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lifeand100books's review against another edition
5.0
Omg. SO GOOD.
I absolutely LOVE these characters.
I absolutely LOVE these characters.
curls's review against another edition
Ian and Veritas story.
Ian is funny, Veritas is a badass- but a little hard to relate. I’m not sure about this one. I’ll hold a rating until the series is complete.
Ian is funny, Veritas is a badass- but a little hard to relate. I’m not sure about this one. I’ll hold a rating until the series is complete.
mmardybum's review against another edition
Now, that was silly. I guess I'll be reading the next one as well.
an_tonym's review against another edition
2.0
ian is my favorite character from the original series, but somehow he isn’t as good in his own series (i had the same problem with vlad tbh).
also: why bother making ian canonically queer, when we don’t really get to see it? like yeah, we see him being flirty with some dudes, but that’s it. i personally always head-canoned him as bi/pan (idk maybe it was canon from the beginning but i don’t think it was explicitly stated before ‘shades of wicked’) and also kinda wished he would have ended up with a man instead.
anyways…of course i’m still going to finish this series.
edit: of course him having a female love interest, doesn’t make him less queer, but tbh the lgbtq+ rep in frost’s books isn’t great, so i was kinda hoping for more. i also don’t dislike veritas but idk i was always secretly hoping that theo (if that is is his name lmao) would be ian’s love interest.
(also: for some reason i always thought she looked very young, like teenager-young, but i might be confusing things since it has been a while since i read “destiny for an early grave”)
also: why bother making ian canonically queer, when we don’t really get to see it? like yeah, we see him being flirty with some dudes, but that’s it. i personally always head-canoned him as bi/pan (idk maybe it was canon from the beginning but i don’t think it was explicitly stated before ‘shades of wicked’) and also kinda wished he would have ended up with a man instead.
anyways…of course i’m still going to finish this series.
edit: of course him having a female love interest, doesn’t make him less queer, but tbh the lgbtq+ rep in frost’s books isn’t great, so i was kinda hoping for more. i also don’t dislike veritas but idk i was always secretly hoping that theo (if that is is his name lmao) would be ian’s love interest.
(also: for some reason i always thought she looked very young, like teenager-young, but i might be confusing things since it has been a while since i read “destiny for an early grave”)
zhalia14's review against another edition
5.0
I'm always a little hesitant when an author does spin-off books from a series I enjoy, much less multiple spin-offs. But I loved this book. Somehow, Jeaniene Frost still managed to add new elements, twists, magic, characters, and creatures into this world. I'm looking forward to book 2!
anasatticbookblog's review against another edition
4.0
Shades of Wicked (Night Rebel #1) by Jeaniene Frost
Paranormal Romance, first in a continuing spin-off series of the Night Huntress Series.
4.5 stars
**Audiobook Update! I did a re-read via audible and loved it even more! The narration was amazing!
The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost was my favorite paranormal series back in 2009 when I was reading PNR, and Ian was the guy I couldn’t wait to read a book about. After being a little disappointed by Vlad’s books and the last Night Huntress book, I was a little nervous going into Shades of Wicked. Well, let me tell you, I had nothing to be worried about! Ian’s story lived up to all expectations.
Since Shades of Wicked is the first in the new Night Rebel Series (expected to be 2-3 books), it can technically stand alone. Jeaniene Frost gives enough background for the newbies, but doesn’t bore the readers who have read the last dozen or so books. But readers of her Night Huntress Series have known Ian for years and you just can’t make up for that. I recommend starting with Halfway to the Grave. That being said, because I didn’t totally love the last three books, they didn’t really stick with me, and I only vaguely remember Veritas (perhaps because I just realized I did not read the last in Vlad's series, which I will rectify this week). But my lack of memory took away nothing from the reading experience; I never felt like I missed anything.
“For a moment, I stared. What vampire in his right mind would pierce himself with silver there?”
Ian is a scoundrel, a flirt, a dirty dog, but he is so loyal to his friends that he sold his soul to save a friend (this took place prior to this book). Knowing that he has mere weeks left, he is living life to the fullest, which for him can mean anything.
