Kiss of a Demon King, by Kresley Cole
Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
“Immortals After Dark” series, Book 7
From Amazon.com…
From New York Timesbestselling author Kresley Cole comes this spellbinding story of a demon king trapped by an enchantress for her wanton purposes — and the scorching aftermath that follows when he turns the tables and claims her as his captive.
HIS OBSESSION…
Sabine, Sorceress of Illusions: the evil beauty who surrenders her body, but not her heart.
HER DOWNFALL…
Rydstrom Woede: the ruthless warrior who vows to keep her at all costs.
THEY WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO WANT EACH OTHER THIS MUCH…
With each smoldering encounter, their shared hunger only increases. If they can defeat the sinister enemy that stands between them, will Sabine make the ultimate sacrifice for her demon? Or will the proud king lay down his crown and arms to save his sorceress?
I just finished Kiss of a Demon King a few hours ago, and I think that it might just be my favorite book (so far) in the “Immortals After Dark” series. My reasons for choosing it as my favorite are not my usual ones. For example, when I have a “keeper” in my paranormal romance collection, I usually include it because I connected with the couple on a level that left me breathless. Well, while Rydstrom and Sabine did leave me breathless, it wasn’t necessarily because I connected with them. In all honesty, they are a little too much at times. But they are also amazingly complicated, and I think that out of all the crazy relationships presented in this series, Kresley Cole handled this one in the best way.
The story of Rydstrom Woede and Sabine, Queen of Illusions, begins during the action of the previous book. In Dark Desires After Dusk, we discover that Rydstrom, a rage demon, has been taken captive by Sabine, Queen of Illusions. I remember reading about it and thinking, “Oh, my…this is going to be interesting.” …and is it ever.
The first real exposure we had to Rydstrom was in Mariketa’s story. He was so sexy in that book that I couldn’t wait to read his own story. Rydstrom is a king without a castle and country, an alpha male unafraid to pursue what he wants until the very end. He lost the crown to the evil Omort long ago and is determined to win it back (more details about this and Rydstrom’s brother Caedon are in the previous book). Sabine, Omort’s half-sister, shows up in Dark Desires After Dusk, casts an illusion spell, and kidnaps Rydstrom, making him her prisoner in his former castle. Why does she want him? He is destined to father her child—a child Omort hopes will ensure his power.
Sabine is an interesting character. She and her sister, Lanthe, have endured a hard life of violence and survival, but both are incredibly powerful. The sisters cling to Omort only out of a need for protection, but his guardianship comes at a price. Knowing that Sabine is destined to be Rydstrom’s mate and bear his all-powerful child, Omort keeps Sabine under his thumb by feeding her does of poison that must be taken regularly if she is to survive. (Yes, I know that sounds weird…but this book is really complicated.)
Once Sabine has Rydstrom under her control, she knows that she must seduce him so that he will impregnate her with his child. Every effort fails, and Sabine loses her temper more than once. Surviving and protecting her sister are the only things Sabine cares about, and she is as hard and as tough as Rydstrom. The man suffers under her “care,” and vows revenge when he gets free…and when he does, Sabine becomes his prisoner and is forced to confront truth.
Rydstrom exacts punishment and revenge upon Sabine when he flees with her from the castle. This section of the book is probably the most complex, because Sabine is starting to fall in love with a man who treats her as a prisoner. His behavior towards her is brutal and demeaning at times, and I kept asking myself how Cole was going to actually make me believe that Sabine and he could fall in love. In many ways, their time together reminded me of the movie “Swept Away.” In spite of everything that happens between them—the violence, the threats, the humiliation—I do think that by the end Cole pulls it off and makes the reader comfortable with their relationship.
Rydstrom begins to fall for Sabine much sooner than she does for him. His treatment of her once he has her under his control fits his personality. He is old school, and though he loves Sabine’s power and strength, it is obvious that he is also adamant about being in charge. His need to reclaim his kingdom and his honest feelings about that quest are startling. He admits that he only seeks to be king because it is his duty, and for some reason I found this fascinating. He embraces duty in every aspect of his life, and there is a point where he realizes that feeling duty in one’s whole being and wanting to be dutiful is very different from doing it out of a sense of obligation. His protection of Sabine and his focused attention upon her is fascinating to see play out on the page—and this is the sense of duty that comes to matter most to him. I also enjoyed seeing his admiration of Sabine, both during the times when she wasn’t so friendly and as her icy shell began to crack. Out of the heroes presented thus far, I felt like I got to know Rydstrom more deeply than the others.
Sabine is also portrayed very well. Her transformation comes very slowly, and I think that Cole’s choice to make it that way is very convincing. Though she doesn’t tell him about Omort’s poison and nearly dies because of it, she does make sure at the end to be completely honest with herself and Rydstrom—a huge step for her. One of the most fascinating differences between Rydstrom and Sabine has to do with their key conflict: Sabine’s inability to be honest with him. Rydstrom sees trust, loyalty, and honesty as the foundation of any relationship, and Sabine, by experience, has learned the exact opposite. She guards her emotions carefully and refuses to become emotionally attached to anyone other than her sister (and it is obvious that she cares for her deeply). Accustomed to lying in order to survive, she sees no value in telling the truth to anyone other than Lanthe. So, she lies constantly to Rydstrom, seeing herself in survival mode. Of course, as their relationship changes and she does start telling the truth, he doesn’t believe her. Still, this is an important character difference between the two of them and one of my favorite aspects of their story, because it makes us think.
For example, we admire Rydstrom for his noble bearing and commitment to truth and honesty. Those are the qualities that make a hero, right? But Sabine is a survivor. She has sacrificed more than Rydstrom ever would, and it is probably due to the fact that she is a very powerful woman living in a strange and deadly world filled with strange and deadly men and women. Through her early childhood, she was aware of the danger facing her and her family. Her instincts told her to flee with her sister long before the devastating attack they experienced when Sabine was only twelve. I can only imagine what that would do to a child—especially a child like Sabine, who, like Rydstrom, takes duty very seriously. While she could care less about others, her devotion to and protection of her sister, Lanthe, is never in doubt. She learns to keep the two of them safe in any way that she can, and if lying helps…well, she is going to do it. Her power, casting illusions, is like lying, of course. And, if you start thinking about sexual seduction as an illusion, then this gets even more complicated. Sabine isn’t stupid. She will use whatever is at her disposal to survive. Sexuality, illusion, lying—all of the familiar vices associated with women portrayed as villains.
So what does all of this mean? Well, it could be taken any number of ways, but I do think Cole is, in some ways, pointing out that surviving in the “Immortals After Dark” world is very different for women than it is for men. I will not tell you what to think, but I do think it is an important detail to notice in this series.
So, though the book made me uncomfortable and though I didn’t necessarily identify with Rydstrom and Sabine at all times, I really found their story fascinating. I highly recommend this book, but only if you have read the others. You need a solid understanding of Cole’s world and overarching story if you want to understand what is going on in this one. Enjoy!
Rating: 5 moons!
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Excellent review! I also loved this book for its complexity. Sabine’s slow defection to the good side was extremely enjoyable to read as she warred with herself against her feelings for Rydstrom. It was also nice to see Rydstrom caught off guard by how well Fate had chosen his mate for him, and how she was completely the opposite of what he had searched for his entire immortality.
One of my favorites in my “keep to read over and over” pile. :)
~Lisa