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Blood Of The Wicked (2011)

by Karina Cooper(Favorite Author)

3.42 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0062046853 (ISBN13: 9780062046857)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Avon

series

Dark Mission

review 1: Grim, rough, and edgy. I really enjoy stories with heroes who have to redeem themselves (as long as they truly manage it). I had concerns about this book being another depressing dystopian urban fantasy. Instead, I found myself far too enthralled with the characters' conflicts, the action, the plot, the world-building, the sexual tension, smoking rough love scenes, and most of all, the author's voice. Her style, and this particular plot premise, aren't going to work for everyone, but they did for me.
review 2: This one hooked me when I read the blurb and decided to give it a whirl. I am a sucker for unique backdrops and world-building which is what drew me to the genres who specialize in this. This book did not disappoint in that area. But there was also the... more additional draws of romance, intrigue dystopian, and paranormal elements.This story was interesting in that the background introductory information was left until after the story got into full swing and then the information was trickled as needed instead of one massive info dump. In the end, there were still portions that were left vague- purposefully I think as I saw hints that there are big revelations to come.Now, about the story-Simon Smith has been a witch hunter for a long time. He is more Lone Ranger in his hunting style. He has a bitter attitude times ten on this particular night fueled by the pain from his deteriorating body and because he has been called back to his home turf to which he would have avoided forever if given a choice. He has been assigned to find and bag the sister of a witch so that she can be used to find her brother. Knowing that he will be deceiving the girl to get her to cooperate in something that can only lead to her brother's death does not set well with him though he is committed to the notion that all witches must die. Simon is part of an universal church organization that sprung up after the devastating earthquakes along the main fault lines that left the world particularly that of New Seattle as it is now. Witches were held responsible for this natural disaster and the witch hunts of old are back in vogue. Simon's group or missionaries as they are called actively seek out witches and put them to death. Now a powerful coven of witches has sprung up in New Seattle and this Caleb Leigh, brother of Jessica Leigh is their only lead.New Seattle is an ironic name for something that is not all that is pristine and new. If you live in the soaring skyscrapers and world of light above as the wealthy do, it is like that, but if you are poor or average you live in the dark and dingy world built on the rubble of the old city beneath that never really sees the daytime sky and you must scrape for survival. And even lower than this are the dangerous and truly dark unstable levels of the original city and the areas near the great chasm where the fault opened- where people go and never return. Simon finds his prey, Jessica Leigh, and he is harsh with her because of his own inner uneasiness about the assignment and because he can see that she is full of light and goodness and this will all devastate her. He tries to remain detached with the 'get her, give her over to the mission and get out' plan. But instead, he is ordered to continue to use her and he himself is under scrutiny. By now, Simon is quite the opposite of detached and does the unthinkable- he starts to care.Jessie has been on the run all her life because she is a witch. She hides what she is and hides well, but the witch hunter finds her and keeps her from escaping him. He doesn't want her; he wants Caleb. Jessie lost track of Caleb, but can't believe he is involved in a dark coven or all the ritual killings that Simon accuses him of being. Stuck with no other alternative, Jessie partners with Simon to find Caleb planning to deal with escape when she can get to her brother. But things start happening. Witches are after her and most terrifying of all a tentative relationship springs up between her and the witch hunter that would see her dead if he knew what she was.It was a mad rush from beginning to end with that whole Sword of Damocles feel to it as Jessie waits to see if she will escape with Caleb before or after Simon learns that she is a witch. Both of them are well aware that their relationship doesn't stand a chance. For Simon, its because he's going to kill her brother and leave her behind. I loved the feeling of reading along about Simon and Jessie's adventures with the rare dip into what is going on with Caleb and knowing that there are bigger things going on in the shadows than any of them really know. Even when the story finished with its slam bang finish, I was aware due to the foreshadowing throughout the book that bigger stuff is yet to come. Yes, it is a heady feeling going into a new series that leaves me jittery and eager like that.The characters were great. I loved them even though Simon's behavior with Jessie was parts jerk and pig. Let's just say Simon's character had the biggest growth arc of all and it was fascinating following along as he did slowly, but surely grow. Jessie was a strong and solid character from the get-go. She was my hero. That girl had a real tough row to hoe and she just did it without whining or whoosing out. The secondary characters which amounted to members of Simon's team, the mysterious character who rescued Simon and Jessie (won't say more about this individual for spoiler reasons), Caleb and the bad guys were all of interest in their own ways. I have a feeling I will meet many of them again. Caleb was a character for which I felt conflicted much like Jessie. I really couldn't give him over to being a complete villain, but yet he wasn't hero-stuff either.I am definitely eager to read more of this series and that's the best compliment I can give this story. I think this has a wide range of appeal because of the way it crosses a few different genres- paranormal and dystopian romance along with a dash of romantic suspense. less

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