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    A Hunger Like No other
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    A Hunger Like No other
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    A Hunger Like No other
    Ebook403 pages6 hours

    A Hunger Like No other

    By Kresley Cole

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    After 150 years of hellish torture at the hands of the vampire horde, Lachlain, king of the Lykae (werewolf) clan, escapes his captors. He's disoriented and full of hatred, and yet he finds the mate he's been longing for for 1200 years in a small, delicate vampire. Desperate to find information on her parents, Emmaline Troy, a timid, overprotected half vampire/ half valkyrie, had travelled to Paris away from the protection of her valkyrie aunts for the first time in her young life (she's only 70), but she manages to be kidnapped by a raging Lykae who's tender to her one minute, though-if he is reminded she's a vampire-furious the next…
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster UK
    Release dateMar 17, 2011
    ISBN9781849834285
    Author

    Kresley Cole

    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 over twenty foreign languages, garnered three RITA awards, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists in the US and abroad. Before becoming a writer, Cole was a world-ranked athlete, coach, and graduate student. She has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings. She lives in Florida with her family and “far too many animals,” and spends any free time traveling. You can learn more about her and her work at KresleyCole.com or Facebook.com/KresleyCole.

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    Reviews for A Hunger Like No other

    4/5

    58 ratings32 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I enjoyed the start of the Immortals After Dark series, but this still can't dethrone "Demon from the Dark" in my affections. Between this and the prequel novella, all I can think is that Valkyries are funny, and complete bitches. Oddly enough, one quality does not negate the other. On to book 3!
    • 4/5
      A Hunger Like No Other
      4 Stars

      Synopsis
      Emmaline Troy is a halfling - half Vampire and half Valkyrie. She is also the predestined mate of Lachlain MacRieve, the leader of the Lykae clan who has nothing but hatred in his heart for the Vampire Horde. But Lachlain has waited millennia for his mate and nothing will stop him from claiming her - not even the ancient evil from her past which threatens to destroy them both.

      Review
      *Note: this is actually book #2 in the Immortals After Dark series and is preceded by The Warlord Wants Forever. While it is not necessary to read the novella in order to grasp the basic premise of the story, there are events that could be better understood by reading it.

      Cole's world building is intriguing but needs more background information on the various Lore species, particularly the three that feature prominently in the book - the Vampires, Valkyries and Lykae. The plot is typical of the fated mates trope and the vampire threat could have been better developed. The dialogue is hilarious and the writing mainly flows smoothly but some of the transitions between scenes are sudden and disjointed.

      Loved the steamy and intense chemistry between Lachlain and Emma. You can't go wrong with a sexy, hot highlander who is also a werewolf (although it is a little disappointing that he doesn't actually shift into a wolf). While he is borderline psychotic at the beginning of the book, this is understandable considering everything he has gone through and, in fact, his ingrained sense of honor does reassert itself quite quickly. Some readers may be offended by his behavior toward Emma but it should be taken within the context of his characterization and the world Cole has built, i.e. the ongoing war and conflict between the different Lore species.

      Emma is a likeable heroine and her transition from shy and timid lass to self-confident and kick-ass vampire slayer is a highlight of the story.

      The secondary characters are also well-developed and intriguing, especially Emma's aunt Nix (all of her aunts are hysterically funny) and Lachlain's best friend, Bowen who looks like he will slot into my favorite tortured hero category.

      Overall, a promising beginning to a compelling series and I look forward to reading more.
    • 4/5
      If you are new to this series I would highly recommend that you read the novella The Warlord Wants Forever before reading A Hunger Like No Other. It will help introduce you into the world and to Valkyrie convent that the heroine grew up in. Also the couple that is in the novella shows up in Hunger and I was glad that I knew their back story.

      I've had this series on my TBR list for over a year and finally decided to start it and I'm so glad I did. Kresley Cole has been added to my list of favorite authors. She does an excellent job of mixing romance and humor. I find myself laughing a lot at the chicks in the Valkyrie convent. I can't wait to read more about them in the next books.

      I love how Hunger tied in with the novella and I can see how the secondary characters are going to have their lives intertwined with each other. The time line for Hunger and Warlord was parallel to each other. It was fun to see what was happening to Emma and the other Valkyrie gals while Myst was off having her adventure with Wroth in Warlord. And it was nice to see Myst and Wroth again towards the end of Hunger. We get to see a little more into their HEA.

