It’s another review!

Bam,

If you’re going to faint, make sure to set up the video camera so I can watch it later on YouTube. Ready for this? I’m actually reviewing another book, and in a semi-timely fashion. I’m sure you’re wondering how this could be possible, so I’ll tell you a dirty little secret: we’re slower than dial-up at work. While that’s not a good thing for me professionally, it certainly helps my romance-review hobby.

I admit to being a Kresley Cole fangrrrl. Her Immortals After Dark series is one I’ve been hooked on since the story of Myst and Nikolai appeared in Playing Hard to Get. The Lore, which is populated by nearly every mythical creature imaginable, is one of those universes I’d love to visit in my nonexistent free time.

With that said, you can guess that I liked the book. I managed to blow through Dark Needs at Night’s Edge in two days - record time for me lately - and immediately picked up Dark Desires After Dusk. Ms. Cole has a talent that I require in series authors: she writes about the same world, but her characters are definitely not carbon copies of each other with “wash, rinse and repeat” storylines. She manages to make her heroines strong and spunky with the right touch of vulnerability (thereby avoiding the Mary Sue death-spiral) and her heroes deliciously alpha, but self aware and fearful that they just might not be good enough. LOVE IT!

The Plot:We were first introduced to Cadeon Wode in Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night, and in my review I said:

Rydstrom, the once-king of the Demons, who serves as a sort of moral compass for Bowe, has a complex backstory involving his brother Cade, which I’d love to read as well.

Well, I didn’t exactly get my wish, but that’s okay, because Cade and Holly’s story is kickass, both literally and figuratively. And we do get the details behind how Cade caused Rydstrom to lose his crown. Cade is a mercenary with a mission: get his brother’s crown and kingdom back. Since Cade was fostered on a farm he’s pretty touchy about the fact that he isn’t known as a brainiac and makes sure all denizens of the Lore know he’s deadly. Back in Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night, Cade struck me as a cad. A gorgeous, studly piece of manflesh, but a cad nonetheless. He made a play for Mariketa partly to piss off Bowen, and partly to show that he could pretty much get any chick to spread her legs for him. In Dark Needs at Night’s Edge we discovered that Cade has already found his mate. Okay, I know you have a problem with the whole “fated mate” crap, but Cole really makes it work, probably because her characterization is so strong and her relationships grow through each book, rather than “HEY, YOU’RE MY MATE. WE HAZ SEXIN. THEN WE’S IN LOVE!”. One problem: Cade’s mate is human, and therefore forbidden since Cade will go into a full rage state (him being a rage demon) in the process of sexin’ and kill her. So instead, Cade turns into a stalker. Yep, hot.

Holly Ashwin is a mathematical genius specializing in code-building and -breaking. She’s also got OCD out the wazoo and is totes unaware of her genetic background: she’s part Fury and part Valkyrie, and her sex drive scares the crap out of her, so she’s pretty much flipped that switch to VIRGIN. Holly has a boyfriend (I believe Cade refers to him as the tosser), is on her way to her Ph.D. and teaches at university. Of course, this insulated life ends in the first chapter of the novel when a bunch of demons from the order of Demonaeus grab her to sacrifice her. Unbeknowst to Holly, she’s The Vessel, the woman that will give birth to the weapon of ultimate good or evil (depending on the father) that will fight in the coming Accession. Holly transforms into her “true” self when the demons attempt to sacrifice her (think rape and knives) and they all die in true Kill Bill style, with blood sprays everywhere.

Cade, being the stalkeriffic dude that he is, realizes that Holly has been kidnapped and manages to rescue her from the demon house and the Lore factions that are after her, all of whom realize she’s The Vessel. During their escape, Nix (I have a MAJOR girlcrush on her) tells Cade that the baddy sorcerer Groot wants Holly and in return will provide Cade and Rydstrom with a sword that will kill Omort the Deathless, the man who has taken Rydstrom’s kingdom. Holly, being the OCD nutcase that she is, wants nothing to do with the Lore. Cade convinces her that Groot can change her back into a human (and Nix, devious bitch that she is, totally goes along with Cade’s crazy idea). So Cade and Holly embark on a supernatural road trip.

