Publisher: Avon Books
Date published: May 2011
ISBN: 9780062046857
Paranormal Mystery/Romance
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Tammy
Obtained via: publisher
Debut author Karina Cooper’s BLOOD OF THE WICKED is a fast paced tale of survival, prejudice and mystery.
Disaster has struck the planet and the witches have been blamed. Now they are hunted down and killed by soldiers of the religious Holy Order whether they are guilty of a crime or not. BLOOD OF THE WICKED takes place in New Seattle, a city built up on the remains of what was pre-disaster Seattle. Holy Order soldier Silas is on a mission to root out a violent coven. To find them, he searches out Jesse, a sister to one of the coven’s murdering witches. He locates Jesse bartending in a strip club and talks her into aiding him in his search. She agrees only because she intends to prove her brother innocent. Silas doesn’t know Jesse is a witch, he only knows he is attracted to her and needs her help.
Karina Cooper’s world building is exceptional. She vividly depicts a future world where innocent witches must live a life on the run, fighting for survival among evil, murderous witches and the dregs of society. On the upper realms of her rebuilt New Seattle, the Holy Order lives and works in a much cushier setting, keeping the world safe from murderous witches, which they believe all witches to be. The characters in BLOOD OF THE WICKED are complex and interesting. Jesse lives a life in hiding, just trying to get by without being killed simply because she was born a witch. Silas on the other hand, has a strong prejudice against witches, believing them all to be killers, and this colors his every action. While their romance blossoms despite Silas’ deep rooted beliefs, once he realizes Jesse is a witch (albeit a good one), his contempt for all things witch crops up again and again making it difficult to cheer for this couple. And yet we do and that is entirely due to Ms. Cooper’s clever writing abilities. The question of whether Jesse’s brother is good or evil or something in between is skillfully discovered as the story plays out.
This reader really enjoyed debut author Karina Cooper’s lead book in her Dark Mission series, BLOOD OF THE WICKED. An imagination as complex and unique as Ms. Cooper’s is sure to have no difficulty building a large fan base.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.
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