      Wow. This is sounding like a review for two books. LOL Ok enough about the novella, let's dig into Hunger.

      Lachlain is a sexy lycan that has been tortured by vampires for 150 years. Which means he pretty much hates them as race. After he smells the presence of his mate nearby, he escapes the dungeon he is chained up in to find her.

      That's where Emmaline (Emma) comes into the picture. She is Lachlian's mate but when the two finally meet he can't believe that fate would hand him a vampire mate. He is downright mean to her in the beginning. Emma is terrified of this dark and sexy lycan.

      I've seen in other readers had a little hard time with liking Lachlain in the beginning because of the he forces sexual acts onto Emma. I didn't have this issue. It was a build up and with his hatred to vampires because of his past I could see where he would use those scenes as a way to get back at them through Emma. He started out thinking she was an evil leech. But over the course of their time together he learns he was wrong about Emma in so many ways.

      With so much against them and the back and forth between the two not trusting one another; their love for each other brings them together.

      I've really enjoyed this series so far and I'm adding Kresley Cole to my list of favorite authors. I can't wait to start the next book, No Rest for the Wicked.

      Narration side note: I must say that I've not really enjoyed male narrators in the past but Robert Petkoff does a great job with the voices and I love the sexy Scottish brogue that he gives to Lachlain's character.
    • 4/5
      I loved this first full length novel of the Immortals After Dark series. A Hunger Like No Other is a unique paranormal romance. I'm not sure what sub-genres I would tag this one with. Urban Fantasy? Vampire Romance? Paranormal Romance? All of the above?Emma is mix of Valkyrie and Vampire. She has been sheltered all her life. She doesn't know who her parents are. So, she travels to Paris to get more information about them. But, once there, she finds she is the captive of a Lykae.Lachlain has been help captive for over a century by the most evil Vampire alive. When he catches a scent of his mate, his breaks free. When he finally locates her, his stunned to find the mate he has waited thousands of years for is a Vampire.I highly recommend this one. I hope the rest of the series stays on track with this one.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book.I loved the main characters of Emma and Lachlain. I liked their interaction with each other as well as with the other characters. And I felt like at the climax of the novel they stayed true to their characters.I also liked the other characters that are no doubt going to appear later in the series popping up in what felt like natural circumstances. I hate when characters make an appearance just because they can. But in this novel it felt appropriate. But my adoration of this novel might have been a little biased since I adore novels with Scottish leading men.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I was looking for a new series after Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed and I do believe I have found it. Now this series is definitely not like any other I have read and the author is a bit different with his writing, but boy of boy can they tell a story. A Hunger Like No Other is the first book in the The Immortals After Dark series. The book is an enjoyable read with the romantic tension between Lachlain and Emma effectively holding the readers attention. There are several relationship issues that they have to work out; his hatred of vampires (when she is one) and her not wanting to have anything to do with him because he's a werewolf. HILARIOUS mating, these two. Emma developments from being afraid of her own shadow to someone who is self-confident and a power to be reckoned with. This series is definitely an original and not like any you have read before. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a little romance and some nice sexy scenes. :)
    • 4/5
      Just as J.R Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood was my crack for 2011, I have a feeling that Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark might be my substance of choice for 2012. Cole has created an extraordinary alternate world filled Lore, which she describes as sentient creatures that are not human. With the various creatures (Vampires, Werewolves, Valkyrie) in this alternate world, Cole has set up her series to have a variety of love lines. I say bring it on. The more the merrier!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book was so damn good I couldn't put it down. It literally consumed me until I finished it. The dog didn't get fed, the kids are crying, but I sure like this story. Great chemistry, great story line, no romance corn here. Great stuff. Can't wait to read the next one.