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Erotic Literature. Fantasy. Fiction. Romance. HTML:Discover a dark and wicked new world in Kresley Cole's remastered tale "The Warlord Wants Forever," the first scorching installment in her #1 New York Times bestselling Immortals After Dark series.... The Warlord Nikolai Wroth, a ruthless Vampire general, will stop at nothing to find his Bride, the one woman who can "blood" him, making his heart beat and filling him with strength. Coldly interested only in the power his Bride will bring, he can hardly believe when Myst the Coveted awakens him body�??and soul. The Seductress Famed throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, Myst has devoted her life to protecting a magical jewel and to fighting the vampires. Wroth provides her with the perfect opportunity to torment her sworn enemy�??for with his new heartbeat comes a consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her. Denying him, she flees, struggling to forget his searing, possessive kiss. The Hunt is on... She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen her enchanted jewel, giving him absolute power over her. Now that she's his for the taking, he intends to make her experience first-hand the agonizing, unending lust she subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Nikolai realizes he wants far more than vengeance from Myst and frees her, will she come back t… (more)
User reviews
I loved reading a The Warlord Wants Forever even though it took me a long time to warm up to Myst. There were several times where I was like, get over yourself already. But that's the way of the Valkyrie as you will soon find out, so you can't expect anything different from them. Other than my difficulty warming up to Myst, I enjoyed reading this novella and thought that it was great. It packs a lot of heat and you don't feel slighted where the plot is concerned because this is a short story.
You can read the IAD series without reading the novella (that's what I did - not on purpose) but I think The Warlord Wants Forever does provide a lot of background information that's beneficial when reading the next book in the series, A Hunger Like No Other.
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
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!
I really liked the concept behind the Immortals After Dark series, particularly since I'm looking for some good paranormals after The Black Dagger Brotherhood. This novella acts as an introduction to the series and it left me mildly disappointed. The story felt rushed and it felt like the author
As a taste of the series and an introduction to Cole's writing style (in some ways, very Wardian,) this novella does its job and I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into the first (real) book of the series. As a standalone novella, The Warlord Wants Forever is mediocre at best in my opinion.
Intriguing introduction to the new world invented by Kresley Cole. I liked how she made a new twist to the vampires and other mythical creatures. I will definitely read the next book soon.
This was an interesting start to a series.. but there were some parts, where it seemed like the scene jumped a little. I may have been reading too fast. Otherwise, it was a short steamy paranormal read.
Our hero is Nikolai Worth who is an ancient warrior of some renowned. He fights for his king Kristoff. Nikolai and the Horde are ignorant of the Lore and all the species that are part of it. So he is unprepared for Myst. I also think that Myst is more than a little unprepared for what fate has up its sleeve for her. Nikolai is and honorable man that hasn't come fully into the modern world. Some of his ideas are still very eighteenth century. He is trying to catch up but it takes him a while to realize what he has gotten himself into.
Myst the Coveted has been around for two thousand years and has never found any male strong enough to make her submit. So Nikolai is a real surprised. She also has to overcome some prejudices and hatreds. Like most of the Valkyrie she is a little on the insane side. She is a flirt and a tease. She is also a warrior.
This novella gives a taste of the Lore and some of it many occupants. It would have been wonderful if it had been longer, I guess that is the problem with almost all novellas. I will say that there is a good amount of world building in this story and it does make you want to read the next story.
#1 Immortals After Dark (IAD)
This novella starts off the popular series, Immortals After Dark. It centers around a female Valkyrie warrior, Myst the Coveted, who is descended from the gods, and the fated relationship she has with a former human turned
Although it is set in present day, it has a much older feel at times. It's possible that the medieval aspect (including their homes which appear to be run-down castles or mansions) is to signify the age of these beings, as well as the supernatural or fantastical aspect of the creatures who fight amongst each other--demons, ghouls, vampires, gods, etc. It starts off at Mt. Oblak Castle in Russia then fast forwards to New Orleans, but because they can "trace" (teleport) to different locations, they can travel anywhere on earth instantaneously.
I was not all that impressed with how the heroine, a Valkyrie (part god/part Furie) with centuries of experience in life and battle, started off so strong and then devolved into a spineless sexpot once she met the hero. It was quite clear (in her mind) that in order to love and be loved by Wroth she would have to give up being who she was--a strong, independent, respected warrior. The two species, Valkyrie and vampire, are natural enemies and are prone to kill each other, so Myst also feels she would have to endure an eternal separation from her three sisters if she chooses Wroth in order for everyone to be safe from one another. Her sisters are also fierce warriors, who are close to, but also seem very snarky toward Myst. I'm curious about their relationship because they all profess to be very close to each other, but Myst always feels relieved when she's away from them.
Myst just came to accept with a sigh that Wroth would now be the one protecting her. That did change by the end of the story, but for a while it was disappointing that it was assumed this is the way it would be and she secretly was glad for it. Nothing wrong with that for most people, but come on! We're talking about a kick @ss warrior here who loves to be embroiled in battle. No way is she going to want to stay home and polish her toenails while he is out "being the man".
This is one of those series where there is a fantasy element of being drawn together by blood or by some supernatural force. They cannot help themselves. They may be enemies and "hate" each other, but they have sexual chemistry which neither can fight. It's a good thing they do, too, because that's the thing that ends up saving them in the end. They start out with zero communication skills which causes the majority of the ridiculous parlaying and cat-fighting that goes on between them until the truth of their real feelings comes out and all seems to be right in the end.
Although I cannot deny there was great physical chemistry between the MCs, the story itself was lacking something. It has some similarities to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, which I liked even with its faults, so I'll continue on and see if I start to get attached to Cole's characters and story like I did Ward's. If there weren't so many people recommending IAD, I probably wouldn't move forward in the series.
***Adult Content***
I was hooked immediately, and proceeded to devour all the books one after the other!
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
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 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.
Into the blood-splattered snow, the lone warrior fell to one knee and shuddered with weakness. Still, an arm shot out to raise a sword against the oncoming legion. Her dented breastplate swallowed her small form. Though the winds
The arrowhead had pierced through metal, then barely through her breastbone, just enough that her heart met the point with each beat. The beating of her own brave heart was killing her. But her scream had woken two nearby gods sleeping together through a brutal, wintry decade.
They stirred and looked down upon the maiden, seeing in her eyes courage burning bright. Bravery and will had marked her entire life, but the light ebbed with death and they mourned it.
Freya, the female god, whispered that they should take her courage and preserve it for eternity because it was so precious.
The first in the Immortals After Dark series, we get the origins of the Valkyrie and an introduction to the lore. This was also a hot little number with Myst and Wroth rubbing all up on each other.
It's an introduction novella, so the shorter word count leaves some to be desired with flushed out world but I loved our leads. Myst was kickass and Wroth, for all his confusion, was commanding but tolerant beast.
The conflict comes from Myst's trust issues with men and Wroth not knowing how to navigate it and some hints as to the series future enemies may be.
I enjoyed the hotness and excitement of it all.