Review: Lothaire

Title: Lothaire

Author: Kresley Cole

Date of Publication: January 10, 2012

Formats Available: Hardcover, Paperback, E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Synopsis: In this thrilling tale of the Immortals After Dark, #1 New York Timesbestselling author Kresley Cole reveals secrets of the Lore, fierce realm of the immortals.

All Fear The Enemy Of Old

Driven by his insatiable need for revenge, Lothaire, the Lore’s most ruthless vampire, plots to seize the Horde’s crown. But bloodlust and torture have left him on the brink of madness—until he finds Elizabeth Peirce, the key to his victory. He captures the unique young mortal, intending to offer up her very soul in exchange for power, yet Elizabeth soothes his tormented mind and awakens within him emotions Lothaire believed he could no longer experience.

A Deadly Force Dwells Within Her

Growing up in desperate poverty, Ellie Peirce yearned for a better life, never imagining she’d be convicted of murder—or that an evil immortal would abduct her from death row. But Lothaire is no savior, as he himself plans to sacrifice Ellie in one month’s time. And yet the vampire seems to ache for her touch, showering her with wealth and sexual pleasure. In a bid to save her soul, Ellie surrenders her body to the wicked vampire, while vowing to protect her heart.

Centuries Of Cold Indifference Shattered

Elizabeth tempts Lothaire beyond reason, as only his fated mate could. As the month draws to a close, he must choose between a millennia-old blood vendetta and his irresistible prisoner. Will Lothaire succumb to the miseries of his past . . . or risk everything for a future with her?

My Review:

Lothaire was one of those books that was super entertaining, despite it's faults, and even though there are lots of reasons I should dislike this novel, I actually ended up really enjoying it. The romance was right on point, the plot was fast paced and entertainig, and the pairing between Ellie and Lothaire was absolutely perfect. Although it's not my favorite by Cole it was still a great read and Lothaire's 400+ pages absolutely flew by!

First of all the pairing between Lothaire and Ellie was fantastic, they were complete opposites but Cole was able to make them work despite everything standing against them. I loved Ellie, defiant and brave she wasn't afraid to stand up to Lothaire and his threats. She stood her ground no matter what Lothaire threw at her and I really liked her for that. However, it was Lothaire himself that made me feel like I should hate this book; he degraded Ellie at every opportunity and never stopped reminding her how worthless she was. But there was something about their relationship that just worked, despite the fact I hated Lothaire more and more at every turn.

I also really enjoyed the plot in this novel; Saroya was perfectly evil and having Ellie be possessed by her made a perfect juxtaposition between the two characters. Even though  Lothaire and Saroya seemed to make a better pair, each of them boasting about their evil deeds and their mutual dislike of humans, watching Lothaire slowly change his entire endgame for Ellie was no doubt the most satisfying part of the novel. I also loved the wonderful cast of characters, from Hag and her prophecies and concoctions to Nix and her slight insanity, Cole created a perfectly diverse and unique cast that kept me interested the whole novel and I'm excited to read more about each of them!

The romance in this novel was absolutely out of this world. Cole really knows how to write a romance and she went all out in this novel; the moments she orchestrated between Ellie and Lothaire made me swoon and I loved watching Lothaire slowly realize that his bride wasn't Saroya, but Ellie instead. Even though he was cruel, reading about him falling in love changed my perspective about him a little bit. Toe curling and swoon worthy I was absolutely glued to the page at any hint of romance. Not only did Cole make the romance hot but I loved watching little bits of Lothaire's tough exterior fall away as he developed feelings for Ellie, making me feel like maybe he wasn't such a bad guy in the end.

Overall Lothaire was a fun, and highly romantic, read and I definitely recommend this novel to fans of paranormal romance. I've enjoyed every book I've read in the Immortals After Dark series so far and I'm excited to get my hands on another one!

4/5