Stacia (the 2010 club)'s Reviews > A Hunger Like No Other
A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark, #1)
by
by
Stacia (the 2010 club)'s review
bookshelves: adult, paranormal-romance, vampires, shifters-or-weres, highlanders, valkyrie
Jan 11, 2012
bookshelves: adult, paranormal-romance, vampires, shifters-or-weres, highlanders, valkyrie
***Re-read 10/7/15. Rating bump from 3 to 4 stars. Original review below. ***
...meanwhile, inside of the Fetish Cafe...
Waitress : Miss? Are you ready to order?
Me : (clearing throat) Um, I think so? Can you tell me first if there are any off-the-menu specials tonight?
Waitress : Nothing extra tonight. Our supplier didn't deliver today, so we're running low on supplies. If you're looking for a fantasy involving props, chances are, it's not going to happen.
Me : It's fine. That's not really my thing. (pause) Uh...I think I'll take the kidnapping special. With an order of dominant male. Preferably tall, dark, handsome, and pushy...you know the drill. The alpha type.
Waitress : Big spender, aren't we? Anything else? (says sarcastically) Would you like fries with your order?
Me : Yes, please. Can I get some gravy with that on the side? Brown, not white.
Waitress : (appearing a bit confused) Whatever. It's your fetish.
Me : Oh no. The fries aren't part of it. I'm just hungry.
.....
Trigger warning : content borders on rapey (yes, it's a word, dammit)
Eh, what can I say? A Hunger was a fun and fluffy read. There's no real substance here, but when comparing this to other pnr, it's on par with others that I've liked. Which is not bad, considering I've been on a serious adult pnr break lately after trying a few I didn't like. They're all starting to read the same and I've passed on most of the ones which haven't had more of an urban fantasy bent. Straight-up adult romance novels (in most every genre) have been pretty disappointing to me lately, so I've chosen not to go there. Until now. I saw a few friends talking about this one and figured I'd give it a shot.
I find it funny that if this book were realistic fiction, I would rip it up one side and down the other for having such a horrible male lead. As in : NO ONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. The male lead is pushy, demanding, forceful, and about 20 other things which would have any female running for the hills in absolute horror. If some guy (or girl) pulled this act on me or anyone I know, I'd call the cops and have him (or her) locked up.
But of course, I tend to cave a little for fantasy based books. What can I say? I have a thing for alpha men in pnr and historicals. Plus, this one had an ancient scottish brogue! Well, hellooooo highlander. Thank you for showing up in my kidnap story.
At least, in this book, I get to give the double argument for his lack of decorum.
1. It's pnr. These aren't guys raised in polite society. They're driven by instinct that overwhelms them. Bad excuse? Sure. But hey, it's the basis for most pnr shifter stories. The devil made them do it, or some other nonsense. We laugh at it, we find it far-fetched, we'd hate it if any man in real life treated us like this, but darnit...it's fun to read about in books.
2. The dude is old. Like pre-dating historical bodice-ripping, non-con storylines, OLD. As in, "he came from the dirt" old. Historical fiction readers know that men from the past weren't as clued in to the equality of men and women. They always seem to need a woman to school them. And our heroine in this story did, in fact, school her man.
Who I'd recommend this book to :
People who don't mind aggressive alphas in their pnr and can forgive some serious bad behavior if the hero shows some sign of remorse or willingness to change later.
Who I'd warn away from the book :
Anyone who has a previous history of abuse, whether physical or sexual. The hero(?) did push the boundaries of sex and crossed some lines that he shouldn't have. The book danced that line of danger a little too close for comfort at times (view spoiler)
Anyone who rolls their eyes at old stereotypes of cavemen-type males. I'm warning you - you will hate this book. It's okay to steer clear. In fact, why are you even reading this review? You might want to go shower all of the gunk off now. Hurry!
No, really. I don't blame anyone who would find this book distasteful. Only us fluff cravers are going to enjoy A Hunger. And enjoy, I did.
...meanwhile, inside of the Fetish Cafe...
Waitress : Miss? Are you ready to order?
Me : (clearing throat) Um, I think so? Can you tell me first if there are any off-the-menu specials tonight?
Waitress : Nothing extra tonight. Our supplier didn't deliver today, so we're running low on supplies. If you're looking for a fantasy involving props, chances are, it's not going to happen.
Me : It's fine. That's not really my thing. (pause) Uh...I think I'll take the kidnapping special. With an order of dominant male. Preferably tall, dark, handsome, and pushy...you know the drill. The alpha type.
Waitress : Big spender, aren't we? Anything else? (says sarcastically) Would you like fries with your order?
Me : Yes, please. Can I get some gravy with that on the side? Brown, not white.
Waitress : (appearing a bit confused) Whatever. It's your fetish.
Me : Oh no. The fries aren't part of it. I'm just hungry.
.....
Trigger warning : content borders on rapey (yes, it's a word, dammit)
Eh, what can I say? A Hunger was a fun and fluffy read. There's no real substance here, but when comparing this to other pnr, it's on par with others that I've liked. Which is not bad, considering I've been on a serious adult pnr break lately after trying a few I didn't like. They're all starting to read the same and I've passed on most of the ones which haven't had more of an urban fantasy bent. Straight-up adult romance novels (in most every genre) have been pretty disappointing to me lately, so I've chosen not to go there. Until now. I saw a few friends talking about this one and figured I'd give it a shot.
I find it funny that if this book were realistic fiction, I would rip it up one side and down the other for having such a horrible male lead. As in : NO ONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. The male lead is pushy, demanding, forceful, and about 20 other things which would have any female running for the hills in absolute horror. If some guy (or girl) pulled this act on me or anyone I know, I'd call the cops and have him (or her) locked up.
But of course, I tend to cave a little for fantasy based books. What can I say? I have a thing for alpha men in pnr and historicals. Plus, this one had an ancient scottish brogue! Well, hellooooo highlander. Thank you for showing up in my kidnap story.
At least, in this book, I get to give the double argument for his lack of decorum.
1. It's pnr. These aren't guys raised in polite society. They're driven by instinct that overwhelms them. Bad excuse? Sure. But hey, it's the basis for most pnr shifter stories. The devil made them do it, or some other nonsense. We laugh at it, we find it far-fetched, we'd hate it if any man in real life treated us like this, but darnit...it's fun to read about in books.
2. The dude is old. Like pre-dating historical bodice-ripping, non-con storylines, OLD. As in, "he came from the dirt" old. Historical fiction readers know that men from the past weren't as clued in to the equality of men and women. They always seem to need a woman to school them. And our heroine in this story did, in fact, school her man.
Who I'd recommend this book to :
People who don't mind aggressive alphas in their pnr and can forgive some serious bad behavior if the hero shows some sign of remorse or willingness to change later.
Who I'd warn away from the book :
Anyone who has a previous history of abuse, whether physical or sexual. The hero(?) did push the boundaries of sex and crossed some lines that he shouldn't have. The book danced that line of danger a little too close for comfort at times (view spoiler)
Anyone who rolls their eyes at old stereotypes of cavemen-type males. I'm warning you - you will hate this book. It's okay to steer clear. In fact, why are you even reading this review? You might want to go shower all of the gunk off now. Hurry!
No, really. I don't blame anyone who would find this book distasteful. Only us fluff cravers are going to enjoy A Hunger. And enjoy, I did.
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Reading Progress
January 11, 2012
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Started Reading
January 11, 2012
– Shelved
January 15, 2012
–
Finished Reading
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by
Leea
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 11, 2012 10:13PM
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How is it going for you? Affecting you like most PNR?
And a note on the kidnapping thing - I don't actually have a fantasy of wanting to be kidnapped (especially by a stranger!), but I like reading books with this theme as a fantasy. My kinks aren't that off the wall in real life, haha. I could only imagine someone reading this and thinking I was extremely warped if I actually wanted it to happen.
I gotcha as to kinks v. kinks in books.
Are you planning to read on?
Hopefully I enjoy them.
Haha!! Great review!
Regina, maybe I'll try to fit in Firelight around the same time you read it, so we can compare notes.
twelvejan, no I haven't. Sorry I didn't see your message. I'm burned out on pnr cheese for the moment and have been sticking with uf for the most part. But I hear that the book after this has a beta hero, so I'm curious.