Nina Bangs

A foray into the worlds of Nina Bangs…a good place to be. This was my first book by Ms. Bangs, and quite fun. The first book in the trilogy “Wicked”, it is set up nicely with the three MacNair “brothers”. These three warriors are all immortal by very unique means, and all of them are employed by the Castle of Dark Dreams - a theme park that allows you to live out your ultimate fantasies. Think of how much money they save on makeup by using real supernatural creatures!

The resident show more vampire of the trio introduces us to a new concept for the world of the undead, Eric MacKenzie - an eight hundred year old hottie - was born into a Viking clan that are born human, but become vamps as they mature. Kind of cool. The best part is that his clan later settled in Scotland - after raiding and pillaging - so you get that hot Viking guy crossed with sexy Highland guy in a kilt with a lilting brogue. *sigh* Then after eight centuries of one night stands, who would have thought that the woman who would change his life would be a talk show host?!

Donna Nolan, aka Donna 'til Dawn, decides to take her late night radio talk show on the road after getting a series of calls from listeners claiming to be nightly ravished by a mysterious and gorgeous man at the Castle of Dark Dreams. Thinking that through some investigative measures (poking her nose into places it’s not wanted) she’ll debunk these paranormal stories, what she didn’t expect to find out was that vampires, wizards (Holgarth is one of my favorite characters), goddesses, and cosmic troublemakers were going to make her life pretty interesting. Oh, and that there would be two plants in her room who actually live off of sexual energy (oddly named Sweetie Pie and Jessica).

You’ve got to hand it to the author, she’s got quite the imaginative sense of humor and sets up a bit of a mystery that is not resolved at the end…so that you’ll read the next book (I know I will). Pretty par for the course when it comes to paranormal romances, but it adds another facet to the precious gem that is my favorite genre. show less

I enjoyed Nina Bangs' Wicked Nights. It's a contemporary vampire romance that is graphically erotic. It's fun, witty, irreverant, modern, and sometimes sweet. What it isn't is goth, dramatic, brooding. Wicked Nights doesn't take itself too seriously. I like the theme park/midnight radio premise; it's original. I reccommend reading it while eating candy. You'll look at chocolate covered cherries in a whole new way.

Hubba hubba. A group of eleven Alpha males brought to this time to save humanity...and did I mention they're all WAY hot predators? Just yummy. "Eternal Craving" is the next book in Nina Bangs' 'Gods of the Night' series about deadly predators in human bodies fighting an alliance of evil to save humans from the end of the world as predicted by the Mayan calendar. I loved the first book and couldn't wait to get my hands on this ARC of the second in the series.

This time we learn about Al. An show more innocuous name for a rapacious predator who lives for the kill. Al's having a bit of difficulty adjusting to life as a human in these modern times. About the only read feelings he haves are those of anger and hatred toward the leader of the Eleven. Then Jenna shows up and suddenly Al is accosted by all these 'feelings' and he has no idea what to do about them...well, he certainly knows what he'd like to do about SOME of them!

Jenna is a tabloid reporter who only came to Philadelphia to check out her sister's new husband and make sure her sister is OK. Her reporter's nose is telling her there's no way this group of what must be the best looking men on Earth are anything but dangerous. Two nights into her visit she learns just how dangerous and that her visit was foreseen by the leader of the Eleven. Not only that, but she's the Key to defeating the Being currently working to cause mass death and chaos in Philadelphia. If that wasn't enough, she's becoming attached to Al and when she learns what loving Al means, Jenna will have to scrape up every bit of courage she can find to keep her 'man'.

I'm still loving this series. I was glued to the pages and reading as fast as I could to try and keep up with the action. I think Bangs' combination of startling anti-heroes, Mayan prophecy, and the question of good vs evil is so very different from what's currently available in the romantic urban fantasy/paranormal romance genre. If you're looking for a broad cast of supernatural beings, it's here. We've got vampires, shifters, weres, demons, Fae and most interestingly...three or four Beings I'm still waiting to figure out what the heck they are...other than powerful.

As far as pacing goes, the action unfolds at a slower pace at first and then shifts into hyperdrive towards the end. While there is violence, it's not gruesomely depicted or overly emphasized...it's just part of life with the Eleven. There are also further hints about the leaders on both sides of the struggle and their possible pasts. The more I learn, the more I want to know.

Bangs also writes smoldering love scenes. The relationship between our hero and heroine isn't instant, and considering the short time scope of the book, I liked that. Our uber-Alpha hero and his confusion with these new emotions was at times comical, but never silly. His basic drives to protect and possess are part and parcel of the blending of past and present lives. And our heroine with her refusal to ignore the current reality and force herself to learn to cope...well, I only wish I had as much courage.

My biggest problem now will be waiting for the next release! I couldn't find any information on exactly how long my wait will be, but to be honest...any wait is too long for me. show less

This was a very good set of short stories - and I'm usually not really a fan of short stories. They did vary slightly in quality and enjoyability, as one would expect, but overall they did keep to a high standard, the characters were likable, and it served as a good intro to several established series for me as a newcomer as well.