FINAL DECISION: A adventurous, angst filled, humorous entry in the Immortals world, this book expands the scope of the Immortals world but also gives us a beauty and the beast retelling with a twist.

THE STORY: Ten thousand years ago, Abyssian Infernas was betrayed by his fey mate. He has never forgotten and has waited for her resurrection in order to get his revenge. Now the demon king of hell, Sian has his opportunity. Princess Calliope Bardot is brought by bounty hunters to Sian’s domain where he keeps her prisoner. She has her own purpose as well: to gather information against Sian and his alliance in order to protect her people.

OPINION: I immediately got sucked into this book although I haven’t read an Immortals book in a while. The humor and drama and just great storytelling keeps me returning book after book.

This book is an Immortals retelling of Beauty and the Beast including a curse, an enchanted castle and an incredible library. Of course, the castle is in hell and the beast is a demon who is slowly devolving into his demonic form. The beauty is an exiled fey princess who wants to return to her realm.

Although this story has fated mates (who already had one bad lifetime experience), the development of their relationship is given a tremendous amount of time to develop and grow. I loved the interaction between Sian and Lila as the two of them fall in love. But there are secrets that each is keeping and a past that torments Sian and makes him wary of trusting Lila again.

My favorite part is that Lila is a badass in this story. She is not going to sit around and allow Sian to dominate her or destroy her. By the end of the book, she clearly has evolved to his perfect mate.

This book is nicely paired with SWEET RUIN and keeps on the “dark side” of the coming battle. A small but significant appearance by Nix keeps the overarching storyline going.

WORTH MENTIONING: There are appearances from Rune and Jo from SWEET RUIN. And if you don’t recall Sian, he’s in that book as well.

CONNECTED BOOKS: WICKED ABYSS is the eighteenth book in the Immortals After Dark series. This series is much better if read in order, but this book can be read as a standalone if character appearances from prior books and references to the overarching story line of the series don’t both you.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

Friends to Enemies to Lovers Story Shines

“Unfortunately, Lanthe had her own stalker — Thronos, a crazed, winged warlord who’d been obsessed with capturing her for the last five hundred years.”

FINAL DECISION: Powerful and painful, the journey of Lanthe and Thronos to find peace and love is tortured and twisted and yet these two both want to recapture their childhood idyll which can only come through understanding, acceptance and willingness to change.

THE STORY: Melanthe “Lanthe” of the Deie Sorceri is the Queen of Persuasion and has spent years trying to reclaim her powers. She has been running and hiding from Thronos Talos, a Vrekener, who believes she is his mate. For four short and wonderful months, the two had been best friends as children. When Thronos betrayed her, causing the death of her parents, Lanthe made him jump from a high point, causing him to almost die. Now scarred and constantly in pain, Thronos has finally hunted down and captured Lanthe and intends on forcing her to accompanying him to his home at Skye Hall so that she can provide him heirs.

OPINION: This book is a journey into the relationship between Thronos and Lanthe. The two have a lot of baggage. Their journey entails an adventure through different realms each posing challenges to the two. The best part of the book is how the two learn to compromise with one another — learning that only through acceptance and compromise do they two stand any chance of building a life together. Their journey is difficult because the two have years of personal emnity, the longstanding hatred between Vrekeners and Sorceri, and the desire of Thronos for Lanthe to be different than she is. This book goes deep into working out the relationship between Thronos and Lanthe because they have a lot to get through.

The other good part of this book is how this book pulls together some threads from prior books. For me, I love how Cole shows the IAD story from different perspectives — moving the story back and then forward with more insight.

There are also some new insights as to what is going on with Nix. As readers of IAD know, Nix, the Valkyrie Soothsayer, has been working on some play dealing with the Accession. Here, more of her machinations are revealed.

WORTH MENTIONING: This story has a very sexually experienced heroine and a virgin hero. I liked how the two dealt with her sexual past — her being unwilling to regret her past and him coming to accept her rather than wanting to change her.

