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    Shadow's Claim: Immortals After Dark: The Dacians
    Shadow's Claim: Immortals After Dark: The Dacians
    Shadow's Claim: Immortals After Dark: The Dacians
    Audiobook15 hours

    Shadow's Claim: Immortals After Dark: The Dacians

    Written by Kresley Cole

    Narrated by Robert Petkoff

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    #1 New York Times bestseller Kresley Cole follows the royal bloodline of Dacia, a mysterious vampire kingdom within The Lore—Cole’s world of mythological creatures—in this next installment of her award-winning Immortals After Dark series.

    Shadow’s Claim features Prince Trehan, a ruthless master assassin who will do anything to possess Bettina, his beautiful sorceress mate, even compete for her hand in a blood-sport tournament—to the death.

    Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself—until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.

    Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.

    Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away—or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch...
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateNov 27, 2012
    ISBN9781442353336
    Author

    Kresley Cole

    Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals After Dark paranormal series and the young adult Arcana Chronicles. Her books have been translated into over twenty foreign languages, garnered three RITA awards, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists in the US and abroad. Before becoming a writer, Cole was a world-ranked athlete, coach, and graduate student. She has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings. She lives in Florida with her family and “far too many animals,” and spends any free time traveling. You can learn more about her and her work at KresleyCole.com or Facebook.com/KresleyCole.

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    Reviews for Shadow's Claim

    4.5/5

    153 ratings20 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Our Review by LITERAL ADDICTION?s Pack Alpha Michelle L. Olson:*ARC received from the author in exchange for an honest reviewShadow?s Claim was an amazing blend of the best of the IAD series, included some of my favorites of the Lore, and overlaps beautifully with the timeline of the latest release, Lothaire. Unlike other ?spin-off? series that I?ve read recently, wherein the plot of the debut book picks up where the last book of the previous series left off, Shadow?s Claim takes a subset of characters and actually happens in parallel with the events of Lothaire. This was made even more enjoyable when the timelines mesh at the end of the book.Our hero and heroine: Trehan and Bettina are phenomenal together and easily worked their way into my top 3 IAD power couples. Their journey is intense, riddled with emotion, sexy as sin, and full of surprises and I loved how it wasn?t a foregone conclusion that things were going to work out and give us that ?Happily Ever After? that we expect from Paranormal Romances. I actually wondered if Kresley might make us wait for DACIANS #2 to find out what would happen.The world: The world of THE DACIANS was magical and complex, and Shadow?s Claim was made even more intricate by the fact that it took place in several different locales. Kresley painted the set beautifully with her descriptive prose, impeccable timing, and enthralling character interaction. Overall story: The book was chock full of danger, intrigue, action, and romance, and the plot had multiple twists and turns, which made things quite unpredictable and fabulously entertaining. Some of my favorite things: 1)The depth of Trehan! It was mystifying. He may have become one of my favorite PNR heroes... On one hand he?s a ruthless, detached assassin, but he?s also a somewhat vulnerable, bookish introvert. He shows indications of being a closet romantic, an art aficionado, and a loyal family man and somehow manages to perfectly balance being an uber alpha male with having a surprising and wonderful soft side. 2)The fact that Bettina?s entire future hinged on the outcome of a gladiator style tournament was unique and made for high anxiety reading. It also paved the way for some very interesting little turns that Kresley introduced, as well as some wonderful dialogue.3)The supporting characters were solid and necessary to the story. I found myself finding favorites among them outside of our leading couple and hoping that we find out even more in future releases. In addition, we get cameos from some great IAD veterans and more storyline on a couple that were only briefly mentioned before, therefore making me yearn for even more, because there is just so much potential with these characters in play.All in all, LITERAL ADDICTION gives Shadow?s Claim 5 Skulls and would recommend it to ALL Kresley Cole IMMORTALS AFTER DARK fans. While I don?t think it?s 100% necessary to read the entire IAD series before reading Shadow?s Claim, I do feel that having done so made Shadow?s Claim more enjoyable. Reading Lothaire before Shadow?s Claim was a definite plus. With that said, IMMORTALS AFTER DARK is an incredible series and should be devoured by paranormal romance lovers far and wide, so take the plunge and get lost in the Lore. You won?t be disappointed! :)
    • 5/5
      Great book! thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Thank you very much.
    • 4/5
      SO it's pretty great? The ML is so kind and tender and Bet's character arc of finding her self-confidence I super enjoyed that. They're both so determined and it melts me. The only downsides are that Bet has pretty much no control over her life and her loved ones trampling all over her autonomy is never really mentioned and the BFF is a dickhead so much so that I was ready for him to die and his shitty behavior is pretty much glossed over. also at one point our sweet weapons master assassin who is nearly a thousand years old has to remind himself that he's using a staff instead of a sword? But I would recommend, a good listen.
    • 5/5
      I LOVED IT. Somehow I missed this the first time though IAD and I’m so glad I found it! I love the characters and how they grew on their journey. I wanted to give Bettina a hug the whole time and Kresley Cole did a phenomenal job of creating complete characters who come into their own. Loved it!
    • 3/5
      Was so waiting for this one

