Customer Reviews

Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Immortals After Dark, Book 7)

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I would be surprised if there was anyone familiar with Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series who wouldn't agree that for the genre, it's firmly entrenched in the top tier of paranormal romance series. Cole is an exceptionally talented author with an immense imagination and stringent attention to detail who writes intricate, emotional, sensual stories that hold the readers attention and provide hours of delightful reading. All that being said, for various reasons I haven't loved EVERY book in the series, and Pleasure of a Dark Prince is one that I didn't love.

Lucia the Valkyrie is the Archer; the best in the world. The goddess of her religion both provides her skill and demands her chastity in return for saving her life when, as a willful child of sixteen, she made a mistake that dropped her into the clutches of an ancient evil. Garreth MacRieve is the dark prince, brother of the missing king of the Lykae Clan Lachlain MacRieve, and one of the few lykae who believe his brother is still alive. During a rugby match, Garreth catches the scent he's been hoping for nearly a millennium to smell, his mate. And so begins the dogged chase to catch, woo, and win the woman fate has determined is his destiny. The pursuit spans years and continents, and Garreth gives up everything to protect and pursue his lass, until he finally catches her at the mouth of the amazon river. He will brave the dangers of the green hell itself to keep her by his side and win her to his, but Lucia's secrets will haunt them both - and may lead to the destruction of everything and every one. Apocalypses are dangerous that way.

Pleasure of a Dark Prince is a good, solid read, but I had some issues with it on a personal level. I found the character-driven parts of the plot (the relationship aspect in particular) didn't mesh as well with the plot-driven parts (stuff dealing with The Accession and the entirety of the epilogue) as other books. I was a little thrown by the beginning of the book because it starts at a period back in time prior to, and then congruent with, the happenings in the first book of the series, A Hunger Like No Other. I know that this series has had several overlapping timelines in the books, but for some reason it bothered me more this time than it has in the past. This is not a critique, it's a personal issue - because I tend to be a very linear thinker, I have a problem with a series that doesn't follow a linear flow. I UNDERSTAND why IAD doesn't - and why, in fact, it can't, as the players of The Accession start to move into position - but it's still something I struggle with and it DID, in this case, lessen my overall enjoyment of this book. I also generally dislike when the main conflict between a male and female lead in a romance novel is based solely on lack of communication and dishonesty. Again - NOT a critique of Cole's choice to write it that way, but as a personal bugaboo, the absolute lack of honest communication between Garreth and Lucia through the whole of the book wore on me and made me feel like they were less interested in a relationship that would last through eternity and more interested in out-maneuvering each other to get the other to do what they wanted.

The other major issue I had was Lucia herself. I never fully warmed up to her. She had her good points, don't get me wrong, but I had a HUGE issue with her pride. I can understand being proud of yourself for accomplishments, and commend that sort of self esteem, but Lucia's skill with a bow was given to her by a goddess - she didn't EARN it - so the way she wields that ego around because of it rubbed me the wrong way. Now, that issue IS addressed satisfactorily late in the book, but that doesn't change the way she was from the first. I also found her to be a bit naive and selfish, which is what landed her in hot water to begin with, really, but after a few centuries, one would hope that would wear off a bit. It does eventually during this book, but again, it didn't sit well with me at first. And the cruelty she and Regin rained down on Garreth for a full year was a bit horrifying and left me wondering how he could possibly forgive her. I never felt I really got a satisfactory answer to that.

I firmly believe that the issues I had with Pleasure of a Dark Prince had nothing to do with the book not being great or Cole not writing well. Each issue I had was based on personal preference and I'm not criticizing, just sharing how I felt about it. I very much enjoyed the book as a whole, and found the entire Amazonian trip to be a lot of fun to read, with some VERY touching, funny, and gut-clenching moments. I would absolutely recommend the series (and have) to paranormal romance AND urban fantasy fans alike, as Cole writes story and characters I totally groove on. And Nucking Futs Nix is now and will always be one of my favorite characters of ALL times in ANY book over every genre.

Kresley Cole you are one of the few authors that do not disappoint (Crosses fingers no jinxing). Pleasure of a Dark Prince was truly a treat. And paperback too!

