Night Pleasures (edit title)

• Rated 3 stars

“The manga books are based on this one and Night Embrace. Its a good starting point for the manga series though, again this isn't one of my favorites in the series. However, its where I discover a couple of my favorite characters in the series. So, what not to like.

”

• Rated 2 stars

“The first few books are good in this series, but there are just WAY TOO MANY LINKED RELATIONSHIPS AND PEOPLE. It's serious overkill! In the beginning I thought it was cool that everyone was linked, but then it just got stupid and boring.

I would waste money and buy them all. Just borrow.”

• Rated 5 stars

“I really loved the characters in this story. The humor from Kyrian was the best I have read in a while. Plus the passion between him and Amanda was great.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Book two in the Dark Hunter Novels. A fun read”

• Rated 4 stars

“I finished reading "Night Pleasures" last night. I enjoyed this one one star better than the first book of this Dark Hunter adventure.

First, let me approach the reading sequence referral. I do recommend you reading "The Beginning" short story online at the following link:
http://www.dailyinquisitor.com//hunter/release.htm
before reading this book. Some things about Acheron and the Dark Hunter's souls will make a bit more sense if reading the short story first. As far as the recommendation to read Dragonswan before this one... the verdict is still out on that one. Not sure that is a necessity at this point, unless I am missing something there. Maybe if only to make you aware that there are different types of "hunters"? Like I said, maybe I missed something there.

Ok, now let's talk about the book. This is Kyrian's story. Remember Kyrian from "Fantasy Lover"? Kyrian was Julian's only true friend and they fought together against the Romans as Spartans. Julian makes reference in "Fantasy Lover" that he has thought Kyrian dead because of Julian's abandonment to the army, as Julian was always watching Kyrian's back as well as the other way around. Well, Kyrian shows up here and he is now a Dark-Hunter. To become a Dark-Hunter, upon death you claim you want vengeance upon someone and Artemis trades your soul and you must work for her fighting the Daimons in order to allow you to perform one last act of vengeance. Of course, you will have to read on to find out how Kyrian became a Dark-Hunter and what his act of vengeance was.

I found there was a lot more action in this book and a lot more introduction to other "hunter" characters as well as theories that were quite interesting and exciting. I , of course, as to not imply spoilers, will not get into it too much here, but there is some neat stuff out there. Also, the setting of these books being in New Orleans , makes it that much better, since I was raised in Louisiana and can relate to many of the things in reference to the area.

As you know there is always a woman to be found in the books and Amanda is the heroine here. Amanda is Selena's sister from "Fantasy Lover". Remember Grace's best friend , Selena? You will get a peek at Grace and Julian's life also.

In summation, I really enjoyed this book as it introduced and explained the actual Dark-Hunters and started bringing them to life (well, technically they are not alive, but you know what I mean *grin*), as well as offered some closure for Julian as to his guilt for what happened to Kyrian. Yes, there are still hot pages of sex and the torture of it all, but an equal mix of all the action and Dark-Hunter mystique to keep your interest.

I am only in the beginning of my Dark-Hunter quest, and expect each book to get better and better. I did go invest in the "Dark-Hunter Companion" book yesterday and it has helped with some of the terminology and wordage. I am afraid to read too far into the Companion book , as I don't want to know too much. It gives a wonderful breakdown of the Gods (Julian) and the Dark-Hunters , telling their bios ect. Great stuff, but don't read ahead, you may find out too much. It explains the weapons and what they do, which was good, because I have looked up several of those as well as other words... day surfer?? Yeah, it's in there, and not a good thing.

So, hope you are convinced to start reading the series. If you are interested in the reading order that was suggested to me to include the order to read the books as well as the anthologies and short stories, just send me a note and I will be glad to share.

Until next time... “I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.”

”

• Rated 3 stars

“I like the mingling of ancient Greek gods in the lives of our characters.”

• Rated 0 stars

“GREAT SERIES”

• Rated 5 stars

“Fast paced with lots of action and romance. Definitely a step up from Fantasy Lover.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Sherrilyn Kenyon has a knack for creating beautiful love stories with just the right touch of steamy passion. NIGHT PLEASURES, the third Dark-Hunter story, is no different. I found myself drawn to this book and over and over again regardless of the fact that I had other books begging for reviews. I tried, honestly I really did, but discovered that I just couldn’t leave this story until I had finished it. Kenyon develops so much tension in her world of the Dark-Hunters that to turn your back on the story is like carrying a taught rubber band around with you just waiting for it to snap.

NIGHT PLEASURES tells the tale of Amanda Devereaux, a woman with hidden talents, a crazy family and an uptight ex-fiancé. Bound and determined to make a normal life for herself away from her Voodoo family, she encourages her mind to ignore her instincts and fall in love with Cliff. During their engagement, she makes the one mistake that so many couples make in their relationships; at his insistence, she introduces Cliff to her crazy family. With a vampire hunting sister and fortune telling relatives, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that Cliff ran as fast as his snobbish legs could carry him and quickly broke off the engagement. Distraught by finding herself along yet again and angered that her family can’t seem to grow up and quit pretending, we find Amanda at the beginning of the book, bitter and lonely.

Enter Kyrian of Thrace. In FANTASY LOVER, Book One of the Dark-Hunter series, we are introduced to Kyrian’s character only briefly through Julian of Macedon’s tales. In his time, Kyrian was a fantastic warrior, holding back armies with practically nothing but his own sword, sharp tongue and brute strength. Alas, a perfect life can never last and when the unthinkable happens, Kyrian finds himself thrown into a world of danger and above all, darkness. As a Dark-Hunter, he finds strength in his continued existence as a warrior and lives year by year content with caring for himself. Well, that is until the night he awakes to find himself handcuffed to the prim and entirely disbelieving Amanda.

I found the tension between Kyrian and Amanda to really be the best aspect of NIGHT PLEASURES. There really is not a lot of free space where we as the reader are allowed to wind down. Kenyon keeps the tension growing and ebbing, pulling us along and creating depth to the story. Just when we think that Kyrian and Amanda might get over themselves and come to find peace in each other, another roadblock is thrown up and we find that they are separated again. I won’t tell you how the story ends, but rest assured your emotions will get quite the workout as you turn the pages.

In NIGHT PLEASURES, we do get to meet a few new characters, but as a series should, Kenyon only gives us enough information about each character and their background to make them a substantial part of the story, leaving the rest for us to discover through future books. I love how she introduces us to the Dark-Hunter world, giving us enough information to learn about this new, intriguing set of circumstances and yet leaving us begging for more.

Fair warning time: With a title like NIGHT PLEASURES, there is no doubting that this is an adult book. There are some graphic scenes but they all add something special to the story. Kenyon has a wonderful way of writing, expressing feeling and working with our senses. Her words are well placed and really help to bring the reader down into the action.

Overall, I found NIGHT PLEASURES to be a very enjoyable read. If it weren’t for the other books that require my attention I would already have my nose in the next installment of the series, NIGHT EMBRACE. I do highly recommend this book to anyone that likes their stories mixed with romance, action and the perfect touch of the paranormal. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“Oh My Gosh!

I'm so loving this series. I'm at a lose for words to describe Ms. Kenyon's writing style. It's great. I love the humor in her books. The characters are to die for. A fast read. You won't be able to put it down.
”