The Warlord Wants Forever

Mindless, paranormal more-smut-than-romance. Perfect junk food! Are some parts of it terrible? Yes! But that didn't stop me from licking the cheese dust off my fingers. Don't take this seriously, don't hold this up to high standards (or any standards), and you'll be fine. I mean, just read the book description. It's enough to make you go "lol is this for real?" I expected mediocre fanfiction level kind of writing, and was therefore pleased with what I got. On to the next one!

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Summary:

Wroth: *is virile*
Myst: *is defiant and voluptuous*
Wroth: Give me the information I seek!
Myst: No! *undresses*
They cuddle.
Wroth: I will torture you!
Myst: *gives him a boner. Heavy petting, she gets hers, then leaves him for five years with a perpetual show more hard on*.
They meet again.
Wroth: You are my Bride!! *sniffs her neck and jizzes in his pants*
Myst: No! *flee*
He breaks her magical golden belt.
Wroth: Come!
Myst: *writhes like being touched with an invisible Hitachi*
He spirits her away to his secret vampire lair and they have lots of sexy time.
Myst: Set me free!
Wroth: I will! And yet... *is haunted by visions of her slutty past*
Meanwhile she escapes and returns home. He chases after her.
Wroth: I was going to give you your freedom all this while! I love you!
Myst: I have tried to fight it but I love you too!
Wroth: Please tell your sisters to stop stabbing me!
Myst: Eh. We'll work something out.

END show less

DNF at 56%. Warning: Review will contain small spoilers, but will not reveal anything apart from the introduction to the story.

„The Warlord Wants Forever“ is the very short first volume in the „Immortals After Dark“ series, and it sucks. I’ve heard a lot about this series before, and a lot of people I know rated this book three stars or more, but … honestly ... there was no single thing I could at least pretend to have enjoyed about the story. Maybe it will become staggeringly fantastic during the second half, but I highly doubt this possibility and will probably definitely not return to it.

So, the novel went something like this during the beginning:

Wroth (male protagonist): „Haha! Your’re my prisoner! I’m the one to show more decide which fate will be yours! But … uh … wait … you’re beautiful! Wow, you’re so beautiful! What are you?“
Myst (female protagonist): „Oh, honey, of course I’m beautiful. But I can’t tell you what I am. I’m no vampire, that’s all you have to know, darling.“
Wroth: „I couldn’t care less. You know, I didn’t sleep with any woman for hundreds of years. You’re turning me on.“
Myst: *undresses seductively* „Of course I’m turning you on. Because I’m destined to be your bride. There is no other woman you could ever sleep with apart from me.“
Wroth: *dribbles of desire* „Then sleep with me!“
Myst: „‘sorry, darling. You’ll never want to sleep with anyone else again, which might not be the most pleasant feeling of all feelings because you’re immortal, but ... I don’t want to sleep with you.“
Wroth: „Nooooo! You can’t do that to me!“
Myst: „Of course I can.“ *vanishes for five years*
Wroth (five years later): „I’ve finally found you, scheming b*tch! No you’ll do what I want you to do. I possess you.“
Myst: „No, honey, you don’t. Sorry to disappoint you. You look awesome, but I still don’t want … oh, wait, I think I do want to sleep with you after all!“
Wroth: „I knew you would. Now kneel in front of me.“
Myst: *kneels*
Wroth: „Come!“
Myst: *comes*

That’s where I stopped reading because I just couldn’t care less about two one-dimensional characters who have no problem with rapey behaviour and women degrading themselves because their men want them to. And apart from that, I wasn’t even able to recognize anything resembling world-building in this story. Kresley Cole simply threw vampires, valkyries and whatever-else-there-was into the story and created only small characteristics for each of them, for anything else would obviously have been too arduous. *rolling eyes*

Save me rolling my eyes permanently during this boring, boring story, I won’t remember much about it, but one thing I will remember is that I won’t recommend the series and that I will never, ever return to reading it. show less

I really really liked this one!
This one was such a fun read—light, fast-paced, and honestly just the right kind of cheesy. It’s basically smut with a plot (not mad about it), and it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. Nikolai and Myst both have their flaws, sure, but they’re easy to like, and the chemistry? Whew.

I actually really liked the twist on the usual vampire lore—it felt fresh without being over the top. The story doesn’t take itself too seriously, which works in its favor. It’s all lust, drama, a bit of bite (literally), and a lot of fun. It was indulgent and steamy without the emotional gut-punch—and sometimes that’s exactly what hits.

