First in Cole's paranormal romance series, Immortals After Dark, A Hunger Like No Other is a gold mine of uber-alpha, destined-for-each other, sexy reading.

When Lachlain scents his mate while hidden below the streets of Paris, he does the impossible- he breaks the chains that have kept him imprisoned for 150 years and goes after her. Sure he tears off a limb to do so, but he's a werewolf so regeneration, though painful, is possible.

Emmaline has lived as an accepted outsider with her Valkyrie Aunts all her life. Half Vampire, half Valkyrie, Emma is the non-confrontational one of the bunch ... but that's about to change.

Storming into her life with the force of a hurricane, Lachlain is disgusted when he discovers the woman he's waited for, for almost a thousand years, is a vampire- the hated enemy of his clan. None the less he takes her hostage, deciding he'll keep her because there's no way he's losing his mate now that he's found her.

Weakened by not feeding for days, Emma is lethargic and scared out of her mind by the overbearing were who's hijacked her and talked her into joining him on his return trip home to Scotland. But when she takes his blood for the first time, her strength returns full force and the creature known as Emma the Timid takes a drastic turn.

Even as Lachlain's "beast" is soothed by finally being with his mate, Emma finds she is not so timid after all and so she does whatever she can to get away from the impossible man who claims he wants her above all others.

In the meantime, she's having strange dreams from Lachlain's point of view and as they spend time together, finds herself just as drawn to him as he is to her. So much so, when she does find her chance to escape- instead of running home- she heads straight for the deadly vampire who ruined Lachlain's life.

Sacrificing her own desires, she finds the courage to kill a king ... and in the process accept her fate as a creature of Three.

Archetypal Paranormal Romance, AHLNO is a thrilling ride I couldn't get off of till the very last word!

Here's the thing though, Cole's writes some over the top alpha heroes. Not usually a problem for me because I find non-alpha heroes in romantic fiction never hold my interest very long. However, she writes them SO alpha, I often cringe at their antics, which tend to come off as bullying.

Just as when I read If You Dare, 1st in a historical romance series by this author, I wasn't sure if I would ever like the hero ... until about a quarter of the way through when he began to change. And too, the heroine irritated the heck out of me for being so unrelentingly angry at the hero through much of the rest of book!

Yet through it all, I closed the book thinking, "that was a good read."

I suppose the setting, the fantasy-like creatures, and yes, the strong romantic elements is enough to make it a winner in the long run- and don't get me wrong, I ended up LOVING Lachlan. Either way, I'm certainly rushing out to get the rest in the series! :) ( )

Enjoyable start to a new series. I didn't like how whiny and weak Emma was at the beginning, but she did grow as a character. ( )

Book 1 of the Immortals after Dark Series by Kresley Cole. This book features very interesting character who are very believable. The suspense, love scenes, action all ride smoothly through this wonderful paranormal tale. It was very enjoyable to read and I was totally enthralled throughout the story. ( )

I am a reader of just about all things paranormal. I prefer urban fantasy and paranormal fiction that just has romantic undertones. Although I read Paranormal Romances and enjoy them, they tend to not be my all-time favorites. (Two authors I have read the most paranormal romance from are Lynsay Sands and Kerrelyn Sparks) Let me say that I have thought about picking up "A Hunger Like No Other" for some time now, but I just wasn't sure about another series that was heavy on the romance. I couldn't have been more than a few chapters in when I realized how addicting the story, and Kresley Cole's writing was. The story's plot revolves around Lachlain, a Lykae (werewolf)king, breaking free of centuries worth of torture at the hands of evil vampires. He literally scents out the fact that his 'mate', whom he has never met, is near. The woman is Emmaline Troy, a half breed of part vampire, and part Valkyrie. Emma is a meek creature who finds herself taken by Lachlain against her will. While he is mean to her at first, she finds him attractive. While Cole introduces the idea of sex, and sexual tension very early on, the actual sex act is a long time coming, and all this did was ensure that reader's can certainly feel the snap and crackle between the two. I have yet to read a romance that jumped off the page like this one. Usually, I get bored with the sex stuff and mostly skim through those pages. That wasn't the case here as I wanted to read and savor each of Cole's passages. The beginning, while gripping, played it very close to being over the top because Lachlain's treatment of Emma felt almost like abuse. Some scenes near the beginning actual made me feel a little uneasy. I was overjoyed when Emma stepped things up a bit, and became more sure of herself and didn't let him walk all over her. Another thing that kept this book from feeling like every other paranormal romance I ever read, was the continual action going on. The story had a bigger picture dealing with a war on the brink between the weres, the vampires (both good and evil) and the Valkyrie. Emma's Valkyrie aunts were a hoot and I would love to read more of them in the future. Cole's fantasy world is unique and unlike any other, and I think it has the potential to be one of the best drawn of these parnormal worlds. Although I had a few gripes with the story, mostly with Lachlain, I have to say the book far exceeded any expectations I may have had and I will certainly be grabbing up the next book in the series. ( )

Fantastic...refreshingly new. ( )