No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


2nd Read Completed Between 8/11-8/12/13

There is something about this series that feels like sinking into a comfortable, well-loved pair of shoes, or diving into your favorite comfort dish (think Mac N' Cheese).  These books absorb me like few others.  I was excited to reread it, and hopeful I would feel more connected and like Kaderin more this time around.  It actually happened, so yay!

Before, I felt like she was just so mean to Sebastian and it bothered me. This time, I could put her into context of her life, and what she'd suffered.  Her sorrow and her guilt at losing her sisters.  How she couldn't bring them back, and had to live so many years without them. So she dedicated herself to wiping out those who had taken them from her.  I could see why she was so armored against Sebastian.  And yet, he found his way into her heart. That was a beautiful thing to experience, and it made me love Sebastian even more.  I also realized that I did respect Kaderin.  I think it's really easy to judge people for their mistakes and shortcomings (especially when we really don't know them).  At church this Sunday, the pastor talked about the fact that people are 'holey' and we see all their holes and not the beauty of them as people.  It was such a good message to remember.  Sometimes, we are so 'holey' and those holes our own hurts  cause us to become emotionally callous. As a result, we see others through jaundiced lens and just see what they do wrong, instead of how they are hurting as we hurt. This time around, I saw Kaderin for her pain, and what that pain made her do and act.  The great thing about this story was that Sebastian loved her for who she was, and even when she pushed him away and hurt him, he didn't give up. That made me love him even more.

I also saw Sebastian in a deeper and even more beloved way.  I have much love for Sebastian.  He's everything I would love in a man: a powerful warrior, equally powerful intellectual, thoughtful, caring, and loving!  He's as deep as an ocean, and I find that so sexy.  Absolutely sigh-worthy.  I loved the scene when Sebastian was turned on by the highly intellectual discussion of time paradox with Kaderin, that she could hold her own. My kind of man.  Nerdtastic--my Kryptonite!  Like I said, Lachlain has some stiff competition!

The concept of the Talisman's Hie was fun and exciting. I loved the globe-trotting adventure with a supernatural/fantastic twist.   I liked the intense competition between Kaderin, Bowen, and Lucindeya.  They all did some dirty tricks that made me wince.  The Lore is so fantastically interesting, so learning more about it was fun. I felt bad for Bowen, even though I wanted Kaderin to win. I'm excited to see the sparks fly between Bowen and Mariketa.  Of course, I love the interactions between Kaderin and her Valkyrie sisters, and Sebastian and his brother. It was great to see Nikolai and Myst (happy and together) so much in this book and to hear from Emma (and more obliquely Lachlain).  As always, Cole has me laughing at the Valkyries' antics.

Man, I love those Wroth brothers! *Thud* Times Four!

It's exciting and lovely to see that I love these books just as much (if not more) the second time around.

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**Original Review Below***

Another great book in the Immortals After Dark series. Can I be honest and say that I really disliked Kaderin at first? She is one valkryie with a Valhalla-sized chip on her shoulder (Bad pun, I know).  I felt bad for how she had suffered, and normally I love a strong, kickbutt heroine. But she came off  massively unsympathetic and heartless initially.  I didn't like the way she treated Sebastian, who was the sweetest guy.  I'd love a guy like him. But over time, I grew to like Kaderin as I came to understand why her heart was so cold.  She had watched her three sisters get slaughtered by vampires, unable to do anything to save them. All she had left for over a millenia was a sworn oath to destroy all vampires. In her mind, they were all of the Horde, which are the vampires who have given over to Bloodlust.  She didn't realize that there were good vampires who fought the Horde.

Sebastian is a very loving character, but also a formidable warrior. He is one of the Wroth brothers, and was turned into a vampire by his oldest brothers Nikolai and Murdoch to fight in deposed Vampire King Kristoff's army to regain his kingdom. He was never good with women, being freakishly tall and lanky growing up.  He had only been with two or three women in his life (compared to his playboy brother's Nikolai and Murdoch).  He hated being a vampire, and was considering ending his miserable afterlife. But first he was going to try to win the Talisman Hie and get the Key, which would allow him to go back into the past and save his sisters who had died of plague back during the wars in their homeland Estonia. And then he sets his eyes on his Bride. Vampires are dead from the neck down, essentially. They cannot lust or feel desire for women until they meet their true Bride and become Blooded.  It turns out that Kaderin the Coldhearted is Sebastian's Bride.

He is in love and lust. He cannot think of anything other than wooing and having his bride. He follows her around like a lost puppy. For those readers who like the alpha male bad boys, that may not sound very appealing, but it really is.  Sebastian is a delicious hero. His determination to win Kaderin was very appealing to me.  Kaderin is pretty annoyed and vows to kill this annoying vampire, who keeps trying to protect her, and is helping her to win the Talisman's Hie.  But soon, his attractive intensity, his warrior prowess, and his masculine appeal starts to melt the ice around her heart.

So I started out this book holding Kaderin in dislike.  However, seeing the way that Sebastian wins her over, and also how she is so tortured about the loss of her sisters, helped me to open my heart to Kaderin. She's not my favorite IAD heroine, but I do like her now. 

No Rest for the Wicked is a great follow up to A Hunger Like No Other. Although Kaderin's cold-hearted demeanor may not be to every reader's tastes, this book is a must read for fans of paranormal, especially vampire romances. It certainly opened my eyes to the appeal of a vampire lover.



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