I have been highly anticipating Lothaire for some time now, especially after seeing a lot of him in the previous book, Dreams of a Dark Warrior. Lothaire, the Enemy of Old, an extremely old and feared vampire who is set upon revenge. As the bastard child of the King of the Horde, Stefanovich, he promised his Dacian vampire mother before she was tortured and killed that he would slay Stefanovich so the Horde will ultimately swear fealty to Lothaire. He then plans to unite the Dacian and Horde kingdoms together. He has spent century after century set to accomplish his endgame and refuses to be stopped. Extremely smart, arrogant and lethal, he has so many in the Lore who owe him. This makes him very feared but also one of the most-hunted people in the Lore. But now one of the most feared vampires is about to be mated to a mortal.
Elizabeth Pierce, or Ellie, comes from a poor mining family in the Appalachian Mountains. At 19 she became possessed by the demon Saroya and is desperate to get rid of her. Saroya was once a goddess (a death goddess), but has been condemned to live in mortal bodies. She likes Ellie's body. Ellie is beautiful and strong -- maybe a little too strong, as Ellie often can fight to keep Saroya hidden deep within her. When Saroya rises, though, she is very violent, killing all in her path, which is how Ellie ends up on Death Row.
When Lothaire meets Ellie/Saroya, he becomes "blooded": His body becomes alive with a heartbeat, and he has breath. He assumes his bride must be Saroya, because she is a goddess, not the mere mortal Elizabeth:
*******
"Because fate would not slight me so unspeakably. I'd seek a noon-day sun if I were paired with one such as you."
"Such as me," she repeated blandly. She'd been mocked too often over her lifetime to take offense. Her skin was as thick as armor.
"Yes, you. An ignorant, mortal Kmart checkout girl." He took the sharpest knife from his place setting, absently turning it between his left thumb and forefinger.
"Kmart? I should have been so lucky. Those jobs were hard to come by. I worked at my uncle's outfitter shop."
"Then you're even worse. You're an outfitter checkout girl with aspirations for Kmart."
"Still better than a demon."
******
He has spent the five years Ellie has spent in prison trying to track down a special ring that he hopes can extinguish Ellie's soul. That way, Saroya can use Ellie's body to become an immortal vampire, getting around the curse, and become Lothaire's bride so he can reclaim the Horde throne. When Lothaire nabs Ellie off of Death Row in the nick of time, he is stuck keeping her body safe until he can figure out how to extinguish Ellie's soul so Saroya can fully take over her body. But Ellie isn't going down without a fight.
As I sit here and try to think how to explain Lothaire, all I can really is say is that he is just one of a kind. There isn't a lot of gray in his world. He is so old and his arrogance is so ingrained, that it is his way or else. Kresley Cole allows him to fall in love -- and still retain these characteristics. Because of his age, and the fact that when he drinks from people, he retains their memories, he is not lucid at all times. He is skirting the edge of insanity and fears he may not make it to exact his revenge.
At times I wanted to slap him for how he acted, but he has gotten his way for centuries, so he knows nothing else. At times I felt sorry for him. While he keeps a ledger of everyone who is indebted to him -- looking through all the names gives him a sense of peace -- he barely has any friends. He has lived his entire existence trying to get revenge and hasn't really experienced happiness. Now that he has a mortal who is not only extremely fragile in his world, but one who says "no" to him, he is baffled. He can't comprehend how one would not be attracted to him or not think he is making the best decisions for her. As we learn, he is "Lothairistic."
*****
"First of all, I'm not narcissistic." When she opened her lips to argue, he said, "I know Narkissos of Thespiae -- while we might share traits, I came first, so he's Lothairistic, not the other way around."
*****
Ellie, thinking she only has days before Lothaire finds the ring and kills her soul, doesn't have a lot to lose. She is spunky and stubborn and, although they have a difficult journey together, I loved how their romance plays out. They have to work hard for it, but it is very believable and well done. I also have to say the sex in this book is the best Kresley Cole has written.
I am amazed at this world Kresley Cole has created. It is so complex and vast, and while I appreciate that, I also think the amount of page time it takes to rehash events and remind us who everyone is weighs this book down in the beginning. Of course, I also needed that refresher, because I forget from book to book what is going on. So it is needed, but just be aware that the book starts a little slow. Once we get into it, though, it really takes off.
We also meet some new characters belonging to the very secretive Dacian, which will also star in her new spinoff series. (Lothaire's mother is Dacian.) I don't want to give away anything about them, but I really enjoyed what we get to see of them.
I think this is one of the few series that is actually getting better as it progresses. Lothaire is Book 12 and a definite favorite. I'm so intrigued by the characters. Nix is still walking around crazy, Furie is still chained somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, Thaddeus is 17 and turning into a stud -- and we meet Hag, who will definitely amuse you. And those are just a few of the many insane, sarcastic and engaging characters in this world. My favorite thing about these books is that Cole lets the characters act like immortals. They are so violent, so cunning and evil. And yet they are hilarious and smart and, of course, amazing in bed. I believe the last page of Lothaire gives us a hint as to whose book is next, and I can't wait.
