Finished Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole. This is the fifth book in her Immortals After Dark paranormal romance series.

In this one, demon Cadeon Woede knows that Holly Ashwin is his mate. But since Holly is human, Cadeon would kill her if he tried to claim her, so he contents himself with just watching her instead. But when a group of demons kidnap Holly, and it’s revealed that she’s half Valkyrie, Cadeon’s hopes start to rise about having a life with Holly. Too bad, he’s been forced to make a terrible trade — Holly for a magic sword that will help Cadeon win back his brother’s kingdom, which Cadeon lost in the first place …

I always enjoy reading this series because of Cole’s heroines, who are strong and vulnerable at the same time. I really liked Holly, and I thought Cole did a great job of showing how someone struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder like Holly does. But I didn’t particularly care for the hero in this book. Yeah, I know that Cadeon is a mercenary who’s torn between his love for Holly and helping his brother reclaim their kingdom. But still, I thought he was a little too underhanded with her at times.

Still, Cole continues to add layers to her fantasy world, and it was cool to see other characters and plotlines continue from previous books. So thumbs up.

Up next: Dirty Money by Richard Stark.

Books in my TBR pile: About 14.