Book Review: The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: Dark Hunters #21; Dream Hunters #5
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Dream-Hunter Lydia has been charged with the most sacred and dangerous of missions: To descend into the Nether Realm and find the missing god of dreams before he betrays the secrets that could kill her and her kind. What she never expects is to be taken prisoner by the Realm’s most vicious guardian…
Seth’s time is running out. If he can’t hand over the entrance to Olympus, his own life and those of his people will be forfeit. No matter the torture, Seth hasn’t been able to break the god in his custody. Then there’s the beautiful Dream-Hunter Lydia: She isn’t just guarding the gates of Olympus—she’s holding back one of the world’s darkest powers. If she fails, an ancient curse will haunt the earth once more and no one will be safe. But evil is always seductive...

Finally, the day of a new release in the Dark Hunter realm has come. I think I should've read slower, but here I am, about 10-15 minutes after I closed the book. The book was good, but like all the Dream Hunter books, this one confused me. I can't exactly decide if it takes place exactly after Retribution or it's way ahead in time. It could also be the fact that some of the details in the entire series are a bit lost to my memory (hence the Dark Hunter series reread I'm doing currently).

I loved this book for a number of reasons. First of all, Ms. Kenyon manages to create the best tormented heroes out there. All of her Dark/Were/Dream Hunters are scarred, all of them have painful pasts, but very few of them are truly tormented. So when I read Seth's story, I couldn't help but think about Acheron and Zarek. Seth's story is just as painful and heartbreaking as their stories. Even having all the goodness and kindness tortured out of him, Seth could still feel enough compassion for those his master told him to torture and beat. He also saved Lydia from having a very painful end at the hands of Noir and even gives her the one thing she craved most: her voice. Granted, he might have an ulterior, egoistical motive for protecting her, but he did it, even after all he's been through. I do believe he had a code of honor even before he met Lydia, otherwise he would've told Noir she was inside his domain.

Lydia was different than I expected. I think she's very insecure, so she lashes out very often. I would've liked to know her a little more. I think she kind of grows up with the story. She has a big sense of loyalty and she's willing to die for those she loves, but she also is very afraid of losing those she cares about so she keeps herself a little distant.

We meet Jaden again and I really want to know more about him. I feel like Jaden's a bigger mystery than Ash was and I hope we'll be getting his book sooner. We're also see Solin. I love that guy. I hope he gets his HEA someday.

The book was good, but it felt rushed at the end. Also the timeline confused me. Is this book right after Sundown's story or is this more in the future? Then again, I am rereading the entire series, so maybe after I've read them all I'll be able to have a better timeline and I'll understand more.

Next book in the Dark Hunter series is Time Untime and we have to wait until August, 2012 to read it *pout* But I'll have time to read the books slowly and thoroughly, so I don't really mind waiting this time.


All in all, I do think this is a great book and it's fresh and another of the reasons I love Kenyon's books. It's different, but I wasn't disappointed.

My Rating:

Book Review: A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

Author: Kresley Cole
Series: Immortals After Dark #2
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

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?

The second book in the Immortals After Dark series introduces the Lykae Clan with it's very sexy pack leader, Lachlain MacRieve. If you think Kresley Cole's vampires are sexy, wait till you meet the werewolves. Imagine Gerard Butler multiplied by hundreds. The Scottish accent, the strength, the alpha male vibe, all of it made me fell in love with Ms. Cole's werewolves.

Lachlain is the king of the Lykae Clan, so he's the ultimate bad boy, alpha male in town. After 150 years of imprisonment at the hands of the vampires, he senses his mate somewhere in Paris and escapes his bonds, even if that means severing his leg (I was happy to realize at this point, that werewolves regenerate ). Now for me that was more than just plain sexy. To endanger his life for a mate he hadn't yet met means that he would do anything for her, no matter what. And even after he realizes she's a vampire, he doesn't hurt her just to get rid of her, he protects Emma, trying to see the good in her. It also made me sad, because it meant that he truly was alone before he sensed her, even before he was captured by the Horde vampires.

What I found really maddening were Emma's insecurities. Would her aunts like Lachlain, would they have a problem with him being a werewolf, would they try to hurt him... Not once does she think "Hey, I like him, I'll take him as he is, if they don't like it, so be it!" The little confusion I was having ended when, at a more careful reading, I realized that the events in this book happen at the same time as The Warlord Wants Forever, at which point I understood that Lachlain was, in Emma's eyes, the first "enemy" to mate with a Valkirie. Still, Emma's insecurities bugged me a lot. I understood them, but I still wanted to shake her up a little bit.

This book, although not my favorite in the series, made me hungry for more IAD stories. The main reason I had this moment of "I'm going to read this series as fast as I can" thinking was because of Lothaire. This book introduces "the Enemy of the old", the mysterious bad vampire Lothaire.

But back to the book in question. I liked the fact that Emma finally got past her insecurities and her fears. I wish she would've done it sooner, but better late than never. I loved Lachlain and his entire pack. They all had that "larger than life" air. I hope we'll get more werewolf heroes in the future from Ms. Cole.

