Continuing my read-a-long with the Fated Mates Podcast, No Rest for the Wicked takes one turned-against-his-will vampire and the emotionless assassin Valkyrie who wanted to murder him, but turns out to be his bride. Oh, and this vampire has never had an erection until he meets Kaderin the Cold-Hearted (his bride) and she hasn't felt sexual desire until he kisses her. So delicious.

I liked the addition of the legendary scavenger hunt contest, a contest Kaderin has competed in, and one, at least five times. Seeing her at turns foiled and helped by the lovelorn vampire was super fun. And wow, the sexual tension is for reals in this book!

I'm loving how Cole includes so many awesome secondary characters, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about Bowen and his quest to save his long dead mate, which Kaderin foiled in this book.

Slight spoilers:

Bastian is a virgin (see above). He's also 6 1/2 feet tall. Yum.
Hot plane sex, which thankfully isn't ruined by all the lightning somehow.
Bewitched chains is the new BDSM
The time travel aspects confused me a little bit. Hoping they'll be discussed in the podcast.

Read as part of the Fated Mates Read-A-Long of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, The Warlord Wants Forever is technically the first book in the series, although not by publishing order. I believe I read the more heavily edited and updated version in [b:Blood Red Kiss|29430690|Blood Red Kiss (Immortals After Dark, #1; MoonBound Clan Vampires, #2.5; Otherworld Assassin, #2.5)|Kresley Cole|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474198392s/29430690.jpg|49464362], but didn't want to mark that as the book I read because I didn't read the other two stories.

I'm glad I was advised to not read this book first, because I don't think I would have enjoyed it without the broader context I've been given reading the others. This was a story where I LOVED Myst, the "most beautiful Valkyrie" but really side-eyed her hero, Nikolai Wroth, who I had first met in [b:A Hunger Like No Other|14384|A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark, #2)|Kresley Cole|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357616154s/14384.jpg|16422] as a besotted recently blooded and married to his fated mate Vampire.

Here's Nikolai kind of sucks, and there are some big consent issues, so content warning for that. Nikolai definitely didn't grovel enough for my taste, even if Myst did make him suffer for FIVE YEARS after blooding him. Ha ha ha.

Nya Jerami left her home in Thesolo for New York in the hopes of forging a new path, one separate from her father, now in prison for trying to overthrow the monarchy and poison her, and one separate from being the sickly girl not capable of doing anything.

Reluctantly returning for the royal wedding, she is put into the path of bad boy Prince Johan von Braustein, the literal red-haired step-child of the King of Liechtienbourg.
Nya would much prefer to date the fictional Johan on her favorite romance dating game, but finds it increasingly difficult to avoid his charm.

For it seems Johan has been captivated by Nya, only feigning indifference as he doesn't think he's good enough for this beautiful, intelligent, and kind-hearted woman. But when they are caught in an unintentionally compromising position, it turns out pretending to be engaged in real life may actually be to Johan's benefit, especially since the fate of the monarchy hangs in the balance as a referendum looms.

What starts as a fake relationships grows into true love as Nya and Johan come into their own, while helping out their friends and family along the way.
Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals series comes to an epic close with these two, and I'm only sad we won't be getting more tales set in this world.

The inclusion of a gender-fluid prince and other timely topics are an excellent addition to an already ground breaking romance series. Highly recommend!

Shut up, Garreth MacRieve. You are a dream boat Lykae and I love you.

With what may be my favorite of the Immortals After Dark books yet, I adored this journey into the heart of the Amazon with Garreth and his fated mate, the best archer in the world Lucia the Huntress. Garreth is just the best, from his attempts to stop himself from claiming Lucia with a bewitched cuff of silver, to his attempts to protect her despite also trying to chase her down.

Again Cole plays with edging, as Lucia refuses to break her vow of chastity to the goddess who helped save her life from a mortal wound, as doing so will mean she loses her archery skills. What these two get up to in the mean time is whoa, hot.

I'm interested to see where the series goes from here, as while Garreth and Lucia receive their happily ever after, other characters we've met along the way have been kidnapped...by humans?!


This series is just so much fun, and I'm enjoying every minute of reading it and hearing it discussed on the Fated Mates podcast.

Also, I'm so glad I live somewhere that freezes every winter, because hard pass on the giant piranhas, spiders, and SNAKES. No thank you.

Grace is 33, divorced, formerly 'fat,' and on the cusp of beginning a Broadway career. Then she meets her agent to the star roommate's new client, the 24-year-old Jack. Jack is also about to be the next big thing, as he is set to star in this fictional world's version of Outlander/Twilight. They meet cute and immediately start a hot and heavy relationship, consequences for both of their burgeoning careers be damned. Is it just a fling, or is this love? Only time will tell.

Seriously frenetic, with tons of jokes that start to veer towards annoying and repetitive and so much oral sex that I can't even. Talk about fantasy at its very finest. Not since [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] has there been so many easy orgasms (or lip biting). That said, it is fun to see a thirty-something enjoying banging the shit out of a hot, younger man. There isn't a classic HEA, but there are two additional books in the series. I enjoyed reading the first enough to see it through to the end.

What a wonderful wild ride it has been with the Walshes. This loud, unapologetically abrasive family has been my favorite thing to listen to while communing home from work. Thresholds alas was not available on audio, but I loved what is essentially an extended epilogue for all of the couples. Shannon and Will are still my favs, and it was so lovely to see the birth of their second baby. Canterbary also teases us with some new character POVs, including the grump Stremmel who I hope get's his HEA in a future book.

I already started re-listening to The Cornerstone.

Regina Hobbs has a bit of dilemma. She hates asking people for help, but her insomnia has become an issue as the demands of her popular website consume her time and energy. What worked in the past was being lulled to sleep by her internet friend's voice while watching him solve puzzles on his streaming channel. But, her favorite voice is now mysteriously missing from the internet.

Taking a chance and reaching out leads to discovering the man behind the voice is living in her NYC neighborhood. Gustave Nguyen agrees to help Regina with her problem for a little quid pro quo-her assistance in making sure an escape room based on her favorite anime is good enough for even the most hardcore fan.

Both Reggie and Gus have personal struggles and disabilities that have made them shy about being in a real relationship, but as they work together they can't help but realize they are perfect for each other.

Oh my gosh Alyssa Cole! All the heart-eyes! The Reluctant Royals Series is just the best, and I adored everything about this novella.

I have been meaning to read this book forever, and was aghast to realize it came out in 2010. Whoops! Well, I finally took the time after it was selected for my library's Women's History Month book discussion, and I'm so glad I finally tackled it.

What I liked the best was how the author put herself into the narrative, because as the book shows Henrietta's legacy is best served by showing her family, her relatives, and those that survive her.

I hope the author will put out an updated edition soon because upon some further research I did find there has been a little head way since 2018, including a board being formed to decide which proposals will be allowed to use Henrietta's immortal cell line, a board that includes two members of her family. Henrietta now further immortalized in the National Portrait Gallery, painted by the amazing Kadir Nelson.

I listened to this prequel "novella" (more like short story) because I loved [b:Consumed|39296491|Consumed (Firefighters, #1)|J.R. Ward|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521208486s/39296491.jpg|60238189] so much. It wasn't really necessary but I thought why not. Basically, we get to see in action the events that led to Danny and Anne first sleeping together, which is alluded to at the beginning of Consumed.

It was okay and the parts with Danny and Anne together were hot, I just wanted less with the helping a "prostitute" and her pimp, less of the philandering Deandra, and basically if you haven't read Consumed don't bother with this.

When best-selling mystery author and slight curmudgeon Stacia Leonard gets the chance to meet the super popular cover model she credits for helping launch her series into the big leagues, she hesitantly agrees. All she really wants to do is crawl into bed after a long day of book signing, but her publicist and she agree this is one photo-op she shouldn't miss, especially since her series is being optioned for TV.
Adrien Valliere has a bit of an ulterior motive in asking Stacia to visit him and his wife at their LA home. The Valliere's appear to be a beautiful, perfect couple, but while they are madly in love they have a secret.
Dara, Adrien's wife, hopes Stacia will be able to give Adrien what he needs, not realizing that Stacia may also be able to help Dara with the same.
A delicious unconventional romance story between a husband, his wife, and the woman they both fall in love with (don't worry, with happily ever-afters for all).
Besides being decadently sexy, the details of Stacia's life as a popular author, Dara's art, and Adrien's modeling career are exceptionally well-drawn, adding a lovely depth to an already stunning character study. I cannot wait to read more in this series!

Advance copy received in exchange for a fair review, thank you!