Lothaire (Immortals After Dark)

If you are a fan of Kresley Cole, add this book to your list. I really enjoyed this story about Lothaire. I think Ms. Cole does an excellent job interacting the characters of each of her books. I started at the beginning and I have never been disappointed.

It was. ..ok. I thought Lothaire was one of the most interesting characters and couldnt wait for his stand alone novel. There was wayyyy to much hostility. It over powered the tiny amount of romance between the "couple ". I also was annoyed with the extremely country accent the Heroine had. I would only recommend because you can keep up with the storyline.

This was the first of the IAD series I've read and boy was it good! I honestly loved it. It is one of my favourite paranormal books! I don't like to write reviews that spoil things, so I'll keep it brief.

Lothaire is just adorable! He's on the brink of losing all his sanity, and has no idea how to act towards Ellie or the feelings she evokes in him because he's so obsessed with vengeance and the promises that he made to his mother. He believes that he is bonded to Soroya, the Goddess of death who possesses Ellie's body at times when Ellie is weak as he believes Ellie to be too inferior to be his queen seeing as she is only a human.

Ellie is hilarious. I really love her. Most of these romantic novels portray the female love interest as doormats. Ellie is not like this at all, she's strong minded, and won't let anything deter her from her goals. She is a great match for Lothaire.

All in all, 5/5 because this book has made me want to read the other IAD novels! And it was extremely well written, there is a lot of character development and relationship development. I can't wait for the future books!

very very disappointed after reading all those reviews Iexpected a much better storyline
and characters - did not like it at all,
found it gory and violent and cannot understand how she falls for such an animal
=he had no charisma, actually, neither did she! just did not like either
character enough to stay with it - (very 1 dimensional character) - sorry,
waste of money, could not even finish it. -this storyline got too tedious - time for another series.

I thought the book was ok, but a little predictable. The story involves a bad boy, a really, really bad girl and a good girl living in a bizarre love triangle. Overall, it was well written but wait until you do not have to pay the new release, hard back price.

Loved this book. I have been waiting for a mortal heroine in this series! ( Holly from the sixth book doesnt count cause she only thinks she's human) I was very worried when i purchased this book because some author start off with an amazing series but as the series progresses the books just dont live up to their potential. Well rest assured that this book is not one of them! Amazing story! I loved it! Although Lothaire was evil there was still something about him that just makes you love him. Elizabeth is awesome and her thought processes are very realistic in regards to her situtation... (i know that makes no sense but i dont want to spoil anything). I would recommend this book to a friend and if you are a kresley cole fan wondering if the wait was worth is and nervous about being disapointed in one of your favorite authors... well dont be! ms cole delivers another hit from the world of the Lore! I would buy this book again in heartbeat!

I have been waiting for Lothaires story & was so anxious that I was actually worried I would be let down. I wanted certain things & had ideas about how the story line should go. Lothaire has been a favorite of mine (as well as Nix) through the entire series & I have just been dying to get his full story. This book gave me a completed feeling. While it was not what I had expected or really even predicted the story was fabulous and while it was heartbreaking at times, it was the same laugh out loud Kresley Cole that I love! I mean really??? Lothaire the Enemy of Olde finds his Bride in Ellie Mae Clampet? Could there have been a bigger shock? Ahhh I loved it! I have read every book & loved every single one, but this is definately her best work so far! The series just gets better & better! I hope to see Leo and "Lizavetta" again, especially when Nix FINALLY gets a man & a little tiny bit of sanity! I love her so much, and found myself crying in this book at her hopelessness. While her insanity has always brought me to laughter, this book reveals the strain that she is facing & it was rather depressing. I will be hoping to see Nix find a man who can bring her some semblance of peace & hopefully Lothaire will be the one to help her. He owes her that. All in all... perfect book & the perfectly imperfect hero.

Sadly, this was a huge disappointment for me. I was so looking forward to Lothaire's story. Unfortunately, this fell far short of the mark for me. Lothaire in this story lost all the appeal that he had built up in the previous stories for me. The heroine was weak which did not make for an interesting match for the hero. At times, I was rather bored which was really the worst disappointment of all.

The story grabbed me from the very beginning and kept me to the end. I identified with the female lead character's love for family and ties to her home, including everyone in the surrounding area. I'm from Kentucky (not Appalachia) and understood why that bond was unbreakable. I loved the book.

Don't take this review wrong, I love Kresley Cole and her IAD series. I guess with the price of the book & kindle download and the high expectations, I was expecting a better story about Lothaire. A human Bride was the right decision for Lothaire, and for the heroine to soften up his evil side. The reason why I'm giving it 3 1/2 stars is because, the humor in this book was lacking this time. I love reading about the Witches and Valkyrie, they're funny and I love Nix. I felt like in this book the reader didn't get enough of that. I also like the way Kresley Cole makes her heroine tiny and fragile, compared to Lothaire, whom is...very big and powerful. Toward the end of the book, Kresley Cole did bring in some funny parts.....the heart and the middle finger and how the Valkyrie reacted to it :)

The price for the kindle download is a disapointment to me. I have read great books for .99 to $5.00. At this time with our economy, reading is a less expensive way of entertainment, but when you have to spend $11.99 ...more than a movie ticket, there's a problem there. It takes so much more money to make a film. Downloading it on kindle....how much does that really cost to put that out??? GENA SHOWALTER and the people she works with on setting her prices....THANK YOU FOR KEEPING YOUR PRICES REASONABLE!!!

I love Kresley Cole books. I usally ready then in a couple of days. This one... Is not my favorite. To tell the true i hate it. I am happy that this time i waited to buy when the price was 50%off. I'm still trying to finish. (and i waited for so long for this book). First sorry but in my fantasy reading time I don't want to think about Walmart being a dream job, pragnants teenager mother and grandmother,trailler as a house, death roll yada yada yada. He being a dick... I guess we should only think about good vampires from the twilight saga (for teenagers) so I'm cool with him being what he is. But the language of the book i feel is like that, for teenagers. (we shaw take off the sex cene). i read all her books and this is the first i think is not sexy at all. I think may be because i prefer when the books are not with mortals heroines. The other one with the demon and a mortal was a bla too. So here i am really really trying to finish it. But all my love to her. Must be very difficult to try to make everybody happy. And ya I shaw buy the next book too anyway. By the way: english is not my first language and i am kinda tired to check the spell. I am not trying in any form to put the product dow. This is only my opnion.

I was wondering how Cole was going to have the "evil" character in her series find his soul mate. . . . 2 words.... STOCKHOLM SYNDROME....I didn't buy into the idea that a millenia old prince/king had anything in common with an Apalachian coal miner's daughter. The relationship, though, is more believable than Regin and Chase. HOwever, since Lothaire was always such a character of "good evil deeds" and mystery, I was pretty disappointed in this story. If you are a fan of the series it is certainly worth reading. But nothing to rave about or need to buy to re-read over and over.

i had been anticipating this book ever since I began reading the IAD series. I loved Lothaires character, knowing that even as dark and evil as he was, that he would one day meet his match. I seriously had such high hopes for this book, and in the end-which is a first for me with this author, alls i can say is................it was okay. I loved the characters, and a good majority of the stuff that happened. I think Kelsey did a great job letting us see through the eyes of one such as lothaire and even then Elizabeth. What i did not like was how the majority of the story was stuck at Lothaires. To me it felt more like I was reading a short erotica book than a nearly four-hundred page book. I felt that there should have been way more action, like all her other books and atleast a few more characters other than what there was. I never thought I would have to say this to you Kelsey........but.....it could have been so much more. Sooo much more. That book could have been a heart-stopper, literally, but it just fell a little too short. So, I end this with saying that you can be the best writter in the world, and have the best idea for a book, but without decent plots and a winding tale that strings the readers along........it just won't work. not even for a best seller like Kelsey. Sorry Kelsey, but its true. Your still one of my favorite authors and I'll still buy yours books asap. I love ya just that much.

I can't finish this book. My problem is I could never like or care one bit about Lothaire and even less about his mate who speaks like she is a teenager. How can you root for a cold blooded killer? Don't tell me he was abused as a child. I'm sick of hearing that as an excuse for anyone who commits murder. This hero, pardon the pun, has no redeeming graces and deserves all the punishment he can get. He certainly doesn't deserve a mate even if she is human. He despises her for most of the book, makes love to her and eventually decides she is his true mate not the deity who possessed her as he previously thought. So what, who cares. I purchased this in hardback, which was a very big, expensive mistake. Now I can't even finish it. I hope the next in the series has at least a redeemable character as the hero.

Would we forgive Dr. Mengle if he fell in love after his killing and horrible experiments on the helpless? No. There are actions from which there is no redemption. The so called "hero" in this book is repellant on every level.

I was really excited to read Lothaire's story. But, I must say it was just average. I wasn't impressed with the "bride" character in this book. I expected Lothaire to be much more wicked and for the story to have much more umph!!

What I really appreciate about these books is how it hasn't followed the natural progression of other popular series, where the characters and situations start to become sameish/dull/not so very good. In the case of the Immortals after Dark, the world is continuously becoming increasingly more complex and ambitious. The different immortal factions are becoming increasingly integrated, opening up narrative possibilities while actually having the action move forward. The romantic scenes are a bit more earthy and raw than in previous books, and Lothaire has definitely a tendency for err, effectively crude language. And Lothaire is pretty much all that he was billed to be, snarky, crazy, hilarious, and completely out of his league when having to deal with Elizabeth.

This book is the longest effort in the series, I believe, which means that it lurches a bit in the beginning after an explosive beginning. But while the action is not so compressed as in the previous books, it's an exhilarating ride.

I have only gotten halfway through and it's dragging. Not sure I'll make it to the end. I read other reviews and selected this from those recommendations. Perhaps I like something that moves along faster with a more exciting flavor.

I disliked the first 1/4 of the book and liked the next 1/2 and loved the last 1/4. I really disliked the first part because It invalidated any hints of a good guy in Lothaire. I really liked the Lothaire character in all the previous stories cause of the total badass but with hints of being not completely evil. But the first 1/4 of the book pretty much shows how all those hints were actually just parts of his evil plans of evil and were actually set up by him beforehand to further his own needs and wants. Making him a rather unsympathetic character, and his past where the author tries to make him sympathetic, doesn't really do so as its not worse than many of the other protagonists in the series. I really liked the Elle character though and Lothaire does sort of redeem himself in the last couple chapters, but I would have liked to have been rooting for him a little more in the story but basically until the last couple chapters he was a total ass and didn't deserve to have her.

LOTHAIRE BY KRESLEY COLE
WHAT A LET DOWN!!....
HER OTHER IMMORTAL AFTER DARK WERE FROM GOOD TO EXCELLENT !ALL 10 OF THEN COUNTING THE ONE IN AN ANTHOLOGY..
THE LONG WAIT FOR THIS BOOK, MAKE HER READERS BELIEVE THIS WAS A STORY
OF ALL STORIES...
SORRY MS. COLE
YOU PUT TO MUCH BLOOD, TO MUCH STRESS IN A YOUNG WOMAN LIFE, IN A VERY SHORT SPACE OF TIME, ONE OF THE FAULTS I FOUND IN THIS BOOK...
IT WAS AMAZING ELIZABETH WAS NO OUT OF HER MIND...

BUT SOMETHING WAS MISSING IN YOUR BOOK....
SORRY I CANNOT TELL YOU WHAT WAS MISSING
ONLY THAT THERE WAS THAT FEELING THAT THE STORY HAVE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT MISSING ..

AND PLEASE MS. COLE STOP BEING MONEY HUNGRY...
YOU SELL ENOUGH BOOKS.... YOU DON'T NEED TO GO TO HARD COVERS....
THEY ARE EXPENSIVE AND NOT ALL OF YOUR READERS CAN AFFORD A $20-$25 DOLLAR BOOK!!
THAT AMOUNT ALLOWS ME TO BUY 3 OF MY OTHER WRITERS BOOKS... YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WE READ...

I must admit I was very disappointed in this novel. I did not find the characters likeable at all. The character Lothaire is an abusive ass. Actually, I find it more than disturbing that in this day and age the author would create an abusive hero. I respectfully suggest that the author learn more about abusive relationships, domestic violence and the impact of these kinds of stories on women and their view of what is and is not tolerable in a relationship. I would not suggest this novel to others at all. I sincerely hope the author's next work is more enlightened.

IMDs are amazing series....before Lothaire book happened. Lothaire is not only the worst of IMD series, but also of all Ms. Cole's books. This book is almost unrecognizable for Ms. Kresley Cole's fascinating story-telling and writing style. The beginning of story about Lothaire's childhood (1% of the book length) is the only part that is interesting. The rest of the book can be summarized as BORING and DISGUESTING. It's really not worth your time and money. My interest in IMD series has greatly diminished. It's pity that Lothaire book would have had the potential to be the best of all IMD series given that he is such a compelling, interesting, humorous, complicated and fascinating character.

I love Ms. Cole's books but this one totally missed the mark. She needs to take a lesson from JR Ward on how to create a character such as Lothaire. Elizabeth was an awful match for him and her back woods upbringing made her totally unbelievable as his "bride". Too bad as I was really looking forward to his story. I haven't finished the book but I have read enough to know I will not like it regardless of the ending. On a positive note, I really liked the "hag" and would love to see more between her and Thad.

I have been highly anticipating Lothaire for some time now, especially after seeing a lot of him in the previous book, Dreams of a Dark Warrior. Lothaire, the Enemy of Old, an extremely old and feared vampire who is set upon revenge. As the bastard child of the King of the Horde, Stefanovich, he promised his Dacian vampire mother before she was tortured and killed that he would slay Stefanovich so the Horde will ultimately swear fealty to Lothaire. He then plans to unite the Dacian and Horde kingdoms together. He has spent century after century set to accomplish his endgame and refuses to be stopped. Extremely smart, arrogant and lethal, he has so many in the Lore who owe him. This makes him very feared but also one of the most-hunted people in the Lore. But now one of the most feared vampires is about to be mated to a mortal.

Elizabeth Pierce, or Ellie, comes from a poor mining family in the Appalachian Mountains. At 19 she became possessed by the demon Saroya and is desperate to get rid of her. Saroya was once a goddess (a death goddess), but has been condemned to live in mortal bodies. She likes Ellie's body. Ellie is beautiful and strong -- maybe a little too strong, as Ellie often can fight to keep Saroya hidden deep within her. When Saroya rises, though, she is very violent, killing all in her path, which is how Ellie ends up on Death Row.

When Lothaire meets Ellie/Saroya, he becomes "blooded": His body becomes alive with a heartbeat, and he has breath. He assumes his bride must be Saroya, because she is a goddess, not the mere mortal Elizabeth:

*******
"Because fate would not slight me so unspeakably. I'd seek a noon-day sun if I were paired with one such as you."
"Such as me," she repeated blandly. She'd been mocked too often over her lifetime to take offense. Her skin was as thick as armor.
"Yes, you. An ignorant, mortal Kmart checkout girl." He took the sharpest knife from his place setting, absently turning it between his left thumb and forefinger.
"Kmart? I should have been so lucky. Those jobs were hard to come by. I worked at my uncle's outfitter shop."
"Then you're even worse. You're an outfitter checkout girl with aspirations for Kmart."
"Still better than a demon."
******

He has spent the five years Ellie has spent in prison trying to track down a special ring that he hopes can extinguish Ellie's soul. That way, Saroya can use Ellie's body to become an immortal vampire, getting around the curse, and become Lothaire's bride so he can reclaim the Horde throne. When Lothaire nabs Ellie off of Death Row in the nick of time, he is stuck keeping her body safe until he can figure out how to extinguish Ellie's soul so Saroya can fully take over her body. But Ellie isn't going down without a fight.

As I sit here and try to think how to explain Lothaire, all I can really is say is that he is just one of a kind. There isn't a lot of gray in his world. He is so old and his arrogance is so ingrained, that it is his way or else. Kresley Cole allows him to fall in love -- and still retain these characteristics. Because of his age, and the fact that when he drinks from people, he retains their memories, he is not lucid at all times. He is skirting the edge of insanity and fears he may not make it to exact his revenge.

At times I wanted to slap him for how he acted, but he has gotten his way for centuries, so he knows nothing else. At times I felt sorry for him. While he keeps a ledger of everyone who is indebted to him -- looking through all the names gives him a sense of peace -- he barely has any friends. He has lived his entire existence trying to get revenge and hasn't really experienced happiness. Now that he has a mortal who is not only extremely fragile in his world, but one who says "no" to him, he is baffled. He can't comprehend how one would not be attracted to him or not think he is making the best decisions for her. As we learn, he is "Lothairistic."

*****
"First of all, I'm not narcissistic." When she opened her lips to argue, he said, "I know Narkissos of Thespiae -- while we might share traits, I came first, so he's Lothairistic, not the other way around."
*****

Ellie, thinking she only has days before Lothaire finds the ring and kills her soul, doesn't have a lot to lose. She is spunky and stubborn and, although they have a difficult journey together, I loved how their romance plays out. They have to work hard for it, but it is very believable and well done. I also have to say the sex in this book is the best Kresley Cole has written.

I am amazed at this world Kresley Cole has created. It is so complex and vast, and while I appreciate that, I also think the amount of page time it takes to rehash events and remind us who everyone is weighs this book down in the beginning. Of course, I also needed that refresher, because I forget from book to book what is going on. So it is needed, but just be aware that the book starts a little slow. Once we get into it, though, it really takes off.

We also meet some new characters belonging to the very secretive Dacian, which will also star in her new spinoff series. (Lothaire's mother is Dacian.) I don't want to give away anything about them, but I really enjoyed what we get to see of them.

I think this is one of the few series that is actually getting better as it progresses. Lothaire is Book 12 and a definite favorite. I'm so intrigued by the characters. Nix is still walking around crazy, Furie is still chained somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, Thaddeus is 17 and turning into a stud -- and we meet Hag, who will definitely amuse you. And those are just a few of the many insane, sarcastic and engaging characters in this world. My favorite thing about these books is that Cole lets the characters act like immortals. They are so violent, so cunning and evil. And yet they are hilarious and smart and, of course, amazing in bed. I believe the last page of Lothaire gives us a hint as to whose book is next, and I can't wait.

Very disappointing. I looked eagerly forward to this book as I adore the entire IAD series. Kresley Cole is a paranormal romance writer without parallel. But in "Lothaire", I felt as though she was trying to recreate the push/pull dynamic of her first full length IAD book, "A Hunger Like No Other". The big difference was that as wicked as Lacclain was to Emma, he always recognized her as his Bride and from very early on he had regrets about his conflicted behavior towards Emma. Lachlain showed true feelings for Emma that occasionally shone through in his thoughts and behavior. Contrast that to Lothaire, who was simply evil and hateful to Ellie for half the book. And the other half, she was a possession, mostly a sexual possesion. Where was the romance? I missed the tortured, conflicted, "but she is my Bride and I must protect her" thoughts and actions from Lothaire. Instead, he simply berated, diminished and otherwise mentally abused Ellie.

I also didn't buy the romance between them. If Ellie hadn't been beautiful and sexually aroused by Lothaire, there would have been no relationship because that is all that pulled Lothaire to Ellie. He despised all she represented in her low hillbilly upbringing and repeatedly made that clear.

Overall a miss for me. Her first stumble in my opinion and I still can't wait to read the first book in the Dacian series as well as the next IAD novel.

First off, I absolutely love this series and Ms. Coles’s writing is extremely creative as she develops each and every character and the high action scenes she devises for them!

Lothaire, the enemy of old, has been mentioned many times and played a part in numerous previous books by Ms. Cole. Finally we discover why Lothaire was so feared and why he was so motivated to be as beastly as he appeared to be in so many of the those books. And not to worry - in this book he is still a real beast however - there is a beauty who attempts to tame him!

Elizabeth Pierce has no idea what has come over her when she practically slaughters her entire family, although she does have an inkling and now on death row and about to be euthanized, she is begging for it to happen quickly. Why you say? Because she knows she is possessed by an evil sorceress and wants her gone! Was it too much to ask? Well Lothaire thought so because the sorceress that possessed Ellie’s body was Lothaire’s mate - or was she?

Lothaire has been searching for a special ring which will give him all the power he has sought for millenniums. However, before he could use it, he was captured and lost it again. Racing against time before Ellie could be executed, Lothaire was just in time to save and sweep her away from the prison. Now all he had to do was relocate and find the ring!

What was so great about LOTHAIRE was for me, the hilarious dialogs between Lothaire and Ellie. Ellie was a Southern gal who had never been out of the hills of West Virginia. She was a hoot and Lothaire, the debonair outrageous Vampire was so knowledgeable about the world, that Ellie’s naivety was something he’d never encountered before. And let’s face it - he was beginning to accustom himself to what he once thought was beauty to discover that Ellie was beauty personified. He discovered that he actually liked Ellie’s curves and caring personality over the evil sorceress who truly didn’t like him and planned to rid herself of Lothaire once she regained her full power.

The romance between Lothaire and Ellie was a delight to watch and some of the secondary characters added much to the story of this loosely comparable ‘beauty and the beast’ story as Ellie began to see beyond the beast to the man within.

Bottom line: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series and especially Lothaire!

Marilyn Rondeau

4 stars

**warning, the description and reviews for the book don't tell about the 3rd person in this story and I'm going to talk about her so this review will be considered spoilerish***

This was a very good story. Lothaire was a bad guy in previous books and TBH, he didn't get much better until the very end of this book. I liked Elizabeth...she was kind of wishy-washy in her actions at times but I had to give her some slack considering what she had to deal with.

Elizabeth is a mountain girl that grew up wanting more from life. She's very close to her family and did everything she could to help them out but she also worked hard at school and saved money to go to college. She did fool around with guys to an extent but never went too far because she didn't want to end up pregnant and stuck in her current life.

Saroya is was an evil goddess that excelled at killing. Saroya lost her goddess state and was cursed to have no body. She went from host to host, killing as she went. When Elizabeth was 18, Saroya possessed her and started making Elizabeth's life a living hell.

Lothaire is a Vampire that's multiple millennium old and many consider one of the most evil vampires out there. He's known as "The Enemy of Old" because of his horrible actions and his age and he revels in that designation. His mother sacrificed herself to save Lothaire's life when he was a boy and their situation was due to his father so he had a lot of hatred built up from a very young age. Since then he's never found anyone he could count on not to betray him so he trusts no one and has gone out of his way to gain blood debts that he could use to gain his revenge and a vampire kingdom (or 2) one day.

Lothaire had the help of an oracle that told him when and where to find his "Bride". He found Elizabeth when she was still 14 but he couldn't believe that fate was cruel enough to give him a mortal mate and he stayed away for the most part. He happened to go look in on her when she was 18 and found her surrounded by bodies of people she'd just killed. He spoke to her and found that she was currently taken over by Saroya. He felt the pull of his Bride (now that she was 18) and since Saroya was inhabiting her body, Lothaire decided that Saroya must be his true bride. After all, Saroya being an ex-goddess, was much more to his liking as a bride than some mountain hick mortal. He hatched a plan to get a ring that would allow him to get rid of Elizabeth's soul so Saroya could have her body and then make Saroya a Vampire so they can take over the a Vampire Kingdom and rule together.

While Lothaire was searching for the ring, Elizabeth ends up jailed for Saroya's killing sprees and Lothaire leaves her there because he figures she'll be safe behind bars. Elizabeth hates what her life has become and is willing to die (from the death penalty) in order to kill Saroya, thinking at least she'll go to heaven when it's all done. Just before she can die, Lothaire comes to retrieve her. He still doesn't have the ring so he stores her in one of his residences that's warded so she can't leave and no one can get to her. Elizabeth is very strong minded and so Saroya doesn't get to surface a lot but when she does, Saroya shows a lot of contempt, even for Lothaire. Saroya is willing to do anything to keep Elizabeth's body and get her immortality, including playing at being Lothaire's bride. Lothaire hates mortals and goes to a lot of trouble to avoid accepting that Saroya isn't really his bride but he does eventually have to accept this.

Unfortunately, by this time he's put Elizabeth through a LOT of crap. She's been doing what she can to convince Lothaire that she's his bride but this is mostly in order to survive. She has mixed feelings about Lothaire since she's very attracted to him but thinks he may be pretty on the outside but is very ugly on the inside. When Lothaire finally realizes that Saroya has used his prejudices against him and Elizabeth is his true bride, he's screwed himself and Elizabeth over by making unbreakable vows that will make it almost impossible for him to keep Elizabeth. While their feelings grow for each other, the possibilities of him being able to save Elizabeth from the fate he decided for her seem doomed. Eventually, things happen that allow them to be together but not without a lot of drama and heartbreak (as well as some danger). Unfortunately, even after things are good in that area, Lothaire's arrogance makes their relationship rough and there's more drama before they finally get together and have a HEA together.

While I typically hate love-triangles, I did enjoy this story for the most part. I hated Saroya and was annoyed at Lothaire's arrogance blinding him and putting Elizabeth in danger but those were the worst parts (and Saroya wasn't in the picture much). I really liked Elizabeth, she was in a rough situation and did the best she could considering what she faced. I became happier with things as the story progressed and overall, I felt it was a very good story. I'd recommend this story (and the series).

* note - I listened to the audio version of the story and the narrator did a great job (as usual).

Oh Lothaire..how I

like/dislike/wth/hedidnot!/yepsuredid/yougogirl/dontgothere/ugh/redemption?/didispeaktoosoon/
maybenot/thereshopeyet!

