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Monday 25 June 2012

Review: Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter

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

From the amazing author who brought you the Lords of the Underworld comes a new world were angels toe the line between darkness and light. In WICKED NIGHTS, the first book of the ANGELS OF THE DARK series, Gena Showalter introduces a virgin angel named Zacharel. Burdened by the Deity to be the leader of a group of badass angels, Zacharel is forced to lead and receive punishment for any misdeeds they commit. In this group there is Thane, Bjorn, Xerxes and Koldo. All of which are tortured souls waiting to exact revenge on someone or something.

 I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I have been a fan of Showalter for some time now and firmly believe that her writing has improved with each book. I noticed this in her last release, THE DARKEST SEDUCTION, but in WICKED NIGHTS, Showalter really shows her strength and growth as a writer. Her writing has become more descriptive, more tighter and the proof is in the pages. Gena has been working her butt off and you can totally see the improvements in each subsequent book.

Probably the biggest reason I loved this book is because I adored the hero and heroine. Zacharel is a virgin – need I say more? And Annabelle is a woman who has faced a tough life, but doesn’t allow her past hurts to haunt her. I adored her spunk and fiery spirit and added to Zacharel’s more serious side results in some hilarious dialogue. Here, case in point:

Annabelle alternately marveled at the change in him and at the luminosity of the full moon. Other humans gave him a wide berth, nearly flattening themselves against the building walls to widen the distance between them. Annabelle danced around him, grinning. “Can I just say what a bad boy you are right now?”
 “Of course you can. You just did.”
“No, I mean – Oh, never mind, you spoiled it. “ Her lips dipped into a pout. 

 Zacharel is adorable!

While I thought the book lacked the thread that should have pulled the plot forward, I found that I really enjoyed the ending. Showalter pulls a little twist at the ending that I really enjoyed and it really stirred the pot up! For fans of the LOTU, there are a lot of cameos in this book. You’ll be happy to note that Paris and Lucien and some of the women and more make regular appearances. It was hilarious to read Annabelle’s reaction to Paris’ hotness.

 Now I am jonesing for a taste of Koldo and Xerxes. Out of all the other angels, they stood out to me the most. If Showalter continues to write like this for her next books, there is no doubt that the Angels of the Dark series will be just as successful as the Lords of the Underworld. Watch out now, Lords ‘cause the Angels have arrived!

*Early Review Copy provided by author
 
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

8 comments:

Christina said...

Thank you for the review. I am looking forward to reading this one.

Amiee Snow said...

Great review thanks!! I am really looking forward to reading Wicked Nights and especially about our Z!! :D

amiee(dot)ryan(at)yahoo(dot)com

Maria D. said...

Great review! I'm really looking forward to reading this book - I've fallen a little behind on reading Gena's books

Jen at Red Hot Books said...

Yes! Xerxes!!!! I am dying for his book.

Taryn @MySecretRomance said...

I've really enjoyed Gena's books so I will eventually read this one too. Thanks for the nice review!

Unknown said...

It's a good start to a new series, Christina!

Thanks Amiee! Zachie is such a sweetie!

Thanks Maria, I hope you're able to catch up and read this one!

Yes, Jen! Holy crap, he was awesome in this one!

Thanks Taryn, let me know what you think!

Ann

Timitra said...

Sounds good-thanks Ann!!!

Tina B said...

Loved the review! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. :)
I love her LOTU series and cannot wait to see how Annabelle deals with Zacharel's personality quirks. ;)