Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dark Hunter #4, St. Martin's, October 2002, Rating: A

I haven't been able to find the second in the Dark Hunter series (a short story entitled THE BEGINNNING) and the third installment was a short story entitled DRAGONSWAN. So, NIGHT PLEASURES is the second full-length novel in the Dark Hunter series. In it we meet Kyrian of Thrace, friend to Julian in FANTASY LOVER from their days in the military fighting against Rome. Kenyon has taken the vampire myth and added some depth to it. Dark Hunter's are a form of vampire and while soulless they do not feed on humans. They protect the humans from Daimons who are suck human souls to prolong their life from the 27 years they are supposed to get. Dark Hunter's serve Acheron who maintains possession of their souls. It is possible to get your soul back but a difficult feat, and if you try and fail you essentially become a ghost - not quite on earth but nowhere else and no one can see or hear you.

Kyrian of Thrace became a Dark Hunter out of vengeance against his wife, which he never could go through with. He has willingly embraced his job as a Dark Hunter for over two thousand years, keeping people at a distance due to his wife's betrayel of his trust and love. Despite his attempts to keep people at a distance and keep his emotions out of things, Kyrian is unable to mask the fact he still has a heart when he meets Amanda Deveraux. Finding himself handcuffed to her he tries to keep his distance, keep her just another face he's encountered over the years but he's unwilling to succeed.

Amanda Deveraux is part of a family with powers. We met her sister Selena in FANTASY LOVER, she was the person who encouraged Grace to summon Julian from the book she had found at a bookstore. Amanda refuses to admit she has any powers and clings to her "normal" life as an accountant, even attempting to settle for a very boring boyfriend, Cliff, until he breaks up with her upon meeting her "crazy" family. Her twin sister hunts vampire, one is a voodoo priestess and so on. Her paths cross with Kyrian when she gets mistaken (supposedly) for her twin and her life spirals out of the safe and controlled environment she's created - resulting in her eventually embracing her powers.

I really enjoyed this book. Kyrian's was a heartbreaking story, his past full of heartbreak and torture that made him weak even today when he was captured or hunted. I'm enjoying the characters Kenyon is giving us and the world she has created. I look forward to meeting other Dark Hunters and rate NIGHT PLEASURES an A.

©Susan Falk and phantomroses.com