At first, I was a bit confused because this book was written before the 12th book (Lothaire) in Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark Series but is tagged on the author's website as "The Story That Launched the Immortals After Dark Series". This tag could lead someone to think this is the first book in the series. However, the real first book in the series is A Hunger Like No Other. So why is the "launching" story so far down the series path? Let's just call this one a Prequel or a Flashback book.
So now, the cast of characters from the Lore-
Nikolai Roth- Vamp General in the war between good vamps and bad vamps. Hint- He is a good vamp.
Myst the Coveted- Valkyrie with horrible belly chain belt.
Basically, the plot goes like this.
Myst has been taken captive (on purpose) by the bad vamps and is in their dungeon when the good vamps storm the castle and take over. Good vamp, General Nikolai, meets Myst the Prisoner and gets "blooded" or in Ms Cole's mythology, sort of brought back to life in that his heart starts to beat again. He can breathe again. AND....the lovely side effect....he can sport wood again. That is right ladies, Nikolai has been a member of the undead for over 300 years with no action. None. Can't get it up. Zilch. That is a heck of a trade-off for immortality.
Any-who...Nikolai and Myst make out and just as you get to the good part....blam...Myst's Valkyrie sisters come rescue her leaving poor Nikolai, who has had zero action in 300 years, in the uncomfortable stiff position and blue in the southern regions. Not for a day. Not for a week. Not even for a year. Nope, she leaves him like this for 5...count them FIVE YEARS.
I am going to stop here and say that was just cruel. Neither of them asked for this situation. Leaving him in this state of....um...discomfort....yeah..I'm going with discomfort....was in a word...mean.
Nikolai goes on the hunt to find Myst, who because she "blooded" Nikolai is now his "Bride". When he finds her, he essentially kidnaps her and discovers her weakness...this belly chain piece of jewelry that gives the owner/possessor the ability to order Myst around. Of course, Nikolai gets the belly chain and abuses the power.
Now I get why Myst is angry at Nikolai. What woman in her right mind likes someone else to have complete power over them. BUT, let's face it, Nikolai deserves a bit of a pass for bad judgement because, well, he is extremely sexually frustrated, feeling abandoned by his girl, and having a rough time with his family, too. Don't get me wrong. If we were in real life and some guy tried to turn someone into a slave, I would be dialing the cops, the news reporters, blasting it on Facebook...you get my point. Good thing this is FICTION, right?
As with most good romance novels, the couple end up together in the end despite all the odds and adversity. Everything tied up in a nice little bow.
Let me end in saying that I LOVE THE IAD SERIES! (See previous "Valkyries Rock" post) This book is not my favorite in the series but I give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars. Good character development. Easy read and having read it after most of the other books in the series, see how it ties some loose ends together.
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