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      My thoughts:I actually started with book 10 or so, fell deeply in love and knew that this was the paranormal romance series for me. So I read book 1, which is a novella (you can get it for free on her website), and then this book. And what I felt then I felt again, she is so good! At first I was a bit taken aback. Lachlain was crazy, too demanding, a brute, a barbarian, I called him so many names. And with any other book I would have frowned, but somehow Cole made me fall for that dog (as some of Emma's family happily calls the Lycae). I have no idea how she manages it, but he just creeps under your skin and stays there.Poor Lachlain, tortured, dying, and brought back to life for 150 years. No wonder he was a bit crazed. He was all alpha, so very alpha. He was also later very protective and sometimes the whole mine thing just makes a girl weak in the knees. Then we have Emma, she is no kickass female, she is actually weak and timid. But all women do not need to be kickass. She just does not want conflicts, but little by little this little weakling gains more strength. They are suited for each other.This is what I want paranormal romance to be like. I am smitten and I like it. The book has plenty of passion, and two people that are so unlikely to fall in love, they are enemies, but they are destined to be together and the road there is not easy.The whole universe is interesting with many different "creatures" running around, making alliances and waging war against each other.Conclusion:Would I recommend this book, yes! Will I read more, I sure will :DRatingMade me love Paranormal romance again
    • 5/5
      I love this book. It captured my attention from the 1st chapter and then I couldn't put it down.
    • 4/5
      Didnt have high hopes but I really liked the sound of the main F Character! it was a little slow but it was worth it!
    • 4/5
      BDB fans recommended this book as I finished the BDB series, and I am glad I listened. Now, I enjoyed BDB more, but I really enjoyed this first book to the IAD series. This book has more creatures than vampires (i.e. fairies, werewolves etc) but it's all good. I enjoyed Cole's writing and I enjoyed the evolution of their Lachlain & Emmaline's relationship. It was nice to see Emma growing up and taking control of herself and her destiny. No more puny Emma, hello Demestrius slayer. I really liked the scenes when Emma drank from Lachlain.
    • 4/5
      Welcome to the world of Kresley Cole and the Lore. If you love paranormal romances featuring feisty heroines and sexy alpha males, these are the books for you. Passion and fate collide when gentle half-vampire Emmaline Troy is captured by the fierce Lykae king, Llachlain MacRieve. While A Hunger Like No Other is the first book in Cole's action-packed and intricately plotted Immortals after Dark series, readers should note that the first story appears in the anthology Playing Easy to Get.
    • 2/5
      I thought I would like this book more but for whatever reason it just didn't work for me.I couldn't figure out how to say Lachlains' name so I just pronounced it Lack Lain, which was kind of odd for me. He was your typical Alpha male; overbearing, annoying, and 100% male. I didn't really like him. I liked the beginning, how he was introduced, but other than that he was just kind of too caveman like for me. It wasn't just that he said what he felt (because most of the time he did) but he just didn't say any of the right things. I think the book would have been a lot shorter and quicker had he stopped messing around and just said what he felt (that is, after he stopped hating her for being a vampire). I can't fault the guy too much. He lived a very long time at war with vamps and then he was out of commission for 150 years.I liked Emma in the beginning (sort of) when she was timid and nice. I guess being around a demanding alpha male changes you because she quickly annoyed me. I don't know why, especially since I didn't like Lack Lain all that much, either! She became whiny and rude, just the same as him, and that was just too much for me. Her change from HATING him to loving him was just too abrupt for me. I must have missed it as I still don't believe/know what happened. Or was that what Lack Lain was waiting for the entire time??Her Aunties, the Valkyrie, all came out as psychotic in this one - and not that good psycho that I like. I did like hearing their stories though. I wonder which ones have their own book. Is this series about the Valkyrie finding love??In the end I gave it two stars. I didn't really like it, but I didn't hate it either. So two stars for just being ok.Ask me what I'll do next though?? Yep! I'll be reading the next book in this series. Glutton for punishment, that Peep. I really like her titles for some dumb reason. No Rest for the Wicked is up next. How could I seriously skip a book with that title.
    • 1/5
      The so-called hero, Lachlain MacRieve, is a werewolf. I knew it was a bad, bad sign when the "timid" never-been-kissed heroine, Emmaline Troy, turns out to be--I kid you not--half Valkyrie and half Vampire. (The cheesy "I'm-so-embarrassed-to-be-seen-reading-this" cover was another clue.) Fortunately, my suffering was brief, because by page 10, having chased down our heroine, our hero is sexually assaulting her, ripping her clothes off and threatening her with death. I guess it's all supposed to be OK since she's "his mate, the one woman made for him alone." (At least that might mean other women are safe from him.) And they say the old bodice ripper is dead! And this one got a win from the top Romance genre award. And people wonder why so many have contempt for the romance genre? No way this piece of crap would have won a Hugo or Nebula. Stopped reading at page 12. One of the Immortals After Dark series, I won't be reading more.
