Review: A Hunger Like No Other

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

Summary from goodreads.

A mythic warrior who'll stop at nothing to possess her . . .


After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.


A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy . . .


Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents -- until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae -- and their notorious dark desires -- ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.


An all-consuming desire . . .

Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?

Review:
Paranormal Romance is pretty new for me, so I was a little shy of a series about finding soul mates. The setup for this tale is between a Lykae king (werewolf), Lachlain, who has been imprisoned by the Horde (evil vampires) to be burned a live again and again, because he's immortal. Finally escaping when he catches a sniff of his mate, Emma, who turns out to be half vampire/half Valkyrie. Then the plot thickens. Lachlain needs to take his mate to his homeland in Scotland before the next full moon. Because a Lykae without his mate on these nights will stop at nothing to get to her. Emma does not require the mate for life setup and grudgingly (forced) goes along, thinking there's a pot of jewelry at the end of this journey. All the while Valkyrie are being attacked by the Horde, and the Horde is looking for one particular Valkyrie halfbreed . . .


Emma, or Emmaline, ended up being a very refreshing character. She was timid and scared of pretty much everything. Personally, I hate weak characters, but it's really fun tagging along and watching Emma grow up and find her inner strength. Once she faces a memory of getting forcefully burned as a child, so she could learn the dangers of the sun, she's on the path to inner discovery. Her whole relationship with her Valkyrie family changes. She realizes that they've always have loved her and have treated her like one of them. Even though the majority of them have dedicated their lives to killing vampires. Emma finally finds out who her mystery dad is (which was not a surprise) and taps into her inner bad-booty Valkyrie gifts. It's fun watching her leave behind her sheltered life, even if it is because of a insane Lykae who's kidnapped her.

Lachlain was a very interesting character. He had spent 3,000 years looking for his mate, when he is captured by the Horde in a rescue attempt for his younger brother. Revenge is the only thing that keeps him going during his century of burning torture. He only accomplishes his escape when he smells his mate nearby, basically chewing off his leg to get to her. It's interesting watching Lachlain battle his insane hatred for vampires, when instinct is telling him Emma is his mate. For me, his craziness seems more like rudeness and a case of dominance/control issues. It made it really hard at times to sympathize or like him.

Even after they're mated they still need to learn to trust each other and actually progress in their relationship. Which was nice because I was afraid Emma was just going to roll over and play good little mate. Instead she got a back bone and the relationship really bonded between the two and I just fell in love with the couple.

A Hunger Like No Other is told from the points of views of Lachlain and Emma. There are some other characters who step in and give us a little perspective. Annika, Emma's adopted mother, and Bowen, Lachlain's best friend. Annika's narration really adds to the information we get on the Valkyrie clan. And let's be honest just the word Valkyrie sounds great, so any other information we get on any of these ladies are great. Bowen shows an interesting perspective on the relationship between Emma and Lachlain, and what is in store for a Lykae who looses his mate. All of the characters in this book are fantastic and I wan more, more, more!

Bottom Line:


This story ended up being more complex then I could have imagined a silly PR being. All of this is accompanied by Cole's great sense of humor, and she had me laughing out loud. I love it when I book can be funny and balance the dark and gritty elements. Even though Lachlain wasn't for me, I feel in love with the couple and look forward to future books. Because honestly, I love the whole love can conquer all mentality. The other also has a great way of making the characters seem a little more real and less like mythical beings, where emotions are concerned anyway. This is a reread for me and it hasn't even been a full year since I've first read it!

Sexual Content:


This is a PR heavy on the R. So be warned.

5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession.