Customer Reviews

Something Wicked

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Investigative reporter Regan Cluny has been trying to get an interview with Charles Cunningham Nash for some time, but the reclusive philanthropist has been avoiding her. So now she's decided to take the bull by the horns and confront him face-to-face at his mysterious archaeological dig in New Mexico.

Before she gets there, however, she's attacked and left for dead by a motorcycle gang... of vampires. Not that she'll tell anyone about the vampires, though: who would believe her?

Nash would--seeing as how he's also a vampire, and the leader of the gang who attacked her is his long-time enemy. Being a vampire is one of the reasons for his secrecy. The other is that he's looking for a mystical healing spring in the hopes of curing his vampirism.

Nash rescues Regan, and they begin to fall in love, complicated by them each having a very big secret: Nash is a vampire, and Regan is dying of cancer. What makes it even more complex is that Regan's disease killed the vampire who bit her in the attack.

So, nice conflict: they're falling in love, but each is a serious danger to the other, even if they don't know it.

Something Wicked is one of those rare cases where the characters have secrets and I'm not wanting to whack them upside the head to just spill it already. Both Regan and Nash have very good reasons to keep their secrets, and Regan is unaware that hers could prove deadly to Nash.

There was a nice balance here between the romance and the action/suspense plot, and kudos to Catherine for not pulling her punches. The bad guy here is ruthless (although he has a human side as well), and he acts accordingly.

Kudos also for a slightly different take on the vampire mythology. The vampires in Something Wicked drink blood, avoid direct sunlight, and are near-immortal, but they're not super-powerful, nor do they shapeshift.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing--the setting in New Mexico and the archaeological details, the secondary characters that became real, and the hair-raising suspense. I'll be looking for Catherine Mulvany's backlist, and her future books.

I'll leave the synopsis to the others.
This was my first Cattherine Mulvany book and it won't be my last. I was caught up in the action and plot from the beginning. I like my heroes heroic and the bad guys truly evil and this book delivers. Not to mention it also delivers on a kick-a** heroine. The setting, in the desert at an archeological dig, was unique and provided many interesting details. Sure I needed to suspend my disbelief on occasion but that's what we do with many romance novels.

Regan Cluny never expected that chasing after a story would prove to be so dangerous! Determined to interview Charles Cunningham Nash, Regan has traveled to his archaeological dig at Juniper Basin. Unfortunately, Regan isn't the only one looking for Nash and she catches the eye of Harper Wakefield. Nash reluctantly finds himself protecting Regan from his centuries old enemy, but will Regan uncover Nash's secret nature as a vampire in the process?

SOMETHING WICKED is a deliciously dark tale of vampires. Both the evil and the good nature of vampires are explored. Be forewarned, however, that Harper's actions are pure evil and he delights in gruesome behaviors. Catherine Mulvany's descriptions aren't gratuitous but rather emphasize just how nasty a villain Harper truly is.

Regan's spunkiness is admirable, even more so after the horrors she confronts. Both she and Nash have secrets, dark secrets neither wants to share. The suspense builds up nicely, as does the romance between these two very stubborn characters.

I have to admit that Catherine Mulvany had me hooked from the mere plot description. After all, combining an archaeological dig with vampires practically guarantees a book will be bought by me. However, Ms. Mulvany exceeded my expectations with SOMETHING WICKED. The characters are well developed, the storyline and the history of the feud between Harper and Nash is fully explained, but even more importantly Ms. Mulvany made me care about what happened. SOMETHING WICKED offers moments of horror, anger, grief, and yes, even humor all wrapped up nicely in a paranormal romance. Well done and easily recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

This book started out really promising with Regan's attack and the story being told out in the middle of nowhere on a Indiana Jones type dig site. After the first part though, it became kind of boring and I didn't get into the characters. There wasn't much conflict between the hero and heroine even though he's a vampire. The love scenes were rushed and kind of blah. Good concept, just not executed as well as it could have been.