    • 3/5
      She's only in her 70's, a very young immortal. Sired by a vampire on a valkarie. She's visiting Paris.He's much older, an immortal werewolf who has been imprisoned underground for a few centuries.Her scent breaks through the pain and gives him a reason to awaken. She's never tasted live human blood before but when he feeds her she changes.At 70 she should have been a bit more worldly wise and strong. After the first day he went beserk on her credit card I would have been online organising it to be cancelled or for a code word. I dislike very passive characters who are supposed to be more modern, I would have been much more annoyed with the kidnapping too. I'm still a bit ambivalent as I read through it quite quickly but it left a bit of an aftertaste that I'm not sure I want to revisit the authors world.
    • 4/5
      Emmaline Troy is half vampire, half valkyrie: something that should not exist. Sheltered by her valkyrie aunts her entire life, Emma decides to step out of her comfort zone and leave home, looking for answers about her life halfway around the globe in Paris. Lachlain MacRieve, king of the Lykae (werewolf) clan, has been trapped literally in a living hell for a century and a half in the catacombs under Paris by his hated enemies, the vampires. When he scents his mate - for whom he has been waiting for nearly twelve centuries - nothing will stop him from getting to her and claiming her as his. Forever.I have several thoughts on this book. First, let me start with the cover image: it seems to be a little misleading, implying that he is the vampire about to bite her neck. Now that I have read the book, I realize that it is probably trying to be a portrayal of a pivotal scene in the book, but it was a slight shock to realize that the female was the bloodsucker in this novel. Now, on to my thoughts on the book itself.I like the author's unique take on the paranormal world - she names it the Lore - and each species' take on the idea of mates. Vampires have Brides, Lykae have mates, and even the Valkyrie believe in the idea of a one true love. I was not pleased with how the male MC dealt with claiming the female MC, but I understood it as fitted the character and his own history and prejudices - even if it did bother me while I read it. I'll be reading the next book in the series, No Rest for the Wicked, and will see if the series is worth reading through. I hope it is.So, fans of romance involving vampires, werewolves, and creatures of myth: this book is for you.
    • 4/5
      A little muddled, plotwise, and the heroine's character development jerks around quite a bit, but I did enjoy this one. A guilty, silly pleasure.
    • 4/5
      My main problem with this book was that the pacing was uneven and there were just too many characters and species to keep straight. Vampires, Valkyrie, Lykae, Wraiths, and a bunch of other creatures and it seemed like they all hated each other and were mortal enemies. There was gobs of blood and chopping off of body parts, torture and other grossness mixed with some quirky humor and pop culture that made my head swim sometimes.The good part was that I loved the hero, Lachlain, leader of the Lykae clan (werewolves). He scents his 'mate', Emma, at the beginning of the book and is totally commited to her immediately although he is pretty pissed to find out she is a vampire. But he slowly learns about her and her species and grows to love her and spends most of the book trying to convince her to stay with him. Emma was a lot harder to like, in fact, she got on my nerves. She's actually half vampire/half Valkyrie, was pale and small with pointed ears! I pictured her as looking like a fairy or an elf. She was rather meek but had a stubborn streak a mile wide. She wanted nothing to do with Lachlain for the longest time. And her family of Valkyrie women were also irritating and funny at the same time. All that screaming!But I loved the ending when Emma finally grows a spine and kicks butt and how the H/H's inter-species problems were resolved. I think a good 10% of the book could have been cut and the rest tightened up and this would have been a very good book. There were a couple characters that intrigued me so I may pick another one by Cole. (Grade: C+)
    • 5/5
      Acclaimed author Kresley Cole introduces a sizzling new series with this tale of a fierce werewolf and a bewitching vampire -- unlikely soul mates whose passion will test the boundaries of life and death. A mythic warrior who'll stop at nothing to possess her... After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him. A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy... Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents--until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae--and their notorious dark desires--ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings. An all-consuming desire... Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?I LOVED this book. It's an awesome series. Plain and simple. I've always had a thing for forbidden romance and accents, and Kresley Cole delivered both beautifully. Lachlain MacReive was EXTREMELY well written as the tortured (for a hundred and fifty years, less) Lykae king who was only able to break free of his holds due to smelling his mate above ground.A mate who happened to be half Valkyrie and half vampire... a species (the vampire) who were his captives.Emma was totally believable in her walking in both worlds but belonging in none station in life. She started out as timid, curious, trying to fit in for awhile. In Paris to find out about her father, she actually gets tracked down by a crazed Lachlain and then the fun really begins.I love the journey the two take together in order to better understand each other. And on a completely different note, Nix was just sheer genius in this one. I loved her.
