They wed in body? Who is this author and what has she done with Gena Showalter's sex scenes? This was a total missed opportunity, since Koldo is a sexy virgin hero who is just exploring his sexuality for the first time. She yielded to him without reservation, accepting him, burning for him, loving him, enfolding him in her arms, crying his name, begging him for more, nipping at his lips. It didn't take long to renew their passions, and then, oh, then, they wed in body, as well. Hesitantly, he leaned down and kissed her again. 'Nicola,' he said, and finally -finally- claimed her. Then, when they finally do seal the deal (a measly one time) again, the language is vague and totally unsatisfying. Here, I reread their first sexual encounter three times and I'm still not sure what the hell happened. Usually Showalter's books really deliver with the sexy times. Unfortunately, the book failed big time in the sexual arena.

It hit my romance happy buttons all over. Koldo just wants to be loved and Nicola is the balm to his tattered soul.

There is no great misunderstanding or hurtful mistake one has to forgive the other for. I can see how and why they fall for each other.

I think what I liked best about the story is how effortless the romance is between Nicola and Koldo. He makes it his task to free her from the demons who foster her illness and to teach her how to fight their influence. But when Koldo comes across them in the course of another mission, he can't ignore how he is drawn to Nicola. Nicola and her twin sister were both born with heart problems and both face an uncertain future. But that changes when Nicola enters his life. He has never known love or tender emotions from anyone. Then he was abandoned to be tortured and kept by his evil father, until he was eventually freed to fight on the side of the angels. He was raised by a mother who hated him and cut of his wings. This second installment in Gena Showalter's Angels of the Dark series features Koldo, and though I wasn't that excited to learn he was getting his own book, he ended up a really good tortured hero. But the two issues I had with it really took away from my overall enjoyment. It pains me to say that, because the parts of it that were good were very, very good.

Beauty Awakened by Gena Showalter