Dreams of a Dark Warrior (Immortals After Dark Series, Book 9) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kresley Cole (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 15, 2011

HE VOWED HE’D COME FOR HER . . .

Murdered before he could wed Regin the Radiant, warlord Aidan the Fierce seeks his beloved through eternity, reborn again and again into new identities, yet with no memory of his past lives.

SHE AWAITS HIS RETURN . . .

When Regin encounters Declan Chase, a brutal Celtic soldier, she recognizes her proud warlord reincarnated. But Declan takes her captive, intending retribution against all immortals—unaware that he belongs to their world.

TO SATE A DESIRE MORE POWERFUL THAN DEATH . . .

Yet every reincarnation comes with a price, for Aidan is doomed to die when he remembers his past. To save herself from Declan’s torments, will Regin rekindle memories of the passion they once shared—even if it means once again losing the only man she could ever love?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals After Dark paranormal series and the young adult Arcana Chronicles. Her books have been translated into many foreign languages, garnered two RITA awards, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists in the US and abroad. Visit her at KresleyCole.com.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 515 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Complete Numbers Starting with 1, 1st Ed edition (February 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439136807
• ISBN-13: 978-1439136805
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (234 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series, the young adult Arcana Chronicles series, as well as five award-winning historical romances.

A master's grad and former athlete, she has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings. Two of her favorite places to visit include the rain forests of Central America and the Far North Queensland area of Australia (where, by the way, she would not recommend swimming outside of the stinger nets--at night).

Cole's trademark action, sensuality, and humor are best exemplified in her Immortals After Dark Series, which revolves around the Lore, a secret stratum of hundreds of immortal creatures--ranging from Vampires to Lykae, Furies to Shifters, and Fey to Valkyrie--that each have their strengths, weaknesses, and age old prejudices against the others. Though they secretly live among humans, they constantly war among themselves, which gives her a lot of material.

Her IAD books have been translated into seventeen foreign languages, garnered two RITA awards, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists, in the U.S. and abroad.

Cole lives in Florida with her family and "far too many animals." She spends any free time traveling and enjoys all things related to boats and water. You can learn more about her and her work at www.kresleycole.com.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#31 in Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic

#37 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#71 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#85 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#31 in Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic

#37 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#71 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#85 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 97 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Get Enough Of These Books! Another Awesome Read (A- Grade) February 15, 2011

By Katie Babs VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Beware... spoilers if you haven't read the past 8 books...

Let me get it out of the way and say that Dreams of a Dark Warrior (book #9) was amazing. Although I did enjoy Demon from the Dark a smidgen more, this is another fabulous addition to Kresley Cole's very addicting Immortals After Dark series. Many of her fans have been waiting for the match-up between Regin the Radiant, the glowing, loud-mouth Valkyrie, and her soul mate, Aidan the Fierce, the berserker who's reincarnated time and again to find Regin, but it never ends happily for them. Aidan always ends up dead, and Regin spends another few hundred years waiting for the next reincarnation of Aidan to start the whole cycle again. Regin feels both she and Aidan are cursed, never to be together and to suffer alone.

Dreams of a Dark Warrior starts with how Regin and Aidan first met. Regin was only twelve at the time, searching for her beloved, missing sister Lucia. Aidan quickly realizes that Regin is his mate and will wait for her to grow up so he can claim her. But these two lovers can't consummate their relationship. Since Regin is an immortal and Aidan isn't, he must try to earn his immortality called Ohalla by winning two hundred battles in Woden's name. Woden is a god and Regin is one of his daughters. Unfortunately Aidan jumps the gun because he can't control his passion for Regin and the curse between these two unfortunate lovers is engaged.

Now in present day, Regin is waiting for the next Aidan reincarnation. But this time she'll deny him to keep him alive and stop from doing two things with him that always leads to his death once they're acted upon. But Regin has much more to worry about, because a mortal by the name Declan Chase, who's part of a secret Order against the creatures of the Lore, will capture Regin and her kind, doing unholy experiments and tortures on them, hoping to eradicate their existence. Declan is filled with hate and wants revenge because of how his family was killed by a group of evil immortals who tortured and left Declan for dead when he was only seventeen. He's very much a loner who wears black, won't let anyone see him naked and is addicted to drugs to numb his pain and urges he can't control for something or someone. And when he comes in contact with Regin, his reasoning flies out the window.

Regin figures out who Declan is inside, and in order to save herself and those of the Lore he has captured, she must make him remember his past lives because if she doesn't, all the immortals could be destroyed for the Accession has arrived in full force.

Dreams of a Dark Warrior is set during the events of Demon from the Dark, but from Regin and Declan's point of view. When it was announced who Declan was in Demon from the Dark, that reveal was one of most shocking things in possibly the entire series. I wondered how in the world Kresley was going to pull off Regin and Aidan's HEA. She has definitely accomplished that in Dark Warrior with many happy results. Even though this isn't as steamy as her past books, don't worry, there's more than an abundance of passion, but more of an emphasis on the action and the incredible and witty dialogue between the characters I cannot get enough of. Again Kresley gives us great insight on why her characters act the way they do. Regin is not the spoiled brat I had though her to be, and Declan is not evil, just misinformed and unbelievably full of suffering and guilt.

There are many familiar faces, most importantly the capture of Lothaire, the most ancient of all vampires who's as remote and amoral as they come. Kresley has a major twist regarding him based on who his mate may be. I really thought I knew who he'd be mated with. How wrong I was! His book is next, and let me tell you, if Kresley hooks him up with whom I'm thinking she has planned, mainly based on the interactions between him and a specific character, it's going to be the craziest and most spectacular book in this entire series! And I have no doubt that Kresley can pull it off. I wish I could tell you who I think Lothaire will be with, but that's a humdinger of a spoiler right there. All I can say it is full of crazy awesome sauce, and this will be confusing for those who haven't read Dark Warrior, but I do believe the black king will capture the white queen.

