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Title: No Rest for the Wicked (The Immortals After Dark, Book 2)
ISBN: 1416509887
Author:
Kresley Cole
Publicate Date: 2006-10-31
Publish: 2006-10-31
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.43
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $3.43
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Sequel to A Hunger Like No Other
This is the second full length novel and third story in the Immortals After Dark Series.
It opens with Kaderin the Coldhearted (Valkyrie) coming to kill vampire Sebastian Wroth. The villagers below his castle are apparently terrified of him even though he's done nothing to provoke their fear. However, it quickly becomes apparent that she is his destined Bride, and rather than kill him, she flees, leaving a somewhat disgruntled vampire behind. Their meeting has two consequences - Sebastian's heart begins to beat, and Kaderin after centuries of being an unfeeling killing machine starts to feel emotion again.
Kaderin has more important things on her mind, however. She is about to take part in the Talisman's Hie, a kind of supernatural scavenger hunt, with the ultimate prize being a key that will allow the holder to travel backwards in time. Kaderin wants the key to be able to rescue her sisters who were slaughtered on a battlefield centuries earlier - the last time she showed mercy to a vampire. Deciding it's the only way to get close to her, Sebastian joins the Hie as well. But to gain the prize will require more than teamwork, it will take the ultimate sacrifice.
Of the two main characters I find myself slightly preferring Sebastian. Kaderin takes a little longer to warm to. But I think this is probably intended, as until this story she's been completely emotionless. It's heartwarming to read about her reawakened emotions and how they take a toll on her when she no longer sees the world in black and white.
Sebastian was turned into a vampire against his will. And he does seem to have spent a goodly amount of his immortality moping. However, this all changes when he meets Kaderin and acknowledges that maybe everything does happen for a reason, as if he wasn't a vampire he would never have met her.
I will admit when I started reading I wasn't sure about the setting - the Talisman's Hie. But I really got into it. Knowing what the prize is you can see why the competitors are all prepared to fight so desperately for it. Kaderin wants to save her sisters, Bowen the lykae wants to save his mate, Sebastian considers going back in time to save his family. When the stakes are that high you understand the ruthlessness of their behaviour.
Things I love about Kresley Cole's books.
* The banter between the characters, everyone is just so darn witty and NRFTW is no exception.
"We've established that you can't kill me."
She glared at him over her shoulder. "I ache to make those your last words."
* The fact that I believe it when the characters say I love you. In all of her books the relationship feels organic. When they get to the 'I love yous' I believe they mean them.
* The variety of her characters. Here we have demons, sirens, witches, vampires, gods, elves. Each species has its defining characteristics. But every single person we meet, no matter their species, is an individual. Even the minor characters have intriguing hints dropped about their stories.
This leads me to my one niggle about the series, which is that as it goes on, sometimes it's slightly too much. Some of the intriguing hints feel a little half-finished. The books are that good though, that I have a tendency to shrug my shoulders and assume that all will become clear in a few books time. This is probably one of the best PNR series around at the moment and I recommend it highly.
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2: Great book
this was a fun book to read, you just never know what to expect from this one. recommend..
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3: Average, not Great
I had high hopes and expectations for this book, but I was a little disappointed. It seemed like the hero and heroine spent most of the book just running around from place to place.
Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it seemed like their relationship is squeezed in between all of their travels. The end result, for me at least was that their whole relationship came off as seeming rushed and unrealistic, as well as a little awkward.
It was kind of disappointing, because Kresley Cole is an author who generally does the whole "fated mate" thing really well, and if she had fleshed out the characters and especially their interactions a little more, it could have turned out much better.
Still, this book might be worth buying if only to see the characters from the previous books, and it does lay out some subplots for future books. All of the other books in her Immortals After Dark series are really good, so this book might at least be worth reading as a "link" book.
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4: Just OK
This was an OK read, but I won't be reading it again.
I thought it would be a good book starting with when Kaderin and Sebastian first meet. It was action packed and dramatic and romantic, then...nothing. She hates him, he wants her...and that repeats for the rest of the book. And I cannot figure out why he wants her at all, except for the fact that she is his "bride".
Kaderin was way too mean, crude and rude. I didn't like her at all. All the killing she did and does just makes her seem like a manly unfeeling beast. She's not feminine, and not nice.
Like she just sat there while Regin is trying to cut his head off with 2 swords repeatedly. Uh, excuse me? Wasn't she supposed to have her feelings back especially when he was around? Because she continues to be unfeeling while he is around.
Sebastian I actually liked, but I could not stand the way Kaderin treated him, it was almost like abuse. And I was not comfortable with that, considering all the things she hated about him, he already hated about himself so she definatly was not helping him. She did not deserve him. He was too nice and gentle. She was a brute.
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5: Worthy Successor to First "Immortals" Book
I enjoyed this book -- a fusion of Cole's first, sexy novel in the "Immortals After Dark" series and an almost Indiana Jones-esque journey circumnavigating the globe. I particularly enjoyed the characters in this one -- somehow deeper than in the series' introduction.
Sebastian Wroth is our hero, whose muted passion is pitted against the icy Kaderin, an immortal Valkyrie cursed (or is it blessed), long before the setting of the modern-day setting of the book, with a total lack of emotion.
The main premise of the novel centers around a supernatural series of games -- quests of a sort that could almost be termed the preternatural Olympics. Kaderin, the long-time winner, learns that this set of games offers a prize more priceless to her than any other, and before long, a kink is thrown into the midst as Wroth joins in on her behalf to win her favor.
The book sizzles within the early pages, and throughout the novel sparks run high. The attraction is immediate and definite, and kept my interest throughout the entire novel.
Again, I really enjoyed this one's characters, and I liked the book overall about as much as "A Hunger like No Other", albeit for different reasons. "No Rest" has less of the all-encompassing eroticism of the first novel, allowing Cole's ability to weave plots worthy of complementing her smut to shine through. The sex is definitely still there and still hot, but less prevalent. I'm tempted to say that it almost makes it better -- anticipation is a wonderful thing. The scattered settings around the world lend more color, as well. My other favorite part of Cole's writing is her attention to the depth of side characters. I'll be curious to see how their tales unfold, as well.
Definitely worth a read, and a worthy successor to her first book.
7.2/10
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