Lothaire is one villain I could get behind and root for one heck of an HEA! Of course, the obnoxious vampire never makes things easy, so why should his dating life be any different? Needless to say, the irony of Elizabeth as his destiny was absolutely priceless! I really didn't know if I could be convinced these two would work out though. I mean, their differences were numerous. He's refined, she's hillbilly. He's rich, she's poor. He's a vampire, she's human. He's a villain, she's..misunderstood. He's likely insane yet highly intelligent, she's NOT insane..and definitely intelligent!

And then there's the unbreakable promise he made, without fully considering all the ramifications-in other words he was a narrow minded male, who made a rash decision over a life changing event without thinking about it first. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Of course, that's when I realized it. Lothaire, underneath all that rude badassery, had a heart. Extremely rusty from disuse, but still ticking away. And Elizabeth was just the chick to bring it raging to the front lines of their unique relationship. These two had ups and downs (more downs than ups it seems like) and a few times I found myself questioning what on green earth she could possibly like about his obnoxiously rude self-especially after some of his horrid comments- then I'd get a glimpse of that ticking time bomb..and oi! I would understand why he appealed to Elizabeth.

I knew I liked Lothaire when I ran across him in Dreams of a Dark Warrior. His weird brand of crazy was appealing and I can truly say his story lived up to my expectations! Lothaire and Elizabeth delivered a worthy performance as opponents off and on the highway of love giving this reader one heck of a joyride!

The hype vis-à-vis LOTHAIRE’s story has been gradually building with every IMMORTALS AFTER DARK installment, and albeit three years later, I now understand why all of my fellow bloggers were fan-girling it up over the Enemy of Old. Most authors hold back when developing their anti-heroes because there’s a thin line between Bad Boy and a-hole, but not Kresley Cole, she went full-on bastard, and I absolutely loved her for it!

Every addition to this series brings with it its own romantic flavour, and none of them have been repeats which after eleven novels is gosh darned impressive. The plot threads of all that has come before continue to intermingle in startling ways, and characters reach new levels of growth even though their tale has already been, or has yet to be told. The century long feud between the Black King and the White Queen left me chomping at the bit for more, and I hope that Thad gets his own title because well, listen to a sound clip, and you’ll get it.

I liked that Cole dedicated several chapters to fleshing out Lothaire’s history; it painted a clear picture of his depravity, and the unbreakable vows that bind him. Daciano is Evil with a capital E, and I don’t in any way approve of his treatment of Ellie, but when cruelty has always been a part of your life, happiness seems like a pipe dream. It’s funny how the mate you want, and the one you need can be two worlds apart; Elizabeth’s stubbornness, trailer park ways, and blood is thicker than water views on family made her the perfect for Leo.

The narrator’s mountain twang demonstrated for the umpteenth time that even the most far-out POV is akin to child’s play when left in his capable hands. Robert Petkoff’s transitions between Russian immortal royalty, and Appalachian hillbilly had me sweating bullets one moment, and hollering with redneck sisterhood the next. The voice he used for La Dorada still keeps me up at night sometimes while as Thaddeus’ Texan accent has scored prime real estate in my audiobook spank bank. Oops, did I just say that about a seventeen year old albeit fictional man? How embarrassing.

Come over to the dark side… We have cookies and LOTHAIRE.

Lothaire is most definitely one of my favourites of this series. From the very beginning we have been hearing and seeing Lothaire pop in and out, either helping or hindering our heroes and often gaining a promise from them to be used in the future. He never appeared to be on anyone’s side except his own and it was clear he always had his own agenda. His hatred for humans and most others has been shown time and time again and I couldn’t wait to read his book. Turns out, it was better than I could have expected. For the first time in this series, an immortal had a human mate. And Lothaire just couldn’t accept that. So when an evil, cursed goddess took over that human, it made complete sense to him that the goddess was his mate, not the human. This one was super intriguing because we got to see all three points of view. Lothaire, plus his human mate Elizabeth and the goddess murderer trapped in her body, Saroya. We saw the difference in their personalities and how the situation went from bad, to worse. This was such a messy relationship and I enjoyed watching Lothaire realise that perhaps he might be wrong, and that this human was more than he could have ever imagined. A human woman was able to go toe-to-toe with him. Was able to help keep him sane and out could outsmart one of the oldest vampires alive. It was also so awesome to see more of Nix, and to get a sense of her when she was younger and much less mad. Those scenes were among my favourite and seeing her friendship with Lothaire and what they have done for each other was fantastic. A must read for fans of this series!

I make this short.
I enjoyed this book so much. It is really long, but I am so grateful for every page of it. I was worried that the Legendary Lothaire is going to fall in love and becomes suddenly the loveliest and best guy in the world. I am so happy that this wasn’t the case. He was so bad and so good. I enjoyed his development in so many ways. He didn’t change a lot but he made some progress and it needed a longer time than most authors would give a character. He learned to know what love is. And Ellie is just the perfect woman for him. She doesn’t take any crap from him and stands up to him. They are perfect together.
Nix was phenomenal in this book. I loved that she was a good friend to Lothaire all those centuries. I hope that she will find her mate soon.

4.5 Stars.... Lothaire the Enemy of Old is quite the dichotomy ranging from brutal killer, deceptive con, and outlandish conceited male to vulnerable broken boy, loyal male, and protector of his mate... my emotions toward him certainly swung on a pendulum but landed with acknowledging his intriguing and multilayered character to be unique and spellbinding... loved the pairing with Elizabetta who is Lothaire's complete opposite but absolute balance in this story; matching his intelligence and wit verbatim... the conclusion of this story is what truly snared my attention with it's revealing of the many relationships and betrayals hinted throughout... Kresley Cole is certainly masterful at tying these characters to one another creating unique and potent relationships that interconnect and impact future reads... looking forward to the continuation of the fantastic series:)

Lothaire the Enemy of Old is a vampire that is hellbent on finding his bride. Not accepting the young hillbilly that he finds instead, he waits a few years then goes back to spy on her. What he finds in her place is a vampire goddess that possessed her body. Ellie Peirce, the human in question occasionally gets hijacked of her body by a crazy vampire goddess that likes to go on killing sprees. She winds up in prison due to one of those killing sprees. Lothaire rescues and kidnaps Ellie after a few more years pass. His mission is to find a ring that will grant wishes. His first wish is going to get rid of Ellie so the evil vampire goddess can come out and play full time.

I know, you're thinking, what a jerk, how can this be a romance novel? Well, it does show Lothaire's backstory, which gets you emotional hopeful of the jerk. He had a horrible childhood, and when I mean horrible, I mean 10x worse than you're thinking. He's basically raised himself, and learned that he can trust no one. He's convinced that fate would not bestow him a human bride due to him having such a rough life. He starts out treating Ellie pretty badly. It slowly morphs, but by that time, I was worried they wouldn't be able to forgive and forget.

KCole is an evil genius. I never though I'd enjoy a book with a villain as the love interest and the leading lady an Appalachian mountain girl. But I did love it, and though I wanted to shake Lothaire quite a few times, I understood why he acted the way he did. I love this world, and glad I got reacquainted with it after a long pause, I plan on listening to the next book ASAP. I would suggest reading these in order, there are some references from previous books. I highly recommend this series if you're looking for a paranormal romance with a hunky alpha male.

The Narration
The narrator, Robert Petkoff, did an incredible job. He handled Lothair's Russian accent with ease. I will admit he handled Ellie's voice perfectly but I didn't care for her thick country twang. That's a personal preference showing, not his fault. It did slowly grow on me, but it took probably half of the book. I loved the narration and will be listening to other books in this series. I'd also like to note, I've previously never made it through a solely male narrated book, Robert Petkoff is awesome.

This book had it all, drama, love, fighting, humor etc. I really loved the audio. I wonder if Robert Petkoff would marry me if I emailed him. What a ride. I never thought Robert Petkoff could do this to me, but I couldn't even sleep because I had to keep listening. His deliver and humor was amazing. I had always hated Lothaire, but the author and narrator redeemed him.

I was laughing so much in this book. Thank you for giving Lothaire a strong willed a Heroine like Ellie. She gave him all he could handle. This book deserves 6 stars and is the best book I've listened to this year!

Lothaire Daciano has been a villian throughout this series. He is ruthless and sneaky and completely selfish. All he cares about is securing the Crown of the Horde as his mother and him were banished by his father King Stefanovich, thus denying him his birthright. Also, Lothaire holds a grudge against his mother's people, the Dacians and so he plans on uniting both kingdoms under his rule.

In his book, we find Lothaire trying to save his "goddess queen" Saroya whose spirit was cursed to jump from host to host, and has been residing in Elizabeth "Ellie" Pierce since Ellie was 16 years old. Ellie is a strong host so Saroya is planning on keeping the body but banishing Ellie's spirit. As Lothaire works to get the spell to quench Ellie's spirit, he gets to know Ellie, the country girl from Applachian, and finds himself captivated by her red neck ways. Soon he has to decide between Ellie and Saroya, who will keep Ellie's body.

This book was full of great retorts. I will only list a couple of my favorites. The narrators deliver was AMAZING!

Lothaire: “First of all, I’m not narcissistic…I know Narkissos of Thespiae—while we might share traits, I came first, so he’s Lothairistic, not the other way around”

Lothaire experiences dreams of the people he has drank from. After he drank Elizabeth's blood: Elizabeth: “will you dream mine?”…
Lothaire: ”Hmm, cannot wait for fond remembrances of squirrel stew around the trailer hearth”

This book is a must if you enjoy the IAD series, I can't believe the author made me root for Lothaire, this fiend, and really feel his pain. What a great redemption and what a journey to regain what was denied him all these centuries. In case you didn't get it before, I LOVE THIS BOOK.

($&@W&$*@#$&@*^#@^*!*&*CBSW&^DX%@^Q%#^%X#^!$@!%$@^%!$@!^%@$!%~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I dared to start my review so unintelligibly. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?!

I have been SLAINED. SLAINED BITCHES!!!!!!!

BTW, I bought the ebook. Read it three times. Passed by the book aisle in Walgreens...got the print version because let's face it, that man (Paul Marron) is too hot to pass by.

Between ebook and print I've now read this story at least 7 times in three weeks.

YES, IT'S THAT GOOD!!!!!

I will never be the same again. Never. Kresley took it all to a whole new level with Lothaire. I was already obsessed...and then, this came along.

*Whimpering feverishly*

I will never get over this. This book had it all. And Lothaire has to be the most infuriatingly sensual man I've ever witnessed. I say infuriatingly because the fact that I can't find one like him is REALLY starting to piss me off -_-

Ellie? She was perfect! Kresley is a bloody genius, paring the haughty future King of Vampires with an Appalachian mortal. A sexy, foul mouthed, don't take smack from anybody mortal.

Who dry humped the hell out of him and "rode him like a lazy horse".

UNGH!!!!!!!

GOD. I love this book. I just do. I grit my teeth just thinking about it.

Sadly, I'm all caught up now. Which means I have to wait 'till November for Trehan.

And May? MACRIEVE, bitches, MACRIEVE...*About to have a seizure thinking of Uilleam*

Let's face it, the hero is a jerk, the only saving grace of this book is the heroine.
Yet why four stars? Because the author did not turn him into a sweetheart and because his actions match his characters and the consistencies on the story made me give thumbs up.
Sure the hero is a jerk but can you blame him with his history? You really expect a person to consider others when most of his life all he knew was cruelty from around him? As for his treatment of the heroine, it's consistent with his character and I applaud the author for risk and not making a well known jerk throughout the series as a closet teddy bear - which is so overrated or overused.
I love the heroine's strength. Her loyal heart for her family, her strong backbone in the face of insurmountable circumstance, and her unchangeable humanity made her a strong heroine for me. Especially she did not have to be brash to be strong. Considering she is entering a harsh world, her background was a good training ground for her and prepared her for her present trials.
My only gripe is the `I-hate-him-he's-a-jerk-but-can't-help-having-sex-with-him' phenomena all over the book. I don't know if it's just me but it sounds to me like a start of an abusive relationship? Overall, the book is a good read and as always, it's so good to see the regulars like Nix (who is making me worried), the Val Hal residents, and other Lore characters in the past, and Thad - who is becoming a sweetheart.

WOW! Another awesome book written by an amazing author involving vampires and people being possessed doing awful things to others. It would definitely make a good movie considering it had a bit of everything!!!!! A great story, elements of the paranormal world, romance, good vs. evil, and lastly some hot scenes to keep things exciting to say the least. The author made a story that written really well with lots of detail in the story, with great characters, awesome twists and turns, a good description of what was going with Lothaire, Ellie, and Saroya. All an important characters for this story.

[...]

5 stars.

This was wonderful. Is it my number 1 favorite of the series now? No, but it's fairly close to it.

I loved Elizabeth/Ellie. She is one of my favorite heroines in the series. She's right up there with Emma, Mariketa, and Neomi. The loyalty she showed her family really endeared her to me and I wanted her to have a happy ending with her evil vampire.

With Lothaire, there admittedly was a small part of me that was worried. I worried that after he was sure Ellie was his mate that he wouldn't retain the evilness and badassery that we had seen in the previous books. Thankfully I had nothing to worry about. Lothaire, even though softened by his love of Ellie was still a bad ass with everyone else.

There was one moment (out of many) that really stood out to me and that I loved. It was when Lothaire went about stealing a cell phone from a guy and Lothaire makes a note that he stole it from some guy saving orphans in a burning building. I know I shouldn't love that because, hello orphans burning isn't exactly a pleasant thing, but it just told me that Lothaire was still evil and wouldn't lift a finger to help people who didn't matter to him or his Bride. Now if Ellie was there and she asked him to help them I think he would but only because she asked and not for any other reason.

I had heard about the other being, Saroya, living in Ellie and I was concerned that she would make the love between Lothaire and Ellie not as enjoyable. Again I was wrong to worry. As the story unfolded it was very clear that Lothaire didn't love Saroya and that Saroya didn't love him either and was only using Lothaire for her own selfish needs.

This was such a great story. An absolute joy to read. And I will definitely be re-reading it in the near future and I will definitely be reading KC's new series about the Dacia.

Reread: Aug 25-Aug 27 2012 -- I found the paragraph that I loved and mentioned in a previous paragraph.

Lothaire; paperback; pg 492 - He traced to the nearest town to make a phonecall, stealing a cell phone from its distracted owner--some f***wit who'd been saving orphans from an inferno or some such--then dialed the Hag's number.

I loved that quote/paragraph because it shows that Lothaire is still evil and still uncaring about people who have no connection to him or Elizabeth.

Lothaire is one of the most complex characters we’ve come across in this series, acting as Nix’s main adversary or the Black King to her White Queen. Spurred on by his mother, Lothaire plans to hold both the Horde and Dacian crowns. He is teetering on the brink of madness however as he regularly drank from supernatural creatures as he killed them. This gave him untold knowledge (and therefore power) but he is plagued by their memories. If you think about the memories one human could amass in their life time and then multiply that by thousands of years and thousands of people, then it’s pretty amazing that he has been able to maintain his tenuous grip on reality.

Lothaire is convinced that the goddess Saroya that inhabits Ellie Pierce’s body must be his true mate and not Ellie herself. Why would fate curse him with a human as his bride and a backward hick at that? His arrogance and stupidity made me question how he managed to stay alive for so long. Lothaire’s desperate and manic search for the ring he thinks will expel Ellie from her body becomes becomes a double-edged sword when he realises he cannot stop even if he wanted to. Lothaire’s definitely not your typical hero and even he acknowledges that he is bad to the core. His treatment of Ellie was pretty appalling but not that surprising, considering what other Cole heroes get up to. I can say though it fit the character perfectly based on what we had seen of him in other novels apart from his IQ which dropped significantly. For someone who has spent thousands of years plotting, he demonstrated fairly little foresight.

Ellie was a pretty interesting character as she was constantly underestimated by the Lore creatures. She showed grit and remained surprisingly upbeat given the crappy cards that life gave her. Waking up from a blackout to discover that the creature inhabiting your body had gone one a killing spree had to suck. I loved her resourcefulness, humour and the fact that her strength of will was so strong it could stop a goddess from getting her own way. I couldn’t stand her accent though which was poured on so thick I almost needed a translator.

I am really disappointed that I can’t muster up the level of outrage for Lothaire’s treatment of Ellie that it deserves. When I first read A Hunger Like No Other I was horrified at the brutal way Lachlain treated Emmeline but I found myself almost rationalising the emotional and mental abuse Lothaire inflicted on Ellie because he’d had a dodgy childhood. His attitude meant the sex scenes (can’t call them love as there wasn’t much in the way of that) awkward as Ellie was literally doing whatever it took to stay alive. Any feelings she had for him felt contrived as she had been isolated from society for so long. I know this is a romance so it is supposed to end happily ever after for our leads but the speed at which Ellie forgave his actions was a bit much given the way he hurt her. We’ve seen the Stockholm Syndrome quite a few times in this series so I wish that Cole would move on and try something different.

I really enjoyed secondary characters such as the Hag, Nix and Thad but the world is getting so big that it is a little unwieldy. I almost feel like I need a relationships chart at the start to keep all the characters straight in my head. It might have actually been better to pair Lothaire up with someone we were already aware of like Nix as a way of keeping the numbers down. Not all the scenes value add and some could easily have been trimmed such as the Mariketa trying to find Ellie.

So where do I stand? Lothaire is objectionable, his motives questionable and his romance skills laughable. He was however a really complex layered creature and that takes skill to create. Ellie was a joy that frankly deserved that imaginary man she dreamed of who would work hard, love her and give her a couple of kids. I can’t honestly say I enjoyed this novel but it did stick with me for a while after I read it, hence my rating.

I should probably qualify this by saying that PNR really isn't my thing. This idea of fated brides where neither side really has any choice in the matter just doesn't fly with me. That said, I have enjoyed some of the characters in the IAD series. I read through the first five or so books in this series, not because I really cared about the various romantic pairings, but because I wanted to see the four Wroth brothers reunited as a family. But as for their brides? I could take or leave them for the most part. I did enjoy The Warlord Wants Forever, including the romantic pairing, but that may be partly because it was my first PNR ever and so the shine was still new and partly because it was novella length. Frankly, I think that's the perfect length for these stories. This book was something like 500 pages and it just didn't need to be.

As for the story itself, well, if you've read one IAD book you've likely read them all. Not that that's a bad thing. While I find Lothaire to be an interesting character and an evil guy you can't help but like, his fated bride made me want to roll my eyes. Which I did...repeatedly. Lothaire is himself for the majority of the book, meaning that he treats Elizabeth like shit on his shoe most of the time. He belittles her, mocks her, insults her on just about every level. And he threatens to kill her family more than once. Even if I could hand wave away the other things, this is a line I just won't cross. And the fact that Elizabeth STILL chooses to go to bed with Lothaire over and over again makes her a woman I just can not respect. She makes a big deal of how stubborn she is, immovable like a mountain once her mind is made up about something, to which I say bull. Elizabeth never sticks to her decisions about Lothaire for more than a page before she's "melting" for him again. Whatever.

I was about to just write this book off when Nix showed up. I love Nix. She makes me laugh. I was far more interested and invested in her odd friendship and ties to Lothaire than I was in Lothaire/Elizabeth. Nix's brief interactions with Lothaire near the end held far more emotional weight to me than anything that had previously played out between Lothaire and his bride. I didn't believe in Lothaire's and Elizabeth's love but I believed in his friendship (or whatever it is) with Nix. Frankly, I wish Nix had been his fated bride - White Queen and Black King? One a master of foresight and the other of insight? It practically writes itself.

I will probably still pick up the occasional IAD novel because while the romantic pairings don't really do anything for me, I do find the world building and the other relationships/alliances interesting. If this were UF where the romances were the secondary story and all the other stuff was in the forefront it'd be perfect. For me anyway. For instance, this book introduced the Dacians and I'd like to see more of their relationship with Lothaire. I'm interested in Lothaire and Kristoff, and Lothaire and Nix. I just wish I didn't have to wade through 400+ pages just to get to the 20-30 pages of the stuff I really like.

A staggeringly perfect addition to Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, Lothaire is a definite must read.
Bloodlust and torture have left the ancient vampire Lothaire on the brink of madness. Driven by his need for revenge, the Enemy of Old will do whatever is necessary to reach his endgame.
After growing up in poverty, Elizabeth Peirce yearned for a better life, only to find herself convicted of murder. Knowing she is the key to successfully completing his revenge, Lothaire abducts her from death row, intent on offering up her soul in exchange for power.
Yet when Ellie’s presence soothes his tormented mind Lothaire begins to question whether Ellie could possibly be his fated mate, and if so; will he risk everything for a future with her?
The twelfth novel in the Immortals After Dark series, Lothaire continues Cole’s brilliantly created world of the Lore and a fresh and innovative story, full of wit and humour.
Bursting with bold and brilliant characters, kick ass ‘take no s***’ Ellie is certainly my new favourite character. In fact the entire series is packed with vivid and creative characters with each and everyone finding a place in your heart. Cole was even able to make me love and pity Lothaire, despite his acting like a dick for most of the novel (there is really no other way of describing his behaviour).
For fans of Paranormal Romance and/or Urban Fantasy or anyone who enjoyed J.R Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood; this is a book you will definitely want to add to you to-read list.

Lothaire has long been one of the most interesting characters of the IAD series for me beaten only by Nix of coarse and that remains true even after completing this book. I always want to believe the bad guy to be redeemable and Lothaire well he is the bad guy so to speak. Is he completely redeemable, well probably not but he is always interesting.

“First of all, I'm not narcissistic." When she opened her lips to argue, he said, "I know Narkissos of Thespiae -- while we might share traits, I came first, so he's Lothairistic, not the other way around.”

Questions about Lothaire’s past and his goals are answered. Apparently he has a huge grudge against mortals so the fact his bride might be one is huge inconvenience. Lothaire hopes it is the former Vampire goddess of the death squatting in a mortal that is his bride and not the charismatic and sneaky mortal Elizabeth herself since that would be unimaginable.

“Because fate would not slight me so unspeakably. I'd seek a noon-day sun if I were paired with one such as you."
"Such as me," she repeated blandly. She'd been mocked too often over her lifetime to take offense. Her skin was as thick as armor.
"Yes, you. An ignorant, mortal Kmart checkout girl." He took the sharpest knife from his place setting, absently turning it between his left thumb and forefinger.
"Kmart? I should have been so lucky. Those jobs were hard to come by. I worked at my uncle's outfitter shop."
"Then you're even worse. You're an outfitter checkout girl with aspirations for Kmart."

I liked Elizabeth and her I’m dead anyway so why not try anything to survive attitude. She wasn’t all woe is me and took the bull by the horns so to speak. The way she torments Lothaire and pushes him as far as she can is great. I also enjoyed the girl time she got to have with Lothaire’s oracle Hag. Plus colloquialisms from her family were enjoyably funny.

“She remember her granny telling her, 'Men are like coal boilers, Ellie. If you find a man you reckon to keep, you got to feed his belly every day, make him burn for you, then release some steam purty regular, or you ain't ever gonna get him to work.”

Lothaire made a vow to the lore years ago to help the former goddess living inside Elizabeth and it will take a lot to be able to get around that if he intends to save her. Lothaire will need to decide what he wants more the Throne of the Horde Vampires and revenge or the mortal that might be his. It is a vendetta he has had for millennia so it might be a little difficult to move on.

The best part of the book for me, because I adore Nix, was the scene Lothaire had with her. Throughout he relives a few memories of fair Nix and their history together but I absolutely loved the time they were on page together. Nix might be a little cray-cray but it is to not be said that she doesn’t help her friends even if it means hurting them a lot along the way, and she has hurt Lothaire a time or two.

“You gave her your heart, and she gave you the bird.” Nïx sighed. “Songs will be written about this.”

The other bright point….Thaddeus and his unyielding loyalty to Lothaire who apparently has tried everything to make the boy hate him but alas Thad is bound and determined to be his friend, no matter how gruff Lothaire attempts to be. I’d be interested in reading a novella about our incredibly loyal ½ vampire ½ phantom golden boy, perhaps a certain naïve princess is in his future.

The only sad point to the story was the plot line. It was a little weak compared to some of the other good vs evil lines and the resolution of the goddess situation was semi anticlimactic. That said Lothaire’s character really is what held the interest of the story for me overall and the ending was exceptionally interesting, I can’t wait to see where that goes.

I'd just like to say that right off the bat, Kresley Cole is one of the few writers who can keep her characters compelling, and have me an emotional mess of laughter and angst and in awe - all throughout her WHOLE series. I mean, this is book 11 - and it's STILL good! She is by far my favorite romance author!

That being said, Lothaire might be one of my favorites in the series (though it is really hard to pick). We've encountered Lothaire in several of the books so far, and he doesn't disappoint. His narcissism (er, Lothairistic) is quite refreshing and usually hilarious. And Lothaire is still Lothaire pretty much throughout the whole series; a bad-ass vampire who's up to no good and does whatever helps his Endgame.

I'd also like to mention that Cole did a wonderful job pairing Lothaire (who we had big expectations for) with a great female role. Ellie is brilliant. Period. She's stubborn and smart and isn't afraid to tell Lothaire like it is. And the fact he can't predict what she'll do and that she CONSTANTLY stumps him is funny and adorable.

Someone else had mentioned it, but while some of the other books are focused on the bigger picture of the Accession - global travel, big battles, etc. - this installment takes place mostly in Lothaire's own apartment. But that's not a bad thing at all. The pace is still very good, throwing a few twists in that tie things together nicely. And of course, the smut is grand.

All in all I loved this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone. Cole's writing style is very unique (not to mention steamy!) - and how many romance authors can you say you love the story AS MUCH AS the romance? I can't wait for the next installment!

