Customer Reviews

Deep Kiss of Winter (Immortals After Dark 8)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Kresley Cole's story of Murdoch and Daniella was great. It was really nice to see how the 4 Wroth brother's finally ended up, and Cole did a nice job with the time line/overlap of how the 4 brothers found their 4 brides.

Showalter's story. . . . I have 2 words. . . "Stockholm Syndrome". . .

Kresley Cole needs to either remain a solo writer or find a different author to pair with. 4 stars for Cole's story and 1 star for Showalter's story.

Kresley Cole has done such a wonderful job with this series so far that she was bound to write at least one so-so book. Well, this one is it. Murdoch and Daniela's story is just ok. It's not as intriguing, or exciting as the others nor are Daniella and Murdoch's characters as compelling as others in this series. You can't even really place the blame on the fact that it's a shorter story because Myst and Nikolai's story "The Warlord Wants Forever" was also written in an anthology but it was excellent. That being said, it's still a good read - it's just that KC's books are usually outstanding reads - so I'm a bit disappointed.

Ms Showalter's offering in this anthology was just a waste of good trees. Really.

Deep Kiss of Winter contains two stories from great authors Gena Showalter and Kresley Cole. Each story rates 4 stars from me.

Kresley Cole gives us the story of Dani the ice maiden and Murdoch one of the Wroth brothers. I loved the storyline behind Dani as well as her ice gifts. I loved everything about this except Murdoch. It would have been perfect if his character had made more of an effort for forgiveness in the end. I dont mind a hero being cruel to a heroine as long as he grovels sufficiently. Dani was so wonderful and despite the fact that she would be labeled a vamp ho, she is willing if she can have the chance at a hea with Murdoch. Unfortunately Murdoch spends most of the story avoiding her even though she's his fated bride. The writing and everything else was great though.

Gena Showalter adds an alien huntress story for this anthology. This story seemed shorter than Cole's but in my opinion I liked it better. Aleaha aka Macey is on a mission for a possible Schon appearance. Instead a group of golden warriors arrive. The Rakans who's own planet was invaded by the Schon. Breean the leader is one fine specimen. He keeps Aleaha and her partners prisoners while they plan to negotiate and make earth their new home. Despite its short length this is a great story and Showalter does an excellent job on the story plot and characters with this short novella

First off, I'm not a big fan of anthologies. They usually mean I end up spending money on a book I will only read 150 pages of because I only care about one of the authors or because that story fits into a series somewhere and I'm a consummate completest. This one was even more annoying because it came out in hardcover. I sucked it up and bought it any way because Kresley Cole is one of my favorite authors, and the Immortals After Dark series is addictive. So I'm reviewing specifically her story, Untouchable. I may eventually go back and read Gena Showalters (I am a fan of some of her work) but for now I just focused on Daniela and Murdoch.

Second point: I realize full well that this was intended as a winter holiday/Christmas book, but I read it in July. Oops. Actually, while the theme is ice and Christmas is briefly mentioned, it's not very Christmasy. I found the cold theme oddly refreshing.

Now, to the story: Basically, Daniella is a valkyrie but she was born to and Icere mother. The Icere are people of the cold, their bodies are cold, and warmth of any kind is deadly to them. For Danii that means contact with and non-Icere beings burns painfully, and getting overheated is a constant concern. When it's discovered that she is Murdoch's Bride (his fated mate), their inability to touch physically presents a huge problem.

The characters were surprisingly well rounded, considering that their developement had to take place in only 250 pages. Without the usual action/adventure sequences typical of the series, Cole focuses almost entirely on their core problem as a couple. I liked that. Danii's desperation to be loved and feel physical affection is heartbreaking. Murdoch, meanwhile, was somewhat of a rake when human--commiting to one woman, let alone one he cannot touch, is frustrating and life altering for him. I liked them as a couple. They certainly aren't my favorite of the series, but I wouldn't expect them to be.

I would like to say that Kresley Cole is one of the most endlessly creative authors I've encountered. The settings--like the cabin in Siberia that's magically iced over--take you to another world. The sex scenes are inventive. The characters are unique and interesting. Even the secondary characters are well rounded and likeable (Nix being my standing favorite).

Now the negatives: The overlapping timelines drive me crazy. If you've read the series up to this point, you know what I'm talking about. I usually don't file them under "negative" because while they are confusing, they're also a lot of fun. But in this case, in such a short novel, trying to shove in those context clues so that we as readers will know what part of the story arch we're in...I think it was a miss calculation on Cole's part. It felt like she had to work to make the story fit, and so I had to work to make it ok in my own head. Just a bit of a stretch.

I also kind of thought that the final solution to Danii and Murdoch's problem was SO OBVIOUS. No, I won't spoil it because maybe it isn't that immediately obvious to all readers. I just thought it was a bit lazy, and when it came to that point I said "Umm, duh?" and was left feeling a bit disapointed.

Overall, it's a good story. Worth the purchase of a full priced hardcover? Not really. But worth a read if you can get it otherwise.

