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Review
“Where your mate goes, you follow. . . .”
4.5 stars!
I love this series, and I love this paranormal world! With a wonderful collection of supernatural creatures, Kresley Cole has created a fantastically complex world that I love to lose myself in, and each story is exciting and intriguing, laugh-out-loud funny, sexy and romantic with great action. I absolutely love these books, and I loved finally getting the story of broody lykae badass, Uilleam MacRieve.
Uilleam is a lykae chief, and cousin to the MacRieves we have already met in the series (Lachlain, Garreth and Bowen). He’s been through hell, is fairly antisocial and a bit of a loner and a manwhore and, together with his twin brother, Munro, they are known as ‘Hot’ and ‘Hotter’ (though they argue which of them owns which title).
Chloe is a professional soccer player known as ‘Baby T-Rex’. She’s smart, fierce, sassy and no-nonsense, and is absolutely driven to achieve her dreams of sporting glory. But her whole life is ripped out from under her when she is taken from her home and ends up on the supernatural auction block. Surrounded by creatures from myth and legend, she has no idea what is happening to her and what she’s in for, and then she is rescued by a big, burly Scot who claims her as his own.
MacRieve recognises Chloe as his fated mate before he even lays eyes on her. Unlike his brother, he has never longed for his mate, he doesn’t want one, and he doesn’t feel worthy of having one – his past leaving him terrified of falling so completely, or of having a lasting bond with somebody. The fact that she is human is also a problem. But from the moment he is with her, he is enamoured. She is his life, his reason for living, and he will do anything to protect her and make her happy, and OMG, it’s beautiful to see!!!!
“You asked me how old I am I was born roughly nine centuries ago. I’ve lived for more than three hundred thousand days. And you made this one my favorite one of all.”
*dreamy sigh*
Chloe adjusts surprisingly well to MacRieve. Of course she’s terrified, but he is a gentle giant, soothing her and opening his heart to her, and she finds him impossible to resist. It helps that he’s sexy as all hell, of course, and the steamy time is both sizzling and beautifully emotional.
“She pressed a single soft kiss over his heart, having no idea he’d just given it to her.”
But their coming together unleashes something unexpected. Something that changes everything, setting their lives on a completely different path as MacRieve is forced to relive is personal hell and Chloe is left to come to terms with not only who she is, but the fact that her brand new mate that she was so quickly falling for, is now a very real danger to her.
OMG, this book took my emotions for a ride! I guessed where it was going to go, but I wasn’t expecting the intensity of the fallout, and OMG, the feels!!!
For a start, MacRieve’s backstory broke my heart. His childhood was tragic, and then he was one of those who were captured by The Order and subjected to all kinds of brutal torture which re-opened his emotional and psychological wounds and left him a shattered shell of who he once was. And then Chloe came into his life and I was flying high watching them fall for each other so beautifully. But then it all turns to hell, and I was so, so pissed as it all went down. I could rant on and on about the unfairness, cruelty, viciousness, betrayal and appalling behaviour that went on (it’s been a few days, and I’m clearly still all riled up about it). It’s not the story I wanted for them, and my heart broke at how it all played out, but I was glued to every moment. It sets up a wonderfully complex dynamic as their intense connection to each other is pitted against all of the drama between them, and it creates a huge emotional hurdle for them to overcome and fight back from, and that was fantastic to see.
“I know I’m wrong in the head! I want to be . . . right. For you.”
Let’s take a moment to celebrate the awesomeness of Chloe, because even with all that she goes through, her strength and sass is absolutely sensational! She stands up to MacRieve when she should have been terrified, and I cheered over and over for her! She is smart-mouthed with a wicked sense of humour, and she’s completely emotionally open, accepting and forgiving and I love that she never held anything back. Her determination to push through all that she was going through when she would have been well within her rights to curl up into a ball in the corner and just weep is fantastic, and on top of it all she’s funny as all hell. I absolutely love her, and I have the biggest girl-crush on her.
“Now, why don’t you shove in a manpon and tug up your manties”
She’s a wonderful match for MacRieve, and even though it hurt, I loved their story.
“Where your mate goes, you follow. . . .”
As always, one of the highlights of this book for me was the extended cast of characters. Nix is crazy perfection and always makes me laugh, but it was the band of lykae that I really loved. Munro is a fantastic character, and I love his strength and his sweet nature, and the two teenagers that the brothers have taken into their home were an absolute riot! I loved their antics and their hilarious banter, which provided a great sense of balance to the intensity of the rest of the story.
The story ends in a great place, but on a bit of a cliffhanger for another book to come with the epilogue giving us a glimpse into Munro’s story, and it looks like it’s going to be a great one! I can’t wait to get to it.
I loved this book. Drama, humour, sexy romance and twists and turns galore – it hurt, but it was so, so good! 4.5 stars.
And bravo once again to Robert Petkoff who is absolutely perfection in narrating this audiobook.
For full series info, see our Immortals After Dark series page.