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You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Review: Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole

Review: Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole

February 20, 2010 by Mandi 23 Comments

Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Immortals After Dark, #9)A DANGEROUS BEAUTY…

Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her — and those she loves.

AN UNCONTROLLABLE NEED…

Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own.

THAT LEAD TO A PLEASURE SO WICKED….

From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia’s greatest weakness — her wanton desire for him.

Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole (Immortals After Dark #9)
Paranormal Romance
Available Now
Paperback, 431 Pages
Pocket

Favorite Quote: “You’re my woman, Lousha. Damn you, I’ll never want another!”

Why I read: Immortals After Dark is one of my favorite series.

Garreth MacRieve is a Lykae who has been living a long time. He is called the Dark Prince because he is second in line to the throne to his Brother Lachlain MacRieve and has led a bit of a wild life. This book takes us back to the beginning of the series when Lachlain is still missing and Garreth thinks one day he will have to be king. He is tired of the easy girls and asks for a challenge – and oh boy does he get one. As he is playing a game of rugby, Lucia The Huntress happens to walk by on a mission. The moment he scents her, he knows she is his mate. Bruised, battered, and very dirty from his rugby game he catches up with her, ready to throw her to ground and claim her, with his wolf instincts coming to attention.

The Lykae and Valkyrie do not have a nice relationship to begin with, but things are going to be even harder for these two. Long ago, Lucia was tricked into marrying Crom Cruach, a very evil god. To save her life, she made a pact with the goddess Skathi who offers this: Freedom from Cruach and talented archery skills but she must remain abstinent, or all will be lost. One other condition is that every time she misses her target, she will experience extreme, unbearable pain. Having a very ambitious, sexy Lykae on top of her does not bode well for her vow. However, Lucia has been around a long time and is not about to let this Lykae break all she has worked for.

Now, every 500 years, Lucia must fight Cruach to make sure he stays in his prison. Lucia and her sister Regin have been hunting for a dieumort, a weapon that can kill gods. This is her foremost concern and she does not want Garreth to interfere. Lucia is definitely attracted to Garreth and finds it very difficult to resist him. She refuses to tell Garreth why she won’t submit to him, although they both know they are each other’s mates. Valkyrie are stubborn, and Garreth soon learns to what extent she will go to keep her promise to the Skathi. When the hunt for Cruach intensifies, Lucia is determined to win the battle, and Garreth is determined to help her.

Pleasure of a Dark Prince is a great book and really has cemented Kresley Cole as one of my favorite authors. I was a bit disillusioned after Kiss of a Demon King. But after reading her anthology, Deep Kiss of Winter and now this one, she is back in a big way!

Lucia is part of the Valkyrie and I love them. Her sister Regin and Nix play a big role in this book and they always bring lots of laughs. The Valkyrie are so set in their ways and they totally lack modesty which makes them excellent characters. Lucia is so stubborn, refusing to tell Garreth why she can’t have sex with him. She tries to deny that she likes him for the most part, but being a werewolf, he can pick up her scent of arousal. When she melts into his kisses, he knows she wants him just as much as he wants her. But he becomes so frustrated with her as she keeps constantly pushing him away.

There is a tricky line in this book – Garreth pushing Lucia to give herself to him, even though she continually denies him. He could have easily crossed that line, but Kresley Cole doesn’t let him. He acts with honor and morality, and even though his wolf wants to claim her with such ferocity, he does everything he can as a human, to keep his distance from her. He also knows Bowen, his cousin, lost a mate while chasing her. So he doesn’t want to scare Lucia off -but he can’t let her go without him either.

Garreth is a Lykae and darn it, once he finds his mate that is it. Period. You will see in this book what he goes through to be with Lucia. It is his loyalty that completely endears him to me (and to Lucia at the end). With his Scottish accent, and growly voice, you will be swooning. He says “bluidy” and “fook” and Lucia comes out “Lousha”. He is totally, 100% alpha, but he is cute. He is very werewolf like, being that he is comfortable with his body.

“And what about… that?” She delicately pointed to his erection.

He made a big show of tucking his shaft straight up behind the waist of his jeans. She looked stunned to have seen the head of his cock before he pulled his shirt down. “Ah, lass, you’ve seen it before. Had your hands all over it.”

The one little thing that bothered me at the end is that I think Lucia got out of her abstinence issue a little too easy. I was expecting more repercussions. That is not to say she had it easy at the end, and there is a nice little twist after the big battle that makes the ending even more sweeter.

Kresley Cole knows how to write foreplay too. Goodness the intensity of their lovemaking, even before they have sex is hot – naughty hot. Combined with her wonderful humor, really fun characters, and great action, Pleasure of a Dark Prince is you guessed it, a “Smexy Must Read”

Rating: 4.5/5

Recent Reviews:
Babbling About Books and More – A-
That’s Queen Bitch to You – B+

Kresley Cole’s Website.

