Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole
| Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole | |
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| Category: Fantasy | |
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Reviewer: Amanda Kane
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| Summary: An enjoyable way to pass a few hours. Action, romance and witty quips galore! | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 448 | Date: March 2010 |
| Publisher: Pocket Books | |
| ISBN: 978-1849830362 | |
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Sexy half dressed hunk on the cover? Check. Enticing title? Check. Sometimes there's nothing nicer than curling up with a glass of wine (or two!), some cheese and crackers and lovely hunky man – even if he is the main character in a book! I've never read Kresley Cole before but I love fantasy, especially with a romantic element and so I was looking forward to trying a new author.
Pleasure of a Dark Prince is a dual narrative with events told from the perspectives of the two lead characters. Lucia the Huntress had bound herself to the Goddess Skathi in exchange for saving her life. In return for this gift, Lucia must keep herself chaste or she will lose her unmatched abilities as one of Skathi's Archers. Every five hundred years Lucia is charged with the task of defeating the evil God Cruach; a task for which she will need every one of her skills. The other narrative voice is that of Garreth MacRieve, a werewolf and Prince of the Lykkae and Lucia's destines mate. Yet, despite her interest in MacRieve, Lucia cannot risk losing her abilities as an Archer or Cruach will free himself from his prison and spread his evil across the world. However, there wouldn't be much of a romance if MacRieve was willing to accept that!
This is actually book seven in the Immortals After Dark series and while it is a standalone book, there are clear links to previous novels in the series. Unfortunately, I found this out the hard way! The first two-hundred pages of this book jumped from event to event. Important events like the return of Garreth's brother, Lachlain, and the storming of Kinevane castle are dealt with in a sentence. I like pace and action in a book but not when events are touched on so lightly that they're almost meaningless! However, just as I was about to put the wine and cheese away and give up, the story picked up considerably. It almost felt like it was a book in two halves and I was actually starting to enjoy the story of Garreth and Lucia now that Cole was giving them centre stage. A bit like Gareth in the novel, I don't like a mystery, so I went over to Amazon to look at other books by Cole to see if this was typical of her writing. A quick review of the plots revealed that the opening of Pleasure of a Dark Prince brings together storylines and strands from previous novels in the series - great if you've read the other books in the series, not so much if you haven't. It created an opening to the story that was bitty and quite unengaging.
Once the story of Garreth and Lucia finally got going I started to enjoy it. Cole has created quite a complex and interesting work and – thankfully- there is a glossary of terms at the start of the book for newbies like me. One fact about the Valkyries that raised a smile was that without training, most can be mesmerised by shining objects and jewels. Isn't that true for most women? Maybe there's a little Valkyrie in all of us! The story is a fast-paced adventure with plenty of action as well as good character development. For these who have read the series, they will be familiar with the references to the impending Accession, which is clearly where Cole is taking this series. The book also ends on a cliff-hanger which I really hated. I don't mind storylines left open and I expect such things when reading a book that is part of a series. What I don't like is the way this book ended with what is clearly the opening of the next book in the series. Very frustrating!
However, there was enough in this book to keep me turning the pages. The two lead characters are nicely drawn. MacRieve is warm, human and funny. He pursues Lucia for over a year and refuses to be deterred by her constant rejections despite the fact that these rejections include setting fire to a building while he is in it and rolling a lorry on top of him! There was only one thing about MacRieve that grated and that was his bluidy awful faux Scottish accent. I felt trapped in Brigadoon with Gene Kelly! One more doona or Ah Lass and I would have screamed! Suffice to say I won't be showing this to my family who are Scottish and have lovely accents.
All in all, this was an enjoyable evening read. I liked the story of Lucia and MacRieve and found the world-building interesting enough to read others in the series. However, be warned. The sex scenes are graphic and left nothing to the imagination. I have a perfectly good imagination and like to use it. As a result, I found Cole's dedication to detail a little too graphic for my tastes.
If you enjoy a touch of humour with your romance you might like Sex, Lies and Vampires by Katie MacAlister. For something more substantial try Patricia Briggs Mercy Thomas series which begins with Moon Called. We also enjoyed Endless Knight by Kresley Cole.
I would like to thank Pocket Books for sending a review copy to Bookbag.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole at Amazon.com.
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