The Witch Queen of Halloween (Immortals After Dark, #20)

by Kresley Cole

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

The Witch Queen of Halloween by Kresley Cole is the latest book in her Immortal After Dark series. It's book number 18.5. Now I am fairly new to the series having only read The Warlord Wants Forever (book 0.5), A Hunger Like No Other (book 1), and Munro (book 18) As you can I have lots of catching up to do. I am not familiar with the characters in The Witch Queen of Halloween, however I come to learn that while the hero appears in the previous books, the heroine is new to the series.

Despite this being book number 18.5 I encountered no issues in following the story. This novella introduces Poppy, a witch, whose nightmares come alive on Halloween. To put an end to the curse she ventured into a haunted mansion Unknown to her Rok, the smoke demon whom she harboured an attraction for followed her into the mansion. His reason for following her stemmed from the fact that she was his fated mate, and his need to protect her as a result was quite overwhelming.

The story that followed plunged readers into a world of ghouls, murderous dolls and a variety of other creatures straight out of a horror movie. These being are intent on killing Poppy and Rok. What came next was a battle for survival. In the midst of the battle, both were forced to come to terms with their feelings for each other. There were eye-opening moments for them both.

Although I enjoyed the aspect of the haunted mansion, the characters didn't resonate with me. Character development was lacking, especially in Poppy's case. In addition, the chemistry between Rok and Poppy was non-existent. Readers aren't given the chance to see their relationship develop. Their interactions prior to the current events were delivered via memories. So there wasn't much of a romance here. Not that there would be time for that in light of the fact they were up against maniacal beings.

Overall, The Witch Queen of Halloween while suffering from the faults one usually find with novellas delivered an interesting read.