Friday, January 31, 2020

Shades of Wicked (Night Rebel, #1) & Wicked Bite (Night Rebel, #2) by Jeaniene Frost ~ Review


In this thrilling new Night Rebel series set in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress world, sexy and ruthless vampire Ian finally meets his match!

The Rule Breaker

Master vampire Ian is unrepentant, shameless…and every shade of wicked. He’s made one too many enemies in his two centuries of existence, including Dagon, a demon who now lays claim to his soul. Ian’s only chance to escape Dagon is to join forces with a Law Guardian, but he’s never been able to abide by the rules for long.

The Law Maker

Veritas’ normal role is police, judge and jury to reprobates like Ian. But she has her own ax to grind with Dagon, so if she can use Ian as bait…well, all’s fair in law and war. As they scour supernatural hotspots to perfect their trap, Veritas soon realizes Ian’s devil-may-care, roguish image hides something much more powerful. And Ian discovers that Veritas has shocking secrets of her own. As they’re drawn to each other with a passion as intense as their peril, either love or justice will prevail. But each will have devastating consequences…



Okay, I have to admit it.  This is the first book I've read by this author.  I know, it's nuts.  I love paranormal.  How have I not read this author before?  In my defense, I'm not a fan of multiple books about the same couple.  And that's what the Night Huntress series looked like.  I'm more of a companion book kinda girl.  I like a couple to be wrapped up in one book.  No long term angst.  But if I'd just tired one of her books, as my friends have all told me, I'd understand.  

I finally did.  But not the first book.  Night Rebel is a spin-off series of Night Huntress.  It does contain a lot of spoilers for the original series but can certainly be read stand alone.  The world is easy to follow and I never felt lost.  I just got details of previous books.  That's okay.  I've already started reading the first book in Night Huntress.  This one was that good.  Even spoiled, I want to read the original series.

Ian.

Yeah, I can see what all the fuss is about.  He's the bad boy of this vampire world.  A man whore with some of the best one liners I've ever heard.  I admit to not being found of him in the first few  chapters.  He's a bit of a sod, as he would say.  I found myself annoyed with him.  But then I fell for him.  He's so adorable as he falls for Veritas.  And he does fall.  She may not believe it but it was clear to me.

As for Veritas, I liked her right away.  Yeah, she's a law guardian and enforces the rules but she is so much more.  She hides behind that status and it's a great place to keep her very huge secrets safe.  Both Ian and Veritas have reason to work together.  Dagon has claim on Ian's soul and Veritas has her own reasons for wanting Dagon dead.  But that demon is not so easy to kill.  These two pull out all the stops to try and kill Dagon and end up discovering some pretty hot chemistry.

The ending was a jerk.  Not really a cliff hanger but close.  I was so glad I had book two ready to pick up the story.  But it fit, this ending.  Nothing is too easy.  Doesn't matter what Veritas' secrets are or how hard Ian tries to prepare, nothing goes right.  I was left shaken at the end and applauding this author.

If you already know how good this author is, then you will definitely want to start this spin-off series.  But if you're like me and have no idea, I suggest you give it a try.  Jeaniene Frost is a master at the paranormal romance world.  I'll be reading much more of her books in the future.

                                             



In the newest Night Rebel novel, set in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress world, beautiful, daring vampire Veritas risks all to protect Ian...
Some promises are meant to be broken...
Veritas spent most of her life as a vampire Law Guardian. Now, she's about to break every rule by secretly hunting down the dark souls that were freed in order to save Ian. But the risks are high. For if she gets caught, she could lose her job. And catching the sinister creatures might cost Veritas her own life.

Some vows are forever...
Ian's memories might be fragmented, but this master vampire isn't about to be left behind by the woman who entranced him, bound herself to him, and then disappeared. So what if demons, other Law Guardians, and dangerous, otherworldly forces stand against them? Come hell or high water, Ian intends to remind Veritas of the burning passion between them, because she is the only person seared on his mind--and his soul...



Oh my goodness, I couldn't start this book soon enough.  I was so upset about how Shades of Wicked ended.  This couple needs to be together and I was not pleased that they weren't.

Nothing went their way in the first book.  All the planning in the world still ended up blowing up in their face.  So this time, they took a different route.  Well, they did after Ian chased Veritas down and demanded she faces their relationship.  That was just adorable.  Though I will admit that I wanted to drop kick Veritas a few times.  She needs to NEVER keep a secret from Ian again.  Every time she does, it blows up in her face.  

I had no idea where this was going.  It felt like riding a roller coaster and holding on for dear life.  Again, nothing was easy for this couple.  They had a great plan but, alas, Dagon is one hard guy to kill.  I was really surprised by his last play.  And so very proud of Veritas.

I loved where this one was heading but then it took a strange turn setting up another book.  I have begun to see just have crafty this author is.  She has this couple together yet threatened by something outside of themselves.  They must work together to overcome it.  And thus I have learned that multiple books about the same couple can and do work very well.  

The good news for me, is I can go back and read all the Jeanine Frost books I've missed along the way.  See there is a happy in me thinking I didn't want to read more than one book about the same couple.  Yep.  Lots of books to dig into.

This books is amazing.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  And I'm now waiting for book three, Wicked All Night.  If you are already a Jeaniene Frost fan (how very smart of you), then don't wait on this one any longer.  It's just that good.  If you haven't read her yet, don't wait either.  Dig in, the pages are perfection.

                                             

2 comments:

  1. Oh wow! You're first Frost book! I was obsessed back int he day and I LOVED Ian but I sort of haven't kept up with the series and kind of gave up on him every getting his own book. I will definitely be reading though.

    Karen @ For What It's worth

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    1. I totally fell for him. I hope you enjoy it.

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