CONNECTED BOOKS: DARK SKYE is the fifteenth book in the Immortals After Dark series. The story in here is complete and can be read on its own, but there is a lot of intertwining with recent books concerning events and characters. I think this book is better if a reader is aware of the IAD mythology.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars

“What won’t we do for the people we love.”

“She was a killer with blood on her hands, but she wanted to give her heart away . . .Jo yearned for her other half with all the desperation of someone who’d always known something was missing.”

FINAL DECISION: The story of two lonely immortals desperately needing connection, SWEET RUIN demonstrates the best in the Immortals After Dark series: humor, adventure, hot sex and deep loving bonds.

THE STORY: Rune Darklight is the assassin of the Morior (the group of ancient immortals coming to earth for the Accession for their own purposes). Rune is half fey/half demon which makes him dark fey. His black blood is poisonous to all but his own kind. For the first several hundred years of his life, Rune was a slave and trained as a sexual weapon. Rune is on earth hunting the Valkyrie Soothsayer Nix in order to assassinate her. While pumping some nymphs for information, Rune senses a voyeur and sets out to find out who the sweet scented female is.

Josephine Doe is an orphan without any knowledge of who or what she is. All she knows from the age of eight is that she has to protect her baby brother Thaddeus. When her brother is taken from her and her life changes dramatically, Jo first decides that she is destined to be a superhero. Her taste for vengeance and blood convince Jo that she is actually the villain of the piece. When she sees the mesmerizing Rune with his nymphs, she is intrigued by the male but as wary as a feral cat.

OPINION: “When two people form an unbreakable bond, it’s like a reactor, feeding them power and heat and a sense of belonging. It makes them strong. They’re the true superheroes.”

Rune and Jo are both damaged people. I am a big fan of damaged characters where the rough edges of both seem to fit so well. Rune’s past as a slave and a whore have made him doubt his own self-worth. He uses his sexuality as a crutch in his business because that is how he has learned to do his job. He thinks nothing and feels nothing during sex because it has become meaningless to him. Despairing of ever finding a mate, Rune desperately wants a connection that he knows will poison and kill any female foolish enough to get close to him.

Josie is feral. Years of living on the street and protecting herself have given her a hard shell. She is foul mouthed, prickly, and completely badass. Separated from her brother, Josie does not have a connection to anyone but desperately wants a connection. She has learned to vicariously experience relationship with others through use of her her abilities. Completely ignorant of the Lore, Rune is the first fellow Immortal that Josie has spoken with.

The relationship between these two jaded people ends up being incredibly sweet. The two learn the value of themselves as they bicker and fight and love their way around the world chasing Nix. They end up finding value in the relationship between them even as they discover and rediscover their own pasts. I did especially like the sweetness of their relationship in light of how dark their pasts were. Josie (although far from sweet and innocent herself) brings a freshness and newness to Rune’s life which often feels oppressive and dark.

In the mythology of the Immortals After Dark series, this book continues Nix’s work with the Accession (the battle between the creatures of the Lore). Some parts of her plans are disclosed while many others remain murky. It has become clear that Nix is not as crazy as she appeared in earlier books in the series but instead is making intricate chess moves to bring about a conclusion that she wants. There are numerous connection and appearances by past characters which will please fans of the series.

This book seriously moves forward the mythology of the series without every losing sight of the importance of the romance and connection between the main characters. One of the best of the series.

WORTH MENTIONING: From the offhand reference to a female vampire living in New Orleans, I have hope that we will be seeing more of the Dacians from SHADOW’S CLAIM.

CONNECTED BOOKS: SWEET RUIN is the sixteenth book in the Immortals After Dark series. At this point, I believe that readers should read the other books in the series if they wish to fully enjoy this book. The romance here is self-contained, but there is so much else going on that is directly connected with events in the series as a whole.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to provide an honest review of the book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

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