Review: Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter

Wicked Nights
Book 1 in the Angels of the Dark series
Author: Gena Showalter
Publisher:  HQN Books
Release date:  6/25/12
Author's website:  Link

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?

In Wicked Nights, the angel Zacharel meets a human that can see angels as well as demons. Annabelle Miller has been marked as a bride by a demon who turns her world upside down.  When she meets Zacharel, she realizes that he is her way out of the institution that she has been placed in.  Zacharel agrees to help her leave because he's never been around someone like her.  He's used to people following his orders and Annabelle stands her ground against him.

There are plenty of action scenes as the angels find themselves battling against demons.  They really aren't safe anywhere and there are times when it seems like the demons have the upper hand.  But Zacharel and his angels do what they must to keep Annabelle and other humans safe.  With the help of the awesome Lords of the Underworld, they battle back as hard as they can.

I'm giving Wicked Nights a rating of:

I was really looking forward to reading Wicked Nights and unfortunately I was somewhat disappointed in it. The overall excitement that I'm used to reading in Gena's books just didn't seem to be there for me. I also had a hard time connecting with Annabelle's character and Zacharel's as well. I was kind of shocked at this because I enjoyed his character when he made previous appearances in Gena's Lords of the Underworld books.  However in his book,  he seemed to lack some of the mystery that had surrounded his character and he just seemed a little bland to me.  This won't deter me from reading the future books in this series.  I felt that the secondary characters were very interesting and will add a spark of excitement to the series.