Lily Carlisle is a kick butt and take names later kind of girl. She's done some things in her past that she isn't too proud of. She's lied, stolen, killed a man and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It was all done out of the love of her little sister, Rose. Lucas Johnson was a horrible person and brutalized Lily's little sister-which is why she went after him with a vengeance and killed him. That last act didn't go over so good. As she was dying, she was given the opportunity for a second chance to do some good for the world and get into paradise. All she had to do was become an assassin for the good guys. But is there a way out once she accepts the deal?
After accepting the deal, Lily awakens to find out that there was a catch to it. She's not herself-she is in the body of Alice Purdue, a Boston waitress who works at her family's bar that's known to be haunted and other dark stuff. Alice is also more familiar with the dark side of life then meets the surface of her life. I would tell you more about she landed in Alice's body, but I don't want to spoil any of the story!
Throughout the book Lily grapples with her new life, finding out who Alice was, all the while fighting the bad guys and learning how to do her job. She has some help along the way-there is Clarence her wise cracking guide, Zane the hot trainer who teaches Lily how to kick some serious demon ass, and Deacon the ultra hot bad ass guy who has some serious mysteries of his own for Lily to figure out. Lily isn't perfect and I love how she stays independent and true to herself the entire book. Imagine Buffy and Anna Strong as the same person, and you get an idea of what Lily's like.
This book manages to throw in a little romance without really being a romance-it's more about good vs. evil, right vs.wrong truth & consequence, and all the shades in between. Do you want to find out more? Go to Julie's website-there are podcasts of Tainted up for a sneak peak of the book.
I can't wait to read the other two books in this series, Torn and Turned. Tainted's release date is November, Torns is December and Turneds is January. (I couldn't find an exact relase date on her website.)
Sigh Worthy Moments: Low. This isn't really that type of book...but there are a couple of moments snuck in there.
Hot guy alert: Deacon could qualify as a beefcake in Leontine's Beefcake of the week club, but this book is more then just a romance.
Back of the book blurb: Doesn't really do this book justice. There is so much more to the story!
Back of the book readers: Don't read the last page first! (yes, I did that.) It won't ruin the book for you, but it will leave you with a lot of questions (more then necessary) while you read the book until you get to the end and have it all figured out. :)
Jane Austen shout out: One! I never knew how often she or her books were mentioned in other books until the Everything Jane Austen challenge!
