Harbinger of Books

Well the book is over and it is hard for me to decide what I think about the book. Overall I really enjoyed it, the beginning sucked me in and then I was bored for about 100 pages then it was off and running again.

The story is about the enemy of old Lothaire, the exiled heir to the throne of two vampire families, the Horde and the Dacia. Lothaire is plagued by his dying wish to take revenge and to take his rightful place. Which if you have read other books in the IAD series you know he has been ruthless in his quest for the end game. The thing is the end game is not exactly as he perceived it. Enter Elizabeth or Elle a hillbilly from Appalachia who just happens to be possessed by an evil goddess. When Lothaire meets Elizabeth he believes that his intended bride is the goddess who lives in a human body BUT as you may have guessed he was wrong.

Ms Cole has really made me sympathize with Lothaire and it was sad that he really had no one and never had a clue about what happiness was. I also really liked Elle and while it was an odd fit it totally worked. I liked that she was tough yet sensitive but not weak. I also enjoyed them wrestling with their feelings for each other.While I really wanted Nix and Lothaire to end up with each other I liked their bond and I understand it a bit better now. It was also good to see the other Valkyries.

The thing was I think the book happened over to short of a time period and I was looking for more change from Lothaire. In someways I felt like I was reading Twilight with all the he is so good looking or she is so beautiful (what did he say that??) at any rate even in the end the relationship did not have a foundation that I could understand. I think this was in part because most of the book is centered around the two of them without a lot of outside characters. It was also hard for me to continue to read his mistreatment of his bride, in all the other books the hero is normally over protective of his bride where he cannot stand to be away from her let alone hurt her. I think Ms Cole did it to show how broken Lothaire was but it seemed odd and really Lothaire never quite redeemed himself.

Anyway as always the book is well written and except for the one part I was totally engaged.

3 1/2 stars