Dark Needs at Night's Edge (The Immortals After Dark, Book 4) (edition 2008)

I admit that I was a little worried when I started Dark Needs at Night's Edge. I wasn't really thrilled about the idea of a romance where the heroine is a ghost, and a lot of reviews complained that this book was slow, or just not quite up to par with the others. I've been working through the Immortals After Dark series in order, so I wasn't going to skip it, but I was prepared for a weak link. I was pleasantly surprised - I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Needs at Night's Edge, loved the pacing and character development, and the author managed to make Neomi's ghostly nature work for, rather than against, the plot.

So there are a few things going on in this novel. On the one hand, it's about curing Conrad Wroth of madness brought on by bloodlust. When vampires drink blood straight from the vein, they gain access to the memories of their victims. Eventually, all the memories - experienced in the first person - make the vampires lose all sense of self, bringing on madness. Conrad is 300 years old and completely bonkers. His brothers are trying to wean him off drinking from the vein, hoping that will help him control the cacophany of memories, but what really helps him turn the corner is his Bride - the ghost Neomi. She's so important to him that she crowds out the other thoughts, allows him to focus, gives him a goal. And at the same time, it's about Neomi deciding that being a ghost is no excuse for being passive. She's trapped in a painful unlife, but she can still make choices - and it's Conrad, with his attempts to control and dominate her, that reminds Neomi who's in charge (Hint: not Conrad).

So the hero and the heroine are each on their own, individual journey - but romance is the catalyst for their progress, their ultimate test, and also their greatest reward. While Conrad is in the depths of his madness, it gives him great comfort that Neomi is a ghost - because he can't hurt her. He has hardly any self-control, and an incorporeal bride gives him the chance to work through the early stages of trust and attraction without the risk of killing her in a fit of rage. And when they've made as much progress as a couple can without actually touching, it's Neomi who takes charge and figures out how to remedy the situation.

It's true there isn't a huge amount of action in this novel, but there is a LOT of romance. Conrad and Neomi spend a lot of time together, since they are both stuck in the crumbling New Orleans mansion where Neomi was killed and Conrad was chained. Their relationship goes through many different stages - it starts off very tentative - and it was a nice change of pace to have a sexually experienced and enthusiastic heroine and an innocent hero. Conrad is definitely rough around the edges, and he has no idea how to court a woman. So when he tries, there's a really adorable vulnerability about him that just tugs on your heartstrings.

Anyhow, for any other Immortals After Dark readers who are wondering if Dark Needs at Night's Edge is going to be a weak link - you can add one more reader to your tally on the side of "totally satisfied." I thought it fit into the series perfectly and made me look forward all the more to starting book 5.
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Dark Needs at Night's Edge
4 Stars

Synopsis
Turned into a vampire against his will, Conrad Wroth has spent 300 years fighting the bloodlust and memories that have rendered him virtually insane. Sequestered in a haunted house with the ghost of Neomi Laress, a dancer murdered by former fiance, Conrad discovers that there are things with living for but it may be too late to save the only woman he has ever held dear.

Review
Gets off to a slow start but heats up halfway through.

Conrad and Neomi complement each other well - he is a sexually inexperienced and vengeful vampire aching for death while she is a brazen and feisty ghost with a zest for life. Their relationship builds slowly into an enchanting romance, and they have some seriously sexy scenes together.

The writing is entertaining as usual although Cole's use of present tense POV during Conrad's transition into sanity falls a little flat. The gothic atmosphere and haunted house setting are compelling as are the cameo appearances by Nix, who never ceases to crack me up, and Bowen and Mariketa, who have such a wonderful dynamic.

Despite its predictability, the plot has some entertaining elements such as Neomi's klepto tendencies (she reminds me of Anya in LOTR) and Conrad's slow recovery from bloodlust. There are, however, several underdeveloped and even confusing points. Conrad's encounter with the dream demon and his subsequent dream/nightmare curse is never fully explained nor is its effect completely apparent. Moreover, there are references to events in Cade and Murdoch's stories that seem disjointed and even had me feeling that I had missed out on a novella. These inconsistencies will apparently be explained further down the line but can be distracting.

One the whole, the story is good and the ending very satisfying. I enjoyed the original resolution to Neomi's mortality problem and look forward to the next book - it will be interesting to see how Cadeon handles things with his human mate. ( )

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I've been on a ghost-kick lately, so ghost story super hot romance = fun to be had by all. I thought the ending was a bit ridiculous, but that's Kresley Cole for you. ( )

Even when I didn't like the hero, I couldn't put this book down. When I started warming towards him... well, it became a winner! Connor is a vampire, but one with those dreaded red eyes: that means he drinks from the flesh. And on top of that, he is a hired assasin. After so many years of bloodlust, he's almost mad. The memories he gathered from his victims run without control in his mind so he can't tell if what he's seeing is actually true, a hallucination brought by his fragmented mind or a memory from someone he's killed. And when his brothers capture him trying to cure him out of his bloodlust, he's the only one who sees a beautiful female ghost. So he guesses it's probably a hallucination or past memory. When the ghost starts to interract with him, he can't pretend to ignore her anymore, especially since he finds himself attracted to her. But she isn't corporeal and he isn't blooded, so what chances do they have? Besides, there are a lot of creatures out there trying to kill him and he has to remove the most imminent threat -an 8 inches tall demon- right away, if he wants to have any kind of future with Neomi.I liked fun loving Neomi very much. She was a woman who loved life and enjoyed it to its fullest. I think she was the perfect match for a man like dark, moody man like Connor. I liked the way they got to talk and know each other, their interest turning to mutual attraction and much later to love. Even when they couldn't make love, you could feel the sparks flying between them when they were together:) I don't particularly like Nix's crazyness, nor the Lore's females' mania with food delicacies and soap operas. In fact I get increasingly frustrated at such scenes, rather than amused, but luckily there were too few in this one compared to previous books. I hope there's even less in the future.Heading straight to Cadeon's book. Can't wait to see what Cole has in store for him:) ( )

Dark Needs At Night's Edge is the fourth novel in the Immortals After Dark series. This book is the story of Neomi, an incorporeal ghost, and Conrad, a blood-crazed killer vampire. Conrad is a strong and powerful vampire yet he has been driven mad by his bloodlust and must fight to regain his sanity. He is also the brother of Nickoli and Sebastian, and the perfect romance hero, strong and sexy yet vulnerable. Néomi is a ghost with a lust for life. Her short mortal life was joyfully spent in the pursuit of fun and happiness. Conrad has known nothing of joy or fun - his mortal life was brutally hard and his immortal life even harder. Néomi has her work cut out when it comes to bringing fun back into Conrad's existence. The novel sees Conrad and Néomi thrown together when Conrad's vampire brothers imprison him in Néomi's home. They leave him there to go cold turkey on his blood addiction in the hopes that this will help him regain his sanity. Conrad is the first person in all of the eighty years Néomi has been a ghost who is actually able to see her. Once she manages to convince Conrad that she isn't just another crazy hallucination she begins to keep him company and helps him to master his rage and bloodlust with her lively yet calming presence. This time spent together allows their relationship and characters to develop without too many distractions. A word of caution though - the fast pacing of this novel makes it nearly impossible to put down once you start reading it. I didn't want to put it down and look forward to their appearance in the coming novels. I would definitely recommend this book! ( )