      3- 3 1/2 stars
      OK... well, I really liked it at first but... it got boring, tedious. It was the same tournament, fighting, meeting, romancing, and then repeat almost through the whole book. It is not the norm for Kresley Cole. Usually the books travel and the scenes change and the plot twists. This really didn't have any major plot twists. It was fun at points, sexy at points, and had some good characters, but it didn't have excitement and change ups like most of her books do. I liked the beginning, until I started to wonder when something different was going to happen, and read, waiting, and then at the very end, when finally something different happened it ended. Too bad the something different at the end wasn't more complex. I feel a little like this was a set up for Melanthe's book. So over all... I liked it, didn't love it like I normally do. Was a little bored more than 1/2 the book, waiting for something more to happen. It is the most emotion, romance driven, of any of the books I've read so far.

      For those reading Immortals After Dark, this is an IAD book. It happens almost completely outside of the Dacian realm. It has several characters from the IAD show up briefly. And overlaps Lothaire's story in timeline, extending it just slightly further out. I like that Cole decided to use Romanian as the language of the Dacians instead of making up one, especially since Dacia was where Romanian is today. For an Immortals After Dark reader, it should be read as it continues the overall story arc.
    • 5/5
      Cole did not disappoint in the start of this off beat Dacian series. Trehan, her leading male, is dead sexy fighting for the right to claim his mate, a demoness/soceri halfling who's about to become queen.

      Only one major things stands in his way- Trehan was originally sent to Kill her best friend and first love. Now he not only has to fight to claim her, but keep her best friend alive, even when he faces Caspian one on one in the ring at the tournament where every fight is t the death.

      I love Cole's use of tortured characters, but the torture came late for this male- which was kind of a relief. I still yelled and screamed at the book, laughing with the characters and for them as well. It never ceases to amaze me how emotionally involved I become when reading one of Cole's books.

      I can't wait for the next one...
    • 5/5
      Thoroughly enjoyed.
    • 3/5
      Not a bad story. I didn't like the heroine. She whined a lot and pined over someone who obviously wasn't interested in her for more than friendship. I liked Morgana and Sabine. I would've love to see more Nix. She can still any book she is in. It was funny to hear the advice that Lothaire provided. Who would've thought he could be so insightful about relationships.
    • 5/5
      Prince of Shadows, Trehan Daciano is the assassin of this people. While on a routine kill he discovers his Bride, Bettina of Abaddon. But there is a small complication... beings who have been to the Realm of Blood and Mist can't leave once they enter. So, Trehan must choose between his Kingdom or his Bride.Kresley Cole hits another one out of the park. This author and her heroes never disappoint. I loved that this was less a new series and more just a continuation of the world of Lore. Shadow's Claim is a steamy, intense, exciting read. I devoured it and can't wait to read more about The Dacians. If your a fan of Immortals After Dark - I can almost guarantee you'll love Trehan Daciano.
    • 5/5
      I devoured this book so quickly. Kresley Cole is my favorite author and I could read her books any day. This is the first book in a new series, but she slipped in characters from "Immortals After Dark", which made very happy. I liked the male protagonist very much, and learned to like the female protagonist. I wasn't ultimately worried because I fully believed the author would solve the love triangle and she did. I wish the princess would realize how wonderful her mate was and forget about her "best friend" earlier, but whatever. It was very suspenseful, and I was always guessing at what would happen next.
    • 4/5
      I was just so happy to have another IAD related book. I was intrigued by The Dacians from Lothaire's book and I was happy to get a better glimpse of their lives.

      Stuff I liked:
      - Trehan is HOT HOT HOT...and the smex is even hotter.
      - The phantom that follows Bettina around. I can't wait to see how his life turns out...he better get a book.
      - The whole tournament concept.
      - The plot twist at the end.
      - NIX!

      I didn't like:
      - The slow start.
      - Morganna, I just didn't like her...
      - The plot twist at the end.