In the process of crossing all of North America, Cade and Holly go on a journey of discovering each other, and it is truly delightful. Kresley Cole has solidified the IAD series on the keeper shelf for me because each exchange is fresh and none of the characters repeat themselves. Speaking of which:

The Hero: While the women in Cole’s books are all incredibly strong and admirable, I’m starting with Cade for a few reasons: 1) we met him way back in Mariketa’s story, 2) he has major personal growth during the trek, and 3) he’s hot. Cade is on the horns of a dilemma (sorry, I couldn’t help myself there): he needs to turn Holly over to EVOL SORCERER to get majicks sword to help goody-goody brother, but he knows Holly is his one and only and if he loses her he’s gonna be alone for eternity. Cade, being the non-retard alpha guy that he is, decides that he is going to either outwit or outfight Groot and romance Holly on the way to his meeting with destiny. Cade makes it his mission to show Holly all of the good qualities in both him and the Lore, and highlights the bad qualities of her cosseted life and asshole boyfriend. He acts as both her protector and her teacher during their journey, all of which makes their relationship blossom slowly instead of being jammed down our throats. Of course, a lifetime of boorish behavior doesn’t desert one in an instant, and Cade’s love of porn, demoonshine (HAH!) and general misogynistic tendencies appear with regularity, providing us demon lovers with a hero that resonates in reality.

The Heroine: I love me some hot nerdy chicks, and Holly is definitely one of them. She does not recognize her appeal and refuses to acknowledge her sex drive because she’s afraid of both of them. However, she is well aware of her OCD and is not embarrassed by any of her ridiculous quirks. The wonderful thing about Holly is that her brains never desert her, and while she’s being romanced by Cade, she admits on both a conscious and unconscious level that he is giving her the tools to accept herself as she is. Rather than fighting this (as some TSTL heroines have been known to do), Holly revels in it and tests both her and Cade’s limits. Holly weighs her old human life against the Lore and thinks about her transformation to a supernatural being, rather than just accepting it hook, line and sinker. As a result we get to experience her growth during the hemisphere-spanning road trip.

The Secondary Characters: Rydstrom makes quite a few appearances in this book, Cade mentions something about him that sounds like an achilles heel regarding his character. I cannot wait to read his story. Rok, Cade’s roomie, buddy and smoke demon extrodinaire has a bit part as well. Nix is present for quite a bit of the book, and I continue to lover her crazy ramblings and wild personality. Regin the Radiant shows up and seems a bit flat, but I’m interested to hear her story as well. There are other Lorekind that we meet along the way, but I have the feeling that while the personalities of all the other characters are strong, they truly are background. The fact that they’re memorable is an indication of how well this world is built.

Shuzluva Says: I thoroughly enjoyed Cade and Holly’s story. Kresley Cole does not settle for some simple deus ex machina to solve Cade’s dilemma, and forces him and Holly to fight it out, think it out and work it out. I thought it was bold and well worth the read. Yes, Nix provides plenty of information, but as you can imagine, she speaks in half sentences and is usually in another universe, so every exchange with her is entertaining. This books works on so many levels that I delight in the thought of getting to read it again, and am pissed that I know I’ll be reading it again because lord knows when I’ll notice if the next book in the series has hit the market. This one gets an A- for me. I can’t wait for the next!

Love ya babes!

You can buy this fabulous book here or anywhere! Srsly!

[Bam: Sure, the whole series is brilliant and fresh… but have you noticed how absolutely terrible the titles are? Sheesh!]

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 6:55 am and is filed under Books, Grade: A, Romance: Paranormal, Shuzluva's Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.