Night Play (Dark-Hunter, #5) (The Dark-Hunter World)

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

[nitzan_schwarz]

2014 cleaning my shelves challenge

After a re-read, I realized this is more a 4 star for me, only because it didn't create the same emotions in me the second time (i.e: the impact is a one time thing), which for me immediately makes this not a real 5 star. As a re-reader, these things mean something to me, and true favorites will forever induce the same feelings in me as they have the first time.

March 2013 read
This is the first in the Dark Hunter series I was totally IN LOVE with. It is also the first one I'm writing a proper review for. Before, I enjoyed the Dark Hunter books. But they didn't quite blow my mind, and I never had too much to say about them. Well, Vane, the darling hero for this book, sure changed that...

Before I start with this review, let me explain a bit about the dark hunter series for those who have been living under a rock and haven't heard of it; Dark Hunters are creatures of the night, created to hunt and kill Daimons, soul-sucking vampires who feed on human souls to stay alive. The Dark Hunters are strong, deadly, and undead.
They also have almost nothing to do with this story, so I really don't know why this one counts as part of it. LOL.

Night Play is set in the same world and time as the Dark Hunter series. In fact, we get to meet one of the past Dark Hunters; Kyrian, and his family, as well as Val, the Dark Hunter who's featured in the next book. We also get to see Ash, the supreme leader of the Dark Hunters, but the main characters of the book are not dark hunters, unlike the other books I've read in the series so far.

Vane, the main male character, is an Arcadian - a human who can change his form into that of a wolf. He is really one of the cutest, most charming and sweet main characters I've encountered.

Vain is part animal - he doesn't get the human way, doesn't lie or deceive. He is not really familiar with the "rules" of dating and courting a female, so watching him with Bride, the human the Fates decreed to be his mate, was just plain adorable. He got nervous and scared and confused in such a manner that you can't help but AWWW at him and give him a mental hug.

Bride, Vane's human mate and female main character, is a girl we can all relate to, I think. Unless you're a Victoria Secret's model. She's the "normal" girl. The one who's always been more on the chubby side (at least, that's the way she thinks of herself - and having an ex who constantly put her on diets doesn't help that). She's the one in and out of diets, but always ends up gaining back the pounds. The one who doesn't really understand what a sexy, hot man like Vane can possibly want from her. She is self conscious, and a "realist". It's not that she's putting herself down - she just knows the truth about herself.
Good thing Vane is there to show her she is wrong.

And really, that is the charm and crux of their relationship, of why this romance appeals to me on so many levels. It's because here comes this guy who doesn't want Bride to ever change.

He doesn't want her thinner, better looking, or to be more anything. He thinks she is the most beautiful woman he has ever lied eyes on, and he makes her feel that way as well.
It's the kind of relationship I envy and want for myself.

And if that's not enough, we got to see Ash, Kyrian, Amanda, Val and Thabita. It was lovely seeing the family Kyrian built with Amanda, and I simply loved watching Ash with the kids. My favorite part of every book is when we see Ash out of the "character" the Dark Hunters thinks he has, which is when he plays with his former dark hunter's kids, or with Simi, his demon.

This book was also such a grin inducing book! I swear, the grin never left my face for long. If it wasn't Vane who made me smile, then it was Bride, or Fury, or Ash, or Simi. Really! I either grinned at the cuteness or the hilariousness of the character.

Also, this book made me so excited to read both Ash, Fury and Val's books!

Yep, I L-O-V-E-D this book!

Honestly, I recommend this series as a whole, not just this book. You'll understand it a lot better if you read the former books (though you don't have to), and also they're great fun. It's true that until now I wasn't blown away by them, but they're still a great thing to pass time with, and they're very enjoyable.

If you enjoyed this review, I would love it if you visit my personal book-review blog; Drugs Called Books