A Hunger Like No Other

Author: Kresley Cole
Published: March 2006 (Pocket Books)
Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Immortals After Dark #1
Rating: 5/10

I bought this book because I was trying to get my shopping cart to $25 so I could get free shipping. It's well rated, and a series, so I figured it'd probably be worth it. Sadly, it wasn't very entertaining.

The hero, Lachlain MacRieve, is the king of the Lykae, and was imprisoned by the vampire Horde for 150 years, tortured in mythical Greek style. He was constantly burned to a crisp by these huge fires, but his immortality kept reviving him. He escapes when he catches the scent of his destined mate above his head, walking on the streets of Paris. However, she's not at all what he expected.

Emmaline Troy, the mate in question, is half Valkyrie and half vampire, quite a problem for furthering a healthy relationship with a man who hates what she is (Lykae don't like vampire and Valkyrie). She's rather fragile, and has strict rules about drinking blood. She won't take blood from a living source, getting her nourishment from blood banks, but she's going hungry in Paris while trying to learn more about her vampire father. To make a bad day worse, a big angry Lykae pounces on her and rips her shirt off in the rain to rub his chest against hers, and then kidnaps her, forcing her to stay with him until the next full moon. She doesn't know that she's his mate, as the feeling is pretty one sided, and she's therefore unaware that at the full moon, Lachlain will give in to his instinct and mate with her rather violently.

I was bored for most of the book, as Lachlain keeps Emma prisoner, despite her wishes to go back home, and he forces himself on her (i.e. fondling her in the shower, taking liberties while she's sleeping, etc) while showing his disgust for her vampire heritage. He says that his instinct drives him to protect his mate, but he does a piss-poor job of it the first night, as he forgets that she can't be exposed to the sun. It's not like he didn't know she was a vampire, so maybe he subconsciously wanted to hurt her? Even though he keeps promising that he could never harm her? He keeps hurting her through the whole book, emotionally and physically!

So I spent two-thirds of the book reading of their constant sniping at each other (not even the entertaining kind of sniping), her "woe is me, I can't help myself" attitude while waiting for the inevitable soul-changing bonding ritual, and his "I can' hurt her and have to relieve my pressure in the shower because I want my mate so bad even though I hate what she is" thought cycle. I was also annoyed by Lachlain's accent, as rather than just describing that he has a Scottish accent, Cole wrote his accent into the dialogue, with "ken," "can'," and "doona" sprinkled all over the book.

There's also a ridiculous lack of communication. He lies about her being his mate, later claiming that it was for her protection as he was afraid she'd freak out when she found out. Surprise surprise, she freaks out about him lying after the truth comes out. She doesn't tell him about how she's not full vampire, and starves for four days when she's supposed to feed every day.

And after all of the "I don't want you, let me go home" stuff, the full moon comes and he takes her violently when he was trying to avoid it the whole time, as she's a seventy year-old virgin (take that Steve Carell!). Then she changes her attitude completely and is content to be with Lachlain. I found it too fast after all the animosity and didn't really feel any love from Emma. Lachlain's love was one of lust and desperation and the fact that he finally admired her for her intelligence, wit, and beauty seemed more of an afterthought.

This is not a sweet and entertaining paranormal romance, so avoid this book if that's what you're really looking for.