Night Play (Dark-Hunter, Book 6)

I will begin this review with a little demographics information. According to an American Demographics journal article in July 2003: "The average woman is 5'4" tall, weighs 145 lbs. with a dress size of 11 to 14, has a 36-37" bust, is about 29" around the waist and close to 40" around the hips". A size 18 is not too far from that. It sounds huge, but it's really not. Take a look at some of the plus size models in some of the fashion catalogs and you will see that while the size sounds humongous to people used to hearing about characters who are a perfect size 6, in real life beautiful people do come in all sizes, and size 18 is not as big as some people imagine it to be. Especially considering that Bride is tall. Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about this book. I loved this story. It is an amazingly sweet love story, with two very likable characters who simply fit. Vane needed a family oriented girl who is able to surpass every day trials and tribulations. He needed a no-nonsense kind of girl. Bride, regardless of her poor body image, is a strong female lead. She is self sufficient, she does not take attitude from others, and even though in private her feelings may be hurt she does not go about whining about it to everyone or playing the victim. She is very real. She is also just what he needs. On the other hand, she needed a strong partner as well to make her see past her own insecurities. Vane is a dream come true, and is one of my favorite heroes in this genre. I have read a lot of paranormal romance novels (way too many according to my husband!) and I have to say that there are very few heroes out there who, as wonderful as they are, can compete with Vane. The novel has quite a bit of action in it as well. The action does not take over the love story, for which I am glad. That is actually one of my issues with some of her newer books which seem to be more urban fantasy than paranormal romance. These older novels in the series have the right mix of action and romance, and Night Play is no exception. I understand that some people prefer their romance characters to be perfectly fantastical vehicles of escapism. I am of the opinion that I would like to at least somewhat relate to the characters, particularly the female leads. I hate to admit it, but every time I read about a "perfect size 6 blonde with blue/green eyes, flawless alabaster skin, tiny hands and feet", it just turns me off a little. I cannot relate to that because that is not my reality. Now give me a dark haired, dark eyed, average hispanic girl who is strong despite what life throws at her and still finds her dreamy true love, and you have caught my attention. I understand that not everyone is like me, so I don't begrudge the blonde skinny girls their books. However, having other types of characters that the audience can identify with is smart, and makes Ms. Kenyon's books more interesting to a wider audience.

Great book story and fast moving.

Night Play is a great addition to the Dark-Hunter series with well developed characters that keep the story moving and the reader interested. Vane has given up hope on his life since he lost his sister and then his brother Fang went into a shifter type coma and hasnt come out for months. He has tried everything he can think of to get Fang to wake up but nothing has worked, and while Vane has no idea what to do he knows that he has to think of something since his former pack is after him and his brother. But when he passes a window and see's a women he can't help himself and goes inside, but after the one time with each other the mating sign appears on his hand and he knows he can't live with out the woman in his life. But she's mortal and he's not, can he get over his fears of hurting her and claim his mate? Bride has never thought of herself as being beautiful, her boyfriend of years had always refused to take her out to eat and anywhere in public. Now he has finally dumped her after he gave her an ultimatum to lose weight and she couldn't, but when a stranger comes into her store and he makes her feel beautiful she wonders if she'll ever see him again. Vane has to deal with who he is and convince his human mate that they belong together, he also has to deal with a revelation about his family and who is trying to keep him from ever claiming his mate. Night Play is a wonderful story where the heroine is a little big boned, and though she sometimes wishes she could be skinny she has come to terms with her body and loves it. And so does her mate ash

This is one of my favorite books in the series, it's the first full book where we get to know and read the history of the were hunters. And it's early enough in the series not to be bogged down with so many characters and various species/demon types. One thing the author does so well is to show us both sides of a conflict and make you feel for characters on each side. But what makes this one such a great story for me, is both Vane and Bride. Bride is human and not the perfect size. As a matter of fact she's dumped by her long time boyfriend because he believes being seen with her now that he's successful on TV, hurts his image. Vane on the other hand, is gorgeous, kind, attentive, loaded and has awesome abilities. But his best traits are that he believes Bride is the most beautiful person he's ever seen, perfect just as she is - and he's not afraid to show it. Who wouldn't want a guy like that? Vane is a wolf, the product of a mating between his Arcadian mother (human soul) and Katagaria father (animal soul). When born, his mother rejected him along with a brother and sister who were all born wolves. Raised with his father's pack as a wolf, he discovers when he hits puberty, and has to hide the fact from the rest of the pack, that his soul is human and as it turns out, magically one of the most powerful of his kind. Bride is a human who has no clue that all these people she knows are anything but human. The only criticism I have about this book and the series is the angst; "I'm not good enough." It makes it bittersweet when the couple du jour come together, but I don't suggest reading the series back-to-back.

The last time I read this book was 15 yrs ago. It's still a great read. She was my favorite author for a long time. I even named my so after one of her dark-hunter. I love the vibe..

j'adore ce tome

Ich habe die Geschichte verschlungen, konnte ich mich doch mit Bride identifizieren, weil ich selber trotz Sport zuviel wiege. Es ist glaubwürdig dargestellt, wie sie leidet unter einem dünnen Schönheitsideal in einer gesellschaftlichen Oberflächlichkeit, und es nicht fassen kann, daß ein solcher Wolfsmann wie Vane sie begehren und halten möchte. Wer hätte bei solch einem Kerl nicht seine Zweifel? Sie wächst an seiner Seite aus sich heraus, und er nimmt sie einfach eben so, wie sie ist Ich könnte die Geschichte immer wieder lesen! Ich hoffe, Kenyon spinnt den Faden weiter, weil mir Fury auch so gut gefällt.

I found this book listed in one of the threads on the Amazon romance forum and thought, 'Sounds promising'. So I downloaded the sample... quickly followed by the rest of it! If Ms. Kenyon's other books are as good as this one, then my bank-balance will be taking a hit over the coming months... because I'm going to have to read them all! The characters in this book carried around a lot of hurt, were shaped by their life experiences and had things they still needed to learn. None of them were perfect. At the same time, the characters valued the relationships they had with those around them and they worked hard/made sacrifices to provide the love and safety that those closest to them needed. That really resonated with me, layering the story with enough emotion to keep me turning those pages. Sherrilyn Kenyon made me 'care' about what had happened and would happen to her characters, to the point that I finished the book and immediately started thinking about all the characters I'd 'met' within those pages but hadn't found out about yet. It takes skill to write a story that leaves the reader satisfied by the MCs, overall plot and resolution, whilst at the same time creating an emotional link to other characters and a need to know more that will, ultimately, pull the reader on to other titles. Sherrilyn Kenyon is definitely a skilled author and, after reading Night Play, I'm looking forward to downloading another of her books... once I can decide which one to pick! :)

Replaced my old copy, had water damage. I love this series. I read this book first (didn't know it wasn't the first). Couldn't recommend this series more.

I bought this book years ago, just bought it again so I have it on kindle. I’ve read it at least 15 times. I love the dark hunter series and highly recommend it