(Review also posted on Goodreads)

This book should be called "How to Fall in Love with the Bad Guy Everyone Loves to Hate" because that is what this amazing and nail biting romance story is all about. As much of a loathsome, power hungry, arrogant and cruel man Lothaire has been in all the previous books in the series, this time the love story is epic because it ends up redeeming a character that was thought to be irredeemable. The almost insane vampire falls head over fangs for a woman possessed. Doesn't that sound awesome? Believe me, it is.

One thing that surprised me the most was how romantic and sweet Lothaire ended up being, which is saying a lot because all the other tales in the series were all romantic to one degree or another. However, I found them to be dark and sort of mired in violence so reading them hasn't been a comfortable experience, especially the last few. That's why, when I picked up Lothaire I was a bit wary because I had gotten to know how vicious and deprived of a moral compass his character had been and I was sure that there'd be even more violence and darkness in the book. Ms. Cole could have knocked me over with a feather. Despite the blood thirsty nature of Lothaire and the initial villain, Soroya, the book wasn't nearly as dark and depressing as it could have been. In fact, it was full of warped humor, funny dialogue between Lothaire and Elizabeth and amazing loving, once they got to that point.

The story is told in Lothaire's point of view and Elizabeth's. My favorite is the hero's because finally I got to understand what formed him, drove him, warped him and tortured him. In a few cases the torture was literal. Poor guy, he really was misunderstood. The thing of it is, he preferred that, fostered it and made everybody around him miserable because it was a form of power and protection. You can't be hurt if you had no heart or sentiments to injure. And that's why I loved Elizabeth. She eventually got through his shields and the hero had his world turned upside down. He tried to remain as he was but the heroine, just be being herself, twisted him up in knots. It was the absolute best reading experience because she frustrated him, fascinated him and turned him into a mass of raging hormones. It was fun!

Lothaire might not be the enemy in this book but he has plenty of threats to deal with. Soroya was a scary and demented character. When she got her comeuppance from a very unexpected source, it was a freaky scene. The bargaining chip worries me. If that person is truly as evil as depicted, the Lore has a new worry and I'm almost afraid to contemplate what that will mean to the characters I've come to know and love throughout the series. I wish I could talk about this openly with other readers because the possibilities are mind boggling. Then again, it might be Ms. Cole being clever and introducing a new story thread to breathe new life into the series. If so, she succeeded. The one major hint that excited me was Lothaire's decision to help Phenix. The author has mentioned the subject quite a few times in past books but this is the first time that it sounds like a decision has been made. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The relationship between Lothaire and Elizabeth is contentious. She likes to talk, he doesn't. She wants to understand, he doesn't feel the need to explain himself. He commands, she butts heads. He expects her to turn her back on her past, and she fights to keep it and grab for more. There is so much internal angst and yet the author handled it so well, it was entertaining and fascinating. I especially got a kick out of the scenes with the sword, the head, the heart and the finger and the ornery dog. How they make this story great has to be read to be understood. It was awesome. I was equally horrified and snorting with shocked humor. Ms. Cole's characters sure know how to make a statement. Oh, I forgot the Mothman. I'm still giggling over that line.

Most surprising was Elizabeth's family. What a wonderful addition to the cast of characters and their role is integral in solidifying the hero and heroine's relationship into one that will endure, much to Lothaire's consternation. In fact, the epilogue filled me with glee. Ms. Cole injected very human demands and expectations into the royal mix and created an optimistic, delightful and extremely satisfying happy ever after that even now has me grinning ear to ear.

Lothaire is the best of The Immortals After Dark series. This is a book I can brag to all my friends about with utter confidence that I'm recommending a story that will keep them on the edge of their seat. There is so much going on and each chapter reveals new hooks that simply astound and amaze. Whether it be the twisted nature of the villain, the revelations of Lothaire's young life or the convoluted path of true love for Elizabeth and the hero, the author succeeded in surprising me at every turn and made me want to read more, more, more! I'm exceedingly happy that I read this novel and any fan of this series has something to look forward to when they pick up their own copy. I firmly believe that this can be considered a standalone read, but reading about the characters that came before and Lothaire's role in them would greatly enhance the sheer pleasure of seeing the villain turned hero as he did in this book. I'm a happy reader.

Originally posted at LAS Romance Reviews

Lothaire, Book #12 of the Immortals After Dark series
Author: Kresley Cole

Synopsis:
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?

Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson - LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha]:
I simply adore the Immortals After Dark series. They were one of the first Paranormal Romance series that I got addicted to, and that has not changed release after release.

Book after book, however, I found myself wondering when we'd get certain characters' books - Lothaire and Nix were 2 at the very top of my list - so when it was announced that book #12 would be Lothaire's book, I was ecstatic to say the least.

I had the book pre-ordered through Premiere Collectibles as a signed and numbered 1st Edition, I had it preordered for Kindle so I could actually read it immediately on release day, and because I was so busy with life on release day and the two days after, I ordered it on Audible as an audiobook as well. :) I don't regret ANY of those purchases, nor my copies from the FL signing, because this book was, in my honest opinion, the best IAD yet!

The big question in a lot of reader's minds was: "How in the world is Kresley going to make Lothaire, the evil Enemy of Old, into a hero?" It's a good question. Lothaire has been evil since the first time we met him. We knew he went through a lot, but didn't know exactly what, yet time after time he'd present a conundrum - do I hate him, or do I love him BECAUSE he's so bad? He'd do something despicable, followed by something halfway decent, even if it was only to serve his own purposes, and leave us all wondering just what side of the fence we should be on with him.

What I loved about this book is that Kresley didn't force it. She didn't try to make Lothaire into something or someone he's not. She let him be the sinfully yummy evil vamp that we've all come to adore be who he is, which had me putting myself in Ellie's shoes wanting to kick his ass one moment and kiss him breathless the next.

That's the other thing I loved about this book. The pairing was so out of left field, I started the book wondering how in the world it would work, until I learned more about the kind of person Ellie was and realized just how perfect it was. Evil, sarcastic, controlling Lothaire meets his match in headstrong, stubborn, willful Ellie Ann Peirce.

This was also, by far, the HOTTEST Immortals After Dark yet. I'm a connoisseur of Paranormal Romance and Erotica of all types so not much surprises me anymore, but there were parts in this book that had my temperature rising and a blush staining my cheeks. :) Add in that I was listening to Robert Petcoff do Lothaire's sexy Russian accent during those parts and it was particularly naughty.

Outside of the amazing characters and the steamy romance, Kresley's world and story building was, as always, superb. While this book could actually be read as a stand-alone if so desired, there was also just enough history uncovered amongst the characters to not only thicken the plot but give us serial readers some wonderful moments. The bits that were uncovered surrounding Lothaire and Nix's past were particularly enjoyable for me, as were Hag's story, and the best parts expanded upon from book #11.

There were also some shocking secrets uncovered and surprises revealed in Lothaire about some other characters in the Lore; particularly in the Epilogue of the book. While it's a cliffhanger, if Kresley continues true to form, wherein each installment of the Immortals After Dark series gets better than the one before, we have some amazing reads to look forward to - not only with the direct IAD books, but also with the spinoff series that she has planned.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Lothaire 5 Skulls and would recommend it to EVERYONE! If you have not yet started the IAD series, you really need to consider bumping it to the top of your TBR lists, because it's a keeper. There's something for everyone in these books, and they just get better and better.

I can't remember the last time I read a Kresely Cole book. Her IAD series was too hit or miss for me and I just couldn't relate to or root for those vicious Valkyries, who are little more than mean-spirited, overgrown teen wenches. Not to mention I'm totally sick of the tortured hero syndrome in PNR. I was in the library and saw Lothaire on the front display shelf, the cover looked intriguing so I picked it up to read the inside blurb. My librarian urged me to check it out and surprisingly, I thoroughly really enjoyed the story.

The male lead, Lothaire, was an absolute narcissist and barely redeemable. It was the wonderful heroine, Ellie Pierce, who carried the story. Ellie was such a wonderfully refreshing character, she didn't possess any super shiny powers or any great wealth. Ellie was a simple Appalachian girl, whose strength of character made her a true heroic figure. It was her presence that made Lothaire worth saving, once the moron finally admitted that it was Ellie who restored his beating heart. But it's no wonder the demonic Lothaire would think the evil sorceress possessed Ellie's body was his Bride, since his inflated ego led him to think that he was far superior to Ellie. But he soon came to the realization that she surpassed him in wit. I loved the droll banter between Ellie and Lothaire, she came back at his insults with a simple but humorous quip without being cruel.

I also loved Ellie's family. They stood by her no matter what, without judgment or fear and that made the Pierce family all the more endearing. The only way I would ever pick up another IAD or Dacian's novel would be to see more of Ellie and a still lethal but more sane and grounded Lothaire.

We've all seen Lothaire the Enemy of Old in the previous books. He's an arrogant, lethal, handsome, and evil vampire who'd do anything to come out on top, including switching alliances whenever he felt like it and engineering incidents where others can owe him a blood debt. I love how his character was built up from the beginning of the series, from pure evil, to that gray character, who you know is evil but you're still wondering what his true agenda is.

Now we get to find out.

We find out about the horrendous childhood Lothaire had and the events that happened later to shape into the man he is. And can I say, I'm surprised Lothaire hadn't gone insane already, though he's tittering at the edge. He's the perfect tortured hero, though he doesn't act like it, but he's also the badboy we all love in our romances, ready to be reformed, or not. And all these years, for eternity, he'd waited for his Bride, who will become his queen. (I just have a thing for this waiting for eternity idea. Every times this happens I'm a goner.) Now that he found her, nothing could stop them from being together.

There's just this one problem.

His Bride is possessed by a goddess. Or rather, there're two souls in the body of his Bride, and Lothaire has to get rid of one.

Elizabeth Peirce, or Ellie, had a hard life, living in the mountains of Appalachia trying to scrape together enough money to pay off her family's mortgage all her life. Now she's got a goddess of death in her body, taking her over and going on a killing spray. Just when she was going to end it, the red-eyed demon appears forcing her to live by threatening her family.

Oh God, there're not enough words to describe how amazing this book was. I love Ellie. She's perfect for Lothaire. Lothaire, who was used to figuring out everyone's moves around him one step ahead, couldn't predict anything Ellie did. It was a fresh change of pace. Yeah, that element doesn't sound new, but the many fights between Lothaire and Ellie, the fact Ellie won't give up, drove up the tension higher and higher.

Lothaire could never accept that he'd been mated to a human, so it was a very interesting journey to see him fall hard, and I mean, hard, for Ellie, a human he thinks is beneath him in every way. So you can imagine how amazing Ellie must be to capture a heart of someone as cold and calculating as Lothaire. She's the strong heroine we all like and love, the one that can take on Lothaire the Enemy of Old.

Like I said, it was a hard fall for Lothaire. Since the tension and antagonism between the two were so well done, it is so satisfying when they accept their feelings for each other. I have to say the book was kind of long though. Things just kept popping up that prevented our hero and heroine from reaching their HEA, but I'm not complaining. I'm so sad this is over. I wish to read more and more about Lothaire and Ellie. I want to know how their lives is progressing, because I know they're the kind of couple where every day is truly a new day, bringing unexpected surprises and hardships.

I do have some misgivings about some parts and the violence, but overall, the rest of the story is so fantastic that I can overlook those. Imho, Ellie didn't give up that easily. The Saroya story line was kind of too quick and just fell flat. I was totally expecting more. And oh Nix, poor Nix. So many things come to light in this book. I want Nix to find her mate as well. And new characters are introduced, so I can't wait to see if they get their books as well. I also love that this series isn't purely about characters who're on the same side, so we see some of previous characters on the other side, which is awesome.

Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire

When I received my long-awaited copy of Lothaire in the mail, I was ecstatic. Kresley Cole is definitely one of my favorite books and I might not have been super keen to read a book about Lothaire, I do love all of her books. I have many conflicting emotions now that I've finished this book. I actually put this book down a few times in the past week out of frustration and as of last night when I still had about 100 pages to go, this book was a firm 3 star rating. But now that I've finished the book it has definitely gone up to a solid 4 stars. In those last 100 pages I was finally able to understand Lothaire and I even began to like him a bit.

Lothaire is a jackass! There I said it. I just figured I'd get that out there. I actually spent most of the book really not liking him at all. For me what saved this book was Elizabeth. She saved this book for me. I loved her and she has quickly become one of my favorite heroines from Kresley Cole. She is spunky, loyal, smart, funny, caring and she stands up for herself. She doesn't back down when it comes to Lothaire and I loved that. I feel that she really was the perfect match for Lothaire. He needed someone to bring him down a notch and make him realize that he doesn't know everything and he isn't always right. I love that even though Lothaire thought she was so wrong for him, she was just so right.

I seriously wanted to slap Lothaire quite a few times. But I have to give credit to Kresley, Lothaire stayed true to who he was and the type of person we have all come to know from the previous books. I think that if he would have had a complete transformation and redemption it wouldn't have been believable. The way everything went down worked so well and made me a fan. Lothaire still might not be my favorite hero in this series but there are a few moments in the book that his actions tug at my heart strings. Though it was also hard to read some scenes with him and Elizabeth together. He really doesn't know how to treat others correctly and I know it's because he was never shown warmth and love but it was still hard to see him treat Elizabeth as if she's a pet.

I could try to summarize this book, but I really don't want to. What stands out the most to me is Lothaire. I might not have enjoyed him so much, but I did enjoy being a viewer of his 'world'. I liked being able to see what he is like in his element and what he cares about. In previous books he was such an enigma to me. I didn't really know what his plans were or what he was after or even who he really was. I get him now and I look forward to seeing more of him in future books.

I have been ultra curious about Lothaire since his appearance at the beginning of the series. I loved that he was/is super bad. I love that he was/is crazy. Did I want him to have a happy ever after, not so much. That being said, I enjoyed this piece of the series. I liked Ellie, great match for the Enemy of Old. With each installment Ms. Cole reveals another piece of the greater puzzle. I have to say that my absolute favorite character is Nix and this book sheds a bit more light on her, which was fantastic, so when do we get to read her story?

spoiler alert
It's been awhile, but I remember this series vividly.
I loved every book. But I was not a fan of Lothaire. He was uncaring in the way he took her virginity, devastated her, and that made me not like him. The rest of the story is great, just like the whole series. There is hot sex, action, and marvelous characters.
My opinion may be harsh, but it hit me that way. Before and after that, I have enjoyed every wild player, and the terrific writing, and deeply thought filled tales.
Ellie was a terrific heroine, but why she put up with his crap I'll never know. I have loved the series up til this. I enjoyed the rest of the story, and seeing old characters. Generally, I love a Kresley Cole Story. I will read more of her tales, because her past stories have been wonderful. This guy will never be a hero to me.

Part of me is giggling madly at the idea of strong, amoral Lothaire -- the vampire that everyone in the Lore fears and who is more than half mad with all the memories floating around in his head -- being paired up with a poor mountain girl. Not to say that Ellie can't hold her own -- she totally can -- but she's miles apart from Lothaire and he's not afraid to let her know that.

Speaking of which, Lothaire's constant needling of her *might* have brought a tear to my eye a time or two. He's not the nicest guy and he has very VERY little in the way of relationship skills to draw on. He's cruel and on the crazy train to insane and it comes through. Frankly, Ellie isn't wrong in her anger at him. She's more than just a poor hillbilly who got sucked into a world she doesn't understand. She has strong family ties and she's no slouch in the brain department.

I really enjoyed watching Lothaire fall for her and her mountain girl ways.

One of the things that constantly boggles me with this series is the way the events all intertwine. The whole Nix thing with her ability to see so many threads of so many lives just blows me away. Lothaire might have an Endgame but Nix has hundreds of Endgames dancing through her head. Constantly. It's no wonder she's insane.

Love the setup for the Dacians series. Love that Lothaire has himself a hillbilly lady friend. Love that there's SO MUCH going on in this world.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

Lothaire... Oh, finally I am given the chance to review your wickedness. How do I love this book, let me count the ways... Now, I can't count the ways, I will be here forever if I count the ways I love this book. I'm going to tell you why...

Lothaire is insane. That is fact. He is not all there, he had drank too much blood, he has to many memories, and he is in dire need of revenge and getting back at all the things that have wronged him along with getting back to his homeland. He is the rightful ruler. But--Lothaire is insane. With that being said we are taken on this man's journey of a happily ever after, that should probably not be afforded one given all the bad he has done in the world in the name of revenge and his own end game.

Enter Elizabeth, or Ellie. Who is possessed by the death goddess, Saroya--a right bitch. I'm not joking, she is the death goddess. Which means she shuns sex, because sex creates life, and that's just gross to her. Lothaire is under the misguided impression that said death goddess is his bride. Well, the powers that be aren't that easy--nor are they predictable. We are tossed back and forth with Lothaire fighting his lust for Ellie and trying to come to terms with the fact he is mated to the death goddess who doesn't want to hump him. Therefore, the insane in him has moments of treating Ellie like crap. Um, hello--good or bad the dudes a vampire. He's not Angel, he's not Stefan, he's not Edward Cullen. Lothaire doesn't glitter, or drink from the bag. The dude is a baddie and that is the cool factor he has doing for him. Can bad guys love--its debatable, but he loves Ellie. He learns how to care for his bride through trial and error and it was so fun to watch.

She wasn't going to put up with his crap after a certain amount of time, and he thought she had abandoned him. It just wouldn't be a paranormal romance if there was proper communication people!! It is the driving theme of every storyline! So, I gotta say, this was one of my favorites in the series. I can't wait for the next!

**I borrowed a copy of this book from the library**

Let me start off by saying that when I first heard about this book, it was the 'it' book. Every blog was talking about and it seemed every reviewer was giving it 5 stars. So yes, this book was definitely worth checking out. But what really got me was how horrible and evil Lothaire is. I'm thinking this is great, Lothaire is totally evil, going around killing and manipulating whick is whats really keeping the story interesting until he starts falling for Ellie. Yeah, he's really not as evil as everyone paints him to be, I have read way, way worse. Don't get me wrong, he is ruthless and does some pretty bad things but still I wasn't impressed.

And with that said, this book was still awesome. It has a little bit of everything in it. I absolutely loved Ellie. She is a mountain girl, a hillbilly. And everything about her bugs Lothaire from her accent and the way she talks to her choice in clothes. Ellie really brings the funny into the story and whats so awesome about her is she's doesnt let things get to her. She has a snutty ex-Goddess inside her body coming out every once in a while to go on a killing spree, a vampire kidnaps her and says in one month he's going to sacrifce her soul yet Ellie stands up to him and never shows fear and has a quick wit. Ellie and Lothaires back and forth banter was always entertaining and especially when lothaire starts to get protective of Ellie and shows feelings for her. I loved this book and definitely would recommend it. Just keep in mind that this book isn't all evil and guts and glory type of thing as its made to be but still an excellent read!

Lothaire is a great novel of a snotty `I'm better than anyone' vampire who is scandalized and dumbstruck to upon finding out his intended bride is an ignorant hick from nowheresville. As a teen, the bride is possessed by a powerful evil death deity, so Lothaire changes his mind, and vows to extinguish the hick's soul, and make the evil chick inhabiting her body immortal.

The intended bride can only eat blood, so she needs the human teenager in order to feed and care for the body they share. Basically, the deity goes on a killing rampage, murdering people left and right, swallowing buckets of blood, then.... goes to sleep for weeks or more leaving poor Ellie to deal with the aftermath and consequences.

The big bad millennia old vampire, is forced to rescue his bride's `body' from death row, and to put up with what he perceives as `the hick' until he can find a way to make her a vampire. In reality, she is no ignorant peasant. She becomes an educated woman who has keen intelligence and insight. When confronted by the circumstances of being kidnaped by a scornful evil man who tells her every minute how useless and loathsome she is and that it's a matter of a handful of days until he can `erase' her soul from her own body, Ellie hatches a plan to save her soul. She will make the big bad vampire Lothaire fall in love with her. With Ellie, not Saroya.

It's a delightful love story of opposite worlds colliding and exploding. Good as a stand alone, but it's part of a series. I tell ya, once you read a Kresley Cole, you'll buy ANYTHING she has to sell. She's that good.

In my mind, Lothaire has been the ultimate bad boy for the IAD. He's clearly 100% evil villain and no matter what nefarious plots he's carried out I'm always metaphorical swooning on my feet for him. So to say the wait for this book has been unbearable is a terrible understatement. After finishing it I can clearly state that Cole is still my poison of choice! However, this book wasn't what I expected. For a character like Lothaire though, it would be tough to get it (him) just right. However, stating all that I will say this book surpassed my expectations, while also underwhelming them. (Yeah, I know I'm confused too.)

Elizabeth is the perfect soul mate for Lothaire. She's a standard redneck Hill-billy, but she's got all the smarts and wits to balance it out. Sure she eat squirrels, but she can still out wit La Dorada. It bothers me that--yet again--another Cole leading lady is a virgin. (Girls can have fun too!!) However, unlike some of the other IMA virgins she falls in the category of very sexual. Her reasons for saving it are, thankfully, not a mystical crisis. She was easy to relate too as she's not wealthy, but she's happy with the life she's lived. Elizabeth's strong will is perfectly shown as she battles the evil vampire goddess Saroya who inhabited her body at 18 years of age. Saroya ruined her life as her serial killer tendencies took over when ever the goddess took over Ellie's body.

Lothaire was just as devious as I had originally thought. He refuses to accept that Ellie is his Bride because of his ever present hatred for mortals. Instead he fixes on Saroya. It's interesting watching his arrogance, madness, and plots fall into place as he discovers Ellie as his mate and finally excepts her. He's completely evil to her. In fact, I actually started to become annoyed with him. When the couple finally put aside they're differences I felt like Lothaire really didn't change that much. I did not feel like he truly accepted Ellie as a human, and he conceded a bit to her family. What annoyed me more is that Ellie came off with better one liners then Lothaire. All of his truly good dialogue seemed to be reminiscing from other characters telling Ellie about what Lothaire had done in the past.

Still I felt like this book held it's own considering how many expectations I had riding on it. Thad the half vampire, half shade is pretty steady character in the book and I love him more. This book builds up the Dacian realm well enough that I'm looking forward to the spinoff series. Nix gets page time and it's really nice seeing some of the dynamics that Lothaire and her share. I'm desperately awaiting Nix's book, as much as I fear it. In the end this is another solid IAD entry to the series. While I feel like Cole is depending way too much on her formalistic plot that makes up EVERY book in the IAD series, I'm a sucker for it.

Sexual Content: This is a Cole book, you have to know by now!

4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it.

Originally reviewed on Book Whispers.

Reviewed by Ann (Under the Covers Book Blog)

Lothaire the Enemy of Old possess an insatiable need for revenge against the Horde. After being cast out along with his Dacian mother by his father and King of the Horde vampires, Stefanovich, Lothaire vows to his mother that he will slay his father and become king one day. His plans include uniting the Dacian and Horde kingdoms together. This is his endgame, his raison d'etre.

That is until Elizabeth Pierce stumbles upon his life. Ellie, as she is most often called in this book could not be more different than Lothaire. He, dark, cunning and lethal. She, a spit-fire, loyal and loving. Though Ellie is a mere mortal, her body is inhabited by a death goddess named Saroya. Once powerful, Saroya is now condemned to live within mortal bodies. She lives to draw blood and deal death, which is why whenever Saroya surfaces and takes control of her body, Ellie wakes up to find herself in a bloodbath.

When Lothaire meets Saroya/Ellie, he becomes blooded. His heart begins to beat after centuries of remaining still. His lungs fill with breath once again. And ... other things begin to stir to life. Naturally, Lothaire, the maddened and most feared vampire in the Lore believes that Saroya is his Bride, not the hillbilly mountain girl. But in order for him to claim his Bride, Lothaire must dispose of Ellie's soul from the body and make Saroya immortal, a vampire like him.

To do this, he must obtain a ring. This ring holds his one chance to keep his Bride, except locating it is his greatest problem.

In the meantime, Lothaire saves Ellie from jail where she is being held and almost killed. Saving her from death row doesn't get any points for him because Ellie actually wants to die. To die would mean there would be no more innocent deaths on her head, and Ellie wants nothing more than peace.

Together, Ellie and Lothaire combust. One who is used to getting his way all the time, Lothaire isn't used to the way Ellie refuses him. There were times when I wanted to slap him for hurting Ellie, but as you read this book, you learn that Lothaire never had any relationships before this. He has no friends, just a ledger with names scrawled on the pages that record the debts that must be paid to him. His madness is his only company, forever torturing him, allowing him no reprieve.

Cole stays true to Lothaire's character. She doesn't suddenly make him a "good guy" now that he is the hero of his own book. Called the Enemy of Old, Lothaire has created that name for himself. He remains ruthless and cunning, sometimes to the point where his actions are unforgiveable.

Though a mere mortal, Ellie sinks his claws into Lothaire. It was enjoyable to read his emotions - confusion, anger, distrust. No one else throws Lothaire for a loop like Ellie does. Lothaire reacts to Ellie in a way no like other. It is only then that the question of Saroya being his true Bride arises:

"Are you certain she's not your Bride?"
"Careful, Hag," he warned her, seething that she would even consider Elizabeth for him. "Your past employers might have forgiven your impudence; I will not."
"I never predicted your female would be Saroya."
"In so many words, you did. `A great and fearless queen beloved by vampires, who will secure your throne for you,'" he said. "Ellie Ann, late of Appalachia, just isn't going to inspire Hordely, vampirely love."

Though their times together may not be all hearts and goo-goo eyes, apart, Ellie and Lothaire wither. It is this conversation with Nix, everyone's favourite cray cray soothsayer that became one of my favourite parts of this book:

He scrubbed a hand over his face. "I didn't feel old when I was with Elizabeth. I felt like a young vampire, just starting out with her. The world was ours for the taking."
"I envy you that feeling."
After several heartbeats, he admitted in a low voice, "I'd go back to the grave if it would force Elizabeth to love me."