When it comes out in paperback, I'd consider it a 3 star book. When rating an anthology I feel you have to take into account all the contributions. In this case, it is just the two authors. I won't summarize the plot, the product review is accurate and other reviewers have more detail if you are interested.
Kresley Cole's novella is worth 3 stars in hardback format, 4 stars in paperback. The story takes place simultaneously with some of her other books (mostly Myst's story) and there is some repetition. Some conversations are repeated verbatim. Also, a large block of time passes just by writing that the winter passed. The resolution of Daniella's kingdom was anti-climatic and inadequate. HOWEVER, as a novella it is pretty good. It is fairly long and there is sufficient character development.
Gena Showalter's story is 2 star, at best. (Disclaimer: this is the first thing I have ever read by this author) The concept of a shapeshifting heroine was interesting but under-developed. The hero is not developed at all. I didn't care about these characters at all. I have a feeling that some of her supporting cast in this book are main characters from past books, but this story didn't entice me to seek out their stories OR to read anything else by this author.
*****I do not think that an anthology is the place for an ongoing series to be played out, unless the anthology is a collection of stories from ONE author. I did not feel like I got my time and money worth from this purchase. That being said, Kresley Cole's story is stand-alone and a good introduction to her IAD series or a continuation for people already familiar with her work. I'd give Gena Showalter a pass.
WHY was this published in hardcover?!?

I am a big fan of Kresley's stories and have enjoyed her style and character writing throughout. I have also read several of Gena's varied themes and character works. So I think it is fair to say that Deep Kiss of Winter is a quality short by the author while Gena's is by far the worst one I've ever read.

4 Stars for the Immortals After Dark novel but the Gena Showalter story sounded more like Tarzan meets Jane with inconsistent dialog on his part, it was like she took a novel and cut out big chucks of story, it was just ridiculous and I could not even finish it. Since the Kresley Cole story is almost novel length and takes up 75% of the book it is still worth the money. If this is an example of Ms. Showwalter's work then I am glad I have not purchased any of her other works.

Since I like the Immortals After Dark books and there seems to be much confusion as to the reading order here is the reading order off of the Immortals After Dark website:

1. "The Warlord Wants Forever" a novella in PLAYING EASY TO GET Feb 2006
2. A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER April 2006 (Book 1)
3. NO REST FOR THE WICKED Halloween 2006 (Book 2)
4. WICKED DEEDS ON A WINTER'S NIGHT Halloween 2007 (Book 3)
5. DARK NEEDS AT NIGHT'S EDGE May 2008 (Book 4)
6. DARK DESIRES AFTER DUSK June 2008 (Book 5)
7. KISS OF A DEMON KING February 2009 (book 6)
8. "Untouchable" a novel in DEEP KISS OF WINTER (a duology with Gena Showalter) (Murdoch and Daniela's Story) October 2009
9. PLEASURE OF A DARK PRINCE (Lucia and Garreth's book) February 2010 (Book 7)
10.Demon from the Dark (Book 8)
11.Dreams of a Dark Warrior (Book 9) Feb 2011

Okay - this review is only for the Kresley Cole Story - "Untouchable"

I totally agree with the reviewer that stated "Kresley Cole has set her own bar so high in her "Immortals After Dark Series" that I don't know how she could ever beat her previous books". The reviewer is totally right. Cole's first 5 books were sooo great that it is almost impossible to beat. Heck, "A Hunger like no Other" is the best book ever and it was Krelsey's first book in the series.

This story was good but not as good as her others. I liked the heroine in this book, Daniela. I thought her personality was anything but icy. She was one of the few woman in Cole's series that knew she wanted the man up front, instead of fighting him. (I think Mariketa was also that way). Murdoch is your typical guy that doesn't want to be "blooded" and only be with one woman.

Now - I will say that I loved reading about Sebastian, Nikoli, and Conrad again. Murdoch's relationship with Daniela started about the same time that Nikoli hooks up with Myst up until present day (which we get to review Sebastian's story and Conrad's story). Reviewing the 3 other brothers made me want to go back and read their stories again. I really liked that part of the book.

I liked it and I would recommend reading it if you are a Cole fan. I just don't know if it is a keeper for your book shelves.

The first story in this book, by Cole, was entertaining, and although it wasn't anything special (and I guessed from the skipping around and references that it was a side story to a larger series) but it was entertaining. I might have given it 3 stars by itself.

The second book, however, made me want to throw up. The HERO of the story basically behaves like a rapist, but it's okay because his pheromones take away her will to resist so on some level she actually wants it, right? Disgusting. I didn't get to actual intercourse because him writhing around on top of her fully clothed, rubbing his erection against her while she begged him to let her go and begged for the life of her friends... well, let's just say it left a BAD taste in my mouth. I asked Amazon for a refund, as I refuse to support authors who write eroticized rape stories.

I rather like the A Hunger Like No Other (The Immortals After Dark Series, Book 1) series, on par with other Vampire contemporary fiction like Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1), but this 1/2 book entry by Cole is choppy, scattered and left me a little cold. [pun intended]. Love scenes were few and far between and the story happens simultaneously with earlier books in the series which makes for lots of references and skips in time that break me out of this love story. Fans like me will want to read it just to be current in the series, but newcomers will be confused and frustrated if this is the first IAD book they try.