Okay, I didn't get this printed edition of the book (the one I got was slightly bigger and with a decent cover that didn't make obvious of what content was actually inside) but readers may identify with it better:
This kind of covers make life for a young, supposedly innocent schoolgirl rather difficult you see.
(oh, the blurbs at the back of the book too)
[Synopsis]
Basically, our hero, Lachlain MacRieve, is the 1,200 year-old king of the werewolves (Lykae*, the book calls them -- refer to glossary). He has been imprisoned by the Horde* (bunch of red eyed vamps) for 150 years in a catacomb, where he is continually tortured by the fires of hell, dying only to be resurrected again and again -- until he scents his mate. He then finds the strength to break free and when he finally manages to catch her, he realises she is actually (half)-vampire, and not the supposed mate he expected. Shock and horror! Adding to this is the fact that vampires and the Lykae are supposed to be mortal (immortal?) enemies.
Enter Emmaline Troy, half-Valkyrie* and vampire. She's not only special just because she's the mate of a half-crazed Lykae, but also due to the fact that she may be the last female vampire in the Lore. And she's only 70 years old! :D Sheltered and protected by the Valkyrie coven since young, she's extremely meek and submissive when first kidnapped by the domineering werewolf -- she didn't even know the Lykae existed. She's determined to find out the identity of her father, which is also why she even left the coven in the first place.
[Glossary, like I promised]
the Lykae - werewolves.
the Horde - vampires considered 'fallen', distinguished by their red eyes caused by drinking a victim to death. There is another faction of the vampires, the Forbearers, but that's another story...
*Emmaline is not a member of the Horde.
the Valkyrie - maiden warriors that take sustenance in the form of lightning. Loves anything related to violence (well, maybe except Emma).
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Overall rating: 3.5 / 5
This book just hooked me from the very start. I loved it. The way she writes, the way the details flow, the characterisation of all the individual characters -- great. All incidents link together seamlessly and usually serve a greater purpose and is not simply thrown together for the sake
Overall rating: 3.5 / 5
This book just hooked me from the very start. I loved it. The way she writes, the way the details flow, the characterisation of all the individual characters -- great. All incidents link together seamlessly and usually serve a greater purpose and is not simply thrown together for the sake
Essentially the whole premise of this book is based on the idea of matehood. Not that I have an issue with that, of course. (Coughs.) Who doesn't want to be bound to a freaking sexy, ultra-hot King that melts for no one but herself forever? (DEFINITELY NOT ME.) However, it is still important that the characters are linked in this way -- they can't choose, Fate does. Lachlain has to accept that his mate is a vampire (a blood enemy), and that no matter what prejudices he harbours against the vamps, he still has to overcome those for the sake of their relationship and a future with her.
But, considering his alarming speed of emotional recovery throughout the book, I can see he had no problem with that. (i'm being sarcastic, I think.)
But, considering his alarming speed of emotional recovery throughout the book, I can see he had no problem with that. (i'm being sarcastic, I think.)
Emma is one of my favourite female leads (not that I have many thanks to mainstream romance stereotyping) solely for her personality and the fact that she grows a lot throughout the book, esp. in terms of her character. She blossoms from the submissive, weak-willed girl into a strong character that can and will stand up for herself. (unlike some characters we know so well, such as *cough* Bella Swan *cough* and Ana Steele who never develop at all throughout god knows how many books.)
"You're no' curious why all of this has happened?"
"I will try to forget 'all this' when I leave you in Scotland, so why would I want to know more? My m.o. has always been to keep my head low and not ask too many questions. It's served me well so far."
"So you expect us to sit in this closed compartment the entire way in silence."
"Of course not."
She clicked on the radio.
This is contextually much funny when you understand what is happening in the book. She's actually quite defiant but this is often only subtly implied.
"You're no' curious why all of this has happened?"
"I will try to forget 'all this' when I leave you in Scotland, so why would I want to know more? My m.o. has always been to keep my head low and not ask too many questions. It's served me well so far."
"So you expect us to sit in this closed compartment the entire way in silence."
"Of course not."
She clicked on the radio.
This is contextually much funny when you understand what is happening in the book. She's actually quite defiant but this is often only subtly implied.
She's rather witty, though often overpowered by Lachlain in their comedic conversations. Their bantering made me laugh out loud many times. Give the woman (KC) a medal already! There's something I like about her. She's naturally dainty and lovable, but she has a naughty/bad girl deep down somewhere revealed thanks to Lachlain.
And now Lachlain. Most of the early conflict in the book revolves around one and only one thing -- his inability to come to terms with the fact that she is a vampire. He whines and emos about his fate (oh why do I have a vampire for my mate) then rejects it (she cannot/should not be mine because she is vampire and I am Lykae) etc.
I have this unusual love for this name, as alleged by my friend. Maybe it was because I was parading around the classroom screaming 'Lachlain and Emmaline!!' in a fake accent too much. But anyway, back to the point. I don't deny I like alpha males, as mentioned above. But I couldn't justify his reasons at some points. Why did he hide the fact from Emmaline that she was his mate? Was he trying to convince himself she wasn't, though he knew it subconsciously? And while I can't blame him all the acts he did to her in the first few days of her capture myself -- he was technically half-mad -- he was extremely selfish at times, and he used the exact reason above to constantly justify it to himself. Now that is not healthy.
