The Dark Mission Novels by Karina Cooper

Sabrina's Month of Love

So, I told my friends that I would drag out my Black Dagger Brotherhood novels by J.R. Ward, give some highlights of each book, and list the page numbers to my favorite love scenes. But, after thinking about it for a couple of days it dawned on me that the majority of my friends already know what my favorite love scenes from the BDB series are. I mean, it's not like we don't discuss this stuff during breaks at work. And if I shared with the world all of my favorite love scenes from the BDB series I'd literally have no secrets left.  I'm pretty much an open book... but some things... well, some things just can't be shared.

Plus, I wanted to reintroduce you to Karina Cooper and her Dark Mission novels. I found Karina on Twitter (surprise) and had heard about her series when she was just about to release Before the Witches. Before the Witches is a novella giving us some back story to the Dark Mission series. You can read a little bit about it 

----->>>> here.  I think I made a plea for my coworkers to join me in reading the series, and, surprisingly, quite a few of them purchased copies of the first two books that were available at the time. So, with that in mind, I thought I'd give a couple of quick reviews, give you some page numbers to watch for, and let you know about the third book in the series that's now available for purchase. 

First up... Blood of the Wicked. Set about 50 years after the earthquakes that took place in Before the Witches, Blood of the Wicked tells the story of an independent witch named Jessie Leigh. On her own since her mother's death and her brother took off, Jessie's been living below the "grid" by hanging in the dives found in the lower surfaces of Seattle to avoid being captured by the Holy Order. But, after becoming a little too complacent in her surroundings, Jessie is tracked down and captured by, Silas, a soldier from the Holy Order (witch hunter) in an attempt to locate Jessie's brother, Caleb, and execute him. So, as you can imagine, Silas... the hard-as-a-rock witch hunter out to destroy witches that are threatening what's left of the world, finds himself falling for the incredibly beautiful, Jessie. And, Jessie... finds herself falling for a witch hunter that's using her in attempt to locate her brother, kill him and any other witch that happens to get in the way.  Eventually the attraction between both parties causes belief systems to crumble and passion to ignite... repeatedly, beginning with pages 122-127, and continuing throughout the book. Looks like this witch hunter is about to learn the hard way just how nice it is to have a witch on his side. 

Next... Lure of the Wicked. Naomi West, witch hunter extraordinaire from the Holy Order of St. Dominic, has been sent on an undercover mission to Timeless, a luxurious spa in New Seattle, to capture a rogue agent. A woman that would rather be in the gym than wearing designer clothes, Naomi soon finds herself battling a killer witch, saving the life of a guest, and fighting off the advances of one Phinneas Clarke,  the seriously handsome bachelor, and *cue music* underground witch rescuer. Doesn't take long for things to heat up between the two as showcased on page 79... and again on pages 152-157... and... and... and... just when Naomi thinks she can easily walk away from what's been started, tragedy strikes, and a gift is given that leaves Naomi just as vulnerable as the witches she's been hunting all these years. So, can the love that's developed between Phin and Naomi survive all of their hidden secrets?   All of them? Really? I guess you'll have to read the book to find out.

Witch (see what I did there?) brings us to All Things Wicked.  The Coven of the Unbinding never forgets what's theirs. Juliet Carpenter thought of the coven as family, but when she falls for a man who betrays them all, she's left alone and desperately searching for a reason why. Caleb Leigh has spent the past year in hiding, unable to escape his demons. When Juliet finds him again, her need for vengeance clashes with the hunger still burning between them.

It's a fight born from the embers of a half-forgotten attraction and the wounds of a past too raw to ignore. With enemies circling and secrets threatening to consume them all, Caleb has no choice but to fulfill a promise made long ago -- protect her, save her. Even if it costs him his blood, his body... and what's left of his mind. 

All Things Wicked is book three in the Dark Mission novels, and like before, if any of my coworkers would like me to put this on my next purchase order for them... just holler at me. Karina's created a pretty incredible world in this post apocalyptic Seattle. The series is perfectly written and wonderfully descriptive, her characters have depth, and the love scenes... well, we've got run down cathedrals, limos, streams, and gyms. Not to mention the book covers. Seriously, ladies, what are you waiting for?

After weaving happily ever afters for all of her friends in school, Karina Cooper eventually grew up (kind of) and fell in love with writing. She broke into the scene with her gritty Dark Mission series, introducing a world that RT Book Reviews calls “an electrifying start”.

One part glamor, one part total dork, and all imagination, she writes dark and sexy paranormal romance and Steampunk-flavored historical urban fantasy. When she isn’t writing, Karina is an airship captain’s wife and Steampunk fashionista. She lives in the beautiful and rainy Pacific Northwest with a husband, four cats, two rabbits, the fantasy of a dog and a passel of adopted gamer geeks.