My Rating:

Book Review: The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole

Author: Kresley Cole
Series: Immortals After Dark
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Nikolai Wroth, once a ruthless human warlord in the 1700s and now a general in the rebel vampire army, needs to find his Bride, the one woman who can render him truly alive. As a turned human, he doesn’t enjoy a heartbeat or breaths and is consequently weaker than fully blooded vampires. He wants his Bride for the power she will bring him and can hardly believe it when his heart beats for Myst the Coveted, a mad, fey, mythological creature.
Myst is known throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, part chillingly fierce warrior, part beguiling seductress who can “make you want her even as she’s killing you.” She has devoted her life to protecting an ancient, powerful jewel and to fighting the vampires, and she now sees a way to torment one—for with Wroth’s heartbeat comes consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her.
She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen the jewel which commands her, giving him absolute power over her. While he possesses it, he can make her do anything, and he plans to in order for her to experience first hand the agonizing, unending lust she’d purposely subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Wroth realizes he wants more from her and frees her, will she come back to him?

A few months ago a friend of mine managed to convince me to try this series. I've heard a lot about these books before, but I wasn't very convinced to read it. Not because the subject didn't appeal to me, but because it was another series. Since most of the books I've read this year are part of a series I was seriously trying to stay away. As you can imagine, the curiosity won and here I am, hooked on another very good series.

The Warlord Wants Forever is a novella that was first published in the Playing Easy to Get anthology and is the first story in the Immortals After Dark series. It tells the story of Nikolai Wroth, the eldest of the Wroth brothers, and Myst the Coveted, a Valkyrie. Now, while the vampire hero was enough to finally convince me to read the book, it was the valkyrie that made me curious. I've never read another book with that particular creature, so I was very intrigued.

Nikolai Wroth is such a powerful character and I don't say that because he's a vampire. First of all, his name, Nikolai, is one of my favorite names for some reason. I don't think I've ever met a hero named Nikolai that I didn't like. He's also very devoted to his brothers and sisters and he loved them so much, that he preferred facing their hatred and their wrath than letting them die, when he had the power to save them.  That might sound selfish to some, but not to me. He's also very devoted to the cause he's fighting for. He swore he would never drink blood from another human being and he didn't. On top of that, he's such an honest guy. I mean, he had the power to make Myst do whatever he wanted her to do, and yet he never used that power to hurt her. For a guy that has been left without his mate for five years, I think that says a lot about his character.

Myst is the most beautiful Valkyrie. She's also the seductress, the one who distracts the enemy, while her sisters attack and destroy him. I think it was a surprise for her the fact that she liked Nikolai enough to spare his life. And I also think a small part of her wanted him to find her, to capture her. The fact that he manages to take hold of the jewel commanding her makes her realize they are destined to be together. 

I do believe this novella is a good start for the series. And the fact that the series is full of new creatures is so refreshing. Or at least they're new to me. This novella also introduces some of the major characters in this series. It also leaves some subplots unsolved, like what happened to Nikolai's brothers and where are they.

The next installment in this series, Lothaire, is due January 2012. It's so far away, but I know it will be worth it.

My Rating:

Book Review: Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Author: Larissa Ione
Series: Demonica
Rating: 5 Cups
Blurb (from Amazon):


"In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life . . . 

She's a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure-but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.

Two lovers will dare to risk all.

Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his quest to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable-and let Tayla possess him, body and soul . . ."

It seems that demons are becoming the new vampires. And that's not bad. They're new, fresh and intriguing. Let's face it, who can resist a sexy demon? And if he's a doctor, like Eidolon, then his sexy meter has gone up in flames. 

I've read other books about demons, but it's always a nice surprise to see how an author manages to go around the general idea that demons are only bad and have no soul and make them into a lovable character. Eidolon is one of those characters. The older brother, Eidolon is also the most cerebral, or so I perceived him. He's the co-founder of the Underworld General Hospital and one of the doctors. Inside that hospital you'll find all kinds of creatures who you wouldn't exactly expect: vampires, werewolves, incubi, demons, even humans. I think that the idea of putting all these creature who are sometimes enemies is brilliant. Makes me like the series even more. But back to Eidolon.


Eidolon loves his brothers so much, he's willing to sacrifice himself in order to keep them from getting hurt or from dying. He's also loyal to the oath he took, to always care for the creatures who come into his hospital. Even an enemy. So when one of his nurses bring a demon slayer into the hospital, Tayla, he treats her like she's just another patient. He didn't exactly liked her job description, but he didn't hurt her and he didn't let others hurt her while she was in his hospital. 


Tayla is one of those people who sees only black and white. If humans can be good and bad, demons are only bad. The same goes for vampires, werewolves and all the other non-human creatures. I can't exactly blame her for that belief. She saw her mother getting raped and killed by a demon, who she later found out was the worst kind of demon. So when the Aegi, a human organization dedicated to killing all the creatures that go bump in the night, offer her an opportunity to avenge her mother and to protect the other humans to never go through the same situation as her, Tayla accepts it. So when she wakes up in a demon hospital, she's more than just furious. Especially when she realizes she's very attracted to her demon doctor, Eidolon.


I loved the universe in this series. It's unique and fresh. Even though he might seem soft, I don't think another character would've been better for a series opener than Eidolon. I still have two books left in this series, but I hope in the near future we'll get another book in this series. I'm not really ready to let go of this universe. 

My Rating: