ARC Review: Wicked Abyss by Kresley Cole

Recommended Read!

“WICKED ABYSS felt like a play on senses and Cole made me love every second of it.”
~ Under the Covers

You all know I’m a huge fan of Kresley Cole and the Immortals After Dark has always been one of the paranormal romance series that I recommend any paranormal lover puts in their must read series.  WICKED ABYSS is book 18 in the series and when the main characters for this were announced, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled.  See, this world is so big and we’ve left open ended storylines along the way that I am already invested in seeing developed.  I know the author is driving forward an overall plot for where the world (and alliances) need to be before the final battle but I didn’t have much interest in these two going in.

That being said, as soon as you turn the first page and Nix is being her usual self… I was hooked.  Kresley Cole always has a way of telling a story that grabs my attention because it’s endearing and cute (if all the hell raising she does can be called that).  We quickly move into the main part of the story that finds out heroine Lila, a fey princess from Sylvan, in the middle of a plot to be captured and spy on the king of hell.  A demon who also happens to be her mate.  There are many things that will seemingly stand in the way of their HEA.  Kudos to Ms. Cole for never shying away from setting herself up to write huge obstacles that love must overcome.  The past cards were stacked against Lila and Sian and it was a lot of fun to see them tentatively grow their trust in each other and explore their attraction at the same time.

One thing that immediately captivated me was the way that fairytales are woven into the story.  I LOVE THAT!  Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Rapunzel…. This was done so well and it made the first quarter of the story that much more fun to read about.  But while I was enjoying the story, the play between the hero/heroine, and the sexiness factor, I kept waiting for the tie in to come.  I don’t want to give anything away here so lets just say I found that this book didn’t advance the overall series arc for me right now.  I know in the future the chess moves in this one might come to play, but I was hoping to see more in terms of that developing here.  This world just keeps getting bigger and bigger and while it’s definitely exciting, I hope it’s not starting to spin out of control.  WICKED ABYSS felt like it could be read as a standalone paranormal romance and you wouldn’t be completely lost.  It was, for the most part, the story of Sian and Lila.  And while that is fine and I enjoyed them and their story, at book 18 in a series I do hope for a bit more connection to the series.

That being said, lets go back to my love for all things Sian.  I mean, lets all agree that the demons in this series are beyond sexy and nobody can write a better horn sexy scene than Kresley Cole.  She’s masterful at playing with her creatures in a way that draws me in like a moth to a flame.  Horns, claws, pointy twitchy ears… WICKED ABYSS felt like a play on senses and Cole made me love every second of it.  Sian is adorable and vulnerable because in the millennia of hurt he’s harbored there’s also a tender part of him that still just want to be loved and cared for as much as his teenage self wanted.  I truly adored his character, he was one of my favorite things about this story.

And then there’s Lila.  Just when I think a lot of Ms. Cole’s heroines are always the same, and Lila had some traits that seem to be familiar, she was still different.  Her personality really shines through in this one and makes you connect with her as well.

In the end, this was a fun read.  A bit slower to develop as I kept expecting for more to happen.  But in Kresley Cole fashion the last 25% speeds things up and everything seems to happen.  Slow and steady build up to that point.  I don’t know how to feel about where we go from here.  What’s next?  I’m at a loss for what the next move will be.  I wish this would’ve given us a glimpse of the next book so that the excitement can build up until then, but I guess we just have to wait and see.

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