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detcom27 's review for:
No Rest for the Wicked
by Kresley Cole
(Barely) better plot, possibly worse romance? 2.5 stars
I debated for a while over whether to rate this the same or lower than the first book. Many small, odd things kept stacking up. Things like how the phrase "cheerier scenarios" appears three times in less than 100 pages. That's twice too many for me. I realize it's a characterization trick, but I felt that Kaderin (or Katja, which I know how to pronounce) was written distinctly enough without that inclusion.
There was also a frustrating uptick in the use of 'male' and 'female', which was already a negative point from the first book's writing. View spoiler text for nerd stats.
Average usage numbers pan out to be:
[b:A Hunger Like No Other|14384|A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark, #1)|Kresley Cole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357616154l/14384._SY75_.jpg|16422]
female --- an average of once every 11.61 pages
male --- an average of once every 12.41
[b:No Rest for the Wicked|14383|No Rest for the Wicked (Immortals After Dark, #2)|Kresley Cole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357615569l/14383._SY75_.jpg|1097825]
female --- an average of once every 7.18 pages
male --- an average of once every 10.35
What bothered me most about this was actually that I think it could've easily been used to flesh out Katja's character. She's known as Katja the Coldhearted after her emotions were numbed by a god, making her distant, analytical and ruthless. Using stiff, distanced language is a great way to show that, and it could've changed over time to show her warming up and humanizing again. But alas, it is simply more of the same, overused jabs at fellow women - sorry, females - and musings at how desirable certain males are. Predictable and could be disappointing, if I'd had any real expectations of the book to begin with.
Plot-wise, I'd put this book slightly above the first. Katja has goals and plans that she insists on seeing through, and they are what drove the plot. The stakes in this story were also much higher, involving the lives and deaths of several characters. I didn't love the final resolution though. Giving Sebastian the ability to divorced his actions from their consequences, and made the emotional impact of his decision to give that up in the first place significantly weaker. Then again, maybe I just like bittersweet endings.
Katja and Sebastian's relationship has me in a strange place. It was turbulent, mostly because of Sebastian's unwillingness to see Katja as an equal, autonomous being. It was frustrating to read from the start, but it became worse the further I read and the more I learned. Katja is over one thousand years older than Sebastian, yet not even that fact could make him respect her any more. It was (unfortunately) disgustingly reminiscent of far too many real men. He also never reconciles this flawed outlook, the book just skims over it by forcing the plot to prove him right (a pet peeve of mine) and skipping straight to its conclusion without so much as a meaningful conversation, let alone a change in his behavior. Because of this stagnation their "arguments" became cyclical and boring to read, which honestly sums up a good chunk of this book.
A final bit that irked me (is a small spoiler): How the $!#@ is Sebastian the first vampire to EVER Vampires might be too violent for their own good, but they're not totally stupid. I refuse to believe that had never, not even once, been attempted before. A character doesn't have to be the first to do something for it to be impressive. Particularly if it's something that seems like a logical progression from a world's current magic/technology. Instead of making Sebastian look smart (which I think was the intention, given his under baked science nerd characterization elsewhere), it makes the entirety of vampire society look really, really dumb. Which could've been funny. But not in this case.
In my last review I finished with positives, which I wanted to do here as well. But, being honest, I realized that aside from liking Katja a bit more than Emma, I don't have much positive to say. Hence the 2.5 instead of 3 star rating. This book was by en large forgettable, which is definitely worse in my...well, book...than any flaw I found with the first. Though, an honorable mention goes to the plane sex scene, with a Valkyrie that creates lightning storms when aroused. I'll be shaking my head at that for at least another week; and for that I'm truly grateful.
I debated for a while over whether to rate this the same or lower than the first book. Many small, odd things kept stacking up. Things like how the phrase "cheerier scenarios" appears three times in less than 100 pages. That's twice too many for me. I realize it's a characterization trick, but I felt that Kaderin (or Katja, which I know how to pronounce) was written distinctly enough without that inclusion.
There was also a frustrating uptick in the use of 'male' and 'female', which was already a negative point from the first book's writing. View spoiler text for nerd stats.
Spoiler
Average usage numbers pan out to be:
[b:A Hunger Like No Other|14384|A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark, #1)|Kresley Cole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357616154l/14384._SY75_.jpg|16422]
female --- an average of once every 11.61 pages
male --- an average of once every 12.41
[b:No Rest for the Wicked|14383|No Rest for the Wicked (Immortals After Dark, #2)|Kresley Cole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357615569l/14383._SY75_.jpg|1097825]
female --- an average of once every 7.18 pages
male --- an average of once every 10.35
Plot-wise, I'd put this book slightly above the first. Katja has goals and plans that she insists on seeing through, and they are what drove the plot. The stakes in this story were also much higher, involving the lives and deaths of several characters. I didn't love the final resolution though. Giving Sebastian the ability to
Spoiler
save his sistersKatja and Sebastian's relationship has me in a strange place. It was turbulent, mostly because of Sebastian's unwillingness to see Katja as an equal, autonomous being. It was frustrating to read from the start, but it became worse the further I read and the more I learned. Katja is over one thousand years older than Sebastian, yet not even that fact could make him respect her any more. It was (unfortunately) disgustingly reminiscent of far too many real men. He also never reconciles this flawed outlook, the book just skims over it by forcing the plot to prove him right (a pet peeve of mine) and skipping straight to its conclusion without so much as a meaningful conversation, let alone a change in his behavior. Because of this stagnation their "arguments" became cyclical and boring to read, which honestly sums up a good chunk of this book.
A final bit that irked me (is a small spoiler): How the $!#@ is Sebastian the first vampire to EVER
Spoiler
trace to a person??In my last review I finished with positives, which I wanted to do here as well. But, being honest, I realized that aside from liking Katja a bit more than Emma, I don't have much positive to say. Hence the 2.5 instead of 3 star rating. This book was by en large forgettable, which is definitely worse in my...well, book...than any flaw I found with the first. Though, an honorable mention goes to the plane sex scene, with a Valkyrie that creates lightning storms when aroused. I'll be shaking my head at that for at least another week; and for that I'm truly grateful.