Cover Image: Wicked Night - A Warrior's Promise Series #1

Wicked Night - A Warrior's Promise Series #1

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Member Reviews

DNF 17%
The prolouge dragged me in and i was curious, but rest of the writing just did not do it for me. I was so incredible bored...

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Fan of vampire and urban fantasy lovers will enjoy this title. Follows a half breed on the eve of her transfer,action. Feels a little like night huntress series.

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Fun vampire romance! There is a lot (a lot!) of point of view switching without good external clues that takes some getting used to before it makes much sense. This book is also clearly setting up for a series and has some really nice world building. Ignore the technical writing weirdness and you will not want to put this book down!

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3 Stars
Review by Lisa
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog

Wicked Night by Evi Rhodes is the first book in the Warrior's Promise series. At first, it was very hard to get into. I can't tell you exactly why, but it didn’t keep my attention. I understand that it is the first in series and that we get more of the story as a result but, it took me some time to get this one going.

After taking a break I went back to reading it and I found that I was wrong, it could have just been my mood at the time. The story picked.up and the writing seemed to flow easier as the pages went by. The connection between the characters also grew stronger.

Gwen is thrown into a supernatural world and even being the firecracker woman she is, it takes an emotional toll (and sometimes seems immature) learning curve.

Wicked is next to be the vampire king and has his own path to follow but when Gwen is before him, will things take a turn for the better or worse?

One of the things I enjoyed about this story was the action. It was more so than other books I have been reading lately. This story has just the right amount of action in it and made it truly satisfying.

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Thanks to NetGalley for providing this eArc in exchange for an honest review!

As one of my first requests on NetGalley, I really, really wanted to love this. But unfortunately, it was not my favorite read. Something that bothered me when I was reading this was abrupt changes in POV and voice throughout the entirety of the book – often in the middle of action or a passage with little warning. This was very confusing as I was beginning the book, and I grew used to it by the end, but overall not a great first impression. Another unfortunate trait of this book was the writing style – it read like a 2008-era vampire book written by a debut author – it had cheesy pop culture references that felt out of place, typos and odd sentence structure/phrasing, and a lack of direction for the story that I couldn’t get over. This led to me putting down the book for over 2 months, and I’m glad I gave it another try overall.

On a positive note, once I got past the first 30 pages or so, I got sucked into the plot of the story, and was interested in the “vampire boarding school” vibe it was giving me. But unfortunately, the story never really progressed past the initial interesting plot-lines, and became overly stuck on the romance and neglected the plot significantly. The ending of the book felt sudden, unfulfilling, and didn’t deliver on several plot points that I assume the author wanted to use in the sequel, but were constantly dragged out and addressed in this book. This lack of direction was also impacted by plot lines that never were fully fleshed out – such as Gwen’s father and their relationship as well as the side plot of Kayden and his relationship with Gwen. This made the book, as a result, way too long with little pay-off.

Overall, a good concept for a book, albeit overdone, but bad execution that left me disappointed.

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Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sadly I couldn't get into this paranormal romance. The first chapters felt rushed . The Female lead seemed immature. I had a difficult time connecting with her not to mention the ML she meets named Wicked. So after a few chapters I Had put it in my DFN pile

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Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately I couldn't get into this paranormal romance. The first few chapters felt rushed and way more narration than necessary. The heroine seemed spoiled and immature. I had a difficult time connecting with her not to mention the meathead she meets named Wicked. The author could not have been more unoriginal. This definitely missed the mark for me.