      So the ending is somewhat predictable but...there is a twist at the end that is different and I somewhat didn't expect it. I also hate that whole "push the relationship apart after the climax" thing that KC does. I've never been a fan of it.

      One of my favorite parts were the lead up to the battles. I found my heart pounding, waiting to learn what would happen. When Trehan fights THE BIG NASTY I was almost as tore up as Bettina.

      This is a decent book. I can't wait for more. One of the few book series that has been going on FOREVER that I still stick with.
    • 4/5
      I liked this much better than I did Lothaire. first because the characters weren't as much a jerk as Lothaire was, the heroine brought a different touch this time around being a little more na?ve than the others were and a little more dependent on the ones around her. Trehan was a fine specimen. Man. The things that vampire said and did were awesome. I liked that there was tension at the end and not the immediate HEA that I was getting the impression we would get. Good, very good. :)
    • 5/5
      Omg! How freaking EXCITED am I for the release of Shadow?s Claim?!?! A minor companion series to the Immortals After Dark Series (a series I completely and absolutely ADORE!), The Dacians debut book of the newest series by Kresley Cole, Shadow?s Claim, won?t disappoint the long time lovers of the IAD series!Our heroine, Bettina, a half demon/half sorceress was at a concert when four winged creatures, the Vrekeners?, brutally attack her. She is saved when Raum, ?, summons her back to her home plane of Abbadon (a demon realm) with a medallion she had previously considered a leash.In what she had thought were her last moments, she was thinking of Cas and how he?d never know how much she loved him. When she appears bloody and broken by the Vrekeners on her castle floor, Cas is there. And upon seeing her, he completely goes to pieces.Trehan Daciano is an assassin, a Dacian assassin. If you?ve read the Immortals After Dark series, you?ll remember Dacia is the hidden vampire kingdom of Ivana, Lothaire?s mother. It?s cloaked in mist and sports fountains of blood. No one goes INTO Dacia and comes back out alive. This is how they?ve managed to stay HIDDEN for thousands of years.Playboy Cas entered Dacia, left a trail of fully tended to Dacian women, and then promptly snuck out again. Bad move Demon? Bad move. Trehan lives and BREATHES Dacia, and no one crosses him or his beloved Dacia without paying with their lives. And now his sights are set on Cas.Upon tracking Cas to the land of Death Demons, he meets Bettina, and his heart STARTS BEATING for the first time in a millennium. After hundreds of years of feeling nothing, in a matter of days ? he?s been dispatched to dispose of Cas, found his Blood Mate and entered into a death tournament to win his Bride?s hand.One problem? Bettina has refused to ever forgive him if he kills Cas as planned.Bettina is a FABULOUS heroine. Trehan is the bane of her very existence, even if she can?t stop thinking about how he makes her feel? That is-when she doesn?t want to stop his freshly beating heart instantly.?I wanted his tongue on me; I couldn?t decide if I wanted it still attached to his mouth or not. So I held off.? ~ Morgana (the most powerful Sorceri known to the Lore and Bettina?s aunt.)You totally do not have to have read the Immortals After Dark series to understand the first book in the Shadow?s Claim series. It?s definitely it?s own series all together. But having read and LOVED all the Immortals after Dark books, it?s definitely awesome to revisit some of the IAD characters in this series!A romantic, sexy and action-packed page-turner, Shadow?s Claim is an amazing start to this series!
    • 3/5
      Picked up at the PHX airport since I was about to finish my last book. Interesting supernatural world (only a very brief time at the beginning and end are spent on the plane holding Earth). Abaddon, the plane of death demons, forms the majority of the setting, with the badly beaten and now healed half blood princess being put up as the prize for a tourney to the death. A vampire assassin from a hidden plane joins in when he realises that she's his bride, while Bettina is still longing for her childhood crush Caspian. Mild bisexuality, and lots of threads from other novels in the series. Pretty hot sex, including some masturbation. The whole thing about vampire males knowing their chosen bride on sight and male demons having to have sex with females in order to tell if they're fated mates is a bit icky though.
    • 4/5
      I LOVE Kresley, and am so excited she's spun off this series! Hot guy, crazy contest to win the girl's hand, secret interludes in the mist...

      YUM!
    • 4/5
      It's an old-fashioned sort of romance, really. He's a vampire. She's a demon princess and the prize in a no-holds barred, win-the-princess tournament. His existence is a secret, but she's his fated Bride. Competing for her hand means he's banished from his home forever, losing means he dies. Winning means he gains a kingdom - and has to kill her best friend... What could possibly go wrong with this scenario? Set on an alternate plane, the events unfold in current time, but conveniently outside of the "real world". Clever, and fun to read.
    • 4/5
      Shadow's Claim is the first in a new paranormal romance series by author Kresley Cole, best known for her wildly popular Immortals After Dark series.Trehan Daciano is the vampire Prince of Shadows, a deadly assassin who has been protecting the hidden kingdom of Dacia for thousands of years. While on the hunt for his latest prey, Caspian The Tracker, in the demon realm of Abbadon, Trehan is inexplicably drawn to a lighted castle window where he discovers his Bride, Princess Bettina.Desperate to secure her childhood friend's affections, Bettina mistakes the hovering presence of Trehan in her darkened bedroom for Caspian and invites him into her bed, an offer Trehan is unable to resist. But when Bettina surfaces from the haze of passion she is horrified to discover her mistake.To claim his Bride, Trehan must not only convince Bettina of his devotion but win her hand in a tournament in which he must fight Caspian to the death.Set within the shadow of Immortals After Dark, the lore of The Realm of Blood and Mist will be familiar to Cole fans yet introduces a new range of characters and an expansion of the familiar myths. With multiple planes of existence, warring kingdoms, and a variety of immortal creatures including vampires, witches, demons, fae and shifters Cole's world is complex yet even though I have never read any of the IAD series I found I quickly grasped the basics of the world, helped by the Glossary of Terms from the Living Book of Lore included in the first few pages.As a paranormal romance, the relationship between the protagonists is at the core of the story, unfolding with the familiar love me/love me not pattern of engagement. Bettina may be Trehan's destined Bride but he needs to convince Bettina of that to claim her, as she believes she is in love with her childhood friend. While I'm not a big fan of the fated mate trope, I grew weary of Bettina's stubborn rejection after a while. Not because of her resistance to Trehan but because her blind devotion to the womanising, weak minded and completely uninterested Caspian was stretched a little thin for me and I felt it reflected poorly on her character. Trehan's alpha dominance was exactly what I expected and though his manipulations and possessiveness are somewhat grating I found him appealing, all the more so for the flashes of emotional vulnerability.What surprised me most about Shadow's Claim was Cole's ability to sustain the tale despite it's length (481 pages). I thought it likely I would lose interest mid way through but I didn't and in fact found it a quick and engrossing read, enjoying my escape into a fantasy realm of magic, danger and dark passion. I'm looking forward to the next installment of The Realm of Blood and Mist and may be tempted to pick up the Immortal After Dark series in the meantime.
    • 4/5
      I am not sure why it takes me so long to finish these books. Part of the problem is that it is spring and I would rather be outside with my hands in the dirt planting things that will make my yard the sanctuary that I want it. The other part is that I just don?t have the time to read that I had a few years ago. My husband being home has cut into the time I can just sit and enjoy a book. That being said I don?t want anyone to think that I am not enjoying this series or that I am having a great deal of trouble plowing through the stories.I will say that one of the problems is that all the books since DEMON FROM THE DARK have covered the same time period. Each of these books contributes to the ongoing story of the coming Accession. The powers are aligning for the fight that has been brewing for 500 years. Alliances are being made and Nix is busy matchmaking throughout the Lore. Yes she makes an appearance in this story as well. Not much of one but she does pop in. I also understand that this is the first book in an offshoot of the Immortals After Dark series. I am guessing that we are going to get to read about Lothaire's other Dacia cousins finding their Brides. This could become very amusing.Trehan Daciano is tracking a Demon that was given permission to enter Dacia and decided that he wanted to go home. While looking for the Demon Trehan finds his Bride. It is interesting to read about Trehan being pulled between his royalty to his house and his people and his Bride. Trehan can?t just abduct his Bride back to Dacia. He is going to have to fight a tournament for her hand and her kingdom. Most of the story is devoted to the tournament and Trehan's trying to win Bettina's love. He is frustrated and angry through most of the story. He is feeling things that he has felt in a millennium and his cold logical mind can?t handle the strain. He does have some tight calls in fighting for Bettina's hand. He also has some trouble with jealousy. He finally finds a way to reconcile his emotions and come to terms with how he feels about Bettina.Bettina is a young Sorceress and Demon Halfling. She has led a protected life until she goes to school on the mortal plane. She is attacked by Vrekeners and almost killed. Bettina suffers from the attack and has stayed on her plane for the protection. She is shocked that a vampire is her mate. She has no friends except Caspion, the demon that escapes Dacia. Bettina thinks that Caspion is the one that she wants to marry. She has a very hard time accepting that Trehan is the male that she loves and needs. She makes a number of mistakes that almost lose her Trehan.There is a lot going on in this book. There is also some repetition through the story since it is covering the same time frame as the other books. That being the case I think that is one of the problems with the getting through the books. I have been reading these books one after the other and therefor the repetition is more noticeable. I am thinking I will read different book and then read the last one that is available. I wish that there wasn't a year between books. There is at least one more book that is part of this time frame that will be out in August.
    • 5/5
      Bettina, lost her parents when she was young, and then she was captured and tortured by the same creatures who killed her mother and destroyed her father, and now she has no choice but to trust in her guardians, who have planned a way for her to get married, a death match of the fiercest warriors, for she will be queen of the demons. There is one man she has loved more than any other, who has been her friend since she was a child, and wants more than anything to be his wife. But her friend, has a death sentence by the one man who is a merciless killer, and a assassin, who is cold and calculating, and through a series of circumstances, she learns that she is his mate. A man that will fight with every weapon at his disposal to claim her as his for eternity. To her horror both her best friend and Trehan have entered the "till death" contest. As the fighting and competitions begins, a fire burns between Trehan and Bettina, and Bettina will have to choose between her closest friend and the man that holds her desire and her heart...What a wild ride of dangerous paranormal elements that had me at the edge of this page turner!!! Utterly shocking and tantalizing and fierce and passionate in every way. This was one hell of a story and it has been a LONG time since I have read a story that had me so intense and I just had to read this as fast as I could. There was so much emotion and compelling characters, and this scenario that Kresley Cole has played out for us, WHEW....Ladies and Gentleman buckle your seat belts, for this is one ride you might not come out of alive if you don't watch it.The heat between Bettina and Trehan is so HOT and I almost got burned....they sure know how to create fireworks, and with one kiss I betcha you all will need to open your windows--yes yes I know its winter, but seriously you will burn to a crisp if you don..hehehehe. These characters are so fascinating and I had such a fun time with them, there is quite depth to each of them, even the side characters. I know at first this seems like a triangle romance...but HELL NO!!! (Shaking finger...don't you guys think that way and let that be a deterrent to reading this....you will be so ashamed if you turn away from this one. Kresley Cole is a truly talented individual, who has the capacity of creating a story that is witty, smart and full on sexy. What else can you ask for? And quite frankly...you won't regret it!! I guarantee it. Just make sure you have plenty time on your hands, some delicious treats, plenty of water (by the gallons), and a nice comfy sitting arrangement, and you will be in the perfect mind frame to get the full aspect to enjoy this one to its fullest. DARING AND PASSIONATE!!This book and series is connected to Immortals After Dark but isn't officially part of that series. I haven't read Lothaire, and even though there is some reference to him, it doesn't spoil anything from what I could tell. But boy do I need to read that one. :)
    • 4/5
      Shadow's Claim
      4 Stars

