Wicked Nights

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 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 show more 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.

In the first book in the Castle of Dark Dreams series, Donna goes to Galveston, Texas to investigate an adult theme park for her radio talk show. She doesn’t expect to find anything supernatural-related, but then she meets Eric the Evil.
Eric is an 800-year-old vampire, and he and his two best friends, Brynn and Conall (a sensual sex demon and a cursed immortal warrior respectively), enjoy working as actors at the theme park to make their customers’ fantasies come true. They don’t enjoy, however, Donna nosing around since she could expose their paranormal secrets all over the airways. Donna and Eric instantly clash, but with a little help from Sparkle Stardust (a cosmic troublemaker) and Asima (a cat-shapeshifter), this unlikely show more couple doesn’t stand a chance.
Sparkle and Asima are my favorite characters. They bring a lot of bawdy humor to the story.
I liked the book but found the beginning confusing. The book’s blurb hinted at a sex theme park and the women who called into Donna’s talk show confirmed it, but nothing sexual actually happened between the actors and their customers. Once I knew what to expect, the book made more sense. I also found it strange that Eric and his friends rarely cursed. (They would say butthole instead of asshole, for example.)
The book is well edited, and the scenes with shifting POVs blended without much confusion. I look forward to finding out more about Brynn and Conall in the upcoming books.
3 Stars

Disclaimer – I won a print copy of this book in a contest and volunteered to review it. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion. show less

Donna, a radio talk show hostess is broadcasting for a week from the Castle of Dark Dreams, where she meets Eric, a vampire. Aided by matchmakers, they fall in love while dealing with his old enemy and her feeling responsible for her family's welfare.

It took me a while to get into this story. I'm not sure if it was because I wasn't sure what to expect, or if the tone was uneven, but I couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, like MJD, or more serious, like Feehan. The cover quote from Feehan made me expect the latter, so some of the over-the-top bits confused me.

Like the presence of not one, not even two, but several sex-obsessed supernatural matchmakers. There's a ghost, a talking cat, two plants, a candy store show more owner and her apprentice. Total overkill, even though the plants' interaction consisted of leaves drooping or not and the others talking about them.

I didn't believe the romance part, either. First, the h/h are strangers, then they're ready to die for each other, with no in-between other than intense lust. I'd have been happier if some of the matchmakers' explicit but unsophisticated advice had been cut to make room for the development of some emotion between the h/h. And you know, I love chocolate-covered cherries, but I got really, really tired of the many, many times melting them in navels was mentioned. In great detail. Once would have been lovely, and sensual. Over and over again was tedious.

And what was up with all that candy? Both the h/h are buying a pound of candy, nearly daily. That's a heck of a lot of candy.

Both characters do get a character arc, though Donna's journey from feeling responsible for her family and trying to direct their lives to stepping back and trusting them to take care of themselves is given short shrift. Eric's learning to be more... human, for lack of a better word, is explored in more detail.

By the time Eric's old enemy showed up, the book gained focus and I enjoyed it much more. The emotions from all the characters--Eric's friends & co-workers at the castle and the enemy, as well as Eric & Donna--were clear and realistic, and they all had depth.

I also liked the worldbuilding--the different kinds of vampires and other supernatural beings were introduced with enough detail to make me accept them, but not so much detail that it got in the way of the story. show less

I've enjoyed most of her other books and this one was enjoyable as well. The plot was a bit weak in points and the heroine was not the brightest bulb in the box, but it was a good, solid read just the same. I'm looking forward to the others in the series. Sparkle Stardust RULES!

It was a sexy read. The characters were believable. I really enjoyed it and am looking for more in the series.

Why am I reading trashy vampire romance novels? Because it's totally the hottest trend in publishing right now. Duh.

But, man, I must have picked a bad one. This writing made me want to hold my nose.