    • 3/5
      Good enough to finish, and I will read the next one, but the characters got on my nerves on occasion. They got better as the book went on, but the change from the start to the ending didn't feel very realistic.
    • 4/5
      First in Cole's paranormal romance series, Immortals After Dark, A Hunger Like No Other is a gold mine of uber-alpha, destined-for-each other, sexy reading.When Lachlain scents his mate while hidden below the streets of Paris, he does the impossible- he breaks the chains that have kept him imprisoned for 150 years and goes after her. Sure he tears off a limb to do so, but he's a werewolf so regeneration, though painful, is possible.Emmaline has lived as an accepted outsider with her Valkyrie Aunts all her life. Half Vampire, half Valkyrie, Emma is the non-confrontational one of the bunch ... but that's about to change.Storming into her life with the force of a hurricane, Lachlain is disgusted when he discovers the woman he's waited for, for almost a thousand years, is a vampire- the hated enemy of his clan. None the less he takes her hostage, deciding he'll keep her because there's no way he's losing his mate now that he's found her.Weakened by not feeding for days, Emma is lethargic and scared out of her mind by the overbearing were who's hijacked her and talked her into joining him on his return trip home to Scotland. But when she takes his blood for the first time, her strength returns full force and the creature known as Emma the Timid takes a drastic turn.Even as Lachlain's "beast" is soothed by finally being with his mate, Emma finds she is not so timid after all and so she does whatever she can to get away from the impossible man who claims he wants her above all others.In the meantime, she's having strange dreams from Lachlain's point of view and as they spend time together, finds herself just as drawn to him as he is to her. So much so, when she does find her chance to escape- instead of running home- she heads straight for the deadly vampire who ruined Lachlain's life.Sacrificing her own desires, she finds the courage to kill a king ... and in the process accept her fate as a creature of Three.Archetypal Paranormal Romance, AHLNO is a thrilling ride I couldn't get off of till the very last word!Here's the thing though, Cole's writes some over the top alpha heroes. Not usually a problem for me because I find non-alpha heroes in romantic fiction never hold my interest very long. However, she writes them SO alpha, I often cringe at their antics, which tend to come off as bullying.Just as when I read If You Dare, 1st in a historical romance series by this author, I wasn't sure if I would ever like the hero ... until about a quarter of the way through when he began to change. And too, the heroine irritated the heck out of me for being so unrelentingly angry at the hero through much of the rest of book!Yet through it all, I closed the book thinking, "that was a good read."I suppose the setting, the fantasy-like creatures, and yes, the strong romantic elements is enough to make it a winner in the long run- and don't get me wrong, I ended up LOVING Lachlan. Either way, I'm certainly rushing out to get the rest in the series! :)
    • 5/5
      Book 1 of the Immortals after Dark Series by Kresley Cole. This book features very interesting character who are very believable. The suspense, love scenes, action all ride smoothly through this wonderful paranormal tale. It was very enjoyable to read and I was totally enthralled throughout the story.
    • 4/5
      I am a reader of just about all things paranormal. I prefer urban fantasy and paranormal fiction that just has romantic undertones. Although I read Paranormal Romances and enjoy them, they tend to not be my all-time favorites. (Two authors I have read the most paranormal romance from are Lynsay Sands and Kerrelyn Sparks) Let me say that I have thought about picking up "A Hunger Like No Other" for some time now, but I just wasn't sure about another series that was heavy on the romance. I couldn't have been more than a few chapters in when I realized how addicting the story, and Kresley Cole's writing was. The story's plot revolves around Lachlain, a Lykae (werewolf)king, breaking free of centuries worth of torture at the hands of evil vampires. He literally scents out the fact that his 'mate', whom he has never met, is near. The woman is Emmaline Troy, a half breed of part vampire, and part Valkyrie. Emma is a meek creature who finds herself taken by Lachlain against her will. While he is mean to her at first, she