We have seen Lucia and Garreth since the first Immortal's After Dark installment. Last we heard from them Lucia was running from Garreth and he promised his brother Lachlain that he would have her back in two weeks. Now a year later Garreth is puzzeled and pissed that he's chased Lucia all over the world and now is in the Amazon (Green Hell) which he vowed never to return too. He wants some dang answers, luckily through meddling fingers (Futs Nucking Nix) he's on a boat with his mate, heehee she's stuck in the same cabin. What Garreth doesn't know is that Lucia has secrets, dark dangerous and shameful secrets that only Regin knows about. They are so dark and twisted that they constantly threaten to destroy her every ascension. With all her secrets and past between them, it seems unlikely that they will live to see Nix meddle to the point of goddesshood.

Wow, most series petter out after a few books. In fact the longest I was interested in a series was around 6-7 books. Kresley Cole's plot line is more in depth and more twisted with each installment. I find myself reading A Hunger Like No Other and thinking wow... that was actually a pretty simple plot line (hey I adored it no critique here) compared to the last few. I'm so happy. With that final epilogue Cole has us opening and closing the book again and again trying to make a 'sneak peak' or another chapter appear. Please continue to make wonderful characters, hot scenes, butt kicking females, confused males and give Lothaire a chance.... for me?

The ninth book in this series, Pleasures of a Dark Prince, is about Garreth MacRieve, the dark prince of the Lykae (werewolves) and Lucia the Huntress, a Valkyrie who is the world's most skilled archeress. Kresley has written another engaging a couple who may lust for each other until they ache, but makes sure the reader keeps in mind that attraction doesn't necessarily mean true love and that these two must get to know one another through communication and respect first.

Pleasure of a Dark Prince begins right before the events in the first book in this series, A Hunger Like No Other. Garreth, the current king of the Lykae, and his clan have come to reside in Louisiana. The half-mad Valkyrie soothsayer Nix sends Lucia on a mission to get rid of some pesky kobold demons that are also in the area. What Lucia doesn't know is that Garreth is her mate and he can scent her while he plays a rousing game of Rugby. He's been waiting a lifetime for her and when a Lykae finds their mate, they will stop at nothing until they claim them, which means the most intense mating experience ever. After Garreth witnesses Lucia's great archery techniques, he is both equally turned on and astounded. Now the chase is on, or rather Garreth will respectfully court her because he doesn't want to end up like another one of his Lykae clansmen, Bowen, (hero from Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, book 3) who is close to turning into a mindless feral beast.

Even though Lucia is very attracted to Garreth, especially because of his Scottish accent and the way he pronounces her name as Lousha, she can't be claimed or romanced by this wolf lothario. Lucia must remain chase because she sacrificed herself to the goddess Skathi who gave Lucia her archery skills after she was saved from a fate worse than death when she was sixteen. Lucia was the victim of Cruach, a very nasty and evil individual. As long as Lucia remains abstinent, she will be able to defend herself from Cruach, also know as the Broken Blood One, who rises every five hundred years during the Accession and searches for Lucia so he can claim her once again. If Lucia has sex, she'll lose her archery skills and will be vulnerable to an attack from Cruach.

Garreth has no clue about any of this and thinks if he can seduce Lucia, everything will be great and they can go off and create Lykae Valkyrie babies together. Garreth can't understand why Lucia doesn't want to be with him because he can sense her need and knows she enjoys the foreplay they have together. But she's weak when it comes to Garreth and if they keep playing the slap and tickle game, she'll be Cruach bait. She runs away and goes off to join the Accession games, and for a year Garreth is one step behind Lucia, tracking her, as well as protecting her.

As the games come to an end, Lucia is sick with worthy. Not only is she having horrible nightmares, which always happen whenever the Bloody Broken One is about to rise, but she still has to deal with Garreth. Nix has sent her to the Amazon where she may finally find a way to kill Cruach for good. She has to search for an arrow called a dieumort, which is the only weapon that can kill a creature like him. What she doesn't count on is Garreth finding her, climbing aboard her boat, and pretending to be her husband where he'll introduce her to even more heavy duty make out sessions. She just has to make sure she doesn't have sex with him and since he cares about her well being, he respects her wishes, but all for a specific price. Lucia and Garreth become unwilling partners and Garreth is beyond frustrated both in body and heart because Lucia keeps denying him and won't tell him her secrets.

Kresley is superb at building the tension between Garreth and Lucia in such a way you suffer along with both of them. Lucia gives Garreth a merry chase where he becomes a very different person by the end of this story. But the one thing Kresley makes very certain with Garreth is that he's a total gentleman. Even though Garreth is aching to claim Lucia, he doesn't go the whole distance when it comes to their love making. Even when Lucia begs him to take her, he won't. Nothing screams romance more than a hero who is willing to sacrifice his own pleasure for that of his one true love. These two have the most excellent foreplay scenes, and the first 50 pages or so will have you wanting to take a cold shower. And Garreth is quite the giver in every way even after Lucia shoots him with a few arrows. This is a man who is willing to get down on his knees for a small taste of Lucia's attention.

We are also given great insight into Lucia. She is one of the most subdued of all of Kresley's female characters and very loyal to her Valkyrie sisters. She is also close to being a tortured heroine because of her unfortunate past and the way she feels about herself. But, she refuses to be a victim although she thinks her only importance is because of her archery skills. It takes Garreth to show her that she doesn't have to stand all alone and can rely on him to help her.

Pleasure of a Dark Prince has everything you could want. Great action, luscious love making scenes and a few sneaky twists and turns you won't see coming. The ending alone will have you dying for the next book. I've also come to the realization that the character of Nix is possibly the most important one in this whole series. She is the one responsible for all of these character's destinies and uses them much like chess pieces on a board so she can reach her ultimate goal. Pay very close attention to whenever Nix pops up because it will give you insight on what is in store for her.

Pleasure of a Dark Prince is yet another winner where I bow down to the masterful storytelling of Kresley Cole.

Katiebabs

As a lykae fanatic, I loved Garreth since he first appeared in A Hunger Like No Other. His character lived up to every standard I want in the alpha male - possessive, passionate, and self-sacrificing. I cannot say the same for the female lead, Lucia. She seemed indecisive, ambivalent, unyielding, not someone I would want to be friends with. Garreth continually risked his life for Lucia but instead of confiding of her terrible first sexual experience, she threw his devotion and sacrifice back in his face and put him through hell.

The unrequited sexual tension got old after a while, the foreplay between the two was more like a game of gotcha, not at all sexy or exciting. This noble prince desserved so much better than the Valkyrie shrew.

Maybe the problem with this coupling, just like Bowen/Mariketa's, is stated in the book...when you mate beings who are "Other", the conflicts and differences present obstacles that prevent the pair from exuding chemistry. Lachlain and Emma were the exception because they both sacrificed for each other and their chemistry was smoking hot. Garreth/Lucia pairing seemed forced.

I was waiting eagerly for this book because I was hoping it would restore my enthusiasm for IAD series. However, I must bide adieu to this series and this author because this book was the final let down. I will always be thankful for the brilliant "A Hunger Like No Other", unfortunately, none of her subsequent IAD books made me hunger for more.

Kresley Cole delights readers once again with yet another amazing Lore tale, Pleasure of A Dark Prince. Lucia the Huntress is a fierce Valkyrie who has experienced love as a young girl but all was not as it seemed. She barely survives to enter into her immortality and becomes a fierce Valkyrie along with her sisters. She paid a high price to survive. She's confronted with Garreth, the womanizing highland warrior Prince reluctant to take his older brother's place as king of the Lykae. But he definitely recognizes Lucia as his mate. And with the Ascencion nigh, a kind of apocalyptic battle of immortals, can Lucia afford to give into her passion for Garreth when she has so much to lose? She's a runner, evading Garrett and leading him on a merry chase which royally pisses him off. He finally catches up to her in the Amazon - let the party begin. Hot, hot and hotter. Temps outside equal temps in the bedroom. Garreth is determined to keep his mate safe and help her in her quest to kill an evil god. But of course, he wants something too, using blackmail and whatever means at hand to get what he wants. And with Lucia keeping secrets from him, Garreth is not a happy mate. Their journey will lead them to an unimaginable culmination with so much suspense along the way, I couldn't put the book down! These two characters practically smolder off the page.

Kresley Cole has written another winner! Garreth and Lucia's story has been worth the wait. She has built a rich cast of characters, teasing us with Garreth and Lucia's story in her first book. As a bonus, we get catch up with Lachlain (Garreth's brother and the rightful Lykae king) and Emma (A Hunger Like No Other) and Bowen and Mariketa (Wicked Deeds On A Winter's Night). Mariketa has to be one of my favorites, she's too funny and cute in her avarice when it comes to business.

And what an epilogue! Yes, definitely - more of that please!

The book's timeline is a little strange. It begins near the 1st book of the series, when Lachlain escaped and abducted Emma. At the same time, Garreth MacRieve is in New Orleans and met his fated mate - Lucia the Archer.

Lucia, no matter the desire she felt for Garreth, cannot sleep with anyone otherwise she risks losing her powers. My favorite part of this book is definitely Garreth's unrelenting chase of Lucia. It takes a different kind of character to be able to endure all that Lucia had thrown at him. I just don't feel that Lucia deserves someone as wonderful as Garreth.

While I didn't like the characters as much, I love how it's plot-driven, with the hunt in the Amazon. It almost felt like reading a mystery/suspense novel. However, I do have to say that this is the most heartbreaking one out of the series yet. Definitely recommend this for fans of the series. If you have not begun reading this series yet, then go get the first book now!!

Did I read the same book? I have read EVERY book in this series. Some are better the others, but this one was my least favorite. Didn't anyone think the Lucia was annoying? What about Garreth? I know he wanted a challenge, but come on!! This was not a challenge, this was hard labor/lust. Speaking of lust....Where was the romance? When did they fall in love? What's with the Laura Croft theme? And the ending...did Kresley run out of ideas?

Memo to Kresley Cole: I am still a fan and you will always be on my auto buy list. But, I didn't think this was one of your best in this series.

Plot Summary: Lucia is a Valkyrie, and amongst the Lore she is known simply as "The Archer." Lucia's prowess with a bow is her supreme talent and only interest in life. A chance encounter with the Lykae sets Prince Garreth MacRieve on her tail, because after just one whiff he knew that she was his mate for life. No one knows that Lucia's archery gift is conditional... the goddess who saved her life demands her chastity. Lucia does not share this information with Garreth, and so begins a protracted game of chase, with evil bad guys on Lucia's trail.

The heat was on, but the romance wasn't doing it for me. I had a good time reading "Pleasure of a Dark Prince" by Kresley Cole, but it was far from my favorite installment in the series. Ms. Cole is still one of the queens of hot paranormal romances where the couple is fated by destiny to be together. I know some readers scoff at that concept, and that's fine, but I do enjoy it every now and then. I'll call it 3.5 stars.

The book itself was a little confusing because the timeline is split across the series. The first half of the book runs parallel to the events in the first book, A Hunger Like No Other (The Immortals After Dark Series, Book 1), and then it jumps forward one year. The supernatural details in the Immortals After Dark series has always impressed me (the glossary is a nice touch), but this time around some new creatures were introduced in a clumsy way. It was almost like Ms. Cole was trying to stuff in mentions here and there for future books, but for me this groundwork just muddled up the main story.

The couple was harder to like than usual. In these stories the men carry the burden of being completely single-minded about possessing the female, so the emotional connection often rests with the heroine. In this case Lucia was as cold as a block of ice, and Garreth was miserable (with just cause). There's playing hard to get, and then there's this story. So no, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. The next book in this series is Demon from the Dark, releasing on August 24, 2010.

Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance Series- Feb 15th, 2010
5 super stars!

What I love best about this book and Kresley Cole's Immortals series is the author's ability to fully transport me into her magical world and make me want to be one of her characters (or wish I had one of them for friends). Her characters never fail to be engaging and although they have extraordinary powers they are always human and easy to connect with.

This story is a departure from the tone of her latest Immortals book Deep Kiss of Winter which had a more serious tone. I found Pleasure of a Dark Prince a fast clipped, fun adventure with snappy characters that had wonderful chemistry and sense of camaraderie. It was simply a fun and joyous read. And fans of the Immortals series will not be disappointed.

