Monday, June 25, 2012

Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark #1) by Gena Showalter

"Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless--and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions at any cost...until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before.

Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation--or her ultimate damnation?"

Type: Paranormal Romance, Angels/Demons
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Maybe you are real," she said. "It would require a dark side I don't have to create someone like you." 
"You forgot to say 'no offense' before making that statement." 
"No, I didn't. I meant offense." 
Bold little human, wasn't she?
This. Was. Excellent. I was completely hooked from page one and Showalter kept me absolutely riveted for the next 410 pages. Wicked Nights is the first book in her new Angels of the Dark series and a spin-off from the Lords of the Underworld series. I almost hate to admit it but I still haven't read LOTU. No worries if you're like me and haven't read them yet. I had no problem jumping into the world created and didn't feel like I was missing out on anything needed to fully grasp Zacharel and Annabelle's story.



I loved the set up for the series. Zacharel has been given the task of commanding an army of misfit Angels that no one else will work with and who are seriously working their last chance. They've been given a year to carry out their missions of protecting humans from evil and to prove themselves worthy again. One more screw up and these fierce warriors will lose their wings forever. Gah. So good! LOVE a dark Angel on the edge. You just know there's going to be some delicious attitude and drama going on. Their current mission brings a demon plagued human into their lives that their leader, who has absolutely no use for humans, can't seem to walk away from her or the evil that's determined to ruin her life.
"Look, Winged Wonder. Get me out of here, then we'll hammer out the details about where I'm staying. Okay?" 
"Winged Wonder," he said, nodding. "I find that I do not mind that one. It fits." 
"Captain Modesty fits better," she muttered. 
"I disagree. Winged Wonder is clearly the better choice for a man such as me..."
I really liked Annabelle and Zacharel. As a heroine Annabelle was wonderful. Life has seriously smacked her around but she's a total fighter and rolls with the punches. She's sarcastic, determined and refuses to give up. Since I haven't read LOTU I didn't really know what to expect from Zacharel but I absolutely loved him. He's arrogant, emotionless, hardened and tough, can be scary as hell and is brutally honest. [Yeah, I know he sounds like an utter ass but he's a fantastic one I swear!] And from time to time, under that tough exterior, there was almost an innocence about him when he experienced things for the first time that totally melted me.

The chemistry and heat between the Annabelle and Zacharel was fantastic. And even though there were some bumps along the way they worked as a couple. Balancing each other out and bringing into the relationship exactly what the other person needed. It was amazing to watch Annabelle crack his cold exterior and bring out his emotions and lovely to see Zachie's respect for her grow over time. One thing I appreciated about the writing and their relationship was that even though things were extremely dangerous for them as they battled Annabelle's tormentors there was still a good bit of humor between the two that kept things from feeling too dark and heavy.
"You are treating that thing as if it is a great treasure," he said. 
Well, yeah. Because it was. "You have something against cookies?" 
"I couldn't say, as I have never had one." 
Wait. What? "Never, as in never?" 
"Is there another meaning for the word never that I don't know about?" 
Ha, ha. "But that's criminal!" 
"Hardly." 
"But...why haven't you tasted one?" 
"Because I choose to consume only foods that will strengthen me." 
"I'm not sure you realize how ridiculous you sound."
Wicked Nights was a fantastic start to a new series. It's dark, gritty and the perfect mix of heart pounding action, sarcastic humor and a wonderfully satisfying love story. All of the support characters, with their bad attitudes and dark passions, were nicely used and left me so damn curious about their stories and eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

 Get Your Copy:  Amazon   Barnes&Noble   BookDepository

Do you have a thing for Angels? Have a favorite? Do you like being able to figure everything out early on or do you prefer things to be a surprise?

8 comments:

  1. Sounds fabulous, that last line is so cute and so true :) I haven't read Showalter before though several of her titles are in my tbr pile. Do you think I should read the Lords of the Underworld series first?

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    1. Heh. I loved the cookie bit. They so win him over in the end too. Was great :)

      For the LOTU. Couldn't hurt to read them first but there are 9 of them so they'll take a good bit of time to get through. I didn't want to wait to read this one so jumped right into it.

      I am going to read them now though b/c a handful of the characters made appearances and sparked my interest plus it'll be interesting to see how Zacharel was earlier on but I'm not sorry I read this one first.

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    2. 9 books, eh, that is intimidating. I think I'll just jump into this one and see how it goes.

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    3. That's pretty much how I felt. That's a LOT of books to catch up on! But I have heard they're all fantastic. I'm going to have to start working my way through them :)

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  2. I've been waiting impatiently to read Zacharel's book since I was introduced to him in the LOTU books. What a hoot! I'm glad this book is good.

    Thanks for sharing your review and the snippets.

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    1. No problem :) I hope you love it. I'm looking forward to reading the other series now and getting to check him out there. Loved him and his sexy arrogant self.

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  3. Sounds good; I actually don't think I've read anything by this author yet. Thanks for the review! :)

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    1. It really was. I've read a couple by Showalter now and really enjoyed them all. Definitely an author to check out! Thanks for coming by!

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