Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole (Immortals After Dark #8) and Gena Showalter (Alien Huntress #5)

Note: This review and the book reviewed reviewed contain adult themes. Please, do not read either unless you are an adult.

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): Deep Kiss of Winter contains two short novels: "Untouchable" (IAD #8) by Kresley Cole and "Tempt me Eternally" by Gena Showalter.

KRESLEY COLE delivers a breath-taking tale of a brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time ... and a Valkyrie aching for his touch. Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela – the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can’t be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure. Can they conquer an agony of frustration and slake the overwhelming desire burning between them?

GENA SHOWALTER puts a daring spin on a tale of huntress and hunted ... and concocts a sensual chemistry that is positively explosive.
With only skin-to-skin contact, Aleaha Love can change her appearance, assume any identity. Now she’s an AIR (alien investigation and removal) agent on a mission to capture a group of otherworldly warriors. Only she is held captive when dangerously seductive Breean, a golden-skinned, iron-willed commander, threatens her new life – and for the first time, Aleaha wants only to be herself.

MY OPINION:

"Untouchable" by Kresley Cole

I knew Murdoch and Daniela would be awesome, and I was right. Their story runs parallel to the stories of the other three Wroth brothers –  so, from the beginning of the series – but with just the right amount of repetition. Hence, I was reminded of all the important things that had already happened, and I loved meeting all the familiar and beloved characters from the previous books again.

I felt so much sympathy for Murdoch and Daniela. They are both strong, but lonely, craving companionship and love but neither of them wants to impose on the other. They do not want to show their vulnerably by admitting how much they really care for each other. So, it takes them a while to work through it, especially since the chances of them being together seem very slim.

Daniela is partly ice-fey, and she hurts every time she is touched by someone not of her own race, which makes it impossible for her to form any kind of a love relationship. She pretends not to care, but she hurts on the inside.

Murdoch has problems accepting that his human preconceptions can no longer apply to his current situation. Also, he hates the concept of fate forcing him into something, so he fights the feelings he begins to develop towards Daniela.

Due to these issues they have a hard time coming together. However, they talk (and  argue, which was hilarious at times) about their problems, and they eventually work things out. I loved how, despite their disagreements and issues, they try not to hurt each other, at least not intentionally. They are really considerate and caring towards each other from the beginning, which makes up a sweet and warm relationship.

Overall, "Untouchable" is a touching and suspenseful story with some humour and Valkyrie snark (loved that, as always). The resolution for Daniela's and Murdoch's romance was so simple and brilliant I couldn't have seen it coming, On the whole, their love story was just prefect. Add the rest of the Wroth brothers and their wives. What more could you possibly want?

"Tempt Me Eternally" by Gena Showalter

This is a really short novel, just over 200 pages. I only read it because it came included with Kresley Cole's novel. I was curious about it, since Gena Showalter is such a  praised paranormal romance author, but I did not like it.

A partial reason why I did not like this novella was probably because it is a part of a series, and I had not read the previous books. Therefore I was missing some background information about the world it is set in. But, this was my problem.

However, even bigger reason for not liking this book was the way the relationship between Aleaha and Breean is portrayed. It is basically all based on lust and sex, which I don't like, anyway. In addition, the sex scenes did not work for me, I had read much, much better ones. I could not feel any chemistry between Aleaha and Breean. They kept telling how much they want each other and love each other, but there was nothing in the story to support that.

All in all, the futuristic world Showalter creates seems interesting, but the romance and erotica in this novel were not my kind of thing.

RECOMMENDATION: Deep Kiss of Winter is definitely worth trying for Kresley Cole's "Untouchable". Fans of Immortals After Dark series absolutely cannot miss on Murdoch's and Daniela's story.