4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
4.5 stars for When Wicked Craves, October 26, 2010
This review is from: When Wicked Craves (Mass Market Paperback)
Petra Lang has been sentenced to die by the Shadow Alliance because a centuries old family curse. If anyone comes in contact with her skin, even the slightest touch, will cause them to turn into a horrible murderous creature. A last minute rescue by her vampire attorney Nicholas Montegue has them both running for their lives. Petra knows the reason for Nick saving her is not because of an unfair ruling but because he needs Petra to save a friend. Yet she can't stop herself from the desire that is building in her for a man she could never touch. Nick's friend was turned into a beast by Petra's touch and he will do anything he can to bring him back. He will use Petra in whatever way is necessary to come up with a cure but things get complicated when Nick starts to care for the smart and crafty Petra. When a way to end the curse comes to light Nicholas may have to choose between the woman he loves and a friend who could mean the end of the Alliance.
Petra has lived her entire life without contact because of her curse but she still holds her head high and she should not be taken lightly. She is smart, savvy and and resourceful. Yes, she swoons over Nick a bit (who wouldn't?) but at the same time she keeps him on his toes and is a constant surprise to him. She has her stubborn 'I don't need him to take care of me' moments but she knows he is her only chance to end her curse. Nick has a way with women. He has lived hundreds of years but is still manages to be surprised by Petra. Aside from being a lawyer, Nick is also heavily into science and alchemy. Petra is able to keep up with him and they can have meaningful conversations which is a rarity with him and women. He too has his moments of doubt regarding his feelings because of a past betrayal that left his heart broken. Their feelings for each other are real and they learn to get past hesitations. Its both lust and love for these two plus an understanding and deep bond that make them my favorite couple so far in this series.
What happens when Petra touches some one's skin is she brings out a near unstoppable force that gets stronger each moment it lives. The Shadow Alliance, powerful organization that over sees the paranormal world, was told of a prophecy that would be their end. An end that would be brought by a being Petra would create. They claim to give her a fare trail but she was considered guilty in their eyes the moment she was captured. There is nothing nice about those who govern the Alliance. It is made up of vampires, weres, wraiths and other creatures of the night who are only out for their own well being. I was tempted to cheer for the monster to rip them to shreds. Aside from having to run from the Alliance, Nick and Petra need to find a cure to turn Serge back into himself and do it before the monster he has become gets loose and leaves a path of death and destruction.
When Wicked Craves is the third book in J.K. Beck's Shadow Keepers series and at this point is my favorite. The action takes off right away and doesn't let up till the end. There's a sweet and at times heart tugging romance between Petra and Nick that balances out the story. The ending was both interesting and surprising with a finale worthy of this awesome read. We also get a better look into Shadow Alliance and learn where their priorities really are. Not even friends are safe from their wrath. I felt like everything is taken up a notch in this book and is a hard to put down read. Fans who like their paranormal romance darker than normal will like this series.
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12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is for all three..., November 22, 2010
This review is from: When Wicked Craves (Mass Market Paperback)
*Spoiler alert* i guess if I cared that much to write the review Id say that too.
I think what made this book so darn dissapointing is that it is NOTHING like what i had expected. Now I understand that it can be difficult to write something new for vampires but still this was a total let down. Because of the type of reader I am I will often wait til all three books in a three month series are released to read them. Oh how I wished I would not have waited. This book frustrated me more than any romance novel should... And here is why:
Despite trying to suspend or heighten the romance and create a connection between protagoninsts, I really didn't give a damn about either one. Luke/Lucious (a point to be brought up later) was yes a mercenary with a good heart but he murdered his ten year old daughter and that just never sat well. Sara was just so incredibly boring and though she was lauded for her conviction and ambition as a lawyer I didn't see it... at all.
The author spends alot of time introducing characters (Nick, Luke, Serge, Hasik, Tariq, Caris, Doyle, Severin, Bosch, Martella who were all in repeated scenes to name a few) and names (at which time you never knew which nickname or which of the characters first or last name the author was going to use) and situations (without a hell of a lot of introduction or background). All of which is confusing for a reader just starting out, I mean don't dumb it down but for craps sake calm it down a bit. I spent so much time having to pause and remember just who, what and where was going on, it was ridiculous.
This is not new for vampires, alot of terminonlogy is borrowed from other paranormal romance authors. There is a ton of poorly described trolls, ogres, poltergeists and pretty much all characters in general. It may not matter to some but I could not tell you the color of Sara Constantines hair or eyes. It's just somewhat ambiguous which isn't what I wanted to read.
I DID NOT like the fairly gruesome and slighly more descript scenes about the young girls getting killed.
And as for the sex? It was boring predictable and formulaic... alot of begging by the women and heart tripping creepy sex smiling being done by the men. Alot of obnoxious describing of being bitten as getting a "special kiss" by the vampire which cheezes me out.
So heres what happened; I dropped this book on page 317 of 388 and then skipped book two (When Pleasure Rules) because it was about two people and I hadn't the foggiest who they were with less than 70pgs left in the first book in the series. I began reading book three (when wicked craves) and then just gave up after skipping through a bit of it, just more of the same it felt like.
The final nail in the coffin to this series is it looks like the fourth installation to this series (when passion lies) is about a really HORRIBLE character in the first book named Caris who basically enables a child serial killer/rapist to keep killing... Now surely there is more to be explained about this if I had bothered to read the series but seriously I don't want to read an entire book about someone who had anything to do with that, regardless of the excuses or reasons the author gives for the behavior later.
Okay first of all I read ALOT of romance for a working Mom and I don't want to waste my time on crap. So let me just go ahead and relay the message to those of you out there like me; stick to the Black Dagger brothers and the Breed, hell even Showalters Alien Huntress & Atlantis series have far more interesting and original vampire situations going on. There is just too much and yet at the same time entirely too little going on in these books. I read romance so I can enjoy a few hours with some drama and then a happy ending. I don't want to feel this annoyed to read in my spare time. Second of all my husband is a lawyer and the whole premise that the author wanted to relay her love for the lawyering field through this series is crap. She may mean what she says about her love for that stuff but it is way poorly executed. For someone who is also inundated with the life a lawyer leads the legal side of it all seemed a bit trite in comparison.
Take my advise if you are unsure of these books but are fairly certain there are other titles you know you would like to read out there then just go ahead and read them. Put these in the "sell to Half price books bag" you keep in the corner of your room and I assure you, you won't even miss them.
Cheers- Gilly
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great romantic fantasy, October 28, 2010
This review is from: When Wicked Craves (Mass Market Paperback)
Petra Lang can never know the warm touch of another person whether it would be a lover or a friend. A hug is something she should never feel as one touch turns the nicest person into a snarling demonic beast. The Shadow Alliance leadership fears her curse will be used against them as she apparently has caused the prophecy of their deaths to begin. She must die before they die.
Vampire Nicholas Montegue rescues her from death as he needs her to save his friend Serge who she turned. However, her hero is turned into a beast. While the Alliance assassins chase them, the pair goes to his former mentor, an alchemist he betrayed centuries ago as their only hope. When she learns her death will save his friend, she willingly wants to die. However, he can no longer kill the woman he loves but can't touch.
When J.K. Beck writes a romantic fantasy readers know the tale will prove great as affirmed by When Blood Calls and When Pleasure Rules. Her latest tale is a tense twisting thriller that comes across as a paranormal Gift of the Magi starring an adult Kitty Pryde of X-women fame and a fascinating frustrated hero. Sub-genre fans will crave impatiently for when the next visit to the Beckian universe occurs.
Harriet Klausner
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