Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mariketa is a twenty-three year old witch competing in the Hie, a contest that immortals hold every two-hundred and fifty years. Bowen is a Lykae (werewolf) competing in the same contest. This book runs somewhat parallel to the previous book in this series No Rest for the Wicked. In that book, Kaderin, a Valkyrie, is competing in the same Hie with Sebastian Wroth, a vampire, as her main competition. Mariketa is a fierce competitor, but she has little control over her magic, plus she is disadvantaged by still being mortal going up against competitors who are all immortal and will heal from most mishaps. Bowen finds himself drawn to her, but he knows that she cannot possibly be his mate, since he lost his only mate nearly two hundred years ago. He strongly suspects that she has cast a spell on him to make him want her. He shuts her in a tomb with other immortals during the contest, fully expecting that she will be able to free herself. He is defeated in the final contest of the competition by Sebastian Wroth, and spends weeks trapped in fire caverns, growing ever weaker due to a spell that Mariketa cast on him as he closed her in the tomb, making him unable to heal from his wounds. If Mariketa is trapped in a tomb and Bowen is trapped in fire caverns, how will they ever work out their differences? Read this episode to find out. I did not feel as close to these characters as I have to others in the series.

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No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Kaderin is on a mission to destroy yet another vampire, when she suddenly finds herself unable to make the killing stroke with her sword. Sebastian Wroth has been wishing for death for three hundred years until this moment - it seems that Kaderin is his Bride. He feels his heart beat for the first time since he was turned against his will. But Kaderin lives to kill vampires since the vampire horde killed her two sisters. How can she possibly be feeling an attraction to one of the race that murdered her family? How can she be feeling anything? After her sisters' deaths, Kaderin prayed for relief from the pain of their loss and received the blessing of having no feelings of any kind. Now suddenly, she is feeling again! How can these two possibly work out their differences? Read this romantic thriller to find out.

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Covet by J.R. Ward


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This story takes place in the same location as the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, Caldwell, New York. Marie_Terese Boudreau is working in The Iron Mask, the club that replaced the Reverend's club, that is owned and operated by Trez Latimer. She is deeply shamed by the job she must do to repay the debts she owes, but her young son makes it all worthwhile. Jim Heron is a construction worker, who isn't interested in becoming involved with anything or anyone, but who finds that life has other plans for him. Vin DiPietro is a wealthy contractor who has everything anyone could want and is about to become engaged to his gorgeous girlfriend, Devina. Adrian and Eddie are Jim's co-workers and drinking buddies - at least that is what Jim thinks. This story has many twists and turns, and you certainly won't expect what happens in the end.

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A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lachlain has been imprisoned in the catacombs beneath Paris for one hundred and fifty years, having the flesh burned from his body each time his immortality regenerates it. He is pulled from this torture by the scent of his one true mate on the streets of Paris and he is able to free himself to go in search of her. Lachlain is king of the Lykae (werewolves) and is appalled to find that the scent he followed led him to Emmaline, a vampire. As he convinces her to help him return to his home in Scotland, he realizes there is something different about Emmaline. He begins to doubt that she is truly his life mate. Emmaline just wants to get away from him and return to her aunts in New Orleans, but she is becoming weaker from not having fed in several days. Read this story to find out if these two can get past their differences.

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Playing Easy to Get by Kresley Cole


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I bought this book because it has the beginning of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series as one of the three stories. The first story in the book, by Sherrilyn Kenyon, is a good basic romance, with no immortals involved. The second story, by Jaid Black, is a story of a race of Vikings who live beneath the earth, with bride-hunters who go above ground to steal eligible women to bring below and marry the Vikings and provide them with children. This one was interesting, with the Vikings seeming to have some immortality to them. I may read more of Jaid Black's work later on. The third story involves vampires and Valkyrie and how one of each came together after nearly destroying one another. This one left me wanting more and I continue on to A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole.

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A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is 4 short stories about Sookie Stackhouse. Each gives just a taste of a Sookie Stackhouse adventure. If you enjoyed reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels, you will enjoy these stories as well. They left me wanting more, but I will have to wait until next Spring for the next full length Sookie story.

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