The first part of this book went over the line imo.
Things happen to the mc which I would describe as coercion, extortion, abduction, and sexual assault which stretches uncomfortably far into outright rape. All of this is later explained away and excused as water under the bridge and remembered fondly yadda yadda.

After this initial shockingly inappropriate section, this is pretty much just a well-executed run-of-the-mill paranormal romance brimming over with the MINEs and the MATEs.

The plot is decent but the main focus is always on the romance.

I am aware that there is an audience for the "says no but wants yes" and I am not judging. I understand how this might be problematic in reality especially if the dominant partner makes inappropriate assumptions but I am not a "full verbal consent to everything is the only way" kind of person. In books, I am fine with a lot of things that go quite far if, as a reader, it becomes clear that from the inside there is more consent going on than is obvious from the outside. I am babbling, you know what I mean...
No feminist leanings or anything over here.
Regardless, the first part of this book is quite fucked up not because of what happens but because of how it is portrayed.
I came to know quite a few rape victims because of the environment I lived in and have become intimately familiar with emotional scaring that still hurts just to think about even after more than a decade despite not being the one with the scars myself.
The first part of this book describes things with the potential to scar a person for life to the point of never being able to freely enjoy sexual intercourse again. It is all shrugged off just like that after the "mate" thing and true love become involved later on.
It comes close to some kind of rape scenes facilitated by some kind of lust potion just that in this case there is no potion and it is not a bad thing but somehow romantic instead.
Even tho I might have enjoyed the rest as a solid 3-star book I will not give them because that first part was a nogo for me. It just broke all suspension of disbelief for me.
As judgemental as this review might sound, as long as it stays in fiction, you do you. If you enjoy fantasies like this go along, I don't judge.
In the end, it's just a book and some people get enjoyment out of much worse fantasies I guess. ( )

Every once in a while, I get a hankering for a paranormal romance. I've read a few of this series but never the first book, so I grabbed it. Lachlan MacRieve is king of the Lykae clan but has been captured and tortured by vampires for decades. He frees himself when he senses his destined mate but realizes there's a problem when Emmaline turns out to be a timid half-vampire, half-valkyrie woman. He basically kidnaps her and takes her back to his castle in Scotland until he can figure this out. Meanwhile, Emma takes his blood and finds it makes her much stronger and assertive.
This is the introduction to the series, so there are a lot of supernatural characters whose stories will be told in later books and it can be a bit confusing to keep them all straight. But it's a fun read that delivers on the paranormal romance. ( )

Sono molto, molto perplessa riguardo a questo libro.

L'inizio mi ha fortemente urtata, tanto che ho quasi pensato di abbandonare la lettura. Abbiamo il maschio alfa di turno - Lachlain, re dei lykae - che, non appena conosciuta la sua Sposa (cioè la donna che è destinata a stare al suo fianco per sempre), la minaccia, quasi la violenta, la molesta, la rapisce, la insulta, mira a dilapidarle il conto in banca... e chi più ne ha più ne metta.

E non mi ha soddisfatto sapere che il comportamento di Lachlain è dovuto a una lunghissima prigionia e un'altrettanto lunghissima tortura. E nemmeno che i lykae sono un tantino "irruenti" quando si tratta delle loro Spose.

Dubito che una donna così maltrattata possa anche solo lontanamente pensare di avere una relazione con un uomo così. La violenza sulle donne non può MAI essere giustificata, scusata, minimizzata o essere avvicinata all'amore. Punto.

Detto questo, dopo che Lachlain torna ad essere "civile", il libro migliora, con le interazioni con la famiglia di lei e la battaglia per difenderla. Questo è l'unico motivo per cui non ho ritenuto il libro una delusione totale (sebbene l'amaro delle prime pagine non si sia mai del tutto dissolto nella lettura). ( )

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. ( )

Loved it!
Constant action.
Great characters.
Awesome sex scenes.
Even has Rock-N-Roll!
Can't wait to read the next book in this series. ( )