I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night
by
Kresley Cole
paranormal romance in Paperback edition that was published by Pocket Star on October 30, 2007 and has 359 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include If You Dare, The Captain of All Pleasures, A Hunger Like No Other, No Rest for the Wicked, Dark Needs at Night's Edge, The Professional
Third in the Immortals After Dark paranormal-romance series (if one is keeping to the method of counting short stories as x.5; if not, it’s fourth!). The couple focus here is on Bowen MacRieve, a werewolf, and Mariketa the Awaited, a witch. The action in this story starts in the middle of the Hie that began in No Rest for the Wicked.
My Take
It’s a parallel plot line as Bowen is struggling to win the Hie, gain the key to turn back time, and rescue his beloved before she dies. Mariketa is trying to find herself. Her powers are wonky, unreliable. A prophecy states she’ll be claimed by a warrior of the Lore. And her coven expects her to be this incredibly powerful person.
Cole is lying to us from the get-go. In the prologue she’s telling us one thing and at the end she’s telling us another. Of course, it could simply be a ruse to torment Bowen even more…
There’s a lot of action in this story; I could wish we could harness someone like Bowen for law enforcement in the jungles…very useful. But the action is simply to keep us enthralled as both Bowen and Mariketa must learn. Bowen must learn to accept and embrace the reality of Mariketa while Mariketa is finding her way to the challenge of her life.
The best of the three full stories so far.
The Story
Bowen MacRieve will stop at nothing nor will he allow any weakness to interfere in his winning this Hie. The prize is but a stepping stone to an even greater prize. To him. A chance to go back in time and rescue his love before fear of him causes her to flee. To die. His only real competition in the Hie are Kaderin the Coldhearted and Sebastian Wroth (their story is in No Rest for the Wicked.
This witch, this damned witch though distracts him. It must be a spell forcing him to desire her. And. He. Will. Not. Allow. It. He must win. He must save Mariah. If it takes trapping that damned witch in this cave. So be it. There are five other immortals with her; they’ll be out soon enough. Only, none of them realize the cave is still occupied.
The Characters
Bowen MacRieve is a tormented werewolf. He lost his mate one winter’s night 180 years ago and he’s been in agony — and celibate — ever since. Lachlain MacRieve is king of the werewolves and Bowen’s friend and cousin (see A Hunger Like No Other for the story of Lachlain and Emmie).
Mariah is, was, his love all those years ago and on one fatal winter’s night Bowen lost her to her fear.
Mariketa the Awaited is a witch with unruly powers. Over the past 23 years of her life, she’s lost both her parents and has always been second string. Trapped in the cave with Mari are three elven archers: Tera, Tierney, and an unnamed as well as two demons, friends, of a sort, of Bowen’s: Rydstrom and Cade. Her fellow witches include Carrow and Elianna. Her parents are/were Jillian, a fey witch, and Warren, a warlock. And, yes, we do discover just why Mariketa is the Awaited.
Nucking Futs Nix is a proto-Valkyrie. She’s absolutely nuts and never, ever wrong in her predictions. Regin is also there for Mariketa.
The Cover and Title
The cover is awful. Let alone that the only resemblance it has to the story is the woman’s red hair. That aside, the man is just plain scary looking, more vampire-like than anything. And this is supposed to be a story about a werewolf!
As for the title, Bowen’s torment started with Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night. The night Mariah died. Only, it’s nothing like what you think.