♡◜✧˖°*:･ﾟ✧
Nikolai & Myst

Overall Rating:
⭐️: 4/5 🔥: 4/5

Rating: 4½ Stars

The Warlord Wants Forever is an exciting beginning to Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. This story first appeared in the anthology Playing Easy to Get. (The blurb above gives an excellent plot summary.) The story focuses on the very passionate yet volatile relationship between Myst, a Valkyrie warrior, and Wroth, a general in the vampire army. Though mortal enemies, Wroth discovers that Myst is his Bride, the one who will give him great power once they bond, and he will stop at nothing to possess her. Myst, however, has no intension of submitting to a beastly vampire. Much of the sexual relationship between Wroth and Myst would be considered dubious consent or forced seduction. Personally, I enjoy the "bodice show more ripper" theme, though I know many readers are turned off by it. The sex is scorching hot, but it is also aggressive and somewhat cruel at times. Don't worry; I never felt like Wroth crossed the line of violence. He used great self-control when dealing with Myst, and he turned out to be the perfect alpha hero.

This novella is a solid introduction to the world of the Immortals, in particular the history of the Valkyrie sisters. Often times short stories are too rushed and gloss over important details, but I think this is a perfectly paced, well-crafted story. The Valkyrie are a group of sharp-tongued, kick-ass warriors, and I loved them! It appears they will be the foundation of the series. We're also introduced to some of the other Lore creatures that we'll see in future books. If you've read the Immortals After Dark but missed this one, I highly recommend giving it a read! show less

Wroth is a ruthless vampire General who must find a bride in order to gain a heartbeat and more strength. Myst is a powerful Valkyrie who has been running from Wroth for the past five years. Wroth has finally tracked her down, and our story goes from here.

Our story has a healthy dose of supernatural elements, not just Vampires and Valkyries but other supernatural creatures as well. Dubious consent is explored within this one, which some readers may find objectionable. The dynamics between our main characters is the central element to the story, and the mythology is different than other vampire books.

I picked this one up because it was on sale, and it featured a different take on Vampire lore. Ultimately, for me it didn’t really show more work. I enjoy books with supernatural elements, a smoking hot “she’s mine” alpha male, and a sassy heroine. This one occasionally hit the mark, but for the most part I felt like I was in a constant state of eye rolling, and if it wasn’t for my aversion to DNFing books because somehow I feel like a failure (I know this is silly, but it doesn’t make it less true), I wouldn’t have finished it.

I don’t plan on reading any more of this series, but if you do, I hope it gets better. show less

The Warlord Wants Forever
3.5 Stars

Synopsis
Once a ruthless warlord and now a general in the rebel vampire army, Nikolai Wroth is shocked to discover that his Bride, the one woman who can make his heart beat again, is the incredibly beautiful but completely merciless Myst the Coveted, a Valkyrie warrior who has devoted her life to destroying vampires. Fortunately or unfortunately, Nikolai stumbles across the means to control Myst but does he want her subjugation or her love?

Review
After reading and enjoying A Hunger Like No Other, I felt that something was missing regarding Nikolai and Myst's backstory. So, I went back and read The Warlord Wants Forever even though I am not a fan of novellas because they are too short and the character show more development is usually meh. All in all, this does not disappoint but reading Hunger... first probably enhanced my enjoyment.

Nikolai and Myst have an intense love/hate relationship that takes some getting used to but on the whole they each give as good as they get and ultimately deserve each other. Nikolai is too domineering for my taste, and some of his actions are cringe-worthy but his character does learn an important lesson. Myst is also an ambiguous character but once everything about her past is revealed, she becomes very sympathetic. One problem with her characterization is the incongruity between her ferocity and independence and her need to submit to another in order to find true love - this does not resonate well.

The dialogue and humor are perfect in their snarkiness, and the sex scenes are steamy with a capital S but never become gratuitous.

Even though this is a novella, it does not read as one and neither the plot nor the characterization are short changed. I do, however, recommend that it be read by those who have already begun the Immortals After Dark books as I would not consider it a good introduction to the series. show less

Well, to be honest I read this novella a while ago when it was recommended To me by a friend, and I was less impressed. But, upon reread, I liked it well enough. It was a little beyond my ideal graphic sex threshold, but at the same time, she builds a great world, and I see a lot of potential in the series.

I've heard loads of people bitching about Myst "wanting tone dominated". Bah! Whatever. So what if she did? Does that offend your feminist sensibilities? Because, it it were a man who wanted to be "dominated", I bet you'd be fine with it. There's a whole subculture out there who digs that. It's not my thing, but hey, to each their own, right? Still, I don't thing that what's going on here. I think Myst is simply so badass she's just show more psyched at the idea that there's a man out there that she can't defeat. That is a turn on to her. I can't blame her. If I was the kicking ass type, I imagine I would be less attracted to a man whose butt I just kicked. Why are we missing the complete badassness of Myst, just because of how she reacts to Nikolai? In the end she saves his ass... show less