BOOK REVIEW - LURE OF THE WICKED by KARINA COOPER - DARK MISSION # 2 - AVON BOOKS - 4.25 FINE PHINNEAS STARS!!

By: Karina Cooper

Published By : Avon Books, Harper Collins

Released : Available Now

Details : Paperback, 364 Pages from Local Library

RATING: 4.25 FINE PHINNEAS STARS with a DASH OF SILAS!!!

Blurb : Goodreads

Naomi West was plucked from one prison and placed undercover in another: the gilded cage that is Timeless, New Seattle's premier spa and resort, where owner Phinneas Clarke—the most seductive man Naomi has ever met—may be hiding a killer. She's an agent of the Holy Order, trained to hunt the guilty and render justice. But while she's tracking down a rogue agent on a killing spree, Phin is determined to uncover her most damning—and dangerous—secrets. Whatever the cost.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle :

I am really enjoying this Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance series. Karina kept me entertained with peeling the layers back on Naomi West aka Naomi Ishikawa , the kickass, tough as nails missionary from Blood Of The Wicked.

In Blood Of The Wicked, Naomi is a killer who doesn’t ask questions first, she shoots first. She completely belongs to the Churches way of thinking and their mission to kill all witches, period.

In Lure Of The Wicked, Naomi is like a blank canvas , her body void of all her piercings, except for the two she kept, deposited in the one place that is so alien to her character, topside, in an exclusive high end Spa.

Naomi doesn’t know how to be girlie, she only does kickass, she wears kickass like a glove. She breathes kickass. The piercings are part of her attire. She is a killer. She doesn’t do massages, facials....until now.

There is a rogue missionary, witches need to be dealt with and she has been given the mission of sorting through Timeless and finding some answers, posing undercover.

Phinneas Clarke and his mothers, yes plural, run Timeless. I loved the scenes where Naomi is about to crack and Phin takes charge and gives her a massage. All above board people, this is a respected and above board ,high end establishment. I really liked his mothers and their relationship with Phin. He could have come across as a mummys boy, but he didn’t, as he has such respect for these two women who have raised him. He is also a whole lot of man who has a whole lot of heart.

What he does for Naomi ....

Book # 1 had the reader below ground in the dangerous Old Seattle, the broken city, buried by the earthquake. In this book we are topside , where Naomi is not comfortable, where Naomi does not fit in. By birth she deserves to fit in, but life has not been kind to Naomi. Life has broken her and even Phin is finding it hard to mend it.

Naomi only trusts herself and even that is starting to waiver. Her own emotions are playing games on her. She doesn’t want to ‘feel’. She wants to kill. It is what she is good at.

This is a character coupling that will take more than one book to fuse together, for Naomi to trust, for her to believe she is worthy of being loved.

Phin and his family have their own secrets and all hell is about to break loose.

Betrayal is a bitch.

Silas Smith gets some air time. I do love Silas. He has a gorgeous, manly personality who is so fiercely in love with Jessie. He knows how to handle Naomi, about as much as you can. He has known her a long time. He knows some of her pain.

Sometimes in life you are forced to take a good hard look at yourself and you find you don’t quite like what you see. Sometimes decisions are made for you and you just have to make the best of it, roll with it and see how it all pans out.

Looking forward to reading No Rest For The Witches # 2.5 and then onto All Things Wicked.

This was a slick read that I really enjoyed. I found myself turning the pages in this series full of hard knocks, a corrupt Church , missionaries jumping ship because power can be too inviting for those with evil on the brain.

Sometimes the least likely wind up with the power and responsibility to use wisely and for good.

Michelle