ARC Review: Wicked Ride

Wicked Ride (Realm Enforcers #1)

by Rebecca Zanetti

Blurb:

 If you love the Dark Protectors, these wicked hot Realm Enforcers are for you!

Alexandra Monzelle is a hard-fighting, heat-packing Seattle vice cop, and she’s not much interested in being protected. Her short skirt and sex-kitten heels are tools to lure her suspects into talking about the deadly new drug hitting the streets. She can take care of herself and then some. Unfortunately, she can’t seem to get that through to Kellach Dunne.

Kellach is a fresh import from Dublin, and he’s landed at the heart of a vicious motorcycle club that deals in guns, narcotics, and mayhem. He’s all male, all rough power—and all interference in her damn investigation. Maybe he’s one of the good guys. Maybe not. Lex knows an affair with an immortal like him would risk everything. No matter how delicious he looks…

Themes: Witches, Demons, Vampires, Paranormal    

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

The time of the Witches has arrived! Fans of the Dark Protectors series will find some familiar faces in this new spin-off series, based on the lives of the Witches that we met briefly in the previous series.  The first story revolves around Kellach Dunne and enforcer for the Coven Nine and a powerful witch in his own right.  The series picks up shortly after the end of the war that has waged for decades and the Witches are dealing with their own battles now.  Kellach and his brothers are on the trail of a group that is manufacturing and distributing a new drug based on the one mineral that can easily kill a Witch.  I very much enjoyed getting to meet more of the Witches and fall in love with Kellach and I know I will enjoy the fall of the other brothers in future stories as well.  Another great hit, Rebecca, and I am dying to know where this series will ultimately venture.  For newcomers to the world of these magical individuals, pay close attention because the skills of these folks are scary and give them that edge that makes them even more sensual than your typical badass... and did I mention they pose as bikers? Seriously what could be hotter?

Kellach is on the hunt for the idiots that have decided to create and sell a new drug to humans, ones that give them witch-like powers and a feeling of euphoria like no other...until they die a hideous and gruesome death.  Also on the trail of this drug is human detective Alexandra Monzelle, a woman with her own reasons for wanting to bring down these drug dealers.  When their paths cross, an intense passion flares between them, as much as neither of them are prepared for it.  As they butt heads again and again, Lex and Kellach have to come to terms with each other's personalities as well as their individual missions.  Only with true trust can they find a way to have a life together, but will either of them be able to overcome their own natures to find a compromise or will they forever be drawn together and forced apart in turns?

Oh Boy, Kellach is again and again asking to get his ass kicked. While he is definitely a man of skill and danger, he has yet to accept that some women are just as much warriors as he is himself.  Kellach is drawn inexplicably to the one woman that could jeopardize his mission and she refuses to trust him, even though he proves his goodness again and again.  I fully understood his frustration with Lex and wanted to lash at her on his behalf more than once.  It is obvious that Kellach is a good guy, even though he is definitely dangerous, but Lex denies her instincts where he is concerned again and again, leaving me wondering if she will ever be able to trust in him and his love.  Seeing him interacting with his brothers and cousin, as well as his "nephews" was also awesome because he's such a smartass and a sweetheart in equal proportions that I found myself wanting one of him, even if I had to forego the kick ass witch powers.   But of course the best part of Kellach is his loyalty and devotion to his mate, even though he doesn't understand her, can't get her to trust him, and can't get her to think about her own safety as she runs headlong into danger. He never stops loving her, even when she is trying to beat him, arrest him, or control him, and that level of love and loyalty is rare these days.

Alexandra, or Lex, on the other hand was not a favorite character for me.  While she is a well written character, she was definitely one of those heroines that I loved to hate.  Her inability to trust in Kellach or his motivations and actions, left me wanting to tell her to stop waffling and make a dang decision already.  One minute she is giving herself to him and the next she is trying to arrest him, and she seemed unable to come to a decision about him until almost the very end of the story.  While I can understand her fears and her reasons for being so untrusting it felt like she didn't know her own mind at times, which is one aspect of some heroines I really hate.  I could understand if she didn't give her trust until late in the story, but she would give it, and then take it away, which made me just as crazy as Kellach.  That being said Lex was well written and a character that kept you interested and moved the story along with her intelligence and wit.  I just wish she had held more to her convictions where Kell was concerned.

True to its name, Wicked Ride was a story with lots of twists, turns, and flips for both the characters and the readers.  Kellach and Lex were interesting characters, both warriors in their own ways and beautifully matched, once they got over their pigheadedness.  Kellach is alpha through and through, but sweet as all get out and determined to love and cherish this surprising woman who becomes his mate.  Lex on the other hand has no real idea what to do with a man like Kellach, one that her gut tells her is a good man, but that her experience tells her is a danger to her and her ideals.  The overall drama of the story was well written with a plot that has a few surprises and unforeseen happenings that make the story even more interesting that just two passionate individuals clashing and ultimately falling in love.  The heat that Kellach and Lex throw off when they are together is amazing to see and that doesn't even include the actual fire that these Witches can throw.  If you are looking for an intensely sensual and intriguing story full of drama, love, Magick and wit, look no farther than Rebecca's new spin-off series, but of course I encourage you to go back to the beginning and learn all about these characters in the original series (Dark Protectors) as well.  Zanetti scores again with her fantastical world, sensual characters, and intelligent plot and I cannot wait to see where this series goes in the future.

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.