Night Pleasures Book Discussion
Here we are at the first book of the Dark Hunter series, Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This time we will be discussing the book as a whole and see how that goes. Please beware of spoilers for future books, but seeing as how most of you have read them all already that shouldn't be a problem. If you have any questions please ask them.
Night Pleasures
Night Pleasures Starter Questions:
1. What did you think of the plot? Strong? Weak?
2. What was the inciting moment of this book (The circumstance that sets the book in motion is called the inciting moment)?
3. Describe the character development. Who did you identify with? Did your opinions about any of the characters change over the course of the novel?
4. Is there a part of the novel you didn't understand? Are you confused by a character's actions or the outcome of an event?
5. In your opinion, is the book entertaining? Explain why or why not.
My thoughts on Night Pleasures:
Night Pleasures was actually the first book I picked up and read in the Dark Hunter series so I wasn't that bad off course. I really enjoyed Kyrian as a character and even fell a little in love with him myself. He's a good man despite the awful betrayal he suffered at the hands of his wife. It's not just that he's sworn to protect human from Daimons that makes him fight, it's the fact that he WANTS to do it and he believes in helping those who cannot help themselves. He hides his good heart behind a stoic and sarcastic nature but when you least expect it, you see the real Kyrian and not the Dark Hunter (for example, the way he treats his housekeeper Rosa and even the way he treats Nick when they aren't busy arguing like brothers).
Amanda is the perfect balance for Kyrian in many ways, she's a tough woman who just wants some stability in her life to balance out her exotic family (Tabitha alone tends to overwhelm me, I can just imagine what it must be like for Amanda). There's an instant attraction on both characters' parts and I loved how Amanda tried to reason with herself ( I had read on Sherrilyn's site that she had orignally intended Kyrian to wake up handcuffed to Tabitha but later changed it to Amanda, I'm glad she did since the first few chapters of the book would have been rather repititious, having Tabitha trying to kill Kyrian instead of hearing him out. To be honest, Tabitha didn't make the best impression on me in this book. I found her to be overly dramatic, unsympathetic and she jumped to conclusions without analyzing all the facts first.
Night Pleasures also sees the reunion of Kyrian and Julian, which I found to be touching since in Fantasy Lover, Julian often thought about the only real friend he had. It's a bittersweet reunion in my opinion because while the two friends are happy to see one another, they are in some ways forced to remember their painful pasts. What I don't understand is when Julian says that he found his family dead and had a "Kyrian" moment where he went after Priapus. Wasn't Julian on the other side of his children's room while his wife killed them and then herself? When Kyrian and Amanda arrive at Julian and Grace's, he asks Julian if he cared to indebt him again and Julian replies that he was two favors down to Kyrian, to which he replies "Oh I forgot about Prymaria." Who is Prymaria?
This book explodes with an abundance of characters aside from Kryian and Amanda, you have the reappearance of Grace and Julian, but also an array of other characters that will appear in future books. If you're not careful, you could easily become confused. There's Rosa, Kryian's housekeeper, Nick, his Squire, Amanda's twin Tabitha, Tabitha's friends and other Dark Hunters are mentioned, Rogue, Sundown, and Wulf. Talon also makes an appearance which leads to one of my favorite lines in the book ("Are you the asshole who sent the 'I See Dead People' t-shirt to me?").
There is a lot of humor in this book and I suggest you enjoy it, as the series progresses the tone becomes darker as the enemies get meaner. I also noticed that while none of the Dark Hunters ever had a happy life, Kyrian isn't as bitter as the rest of them. His is more of a trust issue and has to do with the betrayal of the person who held his heart. He's a bit more, friendly, for lack of a better term, especially when you compare him to the other Dark Hunters, who had the people they loved killed in front of them (sisters, wives, children, parents, friends ect).
I loved the way the book works out, though if you're one of those readers who doesn't pay attention to detail you could become confused with this book and become VERY confused as you continue to read the series. There are not only Greek gods and goddesses but Celtic and Norse ones later in the series as well so it's a lot of characters you're dealing with, as well as a lot of details and facts that may or may not be important in the future.
Ash. I have yet to run across someone who didn't like Ash (besides his enemies that is). He seems at one point to be just a regular guy who happens to be the leader of the Dark Hunters, he's a smart ass. His instant messaging to Kyrian is very entertaining. Another of my favorite parts in the book is when he first meets Amanda:
"So you're the famous Acheron."
A smile played across his devastatingly handsome face. "Lord and master of the great barbarian horde that roams the night."
"Are you truly?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Not really. I would have better luck harnessing the winds."
That part pretty much sums up his relationship with the other hunters, and while he truly cares about his Dark Hunters but I suspect Kyrian is one of his favorites. It isn't until later in the series that the reader starts seeing that Ash is a bit different from the rest of the Dark Hunters and it isn't just his silver eyes. He's intimidating and mysterious and with good reason.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it has so far remained one of my favorites in the series.
