Customer Reviews

No Rest for the Wicked (Immortals After Dark, Book 2)

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Kaderin the Cold Hearted as a Valkyrie who is haunted by the loss of her two sisters and the reason behind their deaths. She now makes it a policy not to hesitate and to do what she must when faced with evil. So why when she is sent to kill a vampire does she not follow through? The answer is clear. Fate has plans for these natural enemies and it's going to make her life miserable. Sebastian is a Vampire that makes her feel emotions for the first time since the deaths of her sister. But this vampire is not just any vamp...he claims that Kaderin is his bride and he will stop at nothing to make sure she eventually realizes it. This couldn't come at a worse time since Kaderin has a contest that she participates in every year and this year the grand prize is something she can't walk away from. Her future happiness is at stake...er in the balance.

Sebastian Wroth was turned hundreds of years ago by his brother...a brother that he has never forgiven. He awaits death eagerly...or at least he did until Kaderin arrived. How could this pint size bundle of anger and beauty be his bride? It doesn't matter...all that matters is making her admit to the truth that they belong together. She won't come willingly and there are a great many things he doesn't understand about Kaderin...it's a good thing he's patient and determined to not let his future get away from him. Now...if fate will be so kind as to cooperate.

I must admit I love Ms. Cole's writing. No matter the genre historical or paranormal she demonstrates her creative side with the stunning stories she manages to tell. Needless to say "No Rest for the Wicked" is no different. For readers that are looking for something new in the Paranormal/Fantasy genre...look no further. Ms. Cole delivers on all counts. This story never lags and our main characters combined with the numerous secondary characters are highly entertaining. Sebastian and Kaderin are a dynamic pairing and the chemistry that burns between them is unbelievable. What is even better...Ms. Cole never lets that tension weaken. In other words this is a romance that will enthrall, entertain and convince readers Ms. Cole is her for the long run. I am one pleased to realize this.

This installment of the Immortals after Dark series is excellent. I love this new world and the use of all the mythological creatures. I am looking forward to the next one.

Sebastion Wroth is the brother of Nikolai from A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER. Nikolai forced Sebastion to drink his blood and become a vampire. Sebastion has spent the last several hundred years hating his brother and wishing he were dead. He has no hope until he meets Kaderin the Cold-Hearted, a Valkyrie who is lost in guilt over the death of her two sisters a thousand yrs ago.

Kaderin showed mercy to a vampire who repaid her by killing her sisters. She mysteriously received the blessing of no emotions, that has allowed her to live with the guilt. But when she meets Sebastion all her emotions come back. She has entered the Hie, a scavenger hunt, to win the key of Thane. A key to time, if she wins she can go back and save her sisters.

The minute Sebastion sees Kaderin he knows she is his Bride. The one woman who can make his heart beat again. Although she quickly leaves him he is determined to find her and once he does he must win her. Decideing to help her win the Hie, he enters the race against her wishes.

The tasks are all over the world and all are hard. Each one earns points, the most points wins. Sebastion wants only to help and protect Kaderin. This is a wonderful mixture of fun and romance, with a great ending.

There will be another book and I am so ready for it. The teaser at the end sounds marvelous.

Don't miss this one, if you like romance and fantasy.

