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katyhosbein's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Any book I can blast through in a day means it’ll get five stars. I was engaged in the story throughout the whole book and loved the even match between Kaderin and Sebastian in both fighting and intelligence. Still love the subtle twists on classic lore in this book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Gore
friends2lovers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
4.0
In the year 1709, Sebastian Wroth was turned, against his will, into a vampire by his brothers. He's lived the last 300 years alone and miserable. So, when Kaderin the Cold-Hearted, a Valkyrie, shows up at his castle to assassinate him, he welcomes death by her sword. Kaderin hesitates and it soon becomes clear why - she is Sebastian’s Bride. This is quite inconvenient and appalling for Kaderin, who has spent the last 1,000 years assassinating vampires, ever since her sisters were killed by one.
“No, no!” She stared at his chest—at his heart—in horror. “I am not a . . . Bride.”
Bride? His jaw slackened. He remembered his brothers explaining that when he found his Bride, his eternal wife, she would blood him. With his blooding, his body would come back to life. He’d always believed they’d lied to dull the bitter sting of what they’d made him. Yet it was true. The sound he’d heard was the rush of his heart beating for the first time since he’d been turned. He rocked on his feet as he inhaled deeply, breathing at last after three hundred years.
What follows is a rollercoaster of action and adventure. Kaderin is competing in the Talisman’s Hie, a treasure hunt that occurs every 250 years. Participants earn points by traveling all over the world collecting magical objects. The winner of this year’s Hie will receive Thrane’s Key which allows the possessor to travel into the past. Kaderin is determined to win so that she can use the key to go back in time to save her sisters’ lives. Sebastian enters the competition to help Kaderin win (or if that’s not possible, to win the key for her) in the hopes that Kaderin will warm up to the idea of being his Bride once she gets to know him. The plot was more entertaining and adventurous than I thought it would be. Probably if I were ever to reread this, I’d skip some of these action-heavy scenes. But, I appreciate them for the worldbuilding. Apparently, dragons (also called basilisks) exist in this world! The time travel aspect made my brain hurt, though, and I don’t think I understand the rules.
As for the romance, their first meeting effectively sucked me in, even though it could have fallen flat because of the insta-lust. Unfortunately, there isn’t a later scene that tops that one in terms of tension and chemistry. Their first meeting is profound not just because of Sebastian’s blooding, but also because of his effect on Kaderin. For the last thousand years she’s been blessed with a cold, unfeeling nature, but “the blessing” is reversed when she’s in Sebastian’s presence and she’s suddenly inundated with feelings that she does not have the capacity to process. As a result, Kaderin is very hot and cold with Sebastian. I get that she’s overwhelmed and confused. I think I wanted her mood swings explained a bit more, though.
I couldn’t always discern what caused her to change her mind about Sebastian. The turning point for Kaderin is supposedly a sex scene where beforehand she tells him, “If we do this, Sebastian, there’s no making love. There’s no claiming me, like I’m lost luggage. This isn’t a promise of any kind. Just meaningless sex.” Then the next morning her narrative says, “Now that she and Sebastian had made love, everything felt different to her.” I missed the part where “meaningless sex” became “making love” for her. The sex scene was told in Sebastian’s point-of-view, which I’m not sure was the best choice if there was a major emotional shift happening with Kaderin. It was all a bit anticlimactic.
I think the romance could have been stronger if there was a little less focus on Kaderin’s sexual feelings for Sebastian, which are consistent, and more focus on the building of trust between them, which was inconsistent and not fully fleshed out. Kaderin does not reveal to Sebastian her true motivations for winning the Hie, and I’m not sure I understand why she chose to keep that a secret. When Sebastian outright asks her what’s driving her to win, she says that she doesn’t want him to use her trust against her as leverage. I’m not following the logic here. Leverage for what? Sebastian was a more consistent character, though there were a couple of times where I struggled to track his emotional journey as well.
It’s been a while since I read book 1 and I didn’t read the prequel novella at all, so I kind of felt like I was playing catch-up on backstory and worldbuilding. Maybe in my brain, trying to juggle the romance and the other aspects at the same time prevented me from fully connecting with the characters and so my understanding of them suffered?
Overall, this was fun and a refreshing break from all the historical romance I've been reading! A Hunger Like No Other was not a particularly memorable read for me earlier this year, but I'm glad I gave this series another shot. I've already started book 3, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, because I want to find out what happens to Bowen, who went through the ringer in this book. I’m also excited to read about a werewolf and a witch paired together.
_______________
Endnotes
Series: Immortals After Dark #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Setting: present day, all over the world
Hero: Sebastian Wroth, vampire
Heroine: Kaderin the Coldhearted, valkyrie
Tropes/Themes: scholarly hero, assassin heroine, globe trotting, hero pursues heroine, fated mates, insta-lust
Format: October 2015 mass market paperback edition (own), copyright 2006
Length: 445 pages, 121k words
Read Date: December 7, 2021
Heat Rating: Medium-High
Flames: 4🔥🔥🔥🔥
Density: 3📑📑📑
Intensity: 4💓💓💓💓
Burn Speed: 5💨💨💨💨💨
Overall: 4🌡️🌡️🌡️🌡️
Sex & Kink Notes:
Sex Scene Details:
※ My star and heat ratings are explained → here
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, and Gore
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