What I loved about this book is that Lothaire and Ellie choose to make their relationship work. Fate may play a big part in choosing a Bride, but Ellie has the ultimate say in all things. I loved watching Lothaire be brought to his knees by the woman he loves.

LOTHAIRE - just as the self-titled book entails - will demand your attention until you flip that last page! Just as addicting as the rest of the series, Cole is my new brand of crack. I'd do anything for that next hit!

*Review copy provided by publisher

One of the things I love most about Kresley Cole books is the way that she weaves her stories together. It's really quite amazing how she takes all these little pieces over a dozen books and makes them all feel like they are part of this fantastic master plan that she's had all along. Lothaire has been this mysterious and enigmatic character ever since A Hunger Like No Other. We've seen him scheme and manipulate; go on quests and gather debts; and we've had little hints: a feud with Nix... a plan to rule the vampires. And now it all makes sense.

Lothaire is the illegitimate son of the old Horde vampire king. His mother was a princess of the lost Diacan vamps. He should have been royalty. But his father cast him and his mother out. And they were forsaken by her family. As she died, he swore his revenge --to one day rule both the Horde and the Diacans-- and it's all he has lived for ever since.

Now he has finally found his Bride, the woman fated to be his Queen. Elizabeth is a human whose body is being possessed by an evil deity. Lothaire thinks the deity is his destined mate (though obviously it's Elizabeth) and he makes it his mission to find a way to permanently expel Elizabeth's soul from her body to give Soroya the reigns. He holds her captive as he tries to track down that powerful wish-granting ring he stole from the mummy back in Pleasure of a Dark Prince. And as much as they outwardly disdain each other, there is an undeniable attraction between Elizabeth and Lothaire... one they can only fight so long, before they give in.

Here's the thing: Lothaire is sexy and ruthless. But he is also a complete jerk. He imprisons Ellie. He is cruel to her. He inflicts his will on her over and over again --and continues to do so even after he realizes she is really the one for him. He's completely self-absorbed and I felt like it took too long before he could stop seeing Ellie as beneath him. He did, however, make some powerful sacrifices and the sex was really hot... so there was some good stuff going on the romance department too. I just wish he had treated her better than he did for 90% of the book.

For me, where the book shines, are in the moments Cole lets us see the history and connections among the characters. I loved getting the backstory on Lothaire and Nix. I loved that she worked in Hag, the Oracle from Kiss of a Demon King, and gave a shout-out to Lanthe. I loved Thaddeus, from Dreams of a Dark Warrior, with a capital-L. And the last sentence of the book really knocked my socks off.

Cole sets up her spinoff Diacan series nicely --and leaves me hoping that we'll get a Kristoff and Furie book very soon. 4 stars.

I really anticipated this book in the series and I was not disappointed.

Learning Lothaire's backstory and then who his mate is was the best part of the book for me. It was a little different from several of the books before it in that most of the action is small because so much is given over to relationship building. Don't get me wrong, Lothaire does his thing and proves why he is the Enemy of Old, but he also proves why he is one of the hardest sells when it comes to love.

In this story, Lothaire with the help of his oracle, is directed to a girl performing some kind of ritual-like sacrifice with bodies she killed in the woods. He learns that she is a possessed human and then discovers that she is his bride. He is thrilled to know that his bride is the vampire's goddess of death. She bloods him and he then adds the goal of helping the goddess regain an immortal body to his list of tasks because all his enemies will be closing in now that they know he has a weakness- a bride.
Meanwhile, Ellie Peirce, the human girl who is possessed by Saronya gets a crash-course in the Lore and knows she is living on borrowed time while Lothaire seeks the ring that will end her existence so that her body can be occupied entirely by Saronya. Being a fiery mountain girl, she determines not to make things easy for the vampire who has captured her. Ellie doesn't know enough to be terrified of Lothaire and her defiance and naive curiosity intrigue him.

I loved how the characters were written. Lothaire does not change all of a sudden because he now has a bride and he has no idea how to be in a relationship. Though he doesn't do well at relationships, he and Ellie certainly get points for knowing how to steam up a scene. Ellie, because she is human, had all my admiration for being the one to stump the Enemy of Old on several occasions.
It was fun seeing Thad, Hag, and Nix. There is even a little of Lothaire and Nix's backstory revealed.

As the plot was revealed, I was amazed how the author took a lose-lose backed into a corner situation for Lothaire and Ellie and brought it to a satisfying conclusion. And what a conclusion- the very last pages were some of the biggest reveals of all that effect everyone in the Lore. More trouble is a coming.

So go and enjoy this book!

Reviewed at Another Look Book Reviews

*Standing Ovation* This past Aug/12 I started reading the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole. I was intrigued with all the anticipation voiced by fellow book bloggers and Twitter friends. There seemed to be quite a celebration of this release of Lothaire. Paranormal and UF are not my number one choice for romance so I had not really heard to much about this IAD series previously. Turns out I was missing out because as I finished Lothaire's book (IAD #12) I must agree with the positive buzz these books generated. I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Lothaire has been appearing in and out books since the beginning. There was quite a mystery built around him and it wasn't until the previous book, Dreams of a Dark Warrior that the readers really got to truly meet him. Lothaire is a complex character on the brink of madness. He acts like stiff upper crust royalty in composure yet he is 100% deadly on the brink of madness. The Lore creatures shake in their skin when he is near and he keeps an accounting ledger of all the blood debts he is owed. I had no idea who his "Bride" could be. What sort of woman would be perfect for him?
[...]
Enter Elizabeth. A hillbilly human woman from the Appalachian Mountains that talks with a southern twang and lives in a trailer. Not what I would have imagined for Lothaire but let me tell you that Kresley Cole is a genius because Elizabeth could not have been more perfect!

Of course their romance is completely off kilter because Elizabeth (Ellie) was sharing her body with an evil goddess like entity, Saroya. Lothaire is convinced that Saroya, the nasty Goddess of Divine Death, is his Bride. The first half of the book is mostly about how Lothaire plans to rid Elizabeth's soul from her body so that Saroya can take over completely. Elizabeth of course has plans of her own.

Lothaire usually kills off those who annoy him yet he can't hurt the mortal Elizabeth without also hurting Saroya. Amazing constant conflict and I love how Elizabeth strives to madden Lothaire further. She was perfect in her cunning ways and the banter between the two was awesome. I was constantly rooting for Elizabeth to get the upper hand. Such an engaging story. Loved it!

A favourite moment - Lothaire at Elizabeth's trailer in the mountains.
"Am I wearing a wife-beater, Lizvetta? Oh, come on!"

Having said all that I loved about the pair, I still think my favourite part of the book was the chapter that included Nix and Lothaire together. They actually have a great talk and they were both completely lucid. So many answers were provided in that chapter and I long to read Nix's book one day when it is written. Nix is probably my favourite character out the entire series.

Teasers: Lothaire-speak, temper tantrum = beheading (oops) "Mothman. Really, Elizabeth? Really?

I spent my weekend reading what I know will be in my Top Ten Reads of 2012-Lothaire by Kresley Cole.

As an avid reader, you have those books during the year that you are looking forward to reading. Last year, for me it was Shadowfever. Could.Not.Wait.

And if we're lucky-the sweet anticipation is greatly rewarded by a fantastic story that makes you literally hum as you read it. After its conclusion, you utter a sigh...wish that you read it a little slower, because now it's over.

Lothaire was like that. I closed the book with a sigh...still lost in the world of the Lore and in my happy place. And extremely excited about the secrets that Kresley spilled in the last lines.

I wanted his story since the beginning of the series, A Hunger Like No Other. He was the villain. The bad boy-- And I was smitten.

I purchased the hardback version of this book--no kindle version for me. The cover had to be fully appreciated, lol. There aren't many covers that get it right; the vision that I have in my head about how the hero looks, but this one is spot-on. Straight blond hair hanging over intense red eyes that seem to penetrate your soul. A plus goes to the cover design peeps.

I used post-it notes to flag parts of the story that really caught my attention; things that I wanted to talk about in my review. My book is very colorful--blues, yellows, oranges--a rainbow of favorite moments.

Let's start with the hero, shall we?

Lothaire- The Enemy of Old and ancient foe of the Lore. He has an endgame with seven critical pieces that he is determined to make happen. And if you're not with him, you're against him. He swings precariously near the edge of madness-the countless thoughts of his victims pushing him one inch closer to the rocky border.

He is resolute to have his Bride by his side, no matter the consequences....

Which lead us to Ellie Pierce, our heroine.

Ellie struggles to fight Saroya, The Soul Reaper, whose spirit inhabits her body and has murdered innocent victims with her blood-thirsty compulsions. She would rather die than let Saroya continue her murderous rampage. She accepts her fate on death row and is just minutes from the fatal does that will end her life, when Lothaire rescues his Bride.

Their tumultuous beginning makes for an entrancing read. Verbal insults are slung, countered with witty retorts. Lothaire's acerbic retorts barely penetrate the thick-skinned Appalachian heroine-her tenacity and intellect a perfect match for our egocentric vampire.

Ellie's hate for Lothaire slowly changes during her time in captivity. She sees a side of him never witnessed by anyone in the Lore. And the heady attraction between the two cannot be denied, despite their best laid plans.

I'm not gonna lie here, folks-the sex is HAWT--and borders on the more erotic side. It also pushes the envelope on what some consider non-consensual. Did I think Kresley took it past that limit? Nope. It was spot-on for how I perceived Lothaire and stayed true to his character. So if you aren't into that sort of thing, you might want to skim those parts, just sayin'. For me, I devoured every word of the book and relished them.

Lothaire resists the slow revelation of his true Bride-Ellie. How could a backwoods Appalachian with no royal connection be his true Bride. Ego much, Leo? He starts to crave Ellie's presence, and not that of the cold-hearted Saroya. Even after being sucker punched with the realization that Ellie is indeed his true Bride, Lothaire has some major work to do. But the aged immortal fails miserably-- His bullish demands, excessive pride, and his lack of apology for his past treatment of Ellie lead to the destruction of their fragile relationship.

What I loved about this book? The fact that Lothaire's underlying character still remained intact without turning into some sappy love-sick moron. Thank you, Kresley Cole. My ultimate bad-boy is still a little bad-a**-- And I like it that way.

One of my gripes about Dreams of a Dark Warrior was that it wasn't dark enough. We are headed for a war people and a great number of Loreans (good and bad) are trapped together in a lab (never a good thing) by humans. I thought that the situation and conflict between Regan and Declan deserved a much darker portrayl.
Lothaire gives you some of that darkness that the last one missed with dreams of his past that have him unintentionally tracing himself into horrific situations. The first half of this book was rather well written, but the ending felt rushed to me. One of Lothaire's main goals was to be the king on two thrones--not accomplished. Still not over a millenia of looking down on humans, but 100% accepting of his human Bride--not conveyed. Although Kresley Cole improved one of the issues I had with her last book, I did still feel she could have done so much more with this one. Reworking the intro of the book with Ellie waking up to blood (again!) would have given readers more than a 2 minute intro to the character and would allow us to gain that horror of what she was going through. So much time was spent on Lothaire belittling her that much more should have been spent on acceptance. Saving the miners was a good start, but again I felt there should be more. And what about the until now forgotten Kingdom of Dacia? Not enough was said about the real differences between them and the Horde. Where all the Horde vampires originally Dacian? Did the split come due to the disease that wiped out the female vampires? Like the last book there are much more loose ends that the first 8. The others were so well done and CONCISE that I wasn't left with the feelings I have for this book and the last.

I have become a huge fan of Kresley Cole's since I discovered her books a few months back (I have now read and listened to EVERYTHING!)

Her characters are so well developed and I love that there are recurring characters in so many of her books. I mean really? Who doesn't like Nucking Futz Nix?!! Elizabeth is the hands-down favorite character in this book though, she's hysterically funny and pairing this Virginia "trailer trash" up with the high and mighty Lothaire was a stroke of genius. You couldn't have two more opposite characters and it works beautifully!

In the audio books Robert Petkoff brings so much life to the characters, he really draws you in. You forget you are listening to a man reading a book, instead you find yourself listening to characters each with their own voice, accents, distinct way of speaking, quirks...and he never loses that throughout all of her books. If Nucking Futz Nix sounds one way in this book, she will sound the exactly same in all the others. If you haven't listened to an audio book and have been thinking about it, I really suggest getting this one or one of the other Immortal's After Dark on audiobook...you won't regret it!

Lothaire by Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance - Jan. 10th, 2012
4 stars

Fans of the series will be overjoyed to read the secrets behind the deliciously evil and sinister Lothaire.

Lothaire is an ancient vampire with bloodlines that trace to the mystical and powerful Daci. His mother was a proud Daci princess who gave up her position to follow his father, Stefanovich the King of the Vampire Horde. However, because his mother was not the true Bride to his father, Lothaire has been labeled a bastard. When his mother and he are chased out and abandoned, Lothaire promises his mother to avenge her death. Over centuries, Lothaire uses his cunning and ruthlessness with the sole aim to take over the Vampire Horde and become King of two kingdoms -as is his due. However, to finalize his plans he needs a strong vampire Bride. A woman destined to bring him back to life and aid him on his quest for supremacy. A woman who will surely be so powerful he will surely be able to keep his promise to his long dead mother. He finally finds her into body of a young human named Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is being possessed by the spirit of Saroya, the Soul Reaper. A Goddess who was cursed to live the rest of her life in the frail bodies of humans. The cunning Saroya plots her way to freedom and when she discovers that she is the recognized Bride of the devious Lothaire, she hopes to use him to find freedom. However, the human body she inhabits will not let her fully possess her!

Elizabeth is young and poor but she vows to fight against the terrible spirit that seeks to take over her body. For Elizabeth has a caring heart and an indomitable will to live and vows not to let Saroya take over her body and endanger her family. But when she finds herself kidnapped by the cold and ruthless but starkly handsome vampire named Lothaire, Elizabeth finds herself unwilling attracted to this evil creature. Even as Lothaire is plotting to find a way to remove her essence from her body so that his true Bride Saroya can take over, Elizabeth can't stop fighting. Can she seduce him with her charms and stop his plans?

As with all of Kresley Cole's books, this story has hidden secrets that lead the reader into different and unexpected directions. I have always been fascinated by the charmingly evil Lothaire and could not wait to read his history. In this book his motivations and true character are exposed. I liked how this powerful man is slowly put under the spell of 'young' Elizabeth's charms. Both are devious in their own ways and as Ellie tries to seduce him, the book really heats up! They are locked in a battle of wills as both are strong characters who each want their way. Thankfully, Lothaire slowly realizes that Elizabeth is so much more than he imagined a mere human could be. The chemistry and interaction between them are fun to read. I also really enjoyed it when the wily and crazy Nix makes some hilarious appearances that baffle and confound Lothaire and Ellie.

Fans of this series will find this book a great addition to the series. I also liked the plucky and earnest sidekick, Thaddeus, who believes in Lothaire's goodness. I hope he will get his own book!

Steamy fun and filled with engaging characters, this book is one to savor.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Always playing the long game, vampire Lothaire, enemy of old and the most notorious vampire in the Lore finally has the end in sight. Now it only remains to claim his Bride, and what a perfect Bride, Saroya, an immortal goddess who loves to bathe in the blood of her victims will be - the only thing standing in the way of Lothaire claiming her though is that his Bride is currently cohabiting the body of an American peasant, pesky twenty-something Elizabeth. And even though Ellie is so far below him that she barely deserves his notice, banishing her soul to the ether may be a bit harder than just reacquiring La Dorada's ring to grant his Bride immortality and sole title to Ellie's body, because Ellie has the ability to do something that Lothaire king of insight just can't dismiss - she's captivatingly unpredictable.

I liked Lothaire (the book) but I guess I am a harder sell than I used to be because I didn't find myself laughing out loud like other people did - just smiling here and there, though I will admit Ellie's return 'gift' to Lothaire is pretty funny in a twisted way. Some of the lack of laugh out loud moments for me is that Lothaire's one liners play better off someone who isn't being terrorized - or who is clueless to the fact that they are being terrorized - and that Nix this time around isn't as funny as usual (but we learn some really interesting things about her and I feel so sorry for Nix in this one - boy is she a mess.)

But really it was Ellie/Elizabeth/Lizabetta who made the book for me despite the fact that I am normally very hero-centric reader. I really felt for her. Spending much of her life as a prisoner - spending years in prison as well as literally being a prisoner in her own body. Ellie is amazingly resilient though, anyone else would have been warped and traumatized by being taken over by a murderous entity and awakening from blackouts surrounded by blood and body parts and by being terrorized by a vampire who plans to wipe her very soul , I thought it was great that she was able to compartmentalize and still have the potential to be happy - and not end up insane too. I like that Ellie exercises what power she does have over Lothaire. .

*****SPOILER**** Desperate and hoping that what one of her relatives told her is true - that the way to a man's brain is through his favorite body part - Ellie tries to win Lothaire over with sex, after all otherwise how can a mere human compete with a goddess. Well sex does turn out to be a pretty good lure when the competion is a virgin goddess intent on not ever sullying herself and the male hasn't had sex in 1000 years, the only hitch is that lusty Ellie gets caught with her own hook *****END SPOILER***

I've barely scratched the surface with this review but Cole does manage to do a decent job of giving us Lothaire's back story and ultimately redeeming the irredeemable Lothaire while gifting him with, if not exactly a conscience, at least a voice of reason in his seemingly ill matched but oh so underestimated Bride. But after all that Lothaire puts Ellie though, I liked that Lothaire had to suffer a bit when he decides what he really wants and can't just blithely bend Ellie to his will. Without that I wouldn't have bought the HEA and I liked that the new understanding brought an element of playfulness into their relationship at the end.

***** SPOILER****Even though Lothaire had intended not to bother trying to understand Ellie - I just loved the part where he is thinking that since she will have the blood dreams and be able to see how he feels, that way he won't have to bother making an effort to try to understand her and all that pesky relationship stuff and I loved that his blood dreams from drinking her, finally made him realize what an evil selfish arrogant jerk he'd been. ***END SPOILER****

I guess if there was one thing that was a nit for me, it was that I was a little disappointed in Lothaire's 'end game', I was imagining that he had this far reaching plot that was in conflict with Nix's instead of a list of tasks and no idea what he was going to do after that - especially since he possessed that book of debts from some of the most powerful entities in the Lore,debts that he collected for centuries - I was foreseeing this giant chess game with all of those pieces ready to put into dastardly play.

Looking to the future, I am guessing that we may see more of the pair in the background as Cole spins off a series about Lothario's mother's family the Dacian - even though from the introduction to some of those characters, I just can't foresee what direction Cole will take them.

I guess I expected Lothaire to disappoint me---especially since he was hardback...but as always, Kresley Cole managed to deliver! I won't go over the premise because, like another reviewer mentions, Cole is really good at creating distinct characters, so regardless of the premise (which, to me, almost always comes off as being similar to the last book), it's NEVER the same story.

The only other thing I'll say is, I didn't mind how Regin's book didn't focus on her and her bf so much because I found the overall story that unfolded in that book really entertaining, but if that had been the case in this book I would've been really disappointed. We have been given all these tantalizing glimpses of Lothaire, so I REALLY wanted to get inside his head, and I really wanted this book to focus on him (it does!).

Oh also, if for some reason you skipped them, it's worth reading Demon from the Dark (Immortals After Dark Series, Book 8) or at the very least, Dreams of a Dark Warrior (Immortals After Dark Series, Book 9) before reading this one. Book 9 in particular really builds up the anticipation for this book and it explains a lot of things, so I wouldn't skip it.

When speaking of romance novels - whether they can be categorized as general, paranormal, etc. - we tend to devote a lot of attention to the hero, the main male character that embodies (mostly) highly desirable traits, is usually extraordinarly alpha and the stuff of which dreams are made. Lothaire is (obviously) the main male character, who is gorgeous (even with the red eyes), powerful, rich, and one of the most alpha males about whom I have ever read. While he could be considered to be a "hero" in terms of those descriptors, I think that antihero is arguably a label that suits him far better (with some exceptions). He is, after all, an unrepentant killer who has ended countless lives, and he can be so cold, calculating, and even cruel to Ellie that it can be a bit hard to get past, at certain points.

However, he winds up being such a multi-layered, complex character, whose incredibly tragic past goes a long way toward mitigating or at least explaining some (but not all) of his actions. Perhaps one of his mostly fully-fleshed out traits is his arrogance which can be. . . stunning. I have to say, though, that while such a thing can be off-putting when an author takes it too far, Kresley Cole has done an excellent job of imbuing much of his arrogance with a great dose of wit and humor, and yes, sexiness.

Our heroine goes through unimaginable horrors, most of which are directly attributable to Lothaire. She's not a doormat, though, nor is she a Mary Sue - she's a fighter, both physically and verbally. She has deep reserves of strength and smarts on which she has to rely time and time again, but she also makes some mistakes along the way and causes Lothaire (or Leo, as she calls him) some pain. She gives as good as she gets in many instances, and her words and actions eventually open his eyes to the reality of the situation that faces them and their relationship.

The chemistry in this one is intense, to say the least, as is the depth of emotion the characters come to experience. Also, for a book that deals with quite a bit of dark material, it's actually a highly enjoyable read. Lothaire's story has been keenly anticipated by readers for a long time now, and I think that this book certainly does him justice and lives up to readers' expectations. In short, I just really liked this book, and I highly recommend it.

Lothaire, The Enemy of Old's story gets told! And let me tell you, it was amazing. Everything I look for in a book was nicely packaged in this one. Tormented Alpha hero? CHECK. Smart, headstrong heroine? CHECK. Kresley Cole's glorious sense of humor? CHECK! Not to mention some wonderful lovin' :)

Yes, Lothaire is a crazy, manipulative guy. But after reading the heart aching prologue you get an idea of why he is so darn hateful and why he cares so much about his 'end game' of exacting his revenge against two vampire factions. Elizabeth Pierce is a down home kind of gal. Living in the mountains of Appalachia with her loving family she gets sucked into a whole world of weird when she is possessed by Saroya (crazy, murdering, ex-goddess). To make matters worse for poor Ellie, he stumbles on her when she is in full possession and he becomes blooded. (For those not familiar with The Immortals After Dark Series when a vampire becomes blooded by a female it essential means he has found his soul mate) Of course the Enemy of Old could not possibly be destined to spend eternity with an uncultured hillbilly, so he assumes that it must be Saroya that blooded him. Which leads us to the main story. Lothaire must search for a way to get rid of Ellie's soul for good, so Saroya can take up permanent residency in her body. As the days of searching pass and he spends more time with Ellie things become less straight forward. He starts to question his quick judgement about who, exactly, is his destined love. And if Ellie is actually his 'Bride' how will it affect his endgame?

The reason for only 4.5 stars is it can become tedious how hateful he treats Elizabeth. Although, you will cheer/shed a tear when she finally gets her revenge. I sure did :)

Disclaimer: If you are squeamish about 'love bites' on certain parts of the male anatomy you may be in for a shock.

What do you get when you cross an "outfitter checkout girl with aspirations for Kmart" who has a severe case of Stockholm syndrome and an arrogant, sexy hunk of a vampire with a superiority complex big enough to rival a God???

You get a hot and steamy love story made in IAD heaven.

Haven't we all been salivating over Paul Marron on the cover, secretly licking the cover image on our computer screens waiting for the day for this book to be released....Or is that just me???

We all love a bad boy and the Enemy of Old is the King of bad boys. Lacking remorse, a conscience, any idea about women what-so-ever. He was oh so clueless about Ellie but yet he was irresistible and picturing him as the hunky Paul Marron did not make the task of falling in love any harder.

But to be honest I have been teetering with my review. I left it two days before deciding to give it 4.5 stars instead of a wholehearted 5.

As much as I loved it, there were a few things that didn't make it entirely perfect for me. Lothaire's arrogance and man handling bordered the line of dominance and went over to assault. Yeah I know he is the Enemy of Old and needed to be mean, which is the reason why it wasn't a big issue but each time he grabbed Ellie by the throat it made my nose crinkle.

It also made me think of all the comments people made on 'A Hunger Like No Other' how they considered some of the sex scenes to be verging on rape. It hadn't even been a blip on my radar in 'A Hunger Like No Other' but I paid more attention to Ellie saying "Please no' and Lothaire continuing anyway.

But honestly this was only a teeny tiny issue - barely .5 of a rating worth, but it was just enough not to get a perfect 5.

STILL ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!

The end was the best part! Good job, Kresley! I loved Ellie -the hillybilly heroine. She was so freaking awesome. And I was laughing and snorting so hard at Lothaire's dialogue that I kept scaring the cat.

"Am I wearing a wife beater! Oh come on!"

However, yes however, I did not like Lothaire one bit. I could not get down with his character. The idea of loving a ruthless murderer who had tormented me -un uhn, nope. And the love scenes verged on masochism. And I took offense when strong Ellie, who had been using her brains, had to all of a sudden turn into a slore (thanks Regin) and magically got a convenient back story to match the transition.

But, I really respected how Kresley kept Lothaire's character consistent. There was no 180 for him. He grew a bit, learned some lessons, but he was fundamentally the same at the end of the story. I think that was fitting of a homicidal maniac. I especially am in awe of the serendipity of this series. I feel so rewarded that we are coming full circle and that every character ever written about has some importance. I didn't see the twist coming at the end! I actually applauded. Although Kresley's writing style gets on my nerves sometimes, I bow down to her story-weaving-intricacy prowess. I cannot wait for the next installment!

