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magnafeana's review
3.0
3.75 “Have I mentioned I love this series?” stars!
She was a Valkyire;
He was a vamp;
Can it be anymore obvious?
He was a nerd,
While she killed and slayed;
What more can I say?
This next installment of Immortals After Dark dives into more great world building and a unique couple once more!
Forced to turn into a Vampire centuries ago, Sebastian (H) finds himself on the receiving end of a blade when humans of his new village want him gone. But his executioner turns out to be his Bride, the fated being to give him back his humanity through the blooding—unfeeling Valkyrie Kaderie (h) or, as he lovingly calls her “Katja”.
H and h come to rocky start: Katja’s feelings return with a confusing vengeance that muck up her purpose in life while Sebastian must navigate The Lore and understand the world is much more than mere mortals understand.
Through the Hie—an intensive game of scavenger all to sate a goddess’ passive desires—H and h must navigate their budding attraction among their racial divide and among quite the killer of a competition.
What I enjoy about the Immortals After Dark series is how diverse the plots are. The stakes are always high and the world building deepens. I love that tremendously.
However, while the MCs do have their differences, a lot of them slip into the same tropes. I think the differences are enough that each character would have a distinct enough voice from another, I do. Same to the back stories. In the context of immortals, it truly makes sense for all the cast to go through horrible, horrible things.
I don’t know. It’s just something about the way the MCs and side characters are written that seem familiar. Maybe it’s the humor. I don’t know why, but the humor here doesn’t do it for me.
I found it out that Sebastian, a man who is still hurting from women not genuinely desiring him, dabbles in non-consensual blood play with his Bride because he “lost control”. Same with the bargaining kisses and touches for lifesaving when he was clearly bothered his Bride would feel pain regardless if she heals.
It felt like there were two Sebastians: Sebastian the dubcon manipulative king and Bastian the scarred-hearted scholar who would love like no other.
And the time travel thing… I’m sorry, but the explanation was one of those “God-kun” explanations. I understand why it was there, but it felt like it could’ve been explained earlier and the risk factor could have come from ”If you open a door to the past to connect it to the present day, you have a time limit before the door to the present closes and you’re stuck in a new reality”.
I get the time travel explanation was staved off to build drama, but it didn’t contribute as much Ah-ha! wittiness as it should have.
There was some lite OM drama and mentions of possibleOW, but it just felt like blatant plot device and not something naturally occurring between the characters.
I did enjoy this book. The steam level was
She was a Valkyire;
He was a vamp;
Can it be anymore obvious?
He was a nerd,
While she killed and slayed;
What more can I say?
This next installment of Immortals After Dark dives into more great world building and a unique couple once more!
Forced to turn into a Vampire centuries ago, Sebastian (H) finds himself on the receiving end of a blade when humans of his new village want him gone. But his executioner turns out to be his Bride, the fated being to give him back his humanity through the blooding—unfeeling Valkyrie Kaderie (h) or, as he lovingly calls her “Katja”.
H and h come to rocky start: Katja’s feelings return with a confusing vengeance that muck up her purpose in life while Sebastian must navigate The Lore and understand the world is much more than mere mortals understand.
Through the Hie—an intensive game of scavenger all to sate a goddess’ passive desires—H and h must navigate their budding attraction among their racial divide and among quite the killer of a competition.
What I enjoy about the Immortals After Dark series is how diverse the plots are. The stakes are always high and the world building deepens. I love that tremendously.
However, while the MCs do have their differences, a lot of them slip into the same tropes. I think the differences are enough that each character would have a distinct enough voice from another, I do. Same to the back stories. In the context of immortals, it truly makes sense for all the cast to go through horrible, horrible things.
I don’t know. It’s just something about the way the MCs and side characters are written that seem familiar. Maybe it’s the humor. I don’t know why, but the humor here doesn’t do it for me.
I found it out that Sebastian, a man who is still hurting from women not genuinely desiring him, dabbles in non-consensual blood play with his Bride because he “lost control”. Same with the bargaining kisses and touches for lifesaving when he was clearly bothered his Bride would feel pain regardless if she heals.