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Comments

  1. SusiSunshine says

    February 20, 2010 at 9:16 am

    Sounds soooo good. I love the Valkyrie especially cuz of their lack of modesty! I love the Lykae especially cuz of the wonderful accent!
    I have to read this one ASAP!
    Loved your review!

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  2. Zoe Archer says

    February 20, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    I went to the bookstore yesterday to pick this up, even though my TBR pile (and other commitments) is massive. Their computer said it was in the store, but goddamn it, I couldn't find it anywhere. The hunt continues. I needs me some peen-poppin' Lykae.

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  3. VampFanGirl says

    February 20, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    So, I'm kinda skimming this review cause my copy is on its way. YAY!!! And double yay cause you liked POADP! YAY! YAY!

    Hugs, VFG

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  4. Katiebabs a.k.a KB says

    February 20, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    KC sure does write some of the best foreplay scenes I've ever read. This is a must read for fans of the IAD series.

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  5. Ava March says

    February 20, 2010 at 2:38 pm

    Sounds like a fabulous book! And a hero with a Scottish accent…yum!! :)

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  6. Mandi says

    February 20, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    Susi – She writes great characters..can't wait for you to read it!!

    Zoe – LOL..those Scot's and their x-large peens ;)

    VFG – Yay..I look forward to heading over your way to read your thoughts. I hope you like it!

    KB – darn, that girl can write foreplay. Wham bam, thank you ma'am.

    Ava- I do like the accent. I made hubs start talking that way..LOL

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  7. The Queen B says

    February 20, 2010 at 2:44 pm

    Great review! Yep, the foreplay alone was damn hot. I think her constant beating his ass was kinda foreplay all on it's own ;)

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  8. Carolyn Crane says

    February 20, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    Oh, oh, those scents of arousal always give the ladies away! So glad you're back on the KC wagon with me. Thanks for the review!!! Can't wait to read!

    I sort of want to save it for when I need a sure thing, but then again, I can't wait!!

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  9. heidenkind says

    February 20, 2010 at 6:21 pm

    Yay!!!! Garreth's story! I'm so excited!

    I need to leave before I use my exclamation quota for the day. :D

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  10. Gigi's Consignment Closet says

    February 20, 2010 at 6:31 pm

    Awesome review Mandi. I too am having trouble locating this book. Grrr.
    Can't wait to read it. I love that there is more Nix in it. She is so funny and indelicate. lol

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  11. Leontine says

    February 21, 2010 at 3:10 am

    I'm reading this right now and Garreth and Lousha just had their first encounter, my heart rate definitely went up with that scene! Weren't you triggered to re-read the first few books Mandi? I'm reading info that makes me dig my memory of reading the books previous to this one ;)

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  12. Blodeuedd says

    February 21, 2010 at 6:25 am

    I kept wondering where this post was, thanks Mandi!

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  13. A Buckeye Girl Reads says

    February 21, 2010 at 11:35 am

    I so have to get on the Kresly Cole bandwagon. Wonderful review!

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  14. Penelope says

    February 21, 2010 at 11:43 am

    Can't wait! Can't wait! Can't wait! That Scottish accent is sooooo fine. Mandi…is it on Kindle already?

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  15. Fiction Vixen says

    February 21, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    I'm in the middle of this and I Garreth is one sexy mo-fo! It took me a while to get into this one but damn, once I did, whew! I'll finish this tonight and tonight cannot get here fast enough. Maybe I'll sneak read today? hehe

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  16. Dottie (My Blog 2.0-Tink's Place) says

    February 21, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    Hi Mandi!

    It may be hard to believe, but I haven't read Kresley Cole yet. I guess I need to look for her books!

    Thanks for a great review!

    Dottie :)

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  17. Mandi says

    February 21, 2010 at 11:00 pm

    Queen B – Yes, there was A LOT of tension in this one!

    Carolyn – LOL…those wolves and their darn noses.

    Heidenkind – There can never be too many !!!!!!!

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  18. Mandi says

    February 21, 2010 at 11:02 pm

    Tori – I hope you found the book! Nix is a great character.

    Leontine – Yes..because she goes back to the beginning, I wanted everyone's story again. She does a great job with showing us all points of view.

    Blodeuedd – I had a tiny problem posting it at first..sorry :) Darn technology…(yes it is the computer's fault, not mine!)

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  19. Mandi says

    February 21, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    Colette – Yes, you would love these books!!

    Penny – Yes, it is on Kindle!

    FV- Hope you got lots of sneak reading in today :)

    Dottie – Yes, this is such a fun series. One of the best PNRs out there.

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  20. Smokinhotbooks says

    February 22, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    I think this is Cole's best yet! I think my favorite scene had to be when he first met her playing rugby.

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  22. Amalia says

    February 10, 2011 at 1:06 am

    Yes! I agree, kiss of a demon king was poo, but not because of bad writing or story. I just HATED Rydstrom. This book, however, was fantastic, and the setting was icing on an adventurous cake

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