Wicked Bite (The Realm Enforcers, #5)

by Rebecca Zanetti

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

  “Fast-paced romance . . . very compelling. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal
 
As she hunts for a drug lord killing her fellow witches, all Nessa Lansa’s instincts point to the Grizzly motorcycle club. That might be because their leader, Bear, is the strong, silent shifter type: warm brown eyes and more muscle and alpha male than any woman can ignore. Which makes Nessa’s plan to seduce and betray him all the more dangerous . . .
 
Bear doesn’t trust the curvy, blue-eyed witch. But Nessa can heal the injuries that sap his strength. And since he can’t stop thinking of her lush body and teasing smile, her plan to mate him to reclaim her own power is highly tempting. Just one problem. Once a desire this wild is loose, no one will ever control it . . .
 
“Hot and fast from beginning to end.”
—Kate Douglas on Fated
 
“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: 1601838697
• ISBN13: 9781601838698
• Publish Date: 1 August 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 295
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781601838698

Reviews

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Wicked Bite packed an even bigger punch than the four prior books in the Realm Enforcers series! Action, fights and betrayal that made my head spin.

Story:

I was happy to get a book where Nessa and Bear were the main characters, but I hadn't really counted on Nessa actually going undercover. She seemed young and a bit inexperienced in the prior book, but she was very far from it. Bear was still suffering from changing too many times in the prior story, and it appeared as if his life might be in danger.

There chemistry between Nessa and Bear was very strong. But neither of them really trusted the other. Wicked Bite involved a lot of the plot that has been the red thread throughout the series, and so, Bear's reluctance to trust was easy to understand.

Wicked Bite is packed with action, fights, intrigue and betrayal. And for once, I did not see anything coming! I was blown away completely. There was so much danger everywhere, and if this was a movie, I think I'd have gotten a whiplash from watching the action unfold.

Characters:

Nessa seemed like a neat, put-together woman. And she appeared a bit out of place in the woods. There was so much more to her than what met the eye at first sight, though.
Bear was no less grumpy in Wicked Bite than he was before, but I got to understand more about where that grumpiness came from.
Both the demon horde and some vampires were present, as well as the bear pack Bear cared for.

Writing style :

Wicked Bite is written in third person, past tense, with an external narrator. Nessa and Bear are the characters we follow the most closely, which makes some reveals real surprises.

Feels :

So many feels! Happiness, love, hope, despair, fright, anger - can you think of any more? I'm pretty sure those feels were included as well.



What would it be like to really belong with a male like him - if he was a good guy? He didn't kiss like a good guy, and that's why the kiss had been so incredible.

Probably true in the witch world. Damn witches. "You took advantage of a friend." "Aye. Id' take advantage of any friend in order to save you, my brother." A fierceness echoed in the words. "So deal with it." "I'm trying to deal with it," he growled back. "But you sent a woman who looks like Jackie O, fights like Jackie Chan and has more secrets than Jackie Fiddleton."

[EBookObsessed]

I am loving the bears this year!

This is definitely my favorite story of the series and not just because we finally have an answer about who is making the drug and why. The connection between Nessa and Bear make this story wonderful. It is funny that my favorite stories so far this year include bear shifters and they couldn’t be more different. Valentin (Silver Silence) was laid back and sweet while Bear was more the grizzly shifter being all cranky and gruff but both have ranking high with me.

The Enforcers had to return to Ireland after the happenings in Wicked Burn and Wicked Kiss. Former councilwoman from the Coven 9, Nessa Lansa arrived in Seattle to take up the investigation. She also agreed to help her friend Simone and check on her half-brother Bear McDunphey and help him heal from his unfortunate shifting incident which bear subjected himself to save his sister in Wicked Burn. Shifters can only shift into one form but with one parent a bear shifter and one parent a dragon shifter, Bear sought his inner dragon and protected Simone. Now the damage which has been done is soul deep and try as he might, his shifter ability can’t seem to heal the damage.

Nessa is rare among her witch brethren. She can’t create fire. Her ability is to heal. She is willing to heal Bear, but she wants something in return. She hopes that if she mates with Bear, his dragon half might help her gain the ability to create fire like the other witches and she will be able to protect herself.

Bear agrees to help her track down the Apollo manufacturer in exchange for healing him, but he isn’t interested in mating, especially not to a witch. Bear agrees to introduce Nessa to his brother, a full-blooded dragon, and maybe she can convince him mate with her. After meeting the grouchy bear shifter in person, Nessa starts to realize that her plan sounded better in theory and does her best to try to heal Bear.

But, as expected, their attraction quickly grows and as Bear begins to feel more like himself, he decides he doesn’t want Nessa to mate with anyone else. Now, he just has to convince her that mating would be the best thing for both of them.

Grouchy and domineering as Bear is, he and Nessa are sort of sweet together which completely makes the story.

We do finally get some answers in this story so it is bitter sweet. Yet it makes me think what the hell were those “investigators” doing for the last four stories where they really had nothing to show for the months they were here investigating. A lot of shutting down distribution lines, but no one ever knew anything. The drugs were being manufactured and were ready to ship out so the witches didn’t really get anywhere.

I also find that I am going to miss Garret and Logan the most as this series and the Dark Protectors have come to an end. The next generation are all grown up and these two make a hell of a team of soldiers and fun trouble makers. Maybe it is time for their own spinoff series since they have made allies in all the factions.