Blood Red Kiss (Immortals After Dark, Includes 0.5)

by Kresley Cole, Larissa Ione, and Gena Showalter

"In Kresley Cole's celebrated story The Warlord Wants Forever, the first of her Immortals After Dark series, vampire Nikolai Wroth will stop at nothing to find his Bride, the one woman who can make his heart beat again. He can hardly believe when Myst the Coveted, a beautiful Valkyrie, awakens him, body and soul. She has eluded him for years, but he finally has power over her. Now, he will make her pay for the agonizing lust she subjected him to for half a decade...But is it really a punishment for Myst, or a fulfillment of her own deepest wants?" -- Page [4] cover.

"Desire wars with duty in Forsaken by Night, a MoonBound Clan novella from Larissa Ione! Tehya has spent the last twelve years as an accidental wolf, but is truly a vampire at heart. When she gets injured, Lobo takes her inside MoonBound's headquarters and nurses her back to health. But when Tehya wakes up and returns to her original form, it sets off a dangerous chain of events that may very well end in the death of the vampire she loves--but who thinks of her as a complete stranger." --- Adapted from page [4] cover.

"In Gena Showalter's Otherworld Assassins novella, Dark Swan, Lilica Swan isn't quite human or otherworlder; she is the best--and worst--of both. She is willing to do whatever proves necessary to save her sister from the seductive and deadly Alien Investigation and Removal agent, Dallas Gutierrez, even bond her life to his...effectively wedding him. But without consummation, the bond will fade. Can Dallas resist his insatiable desire for the powerful beauty? Or will she lead to his ultimate downfall?" -- Page [4] cover.

• ISBN10: 1501142585
• ISBN13: 9781501142581
• Publish Date: 20 September 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Pocket Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 544
• Language: English

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

I was surprised to find that the reboot of Kresley Cole's the Warlord Wants Forever was my favorite of the three stories and Gena Showalter's story on Dallas from the Alien Huntress series was completely disappointing.

The Warlord Wants Forever - I held off on reading The Warlord Wants Forever for weeks after I finished the other two stories. Nikolai and Myst were my two least favorite characters from this series and I have often said that if I had read this novella first, I might not have read the rest of the series. But Kresley Cole took the basic story of these two characters and gave it a complete reboot. It fits in better with the rest of the series and there is a better build up of the relationship of these two. While they will never be my favorites, this new presentation of Warlord Wants Forever is much more enjoyable.

Forsaken by Night- I had a chance to read the first two books in the Moonbound Clan Vampires series by Larissa Ione when the second book, Chained by Night, was released. I really enjoyed the series and was looking forward to book three. I enjoyed this novella and the very interesting twist of Teyha changing from Lobo's pet wolf to the woman he dreams about. The problem is that since the last book was published in 2014 and I have read about 200 books since then, it took me a bit to remember all the main characters and by the time I finally was getting back into the flow of the series, the story was over. There was simply too much of a gap between the stories. If you have time to and it is certainly worth it, re-read Chained by Night and get back into the flow of the series and you will get much more out of this story.

Dark Swan - Gena Showalter's story was the biggest disappointment to me. My friend and I both read the Alien Huntress series and whenever one of us mentioned Gena Showalter, we would ultimately get to grumbling that she's releasing a new book or series and never finished the Alien Huntress series. We constantly complained "What about Dallas?" So I was very excited to finally get a chance to read this story. Unfortunately, the biggest problem that I felt here was the fact that she ended the series and put a big red bow on it. I don't want to give away too much, but the Alien Huntress series had a continuing villain. This villain even caused the demise of the Rakan world (Deep Kiss of Winter), among many others. You can't try to spin a happy ending where all the aliens hold hands and forgive. Dallas and boss, Mia, might be willing to forgive and forget, but there are plenty of Rakan that probably won't. It just felt wrong. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! This left me disappointed and I would rather still be left hanging then this forced happily ever after.

[Linda]

Blood Red Kiss gives readers glimpses into three super-series by three rockstar authors in the paranormal romance universe, and I utterly enjoyed myself reading these!

[kimbacaffeinate]

Because good things always come in threes....

The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole - This is the first novel in Cole's wickedly popular Immortals After Dark Series. It has been revamped, and Cole said it flows smoother. Yep, I would concur. The tale flows beautifully, and I devoured it in a single sitting. Her world-building and creatures are wonderfully developed. In the front of the book, we are provided a list of terminology and explanation for the different types of supernatural creatures in the Immortals world. This story involves vampire Nikolai Wroth and an impish Valkyrie named Myst. I loved it from the torturous situation Myst left him in, to the heated love scenes and tender moments. When I closed The Warlord Wants Forever, I might have cursed Simon and Schuster for sending this to me, and Cole for writing such an addictive story that left me wanting to read the entire series. There are notes at the end from Cole where she answers fan questions, and it is here I discovered that Robert Petkoff narrates the series. This knowledge left me giddy. I know dear reader I have lived under a rock. My blogger friends have all told me to start this series. And yes, I grab the audiobook for A Hunger Like No Other book two in this 18+ book series. *Santa send me audio credits*

Forsaken by Night by Larissa Ione - Vampires that are skinwalkers or have special abilities made for an interesting read in this romantic tale. Forsaken by Night introduced me to the world and creatures in Ione's Moonbound Clan. We meet Lobo, a vampire with shifting abilities whose clan was wiped out, and lived among his captors until he was banned for shifting into the form of another vampire. He lives alone, not far from Moonbound. His solve company a beautiful female wolf. She is different, and he is not sure how but she hasn't aged. When she is injured, he risks his life to save her. The events that unfold had me slipping into the world as I became caught up the romance that followed. I am anxious to try more from this series. The way in which this was written allows for anyone to read it, even if they have never visited the MoonBound Clan series. For me, this was different from the Eternal Riders series. Lighter, but still filled with a complex, vivid world.

Dark Swan by Gena Showalter - This novella is from the Otherworld Assassins, a spinoff of the Alien Huntress novels. These stories take place in the same world. This was intense and heated. In this world, Aliens, the Supernatural, and others exist. The story focuses on Lilica Swan who is neither human nor is she an otherworlder. We are giving her background story and those of her sisters Jade and Trinity. Dallas Gutierrez is an agent for the AIR, Alien Investigation, and Removal Unit. He captures dangerous aliens and supernatural beings keeping the world safe for all sides. He has dreamed of Lilica and she of him. Both are trying to capture a dangerous Schon who also happens to be Trinity. Things get a little hinky when they unknowing bond. Dark Swan was deliciously heated, and I loved the banter, snark-filled romance, but it also delivered a suspenseful storyline that kept me riveted.

Copy provided by Publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer