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Review

4 stars

This is the first book in the Realm Enforcers series, and once again Rebecca Zanetti takes us on a wild romantic ride with lots of action, excitement and awesome paranormal badassery.

This is a spin-off of the Dark Protectors series. It’s set in the same world, with some character crossovers, and though I think it would be more meaningful to have read the Dark Protectors books first to give you a thorough understanding of the world and those who inhabit it, I think there is enough explanation given to be able to read this on its own.

It looks like the focus of this series is going to be on the witches – in particular, the Dunne family. In this world witches can be either female or male, and Kellach is a centuries-old, powerful witch who is also an Enforcer for the Council of the Coven 9 (the ruling witch body). He has recently moved to Seattle to Ireland with his brothers, and he’s a total badass.

Alexandra Monzelle is a tenacious detective. Completely dedicated to her job, she is ruthlessly investigating a dangerous new drug on the streets of Seattle. She has a personal stake in the war on drugs, as she fights against the memories of a painful past, and she refuses to let anything get in her way.

While working undercover one night she runs into Kellach and, he is a member of a local biker club (one that is already on the police radar for drug and weapon dealing), so immediately becomes a focus of her investigation. But even though she has labelled him as the bad guy, their frequent run ins spark an attraction that is impossible for them to ignore, and the battle is intense, fun, and so so hot!

She shook her head, trying to regain control of her body. She couldn’t climax there. No way. No way could she let him know he had that much power over her.
He leaned back, one hand tethered in her hair, the other on her breast. “Problem?”
She gasped and tried to remain perfectly still. “Put me down and back away. Now.” Her breathy voice didn’t sound like her. At all.
He eyed her, awareness dawning in those deadly eyes. “How close are you?”
Too close. Way too fucking close. She swallowed. “Nowhere near. Now put me down.”
“Aw, darlin’,” he breathed, his gaze hardening. “If you wouldn’t have lied, I woulda put you down.” The Irish brogue licked along her skin, and she shivered. “Now? Now you’re gonna come.”

Their chemistry between these two is fantastic! Kell is the perfect mix of sweet and charming, and confident badassery, and he is sexy as all hell, but Alexandra wants nothing to do with the man who she believes is a criminal biker, so she fights him (and her feelings) every step of the way. She also has no knowledge of the supernatural world and no clue as to who he really is, and the sense of anticipation just waiting for her to discover his secrets adds excitement to every interaction. Every little moment between them is sizzling with UST, and when neither of them are unable to resist it any longer, Alexandra is dragged into bone-melting passion and a world she could never have imagined.

I really liked the set up for this relationship. It’s fast paced and exciting, the supernatural/human elements are done really well, and the sexy time is hot as hell! But I had some issues with Alexandra, whose trust issues went on for way too long. Kellach and his brothers claim to be on her side, and he openly shares himself with her, but with each new little piece of evidence that she discovers, she is so quick to assume that Kell is the bad guy – only for her then to realise her mistake and Kell would drag her off for some hard and rough sex to ‘punish’ her (pick me!), only for her to jump to conclusions at the next given opportunity. I get that she has issues from her past, but come on! Thank God Kell is so far gone for her that he is able to forgive and forget, and their relationship is eventually able to develop into something meaningful.

“I’ve lived lifetimes, Alexandra, and I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a woman this much”

Alongside the romantic drama and sexy time, the drug investigation continues, and it’s exciting and suspenseful, and had me guessing the whole way through. Apollo is a drug that is lethal to witches, and gives humans temporary witchy power before killing them quickly and painfully, and the race is on to track down the source and distributor. There’s a nice amount of action and some surprises along the way, building up to an exciting finish. I really like the way it all played out!

And I love that through it all we get to spend so much time getting to know Kell’s family and I love the tie in to the Dark Protectors series with Garret and Logan getting in on the action, and even a few cameos from other series faves.

Kellach and Alexandra’s story finishes off really well, but there is still more story to be told, and I’m looking forward to continuing on with this series.

4 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Realm Enforcers series

 

The Realm Enforcers series is a spin off from the Dark Protectors series.
For full series information, see our Realm Enforcers / Dark Protectors page.

Also see our Rebecca Zanetti Author Spotlight.