Night Pleasures (Dark-Hunter Series, Book Four): Sherrilyn Kenyon

“Dear Reader

“Have you ever wanted to know what it’s like to be immortal? To journey through the night stalking vampires that prey on humans? To have unlimited wealth, unlimited power? That is my exixtence, and it is dark and dangerous. I play hero to thousands, but I am known to none. And I love every minute of it.

“Or so I thought until one night when I woke up handcuffed to my worst nightmare: a conservative woman in a button-down shirt. Or in Amanda’s case, one buttoned all the way up to her chin. She’d smart, sexy, witty, and wants nothing to do with the paranormal—in other words, me.

“My attraction to Amanda Devereaux goes against everything I stand for. Not to mention the last time I fell in love it cost me not only my human life, but also my very soul. Yet every time I look at her, I find myself wanting to try again. Wanting to believe that love and loyalty do exists.

“Even more disturbing, I find myself wondering if there’s any way a woman like Amanda can love a man whose battle scars run deep, and whose heart was damaged by a betrayal so savage that he’s not sure it will ever beat again.

“Kyrian of Thrace”

I officially LOVED this book! I found myself laughing so many times and Kyrian’s as well as Nick’s sarcasm was fantastic. It was so well-written that I could practically hear their actual conversations. Amanda was a pretty decent character—not one of my favorites, but I liked her nonetheless. Kyrian was fantastic and I REALLY loved how Kenyon brought back Julian and Grace’s family. It took me a while at first, but I finally got that this Kyrian was the Kyrian that Julian talked about in his book, Fantasy Lover. I thought that was neat and really awesome to have their stories meshed in such a way.

Kyrian’s past was one of the most violently descriptive I’ve ever read…it was fantastic and I found myself cringing on many occasions. His pain was at a whole new level I’d never before read and I really have to commend Kenyon for her brilliance.

The plot in general was AMAZING! I adore how Kenyon seems to have thought of everything! The whole Dark-Hunter thing is so fantastic and I could not find any flaws in her writing of it—and believe me…I’m a bit of a bitch like that where I try to find flaws…and I couldn’t!!! (I don't want to give too much away so I will just reiterate how great the plot was! She even brings back some other characters from stories...and you'll have to read to find out who!!!) I so look forward to reading the next in this TRULY captivating series!!!

*****UPDATE 12/18/2017*****

I can't believe it's been more than nine years since I first read this book!  How time flies!

I seem to be on a bit of a Sherrilyn Keyon re-reading kick lately, which is so odd because I NEVER re-read books.  I don’t think I am going to make a habit of re-reading books, but I’ve actually been enjoying doing this with Kenyon’s books for the most part (perhaps, mostly because it has been so long since I read them that it feels “new” enough).  One thing has remained true over the years:  I still feel like the overarching plot is brilliant.  Kenyon has created this amazing sub-world rich with history, backstory, and she put an astounding amount of forethought into it.  I have always enjoyed her angsty male leads and writing in their tragic backgrounds really rounds them out and, rather than make them pitiable, actually makes them rich and interesting – it’s a very fine line to walk.  She is so wickedly creative in the ways she develops their pasts and the natures of their very unique deaths.

I enjoyed Kyrian, but perhaps more so because of his past than anything.  I found his “present” character to be slightly lacking the attitude and impulsiveness Julian and other characters kept claiming he was known for.  Of course, it was there, just not to the degree that I expected.  Amanda is a decent character and she is a nice foil for her twin sister, Tabatha.  Rather than have her as another “weird” Deveraux sister, her normalcy (or, rather, “attempted” normalcy) and skepticism was a believable counterpart to the oddness of the world to which Kyrian introduces her.  Rather than have her jump into the world of the Dark-Hunters headfirst, she did seem to keep it at arms’ length for an acceptable amount of time.  I think I would have liked to have seen her feelings develop for Kyrian in a more rounded fashion.  They seemed to hit rather suddenly with little “provoking” on Kyrian’s part.  As she is pondering her feelings later in the book, she considers his laugh and his smile, though I don’t believe those things happened all that often prior to her contemplations – at least not to the degree that they could believably be parts of the reason she is falling for Kyrian.

Another comment I have to make is one I also made in my review for Fantasy Lover…I think the writing was not quite up to the level I remember it being, nor is it on par with other authors I’ve enjoyed throughout the different shades of the romance genre.  There were unnecessary words, odd (obvious) descriptions, and mediocre metaphors (I don’t have the book in front of me, but I there’s a line which reads something like, “He twisted like an agile cat;” on the surface, it seems fine, but it was inelegant and boring in the context).  Another issue I had was the sheer plethora of “afterthoughts” experienced by most of the characters.  I don’t believe I’m giving anything away, but forgive me if I am:  One of the greatest examples of this was when Amanda leaves Kyrian’s home after he instructed Acheron to watch over her.  After she’s already left, Amanda very briefly ponders why Acheron would have allowed her to leave after what Kyrian had said.  Okay. Fine.  It is what it is, but it felt unnecessary.  It could have all been avoided with one line from Acheron where he says something like, “I don’t give a damn what you do, little girl.  I’m no babysitter and I certainly don’t take orders from Kyrian.”  I think this would have fit in with the plot and Acheron’s character just fine and would certainly have avoided another instance of this awkward afterthought.  It was unnecessary and broke the flow of anticipation.  There are more than a few times this happens throughout the book.  I think Kenyon has such amazing talent that she doesn’t need all of this extraneous explanation and description.  She is a fantastic weaver of stories and brilliant crafter of characters that these things just brought this book down a hair.  I wonder if – as I continue making my way back through this series – that the writing will change a great deal.  This book is still one of her early ones, so I suppose we shall see!  Perhaps I’m just being hypercritical and a bit unfair…  I’ve sat here trying to find a better way to say this without sounding pompous, but I think my slight change in enjoyment of Kenyon’s writing style is because I’m so much further along in my education than I was the first time I read her works.  Since then, I’ve achieved a Master’s Degree in English and I’m much more used to really breaking down works of literature and performing thorough analyses.  I don’t think it’s necessarily fair of me to bring this lens to this application, but I don’t think I can un-train myself.

Regardless of my overly-critical analysis, I still enjoyed the book.  It took me a little bit to get going, but I finished it in a matter of a weekend once I did.  It’s a very, very entertaining read.  I truly love how I always loose myself in the world of the Dark/Dream/Were-Hunters whenever I pick up Kenyon’s books.  There are so many facets to the characters, stories, and the underlying plot that it’s easy to see how this might happen.  I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the world Kenyon has created.  I recommend this book as the first “official” Dark-Hunter installment and I look forward to moving on in the series.

Side note:  Even though Nick is a supporting character, I find him fantastic.  Kenyon managed to cram so much personality into him.  I find myself wondering if she was inspired by someone in her life when she wrote him.  His attitude and personality were entertaining and provided a breath of fun and sarcasm so needed in this otherwise intense story.  I loved him the first time around and I continue to feel the same way about him – this is the mark of an excellent character.