Tempting Fate

4.25 stars The Devil is back looking for someone to take over the reigns as the saga continues in the Devil May Care Anthology book 2. Here the Devil decides to ask his daughters if they want to take over his domain but not without testing their merits. J. Kenner opens the book with her short story “Lucia” who is the eldest female with a specialized skill set that has been honed over the years. The problem is she is tired of her life and looking for a way out so when her father comes calling with his offer, she jumps at it. Her task is to take out a business rival. Sounds simple enough but all bets are off when she falls in love with her target’s son. Will she take out her mark or not? Dee Davis is up next with “Jezebel,”who calls herself Jessie, is the middle child with an art for being able to gather information. She is tasked with retrieving an ancient religious artifact, The Protector of Armageddon. In order to accomplish this mission, she enlists the aid of David her one time long lost lover. He is also looking for the item to avenge his brother’s death. In order to speed things up, Jessie’s brother Marcus sends his friend Faust who knows where to locate the item. A plan is hatched to acquire the item but it is fraught with challenges. Can Jessie and David work together to obtain the relic or will their shared past impede their abilities? Kathleen O’Reilly completes the story with “Lola” the youngest daughter. Lola has a need to be the center of attention and has been for many years. However when her father arrives to persuade her to go on a quest for him, she blows him off as she does not want his kingdom. However she does want eternal beauty without the strings so she agrees to his offer of acquiring a soul. Christopher “Crash” St. Clair is Lola’s mark. He has come to the islands to find Mama Leone, a gypsy, who would explain why he and his family have been cursed. When Lola and Crash first encounter one another, she feels as if he can see through her and yet he blows her off. Not one who is prone to rejection Lola resorts to any measure to attract his attention and finally gets it but she is warned away. Throwing caution to the wind they both take a chance and realize something is different. Overall the authors have created three strong women not afraid to go after what they want while showing their vulnerable sides and getting what they truly desire. I volunteered to read an arc for a review.

What a great follow up to Seducing Sin!! Co-authored by Julie Kenner, Dee Davis and Kathleen O'Reilly, we find the Devil frustrated at the failures of his sons in completing the tasks given to them in exchange for taking over his empire. Now, looking to his daughters Lucia, Jezebel (Jessie) and Lola to take the reigns so he can retire, he finds it no less disappointing. The Devil starts with Lucia. In her story, written by Julie Kenner, we find her tiring of her job as an assassin for her father. She's good at it, but she's losing he edge. Missing opportunities to complete the job. She wants out. Her father tells her if she completes one more job for him, his empire is hers. Determined to do it and leave this life behind her, she sets out to find her target. But what happens when she finds her attention divided between the task at hand and the handsome Dante? When his connection to her target is revealed, can she keep her ey on her heart's ultimate goal? Does she even know what that is anymore? In Jezebel's story, written by Dee Davis, we find Jessie bored with the same life day in and day out. It's been centuries and she needs a change. Her father gives her the task of locating an artifact that if opened could bring about the end of days. Her special talent of being able to visulaize the location of items doesn't work with this artifact. There's only one person that can help her - David. But they have a past. A painful one. Can they work together and focus only on finding the box? When they find their lives in danger and she has a choice to make, what or who will it be? Finally, we have Lola's story, written by Kathleen O'Reilly. Lola has it all. Perfect looks. Men throwing themselves at her feet. Anything her heart desires. But it all comes at a price - the souls of the men she beds. When her father offers her an out, take one last soul and his empire is hers, she jumps at the chance. But trying to seduce Chris "Crash" St. Clair is no easy feat. He's not falling pray to her perfection and her seductive ways. In fact, it seems to be the opposite. He's distant but alluring. Disaster follows him everywhere excepte when he's with her. But he can't stay away long. When emotions override the task at hand, will she be able to do what's been asked of her? Facing a choice will she take what her father has offered her, or give it all up, including herself? I've really enjoyed this series! I only hope there is more!

The sequel to Seducing Sin, the Devil now approaches his three daughters (Lucia, Jezebel, and Lola)each with a quest to gain the keys to his kingdom. The same three authors for Seducing Sin contributed to this anthology. Even though the Devil appears to play cruelly with his daughter's hearts a little more than his son's, turns out he may just have a soft spot for his daughters. This is a fun short steamy read. Lucia by Julie Kenner - Lucia has more of a special skill set than powers when compared to her siblings. She is the female counter point to Jack, the Devil's right hand woman. Her quest is to take out her father's competition, only she falls in love with her target's son. The flow was great, full of sweet tender moments, steamy sexy times. This was my favorite story in this book. Definitely think Lucia is the Devil's favorite child. Jezebel by Dee Davis - This story involves a supporting character (Faust) cross over from Marcus from Seducing Sin. Marcus and Jezebel (Jessie) seem to have a similar power, but whereas Marcus collects items, Jessie collects information. This was really similar to Marcus's story, Jessie also works with someone from her past and her quest involves going after an item. Once again great flow, steamy scenes, action and adventure. Jessie makes the biggest sacrifice out of all the siblings. The only thing I didn't like was when it came to Faust, we still don't know what makes him immortal. The author deviated from a general theme of when each sibling lost their mother, the Devil came to claim them, but Jessie was different. Lola by Kathleen O'Reilly - Just as in Jack in Seducing Sin, I didn't like the flow of this story. It wasn't choppy like Jack, it felt too rushed and once again there are continuity issues. Lola appears to be Nick's counterpart with a similar power, the ability to steal souls, just in a different way. This author also deviated from a general theme of all the siblings being immortal; yes, Lola is immortal, but she has to steal souls to maintain her youthful appearance. I like the general idea behind the story, I just feel like it could have been executed a little cleaner and smoother.