As mentioned earlier, readers familiar with this series will find it more lighthearted than her previous story. This book actually begins early in the Immortals time-line around the period of the first book when Emma (the vampire/Valkyrie baby of the family) has been abducted by the 'evil' Lykae (werewolf) King. As a result the Valkyrie are none too happy with the Lykae in general.

Unfortunately, Lucia (our heroine) the famous Archer while on the hunt for kobolds finds herself the prey as the Lykae prince Garreth when he realizes she is his mate. If her brethren were the only obstacle to a relationship and surrendering to Garreth's charms. Lucia also took a vow of chastity to maintain her supernatural Archer abilities. And she needs them for the upcoming Accession, for she alone is responsible for preventing a terrible God from entering the world. But Garreth's attentions and attractiveness are distracting her from her mission. Is her a short period of happiness really worth the price of saving the world from an unspeakable evil?

In this story we discover how Lucia became known as the Archer and the history behind the deep devotion between her and her BFF Regin the Radiant. The pages with the 2 BFFs are moving and seriously funny. Everyone should have a BFF like this to back you up! We also find out how Lucia first meets Garreth and how he hides that she is his mate because her doesn't want to scare her away. Their first meeting is suitably dramatic and mythic enough to please any fan. (What Lucia can do with an arrow and bow are amazing.) But Garreth's determined pursuit of Lucia and his puzzlement at her continued refusal to become 'his' are endearing and a large portion of the story. Even as Lucia begins to care and deny her feeling for Garreth, she fears what Garreth may do if her realizes the truth of her destiny.

I really enjoyed the tricks Lucia used to evade Garreth until he finally caught up with her. I love a feisty heroine and thrill at a determined hero trying to stake his claim. I felt for Garreth as he doggedly pursued Lucia and is met with fake indifference. He really worked for her love and never gave up on her even if she sometimes seemed impossible and she even doubted her own worth. However, it did take me a little longer to warm to Lucia since she tried so hard to hold her emotions from everyone except her Valkyrie sisters.

This book does have a somewhat surprising 'cliffhanger' ending that will keep readers hooked and eager for the next installment. Although the romance does end resolved for the 2 main characters new sub plots and a sudden string of kidnappings ensure an exciting next book!

Imaginative, fun, mythical and joyous. I love this series and I can't wait for more. This series has so much personality and spunk you can't help but enjoy the ride!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

I really enjoyed this book and was surprised that it took Cole until book 7 to tell Lucia & Garreth's story but I think it worked out well that she did wait. There are now many different events lining up for the upcoming Accession and that works to the book's advantage.

I loved Lucia as a character because she was so perfectly flawed. I love characters that are real....and Lucia is very real, very human....even though she is Valkyrie and does not like humans, she is more like them than she realizes. I loved the irony of that. She is egostatiscal and stubborn but honestly what woman (in this day & age) wouldn't be if she was the best at something? Lucia is the best archer in the Lore world and she knows it....and she admits that she should be more humble but she's Valkyrie and she doesn't want to, even though she didn't "earn" the initial talent but was gifted it.

She wants to be with Garreth badly but she refuses to forsake her gift and her oath for a man she just met. She had suffered greatly a millenia ago and still carries the burden for rushing into a relationship when she was young and stupid. After being burned that badly, what woman is willing to forsake everything important in her life for a man she just met and starts to fall for? Is it so wrong that a man has to earn a woman's acceptance and love? Lucia stands by her beliefs and her promises and that she makes Garreth work to earn her. I loved that Lucia was stubborn and afraid and that she was the one to do the falling and accepting.

Garreth is a great character, I loved him from the previous books. I think he suited Lucia well. I love that he never gives up her and spends an entire year chasing her around the world. It was great that Lucia pushed him to see how much he would take, without ever really doing something so tramatic as to break Garreth's spirit. What woman wouldn't love knowing that her man will never give up on her or stop fighting for her?

Overall a great book and great addition to the IAD series. Not only does it tell the story of Garreth and Lucia but it also nicely continues the plots for the other books to come.