I concede however, despite liking Lachlain a lot, that he was very, very cruel towards Emmaline in the beginning. The initial sexual scenes were hinging on rape/sexual abuse, especially the first one in the shower. He obviously knew that she was terrified and hurting, and yet chose to ignore it and continue his vicious assaults on her. He virtually deprived her of her basic rights and treated her like some prisoner. I don't really want to admit it, but Emmaline might have had Stockholm Syndrome to some extent, now that I reflect on what I've read.
The feminist in me is slightly irked that Lachlain seems to have the upper hand against Emma for everything (this is actually reversed to some extent in Dark Desires, also why I love it). He constantly humiliates and mocks Emma I don't recall any scene where she actually managed to embarrass/get the better of him in any way. Ooh! That needs to be changed, really.
And now the part we're all waiting for.
The entire book was seething with sexual tension. I LOVED IT. I knew nothing big (i.e. the act) would happen until 70%+ of the book, that something would definitely get in the way half the time, (experience tells me) but it sure kept my attention and anticipation. I could feeeel it just from the interactions between the characters. I was extremely excited just imagining what would happen next. The first time where she took his blood was just awesomely tantalizing and I couldn't help but keep re-reading those few pages. The descriptions were effective to a point where I was almost watching everything unfold right in front of me. I felt voyeuristic. None of the scenes had me cringing or screeching in blatant horror at what I was reading. (this is common when I read harlequin novels.)
HOWEVER! I had issues with the fact that again, our hero is one awesomely experienced lover somehow and the heroine is a virgin, which shocks him because she's so beautiful,... how could any man resist her? etc. Meh. Will someone make the man a virgin already? <Dark Needs at Night's Edge>
I love how the books are all interrelated, forming a timeline where everything happens either at the same time or affect each other one way or another. I expected the writing standard to drop slightly as compared to her later books as this was one of the first books written for this series (this is my fifth read in Immortals After Dark, since I didn't read it in order). But I can still see that the writing style didn't change much, just that the vocabulary is slightly less polished. Also, seeing that I'd read Garreth/Lucia's and also Bowen's stories, it did help my understanding of the characters better.
Well, to wrap things up, I really enjoyed this book, ignoring some flaws here and there and prevalent sexism. It kept my attention all the time, and I was even dreaming about what would happen in class sometimes. Hehe. The characters are not perfect, but that's what makes it so special. :)
And now Lachlain. Most of the early conflict in the book revolves around one and only one thing -- his inability to come to terms with the fact that she is a vampire. He whines and emos about his fate (oh why do I have a vampire for my mate) then rejects it (she cannot/should not be mine because she is vampire and I am Lykae) etc.
I have this unusual love for this name, as alleged by my friend. Maybe it was because I was parading around the classroom screaming 'Lachlain and Emmaline!!' in a fake accent too much. But anyway, back to the point. I don't deny I like alpha males, as mentioned above. But I couldn't justify his reasons at some points. Why did he hide the fact from Emmaline that she was his mate? Was he trying to convince himself she wasn't, though he knew it subconsciously? And while I can't blame him all the acts he did to her in the first few days of her capture myself -- he was technically half-mad -- he was extremely selfish at times, and he used the exact reason above to constantly justify it to himself. Now that is not healthy.
I concede however, despite liking Lachlain a lot, that he was very, very cruel towards Emmaline in the beginning. The initial sexual scenes were hinging on rape/sexual abuse, especially the first one in the shower. He obviously knew that she was terrified and hurting, and yet chose to ignore it and continue his vicious assaults on her. He virtually deprived her of her basic rights and treated her like some prisoner. I don't really want to admit it, but Emmaline might have had Stockholm Syndrome to some extent, now that I reflect on what I've read.
The feminist in me is slightly irked that Lachlain seems to have the upper hand against Emma for everything (this is actually reversed to some extent in Dark Desires, also why I love it). He constantly humiliates and mocks Emma I don't recall any scene where she actually managed to embarrass/get the better of him in any way. Ooh! That needs to be changed, really.
And now the part we're all waiting for.
The entire book was seething with sexual tension. I LOVED IT. I knew nothing big (i.e. the act) would happen until 70%+ of the book, that something would definitely get in the way half the time, (experience tells me) but it sure kept my attention and anticipation. I could feeeel it just from the interactions between the characters. I was extremely excited just imagining what would happen next. The first time where she took his blood was just awesomely tantalizing and I couldn't help but keep re-reading those few pages. The descriptions were effective to a point where I was almost watching everything unfold right in front of me. I felt voyeuristic. None of the scenes had me cringing or screeching in blatant horror at what I was reading. (this is common when I read harlequin novels.)
HOWEVER! I had issues with the fact that again, our hero is one awesomely experienced lover somehow and the heroine is a virgin, which shocks him because she's so beautiful,... how could any man resist her? etc. Meh. Will someone make the man a virgin already? <Dark Needs at Night's Edge>
I love how the books are all interrelated, forming a timeline where everything happens either at the same time or affect each other one way or another. I expected the writing standard to drop slightly as compared to her later books as this was one of the first books written for this series (this is my fifth read in Immortals After Dark, since I didn't read it in order). But I can still see that the writing style didn't change much, just that the vocabulary is slightly less polished. Also, seeing that I'd read Garreth/Lucia's and also Bowen's stories, it did help my understanding of the characters better.
Well, to wrap things up, I really enjoyed this book, ignoring some flaws here and there and prevalent sexism. It kept my attention all the time, and I was even dreaming about what would happen in class sometimes. Hehe. The characters are not perfect, but that's what makes it so special. :)
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