This is about a 3 1/2 star book. I'm disappointed because I loved the first one and had high hopes for this one. It started out great. Intense, lots of chemistry, the brooding, tortured, and ultra-sexy hero, etc. But somewhere along the way KC lost it! For me, the reason for this lay in her heroine. I couldn't like her! I really wanted to, but after pages and pages of over-the-top mean and cruel behavior, not to mention utter selfishness, I just couldn't get behind her at all! I kept expecting redemption at some point and I never really got it. Sebastion, on the other hand, was nothing but selfless. But the fact that he just kept taking her abuse and going back for more detracted from his over-all studliness. Frankly, he started seeming a little pathetic. There was a point where he got fed-up and he was going to try to be the only vampire to forsake his bride. I found myself cheering him on! I was so hoping he would get ruthless and cold and give her a taste of her own medicine and that would be the changing moment for her, but no. That went absolutely nowhere! So, like some of the other reviewers, I found the middle of the book very repetitive. I was easily able to put it down for extended periods of time. The end did pick-up and get exciting again, however, it was a bit rushed and easy. I've come to the conclusion that it's not the vampires that I don't like. It's the Valkyries! I really didn't care for them as secondary characters in Emmaline's story either. I liked Emmaline a lot! Being half vampire was an intriguing twist and she was very different from her aunts. But I'm just not impressed with the rest of the species in general. They seem to be generally unsupportive of each other. I expected Kaderin to have an ally in Myst, but even she advised against bringing a vampire to the coven. (It was okay for her, I guess, but nobody else!) Hadn't they already accepted Nikolai? (Albeit grudgingly.) I just wasn't buying that conflict. No, generally speaking, I find the Valkyries annoying. I know they are supposed to be funny with all their various quirks , but it just doesn't play that way for me. I feel like, if they truly love their sister, they'd be glad that she's found some happiness after 1000+ years of not feeling rather than giving her grief! Oh well! I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that the Valkyrie books probably won't be my favorites. There are other series out there like that too. In the mean time, I'm going to go on to the next. I love the Lykae, and Bowen in particular! And neither hero nor heroine is a Valkyrie. It could be a beautiful thing!

Sebastian Wroth had been turned into a vampire against his will, so when Kaderin the Cold Hearted appears to kill him, he's surprised to care! For the time in hundreds of years he feels alive. Kaderin has been without feeling since the death of her two sisters long ago, but now she's been given a chance to go back in time and save them. In order to do so, she has to win a contest, a contest she has won many times in the past, but now the stakes are so much higher and she has no intention of letting Sebastian get in the way. But, Sebastian is determined to keep up with Kaderin every step of the way and to use every situation he can to seduce her!

When I finished this book I sat in a moment of stunned silence...before I went back to read it again! Without question No Rest for The Wicked proves that Kresley Cole's, The Immortals After Dark Series, has what it takes to keep me eagerly panting for more. Intensely sensual, with every fantasy creature imaginable and loaded with action that never stops, No Rest For The Wicked is a paranormal romance lover's dream! I will be impatiently pacing in anticipation of Bowden's story!

Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

If you want to fall asleep then don't start this book. You will end up reading it from start to finish!

What it is about:
Sebastian Wroth was turned into a vampire against his will and sees little reason to live until he meets Kaderin the Cold Hearted. Kaderin lost her two beloved sisters to a vampire attack long ago, a benevolent force deadened her sorrow -- accidentally extinguishing all of her emotions. Yet whenever she encounters Sebastian, her feelings -- particularly lust -- emerge multiplied. Sebastian tries to win Kaderin as his bride and they both enter the Hie Contest (a sort of supernatural Olympics) to win a prize which allows them to go back in time.

What is good about it:
As in most romance novels one character is usually resisting falling in love and the other character is pursuing them. The same can be said in this novel. Kaderin does not want to be in love with Sebastian. However her denials of love aren't trite or fake or annoying. She is a truly a well round character. So is Sebastian he really wants Kaderin to love him and he isn't above bribing her for her affection. With the addition of the Hie Contest there is really no lag in the plot and it moves fairly seamlessly.

What is bad about it:
This is just me being nitpicking but I hated it when Sebastian calls Kaderin his "bride" all the time. And the who going back in time and no paradoxes or issues with it being too pat.

Conclusion:
A great paranormal romance! Worth the read!

I liked this one. It's a good follow-up to "A Hunger Like no Other". The hero in this one is especially endearing. The lady is very bitter and world-weary for a romance novel heroine, but this is paranoramal and they usually get away with the dark brooding thing if it's well done and this one is. I'd recommend it for lovers of the genre...and even for newbies, with the warning that although there is humor, this is NOT a light-hearted read. Enjoy. I can't wait for Bowen's story!

"Hunger Like No Other" made me promise to myself that I will buy all of Cole's books from now on, and kudos for her for staying soft-cover, unlike a lot of authors who switch to hardcover. I appreciate that. I am a total fan of Cole's - she writes a love scene like few do. Whew.