“His eyes changed from their natural vivid turquoise into glowing, vampiric emerald. “Leave it to a Law Guardian to try and ruin a perfectly good orgy. Sorry, luv, I’m not going anywhere. Now, take your hands from me before I remove them.”
Veritas is a Law Guardian who is thousands of years old to Ian’s mere hundreds. She is powerful, and she is after the same Demon who has Ian’s soul, and she plans on using him as bait. While Veritas is much older and more powerful than Ian, he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, and these two make a great pair despite the antagonistic background between the two.
“Ian seemed as entertained by my threat to kill him as he’d been when he thought I was about to go down on him. He might be morally bankrupt, chronically dishonest, and inexplicably dangerous, but he was also . . . fun.”
There was the amazing banter you’d expect from Ian, there was TONS of action and adventure, lots of magic, and visits from all of our favorites. There was also some super hot vampires-breaking-a-house sex!
“No,” he said, the single word stunning me. “Not until you stop holding back.”
What? “I’m not holding back,” I began, only to have him fling me against the couch with such force, it sent me and the sofa sliding across the room. He stalked over when the wall finally stopped the couch.
“Liar. The only time you weren’t was when you tore my back up.” With each step, his voice deepened. “But after you apologized for that, you haven’t drawn my blood since. I won’t tolerate your half response. I want all of it, and if you keep holding back,” he leaned over, denying me the kiss I sought in favor of nearly yanking my legs open, “I’m going to torture you with pleasure until I break your control.”
They say opposites attract, right? Well these two were perfect for each other! She is the buttoned-up, forgot-how-to-have-fun law guardian and he is the degenerate scoundrel. I do wish I loved her a little more than I did in this, but she grew on me, and I can’t wait to read more about this unlikely pair. Be warned. Shades of Wicked ends on a cliffy, and Wicked Bite, the next in the series, doesn’t release until summer 2019.
“I saw the real you, and every time I did, I knew you were mine.”
Likes:
- •I had an absolute blast reading this.
- •It was fun and exciting and I gobbled it up in one sitting like I did the original Night Huntress Series.
- •Ian is such a pig, and he is still my favorite (next to Bones).
- •The banter!
- •In between all the action, there are some big emotions.
- •Her background and family.
- •Visiting with previous characters from the Night Huntress World.
- •This stood alone, it didn’t feel like I needed to reread all the books to refresh my memory.
Dislikes:
- •I didn’t like how Ian’s friends and family doubted him. He always stepped up for them.
- •The end twist was a bit easy and frankly, kind of lazy and uncreative.
- •I don't 100% love Veritas...yet.
The Down & Dirty:
I didn’t remember how much I loved reading Jeaniene Frost until I read Shades of Wicked. After a steady diet of contemporary romance and romantic comedy, jumping back into the Night Huntress world was a total rush. So much happens! It’s so exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Ian’s roguish, shameless ways are always great entertainment, the sex was awesome, the opposites-attract theme made for some great banter, and it absolutely left me wanting for more. Even though we have to wait until summer, it’s totally worth the wait. Reading Shades of Wicked made me want to get back into a little more suspense and paranormal, because I forgot how much fun it is to read. Luckily I just realized I missed Into The Fire, the last Night Prince book, so I grabbed it in audio and can't wait to listen.
Rating: 4.5 Stars, 4.5 Heat
Purchase Shades of Wicked by Jeaniene Frost
kanakk's review against another edition
5.0
I just saw they book 2 was released and it has me thinking about this book again and how it already makes me want to re-read book 1. So this is a super late review haha. I thoroughly enjoyed this book much more than Vlad or Mencheres’ especially as Veritas’s true story and power were a total shocker. It is absolutely fascinating and expands the cat and bones universe much more. So excited to read book 2 soon.
daiana_in_reallife's review against another edition
1.0
Ridiculous. I CANT find any other words. It’s like a bad Wattpad fanfic. I don’t even know why I finished it, if I hadn’t such a heart for books I’d burn it
kristid's review against another edition
5.0
SO GOOD! Oh Ian, I always knew there was so much more to you. And that ending was KILLER! Gah! Can't wait for the next one.
veritas19's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of this series. I have always liked Ian and Veritas and I am looking forward to finding out what happens to these two next!