Review ~ Shades of Wicked ~ Jeaniene Frost #SIAM

Shades of Wicked by Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Rebel #1
Published by Avon on October 30, 2018
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 370
Format: Paperback
Source: ARC Publisher

In this thrilling new Night Rebel series set in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress world, sexy and ruthless vampire Ian finally meets his match!

The Rule Breaker...

Master vampire Ian is unrepentant, shameless...and every shade of wicked. He's made one too many enemies in his two centuries of existence, including Dagon, a demon who now lays claim to his soul. Ian's only chance to escape Dagon is to join forces with a Law Guardian, but he's never been able to abide by the rules for long.

The Law Maker...

Veritas' normal role is police, judge, and jury to reprobates like Ian. But she has her own ax to grind with Dagon, so if she can use Ian as bait...well, all's fair in law and war. As they scour supernatural hotspots to perfect their trap, Veritas soon realizes Ian's carefully cultivated, devil-may-care roguish image hides something much more powerful. And Ian discovers Veritas has shocking secrets of her own. As they're drawn to each other with a passion as intense as their peril, either love or justice will prevail. But each will have devastating consequences.

I’ve been a fan of Ian (for the most part) since first meeting him. He provided a lot of comic relief, to be sure, but his reaction to Cat killing someone in his employ made me wonder at what was beneath this devil-may-care veneer. We’ve seen glimpses throughout the series but in Shades of Wicked, we are finally made privy to the real Ian. And let’s not forget Veritas. Upon first introduction, I liked her because I could see she wasn’t the hard-nosed Law Guardian she should have been. I had no idea the layers she had or the impressive being she is. There couldn’t be a more perfect partner for Ian.

Shades of Wicked sees Veritas teaming up with Ian to find and destroy Dagon, a mutual enemy. Veritas rightly assumes Ian will be onboard because of his demon mark compliments of Dagon. But Veritas has her own agenda where Dagon is concerned. Over the course of executing plans to end Dagon, we experience betrayal, feelings and trust building, and Veritas and Ian inadvertently binding themselves to one another.

I adored Shades of Wicked for so many reasons not the least of which being finally understanding Ian and all his many shades. However, getting to know more about Veritas was equally interesting and gratifying. Seeing them join forces for a common cause, watching as they begin to fall for each other, and witnessing the lengths they’d go to due to the depth of those feelings was awe-inducing. Getting to see most of the whole gang was the cherry on top.

Shades of Wicked showcasing Ian in all his glory ended up displacing Vlad from the top spot of my favorite heroes in these spinoffs. Ian now firmly holds that spot because he definitively showed his soft underbelly. Being vulnerable, showing his true self to Veritas – something he’s not done with anyone save, perhaps, Mencheres – showed his strength and beauty. And I loved it. And Ian. I also adored Veritas for being the one most worthy of receiving Ian’s gift.

 

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• COYER 2023
• Read a Series in a Month
• Unearthing a Bookish Bounty 2023

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