"Wicked Deception" by Patti O’Shea is an intriguing romantic suspense novel that blends danger and desire, keeping readers hooked with its twists and turns.

While I liked the premise of the story and the characters. I did not enjoy how slow moving and long winded this book seemed. It may just be me but I felt some parts were unnecessary possibly fillers to make story longer.

An exciting story that got me at first because the bank was fined 1.92billon dollars. You come to find out though that this was because of banking infractions before his accusations. Now though his story and this book for me were an easy read in one afternoon, I did believe his findings about HBSC while he worked there and what was going on with the money transfers. I still think that they are happening but no one cares because it is like everything else we as a public are diverted by other news or information that people want us to believe is more important. It is no divergent from the college scandal where everyone was up in arms because of some actors and what their parents did which was wrong, but the main person who was originally charged with SEC crimes and fraudulently took people's retirement and other savings worth far more was trying to save himself jail time so told about this college scam. So does what this person talks about in this book happen yes, will our government change no because congress and others still get large amounts of money from the banking industry to make it easier for them. Overall a good book.

Wicked Deception
3/5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Patti O'Shea for a copy of Wicked Deception in exchange for an honest review.

Sister Dominga Maria, aka Marianna Castillo, has been on the run for the past three years. Hiding in a convent, she knows she's living on borrowed time. And when she realizes the man she's running from is having his men watch the convent she's hiding out in? She knows her time is running out.

Special Forces Sgt. Kyle Winter is assigned to work undercover at the convent. Easy, right? Well it would be if Sister Sexy didn't invade every waking (and dreaming) thought.

But when Mari's safety is compromised she has to put her trust in Kyle - the mercenary with loyalty to the highest bidder.

This is fourth book in The Paladin League series but could absolutely be read as a standalone as this was my first read in the series and I didn't feel like I was missing any background information.

I found myself loving Mari and Kyle from the beginning, but struggled with how much focus there seemed to be on the convent. While I think the intent was for the reader to see the relationship develop between Kyle and Mari, I felt it caused the plot to feel like it was dragging. With that, I didn't feel like the relationship got the attention it deserved and it felt very much like an afterthought.

I did love the arms-dealer aspect and the high-intensity and wished there had been more of a focus on that than what we experienced at the convent.

Overall, the story was engaging and kept me interested and invested in the characters. I wanted to give it four stars but just felt it was missing too many key aspects I look for in romance books.

Maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, but I couldn’t get into this book even though I usually love romantic suspense. I understand there has to be a gradual introduction between Marianna, who is hiding in a convent from her weapons dealer ex-boyfriend, and Kyle, an undercover government agent, since both are wary of each other given their precarious circumstances. But it seemed to go on and on and on! I did like the nuns who were very protective of Mari, especially Mother Teresita. I stopped about half way. I will try again later with hopefully a better perspective.

I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
This was a very interesting and unique book. I liked that part of this story took place in a convent which made It unconventional and intriguing.
There are lots of twists and turns but Mari and Kyle find common ground and get thru all the curves thrown at them. Love that Kyle became so protective of Mari as well.
Great read!

Another fun addition to this series They always flow ell have a fair amount of action and drama and are a pleasure to read and this one is no different

Sgt. Kyle Winter is on assignment watching a convent where men believed to have stolen weapons from the military are hanging about and he has no understanding why Things are further complicated by the fact that he is deeply attracted to a nun who is at the convent Little does he know that she is the reason for the men she is the ex of a weapons trafficker and they are closing in on her and the knowledge she has Soon Marianna Castillo is sharing that knowledge with Kyle and also the fact that she isn't in fact a nun at all Can she be the insider they need to bring the group down can he keep her safe and can they have a future You will have to read to see

Marianna has been on the run for three years. She heard something she shouldn’t have and her boyfriend, a weapons dealer, has a bounty on her head. She goes into hiding in a convent and becomes a nun. Special Forces Kyle has been watching the convent and that’s when he first saw Marianna. They are trying to find some weapons that were stolen from the Army. Kyle goes undercover as a handyman and is trying to find out why there are guys surrounding the convent. When they get in again, one of them recognizes Mari and Kyle sneaks her out and goes to the safe house. It takes a while for Mari to trust Kyle but when she does she has many things to tell them. When they get close to the weapons, Mari is taken and Kyle will do anything to get her back.

First time reading this author and I was pleasantly surprised. Action. Nuns. Suspense. I will be checking out the others in this series. It doesn’t have to been read in order. Mari is tough and protective of the nuns. Kyle is strong and handsome.

* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

I absolutely loved this one!! I think it is the best one yet! It's spicy, full of action and adventure.. The romance is so unbelievably sweet, I just want to hug Kyle, my Kindle or the author... or all of them together in a group hug!