Kiss of a Demon King

First, I have to say that I adore the relationship between Sabine and her sister. Melanthe is the only person in Sabine’s life who has always been there for her, no questions asked. The only person she can trust without doubt or feeling like there is something owed back. I love their unity and confidence and trust with each other.

Of course, the main point of this story is the romantic relationship between Sabine and Rydstrom. And it’s a doozy. She really puts him through the ringer, yet they still fall in love. Talk about fated mates! It’s so yummy to watch Sabine pulled back to Rydstrom over and over when she knows she should be keeping her distance and he is, in fact, her enemy. The way she finds excuses to see him reminded me of a pre-teen riding their bike past their crush’s house over and over. Sabine is strong and powerful and fierce…she just can’t control her heart.

Rydstrom has a one-track mind. His purpose is to rule Rothkalina, which means he has to kill his usurper. The problem being that Osmort is pretty much indestructible, even more than most immortals. In the story before this book, Dark Desires After Dusk, Rydstrom’s brother is on a quest to get a sword that will supposedly kill Osmort. Since the first half of this story runs in tandem with that story, that is all Rydstrom is focused on…his brother and that sword. Somehow, someway, as the days go by, Sabine starts to get under his skin. Well, honestly he is instantly attracted to Sabine and wants to explore what their connection means. But his focus is still staunchly on his goal. Every time Sabine cracks that armor a bit, she ends up inadvertently doing something to remind him she is the enemy and the walls go right back up. But each time they’re rebuilt, they’re not quite as strong. These immortals should realize by now that they are defenseless when it comes to their mates. Although the rage demons think they can’t know their mate without “giving it a test run” first. I feel, after reading Cadeon’s and Rydstrom’s stories, that may not necessarily be true.

There are terrible things Sabine and Rydstrom do to one another. Sometimes I don’t think they can come back from these things. The common thread through all these things is their internal guilt that the reader is privy to. We get to know how much it bothers them to hurt the other. Or, the reasoning behind their actions. That comes in especially helpful with Sabine. The woman’s trust issues are off the chart, with good reason.

There were a few times the story dragged a bit for me. But nothing too major. There are so many things to enjoy with this story that the slow parts don’t seem that big of a deal. Wonderful chemistry, amazing characters, some twists and turns, and an HEA. Couldn’t ask for more.

A quick note that Nix, at one point talks about going to Budapest to check out the Lords of the Underworld. If you don’t know, author Gena Showalter (who this book is dedicated to), writes the Lords of the Underworld series and it’s fantastic. I looked at the publication date of this book and figured I’m already well beyond the point where Nix may have shown up in that world for a cameo since I’m much further along in that series. If you happen to know which book she’s in, I’d love that information. My point is, if you haven’t read any of the Lords of the Underworld series you really should. Even Kresley Cole thinks so!

I highly recommend this book for people who like a little fantasy and lore with their romance and steamy sex.

Back in 2014, I started to re-read the Immortal After Dark series and then stopped because that is when I started back working again and I never picked up where I left off. Now in 2019, I decided to re-read again from the beginning. Now I’m at the 7th book, and it’s like I’m reading Kiss of a Demon King for the first time since it’s been 9 years since I read this book.

First I realize this book is a lot of readers favorites, but unfortunately, this has to be one of my least favorites. It’s not just because of the female character Sabine, but also because of Rydstrom too. There’s also the issue of Omort the Deathless in this book. There are villains you hate, but there are villains that are sick and twisted, and this one was sick and twisted. I felt ill the whole time with him in the story.

Here’s the gist of the story without giving too much away. If you read Cadeon’s story previous of this book, you would’ve found out that Rydstrom was captured by a so-called damsel in distress who was the Sorceress of Illusions Sabine (She’s the half-sister of Omort the Deathless. Omort is the one that stole the crown from Rydstrom.) Sabine now has Rdystrom in his dungeon of his castle in his kingdom. She’s on a mission to get pregnant by Rydstrom by his baby and also be the Queen of his kingdom. There’s also something else in the story that needs to happen that Omort needs for her to do. Omort though is not liking the fact that his half-sister has to sleep with the Demon King. This is when the readers find out that Omort has feelings for Sabine. There’s also something that Omort does to Sabine and her sister that is unforgivable, and I find it very disturbing. I hated this part of the book. This was at least one thing I aligned with Sabine in the story and wanting revenge against Omort. I could not stomach Omort and found him disturbing. He is the worst villain so far in the series (at least so far).

Here’s the thing that bothered me about this book though. Rydstrom changes when he becomes captured due to how Sabine tortures him. (Cadeon and Rydstrom changed personalities and you can tell within this book.) There’s also the issue that he knows she’s his fated mate. He’s fallen for her, but Sabine doesn’t want to fall in love. I can understand though because Kresley does go into detail some of Sabine’s past and why she is the way she is, and there is her sister who she loves dearly. I couldn’t connect with Sabine though. I couldn’t connect with Rydstrom though too, especially towards the end of the book, when Sabine was trying to get back to her sister. There is sexual assault in this book from both characters in different ways, and I sometimes thought they shouldn’t be fated mates. Although, in the end, I could understand why they were fated mates after everything happened. I’m glad though that Sabine and Melanthe have a strong relationship as sisters and you get that in this book.

I will say this that Cadeon and Holly make an appearance in this book and let’s say readers will find out more about Holly’s pregnancy. I was excited to hear about them.

Will Rydstrom get his crown back in this book? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Oh, if you are a fan of Gena Showalter’s Lord of the Underworld series, you’ll hear Nix mention that she has to go to Budapest to meet the Lord of the Underworld guys. I love that series and will be re-reading that series next because I’ve missed that series too and have a couple of books to catch up in that series. I love the fact that Nix played a role in that series.

Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Steaminess Rating: 3.5 stars
Standalone or part of series: Part of the Immortals After Dark series and I highly recommend reading in order.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes. She’s one of my auto-buy favorite authors.
Tropes/Elements: Fated Mates; Enemies to Lovers
Hero: Demon King; Alpha
Heroine: Sorceress of Illusions