Jan 25 - Jan 30, 2012
Lothaire
Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance
Published Jan 2012
468 pages
9/10
Lothaire, Enemy of Old, is a mad Vampire of Royal lineage - he's kicking ass and taking names (in his ancient ledger of Blood Debts) and is hell bent on taking control of the Vampire Kingdoms... by force. Elizabeth Peirce is a foxy backwoods piece who, unfortunately, is possessed by the spirit of the homicidal goddess Saroya and has landed on Death Row. Lothaire intends to wed Saroya in Elizabeth's body, once he gets rid of her pesky soul. But Lothaire begins to feel conflicted in his plans, because Elizabeth makes him all kinds of hot in all his lusty (and well-endowed) Vampire parts, and Soaroya... well, Saroya only has one thing on her mind and it's a lot more decapitations and a lot less lovin'...
I'll level with you - this is the first adult paranormal romance I've ever read. Really, the only one I've ever read, if you don't count Twilight (which I'm sure most people wouldn't). But Simon & Schuster sent me this book at the beginning of the month, and I figured I could use a break from my usual fare (zombies); so what better way to start than with some random book from the post office?
From what I could gather, there was a whole slew of other books from this particular Universe, but I didn't feel like an uneducated asshole for not having read them; instead there were allusions to other characters and plots (as opposed to referencing things mysteriously and adding footnotes like *Buy book 5 for the explanation!*) that seemed... pretty interesting, actually.
This book was super easy to read; every character was individual and well developed with their own back story (another reason why I'll read more from this series) and the Universe itself was badass - there were so many types of supernatural creatures with different legends and it all comes across as really new and exciting.
Lothaire as a character was fun to read about; he's ridiculously handsome, rich beyond measure, violent, mentally imbalanced, and completely sex crazed. My kind of dude. Elizabeth was kind of standard romance fare (I have read a couple of historical romances in my time): spunky, unpredictable, and a babe. She seemed a little stereotypical at first; stay strong, keep it together, don't cry out loud...
Lothaire
Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance
Published Jan 2012
468 pages
9/10
Lothaire, Enemy of Old, is a mad Vampire of Royal lineage - he's kicking ass and taking names (in his ancient ledger of Blood Debts) and is hell bent on taking control of the Vampire Kingdoms... by force. Elizabeth Peirce is a foxy backwoods piece who, unfortunately, is possessed by the spirit of the homicidal goddess Saroya and has landed on Death Row. Lothaire intends to wed Saroya in Elizabeth's body, once he gets rid of her pesky soul. But Lothaire begins to feel conflicted in his plans, because Elizabeth makes him all kinds of hot in all his lusty (and well-endowed) Vampire parts, and Soaroya... well, Saroya only has one thing on her mind and it's a lot more decapitations and a lot less lovin'...
I'll level with you - this is the first adult paranormal romance I've ever read. Really, the only one I've ever read, if you don't count Twilight (which I'm sure most people wouldn't). But Simon & Schuster sent me this book at the beginning of the month, and I figured I could use a break from my usual fare (zombies); so what better way to start than with some random book from the post office?
From what I could gather, there was a whole slew of other books from this particular Universe, but I didn't feel like an uneducated asshole for not having read them; instead there were allusions to other characters and plots (as opposed to referencing things mysteriously and adding footnotes like *Buy book 5 for the explanation!*) that seemed... pretty interesting, actually.
This book was super easy to read; every character was individual and well developed with their own back story (another reason why I'll read more from this series) and the Universe itself was badass - there were so many types of supernatural creatures with different legends and it all comes across as really new and exciting.
Lothaire as a character was fun to read about; he's ridiculously handsome, rich beyond measure, violent, mentally imbalanced, and completely sex crazed. My kind of dude. Elizabeth was kind of standard romance fare (I have read a couple of historical romances in my time): spunky, unpredictable, and a babe. She seemed a little stereotypical at first; stay strong, keep it together, don't cry out loud...
Sorry, couldn't resist. Any time I can work a reference from that movie into my life, I will.
Anyways, Elizabeth evolved from from that kind of well-done sticht, and definitely grew on me. She definitely put that badass in... badass a time or two. The other characters were a neat mix of old-timey traditional and uber modern Valley/Hipster/Punk. Another neat take on things (the mixing of mediums, as it were) and another reason why I want to read more of these.
As for the sex and violence? Lots of sex, and not a shit load of violence, but it all worked for me. The sex was nice and graphic (and bizarre at times, which is a plus) and there was just enough violence to keep my interest piqued and the action moving along. I say this as a hardcore horror junkie (Just put it in my veins!) but nice, normal readers my find it all pretty intense.
There was a weird spot towards the end where I was expecting everything to work out, while instead it got pretty messy (severed fingers and shriveled hearts, anyone?) where I was a little wigged out (My first time reading a proper Paranormal Romance and it deviated from the formula? What?!) but everything came together pretty dang well, in my opinion. For the most part.
I really liked that, at the end, while the book did wrap itself up in more specific terms (majority of major conflicts resolved, etc.) it ended in such a way that there was an opening left for another book, which I'd love to read.
Kresley Cole did a good job - great characters, well developed Universe, lots of dirty nasty sex, and she's funny, which made this book a lot of fun. And that's what reading is supposed to be (at least some of the time) right?
Honestly, I think I found a new favorite author, but check back with me after I've read a few more...
Anyways, Elizabeth evolved from from that kind of well-done sticht, and definitely grew on me. She definitely put that badass in... badass a time or two. The other characters were a neat mix of old-timey traditional and uber modern Valley/Hipster/Punk. Another neat take on things (the mixing of mediums, as it were) and another reason why I want to read more of these.
As for the sex and violence? Lots of sex, and not a shit load of violence, but it all worked for me. The sex was nice and graphic (and bizarre at times, which is a plus) and there was just enough violence to keep my interest piqued and the action moving along. I say this as a hardcore horror junkie (Just put it in my veins!) but nice, normal readers my find it all pretty intense.
There was a weird spot towards the end where I was expecting everything to work out, while instead it got pretty messy (severed fingers and shriveled hearts, anyone?) where I was a little wigged out (My first time reading a proper Paranormal Romance and it deviated from the formula? What?!) but everything came together pretty dang well, in my opinion. For the most part.
I really liked that, at the end, while the book did wrap itself up in more specific terms (majority of major conflicts resolved, etc.) it ended in such a way that there was an opening left for another book, which I'd love to read.
Kresley Cole did a good job - great characters, well developed Universe, lots of dirty nasty sex, and she's funny, which made this book a lot of fun. And that's what reading is supposed to be (at least some of the time) right?
Honestly, I think I found a new favorite author, but check back with me after I've read a few more...
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