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Gwen doesn’t know why she doesn’t fit in with her family. Her parent ignore her growing up, but as an adult she finally finds out why this happens. You see, she is the product of an affair that her mother had with a vampire, so she is what is called a Halfling. Once this comes out, her mother makes arrangements with her biological father to have her go to a “vampire” school to find out what will happen once she goes through the change. If she survives that, well, then she will be part of that community. This explains many things to her as to why her life has been the way it has up to this point.
Enter Wicked. He is definitely a warrior. He doesn’t know what to think of Gwen when they first meet, and he is really rude and condescending. So what else is new in her life? The problem? He is attracted to her but doesn’t want to admit it. Of course there has to be another female somewhere in the mix and her name is Ice. She thinks she has the inside track, but does she? Only time will tell.
This is the beginning of a new series that may take a while to read, but will be well worth the effort. If you love vampires, warriors and sexy men, this series is for you!
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This book is the start of what is clearly going to be a much larger series. The world that gets created here is unique and compelling, filled with vampires, demons, and other mythical creatures.

Gwen is the central character in this universe. She's had a bit of a shock when her emotionally distant parents inform her that she's actually the product of her mother's affair with the leader of the vampires. As a half-breed, she will soon go through a change, either killing her or making her into a vampire herself. She has also been assigned a mentor, in the form of Wicked (yes, that's his name, they all have new names after transition and they are all similar to that). Their first meeting doesn't really go well, and while they are both attracted to one another, that relationship is frowned upon so Wicked decides to push her away rather harshly.

Wicked is next in line to take over as leader. As such, he's got oodles of pressure on him, including pairing up with a good queen. While Gwen would fit in quite nicely, being the daughter of their current leader, he is way too stubborn to admit it. It takes 100% of the other people in the house falling in love with her (which was a bit... odd) to make him get jealous enough to claim her. There is a lot of build up in their relationship, but things, of course, can't go smoothly for main characters. There's a lot of evil machinations that try to get in there way, and still may succeed in future books.

We spend a lot of time learning about the history of their race, how training works, how much all the other warriors are falling in love with Gwen, and also band practice (?). This book switches POVs a lot, giving us a look inside just about everyone's head, which was a little confusing at first. It took a large part of the book before I got used to these switches and started to get sucked in. The ending resolves the more romantic issues, but leaves me with so many questions! When will we meet her dad? What is happening with Gwen? What will happen with Wicked's second in command? What about the big bads? What about the demons? We almost learned too much in this first installment and I don't even know where to begin hoping for more in the second.

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Wicked is his name. He watched her from the dark, barely able to control himself.

Gwen saw him approach from the dark, tall, heavily armed and looking like the warrior he is.

At first I had trouble figuring out who was talking, him or her. It took a moment to catch the shift.

How she becomes a vampire is a bit different and so are these vampires. I am always on the lookout for an author that represents them in a new to me light. They are accepted as part of the human world.

When I heard Gwen say, “Well, hurray for me. Don’t I feel special?”, I knew I was going to love this character. LOL I love her sarcastic wit. She is a Halfling, half vampire and half human.

We have other supernatural characters visiting and, in my book, we can never have too many.

Have you ever felt like…one minute I was attracted to him and wanted him to kiss me and the next I wanted to punch him in the face and watch him bleed.

As Gwen sits at his beside, tears rolling down her face, I came close to crying with her. I love a story that evokes emotions.

He met his match in her, but will she be his mate? In the supernatural world, love and romance is on a different timeline and I love to go with it, letting the author take me where they will.

Kayden…I laughed and worried about him. He is a great warrior, but, deep in his soul, who is he really?

Great and a bit gory fight scenes and sweet lovin’. This is not erotica, but I highly recommend it for adults only. The sex scenes are more sweet and loving than erotic.

As I saw the end coming, I knew what would happen, with 500 pages left, I was racing through the pages as I see the story undold right before my eyes. I worry so much more for Kayden than I do for Gwen and Wicked. After all, they are the stars of the show and can’t be killed off…can they?

Whew…no cliffhanger, unless you count the tease, which did its job and hooked me. I have to know more and this is one of those series that I want to read to the very end.

I am hooked on the characters, the vampire warriors, and Evi’s ability to spin a tale that captured me totally, completely. I was afraid I would have to wait for the next book in the series, but, no worries. It has been written.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Wicked Night by Evi Rhodes.

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My Rating : 4.5🌟

OMG can someone please get me the next book! I was slightly skeptical when I started reading this book about the plot and whether I would grow to love the characters. But this book totally took me by surprise!! The main characters are strong and independent, the storyline had a lot at stakes that makes you want to bite your nails, and the friendship between certain characters are just amazing !! The ending absolutely almost destroyed me. This reminded me a bit of The black dagger brotherhood series, but different. I can't wait for the next book! This is definitely a must try for any paranormal/fantasy lovers!

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This was an ok read, I had some difficulty with the different POV's sometimes from paragraph to paragraph, there were a few typos and the physicals descriptions of Wicked and Gwen were ad nauseum.

(HUGE SPOILER)

I did enjoy it enough to purchase the second novel, however, I quickly realized it was turning into a reverse harem (which IMHO, is slightly worse than the "bodice ripper" novels that were so popular 30+ years ago in historical fiction); ugh and yuck so I DNF and returned the book.

3.5/5 Stars

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Gwen has just recently found out there is an entire world she was unaware of, one she is literally transitioning into. Gwen's mother discloses her biological father is a full vampire. Shocked, she soon discovers she also has to leave everything behind and will be assigned a caretaker to assist her with the changes she will soon be experiencing. Gwen feels inadequate and she has to learn the rules of the new world she has been thrown into.

Wicked, is the King of Vampires and he gets stuck with Gwen as his charge- a favor is owed and he is to protect and assist Gwen in her transition; however, he was not told about her beauty. He attempts to resist but cannot deny there is something pulling him closer to Gwen. Chaos ensures and both Gwen and Wicked have choices to make about their relationship and their future...

I really enjoyed the story! There is a lot of hot steamy sex scenes and hot vampire men! Then add in a dash of the perfect supernatural and its a recipe for success. Gwen is relatable and I love the fact that Gwen befriends a clan of steamy men.

As a reader I think it would have been more natural if there were more obstacles in place, however, I enjoyed the twist at the end- I did not see that coming. So props to Evi Rhodes! That being said I would rate this book a three out of five. I would definitely get book two to see where my favorite characters lead.

This ebook above was provided to me by NetGalley for an honest and fair review.

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It had been a few years since Gwen had indulged in the simple pleasure of solitude, she was enjoying the beautiful evening. Since Gwen was a girl she loved the nights better than days. Gwen had seen a lot in her short life and the part of her that believed the world was a sparkly, wonderful place died long ago. Her parents had an arranged marriage. They were rich and politically well bred. Gwen had not had contact with her parents for two years. Strange things seemed to be happening to Gwen that the doctor couldn’t explain. Gwen called her mother and she said Gwen was showing signs of the Shadowing. Gwen’s mother- Victoria - set up a face to face meeting with her , she should have known something was up. Her mother told Gwen she had an affair with a vampire who was Gwen’s real father-Gabriel. Victoria swore Gwen to secrecy. Gwen ended up standing outside her family’s now deserted stable waiting for one who had agreed to take her under his “wing” and guide her through the change. Gwen was to go to a training facility so she could be schooled in what she needed to do over the next year to prepare herself for the Change. Mentally and physically. Gwen would also learn other things such as vampire laws and politics. Wicked was the vampire's name who was to helpo gwen and he was one hundred and forty eight years old. He didn’t need a damn charge. Especially one so beautiful and he was very attracted dtoo. Wicked was an experienced warrior. Gwen’s heart started to pound as she saw Wicked, there was an aura of danger surrounding him. Once with Wicked the first stop was at a club called Death’s Door. when inside there was a woman named Ice who clearly wanted Wicked. Gwen was shocked at the jealousy inside of her concerning Wicked. Wicked told gwen he is sher guardian. He would step in where and when he needed until she finished her schooling and successfully completed the change. She was his responsibility. If something happens to her it was wicked’s butt on the line. Wicked had never met a woman- human or vampire- who had as much pride or strength as this hafling-gwen- was showing. It had only been a few hours but already this woman was crawling under his skin and getting into his blood. Wicked had never wanted to lose himself completely in another person before.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I felt Gwen was a little immature. I hate cliffhangers and this ended in one so I wasn’t happy about that. But I did love the action in this book. I would have liked to know more about Gabriel. This did keep my attention from the beginning until the end. Really enjoyed the plot and the pace. I loved Wicked and Gwen together and how they interacted. I liked how wicked is fighting his feelings for Gwen from the beginning. I hated Gwen’s parents, especially her mother. I did like the characters in this book. But as is shown I had mixed feelings about this book.

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I really liked this book over all. The story and the characters were great and it kept me interested all the way through. The only thing I did not like about it was the ending. I feel like it really just overly left you hanging. I know authors like to leave cliff hangers, but in my honest opinion this wasn’t even that. It just abruptly ended. I will continue to read the series but hopefully the next book will end better/ more evolved.

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I really enjoyed this story and I thought that the book was excellent!!

This story had everything that I look for in a book - action, suspense, romance and it was all packed in a book that was very hard to put down!

I really enjoyed the author's writing style and I thought that the story flowed very well right from the first page and it was certainly a book that had me hooked. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed getting to know them.

It is 5 stars from me for this one, I really enjoyed this book - very highly recommended!!

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I quite enjoyed this steamy vampire love story as well as the descriptions of the vampire culture Gwen suddenly found herself immersed in. The friendships she made were endearing, and the plot in general was clever and entertaining. On the critical side, there was perhaps a bit too much melodrama on Gwen’s part, especially in the beginning. Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer action over mental monologues. Additionally, I found the changing point of view narration to be a bit confusing at times, particularly when it happened within a paragraph, I think the story would be improved with a consistent 3rd person POV. Aside from that, I can highly recommend this book to anybody with a fondness for paranormal and vampire literature. Just for the record, it ends in a HFN cliffhanger.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

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This is one of those reviews that’s difficult to write. I will say now (since this review is relatively long for me) that much to my surprise it won me over in the end.

These are my comments after two days.

***It’s safe to say I’m struggling with this. It’s been two days and I haven’t finished the first chapter yet. Normally I would have quit but based on all the 4 and 5* glowing reviews I requested this. And when I request a book I try my best to finish it.

My problem in one word is Gwen. She’s immature, irritating and a complete pain.
I’m assuming it’s written this way to show growth and development. If so it’s too much and I’ll be lucky if I make it that far....***

Yes I struggled with this book initially. Gwen was a complete pain and even though we’re told early on that she’s twenty-five. To me she seemed about sixteen.

‘My first reaction was to yank my hand away but that would definitely have been immature and I was an adult, or was supposed to be, at any rate.’

Gwen later apologises for her behaviour. But for me it was too little too late.

There’s also an immaturity to the writing. It felt at times more like a YA read. And reminded me in places of Leitha Wards books.

For a long time despite my determination to finish this I felt certain it was going to be a dnf.

But then...

I found I’d stopped skimming I was actually enjoying the book. The writing seemed better (I don’t know if it was better or if I’d just got used to it) and the story was interesting.

Once I’d settled in I enjoyed the second half and now I’m looking forward to the next book.

There’s an interesting story here and I’m intrigued where the author is going to take it. However I’m not sure a lot of readers will stick with it. Like I said normally I would have quit early on. There’s so many books out there there’s no reason to stick with one that’s not working.

My advice (for what it’s worth) would be to make Gwen less immature and irritating. Sharpen the writing. Make the female villain less cartoonish and a little more realistic.

This is as always a completely honest review. Maybe too honest.
But I was surprised as anyone that this won me over in the end.

I voluntarily read a review copy kindly provided by NetGalley.

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