WICKED NIGHTS (Angels of the Dark #1) by Gena Showalter
Wicked Nights is the first book ( June 2012 release) in Gena Showalter’s Angels of the Dark series. It is a spin off of her Lords of the Underworld series.
Zacharel, whom we first meet in Darkest Seduction (LOTU), is the leader of an army of angels who are in jeopardy of losing their wings. Their cold, callous ways have them all on the verge of being thrown out of the heavens. Needless to say, these aren’t your typical angels.
Anabelle Miller has been institutionalized for the last four years of her life. Accused of the brutal murder of her parents. No one believes her when she tells them a monster killed her parents. She endures frequent attacks by demons, that only she can see. She not only endures demon attacks, but the attention of an unscrupulous doctor inside the institution.
Zacharel and his army are summoned to dispense of a horde of demons who are attacking the institution in which Ana is being held. When he gives chase to one of the demons, he encounters Anabelle, strapped to a gurney. He is immediately intrigued with this human, which is something entirely new to him. Once he witness the unscrupulous doctor’s intentions towards Ana, he decides to rescue her.
Zacharel has suffered such a horrible loss, that he has closed off all emotion to everyone and everything. He has been alone for centuries, and takes no pleasure for himself. He kills his targets swiftly and moves on. But, when he takes Ana into his protection, he finds his, literally, cold exterior thawing. They set out on a journey to find out why Ana is being targeted by demons on a constant basis. He involves his warrior angels, whom, to say is a motley crew, is an understatement. Once they discover Demon High Lord, Unforgiveness is the one calling for the attacks, it gets very interesting. Seems Unforgiveness targeted Ana and bound himself to her. And the reason for the binding shocks the hell out of you.
Zacharel and Ana’s relationship is a slow, sweet surprise. Once he realizes how much he loves her, he will stop at nothing to keep her safe and undo what Unforgiveness has done. One of the reasons Zacharel is on the verge of losing his wings is his callousness towards humans. Ana changes that. And ends up saving him. In the end Zacharel vows to be the leader he needs to be in order to save the members of his army.
I really liked this book. The battle in the end is not what I expected, but I loved it just the same. Several of the Lords of the Underworld show up to help, along with a minor goddess and a harpy or two. Once you find out the loss that Zacharel has suffered, your heart will break. Ana is very strong and very independent. And I can’t wait to get to know the other angels. I can only imagine the hell they’ve been through and can’t wait to see them find their salvation. I will say, that in my opinion, religion (for lack of a better term), or maybe faith would be a better description, is played on heavily in this book. It is not thrown in your face, but it is subtly used to force Zacharel to realize the right, true way of things. There is a lot I would like to tell you about this book but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Like I said, once you realize Unforgiveness’ link, it’s a definite “wow” moment, and the actions played out from there are great!! If you are a fan of the Lords of the Underworld, you will definitely like this book. If you aren’t a LOTU fan, you’ll like it anyway. 😉
Reviewed by Vickie M.
