Ratings14
Average rating3.5
#1 New York Times bestseller Kresley Cole introduces The Dacians: Realm of Blood and Mist, a new paranormal series following the royal bloodline of Dacia, a vampire kingdom hidden within the Lore of the Immortals After Dark.
Shadow’s Claim features Prince Trehan, a ruthless master assassin who will do anything to possess Bettina, his beautiful sorceress mate, even compete for her hand in a blood-sport tournament— to the death.
HE WON’T BE DENIED
Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself—until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.
SHE’S BOUND TO ANOTHER
Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.
A BATTLE FOR HER BODY AND SOUL
Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away—or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch. . . .
Reviews with the most likes.
I love and found the main character's jewelry/weapon/design skills unique. The main male was a little to Alpha. I knew how it would end but I mostly liked the twists and turns throughout the book to get to the ending. I like the tournament that added good fight scenes. I love the elaborate world but to throw in random slang or pop culture from our earth world sometimes was jarring. I also was taken out by the last complication Trehan had during a battle. It seemed so, sweep under the rug, problem solved. The nicknames where a little repetitive. Fun read. I like the writing style. Think I will try one of Cole's other series.
This is one of those books I love to hate. It's an average story, containing average characters. Our two main narrators here are a lustful, possessive vampire assassin and his bride a powerless virgin sorceress/demon (man did it irritate me how he seemed to always talk about her like an object, like something he owns)...there were no surprising plot twists or thought provoking revelations here. But let's face it–that's not why I picked the book up. I picked it up for one reason, and that would be the sex. So...Let's talk about sex, baby! The sex in the book was really well written (4 out of 5 stars for those scenes). Definitely made me blush. And if you are in the mood for some really good sexy times, then this is the book for you. Without those scenes though, the book really fell short. I would probably rate it a 2.5 out of 5 for the characters, language, and pretty much everything else that I love about fantasy novels. I didn't like Trehan very much (yes, I'll admit that he is one of the more sexy vampires and he would do almost anything for Bettina...but he was awful).
“Just because someone desires you, does not mean that they value you.
Read it over.
Again.
Let those words resonate in your mind.”
I had to go back to this one. I thought I could skip the Dacians, after reading Dark Skye I was wrong. There was series arc in this one too. I'm glad I wasn't too far ahead and it hadn't been too long.
Series
17 primary books20 released booksImmortals After Dark is a 21-book series with 17 primary works first released in 2006 with contributions by Jaid Black, Kresley Cole, and 3 others.
Series
2 primary booksThe Dacians is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2012 with contributions by Kresley Cole.