Wicked Burn (The Realm Enforcers, #3)

by Rebecca Zanetti

"Zanetti gives paranormal a sexy MC twist!" --New York Times bestselling author Joanna Wylde

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

Simone Brightston knows she can beat the rap her enemies are pinning on her. An Irish witch is nobody's fool, and she didn't get to her position on the high council without serious power. But her cousins want her to hide out--and they somehow convinced her arch nemesis to play getaway driver.

Of all the men she's known, Nikolaj Veis is the hardest to intimidate. With his demon-dark eyes and his inscrutable beauty, he's as desirable as he is dangerous. And he knows better than to underestimate Simone. So when he pulls up on a roaring bike and tells her to climb on or fight it out, she grabs a handful of jacket and holds on tight. Running from the law may not be the smartest plan. But when it comes to Nick, hot pursuit and a blazing fast ride are exactly what Simone's looking for . . .

Includes the brand new Dark Protectors novella, ‘Talen’!

"Non-stop action and a hero to die for!" --Alexandra Ivy

"Sizzling sex scenes and a memorable cast." --Publishers Weekly on Claimed

"A fast-paced, excitement-filled explosion of action… Zanetti keeps getting better." --RT Book Reviews on Marked, 4.5 Stars Top Pick

• ISBN10: 1601835167
• ISBN13: 9781601835161
• Publish Date: 7 June 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 363
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781601835161

Reviews

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Wicked Burn left me with a 'holy fast-paced action Batman!' feeling... my head is practically spinning right now.

Story:

Simone was framed for treason, as a member of the ruling body of witches, she was powerful, maybe too much so for her own good. However, she was so smart she was able to deal with a lot of things while still preparing for her trial. Nick wanted to save her from the guard, and was taken with her back to Dublin and thus was able to spend more time with her. Alone. Tori and Bear were snatched by the guard as well, and because of this, Tori learned that there were other species than humans in the world - which put her in lethal danger.

Simone learned more about her family history, and a new species of shifters was introduced. I loved how this new aspect might change the course in future books. The overall plot of finding out who is behind the Apollo drug, and how several members of Coven 9 have been targeted made for suspense as well. The romance between Nick and Simone was hot, so Wicked Burn was definitely the right title for this book!

Characters:

Simone has been present in other Realm Enforcers books, and in Wicked Burn, I really got to know her better. And man! was she worth to get to know. Nick is a demon, and a hundred years ago, he was all set to mate Simone, however, fate decided differently. He was needed to make sure the war wouldn't kill all vampires, witches and shifters, and put duty over love. In Wicked Burn, he finally had a chance to make things right.

Writing style :

Third person narrator, more or less omniscient, past tense, with plenty of dialogues to make the pace flow, and to let the readers get to know all the characters.

Feels :

Fear for the characters is one of the feels for sure! And there was also a lot of hotness and sweetness mixed in with the danger.



Nick Veis handled a Ducati like he did everything else in life... using control edged with a hint of violence. The contrast between the elegant demon official that he showed the world and the primal being lurking inside him showed just how far he'd come since this latest war had ended.

Simone wiped blood off of Nick's forehead, wincing at the gash across his left temple. Her entire body ached as if put through a meat grinder, and she could only imagine the damage he'd sustained in shielding her.

[EBookObsessed]

The teasing is finally over. We have heard over two series about the past between Nick and Simone and we finally get all our answers.

We have been teased through two series about the volatile relationship of Nick and Simone. Simone Brightston is a witch and head of the Council Nine. We know that in Marked (Dark Protectors), the former leader of the Demon Nation captured and imprisoned Simone and tried to use threats against her to keep Nick in line. Nick called Zane for help in freeing Simone but even Zane didn’t know the extent of Nick’s complex relationship with Simone.

In Wicked Burn, we finally learn that almost 100 years ago Nick Veis left the demon nation intent on marring his love, Simone and support her desire to be in the Council Nine. He even bought her a tiny cottage that they could raise their children in. On the night Nick was to propose, he received a surprise visit from the Prophet Lily who told him, in tears, that she had foreseen Nick’s future and it did not involve setting down roots. Nick needed to return to the demon nation to be there when Zane was born and raise him and train him so that Zane could one day defeat his uncle and be the future leader of the Demon Nation. If Nick ignored his future, all the mates would suffer under the virus that would be created, including his Simone. Nick had no choice but to break both of their hearts and walk away from Simone.

The war is now over and Zane leads the Demon Nation. Lily’s prediction for Nick didn’t provide any insight into Nick’s future after the war, and Nick presumed that meant he would not survive. Now that all the nations are a peace, and Nick is realizing that while Simone is still angry with him, he has all eternity to convince her to change her mind.

That is until he finds out that someone is trying to set up Simone to take the fall for the creation and distribution of the drug, Apollo, which is being produced exclusively to destroy witches. With evidence mounting against her, and the Council bringing her up on charges, Nick will be by her side during the entire trial, especially since the penalty for guilt is more than just the loss of her Council seat and imprisonment. If they lose, Simone will lose her life.

Nick has plans for their future and it will not involve losing Simone again. Together they will fight the charges and with the other Enforcers, they will find out who is really behind the production of Apollo.

THOUGHTS:
I have been looking forward for Nick and Simone’s story for some time now. While I did enjoy it for the most part, there was quite a deviation in the middle of the story to introduce us to previously undisclosed, new characters that Rebecca will be introducing into the series and this world building.

These characters have never even been hinted at before, so it was a complete surprise, but while it normally would have been an interesting and exciting twist, it ripped us away in the middle of the whole Simone is going to trial and someone is setting her up plot that we have been building towards. So we have been working through three Realm Enforcer books toward Simone being set up, and being picked up to go to defend herself to the Council (most of which had to be excused since they are all blood relations of Simone) and then we are literally dragged away by these previously unknown family members and go into a whole sub-plot about how Simone is not a full-blooded witch and how since she is half-new character, she shouldn’t have children with a demon.

Once we finally get back on track with the plot against Simone, the story ends rather abruptly at about 75 percent. WTF??? This has been a plot point during the first three stories and apparently, it will be continuing in the future, because it is not 100 percent settled. We still don’t know who is behind the making of the drug.

So after waiting all this time to get Nick and Simone back together, we get dragged into a side plot which completely throws off the momentum of the trial against Simone and once we finally say “see you later” to the new characters and get back to business, it ends too quickly without a full resolution of Simone’s problem. Add to that, with everything going on, Nick and Simone’s romance was fit in here and there as more of a sidebar.

The remainder of the book was a nice little bonus story about Talen and Cara, which was great, but after waiting all this time for Nick and Simone’s story, I was kind of disappointed.

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