Review: A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

Posted February 22, 2011 by Jen in 4 stars, Paranormal Romance, Rating A, Reading Challenge Tags: , , ,

A Hunger Like No Other
Author: Kresley Cole 
Release Date: March 28, 2006
Publisher: Pocket Star
ISBN: #978-1416509875
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): paperback (384 pgs), e-book
I purchased this book with my own money.

From the author’s website:

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 desire–ebb 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…?

What I’m talking about:

The second story in the IAD Series runs in a concurrent timeframe to the first story, “The Warlord Wants Forever.” It focuses on the youngest Valkyrie: the half vampire, timid Emma.  Emma has lead a sheltered life for 70 years, protected fiercely by her aunts at the Valkyrie manner. When she is alone (for the first time) in Paris, the Lykae King, Lachlain, takes her captive because he knows she is his destined mate.

Their journey to his ancestral home is filled with fear and anger. He hates all vampires for his hellish almost 200 hundred-year captivity/torture. After waiting to find her for over a thousand years, Lachlain cannot believe fate brought him a vampire for a mate. His inner-beast is both mortified and attracted, and he treats Emma with minimal respect. Meanwhile, she is afraid and longs to go home, but she cannot continue to deny her attraction to Lachlain.

The first half of the book moved slowly for me. I enjoyed getting to know Emma and Lachlain, but they both were a bit too stubborn. Although the journey was important, I felt it went on a bit too long. Lachlain treated Emma poorly, even taking advantage of her at points.

But then, just before the midway point in the book, things took a turn for the better. When Emma faced danger from a group of other vampires, Lachlain realizes

The problems between them weren’t because he’d been given the wrong mate. They were because he couldn’t adapt.

From this point forward, the book moved and was full of action. I love when Lachlain makes a call to Emma’s Valkyrie aunts, and he goes all alpha and stands up for their relationship. He begins to treat Emma with kindness and we see get a worthy male. Yet, the fool continues to make some stupid mistakes… not telling her all of his secrets and trying to get her drunk. But he continues to keep his word to her and doesn’t force himself on her. I enjoyed learning more about the Lykae castle and Lachlain’s history.

One highlight to the story is the eldest Valkyrie, Nix. She ROCKS in a big way. Emma refers to her as “Nucking Futs Nix,” and describes her as a female with “supermodel good looks but saw the future more clearly than she did the present.” She’s both comic relief and provides moments of insight and clarity in the form of riddles.

I enjoyed reading the second intallment of the IAD Series and look forward to finding out what is going to happen with the looming Accession (paranormal smack-down) and the potential shift in power do to the events that happened in A Hunger Like No Other.

My Rating: 

Really enjoyed – strongly recommend (A-)

4 responses to “Review: A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

  1. I love love love this series, glad you are enjoying it too and Nix is my fave too she is hilarious I can’t wait til she gets a book boy the guy that will get her will have his hands full lol.

  2. BLH: I hear Nix has a big following. I can see why.

    Mandi: I had a tough time for the first half of the book, so I get that. I’m guessing that the writing style picks up in the subsequent books. I am also wondering more about characters that were named, but didn’t do anything (I’m thinking of one in particular). But all-in-all so glad I’m finally reading this series!