Please don't hesitate to comment on older discussions that you've missed!
Fantasy Lover
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Night Embrace
Dance with the Devil
Kiss of the Night
Night Play
Night Pleasures
Night Pleasures Starter Questions:
1. What did you think of the plot? Strong? Weak?
2. What was the inciting moment of this book (The circumstance that sets the book in motion is called the inciting moment)?
3. Describe the character development. Who did you identify with? Did your opinions about any of the characters change over the course of the novel?
4. Is there a part of the novel you didn't understand? Are you confused by a character's actions or the outcome of an event?
5. In your opinion, is the book entertaining? Explain why or why not.
My thoughts on Night Pleasures:
Night Pleasures was actually the first book I picked up and read in the Dark Hunter series so I wasn't that bad off course. I really enjoyed Kyrian as a character and even fell a little in love with him myself. He's a good man despite the awful betrayal he suffered at the hands of his wife. It's not just that he's sworn to protect human from Daimons that makes him fight, it's the fact that he WANTS to do it and he believes in helping those who cannot help themselves. He hides his good heart behind a stoic and sarcastic nature but when you least expect it, you see the real Kyrian and not the Dark Hunter (for example, the way he treats his housekeeper Rosa and even the way he treats Nick when they aren't busy arguing like brothers).
Amanda is the perfect balance for Kyrian in many ways, she's a tough woman who just wants some stability in her life to balance out her exotic family (Tabitha alone tends to overwhelm me, I can just imagine what it must be like for Amanda). There's an instant attraction on both characters' parts and I loved how Amanda tried to reason with herself ( I had read on Sherrilyn's site that she had orignally intended Kyrian to wake up handcuffed to Tabitha but later changed it to Amanda, I'm glad she did since the first few chapters of the book would have been rather repititious, having Tabitha trying to kill Kyrian instead of hearing him out. To be honest, Tabitha didn't make the best impression on me in this book. I found her to be overly dramatic, unsympathetic and she jumped to conclusions without analyzing all the facts first.
Night Pleasures also sees the reunion of Kyrian and Julian, which I found to be touching since in Fantasy Lover, Julian often thought about the only real friend he had. It's a bittersweet reunion in my opinion because while the two friends are happy to see one another, they are in some ways forced to remember their painful pasts. What I don't understand is when Julian says that he found his family dead and had a "Kyrian" moment where he went after Priapus. Wasn't Julian on the other side of his children's room while his wife killed them and then herself? When Kyrian and Amanda arrive at Julian and Grace's, he asks Julian if he cared to indebt him again and Julian replies that he was two favors down to Kyrian, to which he replies "Oh I forgot about Prymaria." Who is Prymaria?
This book explodes with an abundance of characters aside from Kryian and Amanda, you have the reappearance of Grace and Julian, but also an array of other characters that will appear in future books. If you're not careful, you could easily become confused. There's Rosa, Kryian's housekeeper, Nick, his Squire, Amanda's twin Tabitha, Tabitha's friends and other Dark Hunters are mentioned, Rogue, Sundown, and Wulf. Talon also makes an appearance which leads to one of my favorite lines in the book ("Are you the asshole who sent the 'I See Dead People' t-shirt to me?").
There is a lot of humor in this book and I suggest you enjoy it, as the series progresses the tone becomes darker as the enemies get meaner. I also noticed that while none of the Dark Hunters ever had a happy life, Kyrian isn't as bitter as the rest of them. His is more of a trust issue and has to do with the betrayal of the person who held his heart. He's a bit more, friendly, for lack of a better term, especially when you compare him to the other Dark Hunters, who had the people they loved killed in front of them (sisters, wives, children, parents, friends ect).
I loved the way the book works out, though if you're one of those readers who doesn't pay attention to detail you could become confused with this book and become VERY confused as you continue to read the series. There are not only Greek gods and goddesses but Celtic and Norse ones later in the series as well so it's a lot of characters you're dealing with, as well as a lot of details and facts that may or may not be important in the future.
Ash. I have yet to run across someone who didn't like Ash (besides his enemies that is). He seems at one point to be just a regular guy who happens to be the leader of the Dark Hunters, he's a smart ass. His instant messaging to Kyrian is very entertaining. Another of my favorite parts in the book is when he first meets Amanda:
"So you're the famous Acheron."
A smile played across his devastatingly handsome face. "Lord and master of the great barbarian horde that roams the night."
"Are you truly?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Not really. I would have better luck harnessing the winds."
That part pretty much sums up his relationship with the other hunters, and while he truly cares about his Dark Hunters but I suspect Kyrian is one of his favorites. It isn't until later in the series that the reader starts seeing that Ash is a bit different from the rest of the Dark Hunters and it isn't just his silver eyes. He's intimidating and mysterious and with good reason.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it has so far remained one of my favorites in the series.
Please don't hesitate to comment on older discussions that you've missed!
Fantasy Lover
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Night Embrace
Dance with the Devil
Kiss of the Night
Night Play