I'm beginning to feel very predictable but....KEEPER, KEEPER, KEEPER, KEEPER, KEEPER!!!!
I am so in love with this book I'm not sure I can be trusted to be coherent!
I finally gave myself permission to just sit and read and since I'm a slow reader it took a while. I went to bed at 6am this morning only because I knew Sears was coming to fix my washer between 10 and 2.
They came at 11am (sure when I want them to be late they're on time!) and I sat to read again while the lady was fixing the machine. When she left I crawled back into bed and was unable to sleep.
I'll give you a minute.
I COULDN'T SLEEP!!!
The characters were jumping around in my brain and after twenty minutes I realized it would be of no use to lay there. I've been known to lie in bed for 2 hours without sleeping but no, I didn't even give my sleep mechanism a chance to kick in.
Now, if that doesn't say keeper I don't know what would.
Cindy Blurb: It the Amazing Race 'Lore style' which basically means there are demons and witches and fey, oh my! competing in a race called the Hie. A Goddess who loves it when people say things are impossible because she lives to prove they are possible runs this race that Kaderin (of Valkyrie) has won the last five times.
This ain't no pussy race, the only rule is you cannot kill the competition. Sweet.
Kaderin is a cold blooded killer and has been killing vampires for over a thousand years. At one time she was considered kind hearted until she lost her beloved sisters and buried their bodies on a battle field a thousand years ago. The next morning she woke unable to feel anything, anger, pain, sorrow, happiness. She considers this a blessing.
Her blessing is threatened when she is called to a village just before the Hie to come and kill a vampire. For the first time in centuries her blade stops short of cutting Sebastian Wroth's head from his body. He wants to die and has for 300 years. Until the moment his blood starts to move in his veins again and realizes the woman before him is his Bride.
Okay, just go read the book!! If I say anything else it gets into spoiler territory and well, it's complicated.
Kaderin The Cold Hearted was a great heroine. I loved that in the opening scene we are shown the chink in her armor - her own feelings coming back. This heroine is kick-ass in all ways and it's not just for show. She's earned her place through countless battles and is afraid of nothing. Nothing until she meets a leech who makes her feel.
As much as I love Kaderin it was Sebastian who held my heart. Sebastian was turned vampire against his will by his own brothers. He hated who he was and just existed for the sake of being - luckily the reader is overwhelmed by his self-pity because we meet him when he finds his Bride. The minute he meets Kaderin he finds a reason to live. His only concern is to keep her safe and it takes him a while to discover she can take care of herself just fine.
Sebastian had always been clumsy around women and was shy. This comes out while trying to court Kaderin. I loved that Sebastian wanted to deserve her and that he only had alpha moments. Those moments only happened when Kaderin was in danger. I loved his insecurities about himself and his determination to not let that stop him from trying to gain Kaderin's attention.
Also, the sex. Wow. This is what all romances should be like!
Finally, I know that paranormals have been going heavy with the 'mate' premise and although there are times I find it forced in romances, I love how Cole uses it.
Sebastian knows that Kaderin is his Bride but his compulsion is sexual and protective. At no time does he confuse this with love. He even flat out says he doesn't love Kaderin at one point. So even though the 'mate' premise is used, it is used in a better way than in most books.
Now, since I'm nothing but fair *snort*, Nath had a completely different view of this one here
while Meljean agrees with me here. Oh and she is right, I liked this one even more than the first!
I love that I have like 3 historicals of hers in my TBR pile but I'm not ready to crack 'em.
The great book blues are trying to settle in but I'm thinking of trying some sort of comedy to crack it. Sure, I have housework galore to do but I really enjoyed giving myself permission to just sit and read. It's time I did more of that.
And sleep. I really need to get some sleep!
6 comments:
Can I read this one before the first one, or do I need to read them in order?
Of course, I've actually got book one to read, I'm just being lazy. I should shut up and read them both!
I really do think you can read this before the other one. It not a series like some where there is a timeline that is straight.
These stories seem to happen within the same time frame (at least the first three (there was a short story)) So there is overlapping information about other characters.
It does look like the next book after this moves farther up the time line so you will probably find new characters overlapping.
Uh, did I answer the question?
I feel these can be read out of order easily.
cindy
oh boy, another author I've never tried. That was a great review. Just to be fair, i'll go read the other ones too! :-)
What's funny is there is a lot that shouldn't have worked for me, but really did. In some places the characterization seemed a little inconsistent, but even that...I dunno, it didn't bother me as much as it should have (and with Kaderin, maybe that was the point, as she's dealing with her new emotions).
I think it's because it's fun -- even with the brooding (which doesn't last forever, and my favorite part was when Sebastian was like: you know what? I'm not going to beat myself up about this anymore (only he said it much better). I do wish Kaderin had done a little pursuing of Sebastian at some point, but still ... it was just a fun read.
Ha! I found it (and a whole lot more) today at lunch!! It's next up after I finish Hunting the Hunter. :-D
If I wasn't so absolutely burned out on vampires et al that I'm not even rereading any I already have, I'd be seriously tempted by this one. Sounds interesting. Maybe I shall put it in Readerware for a rainy day. :D
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