I've been reading the Immortals After Dark series on release day ever since I finished A Hunger Like No Other (the first one), and since I detested the last book, I was starting to get a little bit worried about Lothaire. What if Cole couldn't make Lothaire sympathetic or likeable? What is his heroine turned out to be ridiculous or nothing new in the series? After all, an author can't keep on getting better with every book, can she? I shouldn't have doubted. This book is DARK and complex, but the characters are utterly believable and so are their interactions. Lothaire is unapologetically mean, rude and arrogant and when his fated Bride turns out to be an Appalachian girl from a trailer on a mountainside... Well, things get really interesting. ;) As you might expect, they have some big issues to work through and it's a verrry bumpy road.

I love that strong-willed Ellie is more than a match for the ancient Enemy of Old, and that he he doesn't undergo some magical transformation that totally changes his personality - if that had happened I wouldn't have been able to finish the book, or the series. Instead, Kresley Cole gives us a real insight into a being that most of the Lore despises and shows us what makes him tick. She's also written a unique heroine with a backbone of steel in Ellie Ann Peirce, one who made me laugh several times and I was cheering her on as she gave Lothaire as good as she got.

As for the final little surprises in the book, I'm not sure where they leave us in terms of the vampires, but I couldn't guess who Nix's HEA might be based on anything in Lothaire. No matter who it turns out to be, I'm sure Ms. Cole will give us another wonderful surprise.

I have read Lothaire 4 or 5 times and I know I'll read it again and again in the future. Lothaire is so sexy, dangerous, rich, and a vampire, what's not to like? Ellie is a sexy, smart mountain girl. He's thousands of years old, she's early twenties, and she makes him feel alive for the first time in, ever? Only problem is, before he got to know her, he took a vow to extinguish her soul, yikes. Don't worry though, they get their HEA. :)

Once again Kresley Cole and done an amazing job. I could not put Lothaire down, it was an amazing story. I was frustrated, annoyed, pissed and sad when I read this book. I loved, loved this book! I have to say it is now one of my faves of all time. Usually when an author writes about a big bad boy character I am disappointed when I get to his story, but I can sure tell you I am in absolute awe of Lothaire.

I found it really interesting to read Lothaire's PoV's. You get some insight as to what happened to him to make him the way he is, why he acts the way he does. I enjoyed the transformation from crazy to somewhat sane. I have never seen a transition like this before. With most authors one minute a character is one thing and the next they are another thing. Well not so with Lothaire, we actually see him go from crazy at the start of the book to sane by the end of the book. The best part of it all is that he is aware he is losing his mind and tries to hold it together so he doesn't hurt Elizabeth. Talk about inner struggle.

I loved the story line and how everything just happen to work out with his End Game. All things fall into place in a nice stack, with closer for some aspects of their lives. This was a book I did not want to end, I was enthralled!

Unlike a lot of people who have complained about the way Ellie was treated by Lothaire, I will say that I actually enjoyed the interaction between these two and Ms. Cole gave Ellie a grip of spark AND spunk! She could go toe-to-toe with Lothaire so this was not a concern to me at all. I also don't understand the comments about Stockholm Syndrome as Ellie was conflicted about Lothaire at least eighty percent of the novel. She loved him and could see herself falling in love with him but not *until* he apologized for all the wrongs he had committed against her so the Stockholm Syndrome claims just don't ring true.

Where I had issues and the major reason why I didn't give this novel five stars was despite the fantastic history and Ms. Cole's storytelling, there were definitely parts which I felt could have been edited out as they seemed to drag the novel down instead of moving it forward. I thought more emphasis could have been focused on Ellie and Lothaire and less on Soroya (one of THE MOST ANNOYING evil characters I have come across in a very long time), especially during the first 30% of the novel.

I am a voracious reader and although I write too, I devoured this novel in a couple of days. This was the first novel I have read in the IAD series but it sure won't be my last. I loved Ms. Cole's writing style and did I mention the sex scenes were hot, hot, hot? This was a great read and if anyone has a complaint about the price then wait until it is discounted to $7.99 for the Kindle version/paperback edition but any paranormal romance fan should definitely put this on their TBR list!

Kresley Cole serves up a slice of Appalachian pie in one of the most seductive and superbly written books in the Immortals After Dark series. A masterful chess match that has been brewing and has lead us to one of Lore's most powerful players and his Endgame. Everything we know and have learned has brought us to this deadly vampire's story. Centuries of pain and betrayal have molded the most feared and hated creature of Lore. We will learn his secrets and he will learn the meaning of happiness in the arms of a young woman torn from the heart of the Appalachians Mountains. Lothaire and Ellie's story will be as unpredictable as Nïx the Ever-Knowing's visions. You will never know what is about to happen until it happens and then be blind sighted by what finally occurs. White Queen allows Black King to see the truth in the most elaborate story to date within the series. Only when Lothaire is in check, will we be able to see the game unfold before our eyes. The Enemy of Old will be the one to call checkmate. Cole shows us once again that she is one of the preeminent masters of the paranormal realm.

I was over joyed with this book, never a dull moment, I was continuously blind sighted and was left wanting to know what was going to happen to Kristoff! By far Cole's most X-rated and tasty book! Lothaire will be the book to beat in 2012!

Another winner in the Immortals After Dark series! I couldn't wait to see how Ms. Cole would make Lothaire lovable. I mean come on - LOTHAIRE. The ultimate, manipulative, baddest of the truly bad guys - The Enemy of Old. Wooo. Well, she did it. She didn't exactly make him lovable to you or I - he's definitely not the kinda guy you'd fall for - but she made us understand how and why the heroine could come to really love him. One thing I liked about this addition was how appropriate the leading lady was for him. She wasn't a goody-goody who tried to reform him. She was a wily, hillbilly, death row inmate whose family was willing to bury the bodies of people she (oops) accidentally killed out behind the barn - perfect match made in the Lore!

The only reason I give this 4 instead of 5 stars is that some of the resolution of their relationship conflict at the end of the story was a tad predictable but it didn't really take away from the overall impact of the story.

All in all a great addition to the series. I can't wait for the next one!

Love it!!!! This book is Lothaire in all his glory - hot, sexy and badass. It is filled with so many laugh out loud One-Liners. His dry sense of humor and personality just won me over.

"Bullets annoy him"
"when another bullet plugged him in the back, he hissed over his shoulder, baring those fangs. "One - moment" he snapped"

I don't quite get why so many readers are bashing Lorthaire for how horribly he treated Elizabeth. Yes he was an A-hole to her in countless ways but I felt he redeemed himself in so many ways early on - not quite a jerk 95% of the book as some readers stated. Try not to judge him too harshly.

I mean he took her to see all the Wonders of the World, enjoyed every beach on the planet, bought her family not one but two god damn mountains. LOL

Elizabeth also got him back by laying claim to the fact that she was the only person to take down the mighty evil master with a near beheading.

It's a great book - read it!!!

I had such big hopes for this installment , I mean it is Lothaire after all. The beginning and end were entertaining but from 55%-80%ish I was....bored. I could have missed it because I was so easily distracted but quite convenient and anti climatic when El Dorada (sp?) shows and the use of the ring. I don't want to say too much for spoilers but I was looking so forward to the change and was like that's it?
On the other hand, this installment's steam was hotter than the rest. This of course does make up for the lack of story. Still the writing is fantastic enough to compensate. Oh well off to the next

I read a lot. I read all kinds of books and I have certainly read my share of romantic and/or erotic fiction. For years, I have had an on-going, mentally-annotated list of books I'd like to take w/ me into the Afterlife. Egyptian pharaohs took jewels and servants. I plan on bringing books with me and, provided they have some type of DVD players unto the Fade, some select Adam Lambert performance videos. Anyway, I digress. The books I will be bringing with me cut across genres. I'm not picky. I love a good story. If the story also contains a good, even heart-wrenchingly sad romance i.e. "The English Patient", I like it even more. A romance without a good, supporting story behind it usually fails to capture my attention. My favorite romances are the ones where people shouldn't be getting together but do even though it is often something neither one of them is looking for or wants or both. Two that come to mind immediately are "Simply Dangerous" by Mary Balogh & "Honey Moon" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

When I bought "Lothaire" @ Wal-Mart after a long, tiring shift @ work, I was looking for a couple hours of nothingness to help me unwind. What I found, instead, was a fun and emotionally engaging story. "Lothaire" has pretty much everything I love in a good romance: unconventional characters, a cleverly inventive story, well-used humor. Lothaire is a vampire, one of the oldest in existence, and he is not nice hence the appellation, Enemy of Old. He is an arrogant jerk and one wonders what the heroine sees in him but, as with all good romances, she sees the good in him and is willing to work with the rest. He stays in character. He is consistently drawn and executed & I love that about him. He is open-minded enough, somehow, after a very rough beginning to realize Ellie is really his Bride, his preordained romantic life partner. His intelligence, maybe, allows him to step back & think about what is really happening. Ellie is always herself and that is what, ultimately, draws Lothaire to her instead of to Saroya, the weird goddess who inhabits Ellie's body for a time. I often have a hard time with books that utilize too many supernatural beings. "Lothaire" could fall into that category but stops just short of it for me. While I can't believe too much crazy stuff, I can buy it up to a point if the story is good enough. Everything about this book works for me. I have since read other books by Kresley Cole in hopes of finding another "Afterlife Keeper" and, in particular, some of the other "Immortals After Dark" series but I disliked them. "Lothaire" succeeds for me where these other books failed because it has a page in reality i.e. Ellie is human and some of the book takes place in the "real" world. Maybe, the Valkyries really do live in Val Hall in Louisiana. In addition, I would also like to note that, the sex in "Lothaire" is way more erotic, in my opinion, than anything currently on the top of numerous bestseller lists but it totally fits within the framework of this relationship. It makes it more powerful.

I have tried three times now to write a coherent, objective review of this book, but the fact is that I am not objective about this book specifically or this series as a whole. I love each and every book, each and every character, and each and every plot wholly and unabashedly. Writing an objective review of LOTHAIRE has been like trying to explain to someone why I love a family member--of COURSE there are real, objective reasons, but I can't get past the gibberish "OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE" to explain.

Suffice it to say, this book is fabulous. Kresley Cole showed us in Dreams of a Dark Warrior (Immortals After Dark Series, Book 9) that she is the queen of redeeming seemingly irredeemable heroes, and Lothaire is even worse than Declan was. I alternated between wanting to slap him for how he treated Ellie and wanting to cuddle him and make his pain go away. As for Ellie, she's strong and smart, and a smart-ass, which is exactly what Lothaire needs in a woman. I finished the book in one delicious sitting--staying up far too late to do so--and have since gone back to savor some of my favorite passages. The sexytimes in LOTHAIRE are perhaps the best KC has written so far--Ellie & Lothaire's first sexual encounter rivals the bath scene in Demon from the Dark (Immortals After Dark Series, Book 8) in my book. And, through all that, neither Lothaire nor Ellie lose what makes them unique--Lothaire is still quite deliciously evil, as the cliff-hanger ending exemplifies.

Characters IAD fans have met and come to love in previous books show up here, most notably Nix the Ever-knowing, Proto-Valkerie and self-professed "manizer." Her interactions with Lothaire are just wonderful, and let us see into her character and his. Thad, the young half-vamp from DoaDW is back with a vengeance, and the Hag we first met in Kiss of a Demon King (Immortals After Dark, Book 6) is a main character as well. I can't wait to read all three of their books!

In short: READ THIS SERIES. Then, READ THIS BOOK. I cannot stress this enough. If you are at all a fan of paranormal, urban fantasy, romance, or even well-plotted series in general (holy cow KC is playing a long game! It's quite Jim Butcher-esque, in its way) READ THIS SERIES.

Thus ends my "review."

A friend recommended this story to me because she knows my love for dickish alphas and Lothaire did not disappoint. At the same time I love a strong female lead that can hold her own and Elizabeth was a delightful surprise because she broke stereotypical female molds that I've come to expect from this genre. Would recommend if you love dark romance laced with comedy.

One of my favorites in the series. Lothaire is cocky, conceited, and hilarious (though that may not be intentional). Elizabeth is determined and stubborn, a little mountain country girl with a mouth. I loved how this story progressed and how it intertwined with the other stories. There's a part with Nix that was absolutely my favorite scene out of all of the series so far.

I LOVED Lothaire...err the book...not the man...but he was pretty darn entertaining. I traced...err raced right through this book. I didn't want to put it down; didn't want to sleep and was even late for work as I tried to fit in a few minutes of reading in the morning (and that never happens!).

Lothaire: the Enemy of Old; the most feared and powerful Vampire in the universe; an arrogant, self-important, sarcastic in spades S.O.B. that ever lived. I preferred Elizabeth's nickname for him Leo...how cute!

Elizabeth: a backwoods babe; a virginal, barefoot hillbilly from the Appalachian mountains. How was this mere mortal going to hold her own against such a strong and powerful Vamp?

How? How? How was Kresley Cole going to pull off this pairing? It was either going to be a match made in heaven or hell.

Well if anyone was up for the challenge, it was certainly Elizabeth Peirce. For Lothaire to lower himself to deal with this mortal, white trailer trash was unthinkable and despicable, but he needed the human vessel currently housing his Bride Saroya and he couldn't harm her. The big guy was kinda caught between a rock and a hard place. Ellie took full advantage of her situation. Poking, prodding and challenging Lothaire at every turn to outwit, outlast and out think him in her ultimate game of Survivor because if Lothaire succeeded in his quest for the ring...her game would end permanently.

I laughed out loud many times during the reading of Lothaire. I smiled, I cursed Lothaire and his arrogance and cheered on Elizabeth as she used her wiles and cunning on the Vamp. I could have quoted funny lines from this book all day. Elizabeth took Lothaire's snide remarks (mostly about her heritage) in stride, gave as good as she got and on more than one occasion caused the Enemy of Old to use his walls as a punching bag.

Add in the great supporting cast of Hag and cutie-patootie Thad and the Nucking Futs Nix and it all added up to a fantastic read. I especially loved the little heart-to-heart between Nix and Lothaire. Two sworn adversaries watching each other's back...ahhhhhh perfection.

Whose book is next...so many choices. Isn't it about time Nix got her HEA? Guess we'll all just have to wait and see what Ms. Cole has in store for her Immortals After Dark.

The Immortals After Dark series is my favorite romance series of all time, and I was very impressed and entertained by this latest installment in the series. This book was addictive. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about what the heck was going to happen next. Ellie Peirce was a fantastic heroine who I quickly grew to love. Before I read the book, I was not that enthused about Lothaire's character getting his own book, but Kresley Cole did it again! Lothaire was hot, intelligent, and had a fascinating backstory. Just like Ellie, sometimes I loved Lothaire and sometimes I hated him, but he was a great character. If you like this series, you've got to read this book! It had great action, hilarious moments, and really serious moments - just what you expect from Kresley Cole. Also, there were a few revelations about Nix!! Two thumbs up!

When you talk about LOVING a jerk!! Swoon for Lothaire. He is such a butt and that is why I love him. This book delves into this mysterious guy, we have been hating fo this entire series. He finally has met his match and it is awesome. I would suggest starting for the beginning and working you way up to this puppy. This is probably my favorite series of all time. Never will you meet stronger women and learn more about the power of fate, than with this series.

UPDATE REVIEW: After a second re-read I must say that I have grown to love this book more than when I originally read it. I recognize now things about Ellie and Lothaire that I could not see before because I was waiting for some AWESOME adventure as it has been with most IAD stories. But upon re-reading in preparation for MacReive, I can see that the true awesome adventure in this story was for Lothaire to actually care about someone, something else, besides his endgame, to become more than the Enemy of Old. Before Ellie, it was his single minded goal, ruling everything about his life. After Ellie he just could not cope with the change. With this mindset, more of his actions make sense to me now then did on the first read and I still love Ellie, now even more. The human connection that bothered me so much the first time is glaringly obvious to me now as well. What could be the most difficult thing for Lothaire to accept and not just with his bride but with his extended family and Sunday NASCAR, a life with forever "humans". I get it now. I totally get it. It really is the best way to show Lothaire's character growth and how much he really does cherish his bride.

Firstly let me say that I love Kresely Cole, she is my favorite paranormal author and will always be. I have read and reread every single book she has written at least 10 times. I love her writing style, I love her stories, I love her characters, her humor, her kick ass females but what I love most is that I get a page turning, well written adventure that literally sucks me in, along with my mushy, girly romance. Most of her books would make GREAT movies because the adventure is sometimes better than the romance. While this book will not deter me from impatiently awaiting the next installment, this will not likely be a book I read and re-read because I developed a connection with the characters like I have with her past books.

That being said, I like Ellie. I like Lothaire. Their back stories are great. But what this book lacks is the adventure. This book centers around the romance, or better yet, concentrates on shocking me with sex, which though a tad more graphic than past books is still hot. Many reviewers have said they could not fall in love with Lothaire, all they see is his mistreatment of Ellie, the Stockholm Syndrome, which I actually did not mind, the Psychology major suffers from a psychology problem, it's just par for the course and kind of funny really. But the real lack of connection comes from the fact there is no adventure they are on together, no the store, no jungle, no journey, no Hie contests, no real interaction between the hero and the heroine, they have no common goal. In fact their goals are completely separate and independent. Ellie is stuck in a room, or with Hag, trying to survive, while Lothaire goes off to find his ring to win his kingdoms back. There is little interaction between them besides the sex, no moments besides the abuse, no trials or tribulations, no interaction for you to develop some sort of connections or even angst that they may not like each other at all, just sex, arguments that lead to sex or are a result of sex and backstories. They don't learn about each other, they don't go through anything together, they just have sex and use each other for independent goals. Oh and Ellie uses him just as much as he uses her.

This left me feeling as though this book was a bridge book, a book to get you the details you need to understand the past story gaps, tie up loose ends and new hints at what you will need for the future books or to pique your interest in upcoming stories. This also leaves me feeling that Lothaire got gipped. Bridge books, while great because you get details, are lacking because the characters take a back seat to the details. Lothaire is a huge character in this series, he has appeared in just about every book, being built up, like Nix or Furie, to be one amazing story. It just falls flat in that respect. It's kind of hard to explain because I actually like the characters in this book, the new ones and the old ones. I liked the details too. But I loved the Nix /Lothaire story more than Ellie/Lothaire story. I felt much more for him through his interactions with Nix than I did for his relationship with Ellie because there actually WAS some.

(spoiler sort of) I didn't like human aspect of this book, it's really the first time there is any major human interaction between worlds and I prefer them to be wholly separate. I thought it kind of stupid and trite that he wins Ellie be saving her human family, whom are barely ever even mentioned in the book at all. And it seems as though will continue to have some sort of presence in future books. Hillbillys and vampires vacationing together? Weird.

I didn't like how Soraya, La Dorada, the ring, the Dacian vamps, were just all wrapped up with no danger, no drama, no challenge, they just abruptly became non issues. When La Dorada had such a HUGE impact in DOADW, her appearance here was so dismal. All those debts Lothaire wracked up over his lifetime, specifically Rydsrom and Sabines fear of losing their first born, just vanquished in one page of dialogue because the human outwitted a thousand year old QUEEN of evil? Nah. Rumplestiltskin? Hilarious! Trailer park, Wife beater attire? Hilarious. Camo baseball cap? Hilarious.

Oh and a big bang moment of the revealing of who Lothaire's Uncle REALLY is?? Wow! That was just thrown in there at the end and that is sort of a huge revelation for some of the past characters. Vampires change names when they become kings? Where did that come from? Commander Webb? Antoher thrown in there aspect. Bridge book I tell you, it's a bridge book.

But in the end, I felt as though I was just being told a story and not really being led to experience the story. There was no reading between the lines, no thinking about motives, no real character vulnerability, it was just laid out for me, nice and simple, no drama, no angst, no frills. I would imagine it is really hard to write the huge character stories, similar to how Acheron in Kenyon's Dark Hunter Series was missing someting in the present day part of the story, there was just something missing. Even though you love the characters and the stories at face value, the depth is just too hard to develop and maintain it seems for characters of this magnitude. It's not a bad book per se, just slightly lacking and different from her earlier books in this series. Her lacking books are still a zillion times better than most paranormal authors great books. Kresely is still my fav......

I am a huge fan of Kresley Cole's IAD series and Lothaire book didnt disappoint. There was a lot of back story about him, which I enjoyed reading. Lothaire is a villain and I like that his character stay true but at the same time was not truly evil. I loved that the Ellie was a hill billy girl she came across strong and sweet. I found this book funny and sexy and cannot wait till the next book comes out. The only thing that I have to warn is that there are mentions of other characters like the Valkyries and witches but there not really in this book till the last few hundred pages which are hilarious. ******Spoiler..... Lothaire in a wife beater shirt...omg I loved that whole scene. Anyway the questions that still remain.. Who are Uilleam and Munro MacRieve mates? Where is Furie? Who's King Kristoff bride? Who's the Hags demon lover? And whos NIx going to end up with?? Agh when will the next one be released?

No matter what Kresley writes, I (and my husband)are hooked! Lothaire was a wonderful installment (and sadly the last in the Immortals after Dark series :( ) She brings her characters to life in each and every one of her books. You can't help but feel for Elizabeth for all she has been through, hating Lothaire at times but loving him the next. She stays true to Lothaire's character no matter how terrible Kresley must feel for making him so cruel to Elizabeth. I loved seeing more into Lothaire's past, the reasons what made him what he is today. You feel bad for Lothaire. So I am glad he has finally found someone who will love him, to change him, if only a little as he is still Lothaire and Elizabeth likes it when he is 'a little bad' (hehe). For anyone planning on getting this book, You will NOT be disappointed.

I love Lothaire...........I know many people were angry with him for his behavior in this novel but I am confused as to why. He acted like he has for over a thousand years. He is not some sweet man looking for love. He is a vampire who is close to becoming insane looking for power. He is caught up in his revenge and his bitterness. I still loved him. His bride annoyed me. I can't help it. She was great on so many levels but she was just too white trash. Like Kresley Cole wanted to go out of her way to show us how white trash she was. I don't know her NASCAR reference just irritated me. I liked her enough that I found their pairing believable but just wish she tones down the white trash in the future. If you have followed the story until this one I say buy it..........read it.........continue with the world. I love Kresley Cole and I love her world.

I LOVE the IAD and highly recommend it. I have read every book Kresley has written, I think it's official, she is my favorite author and I would never say that lightly, I love to read. Way to go Kresley : )

I COULD NOT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK!! I loved Lothaire and couldn't wait until he found his woman!! LOVED EVERY PAGE, had me begging for me.

I actually started my reading of the IAD with this book. So as a stand alone, you could do it even though it is no where near being the first installment. I really enjoyed it. Even thought Lothaire is the bad guy of all bad guys, I actually rooted for him all the way through the novel. I loved how his sweet bride to be chipped at him and made her way into his heart. Great story. Great characters. Great plot.

This was much better on my second read. I think if you read this without being fully immersed in the story universe it would be very difficult to get through. After refreshing my Immortals After Dark exposure, I was able to really get into this story and how it fits into all the other story lines.

1st & foremost, its too long, various stories here n' there. Its definitely not the best paranormal RN ive read, but its such an oddball story - a virginal, naive, hillybilly falling for a supposedly ruthless, old-aged vampire, that wants her soul to reclaim his throne, only to find that she's "the one." So oddball that i felt compelled to finish it. The ending was like, "that's it?!?" Author didnt need an epilogue, it was fine ending at Ch.60. You'll either like this book or not, & if you observe the stars, there's definite - MIXED REVIEWS. So, i chose 3 stars, 50 to 50 sentiment. It was ok, not sure if i want to read other KC books, this was my 1st from this author, not too impressed compared to the other fav parnormal novelist, Nalini Singh. NOW her writing is A+!

There are only a few select authors I consider to be like crack with their series. JR Ward is my #1 crack. Kresley Cole comes in a very close second. Kresley's Immortals after Dark series is very addicting and she writes characters who walk a very fine line in regards to morals. Her heroes and heroine are fierce warriors who will fight to the death to survive or get what they feel they. The majority of these supernatural characters are close to losing their minds because they've been alive for so long and must constantly be on their toes in case they're decapitated or tortured horribly by their adversaries.

Lothaire is one character who Kresley's fans had been anxious for to be the star of his own book. He made quite the splash in the last book, Dreams of a Dark Warrior and almost took over the story. Now Lothaire is the only character who not only has been given hard cover status (at $25.00 a pop) but the only title as the character's name in this entire series. I recommend you go back and read all prior books before this one because you'll understand the world and why Lothaire acts the way he does. You also may end up hating Lothaire for what he does to the heroine, human, Elizabeth "Ellie" Peirce during the course of this story.

Lothaire is a very complicated character. You will either love him or hate him. The majority of the time I couldn't stand him. He reminded me so much of another egotistical, cruel and harsh immortal man I fondly call Le Douche concerning Karen Marie Moning's Jerricho Barrons from her immensely popular Fever series. I despise Barrons le Douche with everything I have inside of me. Lothaire for most of this book was channeling Le Douche and Kresley barely made him redeemable by the end. But Kresley is a very sly wench of an author and does something amazing based on her epilogues.

The epilogue to Lothaire is the best one she has written in all her IAD books. She gives us insight on the main character before they become this heartless, and in most cases, ruthless killer. The start of Lothaire shows Lothaire at eight years old and not yet a vampire. Lothaire will become a vampire by the time he's in his early thirties, but as an eight year old he's a typical boy who enjoys puzzles and adores his puppy. His mother is a proud queen of the Daci race, another type of vampire, and Lothaire is meant to take over the crown there and become the Daci king. Unfortunately his father is a cruel bastard who throws Lothaire and his mother, Ivana out into the snow.

And based on this small excerpt about the fate of Lothaire's puppy, I teared up. This is something I never done while reading an epilogue. *shakes fist at Kresley*

"Lothaire's puppy had followed him, wide-eyed and tripping over its own paws, panicked to catch up with him. While Lothaire stared in disbelief, Stefanovich (Lothaire's father) had seized the dog by is scruff, snapping its back."

This description stuck with me throughout the entire novel, showing what horrors Lothaire went through from his mother being raped and killed, to him being buried underground for 600 years, to being left alone and transforming into a vindictive, vengeful killer. Based on Lothaire's love for his puppy and revenge for this mother, I kept that in back of mine and excused most of his behavior. And since Lothaire is thousands of years old, the way he reacts to things can be excused to a certain point.

Lothaire wants to rule every kingdom he can get his hand on in the Lore, as well as Dacia. In order to do that he needs an immortal bride. Her name is Saroya, a goddess who has been cursed and takes over human bodies. Lothaire meets Saroya, while in the body of the teenage, Ellie Peirce, who is poor white trash and lives with her family in the Appalachian Mountains. From that moment on, Lothaire comes to the conclusion that Saroya is his bride because of the way his body reacts to her. He will free Saroya from her mortal bonds and they'll rule together. In order to do this, Lothaire must find a special ring that grants wishes. Until then, Lothaire wants Saroya to remain safe and treat the body she's in as a temple. This is unfortunate for Ellie, who blacks out thanks to Saroya and ends up on death row because Saroya goes on a bloody rampage. Ellie is stuck in prison for five years, hoping she's given the needle because she feels her life has been destroyed. But Lothaire saves her right when she's about to die by lethal injection and imprisons her in his penthouse in New York City.

Lothaire is cruel to Ellie because he thinks Saroya is his mate and only worthy of him. Ellie doesn't cower in fear and refuses to be a victim, knowing she has less than a month until Lothaire is able to unlock the solution to breaking Saroya's curse. Ellie is ready to go down in flames, but wants to enjoy herself before she's snuffed out by Lothaire. She drives him up the wall, by seducing him with her virgin, redneck temptress body Lothaire wants to eat up. Lothaire hasn't had sex in thousands of years and since he's mighty fine to look at, Ellie will use him and hopefully make him like her so he will forget Saroya.

It's a battle of wills between Lothaire and Ellie and soon Lothaire is confused and annoyed because Ellie has broken through his defenses. She questions his reason for things, such as his endgame he's obsessed in accomplishing. But after he does complete his endgame, he has nothing else to look forward to. And the times Saroya appears, he grows annoyed with her because he's failing for Ellie. So is Ellie his bride or is Saroya? And if Ellie is his true bride, he loses everything because his oracle and his advisory and sometimes friend, the loopy and close to deranged Valkerie Nix, says he can only be king if he has Saroya as his bride.

Lothaire is an intense, character driven book about a battle of wits between two people who have nothing to lose. Ellie should be rocking a corner and twitching from everything she has endured. But her mind never breaks. She may just be my favorite Kresley heroine up to this point because she takes on Lothaire, the bad ass vampire king of old and is willing to get burned because it feels so good.

Watching Lothaire fall for Ellie is a riot. Lothaire comes across as adorable more than a few times, along with being a douche. The adorable times outweighed his douchey times, especially when he watches Ellie while he's invisible and expects her to start crying when she can't escape his penthouse. She doesn't and Lothaire's very analytical mind is thrown off center because half the time he can't figure out what Ellie is going to do next. She keeps him on his toes and the law and order he has created is now in chaos. Lothaire has a bad case of OCD and Ellie is the only medication that can keep him sane.

Readers may have a big issue because Lothaire never really grovels and begs for Ellie's forgiveness. He's one stubborn SOB you want to shake. He also acts immature at certain points, sending Ellie his heart (literally) in a box because of something she did that hurt him. Her response is a big awesome FU back to him that will make you stand up and applaud. Ellie has balls and she's not afraid to use them.

The foreplay and sex here could melt an egg on the hot pavement. Some of the best love scenes Kresley have written are here and they're all very naughty and OMG give me more! I feel as if Lothaire is Kresley's own endgame of sorts. She's closing more than a few open plot lines while introducing new ones. We gain some big insight on Lothaire and Nix's relationship that's a very tender one, as well as a big spoiler about Lothaire's family. When we're introduced to Lothaire's brother on the last page, it totes of awesome because he's one character whose story I've been waiting for since the very beginning, including his heroine who has never appeared on any page, but is the most tortured of any characters in this series.

I've said I many times before, I bow down at the altar of Kresley Cole. Even though I wanted to smack Lothaire more than a few times and I wished Ellie would have cut off a certain part of his anatomy for being mean to her, I was lost in this book and hungry for more. Lothaire is the ultimate feast for any reader and had me begging for more scraps.

Thank you Kresley for writing another entertaining book that has me anxious for the next one. I even forgive you for the way Lothaire's puppy was disregarded, while I both cursed you, as well as sighed over everything you've written. Lothaire engaged me in ways I never expected.

Katiebabs

I have read many paranormal romances. Often times when the author hits mid series the books tend to get dull or all the Heroes and heroine start to read the same. The series in essence, starts to lose its legs. This is NOT an issue in the IAD series thank God! KC,is one of the best author's out there when it comes down to balancing character development while advancing a story line. (JR Ward should take note). I won't summarize the story since others have done a brilliant job already. What I want to share with avid IAD readers is that Lothaire's book stays focused on the romance while effectively advancing the plot of the IAD lexicon (the ascension, ultimate battle). New revelations (some very surprising, will have you salivating for the next book. And the ending? brilliant! Good job KC! I'm still hooked!

Lothaire is one of the books that was greatly anticipated by many. His character is one of great importance to the series and I myself was counting down the days to when I could finally read his story. What I loved most about this book was the opportunity to learn more about his background. From the blurb above you can see that getting revenge is a big part of Lothaire's life. Right at the beginning of the story we learn why. He was the son of individuals who were a part of two very powerful vampire factions and in some ways he felt betrayed by both. His need for revenge is so strong that it's all that matters to him and for as long as he could he prepared himself for the day when he could make those that betrayed him suffer. In order to do that he must first unite with his Bride, his true mate that will help him obtain what he wishes the most. But doing that isn't so easy because his Bride is an immortal that has been cursed to live in a mortal body, the body of one Elizabeth Peirce. He must cast out Elizabeth's soul from her body first but what he doesn't anticipate is how attracted he is to Elizabeth. She's so different from all of the other people that he has ever dealt with and fights his feelings for her because she is human. Elizabeth fights Lothaire at every opportunity that she can get. Lothaire constantly reminds her that she's nothing but trailer trash and a mere human. But the one thing that Lothaire doesn't expect from her is whatever he dishes at her, she can take it. He learns so much from Elizabeth that he himself is shocked and it's shocking to see him realize this. His arrogance continues but his feelings begin to soften for her when he realizes that she may just be what he has needed all along.

What I love so much about Lothaire is that he does and says what he wants. He knows that he's desirable, strong, and has acquired many enemies over the years because he is fearless. He's proud to be called Enemy Of Old and almost wears it as a badge of honor. Because of his arrogance he totally underestimates Elizabeth and I loved when she managed to outsmart or outwit him. Yes there are times when I wanted to reach through the book and shake him, but he truly is one of the most entertaining characters that I have read. When first reading about Elizabeth's character I wasn't that impressed with her. But I have to say she grew on me as I continued to read. Her feelings toward the important things in life struck a chord with me with me just as it did Lothaire. Having happiness in ones life is truly important and I'm so glad that Lothaire realized it before it was too late.

I. Love.This. Series! It is truly unique, fresh, exciting, and just keeps getting better. It was the very first PNR series that I read and continues to set an example of excellence. Kresley Cole has a great way of infusing her characters with so many different emotions that it makes her readers care for them and crave more of their books. The characters are truly unforgettable and I am so happy to have finally gotten the chance to know Lothaire better. Along with Nix, they are my favorite characters of the series and I'm anxiously awaiting for the next installment of the series to see what the characters will be experiencing next!

The main reason this is only 4 stars when so many IAD fans have it at five is because it took me 2 go's to get into it. I gave up the first time because I felt it was really slow going & just the same as the previous books.
I am so glad I went back to it. Once I got past about 25% I got totally into it & flew through it.
Ellie is a fantastic heroine as most of Cole's tend to be. I love her feistiness.
But I think my absolute favorite part was the conversation between Lothaire & Nix.....EPIC.
I have no clue who's book is next but I am already looking forward to it and can't wait to see where the overall Arc progress's to next.
Though I will be honest I am ready to see an end to this series in regard to the ascension.

I must confess every time Lothaire was mentioned in previous books i would wait desperately to see what becomes of him, for some reason always had a feeling he was much more than his brooding arrogant persona. And boy was I satisfied, could't have asked for a better story. This had much more depth than I had anticipated. KC has done a great job with this badass vampire king who had no feeling of what so ever until he met his bride. I can't wait for the Nix to find her calling. The friendship between Nix and lothaire was always so touching and tender, loved their confrontation. So far my second favorite book after Demon from the dark. Go for this book if you want a resistant bride unwilling to be a bound by the most evil and powerful vampire in the Lore.

This review contains SPOILERS!!!!!!!

A lot of people have done wonderful jobs explaining the plot so I won't bother. I just wanted to warn some people that there are some sketchy sex scenes in this book. I wouldn't go so far as to call it rape, but I couldn't help feeling VERY uncomfortable for Ellie. From her perspective (and mine), there was a constant question of whether she could sexually please Lothaire or not. If not, then GAMEOVER, she would die. This happened for over half of the book. I thought his behavior would change once he realized that she was his bride, but was disappointed. As always, Kresley Cole's books are entertaining, and very funny. I just think that she should have softened Lothaire early on (at least when it comes to his bride).

This book was not the epic I thought it would be, and although it was passable I didn't think it was even as good as the "regular" books. Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Acheron", which was the same type of anticipated reveal of a shadowy figure lurking in the other books, was far and away better than her regular entries (which frankly wasn't hard, as they got so bad I stopped reading them), and delivered a deep, powerful punch that did proper homage to the character. Not so in the much-anticipated "Lothaire", which was lightweight in scope and gave only tantalizing bits of the awesomeness we know Kresley Cole can come up with. His backstory could have been embroidered much more richly and we would have had far more sympathy for him if the story had dwelt more on pathos for his maddened condition and less on his obsession with killing Ellie in favour of the evil goddess. As others have described, there was something out of synch with their romance, possibly due to the fact that he spent most of the time abhoring her social status and she spent that time prostituting herself to evil in order to escape death. It's not really very romantic when your lover despises you as a hillbilly for ninety percent of your courtship. That part should have been "gotten over" by him much more quickly than it did. Ellie was a great and original character but even she wouldn't have put up with being disdained and used continually.

There weren't enough of those scenes that we love - interaction with other Loreans - and Lothaire's contact with the Dacians was disappointingly minimal and unexplored. I would have loved to have his Dacian bretheren do what Nix did and reveal that they had more regard for him that he imagined; it needed that extra layer of emotional pull which was lacking in the romance itself. Lothaire needed a more complex and satisfying redemption than he got. Even though he did get some hilarious one-liners, he just wasn't all that and a bag of chips, which he deserves to be. But I still love this series and look forward to the next installment.

Lothaire comes to find his Bride, a goddess of death, is trapped inside the body of a mortal woman named Elizabeth Pierce. His Bride is most certainly the violent goddess, because there is no way, absolutely no way, nope, that his Bride is a mere mortal. No. Way.

And now he keeps Elizabeth imprisoned until he can find the ring that will rid Elizabeth's body of her soul and let the goddess take over. Because she is definitely his Bride. Not the human.

As he searches, Elizabeth is driving him up the wall. She's smart and never backs down. He finds himself lusting for her. And she calms some of the madness. But it's residual! The way she affects him is because she hosts his Bride. Not because she is his Bride. Never that.

Lothaire, the Enemy of Old, will have his Bride. His Bride is NOT Elizabeth Pierce.

Getting a glimpse of how Lothaire's brain works was a whole lot of fun. He acts selfish, violent, and a bit insane. But once you read this book and get inside his head, you will come to find that Lothaire actually is selfish, violent, and a bit insane. He truly is. He is also sexy as hell.

Kresley you have once again managed to captivate my interest!!...I know that everyone has their own opinion of how good or bad Lothaire's story was but in my own words I would like to say .." It Was Fantastic" !!...
Lothaire aka Enemy of Old, you couldn't have paired him up with a better Love Interest!.I was a bit hesitant of how Ellie the Hill-Billy was going to play out in the story, but came to realize she was perfect.
A Royal Imperfection is what their relationship Is..ha,ha,ha.
So very happy you brought the Valkries back and Nix!!..omg! How can anyone not love her!!..
Thank you sooo much for sharing such your Imagination with your fans. I gladly look forward to much more of your work!!

I preferred some of her other books. This one was good, but it had a LOT of violence. Gruesome violence. The hero was definitely the BAD guy. I felt like it was a bit of a stretch that the heroine forgave the hero so easily. Human sees vampire pull out someone's spine, is treated like trash by him, then easily moves on to living happily ever after.

It was an enjoyable lusty-type story, but the romance piece just seemed a stretch because of how evil and violent the hero was.

Lothaire the Enemy of Old is by far my favorite villain in all of PNR and UF. He's sarcastic, funny, sexy, and sinister and seems to have no conscience whatsoever. He is pure unrepentant evil and I love him for it. In a world of heroes, Lothaire was the quickest to cut those heroes down and make their loved ones beg for mercy knowing that he would never give mercy to anyone. There had to be some serious issues in his past to turn him into a stone-cold killing machine and I couldn't wait to dive into his world. Lothaire was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I loved every minute of it.

It was fun getting into Lothaire's mindset. I'm sure that Kresley Cole had a great time writing him. All of those in the Lore are bloodthirsty but Lothaire operates on a different level. He's calculating, strategic, driven and nothing will stop him from punishing those who have wronged him in the past. He will reach his endgame if it kills him; or drives him even more insane. We learned in a prior book that he had a Bride. Finally we get to learn what kind of woman it takes to make a cruel man like Lothaire fall in love. I was worried that finding his Bride would make him soft. I'm sure it's hard to take the most feared man in the Lore and make him lovable but honestly I loved his psychotic, sexy ass just the way he was. Then again, I'm a little sick and twisted myself.

Ellie Pierce is a backwoods, mortal county girl from Appalachia. She has lived in poverty her whole life but has a supportive and loving family that would even bury bodies for her if she went off the deep end and starting slaughtering people for no reason. Turns out Ellie has been inhabited by Soroya, who Ellie believes to be a demon. Soroya is actually a Goddess and the one Lothaire believes is his Bride. She is everything he needs to fulfill his endgame and be even more respected and feared. Only a Goddess like Soroya is good enough for Lothaire. He will do anything in his power to have what is rightfully his; nothing or no one will stand in his way especially not a young, mortal hillbilly. Little does he know that fate is a fickle thing and karma affects everyone; even those in the Lore.

I really enjoyed this book. There were so many moments that were laugh out loud funny for me. Lothaire is such a narcissistic ass which makes him very amusing. It was fun to see a little redneck girl throw him for a loop. As with the other books in the Immortals After Dark series, Lothaire was super smexy and had lots of action. I loved the scenes between Lothaire and Nix and can't wait for her to get her HEA. It was also fun to see the Valkyrie's interact with Ellie. Everytime Regin is on the page I'm laughing; gave a very dark, gritty book some much needed lighthearted humor. I'm glad that we got to see more of Thad, he is sooo swoonworthy and his interactions with Lothaire are priceless. I hope we get more of the halfing in future books. Most importantly, I'm thrilled that Kresley didn't take away from Lothaire's bloodthirsty personality by giving him his fated female. Lothaire is different but he is the Enemy of Old and nothing will ever change that. Can't wait to see what happens next!

I listened to this book on Audible audio books because my eye sight is not as good as it use to be. This is my first time reading or listening to anything by this author, I truly enjoyed this book. Elizabeth might have been country as hell, but she gave as good as she got. She wasn't a punk even though she got scared at times, she kept an open mind, quick wits and if it don't work this way lets try a different way attitude. I liked how she just slip the name Leo in there on him and stood up to him. I loved Leo with his old ways and dominate attitude but he learned how to change and complemise. The sex is great, she was a 24 yr old virgin which was super good but knew what she liked and he taught her new things.

This has got to be my favorite out of the series by far. Lothaire has always been an intriguing character in my opinion, and to have his back story, WOW. I loved this book through its entirety and so pleased and Ms. Cole has yet to fail me in my opinion of her, and the love I have of her books. If you want to see a different side of Lothaire the Enemy of Old, I suggest you read this book.

Lothaire, is the enemy of Old, the number one bad guy in the book. He has never claimed he was good, nor does he want to be good. It's just who he is. But Yet he had managed to Win the heart of the his mate, through all his hatred and Jerkiness attitude.

This is the only IAD book that just didn't work for me. I was very excited to read this book, but wow what a let down. The idea that Lothaire's bride would be a goddess was very intriguing. I don't blame him for initially being disappointed in it being only Ellie, a girl who talks like Spongebob's friend Sandy Cheeks.
So Lothaire is a 3 thousand year old immortal who is so old and wise he gives advice to the other immortals, and you're telling me he needs to get advice from a woman who thinks she's a genius because she's not a teen mom like all her friends, and like her mother and grandmother before her(what they don't sell birth control on that mountain?), who's dream job is to work at Walmart, and who never even left her mountain until she went to prison. Give me a break.
Ellie and her family are silly stereotypes that no longer fit reality. According to the US Dept of Labor the average starting salary for a coal miner in West Virginia is $85,000, an experienced worker makes between $115,000 - $145,000 a year. Ellie's family has more than 4 experienced workers in her household, so why the heck are they so broke? Are they spending all their money on alcohol or drugs? The impoverished coal miner story may have been true many years ago but now makes no sense. If you're writing a book a little research wouldn't go amiss, at least then the book would make sense. All that nonsense of her getting her strength from the land was just silly. Ellie and her family didn't care when other people were murdered, they just covered for her and hid the bodies, why should I care if any of them died?
This is book 12 in the series and although there is talk of something big brewing, other than random people hooking up there is no real story to this series. This is Book 12 but it can be read as a standalone and you would be able to follow the events in the book. If you read this as a standalone you may like this better than I did because there's no expectations to let you down.

Kresley Cole has always been my favorite paranormal romance author. Her books are well-written, richly imagined, hot as all get out, and a pleasure to read. With "Lothaire", Cole has taken her series to a whole new level. This book is outstanding! One of the things I've always liked about her books is that the "hero" recognizes his love from the beginning and spends much of the book convincing her that they are meant for each other. That's always been my favorite type of romance. So... at first, Lothaire was a little hard to read. I literally cringed at the way he treated Ellie. But that was because he didn't know she was his bride. Instead, Lothaire saw Ellie as an inconvenient obstacle who stood in the way (or, in this case, the body) of what he wanted. He wasn't very nice, but just like Ellie, I came to love him anyway. Ellie was the perfect mate for him. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't see Ellie as weak at all. She cleverly played the only card she had, and she won. And Lothaire, for all of his faults, was a prize worth winning. I don't understand reviewers who complain that he never really apologized to Ellie. He was willing to die for her - more than once!

This was such a great story, that it's been hard for me to move on to a new book. I just can't find anything that draws me in and holds me in its world the way this did. I suffered, I laughed, I cried, and I loved. What more can you ask for?

I always have a bit of a hard time with the first couple of chapter of any book. This was no exception, however the rest, was an absolute page turner.
Lothaire is not a "hero" he is well..Lothaire. The story of the Bride-Vamp in this book is also different, this is not a Love at first sight, compulsion.
Lothaire is abusive and cruel to Ellie. Her Character, Ellie is wonderful, she is sassy, foul mouth, thick skinned hill billie. She is just what he needs.
She confronts him, but also learns to understand him. He is obtuse and arrogant, but realizes the error of his way.

This book has very steamy scenes, nothing new of course for KC fans.

This book was worth the wait...
I loved loved loved this book, perfect, sexy, romantic, so very well constructed, I am in awe, the book was great.
Big surprises? Emmaline being related to lothaire since King Demestrius (Emma's dad) was brothers with king
Stefanovich (lotharie's dad), and kristoffs being lotaires brother.
Once again Nix and Regin cracked me up, I just can't get enough of them.
I keep wondering what's gonna happen to Rydstrom and Sabine since they were in that "lothaire's list" now owned by La Dorada and also, whatever happened to melanthe and the bird boy?
Webb coming back as an immortal is also intriguing.
Kresley Cole I want more!

I didn't really see how Kresley Cole was going to make Lothaire a character you could really get behind. It seemed an impossible task, but I have to say she did it. I loved him, and she still left him very much the person that he started out to be. This book is an impressive accomplishment. I had gotten a little burned out with the last couple of books, but this on has me very much looking forward to the next installment - and reading the last book to see what I missed. If I had one single nitpick it would be the hillbilly aspect. I'm from the South - what's to diss about KMart? Some of my best clothes come from there!

I have loved and read all of Kresley Cole's Immortals after Dark series. I believe her and J.R. Ward are the BEST at paranormal romance. I read a lot of PNR, so I would know. I don't write a lot of reviews, but I felt compelled to write one for this work of art. Yes, it's that good. I've read it twice now. I devoured it the first time, the second time I slowed down my pace so I could appreciate it even more. Cole is such a fantastic writer. She really brings her characters to life. And Lothaire, the Enemy of Old, has to be the most interesting. We've seen all kinds of sides to Lothaire before, but we find even more in this novel. Ellie was the best part for me. SHE was unexpected. And that was the whole point, wasn't it? She was the sucker punch we never saw coming. The story line really never stops, it keeps you anticipating and then, towards the end, it twists and then it turns. And then it twists again. I really had high hopes for Lothaire's book. Kresley Cole has exceeded all my expectations. I look forward to reading the first Dacian novel and then getting back to the IAD series. I think I'll have to put in for some time off work after those release dates! Maybe we should petition Congress to make them national holidays?

Lothaire, the Enemy of Old, is one determined vampire and is, totally, focused on his "endgame". Lothaire seeks to rule the Horde vampires, but before that can happen, he must aid the being whom he thinks is his mate, Saroya. Saroya, the vampire goddess, has been cursed to only possess humans and has no body truly her own. Lothaire intends to turn Elizabeth "Ellie" Peirce, the human Saroya has possessed, and get rid of her spirit, so that Saroya can have her body all to herself. Before Lothaire can do this, he has many things to do, such as obtain a magical ring. Lothaire decides the best place for Ellie is prison, where his enemies want think to look for her, and where she is headed after Saroya goes on several killing sprees using her body. However, Lothaire doesn't count on Ellie's intelligence and tenacity.

The Immortals after Dark is my favorite series, and I've been waiting for great anticipation for Lothaire's story. Lothaire is one seriously messed up character, who is driven by revenge and, also, a little mad from all the memories, that he has absorbed by draining his victims dry. I had trouble seeing how Ms. Cole could possibly redeem Lothaire, but thankfully, she doesn't disappoint. Lothaire is redeemed, somewhat, but still has a serious edge to him-- he is not someone to mess with. Elizabeth is one spunky heroine, which she has to be, in order to stand toe to toe with Lothaire. Elizabeth gets knocked down, but keeps getting right back up and fighting. There is plenty of action, and intense, hot, love scenes in this novel, and it is not for the squeamish, because Lothaire can be one brutal dude.

All in all, LOTHAIRE is a great read and makes an excellent addition to the IAD series.

I have just put down the book and I have to admit I absolutely loved it! This series is probably one of my favourites and apart from the first book A Hunger Like no Other (Favourite!!)

Lothaire was deliciously evil and Ellie was a good match for him. Their fights, even though were serious were humourous and really nutty, after all she mistakenly beheads him (he can regenerate because she left 'an eighth of an inch of tendon' unsevered), which he retaliates by ripping out his heart literally (again he regenerates a new heart) and sends it to her with a note telling her to 'Rot in hell'. She in turn cuts off her middle finger as a nice 'F*** off' to his message. Very romantic, I know. Even the Valkyries agreed. But thats the nuttiness that made them so adorable.

I hope there is a future book somewhere about the Daci vampires, especially Stelian and Kosmina, they both sound like interesting characters. I also really want to know how the whole thing with Kristoff, Emmaline and Lothaire is going to end. Cole better not harm my Emmaline (I absolutely love her and Lachlan).

One of the best books of the series - hands down.

I have been anticipating this book for sooo long now! Since I first caught wind about a new addition to the series. I have read all of kc's IAD books, and granted, I didn't fall in love with a couple. But I've never been so at war with myself over my opinion like I have been with this book. Firstly I wanted to love lothaire. He had such an opportunity for growth and I wanted to see that growth from evil a-hole to an evil yet loving hero? And it felt lacking in that department. Also, the whole destroying on Saroya fell flat. Not very climactic. And doradas appearance and departure fell flat also. Again very anti climactic. I loved Ellie tho. But what I didn't get was how she was suppose to have a phycology degree but she couldn't recognize her own case of Stockholm syndrome? I suppose de-Nile is a river in Egypt. However I did like how Ellie was able to hold her own around lothaire and all the crazy lore things she saw. And I did love most of the love scenes. Very raw indeed. Almost raunchy. Although the part about Leo fingering her v-card away was bothersome, and him licking the blood from her made me a little uncomfortable. I guess that's ow vampires role though. Still, pretty damn raw. Other than that the love scenes are enough to make a girl blush.
But anywho I would haven't given this book a generous 4 if I didn't feel like that story left so much to be desired. And if lot hire was perhaps punished more for his crappy actions towards Ellie. But when I think about everything he was trying to do to keep Ellie and get red of Saroya, attempting suicide so he wouldn't have to kill Ellie, risking his life over and over to help her and save her family, I think it makes up for a lot. And really, if a 3k yr old vamp who has always had enemies and use to people fearing and obeying him could make an easy transition into mr. nice guy hero, thatd be a little hard to believe. It make me think a lot. So I still liked it. Can't wait for the next installment. As always kc has left me wanting more.

"Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book, as part of a promotional tour, in return for an honest review."

I've been waiting a long while for Lothaire's story and OhBoy it was worth waiting for. Almost wish i didn't read it so i can read it again =D Lothaire is feared and hated by everyone in the Lore, and now he's found his Bride in an possessed human. Ellie Pierce was a normal and happy woman living in the backwater and loving it when she suddenly got possessed by a Goddess loving to kill and maim. Loved returning to this world and seeing Nix again.

I gave this 2 stars because of the cover model was hot and writers effort with the different twist and turns otherwise I would have given it a 1 star. Lothaire is a bad guy I get it but these two are a huge miss match. There was no romance and where was HER pride!Also the sex scenes were troubling not romantic. All of Cole's other books were spot on HOT. NOT this one. The deflowering thing was not sexy at all. There is only dirty (as in: I hope no one ever finds out I did this or I really have no pride left) sex with no relationship & I felt like the writer was trying to force me to believe Ellie was smart/and or clever. Why o Why did she have to be a trailer park chick? and "rubber band snap" and calling Lothaire "Leo"....

I loved the much awaited novel about the Enemy of Old: Lothaire! While some things about Lothaire annoyed me (I won't give any spoilers) but honestly I think Kresley portrayed him perfectly. I mean it is Lothaire after all! Of course he is going to be slow to learn how to love, apologize, etc etc.

I loved the development of the love between Lothaire and Ellie even though it took awhile for it to finally click for Lothaire! In addition, I really loved how we got to see an expansion of the Lore world and learn more about some of our beloved characters (Nix!)

I don't think I could give Kresley anything less then 5 stars because she is such a creative genius. I love her work and the way she molds her world yet keeps it incredibly consistent. He books are a nonstop joyride full of passion and pleasure. Lothaire was a wonderful addition to the Immortals After Dark series and I can't wait for the next novel!!!

The more and more I thought about it Lothaire's treatment of Elizabeth was unforgivable. He insulted her at every turn and the way he treated her sexually was really cruel. In the end I don't believe all the things he did and said should have been forgiven so quickly without consequence. How does Elizabeth actually justify forgiving him and loving him in the end. Didn't get that kind of closure. Him burning a little bit in the sun so not enough. This was definitely not one of my favorites in the series. At least Chase had an excuse for torturing Regin but Lothaire had none except he didn't like humans, WTH. There was nothing redeeming in his behavior. Elizabeth should feel like crap for forgiving him so easily.

Cole has done it again. Lothaire, the boogyman of the Lore, finally meets his match in a human woman. I loved that Ellie and Lothaire's "courtship" was realistically rocky because of his personality. Cole didn't change what we all knew and loved about Lothaire she just gave us insight into how he worked and thought. The issues that kept coming up made it hard to see how this would end with him and Ellie getting a HEA but Cole made it work brilliantly. Ellie for her part was a great character and held her own with Lothaire. Cole does a great job of creating complex characters that are unique from all others she's introduced is too. I've yet to tire of her books. Great characters and great writing!

This is by far hands down her BEST book. Kresley defies other author's trends, whose books/characters as they progress become repetitive dull carbon copies of each other. I have been reading the romance genre for 25 years and have witnessed the changes the genre has gone through; from bodice rippers, beta male glorification, feminist trend, the erotica/romantica explosion, to present erotic paranormal romance and the authors that have come and gone. I'm very sure I have read and tried all the authors that are popular in this genre and I am burned from all of them. One by one I discarded each paranormal author for lack of imagination, humor or for verging on porn(all sex no plot); simply put, their books/stories were nothing but carbon copies of the previous one. It was like reading the same story over and over and over, but what really turned me off from them was what I consider a major flaw that has become pervasive in the current pool of authors - the inability to properly convey emotions such as sadness and humor.

This is why Kresley Cole is the only author that I lovingly and enthusiastically follow. She has the amazing ability to write different stories with unique characters and her latest work in "Lothaire" unequivocally proves my point. No carbon copies here, thank you very much; she has the ability to make me cry one moment and make me laugh with the next sentence. What an amazing writer she is.

I'm not going to discuss the plot as there are many other reviewers that have taken the time to do that. I just want to share my impression of the main characters in this book. Lothaire....WOW! He is a true baddie and I loved the fact that his transition was realistic, believable. His nature, his core was not compromised for the sake of the HEA. I was frustrated and angry with him so many times, but I Sympathized and understood why he is the way he is and thus I appreciated and treasured even more his emotional transition. What a fascinating character he is!

A friend of mine told me that that Ellie was her ultimate heroine and I have to agree with her. Ellie...WOW, how refreshing. Regular human being with no special powers, no cocky arrogant attitude; Strong willed, compassionate, intelligent, realist, humble down to earth amazing woman. I L.O.V.E her! I had kind of become used to the childish cockiness and arrogance possessed by the heroines in the series, but after Ellie I think that I've had enough of that. Ellie is simply amazing.

Dear Kresley, thank you so very very very much for validating time after time my very high opinion of your writing skills. The only downside for me is that you have raised the bar so high that no other author can easily impress me nor satisfy me now.

What a ride!

There are a lot of parts in the story that frustrated me to no end (some of Ellie's reactions) but it still kept me wanting to continue to read. Since Lothaire has such an abrasive personality with a very tortured history, the way Kresley developed the relationship between him and Ellie made sense. Even if this wasn't the way typical 'romantic' stories develop with all of their trials and tribulations, she stayed true to who Lothaire was portrayed to be.

Besides that, her world development is just fantastic and utterly fascinating.

There is nothing about this book that I dislike.

Actually this is my return to KC's books since Wicked deeds on a Winter's night. I sort of lost interest after that book, but this book trumps all others so far! I was totally amazed at this Lothaire character, he had me laughing non stop and golly gosh I am loving me some of Elizabeth (Ellie) Pierce! The mortal chic stands up this this "God" like its nobody's business! Bless her sweet soul!

Also if you are able to hear this on audio, I recommend that you take a listen. The narrator Robert Petkoff does a splendid job of Lothaire's russian accent! You hear all his delicious wicked thoughts! From trying to hold himself back from falling into the Abyss (madness) to his silent moans of sexual tension he suffers! There is nobody like Lothaire! 5 stars people!

Lothaire (Immortals After Dark #12) by Kresley Cole
This is the IAD book we have been waiting for. Lothaire is an evil vampire. A chaotic neutral (in it for himself and evil is easier) we have seen glimpses of him in previous IAD books. So who do you pair up with a guy who has made back-stabbing into an art form? What being does the Lore consider the lowest form of life on earth? Besides nymphs? Right, humans. Kresley Cole gets even with Bad Vamp Lothaire by giving him a human bride. This may be the best IAD yet. Now if we could only get Nix set up.

Yet another masterpiece by Cole. She weaves a compelling and memorable tale between LEO (who I thought I'd never like - but I did get annoyed at him sometimes like Saroya honestly?) and Ellie. I felt like she really developed the characters and the story was original - it was unpredictable in a good way. Cole has quite the talent for writing stories; from start to finish, I was enthralled. It may not be as good as some of the previous IADs (A Hunger Like No Other - If you haven't read it...Go do it...NOW!), but it is still an amazing book. I'm excited for the stories of some of the minor characters in this book - maybe Kristoff or Nix.

Wowza.... I mean.... WOOOOWWWWZZZAAAAAA!!! At first I was thinking I should reread the series so that I could flow right into Lothaire, but no need... Picks right up where she left off in Dreams of a Dark Warrior.... I must say, the Enemy of Old in past books, made me think he was old and wrinkly... BUT NO WAY... he's hotter than hot... I have to admit, he pisses me off A LOT in this book, but I guess a little anger never hurt anyone, especially when it melts into that hot steamy hunk of a man... and in the words of Maryse ([...]) SQUEEEEEEEEE.... He's a beautiful Alpha male with money, looks, and badass ways... and what could be better than our little Miss human, Elizabeth to tame that mutha!!! Lots of ups and downs, tears, and of course always laughs... that damn crew of Vaulkeries and Witches.... "Nickel beers and disco bowling" I'M IN!!! FIVE STARS....

FINALLY, Lothaire has his own story after reading IAD's entire collection and falling hopelessly for the wildly dangerous but oh so sexy Lothaire we have arrived at his story...KUDOS to Kresley Cole, LOTHAIRE is incredibly sexy and well written...I am only half way through having gotten it two hours ago, but I can tell you if you read NO other book this year, this one is for YOU, sexy, fast paced, detail orientated, and magical, I promise you won't be disappointed, Long Live Lothaire he is the Champion of Champions...all 100% Man :-D

This is the first work by Kresley Cole that I have read, I purchased Lothaire based on a few of the reviews I had read and the promise of a dark, snarky, alpha male. Having just finished the last page, listed below are my Pros and Cons of Lothaire, with little to no spoilers I hope.

Pros:

1. Great writing and character development, I love being shown and not told and Ms. Cole excelled at this.

2. Ellie, I adore a heroine who is not a simmpering twit. She possessed a backbone, wit, and intelligence, and went toe to toe with Lothaire.

3. Lothaire, I have been searching far and wide for an alpha male to fill the void left by Jericho Z. Barrons, and I may have found him. Lothaire is cunning, snarky, dominate, uncompromising and will move Heaven and Hell to for his Bride.

4. Soroya, she is a an evil, vapid, and calculating villan. A perfect foil for Ellie and Lothaire.

Cons:

1. I felt that the resolution of the Soroya and La Dorada problem was anticlimatic and a bit of a letdown. I had envisioned bloodshed and absolute carnage, and was left feeling 'meh'.

2. Ms. Cole had a way with words, but there was only so many times that I could read about Lothaire roaring towards the ceiling, before the eye rolls began.

3. Vampires, or rather how they are created. In other vampire fiction I have read the act is very intimate, and personal to the individuals involved. Not so here, I would have included the Ring storyline with the traditional vampire lore.

4. The last chapter or so and the epilogue. I cannot see a badass like Lothaire putting up with mortals, even for Lizvetta. I could see him having her visit relatives, just not him tagging along.

Overall, I give Lothaire a 3.5-4 stars. I would love to see a Lothaire Part II, that would be about he, Ellie, and their future children. All in all, I would read the next installement of this series.

I loved this book, this series is well written and engaging. I actually laughed out loud in parts (count down to hitting the barrier). I felt sad for nix, she is still a fire cracker but this book showed you her complex mind and her constantly trying to work all the pieces together to get the right outcome. Lothaire was his arrogant self and Ellie really gave him a good challenge. Read this whole series from the beginning including the short stories it builds a great world of stories.

Lothaire has been the villain you love to hate for years. Here we finally see what made him into the man he is.
We also get the pleasure of the seeing the one small woman who can make his head spin. It was GREAT!!!
Lothaire, The Enemy of Old has definitely earned his name with all of his devious plots, schemes, and deeds.
He'll do what ever it takes to get what he wants and is a master strategist.

Elizabeth "Ellie" is a down to earth mountain girl who has the misfortune of being possessed by Saroya the cursed
murderous Vampire Goddess. Ellie is a strong willed young lady and Saroya has difficulty controlling Ellie when
she is not sleeping or weakened in some way. The question though is who is truly Lothaire's Bride, Ellie or Saroya?

I loved this book. Because of his past, I did not want to see Lothaire completely transformed into some soft pushover.
I was glad that Kresley Cole did not ruin his character that way in the book. I liked seeing that Lothaire actually
needed someone and that he actually made sacrifices for someone other than himself. And the love scenes were smoking
hot!

This is probably the best new book I've read so far this year!!!

Hello the store!
I have finally read a book worthy of my first review! I'd first like to say that I am a huge fan of Kresley Cole and own the entire Immortals After Dark series;so I am quite biased. Having said that I have no qualms stating that Lothaire is the best installment yet. Lothaire and Elizabeth Pierce are not quite the usual hero/heroine that Cole portrays in her other books. One, Lothaire is evil, often times pure evil, and Cole keeps him in character to the very end, adding new dimensions to the "madness" that plagues him and his budding obsession with Elizabeth "Ellie". Ellie on the other hand is Cole's simplest heroine. She's mortal and has no desire to save the world, making her realistic, enjoyable, and completely engrossing. I did not roll my eyes once over corny dialogue or out of character moments. The plot was well paced and although there was typical paranormal action, Cole focused moreso on their budding relationship. Al though I have spent the majority of the series despising Lothaire like every other reader this book made me believe how someone could fall in love with the "Enemy of Old" and that makes this book an EPIC WIN. Need I also mention that the promised sexual tension builds to a wondrous crescendo that had my own jaded heart racing?! While I recommend that one start at the beginning of the series this book can actually be read alone unlike some of the others. Lothaire is a huge success for Cole and I cannot wait for what comes next.
-Asie

I've read the 12 existing Immortal after Dark books in a row and it was quite a journey.
I loved all books so much, this is definitely one of my favorite series!

Lothaire... Loved him! I already loved him in every previous book he appeared, even is he's "the evil one". I just couldn't help liking him. And this book made me like him even more.
Lothaire doesn't do simple and of course his Bride was something special, a mortal human possessed by an evil goddess. But which of the 2 is his Bride? The fragile mortal or the evil goddess? Lothaire didn't doubt, it was the evil goddess because The Enemy of Old with a human Bride, no way. He hated humans, this fragile Hillbilly girl could never be his Bride! Or could she... *grin*

I really like the story of Lothaire and Ellie. I thought they had a great chemistry. I enjoyed Lothaire's dry wit as well and found myself smiling often while reading the book. The story moved quickly and the steamy scenes were...well...steamy. I didn't want the story to end, I read it all over again the minute I finished. You don't necessarily need to have read the series to enjoy, which is rare with books like this. Highly recommend.

Going into this one I was curious about how Cole would make Lothaire into the hero. The entire series he is brutal but also cunning, making mysterious and unlikely moves at key moments in the lore. All is revealed with this one. Not my favorite in the series (I didn't care for the heroine) but good in terms of plot advancement and character building. I liked the peek we got into lothaire's wild mind. Also we get to learn more about Nïx which was really awesome. I hope she gets a book of her own in future.

What a tortured life and off the deep end crazy in the head. I am not sure he deserved his Bride not even after he said he loved her. Cutting out his heart was hilarious. The female heroine was inventive given her circumstances. Saroya was a weird twist. Loved hearing from all the other characters & look forward to the next book

No shock I've read all the Kresley Cole books, so like all the other IAD lorelovers, I couldn't wait for Lothaire's story. At first, I was a little hesitant. I mean, can a character so bad, be redeemed? He needed a strong heroine with the mettle to face off against an ages-old vampire who'd seen, done, and killed it all.

Elizabeth "Ellie" Peirce is more than up for the challenge. She's tough and wily and Lothaire's match in so many ways he doesn't even understand because her appeal sneaks up on him, and he doesn't even see it coming. In my opinion, this is one of Cole's best heroines. She's relatable, lovable, and we root for her to bring him down a few notches from the beginning.

Without showing fear, she takes on an ancient vampire and is nearly the death of him.

Yet, in the end, Lothaire comes around, recognizes how amazing she is, and the readers get a well-crafted happily-ever-after.

The scenes get steamy in this one, and even after I finished the final page, I found myself going back to re-read sections I loved.

This is a series that's been going for a while, and shows no signs of slowing any time soon (thank goodness).

I can't wait for the next one!

I thought this was slow to start, but as I read it I liked it more and more. I think the characters developed in the story and their actions seemed reasonable. The supporting characters were fun to read too. Ellie is great, and very likeable. Lothaire treats her bad to begin with and doesn't want to know the truth about her for a great part of the story. But they do finally get to their HEA and when I set the book down I felt very satisfied with how everything came together. A great read overall.

This being my second book reading about vampires (the other being Dracula,) I really liked it! I thought the plot was wonderful, in how Lothaire evolved to seeing love and logic above vengeance and hate. The book seemed like 98.239949% sex and 1.760051% story, so I think it could have been more interesting/ benefitted from more story. Other than that, the book got me acquainted with creatures of fantasy and folklore, and how interesting their lives can be.

I love Kresley Cole. I've read all her books, I keep them all and re-read them. She has a great series and great characters. She is immensely talented. Her last book- Regin and her Berzerker (not the title, of course)- almost went over the line, for me, but somehow Cole kept it together. I have no idea how- he tortured her but I was still into the HEA. That is how good Cole is.

This book was both over the line, for me, and never even got off the ground. The Hero was a pompous tool. He never really recovered enough for me to root for his HEA. I think he was appropriately matched with his first "bride" and would have gotten exactly what he deserved if he ended up with her. He was a big old snob of a character. He was also somewhat dispassionate (perhaps the vampire thing?) so his snobbery seemed appropriate but his redemption (of sorts) did not. And his snobbery was actually offensive. She's little better than an animal. Her only worth is as a vessel. She's pretty much his slave. Hmmm. He was a snob and a pig. And he never seemed to get much better, for me. Was I supposed to say "Yay! He now regards his wife as a being worthy of respect and dignity!" (AFTER he has changed her to his satisfaction). Yeah, not so much.

And her! She had promise. I liked her, for the most part, until she willingly went into a HEA with him without ripping his heart out herself as suitable punishment for all the nasty stuff he thought, said, and did. Her only real physical damage to him was by accident- which actively irritated me. Cole's women definitely do damage to their future spouses ON PURPOSE. I like that about them. And, the men always deserve it (really- her books are a literal battle of the sexes). Ellie seemed like the type who should have been quite able to come up with some diabolical revenge. She was staying with the Valkyrie who love diabolical revenge. Nix should have egged on a little diabolical revenge. It was lacking in the homicidal sass that I really love in Kresley Cole's books.

Edited to read:

I thought about my review over night and I'd like to make an amendment- The story just didn't work for me, perhaps, because Lothaire is really a mostly nasty character (although, the Valkyrie are also killers and I heart them often and frequently). You have to give the author props for not being a hypocrite and transforming Lothaire into a cuddly teddy bear. The guy is the enemy of old, after all. Perhaps, I was looking for too much grit/Valkyrie from Ellie. I (and I fully realize what I want in a book signifies nothing) wanted her to be as bad-ass as Lothaire or match him in a significant way because that makes the HEA feel squee-worthy. But, I feel the lack of equality and/or balance between the characters really skewed their dynamic. It made their interaction uncomfortable and occasionally icky (the reviewers that mentioned Stockholm Syndrome, the forced transition, and some really questionable consent have valid points). Overall, I can't escape thinking Lothaire is a pig and feeling badly because I'm judging poor Ellie because she is voluntarily (?) with a pig. That just is not what I want to feel when I finish a HEA book. And I have high standards for Kresley Cole books.

Maybe Kresley Cole is going somewhere with this. Maybe Lothaire still has some growing to do in her new series. Maybe her books are taking a darker turn (judging the last two and you just know Nix is NOT going to have an easy time.) So be it. Her books and her story- she gets to do with it what she wants. I'll definitely hang on for Nix's story, though.

this is one of Miss Cole best books, I cant put her books down once I started to read them, I'm up late a night still reading after everyone gone to bed LOL. I think you would like the book, you should start with the first book of the Immortals after Dark series it is called "A Hunger like no Other" is book #1 then go from there :-) you will love them. I keep reading them over and over I have them all.

Happy reading !!

I went to the bookstore intending only to purchase the book and leave. Six hours later I was leaving the store having read the book cover to cover. I picked up the book and was so engrossed in it, I just could not help it, I even forwent cooking myself dinner in order to read this book. Man oh man, I was cracking up at some parts of the story, Ellie really fits Lothaire. I also found myself tearing up at parts of Lothaire's story, particularly about his Mom. Ellie is truly a firecracker, and reading Lothaire's confusion about the situation is quite funny. Some of the reveals toward the end of the book had me going "Whaaaaaat?" I agree with one of the earlier reviews,I hope Nix gets a man soon, but darn that has to be one special person to balance her out. But she certainly deserves it, because as she said "she knows of dirt that is younger than she is". If you are reading this review and are undecided about purchasing this book, I would say to do so, it is certainly worth it. P.S. I bought the book and am about to start re-reading it.

Pretty good!! No new ground was broken in the PNR world, but it was sexy and really funny! The humor hit the spot for me. I could hear Ellie's voice in my head, and it was A LOT of fun, and yet somehow not overdone. Kresley Cole did a very good job with Ellie! Lothaire? Eh. Not bad, but in some ways not the character I wanted him to be.

All in all a fun book, and very good for some laughs and steamy hawtness;)

The most outlandishly unexpected and absolutely perfect blend of dastardly hero and outrageous villain ever devined. He never deigns to be good and openly enjoys his wicked ways. Only Lothaire could love like this and only his true bride could bring the Enemy of Old to his knees with one little finger. Of all of Kresley Cole's heart throbbing heros, I think I love this anti-hero the best of all. Love. Love. Love this book!

The sex scenes in this novel were the best she's ever written, hands down. I've loved the Lothaire character, whose well-writtenness (It's a word; I made it up) is second only to that of Nix. The book kept me interested and I found it enjoyable except for these issues:
1. Saroya's tale -- major snooze. I found myself skipping lightly over these sections to get back to Ellie's story.
2. Lothaire, himself -- exceedingly well-written character with clever one-liners and a delicious openness about sex that turns into wonderful crudeness at times. But. He's. No. Hero. He doesn't grow in the novel, really. The only way the two leads can make it work is for to Ellie come around to his way of thinking. Which she does. He doesn't change. Sure, he wants to nail Ellie every chance he gets, but he doesn't treat her as he should in the end. Doesn't make a real apology for how horribly he's treated her, etc. Now, I accept that being a self-absorbed ass is who he is, but it doesn't quite click for a romantic lead. Great character but not-so-great romantic lead.
3. Ellie's character was stolen waaaay too much from Hunger Games and Winter's Bone. I like stealing. It makes me happy. Just not when I get caught. And Cole got caught (by me).

With all that said, I still heart Cole and look forward to her next novel. But I can't completely drink the kool-aid on this one.

I'm not understanding the 1 star reviews...this is Lothaire, The Enemy of Old, was he supposed to turn into a wimpy teddy bear upon finding his Bride? I thought he could have been more brutal in his own book since he was the poster boy for malevolence though out this series. The smut parts of the story line were hot, there was the right amount of humor and overall a pretty decent continuation to this series.

Cole is one of my favorite lore/romance writers! Her characters are witty and intelligent. I love this series b/c she continues the story, but each saga has an ending. Lothaire's personality was as expected-guarded, ruthless, sexy, and dimwitted when it came to relationships b/c of his loansome life. Not a lot of drama in this novel as compared to Regin's story. This is mostly about Lothaire and Ellie, but well worth the 4 stars. I adore Nix! Can't wait for the next one!

I was really looking forward to this book. Was really disappointed. Very graphic sex, Lothaire was really an abusive, think only of himself, jerk. He had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I've always liked Cole's books and she has been on my auto-buy list for ages, but I will now have to think about future purchases. Very hard to believe that "Lizvetta" was his true bride.

SPOILERS:
Then he turns her against her will, makes constant fun and ridicule of her, threatens her constantly and in the end she forgives all and loves him??!! Give ne a break. I would have liked to have seen her get with Thad.

Very disappointing, lengthy book. It could have been made much shorter and put into a paperback.

Hmmm... Well I can't say I didn't like it at all, but it was a disappointment. I kept waiting for the romance, but just got a lot of trashy sex instead. The emotional connection was hugely lacking. I loved the strong, sexy alpha male of Lothaire, but this went a little too far and he didn't make the emotional connection with Ellie early on at all. He treated her horribly and kept insulting her and planning to kill her soul so he could use her body for his 'true' Queen. Weird.

I fould Ellie to be trashy and a bit sleezy, even though she hadn't actually had sex before. She was a low-life ignorant hillbilly that lived in a trailer( over and over again that was drilled home by the author and Lothaire to Ellie). Yet she was brave and intelligent....too much of a contradiction for me.

I wanted to see more of a desire to protect and care for Ellie than just a body.

And the fact that Saroya inhabited Ellie's body was really weird. I like paranormal romance to a point, but this was too much. Ellie was possesed by an evil spirit that Lothaire thought was his true Queen, when the true Queen was Ellie all along.

Anyway, I loved A Hunger LIke No Other by Kresley Cole. One of my favorites!

I couldn't wait until I got this book! Lothaire has been the "man we love to hate" throughout so many of the previous books and it was refreshing to see him brought so low by a "common" girl. Their interactions were hilarious, and so many of them made me laugh out loud. I wanted to smack him upside the head when he couldn't see that his REAL mate wasn't the evil demon queen, but instead the amazing girl that he overlooked.

The heroic Kresley Cole has taken a tough task to humanize Lothaire and make the reader cheer for him, despite all the dreadful actions he's done in the past. He's almost an old school romance hero, however, the author created a heroine able to handle him - behaving like a true alpha herself.

Lothaire is an incredible addiction to the Immortals After Dark series, Kresley Cole has done an impressive job!

