - she is the author that turned me on to the romance genre. Her writing is solid and the books are always page-turners. And really, you can't ask for much more than that.

Review: The Price of Pleasure (#3)

The Price of Pleasure by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Grant Sutherland, brother to Derek Sutherland from The Captain Of All Pleasures is on a mission to locate members of the Dearbourne family. They were lost at sea many years ago, and the lone member of the family (the grandfather) is convinced that they are out there, alive, somewhere. With the promise of giving him the Dearbourne estate, the grandfather hires Grant for one last mission to locate the family.

Turns out, there were only two survivors from the shipwreck....one of them being granddaughter Victoria. After learning to survive on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere for eight years, Victoria isn't too sure she wants to be rescued....but her lone companion is very sick, so she agrees to go.

Grant is a rigid, play-it-by-the-books kind of guy, and Victoria is (what he considers) a wild child who is going to have problems fitting back into civilized society. But the attraction is there from the beginning, and he fights it, and kind of lies to her....and so on and so forth.

The only thing I do hate about this book is that it sets up the storyline for a 3rd book, the story of Sutherland cousin Ian....but that book has yet to happen. (Mostly, I think, due to the success of the Immortals After Dark series.) I do hope at some point, Kresley Cole will return to the world of the Sutherland family and let us know what happens to Ian.

Review: The Captain of All Pleasures (#1)

The Captain of All Pleasures by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a sucker for pirates. Ok....well, so Derek Sutherland isn't "technically" a pirate....the bulk of this story does take place on a ship that is sailing from England to Australia. There are lies, exotic locations, and most importantly.....really hot sex.

Derek is a captain of a shipping company and Nicole is the daughter of the captain of the rival shipping company. When Nicole's father is sent to jail and can't captain his ship, Nicole takes over....determined to save her father's company and win the race that both Derek and Nicole's father have entered.

When Nicole's ship sinks in a horrible storm, Derek saves her and her crew from certain death on the high seas.

Nicole is feisty and Derek is a huge a$$hole.....when it comes to romance novels, that always equals really REALLY hot sex.

Review: Demon from the Dark (#10)

Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story of Malkom and Carrow - demon vampire and witch.

Hot demon sex. Damn, Kresley Cole knows how to write the hot, sexy stuff.

Review: Pleasure of a Dark Prince (#9)

Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of Garreth MacRieve and Lucia. Prince of the Lykae and Valkyrie.

It never gets hotter than a werewolf with a Scottish accent.

Review: Deep Kiss of Winter (#8)

Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've only read the IAD story from this book, that's all I based my rating on. (I'll go back and read the other story if I ever decide to read Showalter's Alien Huntress series.)

So, this one is the story of another Wroth brother, Murdoch the vampire and Daniela the ice fey.

I'm not sure why the Wroth brothers only get the novella treatment (except for Conrad - he got a WHOLE book). But I think they each deserved more pages to tell their tale. But that's just my opinion. I'm sure Cole has her reasons.

Even though the vampires aren't my favorite characters in the IAD series - I do love the Wroth brothers.

Review: The Warlord Wants Forever (#1)

The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the introductory novella to the Immortals After Dark series, but I didn't read it until I have already completed several of the novels in the series. (But don't worry - you don't miss anything if you don't read this one first.)

This is the story of the Nikolai Wroth, the oldest of the brothers, and Myst the Coveted, the most beautiful Valkyrie of them all.

The only thing I wish that was different about this novella - I think it could have been much longer. The story of Nikolai and Myst is or was worthy of the novel treatment. But on the flip side of that, this was the story that introduced the IAD world - and I don't imagine that Kresley Cole knew (at the time) how popular this series would become.

This was originally published in an anthology titled Playing Easy To Get . But if you want to read it, google the title and the PDF is easy to find. (And don't worry, it was issued by Amazon so you're not bootlegging it or anything!)

Review: Kiss of a Demon King (#7)

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story of Rydstrom, the demon king and Sabine, Sorceress of Illusions - who just happens to be an evil bitch.

While I didn't care for Sabine at first, she did grow on me after a while. Plus, I have some crazy love for the demons in this series....so that probably added to my willingness to warm up to Sabine's character.

I just love this whole series. I can't stress that enough. Cole knows how to write an engrossing story that is peppered with some wicked hot sex.

Review: Dark Desires After Dusk (#6)

Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh....how did I love this book, let me count the ways.

The story of Cade and Holly - demon and human (or so she thinks, anyway).

Cade has lusted after Holly from afar, because it isn't possible for humans and demons to have relationships (of a sexual nature) together. But of course, crap happens, Cade and Holly are forced to flee the trouble that chases them and their mutual desire for each other eventually becomes too much to keep bottled up.

In the world of the IAD series - this is probably one of my favorites in the whole series. Who knew - demons with horns are hot. There. I said it.

Review: Dark Needs at Night's Edge (#5)

Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story of Naomi, a ballerina and Conrad Wroth, a vampire who is crazy with mad with bloodlust.

All of the Wroth brothers are vampires - with Conrad being the only one who has gone completely insane with his lust for blood. To help him out of it, the brothers kidnap him and lock him in an abandoned mansion until he can calm down.

But the house isn't completely vacant. Occasionally Conrad hears and sees things, but he figures he's crazy....so, of course he is going to do that. But then slowly figures out that the house is haunted by it's former owner, Naomi - a ballerina who was murdered by a jealous ex-lover.

In the IAD series - the vampire men rank third on my hotness scale - with the Lykae ranking 1st and the demons ranking 2nd. But I do have a soft spot for Conrad. He's the most tortured of the Wroth brothers and love the development of his love for Naomi and how they come together and heal each other.

And again - SEX = VERY HOT.

Review: Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night (#4)

Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really - is there anything hotter than a Lykae with a Scottish brogue? No. No there isn't.

As in all of Cole's books - the story is well defined and gripping - and the sex is h.o.t.

And really, at the end of the day - that's what keeps us coming back for more.

Review: No Rest for the Wicked (#3)

No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love love LOVED this story! Sabastian - a vampire who just wants to die - and Kaderin - a Valkyrie assassin who plans to kill Sabastian. Only she can't do it. And, well, I'm sure you can guess the rest....

I love a tortured soul who finds his redemption through the love of the right woman. And when that tortured soul is a vampire with a death wish - well, that just makes it that much more interesting.

I'm a HUGE fan of the entire Immortals After Dark series. I recommend them ALL.

Review: A Hunger Like No Other (#2)

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was my first foray into "paranormal romance". In fact, I had never even heard of that as a genre. But first let me say that I have never been a fan of romance novels. Ok, so - I had never actually given them a chance. I thought they were low-brow crap. (Which is a tad judgmental, considering that I'd never even read one!)

That being said - when I heard the term "paranormal romance", I was intrigued more by the paranormal part than the romance part. So I decided to give this book a shot.

Well, I started reading it and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I mean, I read it in one sitting. Luckily, I'm a Kindle user - so when I was done with this one, I could just download the next one immediately. Well, I downloaded and devoured the entire series in less than a week.

The book is well written, the characters have depth, and Kresley Cole has the whole universe of this series so well defined. And on top of that - the sex is incredibly hot. Not gross and "porn"-ey - just really really hot.

Like I said - the entire Immortals After Dark series is fantastic. I recommend them ALL.