Title: Chasing Wicked
Author: Kathryn James
Release Date: April 18th
Genre: Contemporary Romance
About Chasing Wicked
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REVIEW - 4 Stars
Chasing Wicked, the first book in the Wicked series by Kathryn L. James was an unpredictable, drama filled, second chance love story. Torn apart as teenagers, Stone Mitchell and Avery Anderson are thrown together again a number of years later and come to find out that the sparks are still there. This was an emotionally charged and extremely hot read. I remember thinking while reading that I did not see a certain storyline part coming and I liked that I was surprised as much as I was.
Stone was a super alpha character, and a little bit of an asshole, but not so big of a one that I disliked him. There’s a lot of backstory that we get throughout the story that made me understand him more and why he acted the way that he did. Avery is no wilting flower either, even if she is still trying to find herself and make peace with the past. The years following their separation have not been necessarily easy, but she is making her life work. Even if there is a gaping hole in it that she refuses to recognize.
Chasing Wicked was an all-around good story, but I felt that it rambled a little bit in places. It was a good length book as well, but it probably could have been a little shorter. It felt that there was extra unneeded drama added to lengthen the story which resulted in 4 stars and not 5. Even with the unneeded added drama, I still did enjoy reading the story. I liked that there were surprises and enjoyed most of the twists in the storyline. I felt that Stone and Avery really were made for one another.
As the first book in the series, I think that Chasing Wicked set the tone for future books to come. Stone’s two brothers are set to get their own books. We didn’t get to see much of them in this book, but with Stone’s personality I’m sure they will be anything but boring. I hope to see more of Avery’s best friend Lindsey in future stories as well. There seems to much a story there as well.
A four star read by Kathryn L. James.
Excerpt
Stone Mitchell—my worst nightmare.
The muscles of his back rippled against his tight-fitting black t-shirt like he’d been molded into it. He had thick brown hair that was made of silk, softer than silk…my hands remembered exactly how soft.
In a complete stupor, I let go of the handle of the suitcase, causing it to crash against the tiled floor. He spun around, tossed a dish towel over his shoulder, and froze mid-spin. Icy topaz eyes met my disgusted glare head on.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he bit out.
“Stone…” My heart screamed for me to bolt, but I didn’t take a single step.
“I asked you what the hell you’re doing here.” He tossed the kitchen towel across the countertop and folded his arms across this chest.
“I-I’m supposed to be here. Why are you here?”
“This is the last place you’re supposed to be.”
This had to be the most jacked-up karma in the world. Nausea rolled into the pit of my stomach and my nails dug into the palms of my hand. The cocky bastard wore the same expression he’d worn all those years ago.
“Dovie sent me.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Why the hell would my grandmother send you to my house?”
Behind him, foamy liquid spilled over the rim of the stockpot, filling the room with popping sounds as the contents ran onto the burner and sizzled. “Shit!” He whirled around, quickly moving it.
My mind formulated a hundred different scenarios to rationalize what was happening, but one thought screamed louder than the rest: Get the hell out of here. I seized the opportunity, grabbed my bag, and ran like hell. Bolting out of the house, I took the steps off the deck two at a time, my suitcase bouncing all around behind me.
Halfway down, wind whipping my hair against my face, I heard the door slam above then heavy footsteps closing in behind me. Sheets of rain blew underneath the house, stinging my skin. Adrenaline fueled my feet as I reached the sedan’s door handle, seconds away from leaving the biggest mistake of my life behind.
“Why are you here? No way did Gammy send you here,” he called out as he kept walking toward me like a predator.
“I’m here because she offered me this place for the summer. I don’t know… She didn’t send me here knowing you were here.” She couldn’t have. My Dovie would never have done that to me…or to him.
Only steps away, he showed no sign of stopping, so I spun back around to make my great escape. He caged in my body against the car, not touching me, but so close that if I moved at all, I would land against either his arms or chest. He pressed the frame of the door closed.
“Get away from me. I’m leaving, and I just want to forget I ever saw you.”
“Liar. You won’t forget. I don’t think you’ve ever forgotten…” He leaned in closer, stopping when his mouth was against my ear. “You’ve never forgotten how you whispered my name into my ear, over and over again.”
His words repulsed me. I hated him.
“I remember you being the biggest mistake of my life.”
“Turn around.”
“Go to hell.”
“I earned my free ticket to hell a long time ago. Turn around, Avery.”
The way my name rolled off his tongue caused my breath to catch; it always had. I despised the fact that he still possessed the power to make my traitorous body react. He was and always would be toxic. Forbidden. Poison. I’d had a taste, and it had nearly killed me. Now, I knew better than to bite the apple.
He pressed his chest against my back, and old memories trespassed into my mind. No matter how hard I’d tried, I’d never forgotten the last night we’d spent together. Under an audience of a million twinkling stars, we had slept on a blanket on the edge of Cotton Wilson’s private lake. That night had been beautiful. Perfect. Two days later, Stone was long gone, and thanks to social media and gossiping texts, the people in my small community knew why before I did.
“Leave me alone,” I whispered.
“I can’t do that. There’s a bad storm coming with high winds and a lot of rain. I know for a fact that the only two motels are full, and by now the ferry has already closed.”
There had to be somewhere else for me to stay. A shelter. A church. Hell, even in my car. Another large gust of wind sailed through the air, knocking over the trash bin by the driveway and causing a piece of some sort of metal to blow down the street.
He placed his hand on my upper arm in a gentle touch. “Come inside, Avery, before you end up getting hurt.”
About the Author
Kathryn James lives in a southern small town with her husband and a very sweet and spoiled poodle named Macy. Being a hopeless romantic, she loves to read and write about bad-boy sexy alpha males and strong heroines. The beach is one of her favorite places to hangout, relax, and write. She debuted her first novel, Crazy Beautiful Lies and released a short Crazy Beautiful Kiss which was published in A Story of a Kiss anthology. She plans to release it again as a novella by the end of summer. For information about Kathryn L. James or to stay updated on upcoming releases, please drop by:
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