Review: Night Pleasures (Dark-Hunter series #2) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

TLDR recap:

A centuries-old Greek general awakes to find himself handcuffed to a spirited, cute little human who thinks he’s a vampire and wants nothing more than to get away from him.  Not quite a vampire, he *is* immortal and allergic to the sun, and the daimon Kyrian is hunting thinks tying him (literally) to Amanda Devereaux will make for more fun sport in their deathmatch.  Desiderius is tougher prey than anyone would have imagined, though, and Kyrian and Amanda find themselves in the fight of their lives and in a battle for Kyrian’s very soul.  Night Pleasures is a GraveTells “must-read”!

Title: Night Pleasures
Series: Dark-Hunter book #2
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Prominent Characters: Kyrian of Thrace, Amanda Devereaux
Recommended reader age: 17+
Sexual content level: moderate

*** This review is SPOILER-FREE! Read on with confidence! ***

Thoughts:

When Amanda wakes up to find herself handcuffed to a tall, blonde, and dangerous “vampire”, with a body built for sin and a sarcastic, overbearing attitude, you know you’re in for an entertaining ride. Um, pun kinda intended. *grin* Kyrian’s past is brutal and he is still haunted by it.  The one thing he cannot allow himself to do is trust a woman, but that is exactly what he MUST do if he’s to beat Desiderius, the daimon out for his life.  I like Amanda. She’s straightforward, smart, and impatient, and can do a little ass kicking of her own.  Plus, she has a large, meddling family who make for no end of comic relief and drama infusion.  Amanda is no wall flower and Kyrian is so loyal and pure of heart that it made my chest flutter. Never before in a book have I cheered on the hero to lose his immortality and live a normal human life.  Then there’s Nick Gautier (pronounced Go-shay), Kyrian of Thrace’s street-smart Squire with the big mouth and wise-ass attitude.  We’ll be seeing a lot of Nick in the coming books, and every time he pops up, I look forward to his dialogue (or inner grumbling monologue, depending on how angry he is).

I was anticipating The reunion between Julian and Kyrian so much that I stayed up an extra hour to read it, and it was so worth it. Bittersweet and emotional, seeing these two friends together was exactly what I wanted it to be. More! I loved Julian in Fantasy Lover, and I fell in love with Kyrian as I read more and more of his story. His wit, humor, sarcasm, cynicism, willpower, dedication… Complex and compelling, Kyrian is everything I look for in a PNR hero.

Some people consider this the first book in the Dark-Hunter series, but I recommend reading Fantasy Lover first. Referred to by some as the “optional book 0” about Julian of Macedon, Fantasy Lover will give you an emotional and touching introduction into Kyrian’s past and more insight into his close friendship with Julian. Reading Fantasy Lover first will greatly enhance your immersion in Night Pleasures and will definitely be time well spent. Plus, who doesn’t want to read about hunky Greek general Julian as a sex slave? Oh yeah, it’s that good!

Memorable quotes:

Nothing says “I’m over you” like a weanie roast!

“Why don’t I cancel with Grace tonight and the two of us can go do something? Have a symbolic itty-bitty weenie roast for Cliff?”

Ok, this makes vampires a whole lot less sexy.  Lawyers=Vampires?!  GEE, thanks Kyrian!

“Are you going to suck my blood?”

He arched a sardonic brow. “Do I look like a lawyer to you?”

So you’re Angelus?  That’s ok.  He was sexy too. *grin*

“So, you’re like Angel?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “You watch way too much television,” he muttered. Then louder, he said, “Angel has a soul. I don’t.”

*sings* I kissed a <blank> and I liked it…

“Oh God,” she breathed. “I just kissed a vampire!”

“Oh gods, I just kissed a human!”

Amanda narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you mocking me?”

Pesky biology, always getting in the way…

Amanda arched a brow at his weapons. “I thought only a wooden stake through the heart killed a vampire.”

“A wooden stake through the heart will kill just about anything. And if it doesn’t, run like hell,” Hunter said blandly.

Can I have your job? Seriously. One soul for sale, right here.

“Tell me how many jobs are out there where you get to play hero every night. My pay is astronomical and I live forever. What is there not to love about this job?”

If you liked Night Pleasures of the Dark-Hunter series…

You will almost certainly like the Black Dagger Brotherhood books.  Lots of hunky warrior men who are immortal badasses with quirky and commanding attitudes, and the beginning of some overarching story threads that could lead to future big bads = a PNR fan’s bread and butter.  Buy Dark Lover, read it, love it, become obsessed like the rest of us!  Seriously though, there are a lot of parallels between the BDB and the DH series.  Both have powerful leaders with secrets and dark pasts.  Both feature playboy heroes who melt your heart and can still kick some major ass, early in the series.  Both have a tortured, dark, nearly unredeemable warrior who is the male every woman wants to tame and care for.  Both have multiple story arcs and secrets continually being uncovered and teased.  If anything, DH is much larger in scope than the BDB, but the emotional commitment feels very similar in the early stages of each series.

If you like Sherrilyn Kenyon’s style of writing and character development and don’t mind going a little out of the genre, check out her SciFi/fantasy League series (starting with Born of Night).  The characters will draw you in just as much as the DH men, and the action is just as hair-raising, their dark pasts even darker and more tortured, and the love stories just as strong.

Final thoughts:

The Dark-Hunter lore is well developed and seamlessly integrated into historical Greek mythology. They are vampires but not, behaving differently from the slew of cliché vamp series out there… sometimes in ways you expect and sometimes catching you off guard. This book paves the way for a uniquely refreshing and addictingly compelling PNR series, and since so many books in it have already been published, you won’t even have to wait to get your next fix or four.

I didn’t get more than 15% into this book before I realized I was in trouble. As soon as I met Talon, I knew this series was going to be a new favorite of mine, and 3 books later in as many days… I was right.  *wink*  Night Pleasures is a GraveTells “must-read”!

Rating: Night Pleasures

Pssst – click here to read my informal review of Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter #1) on GoodReads!