Review: Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter

Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark #1) by Gena Showalter
Publication Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: HQN Books
Number of Pages: 411
Format: Paperback
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Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless -- and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions at any cost…until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before.

Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation -- or her ultimate damnation?

I have had this book for about six months now and kept putting off reading it. Zacharel had appear in a few of the Lord of the Underworld books, which is no secret is one of my favorite series. It had me interested, but only enough that I would get to it eventually. For the last few months I've been saying I'm going to read it next and then kept putting it off. Now I just want to slap myself for not reading it right away. AMAZING! It had me from the first page.

Zacharel doesn't like to follow the rules. His job is to slay demons and he doesn't care about the human lives that ends up as collateral damage. He's on his last chance with his Deity. His punishment? He is put in charge of a leader of other dangerous angels whose are on their last chance too. Every human that is killed by him or anyone in his army, Zacharel must bare the whippings for them. When he comes across Annabelle in an asylum, he can't bring himself to leave her there with demons coming after her.

I fell in love with both characters immediately. Zacharel is very broody, has cut himself off from emotion, but at the same times he does have some hilarious lines. And Annabelle is right off the bad witty, and won't let anyone walk all over her. Not your typical damsel in distress. And of course this is Gena Showalter you know there's steamy scenes. I was needing a cold shower during several scenes and they weren't even sex scenes. Ms. Showalter doesn't disappoints.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

 “Look, Winged Wonder. Get me out of here, then we'll hammer out the details about where I'm staying. Okay?"
"Winged Wonder," he said, nodding. "I find that I do not mind that one. It fits."
"Captain Modesty fits better," she muttered.
"I disagree. Winged Wonder is clearly the better choice for a man such as me."

 “You know, you’re pretty when you smile,” she said, patting the side of his cheek.
“Fierce, woman. I am fierce.”
“If you say so.”

 "I don't--Argh." She raised a fist at him. "So maybe I do ask a lot of questions. So what. Anyone in my position would do the same. Besides, I'm a girl and that's my job. You're a boy. You're supposed to pound your chest with your fists and grunt, then do everything in your power to please me."
"Hardly. The man you just described is more likely to knock you over the head with a club and drag you away by the hair."

"You said your men were not here," Burden gritted out.
Zacharel smiled the cruelest of his grins. "And they are not. Yet. I told you I brought no angels with me, and unlike you, I'm a man of my word. But I didn't make any promises about demons, did I? Allow me to introduce you to the Lords of the Underworld."

"Below. I will not leave the club without you, and no one in the room will attack you," he said loudly, so that everyone could hear. "They will keep you safe, putting their lives at risk if necessary. Even if they do no trust you. Won't they?"
Silence.
"Won't they?" he shouted.
Wow. She never heard him raise his voice like that.
Murmurs of agreement echoed. 

And being a spin off from LotU, several of them makes appearances in this book. Probably has to be one of my favorite parts in the book. There were two twists in the story, one was a minor one which deals with another character, Koldo. Which I love how she starts to next only set up the next book, but future books. The other twist is a huge one. It will make your jaw drop and go WTF. I had to re read it a few times to make sure I didn't read it wrong.

The spin off is set in the same world as the LotU series. You don't necessary need to read LotU to start this series. But it would make more sense on the world. Plus with the Lords having cameos, it's nice to know who exactly they are. But I would say if you are a fan of LotU definitely check the spin off series out. Especially since the feeling I got is that both series are moving towards the same plot, and I'm sure at one point these two are going to collide.

Rating: 5/5