finds him attractive. While Cole introduces the idea of sex, and sexual tension very early on, the actual sex act is a long time coming, and all this did was ensure that reader's can certainly feel the snap and crackle between the two. I have yet to read a romance that jumped off the page like this one. Usually, I get bored with the sex stuff and mostly skim through those pages. That wasn't the case here as I wanted to read and savor each of Cole's passages. The beginning, while gripping, played it very close to being over the top because Lachlain's treatment of Emma felt almost like abuse. Some scenes near the beginning actual made me feel a little uneasy. I was overjoyed when Emma stepped things up a bit, and became more sure of herself and didn't let him walk all over her. Another thing that kept this book from feeling like every other paranormal romance I ever read, was the continual action going on. The story had a bigger picture dealing with a war on the brink between the weres, the vampires (both good and evil) and the Valkyrie. Emma's Valkyrie aunts were a hoot and I would love to read more of them in the future. Cole's fantasy world is unique and unlike any other, and I think it has the potential to be one of the best drawn of these parnormal worlds. Although I had a few gripes with the story, mostly with Lachlain, I have to say the book far exceeded any expectations I may have had and I will certainly be grabbing up the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      I liked this the first time I read it and liked it even more the second time. It's both funny and passionate and with some unexpected scenes that just linger in your memory.Lachlain MacRieve has been tortured for 200 years by an evil vampire, literally burnt alive but living on because of his immortality. But finally he scents his mate, for whom he has been searching for over 700 years. This allows him to finally break free. And who does he discover? The tiny vampire Emmaline Troy (daughter of Helen...) She's not what he expected and their clash of expectations and beliefs leads to some very funny and very passionate moments. While not exactly a new perspective, it feels like a fresh take on vampires and shifters and I enjoyed it. A
    • 5/5
      Kresley Cole is one of the few precious authors whom I can honestly say I have LOVED every single work I have read by her. Her Immortals After Dark Series captivated me from the very start. Between her amazing writing, her unique and titillating storylines, and her extremely loveable characters, Cole has insured all readers fall instantly and irrevocably under her spell. Each story is so differently satisfying that no matter how many novels she writes for this series, her readers will never lose interest or grow bored of her works. Kresley Cole has managed to find her way to my top 5 author list (which is no easy feat!!). I LOVE her work and recommend it to anyone interested in Paranormal Romance (or if the paranormal does not interest you, please check out her historical series). =)
    • 2/5
      Relatively weak beginning to series. Vampire stories need the interaction with regular humans. Paranormal stories that only narrate about paranormal creatures lack pizazz. Some funny elements that have promise in a sort of Stephanie Plum sort of way. The crazy Nix is a hoot.
    • 4/5
      What do you get when you build a world in which vampires and valkyries, werewolves and nymphs are your central characters? You get Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. Beginning with A Hunger Like No Other, Cole starts setting the foundation for a new realm of paranormal romance. A Hunger Like No Other is the story of Emmaline Troy, the product of a union between a vampire and a valkyrie, something pretty much thought of as impossible. Raised by her mother's kin, the valkyries of Val Hall, Emma sees herself as the weakest among them, always thinking of herself as "other". Until she is accosted while in Paris by a brutish Lykae. His name is Lachlain and he's been imprisoned by the vampires for the past fifteen decades. All that gave him the power to escape was scenting out his mate, and he's sure his mate is Emma. But can a crazed werewolf king and a timid half-breed ever love one another when their kind are enemies? All in all this was a very good book. Cole writes vividly and her world creation is well researched. Making an adventurous move she has steered away from the classic vampires versus werewolves format seen in many of today's paranormal stories. Instead her world is shaped with other creatures of myth, the valkyries being a truly original and entertaining addition. The relationship between Emma and Lachlain is a little Stockholm Syndrome-esque, but even Emma makes mention of it within the story. If you enjoy paranormals and like a lot of descriptive sexual content this book will certainly please. If "romantica" bothers you I would not suggest this one.
    • 5/5
      great fantasy with an entertaining cast of characters! writing pulls you in and wild fun. very sexy. will definitely read again.
    • 5/5
      A surprisingly interesting take on the vampire-romance subgenre: werewolf king takes vampire/valkryie for mate. Hijinks ensue. Part of the enjoyment comes from watching Emma blossom from timid to kick-ass.