Review of ‘Dark Desires after Dusk’
In the tradition of all good romance novels, Ms. Cole offers us a young, beautiful heroine, Holly Ashwin. The author ups the ante though by giving our young lady an unusual quirk, Obsessive Compulsive Disease. We find her constantly counting everything around her and arranging them into groups of three. She also finds herself helpless when it comes to leaving a room unorganized. As part of the story, she and the hero stay in a string of hotel rooms and she is compelled to rearrange the furniture in each and every one of them; placing lamps in the exact center of the bedside tables and aligning the phone, and its cord perfectly against the wall before she can rest. The author manages to make Holly’s faults endearing, not poking fun at her or making her into a caricature.
Our hero fares just as well in Ms. Cole’s hands. He is everything a girl could want; a bad boy with a good heart. Cadeon is a brutally handsome demon, a mercenary with a guilty past. He holds himself responsible for the loss of his brother’s throne, the one thing he cannot forgive himself for. Until fate sends him a chance at redemption, in the form of our heroine. He has fallen in love with Holly from afar, watching her, wanting her, yet aware that it is forbidden for a demon to marry a mortal. Cadeon’s current assignment is to deliver Holly to a dark wizard in exchange for a magical sword, the only thing that can help him regain his brother’s kingdom. Torn between love, lust and duty, he struggles with his conscience. He jealously protects her as they travel towards the wizard’s fortress, all the while wondering if he’ll be able to give her up, even for the sake of his brother and their tortured subjects.
The universe the author has built around these characters is well drawn and detailed. She manages to weave witches, vampires, werewolves and more legendary creatures into her stories, yet keep them believeable, even while they coexist with humans in our current timeline. Many of the characters from her other books show up in this book. It’s good to see them again and renew old friendships.
Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read. I found it difficult to put down, even giving up sleep to see what happened next. I can’t wait to get the next book in the series!
This sounds like an unusual romantic read. Great review E., and how many nights have I given over to the pleasure of reading until I couldn\’t read anymore – 3/4am in the morning. But it was so worth it. š
oh this sounds very good *hugs* will certainly be looking into it because of your glowing recommendation
I love every single book in this series. I thought her treatment of OCD was great too – and completely agree with your statement – well put. One of my favorite parts (and yes, I can recall it ver baetum because I\’ve read it so many times) was when they were… *ahem* on the hood of the car, and he looks up at her and says \”Every five hundred miles?\” and she says, \”Four-twenty.\” That was just such an example of Ms. Cole\’s amazing wit, which I find sexy and smart. This wasn\’t my favorite in the series, but it was very very good. Have you read Dark Deeds at Night\’s Edge (The one before this one, with a ghost/vampire)?? THAT one is my favorite. *grin* Lovely review E – as always, you manage to capture and convey exactly what\’s worth mentioning! Always love your summaries.