I love the whole IAD series but Lothaire has never endeared himself to me. So I was not that excited to read his book, especially when I learned that his much-awaited Bride is a mere mortal. But boy was I delightfully surprised that I finished this book in record time and fell in love with this seemingly mismatched pair. Lothaire is still as evil and insane as advertised, but you can discover more his funny, protective, and loving side. And Elizabeth is smart, strong, caring (and not whiny or stupid). Can't wait to read more from this fantastic series. After 12 books, it's still getting better and better.

I love this book. The story gave you more understanding on Lorthaire. And Kresley gave us a amazing love story.. if you like vampire diaries sort of like Damon and Elena love story and endgame.
I just wish she would write the follow up book cause waiting 8 years to find out what happened with Lorthaire and his brother..sheesh

I am all for the hero in the novel to be dark and dangerous, but holy crap. I knew going in that Lothaire wasnt going to be all warm or even nice at times, but the way he treated her is just ridiculous. Even after he treated her like crap Ellie still wanted him for some odd reason. Maybe its because he is ungodly handsome or his bite is "orgasmic" And I have to say that I am from the south too and I dont know anyone that talks the way Ellie does lol. Why are these women so forgiving off all the crap these men do to them? I was shocked in the previous book because I just knew that Regin was was going to give Declan hell for all of the crap he had done. (sigh) I am still a fan of KC but I havent been too fond of her books since Carrow's honestly.

I'm in the minority, but I didn't like this book. I've read every IAD book (except novellas), and was eagerly anticipating this one, not caring that it was in hardcover and the price would be three times the usual paperback costs because I have enjoyed the other IAD books, but this one left alot to be desired as far as Lothaire's character. SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

I knew Lothaire wasn't a good guy, but darn, he had pretty much no positive qualities. I don't even know why Ellie stayed with him; I guess because of the oh so good sex, but sex does not make up for death threats, kidnapping, constant cruel words, and a selfish hero who just didn't give a damn about anyone but himself. There were so many things he said/did to Ellie in the book that made me want to punch him, and even after he realized she was his Bride, he didn't treat her much better. I felt the apology towards the end of the book wasn't heartfelt at all and that Ellie forgave Lothaire way too easily without him suffering much. There was no genuine love on his part. Thad would have made a much better hero as he actually treated her like someone not beneath him. By the end of the book, I wouldn't have been disappointed if he was killed, because I hated his character as much as the Loreans did.

Kresley Cole is a good writer, but Lothaire really ruined the book for me. Of course I will still be reading the next installments in the series and look forward to her other future works.

I wasn't sure if I would hearing my books instead of reading them but I saw an advertisement saying, "his voice will make your toes curl" so I had to try one and then another. I must say I love his accent for Lothaire and this book is one of my favorites before and after hearing it.

Will not write a re-cap since that has been done by many reviewers. This book started off good for me and then just start to die off in the middle. It seemed like Kresley Cole repeated the same lines over and over, and it took a decade for Lothaire decide Ellie was his bride. He finally decides and he turns into an overbering jerk that no woman would want. Yet our tough, no nonsense Ellie keeps putting up with his crap "snap", "snap" with the rubberband. We had to endure countless days at the apartment or at Hags. Finally 3/4 into the book some action starts to happen, but of course it is a separation and we have to endure more talk of "I love her", wait a minute "no I don't she betrayed me" (like he hadn't betrayed the entire world his whole life and expected her to just forget about it). Really I skimmed many pages just to get some sort of different action going on in the book. I do have to admit the sex scenes are good, but didn't make up for long endless pages of the same boring dialog.

I am a huge Kresley Cole fan. I have loved all of her previous books and eagerly look forward to the next release. (I pre-order!!!)

Lothaire was the first book from Kresley that I did not truly enjoy reading.
Although I love the hillbilly theme (I was born in TN and raised in MS and can really relate to country folks) I did not like the possession/murder for the little mortal.

I also felt it lacked the life lesson that Kresley usually places into her books and the humor that I have so enjoyed in all of her previous books. (What female today wouldn't like to be a beautiful, funny and tough female of the Lore.)

It has to be hard to continue to top previous successes. I think sometimes we need to step back, take a break from our life endeavours so we come back refreshed.

Lothaire

Kresley Cole once again has created an amazing book! She is such a talented writer. In this book you learn a lot about the loved Character Lothaire. Where the hatred within him comes from, why he is so ruthless and evil. He finds his mate but she is possessed by the the Goddess Saroya. So is his mate the mortal or the goddess? I highly recommend this book and I hope you guys love it as much as I did!

Lothaire. I think KC took a chance with Lothaire's Mate. It paid off! What an incredible story. From start to finish it was perfectly played! I dislike it when chars become babies of there former selves when they meet there mates. Lothaire stayed strong, and his woman? Made him stronger. Love the parts with Nucking Futs Nix! It was good to see them together; "I've met dirt younger than I am." It can be read outside the series, but to really "get" Lothaire. Read the series. I laughed I cried. That's what a books about!!

I loved this book. Lothaire and Elle are perfect for each other. He is the most arrogant main character I have ever read and still loved. Elle is so opposite that it is fitting that they should fall in love. The book was so funny that I found myself laughing out loud in public places. When Lothaire told Elle to go look at the ocean knowing that she would run into an invisable barrier was hilarious. It was funny because Elle knew that he did it on purpose. Later when Elle sent Lothaire a present in response to the one he sent her was so funny and perfect that I tried to share it with my spouse who had to listen to me try to explain the entire book. I hope her next book is as good as this one. I cannot wait.

I'm an IAD fan and like many others have been waiting for Lothaire's story. Overall, I was not disappointed. The chemistry between H/h was stunning, and the plot like in so many other IAD books different and full of conflict. I think the author really followed through with the darkness of his character and took major risks in making this anti-hero a hero ... and nearly succeeds. IMO, where this book falls a little short is that Lothaire's treatment of the heroine is truly cruel (way beyond the usual "alpha" stuff), and there's little in his character arc to redeem such behavior. I would have liked to see him grovel at the very least to get her back. But even so this author's writing continues to impress with the blend of paranormal suspense and unique dark humor (scene where H/h exchange "gifts" was so twisted yet hilarious).

Really, Kresley Cole is a genious. Amazing. I know without a doubt that there is no way Kresley Cole can make a bad book. She had to have signed some demonic pact -- which would make sense since there are demons all over the place in her books! Really, for anyone who has never read a KC book, just start at the beginning and enjoy the ride. I've read HUNDREDS of romance novels and without a doubt, she is THE BEST OF THE BEST. KC, if you're out there, I don't know how you weave this amazing web of yours, but I'd personally like to THANK YOU for your dedication to making each book so good that I get a flutter in my damn chest off and on during the 24 hours it takes me to spend every waking hour either reading your book or plotting and planning to get back to reading your book.

What can I say....pure hotness! The characters were perfectly written! K. Cole did a fabulous job writing Lothaire! I highly recommend this book! My favorite book of the series! Finally, an adult vampire/immortal series! I'm so sick of reading books with teenage writing. Their sexy-time was mind-blowing! It gives me chills just thinking about it! You won't be disappointed.

I'm conflicted.

On the one hand, this is a great installment in the overall storyline of the Accession from Kresley Cole. Plus it really works well timeline wise and expands on previous events from other books. So it gets five stars for that.

On the other hand, the heroine has a bad case of Stockholm syndrome and the hero crossed too many lines that I wasn't comfortable with. That said, one of my favorite books in this series "Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night" does has a similar plot line that pushed the envelope. Still this one goes one step further and the way Ellie becomes a Lore creature is enraging and even though Lothaire does apologize for it, and Ellie forgives him *I* thought it was too easy/quick a resolution for such a grievous offense. So that gets 4 starts. BUT to add insult to injury Ellie's own mother defends Lothaire's indefensible actions to Ellie at the end-- and that gets another half star knocked off. I don't care how grateful you are for your kin's lives you don't defend what was done with a "the ends justify the means" argument. It's insulting. The author could have easily just had her mother say, "What he did was wrong, but he's made amends and I think he's sincere that he's sorry. Can you forgive him and move past it?" I could have, and would have respected that.

So... If I could I would leave this 3.5 stars. But I did round up, instead of down, because the scenes with Nix were excellent and made me look forward to rest of the series with enthusiasm.

While I absolutely love this series, Lothaire is definitely one of my least fave characters - still is. This book didn't change my feelings/interest (or lack thereof) about him. The best part about this book was the last 50pgs. Having said that, I am going to read the next book about the new series, the Dacians. Some of them seemed a little interesting (definitely more interesting than even Lothaire).

I love this author and this series and so it felt like a betrayal when this book (that I had been counting down the seconds to) was so mediocre. It wasn't until slightly past the middle something great happens and things pick up.

It's obvious that this book is being used to set the stage for future books and I think the story suffered because of that.

I still have to give this 4 stars because it is Cole's worst, her worst is still better than most people's best.

Kresley Cole is one of the best paranormal authors I have read. I've read the entire series and I simply cannot anticipate the storyline. Lothaire is a "bad guy" who finds himself "blooded" to an appalachian mountain girl who's fighting with a former vampire goddess for possession of her body. None of the books in this series are the same but the characters are LOL funny and kick ass. These are not the pitiful dansel in distress type of heroines and the guys are not always entirely good, or bad, or human, or even sane. Lothaire is yet another great addition to the series. Can't wait for the next one!

Kresley Cole is one of the few "must buy" authors for me anymore. And my reading tastes are as vary from John Grisham to Cormac McCarthy.

While I have liked some IAD books more than others with "Hunger Like No Other" and "Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night" probably being in my top 25 romances of all time, I just didn't really enjoy Lothaire.

Actually, Cole worked the same premise to some extent in "Wicked Deeds". The hero finds it impossible that his bride is who she appears to be. Yet in "Deeds", Cole managed to have the hero conflicted without being cruel.

Lothaire is written as a downright abusive @sshole. And we drifted into the JR Ward school of letting you know every time the "hero" has the base desires and satisfactions of a teenage boy. I'm a high school teacher I hear enough of that crap at work!! My books are for escape.

The book's framework was solid and ripe for the usual IAD humor. I don't know how it all went so wrong. Well, maybe I do. Seems KC could not reconcile Lothaire's evil side with his romantic one.

I would have been OK with him being cruel and unusual with the entire world, but not with Elizabeth, his "Bride".

***SPOILER***

It even takes a very heavy and unusually lucid shove from Nix to even get Lothaire to finally become a hero in the last 50 pages.

This was a REAL disappointment.

This might close out the series for me and that makes me really sad.

OMG, one of the best books i've ever read, Lothaire is so hot!!! i think i fell in love with him a little bit. it's one of those books that you think about after you're done.
I love kresley cole books and this is ONE of her best! I can't wait to read her "IF YOU...." series, romance books.

Lothaire was all background in every other book - I always wondered about him and his story. This book answered all my questions about "The Enemy of Old" and gave him personality. Truly was one of my favs in the series.

This is the best in the series. I was intrigued with the little revelation at the end. It was a great setup for future books. I would like to see her run with it and see Lothaire in future books. I could imagine a spin off series with the Daci.
I just loved him and his struggle with his Bride. He was so clueless it made him vulnerable in his own evil way. I wasn't sure if I would be able to like him but I did. Ellie was certainly an unsuspecting Bride for Lothaire but it worked since she was exactly what he needed. (Which was a swift kick in the britches.)

I am keeping this short and sweet...I loved this book! I have re-read it at least 3 times. At first I was put off by the terrible "hillbilly" speech, but Kresely Cole didn't over do it and after I was able to get past that I couldn't put it down! (The sex/flirting scenes are hot too!)

I waited years for this book and it didnt disappoint! Lothaire is all cold reason and full of several millennia worth of knowledge, yet his soft spot is Ellie. Sheis in her own right a superb match for him. i really loved the dynamic between Lothire and Nix. More of that please. I loved this book.

Had this book forever did not read it because I literally fell in love with him in all the other books an I just didn't see how KC could do him justice, make him fall in love but not change him into some changed goody 2 shoes(needless to say I got the book the day it came out like I did her other 11 in the series and just sat on it). Once I started I could not stop. I read into the night and spent the day in class tired but it was sooooooooooooo worth it LOTHAIRE is by far the best book in the series thus far. KC introduced us to a host of new characters Lothaire's family ( can't wait for their stories YAY!!) and our old characters are as out there as ever. The book is a ride I did not want to get off and at the end had me cursing my favorite author because I want MORE!!!!!!!!!!! This series out shines all others but this book well........just read it and see for yourself ENJOY :-)

I was disappointed. Unfortunately, the book didn't match the excellence of other books in the Immortal After Dark series. Lothaire fell short for me. Lothaire is described as the ultimate evil one. Well, sorry, he came off as a contemptuous egomaniac. His 'evil' is reduced to verbal abuse of his captive. Nice girl Ellie is possessed of an evil goddess who uses her body to kill. Great premise. I like Ellie. The outside danger to this couple were just tossed in. Most of the book can be summed up as girl surviving verbal abuse. I can't give it more than a three star.

Usually, a series really begins to get boring after the first handful of books. With Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, I swear each book just keeps getting better. This book was amazing. Loved it and can't wait for the next one!

I was disappointed in this book. Maybe my expectations were too high. I loved Lothaire as a side character in earlier books. As the main character, not so much. Besides being all ungodly beautiful, I was never able to get what Ellie saw in him. I really looked forward to this book, but it did not come close to my expectations.

As a friend and I like to call Kresley Cole a writing wizard!!!She has a way with words that gets you sucked in from the very begining and keeps you prisoner til the book ends leaving you begging for more please! This is a must read but I do recommend reading the series in order to get the full effect.

This book has got to be one of the best romance novels I've read. Kresley Cole is a mastermind in weaving story lines and creating a world both character and plot driven that makes the reader stay up until 2am to finish the book! The characters are real and poignant. This book made me laugh out loud, and the sex scenes steamy. What more can a romance novel reader ask for? I can think of a few writers who've really taken paranormal romance to a whole new depth (cough cough Gena Showalter) of both complexity and humor. Kresley Cole is one of them. This book kicks a**!

This book was one of Cole's best, I loved it! I loved that it wasn't at all predictable, Lothaire remained Lothaire and didn't turn into some kind of hero and Elizabeth was really endearing. She was tough but also really likeable. I would actually read this one again.

I read a lot of books (2-3 per week). This is the first one I have read from the author, Kresley Cole but it will certainly not be the last. This book kept me up all night into the early morning hours reading. Lothaire is quite arrogant but he certainly met his match. What an exciting and quite sensual read! Ms. Cole is now on my favorite authors list.

I haven't started the book yet but I know it'll be awesome. I've loved every book in Kresley Cole's series and I know that Lothaire will be no different. Her books just keep getting better as the series progress and not many authors can do the same. I'll be receiving my copy at one of Kresley's book signings and i'm so excited to get to meet her! I'm rereading her past books in the series as a way to refresh and I giggled when Lothaire appeared in the first book. He's such a badass!
I'll let everyone know how the book signing goes and post it here in my review. It's going to be a real treat getting to meet her!

January 15th Update ***

I had so much fun getting to meet Kresley Cole at her book signing tour. They say you shouldn't meet your heros because they won't turn out being how you've dreamt them to be in your head. That was not the case for me with KC. She's so hilarious and met all of my expectations at what kind of person she'd be. She was very kind hearted, humble, and had us laughing out of our chairs. She was just like your best friend and made sure she had time for everyone. She also expressed such a passion and love for her characters. She especially had a passion for Paul Marron a.k.a Lothaire who joined us at the signing and even purred at him a couple of times. I don't blame her either because Paul was especially delish in his Lothaire attire complete with red eyes, unzipped black leather jacket (bare chested underneath!), tight jeans, and scuffed boots. He was also very sweet and a great sport with letting us take as many pictures as we wanted with him. He also autographed my copy of Lothaire next to KC's signature.
KC's the kind of person you wish you could hang out with all the time and i'm so glad I grabbed the opportunity to go and see her. I recommend all her fans to meet her and support her as an amazing author! I'm still going through her IAD series and can't wait to read Lothaire. I'm currently half way through Dark Desires After Dusk so I've got a bit to go but I'll be sure to give you guys my review once I'm finished.

January 23rd Update ***

I just finished rereading KC's IAD series and (drumroll plz) Lothaire!!! It was amazing! Lothaire finds his Bride but of course, she's not what he wants or expects at all. She's what he despises most of all. I love how Kresley portrays the love/hate relationship with her characters. I especially love how all of her books tie in with each other. While I was reading, "Demon from the Dark," I kept wondering what Lothaire was going to do with that ring and now I know ;) It was so great getting to see inside his mind and learning his story. He was a complete jerk to Elizabeth but I just love it when the female characters prove the males wrong! Women are always right anyways! lol
If you haven't read the series yet, I highly recommend that you do. I have to say that Lothaire was worth the wait!

Freaking Amazing!
Ellie is a fabulous match for Lothaire. Who else but a cunning, intellegent and sexy country girl to keep Lothaire in line and on his toes. Because we all know that everyone else in the Lore still hates him and he is still a 'bad boy' at heart.

This book flowed so well, I am amazed that Kresley Cole was able to keep all the information in line and overlapping becuase everything is so twisty and complicated in this series.

Just wanted to say this i one of the best books i have read in the last year!! I made sure i had an empty day to read it and then was mad i hadnt taken my time. I was kinda disapointed it ended. Really worth it. Just have some snacks ready cause you are not gonna wanna get up!

I think this was my favorite of the series. As always, Kressley Cole's humor permeates the book. Silent chuckles to belly laughs. Love the characters, love the writing and I'm looking forward to the next book.

IAD spoilers below I guess*** Mild ones?

I hated the last book. Poor Regan got a jerk for lead. These guys cannot be abusers and get away with it just because they're good in the sack. Showalter does it, Ione does it and I hate it. So I suppose the purpose of this review is to ask if it's just me. Why can't a guy be hot without being a total d**che? I want sex, tension and a guy that's likable and it seems like all that is being abandoned in this genre. No more Edward's and Eric's. No more Jean-Claude's, they're not complicatd but jerks.

Lothaire is a complicated cat and man was I looking forward to this book. I wanted to see the reviews to gauge my expectations. i was really disappointed with Kiss of Snow by Singh and was hoping to moderate my hopes so that I'd know what I was getting into. Lothaire is a kidnapper? A total jerk who is condescending and cruel? That sucks! I don't want to read that!

Lothaire was supposed to be the gamma brought low by his perfect Bride!

I'm giving the genre two last chances. If Hanson's Lucas does not get redeemed and Qhinn and Blay are not hot, then i'm outtie! Maybe I'll read Inspirational. Okay, probably not. Just writing it made me depressed. I just wish more of these guys would get complex redemptions. Please, Kresley? Please?

My other question is this...how come he didn't wind up with NIX? Was it just so she could get one more book out of this series? I was CONVINCED he was supposed to wind up with her. Am I the only person who thought they were supposed to get together?

I have been waiting forever on Lothaire to have his own book. It was FANTASTIC. Kresley keeps getting better, unlike some of her counter-parts. Every page was worth it. I found myself trying to slow down and savor it. I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did. Warning: Scalding HOT scenes. Not for the faint of heart.

I am a big fan of Kresley Cole and her Immortals After Dark series. I will admit that I don't "find time " to read many books but she is an amazing writer and I will actually read one of her books within 2 - 3 days and can't wait to read what ever she writes. She keeps me interested immediately and throughout the entire book. This is no doubt my favorite series and I highly recommend it!!!!

i am last person to rate or write a review. the fact that i am and on my keyboardless kindle speaks volumes. i usually let the fact that paid full price...blah..... speak. i love all the books inthis series. this is the least one i wanted read and one i absotely adored. thank you ms. cole i laughed i teared up and actually rooted for the bad guy. well done you have me dreaming of a red eyed evil vampire of my very own.

I really loved this! Just finished it! Kresley Cole does not disappoint! If you have been waiting for this book you will have a great time reading it. Save it for the end of a bad day, it is really that good! Lothaire was even hotter than I thought he would be!

I loved this book! I could not put it down once I started. I was so happy with the ending between Nix & Leo. I hope K. Cole comes out soon with a book soon regarding Nix story. This and a Hunger Like No Other are my favorites of Immortal books. Must read if you read the series.

Wonderful, funny characters. A lot of threads in the series come together nicely here. I'd say this is the most self-reflexive and ironic book in the series...well, Shadow's Claim is, too. Overall, a rewarding romance read!

I have read all the Immortals After Dark books and loved them! When I heard the next book was going to be about Lothaire, I was hesitant as I did not like his character. I got the book this past Sat from the library and LOVED IT! It was a page turner and I finished it iquickly. Loved it! I highly recommend it, especially if you are an IAD fan. I can't wait for the next book.

Kresley Cole doesn't get much better! I loved the fallen Conrad and his bride, Nemoi, so I was beyond thrilled to finally see Lothaire drop to his knees for a whity, sassy intellegent Ellie Pierce.

$10 that Furie is found and bloods Kristoff. I can't wait!

Fast action, mystery, and smoldering romance. This book has it all. I've never felt so many emotions at once. Talk about a love hate relationship. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to taste the darkness and find that love always prevails.

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I love this series but couldn't figure out how the author was going to make Lothaire "lovable". I was pleasantly surprised how she tackled this character. This has ended up being one of my favorite books in this series!

This one took a little while to get into and I ended the book not totally in love with lothaire but ms. Cole worked her literary magic overall. It was a quick read with plenty of guest appearances from other characters fans of the series love.

Lothaire's treatment of Ellie was foul. However, with her "hillbilly speak", which wasn't depicted much throughout the book, I would have ridiculed her too!!!. Come on...a millennium old vampire falling for a backwoods hillbilly...just too preposterous to believe. And--and this is a huge leap--if it were believable, why make him a total cad throughout the book? The only time he was remotely funny was with his "new niece and nephews"...still mean, but funny. And Ellie's mother...the worse character ever!!!! What mother would leave her child in the hands of a demon...none that I know. Sorry Kresley. As much as I loved Lothaire's meanness in all the other books, I didn't like him being mean to his Bride. Hell, I didn't even like the Bride. Some street-smart, computer hacker, drop dead gorgeous thief with a horrible past and wearing five inch stilettos would have been the perfect balance to Lothaire's heartlessness. This person I could see him falling for, not some "from the hills of the Appalachian Mountain, backwards kid" who never step foot off the mountain, except to go to jail!!!!!

I love the Immortals after Dark series. Actually, it's my favorite series of books and Lothaire doesn't disappoint. I couldn't put it down. From beginning to end, I loved every word of it. If you're into paranormal romance I'd definitely recommend this book.

I've read this whole series and I love Kresley Cole's books. I've been waiting for Lotharie's book and I really enjoyed it. I felt like the end was maybe a little rushed, but otherwise it was a great read.

Lothaire is one of those characters you wish you never invited into your life. He is arrogant, demanding, abusive, and an all-round uneven kind of guy. I don't care if he's packaged in the hottest body on earth, or if he speaks with an exotic Russian accent, or if he is richer than Midas. When a slightly demented guy with a penchant for killing and a possessive streak the length of the Nile wants to have a relationship with you (or rather the spirit lurking inside you), back away slowly to the nearest exit then run for your life.

Our heroine Ellie however, portrayed as a tough mountain gal/trailer trash/truck-stop hoe, decides to do the opposite and attempt to seduce him and it backfires on her in ways that I can only imagine would result in physical, emotional and mental scarring. OK, maybe the mental scarring was just me.

I don't want to go into detail- actually I do because these are some of the things that should NEVER be seen in a romance/erotic novel. NEVER.

***DETAILED SPOILERS AHEAD. STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON"T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOK***

First-off gang-rape and random acts of violence in the first few chapters. I understand that the Lore is a dangerous place to live, but a lot of the violent acts in this book did not drive the story forward. They seemed to be placed here and there for shock value and most of the time were mentioned in a cursory way, as if in afterthought. Secondly, the way Ellie's virginity was taken was just plain rape. Lothaire breaks her in a way no virgin should be broken (roughly with his fingers) despite her protests, questions and inexperience. If you're squirming while you read this, then imagine coming across this scene unwarned in the book - I wanted to throw the book across the room (but I couldn't because it was my beloved Kindle). Thirdly, forcing people to bend to your will ALL the time, usually accompanied with threats of harm or death for you or your loved ones. NOT sexy. NOT cool. Lothaire patronizingly makes decisions for Ellie with the idea that 'he knows best' and she gets no say whatsoever. He even turns her into a vampire against her will and it was after this ridiculous scene that I started skimming towards the end of the book.

*** SPOILERS FINISHED ***

The story itself had an original and potentially awesome premise with Ellie being possessed with the spirit that Lothaire thought was his Bride. The problem was in the telling. I felt like Ms. Cole wanted to update her readers on every character's back-story and in so doing, forgot to tell the key story about Lothaire and Ellie. By the end of the book, I didn't feel anything for the two main characters and this was ironic seeing as I had spent most of the book in their heads, examining their every insecurity and fear. We even get stuck in the character's thought processes in the middle of conversations to the point where we forget what the line of conversation is because we've be too busy flash-backing or worrying about the future.

Now, I don't review all the books I read, unless there is something exceptional about them. In this case, this novel was exceptionally bad. It came from someone that I know can write better. She debuted with Captain of All Pleasures, wrote the entertaining MacCarrick Brothers series and won a RITA award for Hunger like No Other. I mean, the woman has a Master's degree in English for heaven's sake, so please don't tell me that Lothaire is the best she can do. I have this feeling she is under contract/pressure to release a book every six months or so, or else she has hired a ghostwriter to take over the IAD series - those are the only reasons I can think of for why she would release sub-par work. I hope one day that she goes back to historical fiction, to planning, researching and crafting a book that might take longer to put out, but in the end, will be something she can be proud of. This is not a negative review of the writer, only of this particular work.