That being said, I did like her first book better, because of the characters. I loved Lachlain and Emmaline, and while Sebastian is a GREAT character, Kaderin left ME a little cold. I wanted her to throw Sebastian down a lot sooner than she did. But then, he is a sweetie, it was obvious. If any man needed some loving, vampire or not, it was him.

I didn't like the whole race thing, but I did think, as a Survivor fan, that the poster of Jeff Probst was very funny. A "thinking woman's sex symbol" indeed. I sort of skimmed the race parts, to be honest. But the scene with Kaderin seducing Sebastian with alternate methods was worth the price of the book, right there. Very hot.

Like I said, I'll buy the next one, Cole is that good.

Sebastian Wroth is a vampire, who was turned against his will. He hates his life and what he has become. He wishes for death and when a beautiful valkerie comes to lay the killing blow, he welcomes her to it, that is until he realizes that his heart is beginning to beat and blood is flowing through his veins, he had found his bride.
Kaderin the Cold Hearted has lived a difficult life, her two sisters were slain by an evil vampire, turning her heart cold and her emotions off. Which is why she is so suprised when she comes to kill a vampire in a long abandoned castle, and she hesitates, she has never hesitated before when it came to killing a vampire. Something is different about him, and moments later they are rolling around on the ground making out like a couple of highschoolers.

Suprisingly I didn't really care for this book as much as have the other ones in the series. I couldn't really connect with either of the characters. I thought that Kaderin was an awful and selfish heroine. Sebastian isn't so bad, but because Kaderin was so awful I just couldn't connect with him either. I also think that I may have ruined this book for myself because I read Bowen and Mariketa's story first which essentially overlaps this one, and gives away the ending, so starting out I already knew what was going to happen.
All in all I thought this book was okay. You should definitely read it, but make sure that you don't make the mistake I did by reading it out of order.

This was a spectacular story. For me, the basic idea is that a socially awkward, but possessive, male lead is hooked up with a 2 thousand year old emotionally challenged (she has been prevented from 'feeling' for 1000 years, so the new emotions that come with mating are hard for her to juggle), female lead who is a world renowned athlete and celebrity. The guy is a 300 year old recluse (he hates being a Vampire, and gets his blood from the local butcher shop), who is not as familiar with contemporary customs. He resists mini-skirts and spikey boots. He expects his mate to be compliant and maleable. He learns that is not going to work when he tries to superimpose his more rigid ideas of proper wifely behavior on the Valkyrie.

The gentlmanly Sebastian's language and demeanor are perfectly suited to the knight and soldier that he was during his human life. Meanwhile the Valkyrie commune where the female lead lives is like a sorority filled with giggling twenty year olds who are into dating, partying, and hanging out. I loved how Kresley Cole wove the two cultures together.

But the best part is the Valkryie. Kadenrin (I've forgotten how to spell her name), is one of these kick-butt and take names, types. The mating event comes at the most inconvenient of times - not only does she hate Vampires, but she's about to enter a contest that happens every 250 years, and she's representing the Valkryie species! Sebastian shows up and tries to get her to quit the contest. I don't think so!! She resists him, and resists being his 'Bride' very realistically, and heart wrenchingly. The tension between the two of them is delicious, and the sex is hot!!! Sebastian has to work a little harder than he expected to dominate his Valkyrie and prove himself worthy of being the mate of someone like her. She's vulnerable because of the fact that she finds her 'coldness' is melting in the presence of her mate - very disconcerting for her.

I'm not fond of the Vampire sub-genre of romantic fiction, but this story is compelling whether you enjoy fangs or not. Sebastian proves his love, in the end, and becomes a hero. The Valkyrie is rapidly becoming my favorite female lead of all the books I've read in this genre. You go girl! I wanna be just like her when I grow up! Most of all, I'm impressed with Kresley Cole. I'm ready to go out and read much more of her books. The universe of fantastic creatures she's created is engaging, realistic, and 'round': contemporary and old. Well done!

I read the first book,loved it.This entry is even better.I can hardly wait for Bowens story.I also recommend J.R.Ward's Brotherhood of the black dagger series and Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter/Dream Hunter series.