It's pretty much a given I'll read anything Kresley Cole writes. Dreams of a Dark Warrior is another book full of win by her. *Bows down at the altar of Kresley Cole*. I'm already dying for the next book (or at least a blurb to finally know who Lothaire's heroine is). Kudos to Kresley for another top notch book that has made me invoke my favorite phrase- "I want to have babies with it.

Katiebabs

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Romantic Horror March 9, 2011

By caressthefro

Format:Mass Market Paperback

So when I read book 8 (Demon from the Dark) I cried when I read what happened to Regin ... her glow dimmed, vivisected, AND staples ... I actually teared up because she is one of my favorite characters in the series. Reading book 9 was pretty horrific to say the least. Yes, you got to meet more characters and learn more about Lothaire(whom I've come to love because of his dry sarcastic humor), BUT Declan was brutal and just straight up evil. I was so taken aback by this. I couldn't believe that Aidan the Fierce came back purely evil and tortured so many Loreans. THEN he couldn't even come back as Aidan, but this evil jerk! The romance was rushed in my opinion. And pretty much the same as the other books. The chick fights his attentions off, but SOMEHOW falls in love with the sight of his body yada yada yada. But I digress And I don't think the plot was strong enough when Declan was starting to become, for lack of a better word, "nice". Also, I wanted to see more of the halfling, Thad. Meaning I wanted to see him fight! I know he was only 17, but he shoulda had a chance to do something.

So another part of the book that I am getting tired of that other readers pointed out is the repetitive-ness. I like that all of the stories are intertwined, but I don't like that she keeps repeating information. Half the book is about information we already know. There should be a note in the front that says "READ THE SERIES FROM THE BEGINNING"... it would just make it so much easier.

Just to throw this out there - I love Kresley Cole. I think she is an amazing author and I definitely love this series. I am always anticipating her next book.

Also, I know I am spelling names wrong. Bare with me.

Anyways, I am looking forward to Lothaire's story. Obviously, there is a twist with Nix and "his female" ... my question is - Is his heart beating? Has he been blooded? --->I will have to go back and reread some books. Also, I am looking forward to Nix's story. Ullieam MacCrieve. Melanthe and the broken wing guy. The vampires bring their sisters back. Even the Accession. I will be hurt if some key players die.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Regin's romance: pulling the short end of the stick December 15, 2011

By A. Craig

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

**MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD**

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Other reviews summarize the plot, which greatly overlaps another Immortals After Dark book anyway, so let's get down to business.

Regin's Romance: This was a true 0 star romance for me. Declan Chase is just one of the most reprehensible characters I have ever read about! His real life equivalent is that of a Nazi war criminal (no exaggeration), and Regin and him basically "fall in love" in a concentration camp where Chase is torturing and killing men, women and children(!) like Regin. I could not see a single reason why Regin supposedly fell in love with him! Yes, Chase is the re-incarnation of Aidan the Fierce, but he only exhibits the hate and pain that Aidan allegedly had (that was never shown) AND as it turns out, Regin never really loved Aidan anyway and never fully gave him her heart. So, the fact that Chase was the re-incarnate of Aidan is irrelevant romance-wise, which makes the build-up to this romance in past books, a total letdown and makes Regin's feelings for Chase that much less believable and less compelling.

I feel that Regin's characterization was changed for this romance. She went from being a kickass, Valkyrie warrior to a weak female who would literally do *anything* to get her man. She quickly forgave all the atrocities that Chase committed against her and all Loreans and even apologized to him at one point! In order to keep Chase from dying due to this re-incarnation curse, she really went over the top in a way that I did not buy at all! I hate to even write about it. As it turns out, maybe all that was unnecessary, because the re-incarnation curse just fizzled out anyway. However, Regin's character did show me how some real-life women can write letters to convicted serial killers and end up marrying them in jail. I could see her doing something like that at this point.

Chase was not hot to me at all. Descriptions of him didn't give me an attractive mental picture like in the other IAD books, and he just seemed so much older than everyone else, even immortals. I pictured him as a well maintained 58 year old man. His character was so awful that the sex scenes between him and Regin were distasteful and gross to me (not to mention boring). I started skipping those pages and by the end of the book, just didn't care about what happened to this couple at all.

This Book: This book covers the exact same time period as Demon From the Dark and plot-wise, reading it was like dogpaddling. A few somewhat interesting secondary characters were introduced. They were laughable though in how they championed Regin/Chase's romance and dispensed relationship advice. The most important introduction was to The Order, which I think is pivotal for The Accession. While this book doesn't really advance the IAD storyline that much, it contains some important setup information for the series. The ending for this book, even moreso than all the others in this series, was really rushed. The ending involved lots of "telling and not showing", with Nix doing the telling as usual and tying things up in a pretty, but unbelievable, bow.

The IAD series: Over the past month, I have read all the Immortals After Dark books, except the Murdoch/Daniella novella. Dreams of a Dark Warrior is the absolute worst. However, it gives many clues about the future. This book sets up The Order as a common enemy between the so-called bad Pravus and good Vertas immortals (there's been a lot of side-switching at this point). *I believe* that for The Accession war, the Pravus and Vertas will unite to fight this common enemy. They will need the inside information on The Order that only Declan Chase can give them, so the future of the entire Lore will rest in his hands. They won't be able to win without him, and he will help lead them to victory. This will give Chase the redemption that he absolutely did not earn in this book and will make it seem like there was a benefit or fated purpose to his role in atrocities against immortals. /endspeculation I'd say this book is worth the read for series info, but not at all as a real romance.