Shades of Wicked (Night Rebel, #1)

by Jeaniene Frost

[Berls]

I have been eagerly anticipating this spin off series throughout our entire readalong. While Ian has been a bit of an underdog, I've also suspected that there's significantly more to him. And then as it got closer and closer to this book, we started to know Veritas and I found out she was going to be the POV for this series and that my brought my excitement up a notch. But I was also nervous, because I had highly anticipated Vlad's series and be so disappointed.

Thankfully, I can say I was not at all disappointed. I am BEYOND THRILLED by this first book in the Night Rebel Trilogy. In fact, it may be my favorite book in the entire Night Huntress World.

First of all, I was 100% correct about Ian. I want you to read it to fully understand his hidden depths but he is so much more than any of the other heroes in this world and I really truly hope that by the end of trilogy his friends, who he is so incredibly loyal to, will finally see the real Ian.

At the very least, Veritas sees him. I mean, she SEES him. I love their relationship -- it has bits of my favorite tropes (it's fake romance meets enemies-to-lovers) and they both have some truly hilarious moments and some very vulnerable moments. Veritas is also a great character, who I very much enjoyed getting to know better and seeing this story through her eyes was a treat.

The way this book unfolded was equally great. So many unexpected twists and turns. It was full of action, humor, and gut-wrenching moments, not to mention appearances from pretty much the entire cast of the series. I easily devoured it in 3 days and was ready to start the next book immediately because when I say cliff-hanger, I do mean hanging on by just a pinky! Thank goodness I'm reading this after all 3 books are published.

It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of Tavia Gilbert's narration for this world. I was able to tolerate her narration of the Vlad series, but I have to say a lot of the things that normally bug me didn't in this book. Even Bones's appearances - which have always been my number one complaint - didn't bother me. The sex was not too breathy (as it normally is) and it worked. Not going to say she's become a favorite, but maybe she took some notes before narrating this book? Or maybe this book was just SO GOOD that I didn't allow the narration to distract me? Whatever the reason, I really hope it continues for the next two books !