      Trehan Daciano, a vampire assassin with a cold temperament and rational mind, finds himself in unfamiliar territory when he learns that his Bride is none other than Princess Bettina of Abaddon - the prize in a tournament in which suitors must fight to the death to win her hand. Can Trehan defeat the most dangerous fighters amongst the Lore? More importantly, can he claim Bettina's heart even if he has to kill the one man she professes to love above all others?

      Series note: This is book #1 in the Dacia series, a spin-off of Immortals After Dark. However, it can be read as book #13 in IAD as it takes place in the same world and in parallel to other storylines.

      IAD is another series that has been stagnating on my TBR for a while now. Although Cole's world building is detailed and immersive, her characters sexy and snarky, and her stories entertaining, the series lost its charm at some point and the recent installments ended up being passed over again and again for other reads. Well, it seems that absence has made the heart grow fonder and reading Shadow's Claim now has reignited my appreciation for the series.

      While the tournament plot is exciting and actions packed, and the romance between Trehan and Bettina's is intense with incredible chemistry, there are one or two minor problems with the book.

      First, it includes a trope that I dislike, i.e., Bettina believes herself in love with another man even though it is obvious he is all wrong for her. Moreover, she constantly chooses him over Trehan despite the fact that he is an amazing hero willing to do anything to win her.

      Second, the book is overly long. It is unnecessarily drawn out with a number of superfluous scenes that could have been shortened or eliminated entirely.

      Nevertheless, this is a fun read and the cameos by Nix, Lothaire and Sabine are an added bonus. Looking forward to continuing with Lanthe and Thronos's book next.