Regan Cluny is an investigative reporter attempting to get the story of her career, possibly her life. She has been persistent in her attempts to interview reclusive philanthropist Charles Cunningham Nash. Tracking him to the archeological dig he is financing, she is attacked by a biker gang and left for dead. Regan survives, barely, thanks to Nash.

Charles Cunningham Nash has been around since the Civil War. Being constantly on the run from his enemies for over two centuries, has honed his personal survival skills. However, he can't seem to shake one aggressive reporter. After he finds her in the desert near death, he is struck by how much she reminds him of someone he lost a long time ago then he realizes she is the reporter he has been pushing away for months.

Nash's enemies are perpetuating violence and making Nash and Regan's lives interesting. Fate has thrown them together and is using Nash's enemies and the local sheriff as helpers.

Something Wicked was a story of revenge and finding love when you least expect it. A clever, fast-paced novel. Ms. Mulvany's characters were well-drawn and intelligent. I enjoyed the twist at the end. A wonderful novel.

Emma
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This book just doesn't engage. There isn't much overtly wrong with it. It's just boring. The charcters don't have any pizazz. Even the bad guy and his gal are boring. It retreads the overwritten Vampire/ Romance genre without providing anything new. The only minor breaking from herd is that the hero/vampire doesn't want to be a vampire anymore. So, the vamps aren't out and out monsters--one is just done being a vampire. Um... whatever. I rarely don't comlpete a book. This one had me skimming ahead, jumping chapters, until I finally read the last two pages and dumped it in my Goodwill pile. Don't get me wrong--I love a good vampire story. I would recommend trying something else instead (Kresley Cole, JR Ward, etc.) Of course, lots of us have read all those and are desperate for something new. I don't think this is it though.

I read alot of vampire romance, fantasy & fiction, and I just cannot see a vampire bursting into flames after consuming blood from a cancer patient. This is a new one on me. The author doesnt get into to much depth in describing the characters and at times the scenes are out of Chainsaw massacre. I didnt care for this plot but maybe future books will be better.

Investigative reporter Regan Cluny has unsuccessfully tried to obtain an interview with wealthy philanthropist Charles Cunningham Nash, but he dodges her efforts. She decides politeness has proven futile; instead she plans to intrude at his remote archeological dig site where she will make the recluse say no to her face; then obstinately reject his refusal.

However, on the way to see Nash, a biker gang led by Harper, who loathes the philanthropist, assaults the journalist. Nash manages to free the near dead Regan. As he struggles to keep her alive, Nash knows that his war with Harper is coming to a head, a blood feud dating back to the Civil War with the rivals neck and neck as to who will survive the last bite.

The lead trio makes for a strong vampire romantic suspense thriller as the two vampiric adversaries see the reporter quite differently; Nash is in love with her while Harper plans to use her as disposable bait. The action never slows down until the climatic lava pool confrontation that will either kill or cure Regan and Nash. Sub-genre fans will enjoy the one sitting SOMETHING WICKED this way comes.

Harriet Klausner

This book was just ok. No great hero, no interesting leading lady, no fascinating bad guy, no hot love scenes...just kinda so so on all counts. The idea had merit, the book has a wonderful cover (that's what caught my eye), and a good beginning, but it was not executed as well as most. What should have been a riveting tale of love and adventure (vampire ala Indiana Jones) fell flat with no adventure, and love that you couldn't help but question. I found myself thinking "Oh Please!" more than once while reading this book.
I won't purchase another from this author; although I think she deserves a pat on the back for trying. I would recommend going to the library for this one.

While this book was readable and had a fairly good story, there was something lacking in this story. Regan Cluny is a reporter after a story at an archeological dig where vampire Nash is seeking a spring that will cure him of his vampirism. The book had a good beginning with Regan being attacked by a motorcylce gang of vampires, who assault her and leave her for dead. I think my problem with it was that after the initial interesting beginning there was a slide into mediocre. I didn't really buy the love story and the evil vampire, Harper, who is out to destroy all that Nash loves left me with a blah feeling. This book was OK but it didn't really grip me by the throat and hang on.