Wicked Edge by Nina Bangs (Castle of Dark Dreams #5)
March 6, 2012
Paranormal Romance
Trade Paperback
Berkley

Reviewed by Helyce

Passion is an angel whose job is to guide humans into making the right decisions when they get too close to crossing over and making poor choices or bad decisions. Trouble is, Passion is bored in heaven and she doesn’t always make the best choices for herself. Take her reason for choosing the name she did:

“You said you got to choose your own name. Why’d you choose Passion?”

She smiled. “Sometimes I’m not as accepting of my job as you are. I have a streak of defiance that’s gotten me in trouble a few times. Anyway, sensuality is frowned on at home. So when I chose a name, I picked one that was ambiguous enough that they couldn’t deny my request. After all, passion can mean a strong drive for something, like a passion for doing good. But whenever anyone says my name, they think of the sexual meaning. Archangel Ted hates it.”

And that in a nutshell sums up Passion to a T. Her antics in heaven have gone too far and Archangel Ted has decided to send her to earth. Her mission being to bring goodness and light to the humans that visit the Castle of Dark Dreams, a place where humans visit to bring forth their darkest fantasies. Upon arriving, however, it becomes clear to her that there is much more going on at the Castle.

Edge is a resident of the Castle and he is also the cosmic troublemaker in charge of death. Bringing death to those who deserve it is all Edge has ever known. He’s good at it, and he’s never questioned his purpose until the day he meets Passion. As he begins to feel something more than just sexual attraction for Passion, he begins to think twice about what he does. His sense of duty vs. Passion’s passion for goodness and light begin to affect him to a point that he cannot ignore it.

If that wasn’t enough, someone or something with more power than Edge himself is messing with all the cosmic troublemakers who reside at the Castle. Worried that he could hurt someone, specifically Passion, has Edge on guard. He along with all the Castle of Dark Dreams players will be faced with an epic battle between good and evil like nothing they could have expected. In the end, a different kind of “good” will prevail.

Wicked Edge is the 5^th book in this series by Nina Bangs, so I’m going to begin my summary by saying I have not read the previous 4 books. As I read this story, it quickly became apparent to me that not having done so would affect my view of this story. So please take that into consideration if you’re a fan of this series.

If I had to pick one word to describe my overall thoughts of this book it would be “frustrating”. Again, I feel this is due to my having not read the previous books. The characters in this story are all well established and I would imagine were introduced in books prior to this one. They also hold important roles, and were key players herein but as I read through this book I continually felt like I was missing information.

Even with that, I liked the characters in this story and was very entertained by all of their personalities and quirks. Sparkle Stardust and Ganymede are also cosmic troublemakers; Sparkle in charge of sex and Ganymede in charge of chaos. There’s a vampire and a wizard too, and my special favorite the demon of music, Murmur. They really made the story for me, in spite of the fact there were times I felt lost.

Edge and Passion definitely have the hots for each other in this story. Passion is an angel, though, and therefore cannot act on any of her feelings, but it doesn’t stop her from fantasizing about Edge. She never fails in her determination to keep her vow. So, I enjoyed the way the author took the choice out of her hands when Sparkle is taken over by some unknown entity and starts weaving her sexual thrall through the Castle. Everyone is affected, even Edge and Passion and though a small part of them knows that what’s happening has to do with Sparkle, they cannot stop themselves and succumb to the spell. In true Passion style, she has no regrets!

The ultimate conflict was entertaining as well, even if a bit predictable. When Passion learns that everything she thought she knew was bogus and that she was just a pawn in someone’s ploy for power the decision to leave that life and stay on earth with Edge is easy. Edge, too, makes some important changes in order to have the life he imagines with Passion.

While the characters were entertaining and kept me interested enough to read through to the end, there are many characters and I think the jumping back and forth between all the different POVs and the little side stories left little focus on the main H/H. While Passion and Edge have a lot of page time, they have very little “alone” time which left me wanting in the romance department. I will say that Ms. Bangs writes with much humor and I did enjoy that aspect of this story.

Rating: C-

Recent Reviews:
Fiction Vixen – C-
Love to Read for Fun – B-
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