Review: The Wicked by LA Banks

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages: 400 Pages
Genre: Paranormal
Series/Standalone: The Vampire Huntress Legend Book #8
Publication Date: February 2007
Source: Loaned From Library


Synopsis (GoodReads):

Damali and Carlos have finally tied the knot, but there is no happily ever after on the horizon. Cain, the son of Eve and the new chairman of the Vampire Council is amassing an army of creatures like no one has ever seen before. But while a band of human scientists are conducting secret experiments they open the dimension that holds Cain and he is released into the human world, bigger and badder than ever. Her family slaughtered, Damali heads for hell to serve justice and faces off with a nemisis the likes of which she has never encountered. Carlos doesn't take his wife's disappearance lightly and races against time to get Damali back... only to learn that his wife might be pregnant. The question: is the child his or the Chairman's?

Review:

Plot: 

The plot of The Wicked continues were the last book ended, setting up for Armageddon.  Damali and Carlos are finally married and her ex-almost-lover Cain is pissed.  There is not much to say about the plot, it follows the rest of the books well and is just another piece in the puzzle needed for the final battle.

Characters:

I love the characters in this series.  Mainly, I love Carlos.  In this installment, Carlos grows a lot as a person.  His relationship with Damali is tested but he is able to overcome the past and move forward not only to save their marriage but also for the good of the team.  Damali has always been a solid character to me.  She pretty much the same character wise.  She did learn that she is not invincible and learned a bit of humility.

The other members of Carlos and Damali's team also make an appearance but they are not as prominent as in some of the previous installments.  I do feel that there are two many people on the squad, I had a hard time remember each character and their background story.

One thing that has always bothered me about Banks characters is that they all have about the same voice.  There was no real variations in the dialogue to distinguish between characters.  The only time that the characters "voice" was different was when dealing with hybrids or the vampire from Louisiana, that used French terms.  Otherwise there was no variation in speech patterns which is annoying since Banks uses dialogue to give readers important information.

Writing:

LA Banks writing style is very engaging.  I finished this book in two sittings, staying up until 3am the first night.  I just did not want to put it down.  The only negatives in Banks writing other then the dialogue issue is that she tends to do a lot of information dumping.  Which I normally skip because sometimes the information is not that important (at least to me).  Also, her fight scenes are a little confusing.  I don't always understand what is going on and end up having to read some sections several times before I get it.

Overall Recommendation:

I would highly recommend this book if you have read the other books in the series.  The Wicked can't be read alone.