Book Review of Lothaire by Kresley Cole

Title: Lothaire

Author: Kresley Cole

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Release Date: Janurary 10th, 2012

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?

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: I have been itching to get my hands on this book ever since we first met Lothaire. He has been nothing but a lying, cheating, self centered jerk to almost anyone he meets but in spite of all that he is still charming and I love him! In the last book, Dreams of a Dark Warrior (review here) he did appear multiple times and every time you could tell he was up to something. His true motives were never fully revealed to us and I was dying to find out what was going on in that twisted head of his.

I really enjoyed Elizabeth as a character especially since she has not been dealt the best hand in life and met those difficulties head on. She was raised in a home that never had a lot of money, she has been sharing her mind and body with an evil goddess who loves to kill and she spent five years in jail for crimes she did not commit. Yet despite all that she is still a fighter and always cherished the love of her family above anything else. It takes Elizabeth awhile to fully motivate herself to fight the path Lothaire tries to put her on, but once she decides to survive she will do anything within her power to get what she wants. She is the perfect match for Lothaire. She stands up to him constantly and does not back down when he tries to threaten her. He has been up on his high horse for so long, I was ecstatic to see someone bring him down a couple of notches. She told Lothaire at one point:

“My greatest asset is that I’m forever underestimated-by people like you. She pinned his gaze with her own. “I’m the sucker punch that you never saw coming.”

That quote embodies her perfectly. She may have a sweet nature, but she will defend those she loves with everything she has and will fight dirty if necessary. The only thing about her that would bother me at times was her accent. I did not mind that she came from the south, but there were some expressions that I have never heard of and sentences I had to sometimes go back to reread to try and decipher her meaning. It is not a big point and should by no means keep anyone from reading the book, but it did take me out of the moment once or twice because I had to decode what she was trying to say.

As for Lothaire, sometimes the male character will soften up after he has fallen for the woman he is intended to be with. That is not even close to the case with Lothaire. He is the same guy throughout the novel, even after he decides who he is supposed to be with. The only difference is he is completely loyal to her. He is still narcissistic or actually he would say this:

“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.”

Yeah, Lothairistic, ha! Anyway, he is still demanding and overbearing, but now he is all those things and in love. I was sure his alpha male dominance would leave me annoyed with him, but it actually had the opposite effect. I appreciated Kresley having him say true to who he was and not completely change his character just because he found his Bride. He does need to learn how to compromise, but for the most part he is still the same Lothaire we have come to know and love. His past was brutal to read, these immortals never seem to have easy childhoods and Lothaire was no exception. His hatred comes from a dark place in his past and as it unraveled my heart broke for him. It is easy to understand why he has become what he in now with everything that was done to him in the past, I just kept fingers crossed that he would be able to overcome it all and learn to love with all his heart.

The action in this book was not so much someone chasing them, but Lothaire trying to come to terms with who is Bride was, Elizabeth or Saroya. He was also struggling with his past and all the enemies he has made who hunt him constantly. Seeing what Lothaire has done and all the immortals he has interacted with actually tied quite a few story lines together. Kresley is absolutely brilliant when it comes to weaving past plots into the current books and having the entire world meld together beautifully. There were so many other immortals that affect Lothaire and Elizabeth’s journey, so the meat of the story is about how they overcame their personal struggles and the people that help them along the way. We even get a brief glimpse at the Valkyrie’s and my personal favorite Nix. That girl shows up at the most unexpected moments and I am always eager to see what she has to say. While her sanity is rapidly declining, she still has the ability to see the future and helps those around her in unexpected ways. I don’t know when she will finally get her own book, but I will try to wait patiently until that day finally arrives.

Overall, this is another amazing addition to this series! Sometimes when a series gets this long, the plot can get repetitive, but Kresley brings fresh ideas to every book and will have you hanging onto the edge of your seat for every moment of it. I am not sure where this series will go next, but I think the next immortal to be featured was hinted at in the epilogue. Whatever Kresley brings us next, I will be getting my hands on it as fast as possible to find out what awaits the immortals.

FTC: Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book for review.