It felt like there were two Sebastians: Sebastian the dubcon manipulative king and Bastian the scarred-hearted scholar who would love like no other.
And the time travel thing… I’m sorry, but the explanation was one of those “God-kun” explanations. I understand why it was there, but it felt like it could’ve been explained earlier and the risk factor could have come from ”If you open a door to the past to connect it to the present day, you have a time limit before the door to the present closes and you’re stuck in a new reality”.
I get the time travel explanation was staved off to build drama, but it didn’t contribute as much Ah-ha! wittiness as it should have.
There was some lite OM drama and mentions of possibleOW, but it just felt like blatant plot device and not something naturally occurring between the characters.
I did enjoy this book. The steam level was
bwandering's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
avid_reader_96's review
3.0
I liked it.... to a certain extent. It was hard to relate and/or like Kaderin. I felt like she was too... bitchy and too hard on Sebastian. Then towards the end, it was like a completely different Kaderin (which was probably the point) but it seemed to me that she was too resistant to Sebastian and there wasn't much chemistry between the two, like the attraction was forced. It was an okay read, I just hope the next one is better. Otherwise, I would recommend this book to someone else.
sarahjaye89's review
3.0
This was significantly better than the first book in the series (and also way less rapey... so cheers!). The competition plot line was super compelling and was a great way to drive the story forward. I also found both of these characters to be significantly more likeable and flawed in realistic ways.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Sebastian was NOT an alpha-hole (was very afraid this whole series would be that way) even though he did certainly have possessive tendencies. I appreciated that he was both possessive because of the vampire bride situation but still insecure and unsure that he was worthy of what he was asking for. Some of his most vulnerable moments were painfully relatable.
Kaderin was genuinely awesome - a true bad ass strong female heroine. Her flaw being that she was emotionally withdrawn rather than physically was a really refreshing take, considering you usually see the opposite with women in romance.
My favorite moment by far was when Kaderin told Sebastian that of course he liked her since they are fated and he responded by saying it was because he had seen how her mind works. *Swoon*
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Sebastian was NOT an alpha-hole (was very afraid this whole series would be that way) even though he did certainly have possessive tendencies. I appreciated that he was both possessive because of the vampire bride situation but still insecure and unsure that he was worthy of what he was asking for. Some of his most vulnerable moments were painfully relatable.
Kaderin was genuinely awesome - a true bad ass strong female heroine. Her flaw being that she was emotionally withdrawn rather than physically was a really refreshing take, considering you usually see the opposite with women in romance.
My favorite moment by far was when Kaderin told Sebastian that of course he liked her since they are fated and he responded by saying it was because he had seen how her mind works. *Swoon*
secondchancestyle's review
3.5
I liked the second book better. I appreciated Kaderin’s backstory and her fierceness. I loved how persistent Sebastian was. The guilt and anger she felt was annoying but necessary for the plot.
melissalivanos's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
3.75
laceyfrance's review
The whole race thing didn’t interest me in the least so I skimmed through approximately the second half of the book. I really really wanted to like Sebastian’s book but between the race and Kaderin, eh. He was such a great guy and she was a bitch to him for longer than I wanted to tolerate.
poppymonster's review
5.0
Ok so is Sebastian the most adorable of the MMCs so far? Yes. Yes he is.
I was a little anxious about this book because the FMC is literally unfeeling. However, Cole gave the MCs a lovely love story with just the right amount of the fated mates trope to pull it all together. Both MCs had different but valid motivators behind each choice they made.
I loved the latest installment (that I’ve read) in this series and look forward to continuing the series.
Spice: 4:5
Triggers: dubcon, violence, grief
I was a little anxious about this book because the FMC is literally unfeeling. However, Cole gave the MCs a lovely love story with just the right amount of the fated mates trope to pull it all together. Both MCs had different but valid motivators behind each choice they made.
I loved the latest installment (that I’ve read) in this series and look forward to continuing the series.
Spice: 4:5
Triggers: dubcon, violence, grief
pinklilly122's review
4.0
I really liked this one. I loved the Hei games adding the extra excitement to the story. Sebastian is a great live interest, so sweet but still strong and protective. I'm looking forward to Bowen's book to see what happens to him.