Sherrilyn Kenyon – Night Play

The fifth book in the Dark-Hunter series, published August 1, 2004.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: I don’t like the new covers, my book has the small one.
Re-read for the third time.



Bride McTierney has had it with men. They're cheap, self-centered, and never love her for who she is. But though she prides herself on being independent, deep down she still yearns for a knight in shining armor.
She just never expected her knight in shining armor to have a shiny coat of fur...
Deadly and tortured, Vane Kattalakis isn't what he seems. Most women lament that their boyfriends are dogs. In Bride's case, hers is a wolf. A Were-Hunter wolf. Wanted dead by his enemies, Vane isn't looking for a mate. But the Fates have marked Bride as his. Now he has three weeks to either convince Bride that the supernatural is real or he will spend the rest of his life neutered--something no self-respecting wolf can accept...
But how does a wolf convince a human to trust him with her life when his enemies are out to end his? In the world of the Were-Hunters, it really is dog-eat-dog. And only one alpha male can win.


It has been over two years since I read a Sherrilyn Kenyon book. She used to be autobuy, but I fell out of love with her books with the Dream Hunters, and what she wrote after Acheron. But I still do love her earlier books in the series, especially the Were-Hunters, so when Paranormal Haven blog hosted a contest and asked for my favourite SK books, I knew which ones were my favourites at ones, and then I had to re-read them immediately. I am happy to report back that those books have not lost their magic for me; I really enjoyed re-reading them again.


Bride McTierney has just been dumped by her boyfriend of five years by Fed-Ex, and she is hurt. Yes, she did see it coming, but it still hurts. He only used her to get the tv job he always wanted, and now that he feels secure, he has dumped her. He never accepted her for who she was, always trying to change her, putting her on diets, signing her up for exercise classes. Yes, he was handsome and she was flattered by his interest in her. But now she is pissed, she is through being the nice obedient girl she has been all her life.

And then suddenly there is this incredibly hot guy in her store, and he seems to be interested in her. Attracted to her. He senses her sadness and hurt and anger, and tries to make her feel better. He buys a very expensive necklace from her, and gifts it to her. And then just walks away again. But Bride runs after him, she can’t accept such a thing from a stranger. But when he is confused that she won’t accept his kindness just for what it is, she breaks down in his arms and starts to cry, and he carries her back to her shop, effortlessly. And they end up making love in her dressing room, like she has never been loved before. Did she just made the biggest mistake of her life by having sex with a total stranger, or by letting him walk away from her?

Her two best friends try to console her over dinner, both willing to badly hurt her ex-boyfriend and wanting to help Bride to get over him. And then suddenly a strange mark appears on her hand, and she doesn’t have a clue what it means.

Vane Kattalakis is a Were-Hunter, and a wolf shifter. His life has been brutal, both his parents have tried to kill him, he has recently lost his sister, and now his younger brother is in a trauma induced coma. He will do anything to protect Fang, but he is drawn to this lovely human woman as he has never wanted any female before. To him, she is beautiful, inside and out, but he can’t drag her into his world of violence and death. If his former pack members smell him on her, they will use her to hurt him and kill her. But when the mating mark appears on his hand, he doesn’t know what to do. Yes, he will protect her with his life, but he can’t claim her as his, can he? So getting dating advice from some Dark Hunters and their mates, he sets out to court Bride. And if his human form can’t be with her, his wolf form will be fine as well. And to Vane’s own surprise, he asks Fury, another wolf shifter, to help him out if necessary and protect his mate.


As said before, I really enjoyed re-reading this book. Thanks to her sister and her ex-boyfriend, Bride is very insecure about her looks. She is a normal size 12, and not a skinny person. She can’t seem to believe that Vane’s interest in her is genuine, as he is the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on. Surely there are beautiful women in his life. Vane does his best to act human, something he has never learned to do, growing up as a wolf, fighting for his life and surviving. I really enjoyed that, and the honest way he felt about her. Keeping her safe from his enemies was not easy, but he has more friends than he realizes.
His life has been horrible, only his brother and sister cared about him, and now he is virtually alone. But Vane is very powerful, and with the help of Acheron, he finally puts a stop to his parents trying to kill him and his brothers. I loved that part of the ending. A very suitable punishment.
The love scenes are very hot, and there are many, but it were the feelings of being brothers, of grief, and of finding a place to belong that make the story for me. Sherrilyn Kenyon writes great characters, and amazing stories that are still original.

I enjoyed meeting some of the other Dark-Hunters and their mates, and of course Acheron and Simi. And now I want to re-read some more book sin this series …

9 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian