Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night (The Immortals After Dark, Book 3)

The story of Mariketa, a witch/fey halfling, and Bowen, a Lykae (werewolf) was a fun and frothy read about a boy who chases a girl and after some obstacles thrown in his way, boy gets girl.

I like straightforward stories and I liked this one.

That said, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night (The Immortals After Dark, Book 3) lacked something in the same way that Cole's Dark Desires After Dusk (The Immortals After Dark, Book 5) lacked. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something that when I'm done reading, I don't feel unsatisfied but I don't feel satisfied either.

I guess my problem with Cole's books are that I find her male heroes are likable even when they are acting out. Bowen is no exception. Yes, he's a grumbly alpha male and he makes his mistakes, but he's still a likable lykae.

But her heroines! Mariketa is sort of annoying. She's not unique amongst Cole's heroines. They all have a sort of superficiality to them that makes them hard to latch on to. This become especially apparent because the valkyrie, Nix, who appears in all three books, is nothing short of striking. I keep thinking, "When are the heroines going to be as amazing as Nix? In fact, when is Nix going to get her book?!"

Still, there is something about Cole's Immortals After Dark books. They are like Pop-Tarts in the vending machine on a slow afternoon. When I see on that I haven't read, I pick it up.

So I gave it 4 stars because I can't give it a 3 star rating because because Pop-Tarts are at least a 3.5 star snack to me.

In the mystical world of the Lore, no faction is more abhorred than the House of Witches. Known for their avaricious nature, the witches are the Lore's mystical mercenaries distrusted by most of the Lorekind. Led by Mariketa the Awaited, she was predicted to be the most powerful born to the House of Witches long before she was born. Indeed, everyone in the coven anticipated her to do something of epic proportion. So great was the hype about the Awaited that other factions in the Lore kept track of her. It's been said that Mariketa was the only witch to ever possess the strengths of all five castes of witches - healer, conjurer, seeress, warrior and enchantress. Yet deep inside, Mariketa knew that she was more famous for being famous. Or, as she liked to refer to herself: all hype, no substance. Desperately seeking to meet everyone's expectations, she entered the Talisman Hie, hoping to be the first witch to win the immortal scavenger hunt version of the Amazing Race. She knew how vicious the game was, but she never expected that she would be out of the competition only three days into the game after being imprisoned in a Guatemalan cave by a Lykae.

Nearly two centuries ago, Bowen Graeme MacRieve buried his mate Mariah and has been in mourning since. The once revered and feared warrior became a shadow of his former self who walked around like the living dead in existence of nothing but pure longing and excruciating pain. He vowed to do everything to bring his mate back and has spent his life looking for the key to go back in time. After receiving a cryptic advice from a powerful Valkyrie, he entered the Hie thinking that the prize will bring his mate back, never anticipating what awaited for him. For inexplicable reason, he found himself enchanted with Mariketa from the moment he laid eyes on her. But his hatred for her faction made him suspicious of her. Has he found himself under the enchantment of the witch? Or has fate finally taken pity on him after all those wretched years of barren existence and sent him the reincarnation of Mariah?

WICKED DEEDS ON A WINTER'S NIGHT continues on from No Rest for the Wicked (The Immortals After Dark, Book 2). While it is not critical to read that book, it would give the reader a more in-depth background on the Talisman Hie, adding the fact that reading about what the competitors went through was a real joyride. I liked Bowen from the time he was introduced in the first book. The pain, guilt and angst he has gone through for more than a century is finally unravelled in this book. But therein lies my predicament. As good as it was to finally read about him, I found him too whiney. I could appreciate the author wanting to delve deeper into his inner struggles, but I felt the depiction of Bowen as a tortured hero became a bit tiresome after a while. I was not drawn to Mariketa either. I agree that her immaturity is befitting for a mortal woman her age but the constant "I want him/I hate him" struggle made me yawn. There was nothing in their interaction that I felt like gushing over.

In summary, this was mediocre in comparison to the second book. I guess I'm in the minority here. While I enjoyed some parts, I had such high hopes for Bowen's story that I felt let down overall. I should have known that I was in for a disappointment after rolling my eyes at the cover.

So far, my favorite in the series, Cole is really starting to fully develop her characters and the stories of previous books are all coming together. Loved loved loved the heroine, Mariketa, and the interaction between her and her man, Bowen, is wonderful. Cole has made both into full 3-D characters, with their internal demons, humor, tastes, weaknesses and strengths. I especially love the funny, strong women Cole is writing from the various factions of the Lore. It makes the series, and especially after reading this installment, a must read!

Ok, I didn't enjoy the book quite as much as book 1 & 2 in the series but I still thought it was great and can't wait to get my hands on the next one.
My biggest problem is that Kresley Cole doesn't write enough books!

This is so good! A hunger Like No Other is still my favorite but this one was was better than the previous No Rest For The Wicked. I usually stay away from books where the main hero is brooding over his killed lover,I like the whole ur the only one for me kind of thing, but I decided to take a chance because come on, its kresley cole we are talking about here, the girl is talented!

I am really glad I did, I can't believe how well she tied up the whole two mates question at the end, i had no idea it would turn out like that and it totally made up for the stupid things that he did to Mari. I also really liked how she started the book- how the story line joined so well with the previous book, which I sadly didn't really enjoy too much, although it did have some good points. Her stories always seem to get right to the action, that is what I love about them so much...now I'm off to read number 4 in this cool series...keep them coming please!